On the Ark.

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……

Author's note: I'm having terrible writer's block. It took me three hours to write this chapter... and I still don't know what I'm writing. I hope I can recover by tomorrow.

Chapter 363 Add One and Set Off

Looking at the list in his hand, Lin Ye had a feeling that something was not quite right.

Skadi was required to go with him and help him train. Nightingale was someone Lin Ye was originally going to bring along, since the main reason for going to Halloween was to help her heal her leg. Ifrit was left to him to take care of because White Owl couldn't control her. Lappland was added at Kal'tsit's request, seemingly for Lin Ye's safety.

So it seems that everyone has their reasons for making demands, but when you put them all together, something just doesn't seem right.

"Hey, why are you always hovering around me?!" Ifrit glared at Lappland, who kept circling around her. "What are you trying to do?"

Lappland rubbed her nose and said, "I feel like you have a weird smell, like roasted meat."

"Barbecue? You dare call me barbecue? You're the barbecue, you..." Ifrit was about to explode, but then, as if remembering something, she quickly asked, "Wait, do you like barbecue?"

Yes, it is.

"Hey! I like it too!"

Then came the chatter of conversation. Before setting off, the two people who seemed the most difficult to deal with in Lin Ye's eyes had already teamed up. Lin Ye had a feeling that this "vacation" was unlikely to be relaxing. He couldn't help but sigh softly, and then watched as the white-faced owl walked over.

"Dr. Lin Ye, this is Ifrit's medicine." The white-faced owl carried a bag filled with various medicines and introduced them to Lin Ye. "Take this in the morning, this at noon, and this in the evening."

Lin Ye's head was spinning.

"How can there be so many?! Are they all medications to control the illness?!"

“Not all of them,” the white-faced owl shook its head and said, “Only the medicine I took at noon was for controlling the illness.”

"What was it in the morning?"

"The morning dose is calcium supplements."

"What the hell are these calcium supplements?! And what are we eating tonight?"

“The one for tonight is a sleeping pill,” the White Owl said seriously. “Ifrit has a lot of energy, so if she doesn’t want to sleep, just give her a bottle.”

"God, you eat a whole bottle..." Lin Ye was speechless. "You're exaggerating! I've only been there for a few days."

“So I only prepared the necessary medications for you,” the White Owl said. “I didn’t even bring vitamin pills. According to Ms. Himer, Ifrit’s body is too weak and needs more care, so Ms. Himer prepared a variety of nutritional supplements for Ifrit, including zinc supplements, calcium supplements, and so on…”

Lin Ye couldn't help but interrupt the white-faced owl, asking directly, "Do you have any brain-boosting supplements?"

"Have."

"Then you can eat it yourself, it'll help nourish your brain," Lin Ye said irritably. "Bai Gugu, have you forgotten that this Halloween event was supposed to be my vacation time? I was there to celebrate, not to take care of the kids, do you understand?"

The white-faced owl thought for a moment and said, "I understand. If you don't want to deal with Ifrit, I'll go and talk to Ms. Himer now..."

Lin Ye pressed down on the white-faced owl's head: "Don't talk nonsense. I promised Himer that I would take good care of Ifrit, but so many medications are unnecessary. It's only for a few days, so there's no need for calcium tablets or anything like that, right? Even if she insists on taking them, I absolutely will not bring those sleeping pills. Putting aside the fact that sleeping pills are bad for children... I'm only going for five days, and you've prepared five bottles of sleeping pills for Ifrit. That's going too far!"

The white-faced owl said, "Because Ifrit is a Sarkaz, and Sarkaz are far more resistant to sleeping pills than ordinary people."

“There’s no need to prepare five bottles, not even one.” Lin Ye took out the calcium tablets and the medication to control Oripathy from his backpack, and asked White Owl to take the remaining sleeping pills back. “I will take good care of Ifrit. Even without sleeping pills, I will make sure she goes to sleep on time. Don’t worry.”

The white-faced owl tilted its head: "But even Ms. Himer has a hard time getting Ifrit to go to bed on time."

"I have my own way."

The white-faced owl nodded thoughtfully: "I understand, you want to use those hands of yours that can make all women obey you..."

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll pluck all the hairs off your head," Lin Ye couldn't help but threaten the white-faced owl.

The white-faced owl immediately fell silent; in many situations, she was quite pragmatic.

Lin Ye couldn't help but sigh, wondering why there were so few normal people around him. Communicating with people whose thought processes were abnormal was really exhausting.

Soon after, Nightingale and Skadi arrived. Lin Ye hadn't told Nightingale yet that he was going to Halloween to find medicine to heal her leg. Firstly, no one knew if the medicine could cure Nightingale's leg; after all, they'd only heard of the White Owl, never actually seen one. Secondly, Nightingale's leg injury wasn't ordinary; it was caused by the spread of Oripathy compressing her nerves, unlike a traditional injury. No one was sure if topical medication could heal the nerves. Therefore, he hadn't told Nightingale, not giving her hope too early, so she wouldn't experience the disappointment of dashed hopes.

Secondly, Lin Ye hoped Nightingale could enjoy the festival itself. Compared to the legendary rewards, Halloween itself was quite interesting. After all, in the chaotic world of Terra, festivals were few and far between, and festivals like Halloween, which were rare and unpredictable, were even more so. Participating in a festival without any ulterior motives would allow for a purer enjoyment of the event. For Nightingale, the spiritual enjoyment might be more important than the healing of her legs.

So, Lin Ye simply told Nightingale that this Halloween trip was a vacation. He didn't mention the "ghost hunter" or its rewards. Even so, Nightingale seemed very happy, after all, she had always been the bird that longed to fly away from its cage.

As for Skadi… she was probably the only one on the trip who showed absolutely no interest in the festival. If it weren't for helping Lin Ye with his training, she definitely wouldn't have gone. Perhaps in her heart, these carefree days on land weren't as interesting as the perilous life in the deep sea… Of course, this was just Lin Ye's guess.

After making preparations, Lin Ye led the four of them away from Rhodes Island, heading towards their destination, Jim Town, a hundred kilometers away. This was originally an ordinary town, but it was completely changed by the upcoming "Ghost Hunter," attracting people from all over the world. A festival for ghosts and monsters was about to begin.

Chapter 365 I guarantee you'll be the most beautiful ghost that night.

Jim Town.

This place was only about a hundred kilometers from Rhodes Island headquarters, but Lin Ye had never heard of it before. It was indeed a very remote place with extremely poor roads; the journey of over a hundred kilometers took Lin Ye almost a whole day, and he arrived at dusk.

However, as mentioned before, due to the upcoming Halloween, the remote town was already quite crowded, with some congestion on the initial stretch of the road leading into the town. Once inside, however, it wasn't as impoverished as one might have imagined. Street vendors lined the streets, enthusiastically hawking their wares to passing tourists.

"Wow!" Ifrit leaned half her body out of the car, looking very excited. "This place looks interesting."

Lin Ye had to remind Ifrit: "Ifrit, don't stick your head or hands out of the car!"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because it's dangerous!"

"Are you kidding me? What's dangerous about this?"

Ifrit's nonchalant attitude left Lin Ye feeling utterly helpless. He felt like an elementary school teacher on a field trip, terrified that his unlucky students would cause all sorts of trouble. At that moment, he finally understood the hardships teachers had faced back then, and then lamented that he was only in his twenties, why was he already doing this kind of childcare work? He didn't even have a girlfriend.

Of course, despite his feelings, he still had to say something. Lin Ye had his own trump card for Ifrit: all he had to do was say, "If you don't listen, I'll tell your mother," and Ifrit would obediently comply. Although her expression would be very resentful, at least her body would be willing to obey.

Hmm, does thinking about it this way seem a bit wicked?

Lin Ye shook his head, clearing his mind of those inexplicable thoughts, and then heard Lappland say, "That's strange, what kind of festival is this? Why did I see my own kind?"

"The same race?" Lin Ye turned to look at Lappland. "The Lupo race? I don't see them."

“They were wearing hoods,” Lappland said, “but I could smell them.”

"Is that so?" Lin Ye smiled. "It seems this 'Halloween' is really interesting; even your clansmen have come."

"Don't get too excited, they might not necessarily be here for the festival." Lappland glanced at Lin Ye and said, "Where they are, nothing good is likely to happen."

"Really? You have so little faith in your own people?"

“It’s precisely because I have faith in them,” Lappland said, arms crossed and tail wagging. “I know they’re not the kind of people who enjoy festivals. I know my people too well, you know.”

"Really?" Lin Ye glanced in the direction Lappland was looking and indeed saw several hooded figures with their backs to them. Lin Ye silently took note. After all, even Lappland had said so, but he didn't pay too much attention, because there were not only Lupo people here, Lin Ye even saw Sarkaz people.

The fact that demons come to celebrate Halloween has a dark humor to it in a way.

Suddenly, the nightingale spoke up: "What are we going to do next?"

Lin Ye's thoughts were pulled back. He thought for a moment and said, "Let's find a hotel first."

"and then?"

Lin Ye turned to look at the vendors outside the car window and the clothes they were selling, and couldn't help but laugh: "Is there any need to say more? Of course, it's to dress up as a ghost."

This was one of the things Lin Ye had always wanted to do.

In his past life, Lin Ye was forced to stay home most of the time due to health reasons, while his peers had all found girlfriends and were happily going shopping with them. He, on the other hand, could only stay at home petting his cats. Although many people envied him for having so many cats, he also envied those beasts who could go shopping with their girlfriends.

No, I mean classmates.

Back then, Lin Ye always dreamed of finding a beautiful girlfriend one day, going shopping with her, and buying her pretty clothes. Unfortunately, this dream remained unfulfilled until his death, which was quite a regret. However, times have changed. Now, although he still doesn't have a girlfriend, he no longer needs to stay home petting his cat. Being able to go shopping with a girl—that's half of his dream coming true, right?

After finding the hotel that White Owl had helped them book, Lin Ye and the four girls put down their luggage and rushed out onto the street. He seemed even more excited than the girls. Although shopping here was a bit different from what he knew about shopping, there weren't many pretty clothes on this street. After all, it was Halloween, a holiday for dressing up as ghosts, so the vendors were selling some rather unusual costumes, which looked quite interesting nonetheless.

“Wow, that mask is so interesting.” Ifrit was the first to spot what she wanted, a monster mask with a blue face and fangs. “I want that one.”

Seeing a customer arrive, the vendor smiled happily: "Young lady, you have a good eye! The masks I sell have been favored by 'ghost hunters,' so they're guaranteed to be high quality."

The vendor's words piqued Lin Ye's curiosity: "Been noticed by the 'ghost hunter'? What does that mean?"

"Of course it means exactly what it says... Hey buddy, you look unfamiliar. Is this your first time attending 'Halloween'?"

"Hmm...aren't you one?"

“Of course not,” the vendor said with a smile and a shake of his head. “I’m here for Halloween. Wherever Halloween is, that’s where I am.”

Lin Ye nodded as if he understood.

Got it, they sell merchandise at anime conventions.

“Every year, the ‘Ghost Hunter’ selects one ‘extremely evil ghost’ and bestows a reward upon him; you’ve probably heard about that,” the vendor said with a hint of pride. “And the ‘extremely evil ghost’ chosen a few years ago was wearing my clothes, you know. And the mask that gentleman was wearing when he was chosen is the one this young lady just took a liking to.”

Lin Ye understood again.

This is a street vendor who has achieved some success.

The vendor probably hoped to use his impressive resume to persuade Ifrit to buy the mask, but he didn't expect that Ifrit wasn't someone who played by the rules. When she learned that someone had been successfully selected using the mask, she immediately withdrew her hand from the mask.

"Huh? A mask someone else used? I won't use that." Ifrit crossed her arms. "I want a unique mask, one that belongs only to me, Ifrit. Do you have one?"

The vendor was a little confused by Ifrit's question and muttered, "A unique mask? All the masks here are unique...that's why so many people use them."

“So much repetition is what makes it boring,” Ifrit said.

Lin Ye then asked, "What conditions are required to be selected?"

"condition?"

"Yeah, since it's 'Halloween,' the one usually chosen as the 'most evil ghost' is the one dressed up as the most ghostly, right?" Lin Ye asked. "The scariest kind?"

“These… were chosen by the ‘ghost hunters,’ and I don’t know the specific criteria,” the vendor said after thinking for a moment. “But they should all be quite special.”

“If it’s something special…” Lin Ye turned to look at the pumpkin lanterns the vendor was using for decoration and smiled, “Ifrit, I have an idea that will guarantee you’ll be the most dazzling kid that night… no, the most special ghost.”

"Huh?" Ifrit tilted her head, looking puzzled.

Chapter 366 Skadi: I Reasoned with Her

"What?" The vendor looked at Lin Ye in surprise, thinking he had misheard. "You want to buy my pumpkin lantern?"

"Yes," Lin Ye nodded, then asked, "Not for sale?"

"It's not that I don't sell..." the vendor scratched his head and said, "It's just that very few people have bought them. After all, I don't specialize in making pumpkin lanterns... If you want one, just take it. It's not worth much anyway."

"Is that so? Thank you then." Lin Ye happily took the pumpkin lantern, while everyone looked at him with suspicion, wondering what he was going to do. This was also the result of Lin Ye's observations; he found that the Halloween here had many similarities to the Halloween in his previous life, but also many differences. At least in terms of dressing up as ghosts, looking around, there was no Halloween's soul—the "pumpkin head"! How could this be?