On the Ark.

The bottles clinked together again, and everyone present was having a great time, except… Lin Ye, who sat in the corner, clutching a bottle, seemingly oblivious. Looking at the members of Penguin Logistics in front of him, he felt like he was just there to make up the numbers. Well, actually, he could remove the word "feel."

"What are you thinking about?" someone sat down next to him. "Won't you join us for a drink?"

"It's Texas," she said, popping a chocolate bar into her mouth as if she were smoking, exuding a strange sense of maturity.

"No, I was just wondering why you brought me, an outsider, into your internal staff gathering," Lin Ye said.

"You're still thinking about this?" Texas chuckled twice. "There's no need to dwell on this. Our boss always does whatever comes to mind, and most of the things he does are meaningless. Besides, he says that life is all about enjoying yourself."

Lin Ye couldn't help but laugh: "That's indeed a pretty good boss."

"Maybe, if he weren't always causing trouble," Texas said casually. "When he does cause trouble, he can be quite a headache."

Getting into trouble?

Before Lin Ye could figure out what kind of trouble such a big boss would cause, Exusiai, holding a bottle of wine, sat down on his other side with a grin: "Lin Ye, what do you think of our place? Want to consider joining us?"

"Huh?" Lin Ye felt that Exusiai's thoughts were jumping around too fast. "Why did you suddenly bring this up?"

"Because we don't have a single man here yet," another member of Penguin Logistics, Sora, said with a laugh. "It's all women."

The emperor slammed his fist on the table: "Damn it! Aren't I a man?!"

"Yes, yes, I meant there are no men left besides the boss." Kong quickly changed his tune, perhaps afraid of having his salary docked by the Emperor.

"Men? What's the use of men?" The last member of Penguin Logistics, a heavy-armored operator named Croissant, patted his chest with a rather boyish air. "Anything a man can do, I can do too. If the boss insists on hiring men, he might as well give me an extra salary, right, boss?"

"Damn it, you guys, all you ever talk about is raises, raises! That's all you ever say!" The Emperor finished his drink, then jumped onto a chair and pointed the bottle at each of them in turn. "You, you, you, and you! I told you to behave yourselves and work properly, but you wouldn't listen. All you do all day is cause trouble. Think about how much money I've already paid for you this year? If it were all included in your wages, you'd all be begging on the streets by now, especially you, Exusiai, and you..."

The Emperor suddenly pointed at Lin Ye.

Lin Ye was a little confused: "What's wrong with me?"

"Aren't you a male escort sent by Rhodes Island?" The Emperor jumped up and down on the sofa. "I've been watching you for a while now. What kind of male escort are you? You won't even offer me a drink, and you expect me to talk about cooperation with you?"

Lin Ye: "..."

He had no idea when he'd become a male escort. Kal'tsit had only sent him to discuss a collaboration—no, to be precise, just to relay a few words to the Emperor. How did he end up in this workplace power dynamic? Aren't the victims of such power dynamics usually pretty girls? What does it have to do with him, a grown man? And aren't the people who demand these things usually fat, burly bosses? Why is it a penguin?

Lin Ye didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he always felt like he was encountering strange things that made him feel very tired.

Just as he was hesitating whether he should really toast the Emperor, Texas suddenly spoke up: "Boss, you said before that this bar is owned by a friend of yours, right?"

The Emperor's attention immediately shifted from Lin Ye to Texas: "Yeah, what's wrong?"

Lin Ye breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Texas was helping him out of a predicament. He then looked at Texas with gratitude, only to find that Texas's expression was quite serious.

"What kind of friend?" Texas asked.

"How could I possibly remember that clearly?" The Emperor shook his head. "I have too many friends."

"So what did he say to you? Did he cover all the expenses tonight?"

"No, that's not it." The Emperor pushed up his sunglasses. "I think they said they'd give me a discount."

"Discount?"

"Yes, a special discount."

“Don’t you find it strange?” Texas said. “Very few of your friends are so stingy with just discounts.”

"Oh? Is that so!" The Emperor pondered. "Wait, let me think about which friend is being so stingy."

Texas sighed and said, "Don't even think about it, they're already here."

Texas's reminder brought Lin Ye to his senses, and he realized that their booth had been surrounded by a group of men in suits. Because the bar was so crowded, and he was engrossed in listening to the conversation, he hadn't noticed until they were right in front of him.

"Your Majesty!" The leading man slammed his foot on the coffee table, glaring at the Emperor with a ferocious expression. "You really dare to come?"

The emperor turned around, looked at the man standing in front of him, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" the man said. "You came to my bar without knowing who I am?"

"Oh? This is your bar," the Emperor said. "You're the friend who said he'd give me a discount? Hmm, I can't quite remember your name, but could you tell me what kind of discount I'd give you? If the discount isn't big enough, I'll let these little brats eat less."

The man's smile grew even more sinister: "Excellent, of course excellent! Your Majesty, you've personally come to my territory, how could I be stingy? How about this, I'll give you a... fracture, how about that?"

After saying that, the man picked up the wine bottle on the table and smashed it hard against the emperor's head.

Chapter 427 Fighting? Rhodes Island isn't afraid of that! (4K5)

Lin Ye didn't know if he was just unlucky or if he was just naturally prone to causing trouble.

He was clearly just a male escort "public relations" figure pulled in to make up the numbers, only there to drink with this group of girls and their boss, Penguin. After drinking, he could go back to the hotel, wash up and go to bed early. If he didn't want to sleep, he could buy some late-night snacks and chat about life in the room next door with his cute junior colleague. By comforting his junior colleague, who was extremely nervous about attending the seminar, he could give the junior colleague the impression that "his senior is so kind and reliable."

He had planned everything perfectly, just waiting to slip away from the bar. However, all of this was ruined by that exploding beer bottle. When he saw beer dripping down the Emperor's head, Lin Ye knew that he was out of luck tonight.

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!"

Accompanied by an indescribable penguin scream, all members of Penguin Logistics sprang into action. Without even needing the Emperor's command, Texas and Exusiai, the fastest to react, grabbed bottles from the table and instantly smashed the heads of the two men in black beside them. The two burly-looking men in black collapsed to the ground.

"Oh, you bastard!" The emperor, who was the first to have his head split open, was completely unharmed. He pointed his wing at the other party's nose and said, "I came to support you, and this is how you treat me?! You, you, you... what was your name again? Ah, never mind, this is nothing. You won't have an easy time tonight."

Seeing this, Lin Ye's lips twitched involuntarily. He thought to himself, "You can't even remember other people's names and you dare to come and support us? These are clearly your enemies, not your friends! How can someone who can forget both enemies and friends really be the boss of such a big company? Isn't that a bit too absurd?"

The man pointed at by the Emperor took a step back, and two men in black immediately blocked his way. Members of Penguin Logistics also stood in front of the Emperor, leaving only Lin Ye sitting on the sofa, unsure of what to do.

“Your Majesty,” the man said with a sneer, “I know you look down on us little minions, but it doesn’t matter. Since you’ve delivered yourself to my doorstep, you won’t be leaving here alive tonight. If I don’t smash your beak in two with my own hands, I’m not Stino.”

Ah, finally you revealed your name! So it's Stino? That sounds like a minor character.

Extremely nervous, Lin Ye could only silently complain in his heart.

"Fine, I'll remember you, you troublemaker!" The Emperor grabbed a wine bottle as well. "Since you want to be my enemy, I'll grant your wish. I'll keep your name in my heart, you troublemaker!"

"My name is Stino!" Stino gritted his teeth and said, "Get them! Kill these guys!"

The men in black swarmed forward, and Lin Ye was somewhat surprised by the performance of the Penguin Logistics agents in the face of this emergency.

"Hey, boss!" Exusiai exclaimed with a laugh, "Is this also part of tonight's entertainment?!"

As Exusiai spoke, she smashed the skulls of those who tried to attack her with bottles. Under the dazzling angelic halo, one bottle after another exploded.

"Oh, Exusiai! Your boss got beaten up and you're treating this like a sideshow?!" Emperor shouted, cursing. "Beat all these guys to the ground! Capture that troublemaker alive! He even broke my beak, so I'm going to stab his ass with a bottle!"

"Damn it, my name is Stino!" Stino roared, but was ignored.

"Boss, boss, I'm here to cover you!" Croissant jumped to the Emperor's side, shield in hand. "See? I'm the only one who's worried about your safety. Shouldn't you consider giving me a raise?"

"Damn it, I've already had my head cracked open, and you're still thinking about a raise?!"

In the center of the arena, Texas, the vanguard operator, was the most at ease. She carried a knife, but didn't use it; instead, she wielded an iron rod she'd found somewhere, swinging it with a sharp, rustling sound. Each strike accurately hit a black-clad man's head, and in less than ten seconds, she had taken down five men in black, all while calmly saying, "Boss, it should be break time now. Working for you during break time requires overtime pay."

"Yeah, yeah, overtime pay!" The operator named Kong was the only one present who didn't grab a bottle of alcohol, didn't participate in the battle, and just stood next to the Emperor, nodding in agreement. "I think this suggestion is alright."

"Ughhhh, damn it! Have I raised a bunch of ungrateful wretches?!" The Emperor jumped up and down on the sofa, furious. "Fine, fine, overtime pay it is! Smash this whole hotel, I'll pay for everything!"

"That's exactly what I was waiting for!" Exusiai laughed even harder. Despite being an angel with a halo, she was enthusiastic about participating in such violent activities. Although her close-combat skills were far inferior to Texas and Croissant's, as a sniper, she made full use of her advantages, randomly smashing bottles with remarkable accuracy.

In addition, Croissant's unparalleled strength allows her to easily knock over a group of people while holding a shield. This makes Penguin Logistics, which was originally at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, not only hold its own in the fight, but even gain the upper hand!

Chaos erupted in the bar. Those involved in the fight rushed in, while those not involved immediately fled. Only Lin Ye, unsure whether he was involved or not, sat obediently on the sofa, clutching his half-finished beer, torn between joining the fray or running away with the uninvolved.

Join the fight... He's not with Penguin Logistics, so it's really strange for him to help Penguin Logistics fight.

Running away without joining the battle would be too easy to be despised, especially since Rhodes Island still needs Penguin Logistics.

Continuing to sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight? That's the most brain-dead option.

Lin Ye was caught in a dilemma, but fortunately, he didn't struggle for long before someone helped him make a choice.

A hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up and saw a man in black grinning menacingly at him before smashing a bottle down. If this were a year ago, when he first joined Rhodes Island, at this distance and speed, Lin Ye would have been forced to passively wait for his head to crack open. But the Lin Ye of today was no longer the same person. After training under Yato, Lappland, and Skadi, while he still wasn't considered an outstanding combat specialist on the island, his combat strength was definitely not at the bottom tier.

He immediately turned sideways, grabbed the man in black's hand holding the bottle, and then with a sudden burst of strength, slammed the man in black from behind the sofa to the front. The man in black clearly hadn't expected that the seemingly weak Lin Ye could unleash such strength, and was caught off guard, falling flat on his face and smashing the coffee table into pieces.

This action startled the men in black and the members of Penguin Logistics who were engaged in the melee.

Exusiai turned to look at Lin Ye, revealing an exaggerated expression: "Wow, guest, you're so brave!"

Texas frowned slightly: "You don't need to join in."

Stino was trembling with rage, pointing at Lin Ye and roaring, "Kill this brat!"

Then several more men in black approached Lin Ye. This time, Lin Ye had no choice but to make a decision. He sighed softly, feeling that he would probably be spending the night in jail. He didn't know how Chen or Swire would react to seeing him back in jail, but he didn't have time to think about it. Facing the men in black who were now clearly taking him seriously, Lin Ye placed his hand on the hilt of the [Maple] sword.

However, before he could draw his sword, Texas charged at him, and with three crisp sounds, three more men in black fell to the ground.

Texas ran to Lin Ye's side and pressed down on his hand as he tried to draw his knife: "Don't use the knife."

"Huh?" Lin Ye was taken aback. "Why?"

Texas said, "If we don't use knives, tonight's incident can be dismissed as a drunken brawl. But once we use knives, things will get out of control. If someone dies, even we, the ones who suffered the loss, will have a hard time explaining ourselves."

"...There's such a saying?"

“Yes, this is Lungmen. Gang fights are always allowed,” Texas said. “As long as no one dies, it’s an unspoken rule in Lungmen that everyone has to follow, which is why I told you not to get involved.”

Lin Ye smiled wryly: "I didn't want to get involved either, but I was forced into it."

“I know.” Texas handed one of the sticks in her hand to Lin Ye. “Take this. I’ll send you out now. You’ll come with me.”

"Then what about you?" Lin Ye said. "I can stay and help you."

“If we can’t even handle a situation like this, then there’s no point in us staying in Lungmen any longer,” Texas said calmly.

Seeing that Texas had already gone this far, Lin Ye had nothing more to say and could only take the iron rod from Texas's hand. Texas then told him to follow, and she charged forward, clearing a path with the iron rod once again. Almost none of the men in black present were her match; even though she only had a rod in her hand, they could not last more than a few moves before being knocked down.

Lin Ye glanced at Exusiai and found that, just as Texas had said, they did not want to cause any deaths. Therefore, Exusiai did not use her own Guardian Gun, but fought with an iron rod she had picked up, just like Texas.

"Don't get distracted!" Texas shouted. "Let me get you out of here first!"

Before she could finish speaking, the bar's doors were suddenly flung open, and dozens of men in black swarmed in. They weren't carrying bottles or iron bars, but gleaming blades. Upon seeing Lin Ye and Texas, they didn't hesitate and charged forward.

Upon seeing this, the Emperor roared, "You troublemaker, you've broken the rules!"

Stino roared back, "You're the troublemaker! Attack them all, leave no one alive!"

Facing those gleaming blades, Lin Ye felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn't help but look at Texas: "Should we still hold back in this situation?"

Texas's expression wasn't good either. She said in a low voice, "What a bunch of unruly guys. Enough talk, let's get out of here."

"Retreat? Where to retreat to?!"

Texas said, "This bar definitely has more than one exit, the main entrance. Let's split up and run. Once we get out of the bar, the Guard Bureau can take care of it."

With that, Texas turned and ran.