On the Ark.

"There's no way around it; there are limits to this."

Where is the bottom line?

“One-quarter,” Wei Yanwu said slowly. “It can only be one-quarter.”

“A quarter is too little,” the man shook his head. “Three-quarters.”

"One-quarter".

The man frowned: "Half, or even half would be barely acceptable."

"One-quarter".

"That won't do, it has to be at least..."

Wei Yanwu tapped the table, interrupting the man: "I'm not one to haggle. I've already laid out my bottom line: a maximum of one-quarter, and I must choose the personnel. If you agree, we can continue the discussion; if not, you can leave now."

Anger flashed across the man's face, but Wei Yanwu remained unmoved, leisurely puffing on his cigarette. The white smoke swirled around him like a curtain, making him appear as if he were a dragon riding the clouds. This made the man realize that he truly could not continue speaking, and so he gradually calmed down.

“In that case, a quarter it is,” the man nodded and said, “but you can’t just fill the quota with people who have absolutely no ability. The number can be increased, but the quality absolutely cannot be compromised.”

Wei Yanwu said calmly, "If I were to tamper with this, wouldn't you all be able to tell at a glance?"

The man scoffed, "You know that's good."

“I don’t like pretending to be ignorant,” Wei Yanwu said. “Also, you need to be swift in your actions and leave no evidence.”

"Are you all just sitting around doing nothing, serving as the emperor's guards?"

“If your men are all the emperor’s personal guards, then I really have nothing to worry about.” Wei Yanwu glanced at the man. “What do you say?”

The man was silent for a moment, then said, "You need to transfer your Royal Guard Bureau. We can avoid leaving any evidence, but your Royal Guard Bureau cannot cause trouble."

“Do you expect me to give them the day off?” Wei Yanwu said. “Do you think that’s possible?”

The man was getting annoyed: "So you mean you just want to do nothing and get paid? Do you think there's such a good thing in the world?"

“In this position, there’s not much you can do to avoid being seen through.” Wei Yanwu slowly put down his pipe and emptied the ash. “But I can give you a chance. Yesterday, the meteorological bureau told me that starting tonight, there will be torrential rain and a typhoon, which will probably last for about a week.”

"so what?"

“The waterproofing system in Lungmen District 20 and beyond is too outdated. Conservatively speaking, it will only last for two days before it completely collapses,” Wei Yanwu said slowly. “At that time, the Guard Bureau will need to go and provide disaster relief.”

"I see." The man understood Wei Yanwu's meaning and narrowed his eyes slightly. "As expected of you, Governor Wei. Your methods are indeed beyond what we can match. No wonder you can govern Longmen like this."

Wei Yanwu switched to new tobacco, then picked up his pipe, and white smoke slowly rose again.

He looked out the window and said softly, "We're still a long way off."

"Once this matter is over and you receive the emperor's reward, you won't be far off."

"The premise is that you won't mess up this simple thing."

“If I can mess up something this simple, I’ll beg the Emperor for my life.” The man looked at Wei Yanwu and then smiled. “Of course, I know that’s not what you want to hear. Don’t worry, Governor Wei, even if trouble does arise, it won’t affect you. We’ll be doing our work in Yan Kingdom attire.”

"That would just be causing me trouble."

"Is that so? Then there's nothing I can do." The man pulled up his hood and prepared to leave. "But everything has its risks, Commander Wei, you should know that very well."

Wei Yanwu turned his head, looked at the man's back, and slowly said, "This same sentence applies to you. Don't die in Longmen, that would be a real problem for me."

"Don't underestimate me, Mr. Wei." The man pushed open the door and left, leaving behind a sentence before he left: "In this Dragon Gate, is there anyone who can kill me? I'm waiting for your list."

After the man left, Wei Yanwu stood in front of the list and slowly picked up his pen.

A quarter?

He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the names on the list. After a few seconds of contemplation, he circled Eyjafjalla's name.

The moment he put pen to paper, a sharp flash of lightning suddenly streaked across the clear sky.

He put down his pen, turned to look out the window, picked up his pipe, and slowly took a puff.

A few seconds later, the torrential rain and thunder finally arrived, but they were fierce, as if they would swallow up Longmen in an instant.

"Is there no one who can kill you?" Wei Yanwu exhaled smoke and let out a cold laugh.

……

"This weather is so unpredictable," Lin Ye said helplessly, looking at the sudden downpour. "I should have brought an umbrella."

Lin Ye didn't know if Lungmen had a weather forecast; at least he hadn't received any such text message, so he never expected that Lungmen, which had been sunny and clear in the morning, would suddenly be hit by a torrential downpour. He had originally planned to take Eyjafjalla to eat something nearby before returning to the building, but now, they were soaked to the bone and had to find shelter under a roof in a very disheveled state.

But Lin Ye was the only one who was disheveled. When he felt extremely uncomfortable because he was soaked to the bone, he suddenly noticed that Eyjafjalla's clothes were already dry.

Lin Ye was very surprised: "How did you do that?"

Eyjafjalla replied, "This is my Originium Arts."

Originium Arts? Originium Arts that can dry clothes?

Lin Ye immediately thought of Skyfire, who was also a human-shaped walking dryer; standing next to her made him feel warm and cozy. He hadn't expected Eyjafjalla to have the same ability. This made him extremely envious: "That's great, I wish I had this kind of Originium Arts."

Eyjafjalla looked up at Lin Ye: "Senior, are you cold?"

"I wouldn't say it's cold, but it's a little uncomfortable," Lin Ye said. "This feeling of being soaked to the bone is really unpleasant."

“That’s true…” Eyjafjalla pondered for a moment, then said to Lin Ye, “Then hold me tight.”

"Hmm... Ah?" Lin Ye responded subconsciously, then realized something was off a few seconds later. "What did you say?!"

“I can help you dry your clothes,” Eyjafjalla said. “Just hold me, it’ll be quick.”

He'll be in jail soon, you idiot! He almost got arrested by the Royal Guard for prostitution a few days ago. If he hugs Eyjafjalla today, he'll probably be in jail for another crime. Just thinking about it makes me feel like I'm brain-dead.

Lin Ye, of course, refused righteously: "No, that won't do."

"It's alright, senior, don't be shy," Eyjafjalla said. "And don't be afraid of getting hurt. I'm quite good at controlling Originium Arts."

This isn't about being shy or hurt, so why are you being so proactive?

Lin Ye sighed inwardly and said, "Do I look like such a fragile person? My clothes are just a little wet. I'll take a shower when I get back."

“But the rain is getting heavier,” Eyjafjalla said. “It’s already drifting in.”

Indeed, the eaves they found weren't very large, and they were already letting in more rain while they were talking. Just as Lin Ye was wondering if they should find another place to take shelter from the rain, he suddenly stopped feeling the rain.

It wasn't that the rain had stopped, but rather that an umbrella had been placed over his head.

"So, you should still bring an umbrella when you go out."

Lin Ye turned his head and saw Mostima standing beside him, holding an umbrella in one hand and a steaming cup of ginger tea in the other.

"Here you go." Mostima handed the ginger tea to Lin Ye, smiling as she said, "For you."

……

……

Author's note: I suddenly realized that this book seems to be ranked quite low in the year-end review, and there's little hope of it moving up, but at least I hope it won't be overtaken by the others. So I hope everyone can vote for it~

The storyline for Frostnova is already under consideration.

Chapter 440 You remind me of my old cat (3K)

"I have a feeling..."

"Ok?"

Looking at Mostima, who was eating dessert, Lin Ye couldn't help but say, "I always feel like the times you leave and appear are particularly strange."

Mostima blinked, then chuckled: "Is there a way to describe someone as 'weird'?"

“But that’s really how it feels,” Lin Ye said.

Mostima's sudden appearance with a large umbrella was a lifesaver for Lin Ye. Using the umbrella, they successfully moved to a place where they could take shelter from the rain. It was a dessert shop, but it wasn't actually a very suitable place to shelter from the rain, as they were sitting outdoors, only protected by a tarpaulin overhead.

As the rain intensified, the sound of raindrops hitting the tarpaulin grew louder, and the wind continued unabated, threatening to blow the entire tarpaulin away. This worried Lin Ye, who thought it best to find another shop or go home earlier. However, seeing that Mostima and Eyjafjalla didn't seem concerned and were even leisurely enjoying their desserts, Lin Ye decided not to say anything and ate a steamed bun himself.

Hmm, it's pretty good. Let's finish eating before we leave.

Lin Ye asked, "Why did you suddenly leave just now? You didn't even attend the seminar."

"I bought an umbrella because I felt it was going to rain."

Lin Ye was stunned for a moment: "That's it?"

“Yes,” Mostima nodded. “That’s right. I’m a messenger, so I’m quite observant of changes in the weather.”

Lin Ye really didn't know what to say. She'd simply bought an umbrella early because she felt it was going to rain, thus missing this academic conference. Was that just being willful? It was more than just willful! Lin Ye wanted to complain, but considering this might be a random excuse Mostima had come up with, and she might genuinely have some urgent matter she couldn't discuss, Lin Ye didn't press the matter. He could only nod, acknowledging Mostima's words.

He actually wanted to ask Mostima why she suddenly appeared again; surely she couldn't have been waiting for them, right? But then he realized there was no point in asking, so Lin Ye put the question aside and continued eating. Then he heard Mostima's soft voice.

"The rain is getting heavier."

Lin Ye raised his head and looked at Mostima gazing out of the shop, his blue pupils reflecting the rain-soaked Dragon Gate.

“Actually, I quite like rainy days,” Mostima said to Lin Ye with a smile. “Like right now, holding an umbrella, walking in the rain, watching the umbrella cut through the rain, and hearing the wind all around me.”

No wonder Mostima brought them here; there was a shopping mall right next door just now.

Speaking of rain, Lin Ye actually quite likes it. He loves staying home and sleeping on rainy days, sometimes sleeping for half the day straight. Going out is out of the question; wouldn't it be disgusting to go out in a downpour? What's so great about being soaked to the bone? However, Mostima seems to really enjoy going out on rainy days.

Hmm, this habit feels somewhat familiar.

Lin Ye thought for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What's wrong?" Mostima asked. "Is something amiss?"

"No, it's nothing."

"Tell me about it." Mostima propped her cheek with her hand, tilted her head, and looked at Lin Ye with great interest.

"Alright, I'll tell you then, but you're not allowed to get angry."

Mostima shook his head: "I won't be angry."

"Hmm...it's nothing really. I just think your hobby is a bit like one of my silly cats from back then," Lin Ye said with a smile.

“A silly cat?” Mostima asked. “What kind of silly cat?”

“A silly cat that loves to run outside,” Lin Ye said. “It was originally a stray cat that I picked up. But it’s very restless and always likes to run outside. At first, I thought it was running away from home. But it always comes back, and it likes to bring some strange things home. That’s when I realized it wasn’t running away from home. It’s probably exploring. It’s a cat that can’t be kept at home.”

Do you like cats that can't be kept in cages?

"It's great, I really like it. Although many people said it was ugly before, I think it's very beautiful. Once when I was going home, it was raining heavily, and I saw it by the roadside, squatting under an umbrella that someone had thrown away to shelter from the rain. It was soaked to the bone and looked pitiful, but it was very spirited... Ah, I think I've said too much." Lin Ye realized this and immediately apologized.