On the Ark.

Chapter 492 Winter is Coming (Third Update)

Lin Ye had miscalculated somewhat.

He had initially assumed that the distance from Chernobog to Sap was roughly the same as the distance from Rhodes Island to Chernobog, so the travel time would be similar. However, reality proved otherwise. This time, Lin Ye hadn't driven; he had taken a long-distance bus from Rhodes Island to Chernobog, which took almost a full day. But in Chernobog, he couldn't find a single bus to Sap. There wasn't a single bus running at the entire Chernobog station. It was then that Lin Ye truly realized just how remote Sap was.

After asking around, they finally found a tractor going to the town of Sap for business. After negotiating with the driver, they finally found a way to get there. However, the experience of traveling on the tractor made Lin Ye feel like they were filming a scene from a movie series called "On the Road." Fortunately, the tractor's back compartment, being frequently used for passenger transport, had a rain shelter and seats, so it wasn't too shabby. From their conversation with the driver, it seemed he frequently transported people from Chernobog to Sap.

When Lin Ye asked him what kind of people he usually brought along, the driver just glanced at him and said indifferently, "Of course, people who can't make a living in Chernobyl."

He immediately understood and stopped asking questions.

However, due to the limitations of their transportation, this trip took them twice as long as the journey from Rhode Island to Chernobog. They sat in the back all day before the driver informed them they were almost there around noon the next day. It was at this moment that Skadi's phone rang, and she casually told Lin Ye that she was earning extra money.

If someone didn't know Skadi, they definitely wouldn't understand what was going on. But for Lin Ye, who knew Skadi relatively well, what kind of extra income could a bounty hunter like her possibly have? When Skadi said those words, he thought of the tentacles lurking in the ocean and the suckers growing on them.

"Those monsters have appeared here too?" Lin Ye couldn't help but ask, "But this place isn't near the sea."

"A monster?" Skadi asked, puzzled. "What kind of monster?"

Lin Ye gave a brief explanation, while Exusiai listened curiously from the side.

Skadi then shook her head: "No, you misunderstood. This is a side job, not a formal subjugation mission, and the thing we're dealing with isn't that troublesome."

"Is that so?" Lin Ye originally wanted to ask what it was, but then he thought that even if Skadi told him, he probably wouldn't have heard of it, so he changed to a question that interested him, "How much is the reward?"

"Two hundred thousand Lungmen dollars."

Lin Ye almost bit his tongue.

"How much?" He stared at Skadi, thinking he had misheard. "Two hundred thousand LMD?"

Skadi nodded.

"Really two hundred thousand LMD?" Lin Ye's lips twitched slightly. "Two hundred thousand LMD is just extra money?"

Skadi asked, "Is there a problem?"

Lin Ye was at a loss for words. He subconsciously looked at Exusiai and found her with her arms crossed, saying in an innocent tone, "Why are you looking at me like that? Two hundred thousand Lungmen dollars is really nothing. Our boss sometimes drinks alcohol that costs more than that."

Well, another rich woman you can't mess with.

Lin Ye sighed inwardly.

Terra's financial situation isn't good, is it? Then why are there so many rich women in the world? Why is he still a pauper? If only these rich women would share some of their money with him.

Wait a minute, something seems off.

Lin Ye suddenly remembered the first time he met Exusiai, and immediately turned his head to look at her with a suspicious gaze: "Is your boss's money yours?"

"Of course not."

"So how much do you earn a month?"

"I can't remember, because they were all deducted... Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's nothing." Lin Ye withdrew his gaze, his mood immediately improving.

Look, there's an angel who's even poorer than him.

People are always sad when they are not as good as others, and happy when they are better off than others.

The driver overheard their conversation, looked up at them through the rearview mirror, and thought to himself: "Another bunch of braggarts. Two hundred thousand Lungmen dollars is nothing, if it's nothing, why would they go to a place like Sap Town? With money, there are plenty of other places to live, why would they go there?"

At this point, the driver already regarded Lin Ye and his two companions as penniless infected people who couldn't make ends meet in Chernobog; he had seen plenty of people like that.

At that moment, Skadi seemed to sense something, looked up into the distance, and frowned slightly.

"What's wrong?" Lin Ye noticed Skadi's actions.

“Sap Town, is it?” Skadi murmured. “What a coincidence.”

……

Copper Hammer was somewhat unhappy.

Chris's words had given him an urge to pull out a hammer and smash the man's head into mincemeat. Fortunately, he managed to suppress that urge, knowing full well that killing Chris would mean he'd never get another bounty hunter's job. So, in the end, he only left two fingers on Chris as a lesson.

As for whether Chris would retaliate, Copperhammer wasn't worried at all, because he didn't believe Chris could. He already knew the bounty hunter's approximate strength and thought he was nothing special, posing no threat to him whatsoever. Copperhammer believed that the only ones who could truly threaten his life were probably his fellow Imperial Guard comrades.

For example, there were Jin Gui, Yin Ren, and others who had shared a room with him. Their strength was roughly the same as Tong Chui's; if they came together, Tong Chui would only have the option to run away. As for the others... was there anyone in this world stronger than the Ursus Emperor's Guard? At least Tong Chui didn't believe so. In his mind, Ursus was the most powerful empire, and the Emperor's Guard was the most powerful warrior, so he had nothing to fear.

It was already merciful of him to let Chris leave with only two fingers.

Copper Hammer thought to himself, then felt a little bored. The conversation was going too fast and had disrupted his original plan. So he waved to the bar owner, signaling for the little boy he had just seen to come and keep him company.

The bar owner naturally dared not refuse. After all, even the head of the bounty hunters had suffered such a great defeat in front of Copper Hammer, let alone a small bar owner like himself. So he readily agreed and was about to go find Aesop when he suddenly felt a chill. He subconsciously raised his head and then his eyes widened.

The bar's door was covered in frost.

……

……

Author's Note: I still owe 83 chapters. I've been thinking about it, and this is probably the last time I'll be offering a bounty for this book, barring any unforeseen circumstances. I'll stop offering bounties after the event ends, and then continue paying them off until the book is finished (at my update speed, it'll probably take several months, lol). I was planning to update like crazy these past few days, but I got dragged out of it. It wasn't a big gathering, just visiting some elders.

However, I still got diarrhea. Although I've always gotten diarrhea after eating hot pot, recent rumors say that diarrhea is a sign of infection, and I suddenly felt really unwell. Ugh, this New Year has been a real nightmare.

Chapter 493 Froststar's Strength

It's not winter yet; in fact, it'll be midsummer in a month. So, even in Ursus, a country in the north, seeing ice and snow at this time of year is quite unusual. Even the well-traveled bar owner was momentarily stunned when he saw the frost gradually spreading from the exit.

Feeling the chill that hit him, the bar owner asked in surprise, "What, what's going on?"

Copper Hammer, who was drinking, slowly put down his cup. Looking at the frost emitting white steam, his brows furrowed little by little. Then, he slowly leaned back and grabbed the warhammer placed behind the sofa.

He sensed danger.

pat, pat.

That was the sound of boots hitting the ice. Soon, a blurry figure appeared in everyone's sight, and then gradually became clearer.

"A woman?" The bar owner was even more surprised.

The other person scanned the people in the bar with their gray eyes, finally fixing their gaze on the copper hammer.

"Are you Copper Hammer?" Froststar spoke slowly, her voice like a wind rising from the depths of a snow-capped mountain, carrying a chilling coldness.

Copperhammer squinted at Frostnova, then chuckled after a moment: "So you're the bounty hunter Chris found? You're quick on the uptake. Has that old guy been wanting to get rid of me all along?"

“Chris? Who’s that? I don’t know him.” Frostnova shook her head and said, “I’m not a bounty hunter.”

"Still won't admit it?" Copper Hammer said. "If you're not a bounty hunter, are you a hostess? Tsk, you're quite pretty. If I weren't uninterested in women, I'd be happy to let you stay for a drink."

Froststar didn't reply immediately because Copperhammer's men had already swarmed up and surrounded her.

"You stinking woman, are you here to cause trouble?"

"Big brother doesn't like women, but I do. Why don't you stay and keep me company?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

However, Frostnova seemed not to hear them at all, her eyes never leaving Copperhammer, as if the others did not exist.

“Let me confirm again, you are Copperhammer,” Frostnova said slowly. “I haven’t mistaken you for someone else, have I?”

Copperhammer didn't answer, but simply gave a wink to the subordinate standing next to Froststar. The subordinate immediately raised his machete and brought it down on Froststar's head. However, the machete was frozen in mid-air by a sudden surge of frost, and the subordinate, along with the machete, turned into an ice sculpture.

At the same time, rapid footsteps sounded behind Frostnova, and sorcerers in greyish-white robes rushed in. As soon as they entered, they reached out to Copperhammer's men, and a white mist billowed out. Anyone caught in the mist was instantly turned into an ice sculpture. In just a few seconds, half of Copperhammer's men were transformed into works of art, while the remaining half fled in disarray to Copperhammer's side.

Having witnessed everything, Copperhammer gradually lost his smile. He stared at Frostnova, then slowly spoke: "You are indeed not the bounty hunter Chris found. Who are you? I have no idea there is anyone like you in Ursus, at least not in the military."

Froststar said slowly, "Ursus is not just about the government and the military."

"Then what exactly are you?"

Froststar remained silent; it was Afu who spoke, coldly saying, "The one who has come to take your life."

"Heh... really? You're quite confident." Copper Hammer cracked his neck, his expression gradually turning ferocious. "If you really can do it, then come and try."

The moment the words left his mouth, all the members of the Yeti team reached out to Copper Hammer, and a chill swept towards him from all directions. Copper Hammer immediately stood up, hoisted his warhammer onto his shoulder, and then leaped into the air, avoiding the chill.

"A warlock?" he shouted in the air. "You're unlucky to have met me."

Then, it slammed down with a powerful swing of its hammer. The members of the Yeti Squad clearly hadn't expected the copper hammer to have such incredible rebounding power, but their rich combat experience told them what to do. Before the hammer even hit, a thick wall of ice formed between them. As sorcerers, they knew very well that close combat was their weakness, while the copper hammer was clearly the opposite, so there was no reason to let it attack their weakness with its superior strength.

Fortunately, unlike ordinary sorcerers, their defensive capabilities are also among the best.

However, this understanding shattered along with the ice wall as the bronze hammer fell.

A series of crisp sounds rang out as the meter-thick ice wall shattered like paper. It had only blocked the bronze hammer for a few seconds before being completely destroyed by the terrifying impact. This was something never seen before, so the members of the Yeti team hadn't fully reacted even after the bronze hammer hit the ground.

"I told you, didn't I?" Copper Hammer grinned again. "You're unlucky to have run into me."

With that, he suddenly swung his fist, striking the face of the nearest Yeti squad member hard, shattering the member's mask in an instant. The Yeti squad member flew five or six meters backward, landing on the ground with his face a bloody mess. Then, Copper Hammer noticed that there seemed to be a piece of Originium in the opponent's chest.

“I see.” He smiled at Frostnova and Afro. “You’re infected. I’ve heard of some groups made up of infected people in Ursus, but why are you causing us trouble?”

"You bastard!" Afu roared, "I'll beat you to death today..."

Just as Afu was about to rush forward, Froststar stopped him.

"Big sister?" Afu looked at Shuangxing with great confusion.

Froststar said, "Let me do it."

Afu immediately panicked: "No, big sister! You just watch from behind. We can handle this guy more than enough."

“I told you, I’m coming.” Frostnova walked slowly toward Copperhammer. “This guy isn’t weak, there’s no need for unnecessary sacrifices.”

"But your body..."

“I will not fall here,” Frostnova said calmly. “I have said this many times before.”

Afu was speechless.

Copper Hammer's eyes narrowed slightly: "You're planning to fight me alone? Tsk, should I call you arrogant or stupid? Woman, you'd better think this through, I don't dare to mess with women..."

Before he could finish speaking, Tongchui suddenly widened his eyes.

Because without his knowledge, his lower body had been frozen by frost.

“You talk too much,” Frostnova said. “Go talk in hell.”

……