On the Ark.

"Alright." Lin Ye stood up, and just as he was about to leave, he remembered something. "Oh, right, there's one more thing."

"what?"

"I'd like to ask, currently, among all the people in Rhodes Island who know about 'L reagent', it's only you, me, and Warfarin, right?"

Kal'tsit hummed in response and asked, "What's wrong?"

“But of the three of us, only Warfarin is capable of conducting the research,” Lin Ye said. “Don’t you think we’re severely understaffed?”

Kal'tsit frowned slightly: "You want to bring new people into this research? Why did you suddenly have this idea?"

“Because time waits for no one,” Lin Ye said. “Although I believe in Dr. Warfarin, and that given enough time she will eventually overcome all the problems, how long is that? Ten, twenty, or thirty years? During this time, many people will die because they cannot receive treatment, including those on the island. As far as I know, quite a few agents have already reached their physical limits. In that case, why not use more manpower and make more efforts? The sooner it is available, the more people will be able to survive.”

Lin Ye didn't know why he suddenly wanted to say such things to Kal'tsit, but he just suddenly felt like saying them.

"Isn't this the very purpose of Rhodes Island's founding? To bring everyone together and work towards this goal. You also said that you hoped the entire Rhodes Island could unite. But you, Dr. Warfarin, and I alone are far from representing the entire Rhodes Island, aren't we?"

Lin Ye's words made Kal'tsit narrow her eyes slightly, her green pupils revealing emotions that Lin Ye couldn't understand.

She remained silent for a long time, only looking at Lin Ye, which made Lin Ye feel slightly guilty. But when he thought of Frostnova, and of Nightingale, Ifrit, and Eyjafjalla suffering from illness, he straightened his back and met Kal'tsit's gaze.

The office was so quiet that the only sound was the ticking of the clock.

After an unknown amount of time, Kal'tsit finally spoke, breaking the silence: "If my eyes and ears weren't so sharp, I would have thought Amiya was the one who said those words. Although I don't know what you went through in Chernobog, it's clear that your mindset has changed a lot, Lin Ye."

Lin Ye still couldn't discern Kal'tsit's attitude from her words. Just as he was about to press her for an answer, Kal'tsit turned her chair around, facing away from him, and then looked up at the sky outside the window.

“Since you’ve made up your mind…” Kal’tsit said slowly, “then go do it, and don’t forget what you’re holding.”

What is that you're holding in your hand?

Lin Ye looked down at the box in his hand, and before he could react, he heard Kal'tsit's gentle voice.

"You now have this power... Doctor."

Chapter 513 Shocks Saria (3K)

To be honest, Lin Ye hadn't expected Kal'tsit to agree to his proposal. He had originally planned that if he couldn't persuade Kal'tsit this time, he would try again after returning from Yan Country. Who would have thought that Kal'tsit not only agreed but also promised to handle things with Warfarin, so Lin Ye only needed to find suitable people.

In Kal'tsit's own words, "'L cells' belong to you. You have the right to decide who to involve in the research and development, but correspondingly, once you make this decision, you will have to bear the consequences yourself."

Kal'tsit's words were undeniably true. But Lin Ye understood perfectly well that the more people who knew about this, the more dangerous his situation would become. Yet, Lin Ye still decided to do it, for the very reason he had told Kal'tsit: his trip to Chernobog had deeply affected him. To put it bluntly, he didn't want to see those around him become the next Ilan or Aesop; he hoped to save the infected around him from the clutches of death just as he had saved Frostnova.

To put it sentimentally… well, that last statement was already quite sentimental, even though it truly reflected Lin Ye's innermost thoughts. Also, as someone who has already died once, Lin Ye has a different perspective on life. Back when he was a veterinarian in Chernobog, he often pondered the question: why did God give him another chance to live? Did God bring him into this world to do something?

Back then, he often pondered this question but couldn't find an answer. After joining Rhodes Island, he stopped thinking about it as much, because there were more beautiful girls around... no, because life became more interesting, and he stopped thinking about those trivial questions. Until now, until he learned that he had "L cells," the nemesis of the Originium Virus, and until the things he encountered after returning to Chernobog. All of this has made him start thinking about this question again.

This time, he felt he had found the answer.

He took out his phone and scrolled down his contacts, names appearing one by one. In the nearly two years since he joined the company, Lin Ye had the contact information of everyone in the medical department. Now, he needed to select from among them the people who would participate in the development of the "L reagent," the people he had decided to entrust his life to.

Uh, I seem to be being sentimental again.

Lin Ye shook his head, then focused his attention again, studying the names in his address book.

In terms of trust alone, Lin Ye would undoubtedly trust Shining and Nightingale the most, but he also knew they weren't the best choices. While both Shining and Nightingale were excellent medical operators, they weren't outstanding medical scholars. Their exceptional medical skills were built on the Sarkaz's innate talent, not their knowledge. Therefore, involving them in the research and development of "L-cells" wouldn't offer much help. Problems that even the centuries-old Warfarin couldn't solve would be even less of a challenge for Shining and Nightingale, and besides, they shared a common origin (Sarkaz), so they had to be ruled out.

So, after excluding Shining and Nightingale, there aren't many options left; in fact, you could say there's only one.

Lin Ye stared at that name for a long time before finally making up his mind and dialing the number.

The other party answered quickly, sounding slightly surprised: "Dr. Lin? What can I do for you so late?"

"Saria?" Lin Ye asked. "Where are you? I have something I want to tell you."

Twenty minutes later, Lin Ye arrived at the medical department and saw Saria sitting in a chair reading documents, wearing only a thin shirt. Hearing footsteps, Saria looked up at Lin Ye, calmly greeting him, but without even putting down the documents, she asked directly, "What do you need me for so late?"

"Uh, are you on duty tonight?" Lin Ye glanced into the inner room. Before Saria could answer, Lin Ye was met with a face sticking out its tongue.

"Hey, quack!" The one making the face was naturally Ifrit. She'd learned the term "quack" from Lappland and hadn't called Lin Ye by his name properly since. However, before she could finish, a hand gently patted Ifrit's head, and Himer's annoyed voice followed.

"Ifrit, greet them properly!"

Ifrit, naturally, dared not be presumptuous in front of Himer and immediately fell silent.

Only when she saw Himer and Ifrit did Saria put down the documents in her hand.

"Hime and I are here to examine Ifrit," Saria said to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye nodded, then looked at Ifrit: "How is Ifrit's health?"

Ifrit put her hands on her hips and said with a hint of pride, "Lady Ifrit is in very good health."

After Ifrit finished speaking, Himer reached out and gently rubbed Ifrit's head. Lin Ye caught a trace of loneliness in her eyes and immediately understood the situation.

"Alright, Dr. Lin Ye," Saria asked again, "Did you come to see us for something?"

Lin Ye then withdrew his gaze and said, "I have something I want to talk to you about, but..."

He glanced at Ifrit and Himer.

Himer immediately understood and took Ifrit's hand: "I'll take Ifrit back now, you two can talk slowly."

Seeing Himer preparing to leave, Lin Ye had a sudden thought and said, "Dr. Himer, if possible, please stay. This is a rather important matter, and I want to tell both you and Saria."

Himer turned her head and looked at Lin Ye with some confusion: "Do you want both Saria and me to be present?"

Before Lin Ye could answer, Ifrit voiced her dissatisfaction: "What do you mean? You sent me away alone? You quack, you..."

Himer tapped Ifrit's head again, this time with a hint of anger in his voice: "Ifrit, how can you be so rude? Quickly call him Uncle Lin."

Lin Ye almost bit his tongue.

Ifrit was naturally unwilling to call him that, but under the pressure of Himer's authority, she obediently called him "Uncle Lin".

Lin Ye's feelings suddenly became complicated.

Then Himer made Ifrit apologize to Lin Ye, and only after she apologized was Ifrit allowed to go back first. However, on her way back, Ifrit still made a face at Lin Ye, which made Himer, who saw this, quite helpless.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Lin,” Himer said apologetically, “Ifrit is still too naughty. You were so kind to her…”

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Lin Ye shook his head repeatedly, then said with a smile, "We have a good relationship, this kind of joke is nothing."

Himer sighed softly: "Only you would be willing to tolerate her like this."

After Himer finished his sigh, Saria picked up the conversation: "Dr. Lin Ye, did you come to see me because of what happened last time?"

"About what happened last time?" Lin Ye didn't quite understand.

“I was talking about your excessive indulgence,” Saria said. “Did you come to get your medication?”

Lin Ye's expression became even more rigid.

This… the thought process of a diamond straight woman is indeed different from that of ordinary people.

Himer glared fiercely at Saria: "Saria, don't talk nonsense!"

Seria was a little confused: "Why are you talking nonsense? Dr. Lin specifically sent Ifrit away, wasn't it for..."

"Ahem." Lin Ye quickly interrupted Saria with a cough. "I came to see you about something else. Um, Dr. Himer, were you examining Ifrit just now? How is she?"

The mention of Ifrit caused Himeru and Saria to look much more somber.

"What else can we do?" Himer said softly. "Dr. Lin Ye, we have nothing to hide from you. Although we have been trying our best to improve Ifrit's body, her condition is still worsening. The density of Originium crystals in her blood is getting higher and higher with each checkup."

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Saria shook her head and said. “There’s no way to reduce the density of Originium crystals right now. All we can do is slow down the rate at which this value increases.”

“Yes, that means we’re just trying to prolong Ifrit’s life,” Himer said. “We don’t know when she will… Sorry, I got a little excited.”

Saria gently patted Himeru, whose eyes were red-rimmed. Only at times like this did this diamond-hard straight woman stop being so diamond-hard.

Looking at Saria and Himeru in front of him, Lin Ye finally decided to speak the words that had been bottled up in his heart for a long time.

"Well, the reason I came to see you is actually for a research project."

"Research?" Saria looked up at Lin Ye with some confusion. "Where is the research taking place?"

"It's on the island."

"Within the island?"

"Well, right now, the only people who know this are me, Warfarin, and Kal'tsit." Lin Ye took a deep breath and said, "I hope you can join in, but I also hope you can keep it a secret."

Saria hadn't initially taken Lin Ye's research to heart, but her expression changed slightly upon hearing the names Warfarin and Kal'tsit. After all, Warfarin and Kal'tsit were both key figures on Rhodes Island, and anything involving both of them must be significant.

"What kind of research is it?" Seria asked.

"Well... you should be prepared."

Saria laughed immediately, picked up the teacup on the table, and brought it to her lips: "Is it really that exaggerated? Do I really need to be mentally prepared?"

Lin Ye looked at Saria, who was about to drink tea, and felt that he could already foresee what was going to happen next. So he silently moved his chair back a little before slowly saying, "It's about developing a medicine to cure Oripathy. We already have a finished product."

The words had barely left his mouth when a crisp sound rang out.

Saria crushed the teacup with her bare hands.

……

……

Author's note: 7 words delivered, 126 more chapters still owed.

Chapter 514 The Same Goal (3K)

Looking at the teacup that had been crushed into pieces, Lin Ye's eyelids twitched twice, and then he silently moved the chair back.

Is this really Saria? Unlike ordinary women who express shock by spraying water, she actually crushed the cup. No wonder everyone says the medical department is the most powerful department on Rhodes Island; they have a Sarkaz swordsman over there and a Rhine fist master here. It seems choosing to cling to the medical department was definitely the right decision.

But then again, the fact that it could make someone as calm as Saria so agitated speaks volumes.

Lin Ye then cut to the chase, directly telling Saria and Himer about the "L cells" within his body and the "L reagent" developed by Warfarin. The two women's expressions shifted constantly, and after Lin Ye finished speaking, they remained silent for a long time, clearly processing everything he had said.

"What you've said..." Hamer finally broke the silence with a slightly trembling voice, "Is it all true?"

Lin Ye said with a wry smile, "Even if I'm unreliable, I wouldn't joke about something like this, right? Hmm... if you don't believe me, take a look at this."

He could understand Himer and Saria's skepticism; after all, it sounded incredibly unbelievable, especially for the two medical scholars. No one understood better than them what Lin Ye meant. This was arguably the lifelong pursuit of all medical scholars researching Originium Disease, a feeling that was even more profound given Ifrit's deteriorating condition.

Therefore, Lin Ye took this into account when he came here and made preparations accordingly.

The preparation involved the new "Type L" serum that Warfarin had just given her yesterday. Warfarin felt that she had used it thirteen times without success, while Lin Ye succeeded on his first try, so she thought there might be some kind of mystical boost. Therefore, she gave Lin Ye another dose, of course, only after repeated warnings and a promise from Lin Ye that he would bring back a sample next time.

If Warfarin knew that Lin Ye had taken the medicine to the medical department the very next day, she would probably be furious.