On the Ark.

TMD...

Lin Ye couldn't take it anymore, so he handed the phone to Nightingale.

"Listen for me," Lin Ye said. "Give it to me when you hear the automated message to connect you to a live agent, understand?"

The nightingale nodded, seemingly confused.

Then the woman on the phone asked in confusion, "Huh? Human service? Where did you get human service?"

Lin Ye was stunned for a full two seconds, feeling as if a mouthful of blood was about to burst from his chest. He held it in and finally managed to utter a "Holy shit!"

"There's blood here!" The attackers spotted Lin Ye's blood and ran over. They immediately saw Lin Ye's狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face. "Kill them!"

Lin Ye didn't bother to settle scores with the operator anymore. He grabbed Nightingale and ran out from under the table. Then he pulled the trigger on one of the attackers' heads. After the shot rang out, the attacker slowly fell to the ground.

The operator on the other end of the phone gave a soft "hmm".

"Was it just my imagination? I think I heard gunshots." The other person asked, "What are you doing over there? Target practice?"

"Hit you my foot!" Lin Ye yelled into the phone, "Who the hell are you?!"

"This is Penguin Logistics. Didn't you call? Why are you asking who I am?"

Lin Ye was stunned for a moment, because he found that he couldn't refute the other party.

"Quick, that guy has a gun! Shoot him with the crossbow!"

Lin Ye faintly heard the sound of strings being pulled, so he knew he couldn't argue with the other party anymore. He kicked open the side door of the room and continued running for his life with Nightingale, shouting into the phone with all his might.

"My name is Lin Ye! I'm from Rhodes Island! Kal'tsit gave me your phone number! I'm currently being chased and attacked by a bunch of lunatics on the 23rd floor of the XX Building! If you're a kind person, please help me call the police or contact Rhodes Island to stop pushing your 12% off coupons and used refrigerators!"

"...Actually, we delivered a rice cooker." The other person suddenly became excited. "Wait, you just said you were attacked? Really?"

Lin Ye desperately lowered his body to avoid being hit by the crossbow bolt.

"Are you trying to make me take a picture to prove it?!" Lin Ye roared. "I don't care who you are, just help me out, okay?!"

"OK, OK, I'll place the order for you right away. Efficiency is our top priority at Penguin Logistics," the other party said. "Given your current situation, I suggest you choose Package Number One. Although it's a bit pricey, it's the most suitable for you."

Lin Ye wanted to smash his phone. Was Kal'tsit playing a joke on him?! Giving him the contact information of a lunatic?!

"Since you don't speak, I'll assume it's Package Number One. OK, the order has been placed. Please keep your phone accessible and don't turn it off," the other party said. "We'll deliver the goods to you in twenty-three minutes."

"Are you fucking crazy?!" Lin Ye finally couldn't hold back and cursed out loud. "I told you to call the police or contact Rhodes Island! I'm being chased and hacked by more than a dozen thugs right now! What kind of garbage are you sending me?!"

"Don't worry." The other party smiled nonchalantly, "This is our job. We're very professional at transporting this kind of thing. See you in twenty-three minutes."

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Lin Ye was speechless; he didn't even have time to curse. Because he was holding Nightingale's hand, he couldn't run fast and was easily overtaken by the thugs behind him. To prevent Nightingale from getting hurt, he had to push her aside first, then face the thugs head-on, firing two shots. Unfortunately, killing two people in quick succession had made the thugs wary, and neither shot hit. Instead, they seized an opening and slashed down with their knife. Although Lin Ye managed to retreat in time, blood still bloomed from his chest.

"Pineapple Bun……"

Nightingale, who had fallen to the ground, grabbed her staff, wanting to do something, but her body was trembling uncontrollably. Her past flashed before her eyes like a slideshow.

In the end, even though she tried her best to help Lin Ye, she couldn't even hold onto the staff.

Lin Ye clutched his chest injury and staggered back a few steps.

Damn, this really hurts!

Lin Ye's expression turned ferocious.

Currently, seven or eight thugs have gathered in the narrow stairwell. They noticed Lin Ye's frailty and were no longer in a hurry.

"Where is that person!" The thug closest to Lin Ye pointed a knife at him. "Tell us and we'll let you go."

Lin Ye gritted his teeth: "Who knows who you're looking for?!"

"Tsk, unwilling to talk? You didn't even know you were being used as a pawn by Lungmen." The thug shook his head and raised his knife again. "Since that's the case, then you..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

The door between Lin Ye and the thugs was opened.

"Hmph hmph hmph~" A lighthearted melody.

Wearing headphones, humming a song, and munching on a sandwich, the devil leisurely walked out of the room, still wearing a pair of disposable slippers.

"Huh?" She noticed Lin Ye and the thugs and paused for a moment.

Lin Ye was looking at her, and so was the thug. Her gaze darted back and forth between Lin Ye and the thug, her expression shifting from surprise to confusion.

Take off the headphones.

Ifrit was puzzled, but also became increasingly wary: "What are all these people trying to do, crowding outside my room?"

Chapter Fifty-Six: The True Demon

Lin Ye had originally thought that all the demons in this world were harmless "angels in white" like Shining and Nightingale, so when he saw Ifrit walk out of the room, he was devastated.

He was already struggling to manage one Nightingale, and now a demon who needs even more care has appeared. It's like a support player carrying two healers, and both of them don't seem capable of healing at all. How is this supposed to work?

But he soon realized he was wrong.

"Another brat!" The thug with the knife grabbed Ifrit's hand and tried to use her to threaten Lin Ye. "I'll ask you one last time, where is that person? If you don't tell me, I'll... uh?"

Before the thug could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a heat in his left hand. Turning his head, he realized that his hand was on fire.

"Hey." Ifrit grabbed the thug's hand, her already fierce gaze turning even colder. "Who are you calling 'brat'?"

In the astonished eyes of the thugs, the flames burst forth.

It was only then that Lin Ye suddenly remembered that Ifrit's previous introduction of him didn't seem to mention that he was a medical operator...

Rather, the strongest warlock?!

"Call me a brat?!" Ifrit shoved the screaming thug aside, then raised her hand to the other thugs. "Even my mother wouldn't call me that! Call me... Lady Ifrit properly!"

As if in response to her words, flames erupted in Ifrit's palm. This flame was unlike the one Ifrit had shown Lin Ye before, the kind only good for lighting cigarettes. This flame was powerful and violent, instantly turning the corridor crimson. The scorching heat wave rushed towards them, causing Lin Ye to instinctively cover his forehead, fearing his eyebrows would be evaporated by the intense heat. Even more incredibly, the flames coalesced in front of Ifrit, instantly resembling a ferocious dragon, baring its sharp fangs at the intruders.

"She's... a warlock?!" The invaders finally realized. "This brat's a warlock! Retreat! Retreat now!"

In fact, he didn't need to say anything more. As soon as they saw the flames in front of Ifrit, some of the intruders had already started to run away.

They knew very well what warlocks meant.

Moreover, this was such a powerful warlock; they were definitely not someone they could defeat.

"Hey, how dare you call me a brat!" Ifrit was truly angry. She pushed her hand forward forcefully, and the raging fire dragon shot out. "Then let it boil!"

The moment she finished speaking, the entire floor truly "boiled up".

This was the purest fire. So pure that it could turn anything impure into the purest form—charcoal. The flames engulfed the narrow stairwell, instantly consuming the attackers who tried to escape. The walls and doors of the entire floor were melted by the extreme heat. The attackers, consumed by the flames, let out heart-wrenching screams, while Ifrit laughed amidst the screams.

"Does it hurt? Scream, scream! Scream a few more times!" Her tone became extremely frantic. "No one will care about your screams! Just line up and wait to die!"

Lin Ye swallowed hard, first glancing at Nightingale, then at Ifrit standing in the crimson flames.

As expected, this is a true demon...

This power, this madness, this cruelty—is this what a demon should be like? Ifrit…Rhodes Island's strongest sorceress…

Lin Ye suddenly remembered what Hermer had told him.

"This child has a difficult personality, please be more tolerant of him."

Lin Ye's expression immediately froze.

Is this guy's personality just "not so good"?!

Although Ifrit had saved them from their predicament, Lin Ye was still feeling incredibly frustrated. He thought to himself that when Himer returned, he would definitely mention to her that taking care of a true demon like Ifrit wasn't out of the question.

You'll have to pay more.

At the very least, he should be made to buy some kind of personal accident insurance.

Lin Ye began to let his mind wander.

And Ifrit's flames slowly disappeared.

When the flames subsided, the entire corridor was a mess. In less than a minute, Ifrit had turned a perfectly good floor hallway into a living hell.

"Huh? Did we go a little too far?" After laughing, Ifrit suddenly felt uneasy. "What if Mom asks..."

She suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Lin Ye: "Hey, who were those people just now?"

Lin Ye's lips twitched.

You roasted them all without even knowing who they were?!

This is indeed the behavior of a demon. It seems I was fooled by the two fake demons, Shining and Nightingale. I thought demons were all innocent and adorable little devils.

Lin Ye sighed, turned and helped Nightingale up, then said to Ifrit, "They are all intruders."

“Intruders?” Ifrit raised an eyebrow. “So you’re saying they’re all enemies?”

"Ah."

"So that means I didn't call the wrong person?" Ifrit breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."

Saying you attacked the wrong person... you clearly roasted the other side!

Lin Ye nodded: "Don't worry, you did a great job."

“Hey, I don’t need your praise,” Ifrit said. “If you really want to thank me, just help me prove that I acted in self-defense.”

"Go, go, go."

Lin Ye was speechless, thinking to himself, "You're a demon now, why do you care about self-defense? Self-defense doesn't mean you have to roast everyone else."

Of course, Lin Ye only thought these words in his heart and wouldn't actually say them out loud, after all, Ifrit had saved their lives.

"That's strange. I was still watching a movie in my room when an intruder sneaked out the door." Ifrit took off her headphones. "Tsk, another pair of headphones broken. So annoying, it's not easy to find headphones that fit..."

Before she could finish speaking, the ceiling above her head suddenly exploded.

Caught completely off guard, Ifrit was blown away by the blast wave.

Lin Ye was shocked. He instinctively tried to grab Ifrit, but the entire ceiling shattered and collapsed. He was hit on the head by a rock and fell straight down.

When they came to their senses, they saw Ifrit pinned against a huge wall, unconscious and covered in blood.

"Ifrit!" Lin Ye cried out, clutching his head, "Nightingale!"

Neither of them responded to him.