On the Ark.

Warfarin couldn't help but roll her eyes. Then they noticed that people in the hall had started whispering among themselves, but they didn't know what they were talking about. It wasn't until the Iron-Eating Beast, who had been scouting outside, returned and told them about the tsunami.

"A tsunami?" Lin Ye's mouth dropped open slightly. "Was it really a natural disaster? Skadi was right?"

“Yes.” The Iron-Eating Beast nodded repeatedly. “I heard that the two districts of the North and East are about to split up and evacuate to avoid the natural disaster. So the audience outside the square has been dispersed, the patrol offices have been transferred to the East and West districts, and even the Imperial Guards that His Majesty gave to His Highness the Second Prince have gone to provide disaster relief.”

Have the Imperial Guards all gone to provide disaster relief?

The Imperial Guards, who were the biggest headache for them, were thus sent away?

Wasn't this natural disaster a bit too coincidental? Lin Ye really wanted to ask Skadi about the situation, but Skadi still hadn't returned and he didn't know where she was, so he could only ask the Iron-Eating Beast, "Will the engagement ceremony continue?"

"I heard that's true," said the Iron-Eating Beast. "Because the Imperial Observatory believes the tsunami isn't very strong, and considering the buffer zone left after the North and East districts separated for evacuation, it's highly unlikely the tsunami will reach the South district where we are now. Therefore, the Second Prince decided not to cancel the ceremony, but to move it forward by an hour. By the time the tsunami actually arrives, the ceremony will be almost over. If it turns out the tsunami is stronger than expected, there will still be enough time to move the South district."

Hearing what the Iron-Eating Beast said, even Warfarin couldn't help but say, "Isn't this Second Prince a little too calm when facing natural disasters?"

“Yes,” the Iron-Eating Beast shrugged and said, “So now the people in the venue are basically talking about this. Some people think that the Second Prince is joking about the entire Southern District, while others think that the Second Prince has great courage. Because a tsunami is not a terrible natural disaster.”

Lin Ye's lips twitched slightly: "If a tsunami isn't a major natural disaster, then what is?"

“Because tsunamis can be detected in advance,” Warfarin explained. “Most coastal cities today are mobile cities. If a tsunami is detected early, there is plenty of time to move the city to a safe area. So compared to tsunamis, natural disasters that cannot be detected in advance, or are difficult to detect in advance, are much more troublesome.”

"for example?"

At this moment, Messiah, who hadn't spoken for a long time, said in a very casual tone, "An earthquake."

Lin Ye immediately turned to look at Messiah, because Messiah's words reminded him of the avalanche he had encountered a year ago in the Kalan Snow Mountain.

Messiah seemed to have guessed what Lin Ye was thinking and said with a smile, "Don't look at me like that. I don't have the ability to create natural disasters right now, and I don't know how to create natural disasters either."

Lin Ye breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't notice that Nian, sitting next to him, flicked its tail gently after hearing Messiah's words.

“If the engagement ceremony isn’t canceled, and the number of Imperial Guards is reduced again,” Lin Ye thought for a moment and said, “then our chances of success are indeed much higher.”

"So what should we do next?" The Iron-Eating Beast rubbed its hands together, eager for action. "Should we just storm in and kidnap the princess?"

Lin Ye glanced at her: "Can you defeat the rest of the Imperial Guards?"

"One or two is no problem."

"There are still fifty in this venue alone."

"Then I'll be the one getting beaten up." The Iron-Eating Beast shrugged.

Lin Ye simply didn't want to pay any attention to this big-breasted, brainless national treasure. He pondered to himself, "I think it's better to find her beforehand and run away than to snatch her during the ceremony. But where should we look for her now? And wandering around the venue is too suspicious."

Messiah said, "I have a way to make you less suspicious."

Lin Ye looked at Messiah: "What method?"

Messiah pointed behind Lin Ye: "That one."

Lin Ye turned his head with some confusion and saw a human-sized panda doll walking past them.

……

"What? A natural disaster is coming, and they're not canceling the engagement ceremony? What's going on?"

Chen, who was making a phone call in the corridor, put down his phone, looked at the torrential rain outside the window, and felt a little irritable.

This was the first time Chen had ever seen someone so calm in the face of a natural disaster. If the other person wasn't the Second Prince, Chen really wanted to grab his ear and ask him if he'd lost his mind.

"No, I still need to talk to His Highness." Chen turned around, about to go find Ying Li, when she felt a chill down her spine, as if she were being watched by some strange person. Her sense of danger made her turn around abruptly, searching for the source of that gaze, and at the same time, she hissed, "Who?!"

Then, she saw a panda standing not far away.

……

……

Author's note: I'll update one chapter before leaving home, then I'm rushing to catch my flight.

Chapter 579 The Broken Flower Basket

Chen didn't know when the panda-like creature appeared behind her, or whether it had eavesdropped on her phone call. Although it seemed harmless—after all, it was a mascot costume, designed for cuteness—for some reason, looking into those bright, piercing black eyes, Chen felt an urge to punch it, as if an unnamed anger was rising within her.

"Who are you?" Chen asked sharply. "Why are you standing behind me?"

The red panda tilted its head and then held up a sign that read, "I am the mascot."

“I know you’re a mascot, but…” Before she could finish, Chen realized she might be being too sensitive, interrogating a mascot like it was a work instinct. But this wasn’t Lungmen, not her territory. If others saw her getting angry at this panda, they’d probably think she was crazy.

So Chen suppressed his anger and said to the panda, "Sorry, I was being too sensitive."

The panda nodded. Because it had no neck, its nod looked like a bow. It was a cute gesture, but Chen still found it strange. She thought it might be because she was nervous about the impending natural disaster, so she shook her head, said nothing, and prepared to go find Ying Li.

But as soon as she turned around, before she had taken two steps, she heard a creaking sound behind her again.

She turned around abruptly and saw the panda man from before following her again.

"Hey!" Chen instinctively grabbed the hilt of his sword and shouted, "Why are you following me?"

The panda tilted its head—no, its body—and then produced a flower basket from somewhere, with words written on it. Chen went closer and saw that it read, "Wishing the most beautiful princess in the world a happy marriage."

Chen immediately understood: "You're looking for Her Highness the Princess?"

The panda nodded.

“Then give me this flower basket,” Chen said. “I’ll go and give it to Her Highness the Princess.”

As she spoke, she reached out to take the flower basket from the panda man's hand, but the panda man immediately took two steps back and then shook his body frantically. Chen guessed that it was shaking its head, so he asked, "Are you going to personally hand this flower basket to Her Highness the Princess?"

The panda nodded.

Chen thought for a moment and figured that although the panda man looked a bit cheeky, he was still somewhat cute. Since Ying Li wasn't in a good mood, leading the panda man over to clown around and have him act silly might cheer her up. With that in mind, Chen nodded and said, "Alright, then come with me. But you mustn't be disrespectful when you see Her Highness the Princess."

The panda nodded.

Hmm... I still feel like I deserve a beating.

Chen shook his head, clearing his mind of distractions, and then said to the panda man, "Come with me, I'll take you to Her Highness the Princess."

After saying that, Chen led the panda man back to Ying Li's dressing room. Just as she was about to knock on the door, she suddenly heard the conversation coming from inside and immediately put her hand down.

"Your engagement ceremony with Haoguang Zhuqing will begin an hour earlier." This was Ying Jie's voice.

"But I heard that a natural disaster is about to hit Luo City." It was Ying Li's voice. "Even so, you still want the ceremony to continue? Don't you really care about the safety of Luo City?"

“Watch your tone, Ying Li,” Ying Jie said sternly. “I am your elder brother, the current highest authority in Luo City, and I command all operations in Luo City. If I say there is no problem, then there is no problem. Luo City will not suffer any damage in this natural disaster, and your engagement ceremony will absolutely not be canceled.”

Ying Li said coldly, "My royal brother is really eager to marry me off."

Before the words were even finished, there was a sound of something being slammed on the table.

“You’re getting more and more outrageous, Ying Li,” Ying Jie said. “You are the fourth princess of my Great Yan, and you should think about the future of my Great Yan.”

"Is it for the sake of the Great Yan or for your sake, Your Majesty?" Ying Li didn't back down an inch, emphasizing the words "Your Majesty" with utter sarcasm.

Then came a crisp "snap" sound.

At that moment, Chen wanted to rush in, but when she grabbed the doorknob, she remembered the other person's identity and stopped herself.

"You ungrateful wretch." Ying Jie said this, then opened the door to leave. However, when he saw Chen and the panda standing in front of the door, his brows furrowed tightly. "Who are you?"

Recalling Ying Jie's words and looking at Ying Li in the inner room, Chen really wanted to teach the Second Prince a lesson. However, reason prevailed over emotion, and she had to suppress her anger and reveal her identity. The Second Prince had naturally heard of her, but that was all; he didn't take Chen seriously and simply walked away.

But they were stopped by a comically-looking panda.

"And who are you?" Ying Jie was already very impatient. He felt like everyone was against him today. "Dare to block my way? Do you want to die?"

The panda stared at Ying Jie for about two seconds, then showed him the flower basket in its hand, took two steps back, and lowered its head. Although Ying Jie was still angry, it wasn't worth getting angry with a mascot that had backed down, so he snorted and strode away. The sound of his boots hitting the floor echoed in the corridor.

His reflection, mirrored in the panda's dark eyes, faded into the distance.

Chen entered the room, looked at Ying Li who was deliberately turning her head towards the window, and then softly said, "Your Highness..."

"Hmm, Huijie, you're back." Ying Li subconsciously covered her face, then said in a casual tone, "The engagement ceremony starts in an hour, the time is too tight, my makeup isn't even done yet, can you help me touch it up?"

Chen Weiwei opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say. After hesitating for a long time, she suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, I brought a rather interesting mascot. It's going to give you a flower basket."

"The mascot?" Ying Li rubbed her eyes, then turned around with a smile. "Where is it? Let me see."

“Right behind me.” Chen turned around. “Weren’t you going to congratulate Her Highness the Princess? Now you can…”

He stopped before he could finish speaking.

Because, without anyone noticing, there was no one behind him anymore, only the flower basket lying on the ground, its flowers scattered. The note that read "Wishing the most beautiful princess in the world a happy marriage" was also torn to shreds, leaving only the words "Princess" and "Happy" remaining.

"Strange?" Chen asked, puzzled. "Where did they go? They were just here a moment ago."

Ying Li stared blankly at the flower basket, then suddenly realized something and immediately rushed out of the dressing room.

Only she and the broken flower basket remained in the empty corridor; there was nothing else.

All that could be heard was the ever-increasing rain and the deafening thunder, as if the heavens were enraged.

Chapter 580 Bullying my sister? I'll smear it all over your face!

"I say, where did Lin Ye go?" Warfarin, who was waiting in the venue, kept glancing at the time, looking somewhat impatient. "The ceremony is about to start, isn't it? Hasn't he found his sister yet?"

Grani, however, was somewhat worried: "Has Dr. Lin been discovered?"

"Found out? No way," said the Iron-Eating Beast. "His disguise is so good, how could he possibly be discovered?"

Grani said weakly, "Is that kind of disguise really considered good?"

"What's wrong? I think it's great." The Iron-Eating Beast said, hands on its hips. "No, it can't even be called great, it's practically perfect."

"Well, whatever makes you happy."

The original plan was for Lin Ye to enter wearing the panda costume, find Ying Li, then have Ying Li change into the panda costume and run away, while Lin Ye would leisurely leave in his doctoral gown. Logically, this operation should have been quite simple; however, Lin Ye had been gone for almost an hour without any news, which was causing concern.

After all, this was the Second Prince's territory. Although the number of Imperial Guards had been greatly reduced due to assisting with the evacuation of the North and East Districts, they were still not something Lin Ye could handle. Hua Falin was genuinely worried that something might happen to Lin Ye, because in her heart, Lin Ye was the future hope of the infected, and he absolutely could not be allowed to perish here.

To be honest, the "sister" thing was just talk; whether or not blood was actually drawn depended on Lin, something Warfarin was well aware of. But since Messiah, sitting next to her, wasn't in a hurry, if she were, it would truly prove the old saying from Yan Kingdom. So she endured it and continued to wait, but soon music began to play.

The ceremony began.

Everyone looked up and watched Ying Jie walk onto the stands with a big smile on his face.

……

"Haven't you found it yet?" Ying Li, who was all dressed up and in her finest attire, looked at Chen with some anxiety.

Chen shook his head: "No, I don't know where he went."