On the Ark.

“In that case, there’s no problem.” Nian crossed his arms. “You have to keep your word. This is what you owe me.”

Lin Ye was still a little confused: "Of course, I can keep my word, but you haven't told me what you want yet."

“What else could I possibly want?” Nian said. “Didn’t I just say that the hatred between us can’t be resolved with just a few days of meals?”

"so what?"

"It will take at least a few years."

"...Huh?" Lin Ye was even more confused. "You're asking me to treat you to meals for several more years?"

“Of course, it’s not just about food,” Nian said. “It’s also about drinks, lodging, and other necessities, just like in Los Angeles. Of course, I definitely won’t pay for it.”

The last sentence was spoken with great confidence and self-assurance.

This left Lin Ye speechless; he couldn't tell whether Nian was joking or telling the truth.

But no matter what, it's good that I can stay alive.

"Ah, I'm hungry, I'll worry about that later. I'm going to eat." Nian turned and left. "I haven't touched chili peppers for an hour, I'm going to die... Ugh."

Nian stopped in front of the door.

Because another greatsword was pressed against her neck.

It was Skadi who had just returned.

Nian turned to look at Skadi, her bright eyes full of laughter: "Have you misunderstood something? I'm not your enemy."

Skadi did not answer, her expression indifferent.

“Really?” Nian pointed to Lin Ye behind her. “If you don’t believe me, ask him. I’m already being kept by him.”

Lin Ye: "?"

Chapter 596 A Gift for the Year (3K)

Lin Ye hadn't expected that Nian was also the kind of person who would say something shocking or outrageous.

Moreover, Lin Ye felt that he seemed to have quite a few people like this around him, the kind who could make perfectly normal things sound easily misunderstood, which drove him crazy. Fortunately, Skadi was no ordinary person and was not affected by Nian's words. After Lin Ye explained it to Skadi, she slowly put down her sword.

Trusting Lin Ye, Skadi didn't directly attack Nian, but her vigilance towards her remained unwavering. Skadi had witnessed Nian's previous strength, and now that she had recovered, she naturally considered her her number one enemy. However, Nian seemed completely unconcerned, even with Skadi holding a greatsword to her neck.

This lingering and wasting time wasn't good, especially since Nian kept complaining of being hungry. She had been a rather reserved little girl in her childhood, but now that she was an adult, Lin Ye felt like she was about to let loose. There was no other way; they could only go to the restaurant first and then figure out how to explain Nian's situation to everyone.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, everyone's reaction was exactly as Lin Ye had predicted: utter disbelief. Except for Messiah, who was already waiting at the table, who only wore a faint smile, as if he had expected this.

Everyone was initially nervous, since they all knew about Nian's background and were somewhat afraid that Nian would go on a killing spree on the ship after regaining his strength and taking revenge on them.

After all, it's a legendary ferocious beast.

However, this worry didn't last long. Soon everyone realized that Nian didn't seem to care about anything. She was still eating and drinking heartily at the table, not much different from when she was a child. Then, remembering that the Messiah, the true god, was still sitting beside them, they weren't so worried anymore.

From this perspective, the people of Rhodes Island have a pretty good mental fortitude. If it were an ordinary person, after experiencing this series of events in Yan Kingdom, and then sitting at the same table eating with gods and legendary beasts, they would probably be questioning their existence. But everyone only had a slight worry before accepting the fact that "Nian grew up overnight."

The notoriously bold National Treasure, relying on its past experience of feeding the young Nian snacks, took the initiative to ingratiate itself with Nian, acting completely fearless. Nian, remembering the National Treasure's "feeding" kindness, was happy to talk to the Iron-Eating Beast.

"You're asking me how long I slept?"

With chopsticks in her mouth, Nian tilted her head and said, "I don't remember that clearly, but I probably didn't sleep for long."

"Weren't you sealed away?" Lin Ye asked as well.

"A seal?" Nian frowned slightly. "Who can seal me?"

Lin Ye asked with some confusion, "Isn't it Master Fubo?"

Nian thought for a moment and said, "It seems there was such a person who, when I was getting ready to sleep, held up a stick and shouted that he was going to suppress me."

"and then?"

"Then I swatted him away," the young man said. "But later I discovered that the magic array he wanted to use to suppress me actually had a calming effect, and it could also shield my aura to some extent. It was the perfect place to sleep, so I slept there. I have to say it worked quite well; at least my brothers and sisters didn't come looking for me."

Nian's words made Lin Ye's lips twitch involuntarily.

Why is this so different from what he's heard? What the heck is this Fubo Zhenren who got swatted away? He's completely lost his previous air of superiority.

But that's not the most complainable part. The most complainable part is...

"You have brothers and sisters?" Lin Ye asked in surprise. "What kind of people...beasts are they?"

“Similar to me,” Nian said. “Right now, he’s probably sleeping somewhere in Yan Kingdom. Our clan is like that; we spend most of our time sleeping, and when we’re not sleeping, we’re fighting.”

"Fight? Fight with whom?"

“The siblings are fighting amongst themselves.” Nian sighed. “Who else can they fight with? And once they start fighting, it never ends. They have to beat the other one down. It’s really boring. I’ve wanted to quit for a long time, but I can’t help it. Even if I don’t fight, they’ll find me and start fighting again. So I can only find a slightly quieter place to rest.”

It turned out to be like this...

As he spoke, he picked up the soup covered in chili sauce from the table, drank it all in one gulp amidst the unsurprised gazes of the crowd, then licked his reddened lips and continued.

“So I think leaving Yan is a good thing.” Nian turned to look at Lin Ye. “You’re going to the West, right? I’ve never been to such a far place before. This is perfect. Although I don’t know what the world is like there, it’s good to have you here. Anyway, you’ve already agreed to take care of me.”

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze towards Lin Ye became strange.

Lin Ye had to explain: "What she meant by 'being taken care of' was providing food."

“It’s not just about meals,” Nian said. “You also have to meet other needs, which you promised yourself.”

God, please shut up.

Lin Ye wailed inwardly.

“Although I had heard rumors about Dr. Lin before,” Grani said thoughtfully, “I never imagined it would actually be true.”

"Rumors?" Nian seemed very interested, putting down his bowl and turning to look at Grani. "What rumors?"

"So you're saying that Dr. Lin always seems to meet a lot of women whenever he goes on business trips..." Grani glanced at Lin Ye and then said, "Everyone on the island says that Dr. Lin is the most popular with women."

Lin Ye corrected him seriously, "Don't talk nonsense."

“But… well, alright.” Grani nodded. “Although I think so too, I won’t say it if you don’t want to hear it, Dr. Lin.”

If you're so aware of this, you shouldn't have said it in the first place!

Lin Ye felt really helpless. He hadn't done anything wrong, yet rumors kept swirling around him.

"That's good too," Messiah said with a smile. "Isn't it a blessing to be popular with women?"

Even the Messiah is making fun of him. There's no way to get along with this anymore. Lin Ye can only choose to eat in silence and bury his head in the sand like an ostrich.

"Speaking of which," the Iron-Eating Beast seemed to remember something and asked Nian, "Do you know alchemy?"

Nian nodded: "Yes."

"You mean that ability to turn lead into gold?" The Iron-Eating Beast was a little excited. "Then you should be very rich, right?"

"Money?" Nian said. "What would I need that for?"

“Uh, that makes sense,” said the Iron-Eating Beast. “After all, you’re already being kept by someone named Lin.”

Lin Ye said expressionlessly, "You damned national treasure, if you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."

The iron-eating beast pretended not to hear.

Nian then said, "Turning stone into gold is actually useless. Gold is something you mortals like, but it doesn't mean much to us. Besides, this skill is too troublesome and somewhat thankless. I haven't used it for a long time. I use my abilities to forge weapons and such half the time."

Lin Ye asked curiously, "What use are weapons to you? I don't think you need any weapons when you're fighting."

"It's not really necessary."

Why is it used there?

"Because he's handsome." That was Nian's brief reply.

Lin Ye was momentarily speechless: "This works?"

Nian glanced at Lin Ye and said, "Otherwise, are you going to rush up and use your claws and teeth? What's the difference between me and a wild beast? Besides, my teeth aren't very sharp. You can just think of swords and knives as my claws and teeth. It's not hard to understand, is it?"

Lin Ye thought about it and realized that it was indeed true.

"Ah, I'm full." Nian stretched. "Actually, I've always wanted to say that this world is developing way too fast. It feels like just yesterday that Yan Kingdom was still using horse-drawn carriages to travel, and now it's completely different. And the world now is much more interesting than the world before, so I plan to enjoy it to the fullest. You don't need to worry about me suddenly turning back into my original form and going on a killing spree. Like I said before, I'm tired of fighting."

It turns out that Nian could still see everyone's worries, after all, she is one of the most powerful beings in the world, and her current statement has finally put everyone at ease.

After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms. Before leaving, Lin Ye stopped Messiah and asked her in a low voice, "Did you already know that Nian had regained her memories?"

Messiah smiled and said, "Guess."

"...Couldn't you have put it another way?" Lin Ye said irritably. "How would I have guessed?"

"Is that so?" Messiah suddenly reached out and patted Lin Ye's head. "Don't worry, she would never hurt you."

Lin Ye was a little confused by Messiah's sudden action. By the time he came to his senses, Messiah had already returned to her room.

Unable to get an answer, Lin Ye could only return to his room. However, when he arrived at his room, he found Nian waiting for him with his back to the door.

"What's wrong?" Lin Ye was still a little nervous, afraid that Nian was here to cause trouble again.

There's something I forgot to give you.

Nian walked up to Lin Ye and placed his hand on Lin Ye's shoulder. Then, Lin Ye felt his upper body enveloped in warmth. When he came to his senses and unzipped his jacket, he found that he was wearing a gray-white, close-fitting soft armor underneath.

"This is?"

"I heard your job is quite dangerous." After finishing the soft nail, Nian nodded contentedly, then turned and waved goodbye. "So, here's a little gift for you, in case you die while you're supporting me, then I won't have a long-term meal ticket. That's about it, bye~"

……

……

Author's Note: Although this volume is titled "The End," I haven't confirmed whether it will be the final volume. I'm still trying to find my footing. As for what many people have said about me taking a break, that's absolutely impossible. Taking a break would mean I've abandoned this book; there's no going back. A book you abandon can't be taken back. I can only rely on myself to keep writing and find my footing.

This book is indeed in its final stages; it might finish at 100,000 words, or it might reach 500,000 or even more. I'm not sure myself. After all, some readers know that I said I would finish my previous book, Commander Zero, at 800,000 words, but it ended up reaching 1.6 million words... So please don't worry too much; I will try my best to write it well. If there's anything else you'd like to see, please leave a comment.

Also, the final draft of the illustration is complete and is placed in this chapter. If you can't see it, refresh the page.

Chapter 597 The Successful Potion

After drifting on the ship for almost half a month, the group returned to Rhodes Island as scheduled.

Since two new recruits had arrived, Lin Ye didn't choose to return to his dormitory immediately. Instead, while it was still working hours, he took Nian and the Iron-Eating Beast to the personnel department to report for duty. Zilan, the head of the personnel department, was quite surprised and couldn't understand why Lin Ye could bring back two new operators from his business trip to Yan Country, and both of them were women.