On the Ark.

……

Author's note: This plot is pure fiction; please do not apply it to the original work.

Chapter 630 Which is stronger, year or hatred?

Mostima killed Exusiai's sister.

Sitting in his room, lost in thought, Lin Ye kept replaying the words Diana had spoken to him a few hours earlier in his mind.

Then, he saw a pendant dangling in front of him, which snapped him out of his daze. He turned his head and saw Nian holding the pendant in one hand, propping his cheek up with the other, and looking at him with his head tilted to the side.

"What are you doing?" Lin Ye was startled.

"Look what you're doing." Seeing that Lin Ye had come to her senses, Nian put away the pendant, then stood up and stretched lazily. "I thought you'd gone mad. I've been by your side for so long, and you didn't even notice me?"

"No, there isn't... but isn't this my room?!" Lin Ye said irritably, "What are you doing in my room?"

Nian tilted his head: "I'm calling you to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

“But I’m hungry,” Nian said matter-of-factly.

Lin Ye was speechless.

He picked up his phone and checked the time, realizing that he had been in his room for three hours without even noticing. It was indeed time for dinner, which explained why the company's annual meeting had come knocking on his door; after all, the other party was a precise mealtime teller.

Lin Ye reluctantly put away his phone and asked, "What do you want to eat?"

The answer was: "Spicy chicken."

“…That kind of dish is impossible to find in Laterano.” Lin Ye sighed, then stood up. “Never mind, let’s go for a walk. I’m hungry anyway.”

Lin Ye walked out of the room, and Nian followed.

"You seem conflicted," Nian said.

“Yes,” Lin Ye sighed, “I didn’t expect things in Laterano to be so complicated.”

The main reason is that I never expected Mostima to be the one who killed Exusiai.

According to Diana, all the "Abomination" Jinchūriki of Laterano were people who had committed grave sins. Mostima became an "Abomination" Jinchūriki because of the crime of slaughtering her own people. The power of "locks" and "keys" that Mostima possessed was the means Laterano used to imprison "Abominations".

Exusiai was unaware of this, which is why Diana warned Lin Ye not to tell Exusiai.

If Exusiai finds out about this, the consequences will be... unimaginable.

Moreover, this matter does not seem to be as simple as it appears.

Although Diana didn't say it explicitly, she seemed to be subtly implying to Lin Ye that there was more to the story.

Lin Ye also found it hard to believe that Mostima would kill Exusiai's sister; there was no reason why Lin Ye simply couldn't believe it.

Mostima's return to Laterano this time was precisely to bid farewell to her identity as a "jinchuriki," hoping that Laterano would strip the hatred from her body and allow her to return to being a normal person. However, the higher-ups of Laterano, the elders, were unwilling. Every "guardian of the lock and key" in Laterano's history could not escape this identity until death, and Mostima was no exception.

But why did Mostima suddenly want to separate "hatred" from the concept?

According to Diana, Mostima had become somewhat complacent.

Diana then said that Mostima did this for him.

But Lin Ye still couldn't figure out the reason.

After walking a few steps, Lin Ye stopped and turned to look at Nian beside him.

Nian noticed his gaze and glanced at him sideways: "What's wrong?"

“Do you remember the ‘hatred’ that woman mentioned to us before?” Lin Ye asked.

"I remember," Nian nodded. "Why?"

"Um... I just wanted to ask, that's all." Lin Ye coughed twice and asked, "How does that Abomination compare to you?"

"What do you mean by comparing me?"

"It's about strength," Lin Ye asked. "Can you beat it?"

Nian immediately gave a strange look: "Why would you ask such a question?"

Is this question strange?

“Isn’t it strange? It’s so nonsensical.” Nian walked up to Lin Ye with his hands behind his back. “I don’t know what that monster called ‘Abomination’ is. I’ve only heard the name.”

"I see." Lin Ye scratched his head. "But I think you should be better than it."

"why?"

"There's no reason... well, if I had to say, it's just intuition," Lin Ye said. "I just felt that you were very capable."

Lin Ye felt that Nian was better than Hate, not because he knew Nian, but because he had always been confident in the "mysterious power from the East" and thought that Western ghosts and monsters were nothing special. However, Nian heard this differently. Because she was walking in front of Lin Ye, he couldn't see her slightly pouting, cheerful expression.

"Even though you said that, I still can't be sure." Nian shrugged and said in a nonchalant tone, "Besides, I've never really liked fighting and killing."

Lin Ye's lips twitched slightly: "If you hadn't almost swallowed me whole when we first met, I might have believed what you said."

"The first time we met?" Nian recalled for a moment, then said, "You're overthinking it. Although I had slept for too long at that time and my mind wasn't very clear, I didn't have any intention of devouring you."

"Really?" Lin Ye was very skeptical. "Then why are you chasing me so fiercely? Don't you really want to devour me?"

"Of course not." Nian rubbed his nose and then said in a low voice, "I just want to devour those two women next to you."

Lin Ye did not hear this sentence.

He and Nian walked on the street for a few minutes, then stopped.

"What's wrong now?" Nian turned to look at Lin Ye and noticed that Lin Ye's expression was gradually becoming more determined.

"I don't think this will work."

Nian tilted his head: "Huh?"

“I mean, all the information I have about Mostima so far is from what I’ve heard from other people,” Lin Ye said. “Although I feel that Diana isn’t lying to me, I can’t completely trust her.”

So she was still thinking about that fallen angel...

"So what are you planning to do?" Nian asked.

Lin Ye said, "I should go directly to Mostima and ask her for the answer."

“Hmm… I feel like you said something pointless.” Nian said, arms crossed. “If I remember correctly, that woman named Mostima has already been locked up.”

“Yes…” Lin Ye said softly, “It’s right there.”

Nian Wei was slightly taken aback, and then turned her head to look in the direction Lin Ye was looking.

Then she saw the building shrouded in the night.

Lateran Prison.

Chapter 631 An Empty Prison

"I have to say... you seem pretty skilled at this." Nian looked at Lin Ye, who was wearing a white mask, and tilted her head. "Do you do this kind of thing often?"

Lin Ye, whose face was hidden behind a white mask, didn't react immediately: "What is it?"

"A prison break!"

"Robbery... my foot!" Lin Ye was speechless. "How could I possibly do this kind of thing often? Don't slander me, okay?"

Nian didn't respond, she just stared at Lin Ye.

They are currently in Lateran prison.

Don't ask how Lin Ye got in. With a "divine beast" like Nian, scaling a prison wall is a piece of cake.

However, Nian, being a divine beast, naturally had no experience in this kind of thing, so he could only rely on Lin Ye to direct him. Therefore, Lin Ye put on the Peking Opera mask that Skadi had given him, found Nian a scarf to cover his face, and then secretly slipped in. They perfectly bypassed the prison guards along the way, which is why Nian asked Lin Ye why he was so skilled.

Lin Ye wouldn't tell Nian that he had spent over a month grinding in a much more heavily guarded dungeon, as explaining it would be too troublesome. So he only vaguely said that the prison wasn't very secure, which was indeed true.

"This is my first time escaping from prison." Actually, Nian wasn't concerned about Lin Ye's excuse; she was more interested in the matter itself. So she asked with great interest, "Boss, what should we do next?"

"What should we do next..." Lin Ye subconsciously wanted to answer, but realized something was wrong halfway through his sentence, "Wait, wait, what boss? Also, we're not escaping from prison, okay? Escaping from prison means running out of the prison, what we're doing is at most..."

"Prison breakout."

“…Breakout my foot!” Lin Ye was speechless. “Can you watch fewer gangster movies? We’re just sneaking in, finding Mostima and asking him some questions. It’s not like we’re doing anything heinous.”

Nian glanced sideways at Lin Ye: "Then why are you wearing a mask?"

"Of course I don't want anyone to find out... but that doesn't mean I'm guilty." Lin Ye lowered his voice and argued, "Don't forget what identity I came to Laterano this time. No matter what, I have to put the interests of Rhodes Island first. If I directly asked the elders of Laterano to see Mostima, who knows how they would react."

"So you chose to break into prison?" Nian curled his lip. "You said you wanted to put Rhodes Island's interests first, but the first thing you did upon arriving in Laterano was break into prison to rescue a woman. You're quite the leader."

Lin Ye was speechless, unsure how to retort. After a long pause, he finally managed to utter, "What does a child know?"

Nian sneered, "Who are you calling a child?"

Lin Ye then realized how big the generational gap was between him and Nian; they were practically grandfather and grandson, so he could only pretend he hadn't heard what Nian said.

Nian didn't really want to argue with Lin Ye; she was just venting her frustration. So when Lin Ye backed down, she didn't press her advantage but instead asked, "What should we do next?"

Lin Ye said, "Of course, we'll find Mostima."

To truly understand Mostima's past, it's most direct to learn from Mostima himself.

After all, Lin Ye wasn't really willing to believe Diana, who wouldn't even tell him her real name, especially something so heavy.

However, he couldn't be sure if Mostima was imprisoned in this prison. His coming to this prison was entirely impromptu, and he would never have dared to take this risk if it weren't for You Nian by his side.

"Do you know where that woman is?" Nian asked Lin Ye.

“I don’t know, but if Diana isn’t lying to me, Mostima should be the most important prisoner.” Lin Ye thought for a moment and said, “She must be locked in the most heavily guarded room, so she’s probably at the very back of this prison.”

Nian said, "You still say you have no experience? Your analysis is very logical and insightful."

"What does this have to do with experience?" Lin Ye said irritably. "It's something that anyone could figure out with a little thought, isn't it?"

You mean I'm brainless?

"I'd say you're the reincarnation of a contrarian."

What does "keyboard warrior" mean?

"...No, it doesn't mean anything."