On the Ark.

"He must be dead."

Nian smiled and said, "How about we make a bet on whether this woman lives or dies?"

Lin Ye was stunned.

Frankly, he didn't think W could survive under these circumstances at all, because the explosive power was completely "sealed" inside the bell-shaped shield. W inside the shield wouldn't have had any chance of escape; theoretically, he should have been reduced to ashes instantly.

But Nian made a bet with him, which meant things weren't as simple as he thought.

Lin Ye asked in disbelief, "Is she still alive?"

Nian shrugged and said, "That's why I said she surprised me quite a bit."

As he spoke, Nian released his grip, and the shield instantly vanished into thin air. The scene inside the shield was then revealed to everyone – a large hole. Looking down into the hole, one could see traces of blood and rows upon rows of completely destroyed floorboards, all the way down to the ground.

This was the tenth floor, and W blew the entire building apart.

Moreover, judging from the traces, they had obviously already escaped.

"How could it run?!"

Lin Ye's surprise was beyond words. Was it really possible for a human to escape under such circumstances?

“That’s why I said I underestimated her.” Nian sighed, but there wasn’t much frustration in his tone; instead, there was a hint of admiration. “I’ve never seen anyone like her in Yan Country. It seems like she had planned her retreat from the very beginning, and in such a risky way, since she could easily be killed by her own explosives if she wasn’t careful. But clearly, this isn’t the first time she’s done something like this.”

As he spoke, Nian patted Lin Ye on the shoulder and said in a praising tone.

"Your opponent this time is very strong."

Lin Ye's lips twitched slightly: "Is this something to be happy about?"

“Isn’t it more interesting when the opponent is stronger?” Nian said. “Compared to that, your second brother is simply… sob sob.”

Lin Ye covered Nian's mouth, and said with a laugh, "Indeed, interesting, very interesting."

With so many imperial guards here, if Nian were to reveal Ying Jie's name, he would be in deep trouble.

Fortunately, the Imperial Guards didn't pay much attention to what Nian said; they were more concerned about his actions. After all, they had witnessed Nian's ability to conjure shields out of thin air. Others might not know, but how could the people of Yan not know that it was alchemy?

Although they didn't know Nian's identity, Nian's strength was enough to make them wary.

The princess is with such a dangerous person!

If anything goes wrong... the Imperial Guards were in for a major headache.

……

"Huff...huff...huff." W clutched her lower abdomen and slowly sat down in the corner of the alley.

The blood was still flowing uncontrollably, making her face appear unusually pale.

“They actually escaped…” W muttered. “Damn it, what kind of monster was that?”

No one could answer her, after all, there were only a handful of people in the world who knew Nian's true identity.

"Talulah, you've really found me a fantastic job," W said softly, but at the same time, a smile slowly appeared in her eyes. "But isn't that what makes it interesting?"

……

……

Author's BB: The college entrance exam is over~ By the way, are there any high school seniors among my readers?

Chapter 653 Solution?

W has escaped, but the troubles are far from over.

After all, W caused such a huge commotion.

Huang, Andercher, Stewart, and the others naturally rushed back immediately. Looking at the dilapidated hotel and hearing Lin Ye's account, they were all shocked and filled with regret. After all, their duty here was to protect Lin Ye's safety, but they had almost failed to protect anything.

If something were to happen to Lin Ye, they simply couldn't imagine the extent of the damage it would do to Rhodes Island's future.

Lin Ye naturally guessed what they were thinking, so he quickly offered some comfort. Actually, they couldn't be blamed; after all, Lin Ye had left with Ying Li, and with the Yan Kingdom's imperial guards present, they didn't want to be "third wheels" disturbing Lin Ye and Ying Li. They couldn't have imagined that Lin Ye and Ying Li would separate so quickly, giving W the opportunity to intervene.

So Lin Ye was also a little confused, wondering if W had just happened to catch him alone, or if she had been following him all along. If it was the latter, then it would be too much of a headache.

However, Lin Ye's words of comfort didn't have much effect on the others, especially Huang. Although she didn't say a word, her expression suggested that she wouldn't be leaving Lin Ye's side again, and Lin Ye probably wouldn't have the chance to do anything alone anymore.

Then came the trouble from Laterano. W's self-destruct attack nearly destroyed half of the hotel, which couldn't possibly go unnoticed by Laterano's military and police. Soon, Laterano's military and police arrived at the door. Due to the special nature of their identities, Ying Li and her Royal Guards could not show themselves, so Lin Ye, Rhodes Island's representative, had to explain.

Then he was taken to the police station by the Lateran military police. To be honest, Lin Ye wasn't good at handling this kind of situation, although it wasn't his first time in jail. He'd been there countless times back in Lungmen... but it didn't seem like something to be proud of.

After explaining for a long time to the Lateran police and military, and finally making a phone call to Elder Kieran, Lin Ye was finally able to leave the police station.

“If he hadn’t needed my help, I think he would have had the Lateran police shoot me on the spot just now,” Lin Ye said to Nian with a helpless expression. “We’ve taken the blame for that woman.”

Nian glanced at Lin Ye: "Are you trying to blame me for not catching that woman?"

"I didn't say that," Lin Ye immediately denied. "You saved my life, how could I possibly blame you? Wouldn't that be ungrateful?"

"really?"

"Of course it's true," Lin Ye replied decisively.

Nian didn't say a word, just stood there watching him, her red eyes seemingly mocking Lin Ye for his act. Finally, Lin Ye couldn't keep up the act in front of this mythical beast who had lived for countless years, and gave up: "Fine, fine, I was thinking that it would be great if you could just take care of that woman directly."

He hummed softly, looking like he knew it.

"Is that woman really that powerful?" Lin Ye asked Nian. "Even you couldn't catch her?"

"Although I wasn't taking it too seriously, it was indeed quite interesting."

"That's someone who wants me dead, so don't even think she's interested, right?"

“That’s quite interesting,” Nian said. “And it’s your life that’s being sought, not mine.”

"That's not very interesting," Lin Ye said, as if playing a tongue twister with Nian. "Besides, what good would it do you if I died? Don't forget, I'm Bao... cough cough, I've taken care of you for so long, haven't I?"

Lin Ye was actually a little guilty when he said that. After all, his care for Nian was just occasionally a meal ticket, while Nian's care for him was a real lifesaver; the two were not even in the same league. Fortunately, Nian lived up to her reputation as an ancient divine beast and didn't mind at all. She even patted Lin Ye's shoulder with a very "big sister" demeanor: "That's true. Don't worry, with me here, you won't die."

Lin Ye nodded silently, then thought to himself that being a kept man might not be a bad option.

The two hadn't walked more than a few steps when they saw another familiar person.

"I called you to Laterano to deal with Mostima's matter." Diana suddenly appeared in front of Lin Ye and Nian, arms crossed, looking at them coldly. "Yet you've managed to cause so much inexplicable trouble... Should I say I underestimated you?"

Seeing Diana again, Lin Ye wasn't particularly surprised. The frequency with which Diana had appeared lately had made him wonder if this woman, who wouldn't even reveal her name, had been following him. So, he said with a hint of helplessness, "Did you come here just to mock me again? If so, you're being rather ridiculous."

Diana scoffed, "I don't have that kind of free time."

After a moment of silence, Diana spoke again.

"If I remember correctly, Mostima taught you the spell of 'lock and key,' right?"

"You mean the 'Locks of Time'?" Lin Ye nodded. "Yes."

Have you learned it?

"of course."

“Okay.” Diana seemed unwilling to waste any more time and said directly, “Don’t go anywhere in your room tonight, wait for me.”

Lin Ye was taken aback: "I'll wait for you?"

"If you want to save Mostima," Diana said without further explanation, turning and leaving.

Lin Ye frowned slightly as he began to ponder Diana's words.

In the days since Diana summoned him to Laterano, she had said almost nothing except informing him of the crisis in Mostima. Lin Ye initially thought she had no solution either, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

Although he didn't know why, Lin Ye had a vague feeling that things were about to get more complicated.

Back at the hotel, after changing rooms, Lin Ye waited in the room as Diana had instructed, and they went together.

Diana did not arrive after a long wait.

It wasn't until late at night, when Lin Ye began to suspect that Diana had stood him up, that there was a knock on the door.

Diana arrived, bringing with her the Holy Grail, which was called "Forbidden".

……

……

Author's note: Ah, I've lost count of how many days it's been since I last got up for most of the day to write. For the past few months, I haven't known how to wrap this up, but now I have some ideas.

Chapter 654 The Death of Lin Ye? (Part 1)

This is a stone cup that looks quite old.

Diana brought the stone cup to Lin Ye's room in a very inconspicuous black backpack. Judging from the careful way she took it out, it wasn't hard to guess its value. Just as Lin Ye was hesitating whether he should ask about the origin of the stone cup, Nian, who had been somewhat drowsy, suddenly opened her eyes, turned to look at the stone cup, and said with considerable interest, "Oh? It's actually a divine object."

"A divine object?" Lin Ye turned to look at Nian. "How did you know?"

Nian yawned listlessly, stretched, and then got out of bed. He slowly walked to the table and sighed, "Of course I felt divinity! Why do you always ask such pointless questions?"

Nian's words elicited a fleeting look of surprise from Diana. She didn't know Nian's identity and assumed he had simply guessed by chance. After all, this was Laterano, the abode of the believers of God; possessing sacred artifacts wasn't anything to be overly astonished about.

"What exactly is this thing?" Lin Ye, already used to Nian's taunts, looked at Diana without any emotion and asked, "Shouldn't you explain yourself? You brought this ancient relic to me, not so I could use it to drink water, right?"

Diana said expressionlessly, "Your joke is not funny."

Lin Ye shrugged.

Diana paused for a moment, seemingly hesitant about whether to tell Lin Ye more, but since she had already decided to bring the Holy Grail here, she had already made her stance clear: "This is the ancient Holy Grail that was sealed as a forbidden object in Lateran because it is associated with hatred."

"Is it related to hatred?" In fact, Lin Ye had already guessed some of it. "Such an important thing should be under strict guard, so why is it in your hands... Is this the Elder Council's doing?"

Diana said irritably, "That's none of your business."

Lin Ye could guess the gist of the answer from this.

"Alright." Lin Ye looked at the Ancient Grail, initially wanting to touch it, but recalling his past experiences of impulsively touching it, he silently abandoned the idea and instead asked, "Is this grail related to Mostima?"

“Of course,” Diana said. “As I just said, it is called the forbidden Holy Grail because it is associated with hatred… It was once an instrument used by God to imprison hatred.”

Lin Ye was taken aback: "What did you say?"

Diana slowly raised her hand and touched the Holy Grail, her movements as gentle as if she were afraid to awaken the soul within: "God sealed the evil soul and power eternally within the Grail... until those who coveted the evil power broke the seal."

Lin Ye's lips twitched slightly: "The seal of a god is so easily broken?"

Diana said, "The seal of God can only be broken by the power of God. In Laterano, the one who most perfectly inherits the power of God is called the 'Guardian of the Lock and Key'."