On the Ark.

Ten minutes or twenty minutes?

Or perhaps even longer?

Just as Lin Ye felt he was about to lose his grip on the sword, the door slowly opened.

At that moment, all the Sarkaz warriors stopped their attack.

Time seemed to stand still.

Lin Ye no longer had the strength to turn around. He used his sword to support himself, and then felt someone hug him from behind, hearing soft sobs in his ears. Although he didn't turn around, he knew that the person standing behind him was no longer that pitiful little girl.

“What should I say?” Lin Ye grinned and said softly, “Welcome back, Liz.”

The ground shook the moment the words were spoken.

The dungeon began to slowly collapse and crumble. Pieces of rubble fell like rain.

Then the warm sunlight streamed in.

It's so warm.

Lin Ye thought to himself.

Then she slowly closed her eyes.

Finally, it's over.

Chapter 135 Even in growth, there are things we can't forget.

It seems I had a very long dream.

Lin Ye thought he would see Shining and Nearl when he woke up, in his room at the sanatorium. But to his surprise, when he opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling, darkness enveloped him, and the smell of medicine lingered in his nostrils.

"Good evening." A familiar mechanical voice rang in Lin Ye's ears.

Lin Ye turned his head with considerable difficulty and saw the white-faced owl's golden eyes in the darkness.

"A white-faced owl?" Lin Ye felt a heaviness in his head. "Where am I? What happened?"

The white-faced owl replied, "You are in a ward in the medical department. You had a fever half an hour ago."

"I have a fever?" Lin Ye felt that he did indeed have fever symptoms, and he felt weak all over. "But why is this happening?"

“Because of an accident,” the White Owl said, “you were stuck in Miss Liz’s dream for a full ten hours. After leaving the dream, you immediately fainted and developed a high fever. This is the first time in our records that you have been affected by an ability. So we brought you to the medical ward and have you on duty in shifts. You have been unconscious for nearly twenty-four hours now.”

The white-faced owl spoke a long string of words, which took Lin Ye some effort to understand.

"So I stayed in Liz's dream for that long?" Lin Ye murmured, then suddenly realized something was wrong. Shouldn't his most pressing question be about Liz's condition?!

It really was burnt out.

Lin Ye quickly asked, "How is Liz? Is she hurt?"

The white-faced owl did not answer immediately, but slowly raised its hand and pointed to Lin Ye's bedside.

Lin Ye was stunned for a moment, then turned his head, somewhat confused, and looked in the direction the white-faced owl was pointing.

Then I saw a nightingale.

Nightingale was asleep beside Lin Ye's bed, her hand clutching his. Lin Ye was too groggy when he woke up to notice her immediately. Gentle moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating Nightingale's profile, creating a serene and beautiful scene. Lin Ye's tense heart gradually calmed down in this setting.

Lin Ye found himself reluctant to take his gaze off Nightingale's face, but he still asked White Owl, "Has she been here the whole time?"

“Yes,” the white-faced owl replied. “After you escaped from the dream, Miss Liz hasn’t left you. She’s been here watching over you for twenty hours. She fell asleep two hours before you woke up. Should I wake her?”

Lin Ye shook his head: "Of course not, let her sleep. By the way, you guys should have spoken to her, right?"

“White Owl can guess what you want to ask,” White Owl said softly. “As you wish, the treatment was successful. Miss Liz has remembered everything that happened before, and she hasn’t lost any memories of Rhodes Island. Regarding her personality, we conducted some tests on her here, and the results show…”

The white-faced owl paused, and Lin Ye immediately turned around, his face full of tension: "What were the test results?"

"Completely normal."

Lin Ye breathed a sigh of relief, then complained, "Couldn't you have just said it all at once? What do you mean by 'completely normal'?"

“She has no mental deficiencies whatsoever,” the White Owl replied. “Her intelligence has returned to its proper level. She no longer forgets things, is no longer afraid of strangers, and can accurately use all the spells she once mastered. Simply put, she is now a normal person.”

Lin Ye shook his head: "I don't like that way of putting it."

The white-faced owl tilted its head.

Lin Ye reached out and touched Nightingale's head, saying softly, "She has always been a normal person, she's just free now, or rather, she's grown up now."

The white-faced owl looked at Lin Ye and said, "The white-faced owl can sense your joy. The white-faced owl thinks you are like Miss Liz's father."

"What kind of ridiculous analogy is that?"

"The white-faced owl thinks this analogy makes sense."

Lin Ye shrugged: "Whatever."

"The white-faced owl has another question."

"Go ahead and ask."

Will you feel disappointed?

"Disappointed?" Lin Ye looked at the white-faced owl with some confusion. "Why would you be disappointed?"

“Because according to you, Miss Liz hasn’t returned to normal, but rather has ‘grown up’,” said White Owl. “According to White Owl’s research, a father’s feelings are generally quite complex when he sees his daughter grow up.”

"So what kind of ridiculous analogy is this?" Lin Ye was speechless. "I'm not her father!"

Do you experience these kinds of emotions?

Why would I have this?

“Think about it.” The white-faced owl held up a finger. “Miss Liz may never call you ‘pineapple bun’ again.”

"Isn't this a good thing?" Lin Ye asked back. "She's always been unable to remember my name, which is what makes things difficult for me."

"Do you really think so?" the white-faced owl asked.

“Of course.” Lin Ye and the white-faced owl looked at each other.

He wasn't guilty, he wasn't guilty, he wasn't guilty.

Important things should be said three times, otherwise the other person won't believe them.

The white-faced owl nodded: "I believe you."

Lin Ye felt like he was being brushed off.

"Alright, alright." Lin Ye surrendered to the programming monster, White Owl. "It might feel a little strange, although I still don't know what Liz has become. But this is the best outcome, isn't it?"

“Yes,” said the white-faced owl. “No matter how you calculate it, this is the best possible outcome.”

"That's fine." Lin Ye said softly, then turned to look at Nightingale. "Liz is still Liz. She's forgetful and greedy, but she's also mature and sensible. Just like you can't expect a boy to like Ultraman forever."

"What is Ultraman?" White Owl asked curiously.

You can think of him as a superman or a hero.

"If boys don't like being heroes, what do they like?"

"Of course it involves explosives...shooting and stuff like that." Lin Ye coughed twice, thinking that he almost gave himself away.

The white-faced owl nodded: "I understand, it's a perverse process."

"What?"

"From childhood mindset to adult mindset."

"Oh... please replace 'perverted' with 'growth,' thank you."

Their conversation finally woke the nightingale.

Nightingale groggily raised her head and met Lin Ye's gaze.

Looking into those deep blue eyes, Lin Ye felt as if he had returned to the day they first met.

"Good evening," Lin Ye said with a smile. "Liz."

Nightingale stared blankly at Lin Ye, then murmured, "Pineapple bun..."

Chapter 136 I only ate it out of respect for you, not because I liked it.

Three days later, Lin Ye, who had been lying in the ward of the medical department for three days, finally said goodbye to the hospital and returned to his office.

For someone like Lin Ye who absolutely loves going to work, is extremely responsible and diligent, missing a day at work is worse than death, let alone three days. So, as soon as he returned to his post, he… well, I can't keep this up. Mainly, the feeling of lying in bed for three days was just too unpleasant, and he also had to cooperate with various medical examinations.

After all, his illness is still quite "new".

Fortunately, nothing was found in the end, and to this day, no one can explain why Lin Ye suddenly developed a high fever, just as no one can explain what Lin Ye's new ability is all about. Unable to find a reason, they could only put it aside for the time being and let Lin Ye return to work.

Sitting alone in his office chair, looking at his office, Lin Ye felt as if he had been transported to another world. Although his fever had subsided these past few days and no other illnesses had been detected, he hadn't been sleeping well. Every night when he closed his eyes, he would always return to that dark dungeon. This wasn't due to any supernatural ability, but simply because that experience was too unforgettable.

Yes, it was truly unforgettable.

According to the White Owl, he spent nearly ten hours in the dream; who knows how he even survived it? Even if he didn't want to remember, his brain forced him to recall it when he closed his eyes. Fortunately, all of that is over now, and Lin Ye was finally able to take his workbook out of his desk.

In the Nightingale's condition progress column, the word "cured" was written.

After finishing writing, he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart. This conclusion was reached after observing Nightingale for three days: Nightingale had indeed been cured. Rhodes Island also believed this, and Nightingale subsequently underwent more professional testing, all of which yielded normal results.

As a result, Nightingale could no longer live the carefree life of eating and sleeping every day. On Rhodes Island, everyone, even the word "normal," needed to work (the word "normal" can be omitted), and Nightingale was no exception. Several years after joining Rhodes Island, Nightingale was finally able to officially start working, being taken in by Shining for an internship in the medical department. Thinking about it this way, Nightingale's official start date was actually later than Lin Ye's.

Gone is the carefree life of the past; more responsibilities now lie ahead. Lin Ye doesn't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing for Nightingale. No, at least it's not a bad thing.

But then again.

He'd been sitting in his office all morning, but the White-faced Owl still hadn't shown up. So, was it skipping work again? He, barely recovered from a serious illness, had come to work, while his assistant was nowhere to be found—it was absurd. But then he remembered it was the White-faced Owl, and it didn't seem so absurd anymore; after all, it wasn't the first time.

Lin Ye glanced at the wall clock and thought that he would have to go to the cafeteria alone again at noon.

What is this inexplicable feeling of loneliness?

Lin Ye shook his head, banishing these strange thoughts from his mind. Just as he was about to go eat, the office door opened. He turned around and saw Nightingale standing in the hallway, peeking out at him: "Pineapple... Lin Ye, want to go eat?"

So lunch was now accompanied by someone.

"How's your internship going?" Lin Ye asked Nightingale on the way to the cafeteria.

Nightingale thought for a moment and said, "It's alright. I feel that what everyone taught me is quite simple and easy to master."