On the Ark.

Lin Ye turned his head and saw Ansel changing his work clothes; he seemed to have just gotten up not long ago.

"Just kidding, I never sleep in, okay?" Lin Ye slowly got out of bed. He felt a headache coming on, and just as he was thinking about the reason, he saw Ansel suddenly walk up to him, looking at him with an unfriendly expression. He asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Ansel seemed a little angry. "Have you forgotten what you did last night?"

"Huh?" Lin Ye didn't remember at first. "What did I do last night? I don't remember."

Ansel gritted his teeth and said, "I was sleeping soundly last night when you, you lunatic, suddenly rushed back, shouting 'Eek, I'm pregnant, eek, I'm pregnant,' and then ran around the room. I asked you what happened, but you didn't answer, and then you just lay down on the bed and fell asleep, snoring away, which kept me up all night!"

Lin Ye then noticed that Ansel had faint dark circles under her beautiful eyes.

"W-Is there really such a thing?" Lin Ye was also bewildered. "I don't remember this at all."

Ansel didn't speak, but his expression that said, "You better remember, or you're done for," terrified Lin Ye.

"Wait, wait, let me think about it."

Lin Ye had just woken up and his mind was still not very clear, so he quickly got up, ran to the bathroom, and washed his face with cold water. He felt his consciousness gradually becoming clearer.

He slowly recalled what had happened last night.

First of all, Skadi's long legs...

No, no, I'm recalling the wrong place.

Lin Ye rubbed his face with cold water again.

The most important thing last night wasn't Skadi's long legs, but the sword technique, or rather, ability, she taught Lin Ye called "Leaping Wave Strike." Lin Ye actually managed to block one of Skadi's attacks using this ability, something he had done even when he was fighting with all his might without it, only to be defeated by Skadi.

So after blocking Skadi's attack, he felt extremely excited, as if a blazing fire had ignited within him, a fire that hadn't died down even when he returned to his dormitory. And what Ansel said... it all seemed to be true, damn it. At that moment, he believed he finally possessed the fighting power a normal transmigrator should have, that he was finally a normal protagonist, so he kept shouting, "I have it! I have it!"

He wanted to share this joy with Ansel, but after running a few laps, he felt that his body and mind had reached their limits, so he fell asleep involuntarily and slept very soundly.

This made things very difficult, and Lin Ye didn't know how to explain it to Ansel. Then again, why would he do such a thing? It made no sense at all; it couldn't be explained by simple excitement or joy. Thinking back, he felt like he'd been drunk last night, even though he hadn't consumed any alcohol, not even a little bit.

Could it be...?

Lin Ye then recalled what Skadi had said to him later.

"Your body is now closer to that of your ancestors, as evidenced by your successful use of 'Leaping Wave Strike'. However, your physique is still too weak; 'Leaping Wave Strike' seems to be putting a strain on your body and mind. To be on the safe side, it would be best if you stayed in the office tonight..."

And that was the end of it.

After that, all I remember is going on a drunken rampage in the dorm and waking Ansel up.

Lin Ye couldn't help but facepalm, wondering if this was the burden Skadi had mentioned, the "Leaping Wave Strike" that had taken on his body and mind? Physically, he was indeed exhausted, but it was still manageable, like those first few days practicing swordsmanship with Yato. But the mental burden… every time he used "Leaping Wave Strike," he'd become a drunken lunatic? That was a bit too far-fetched.

"Dr. Lin," Ansel's cold voice sounded behind Lin Ye, "Do you remember?"

Lin Ye turned around with some difficulty, looking at Ansel with an embarrassed expression, and then scratched his head: "I remember now, um, sorry."

“A completely insincere apology!” Ansel said. “And what exactly happened to you last night? Didn’t you just go to the office building to take a shower? How come it took you so long to shower, and you didn’t get back until midnight? Were you possessed by a female ghost in the bathroom? And why did you keep shouting ‘I’m pregnant, I’m pregnant’?”

Faced with Ansel's questioning, Lin Ye found that he had no idea how to answer.

First of all, Ansel is extremely hostile towards Skadi. No, "extremely hostile" might be an exaggeration, but at least most of Rhodes Island's operators don't like Skadi. Although most of this is due to rumors and a lack of understanding, the main reason is indeed Skadi's personality (she completely disregards the Rhodes Island operators). Therefore, before the misunderstanding is cleared up, Lin Ye doesn't want to mention Skadi too much in front of Ansel.

If Ansel knew that Skadi had taught Lin Ye a technique last night, causing Lin Ye to come home drunk and wake him up in the middle of the night, the misunderstanding would definitely deepen. More importantly, the vast majority of Rhodes Island operators are extremely wary of Skadi and her background. If they knew that Lin Ye had learned Skadi's abilities… tsk, it's best to avoid that situation, at least for now.

So Lin Ye fell silent.

Ansel frowned: "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"No, nothing." Lin Ye shook his head and mumbled, "I think I really did meet a female ghost in the toilet. The female ghost swallowed all my memories."

"Oh."

Ansel let out two cold laughs. Of course, he didn't believe Lin Ye's nonsense, but he also understood that it was just an excuse for Lin Ye not to tell the truth. Since that was the case, he didn't press the matter further. Although Ansel always seemed difficult to deal with, Lin Ye knew that he had a kind heart.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door, temporarily easing the awkwardness of their standoff.

"I'll go open the door." Lin Ye ran to open the door as if relieved.

"Hey!"

Ansel tried to call out to him, but failed. The bathroom was only a few meters away from the door, so Lin Ye simply opened the door.

When the cold wind blew on him, he realized something.

He appeared to be shirtless.

Standing outside the door were Himer and Ifrit.

When Lin Ye, shirtless, came to open the door, Hermer didn't react, but Ifrit frowned.

Then he coldly uttered four words.

"Shameless."

Chapter 143 The Only Contact

Lin Ye hadn't expected Himer and Ifrit to come looking for him; otherwise, he would have definitely dressed properly and wouldn't be in such an awkward situation. Fortunately, Himer coughed twice and then said in a rather stern tone, "Ifrit, do you remember how I taught you?"

Ifrit's expression froze, and then she reluctantly lowered her head to Lin Ye: "Good morning, Dr. Lin Ye."

"You still owe Dr. Lin Ye an apology."

"Huh? But he wasn't wearing any clothes in the first place..."

Himer glanced at Ifrit.

Ifrit suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon: "I'm sorry, Dr. Lin Ye."

"Uh, it's okay," Lin Ye asked, forcing a smile. "Are you here to see Ansel?"

Lin Ye prayed they were looking for Ansel so he could slip back and get dressed, but his prayers were in vain. Himer and Ifrit were indeed looking for him. No, to be precise, it was Himer who wanted to see him, while Ifrit reluctantly came along.

“You’ve probably heard about it from White Owl,” Hamer said, “about the business trip.”

Lin Ye nodded: "I understand. If you need my help, I will go."

Himer smiled and said, "That would be perfect. But before I go to Lungmen for the official business, I need to go to another place. It will take about two to three days, and it's not appropriate for me to bring Ifrit along on this trip."

Lin Ye understood something and looked at the little fire dragon: "Do you want me to take care of Ifrit for the next two days?"

"Huh?" Before Himer could respond, Ifrit said with a displeased look, "Who needs your care?"

“Ifrit,” Himer said calmly, “you’re becoming more and more disobedient.”

Ifrit lowered her head again and remained silent.

Lin Ye had seen this scene many times, but every time he saw it he wanted to laugh, but fortunately he was able to hold it in each time.

“Yes, I hope you can take care of Ifrit for me for a couple of days,” Himer said softly. “This child is really difficult to deal with. She doesn’t like to be with anyone except me. Even though she’s been on Rhodes Island for a while now, she still hasn’t made many friends.”

Ifrit muttered, "I don't need it."

"I think you need it."

Ifrit fell silent again.

Looking at the dejected little fire dragon, Lin Ye suddenly felt he could understand her. After all, there's a need that comes from "your mom thinks you need it," a feeling Lin Ye deeply understood. He used to find it annoying, but now he could no longer feel that way, and a pang of sadness struck him. To avoid letting Himer and Ifrit notice, he coughed twice and said, "I don't have any objections. But White Owl should still be on Rhodes Island, right? Why not let her look after Ifrit?"

“White Owl will come with me.” Himer sighed softly. “Besides, having White Owl take care of Ifrit… that child can’t even take care of herself. Letting her take care of Ifrit will only cause trouble.”

"Alright." Lin Ye thought of the White Owl and realized that what Himer said made a lot of sense. "Just leave Ifrit to me."

Ifrit looked up at Lin Ye, then made a very soft "tsk".

This time, Himer didn't want to pursue the matter further, perhaps because she hadn't heard it.

“Actually, you don’t need to do anything special,” Himer said. “Just bring Ifrit with you when you eat. That girl won’t go to the cafeteria without me around. She has such poor self-control.”

After saying that, Hermès sighed softly, giving Lin Ye a feeling of a loving mother.

After agreeing, Himer took Ifrit and left. Himer wouldn't leave Rhodes Island until tomorrow, and Lin Ye only needed to start taking Ifrit out to eat from tomorrow onwards. The job was quite easy, but it made Lin Ye feel like he wasn't a psychologist at all, but rather someone Rhodes Island had hired specifically to take care of a hapless child.

This is really a difficult situation.

After exchanging a few more words with Ansel, Lin Ye tidied himself up, went to have breakfast, and then went to work. Lately, he's been going to work earlier and earlier, as if he's saying goodbye to the old him who used to get up at noon.

When Lin Ye arrived at the office, he found Skadi standing by the window, her back to him, gazing at the sky.

Skadi finally put on her clothes, though she didn't wear the upturned-brimmed hat; her long, gray-white hair reached all the way to her ankles. Hearing the door open, she slowly turned her head to look at Lin Ye.

"Good morning," Lin Ye greeted Skadi.

Skadi nodded. "I'm leaving."

Lin Ye was taken aback: "You're leaving again?"

“Yes. My work isn’t finished yet,” Skadi said softly. “Going back to Rhodes Island is just a short break.”

"Okay." Lin Ye suddenly felt a little disappointed. "Then be careful."

"Be careful? No one can hurt me." Skadi shook her head, then looked at Lin Ye again. "But you, are you alright?"

"I'm doing great," Lin Ye said, raising his arm. "You're in excellent health."

“That’s good,” Skadi said. “The ‘Leaping Wave’ should not be a burden on the body. You’re probably still not used to it, but you’ll get used to it gradually.”

"Maybe, but I have another question."

"Ok?"

"It's about my mental state," Lin Ye said, pointing to his head with a troubled expression. "I feel like I was drinking fake alcohol last night. Does this kind of thing happen often?"

“I warned you last night,” Skadi said. “But it’s just a minor issue, it’ll probably only happen once, and then it won’t happen again.”

Lin Ye was relieved.

"Then let's leave it at that."

Skadi slung her sword over her shoulder, then picked up her brimmed hat from the table, preparing to leave. It was as if she was only there to say a few words to Lin Ye.

"When are you coming back?" Lin Ye asked.

Skadi shook her head: "I don't know."

"Shall we save each other's phone numbers?" Lin Ye took out his phone.

“A phone call?” Skadi frowned.

"Uh, you don't have one?" Lin Ye asked. "Aren't cell phones issued by Rhodes Island?"

“Yes, I do.” Skadi took out her phone and turned it on. “But I hardly ever use it, and it still has battery.”