Ark Chess Player

During the battle, her adrenaline surge caused her to unconsciously ignore her physical condition. It wasn't until after the battle that Texas felt a sharp force surging towards her heart from within her arms, nearly causing a lifelong hidden injury.

Texas recovered after being exorcised by the medic's magic.

Even so, a lingering fear remained in my heart.

Are you sure we're here?

Razer frowned, looking up at the house that seemed no different from the other buildings around it, wondering what was special about it. The only difference was a rather obnoxious penguin graffiti on the stairwell wall.

That's really infuriating.

A penguin wearing a red scarf was winking at her, and she felt like it was about to ask, "Hey girl, wanna buy some QQ coins?"

"This is one of Penguin Logistics' safe houses. Believe me, only Penguin Logistics has the capability and resources to set up safe houses throughout Lungmen. As for where the other safe houses are? That's a secret~"

Exusiai confidently patted her unmoving chest; compared to the surging waves of the Kingslayer, she appeared rather pathetic.

Misha looked up at Exusiai, and she remembered the Army Without Borders' deployment in Lungmen.

The secluded paradise base occupies two-thirds of Lungmen's underground area, and the unimaginable alloy equipment, the Yorman Gand train, can move freely in Lungmen's underground world. This is a national-level large-scale facility that does not exist on Lungmen's surface.

In comparison, Penguin Logistics' safe house looks incredibly shabby and pitiful.

"Let's go, let's go up."

Texas stepped forward first; as a member of Penguin Logistics, she was familiar with her own facilities.

Amiya asked in confusion, "Go up? Shouldn't we go through the underground passage after entering the building?"

“No… this is Lungmen, after all, one of Terra’s top mobile cities.” Texas shook her head, climbed the stairs, and sighed, “Lungmen has seen what Penguin Logistics has been up to. We can buy some houses as safe houses, but if we really want a foothold in an entire city, Lungmen will definitely not let us go.”

Misha silently covered her mouth, not daring to speak.

She realized she had underestimated the strength of the Army Without Borders.

“But wouldn’t that mean… waiting for the enemy to surround us?” Razer frowned, still feeling uneasy. “With the number of Reunion members, if we hide inside, they’ll force us out in less than half an hour.”

"Dear customers, please trust us. As the most reliable courier service provider in Longmen, we are also a professional provider of cargo protection, confidential transportation, and private premium transportation services, possessing a diversified product system to meet the needs of different levels of customers. We will use the most reliable information flow and private security to ensure your shipment is delivered quickly and accurately to any location within our service area."

Texas pulled out the Penguin Logistics employee handbook from her bag and read it without any emotion.

She shook her head helplessly, stuffed the manual back into her bag, and added succinctly, "In short, Penguin Logistics has one principle: as long as we can reach our destination, we'll take any route. Even if it's a death stranding, we'll activate the subspace object detector to ensure the mission is accomplished."

Since Texas had already gone this far, Amiya naturally couldn't say anything more.

Now she can only trust Dr. Kal'tsit. Kal'tsit's decision to arrange cooperation with Penguin Logistics was naturally based on her own ideas.

"You guys go up first, I'll stay here to support Franka and the Kingslayer," Razer said helplessly. She analyzed the current situation; leaving via ground routes was practically impossible. They didn't know how many Reunion members had infiltrated Lungmen, and lingering here would only lead to greater danger. If they didn't leave soon, things could get really complicated if Reunion discovered them.

Amiya took Misha's hand and quickly went upstairs.

On their way up the stairs, they encountered several residents. Exusiai greeted them energetically, but the residents seemed to have seen a ghost and quickly retreated into their homes to hide. After all, the Lungmen freshmen were quite a force to be reckoned with in the slums, and no one wanted to be hunted down and executed as an infected for no reason. These ordinary people, forced to live in the slums out of necessity, naturally understood the ways of the world.

Amiya's lips twitched slightly, and she immediately asked Exusiai, "Penguin Logistics' safe house... is it just a staircase?"

To this, Exusiai could only evade the question by saying, "Haha... we were talking about a safe house, not a safe building..."

"You win."

As they climbed to the top floor, Amiya had already guessed Exusiai's thoughts.

As expected of Exia, she never follows the usual path.

"The door is locked." Exusiai rummaged through her backpack. "Wait a minute, let me look for the key."

"...No need, just kick it away."

Texas picked up speed slightly and kicked the rooftop door open with a single, stylish and confident move.

On the rooftop, an ordinary resident watching people smoking and watching a play below was startled when the door flew right past him, nearly taking him with it.

"Excuse me!"

Exusiai greeted the ordinary residents politely.

A resident's hand trembled slightly as he smoked. He watched another group of people emerge from the narrow passageway and immediately turned and ran. Did the residents of the slum not know how chaotic things were?

"Amiya, come here! You can get to the other side from here!"

Exusiai waved to Amiya and pointed to the ventilation ducts that connected to the roof of the house.

In order to save on materials and secretly cut costs, slum housing designs often connect equipment from two or three buildings together. This naturally increases the risk of fire; in the event of a fire, almost all connected buildings will be destroyed. But how many people care about the lives of these poor people? Even if these people forced to live in the slums know how terrible their living conditions are, what can they do?

There's always a way out.

Amiya remarked that she hadn't actually considered this air route. Besides not wanting to involve the slum residents too much, she was also completely unfamiliar with the area; only the locals would have thought of it.

"All roads lead to the dragon gate! Amiya, I've told you everything, don't worry about leaving it to me."

Exusiai struck a cool pose, her adorable face radiating a proud little expression.

"Who would have thought we'd change our route from the rooftop? Unless someone happens to be filming 'Infernal Affairs 2' here, no one would specifically come up here. Lungmen, after all, is a city full of secrets. If the Reunion Movement can find our trail and catch up, Exusiai will take them down right here and now—"

Before Exusiai could finish speaking, she suddenly heard strange sounds coming from all around her.

It was as if something was burning; the hissing sound rose into the sky and continued incessantly.

Beyond the rooftop railing, a handsome young man from the Reunion Movement, equipped with a consumable jetpack for individual use, soared into the sky. Then came the second, the third, the fourth… a whole paratrooper squad flew onto the rooftop, while others landed on the rooftops of other buildings.

"You're not getting away—Aaaaaaah!!"

One of the paratroopers got so excited that he lost his balance while operating the jetpack, flew over both rooftops intact, crashed off the other side, and disappeared instantly.

"???"

Exusiai stared wide-eyed, looking as if she had seen a ghost.

"...What did you just say?" Texas's brows furrowed, her gaze towards her friend filled with resentment. "Eat Viktor right here and now? Or jump off this cliff? Huh?"

This isn't the first or second time that the "poisonous milk angel" has unleashed her power. As Exusiai's regular partner, Texas is feeling quite exhausted.

"I, I immediately—Apuru Pie!!"

Exusiai's pretty face flushed crimson. She decisively changed the subject, setting up her musket and launching a barrage of fire at the Reunion Movement's paratrooper squad. She was determined to show these wretches who were trying to push her further down the path of the Great Sage just how terrifying the Savior of Laterano could be when she was angry.

"What a nice person... how come he only knows how to talk?"

Texas sighed helplessly, raised her twin swords, and charged toward the nearest paratrooper.

Amiya, who was standing beside Misha, wanted to go and help her, but Misha suddenly collapsed, which startled Amiya so much that she quickly hugged her.

"You... Misha, your calf!"

Amiya's gaze swept over Misha, her brow furrowing as she looked at the black crystals climbing upwards on Misha's legs.

"Misha, when did you contract Oripathy?"

"About a week and a half ago..."

Misha responded weakly, "Cough cough... Chernobog... I used to live there, but then... something happened."

She felt like she had a fever, her head was spinning, and she felt weak all over.

Even my lungs felt like they were on fire, and there was a burnt smell with every breath.

Images from his memories kept flashing through his muddled mind, and his lips trembled involuntarily.

“I don’t know what happened. Everyone was running, and I ran too… While walking in the desert, I was pushed to the ground, and that’s when I injured my leg. When I first arrived in Longmen, I was fine, but just a few days later… this grew on my leg.”

“Ten days ago… it was Reunion that invaded Chernobog.” Amiya wiped the cold sweat that kept seeping from Misha’s forehead. “The people searching for you include not only Lungmen freshmen and the Guard Bureau, but also Reunion.”

"Yeah……"

Misha slowly closed her eyes.

She suddenly understood why Sister Chaoshan made her take her medicine on time every day.

Because she left in a hurry, she didn't take her medication in time and left the pills in the safe house.

"Misha? Misha!?"

Amiya put her arm around Misha's shoulder, gritted her teeth, hesitated for a few seconds, and then made her choice.

"Rock, abandon those prisoners! Heavyweight operators, assemble, defensive formation, aid Penguin Logistics!" Amiya pressed her communicator, her gaze resolute, her tone steady, "Medical team, I need your help! Franka, have you regrouped?"

"They're here. I see the Reunion Movement members going up. Tsk."

Franka then arrived at the first floor of the Penguin Safe House and successfully met up with Liskarm, who was bringing up the rear.

"Amiya, wait a moment! Go and provide support immediately!"

Franka hung up the call, looked at Razer, pointed at Kingslayer, and said, "Hey, you electrician, come give me a hand!"

"How can I help?" Razer turned to look at the Kingslayer, who was drawing his sword and looking around in confusion.

"You crouch down halfway and raise the shield, that's right."

Franka gave the order with practiced ease, pushing the Kingslayer so that she could stand on the shield.

Razer frowned slightly. Surprisingly, she didn't feel the shield was that heavy. Had this child ever eaten enough?

What are we trying to do?

The regicide asked in confusion, she had a bad feeling about it.

"I'll lend you a hand! Kingslayer, prepare—jump!!"

Franka suddenly embraced Razer and kissed her sensitive neck. Their lips met in a deep, intermittent kiss, her tongue tracing heart-shaped paths. A simple kiss, yet it contained the essence of a seasoned female chameleon's life's work.

"Slurp."

"Franka, what are you doing?!"

Razer's fur instantly bristled, her tail taut and slamming into Franka's waist, shocking Franka and bringing tears to her eyes again. At the same time, the flash shield she held aloft emitted a bluish-white electric current, which traveled directly to the Kingslayer's legs…

"—!!"

The Kingslayer's emoticon mask reacted instantly, jumping up at Franka's command. Stimulated by the electric current, the jump propelled her nearly six meters, exceeding her limits—she did it, she did it!

The entire Penguin Safe House is only about six stories high, which is considered a high-class building in the slums.

The Kingslayer leaped two stories high, using the clothes rack protruding from the wall of the balcony, combined with the nerve response of her muscles stimulated by the electric current. This propelled her against the heavens, allowing her to ascend to the eighteen-meter-high rooftop in one breath, leaving a brownish-red silhouette in the air.

"Huh? What's this?!"

Exusiai instinctively aimed at the Kingslayer and nearly pulled the trigger.

Amiya's eyes widened; she never imagined that the Kingslayer would do something like this.