Ark Chess Player

"How many dishes? You've had too much to drink! Stop bragging and hurry up and finish these, then catch up. Big Sister and the others are ahead; I heard Dad's coming too." The mage said coldly, "This time, we'll clean house. Mephisto, that cancer of the Reunion Movement, should have been removed long ago if it weren't for Leader Talulah stopping us!"

"Damn, this is getting exciting! Keep it up!"

Anton picked up a corpse in each hand and threw them into the building.

More than 300 meters away from them, Meteor slowly released Jessica, whose face was flushed.

At such a distance, I could barely hear the other person speaking the Ursus dialect, but I couldn't make out the specific content.

"Can we snipe them?" Shuangye asked softly.

Meteorite shook her head gravely. She lowered her voice and said in a low voice, "The enemy is more responsive than we thought. We were almost discovered just now. We can't act rashly. If we can't deal with them immediately and give them a chance to call for help... then we'll be in danger. Behind us is a horde of infected zombies, and ahead is the Reunion Movement. There's no way to escape."

"If the opposing sorcerer has a targeting spell, then once we fire the first shot, there is no turning back. We have no choice but to go all out."

Meteor pointed at the sorcerer who was casting a spell, her hand trembled slightly, and her expression changed instantly.

White mist condensed in mid-air, an invisible suction force gathered from afar, and the radiating heat outlined a human figure.

Seeing this, Meteor quickly retreated to cover, asking with surprise and uncertainty, "Did you sense anything? Jessica, your senses are the most acute, did you...Jessica?!"

Meteor turned to look and saw Jessica biting her finger hard, her tail bristling.

Chapter 365 Paying Tribute to the Dead (4K)

"The temperature... has dropped by about ten degrees."

Jessica was trembling, her ears were drooping, and she looked very listless.

She bit her finger to prevent her teeth from chattering and making a sound.

Shuangye watched silently, her gaze softening considerably. She secretly admired her, thinking to herself, "What a remarkable child."

Although Jessica's combat experience wasn't as extensive as the other two operators present, she never missed a single combat training session, always arriving first and leaving last. To avoid causing trouble for others, Jessica diligently improved herself, never complaining once. Despite her family background allowing her to choose a brighter path, she still chose to stand here.

"Shh..."

Meteor instinctively pulled Jessica into her arms; as a Sarkaz, she was used to resisting the cold.

Frostleaf silently moved to a spot closer to the edge of the cover. Her petite frame couldn't block much of the cold wind, but at least it softened the chilling frost.

The spellcasting process of the Integration Movement mage did not last long.

A short while later, the soldiers walked forward, cursing and swearing.

As the temperature rose, Jessica's shivering finally subsided.

These are racial characteristics of the Felin race, and she can only silently endure them, trying her best to overcome them. Fortunately, this time she has two reliable teammates by her side. Although they are not her senior mercenary colleagues from Blacksteel International, they have never held any grudges against her.

Rhodes Island's operators come from all over the world, but they get along very well with each other.

If operators argue with each other, Amiya will feel very sad. She will assign particularly difficult tasks to the arguing operators with a feeling of disappointment, and then send them to a deserted place for ten days to half a month. If they can come back alive, they will stop arguing.

The battlefield is a place that hones interpersonal relationships. No matter how much people dislike each other, as long as there is no deep-seated hatred, saving each other a few times on the battlefield and fighting for a common goal will eventually turn them into brothers who have been through thick and thin together.

This is how the once borderless army forged strong bonds among mercenaries. No one is invincible, and there will always be times when they need help. At those times, a trustworthy teammate is more valuable than anything else.

"Jessica, are you feeling better?"

"Um……"

Although Jessica still looked somewhat listless, she adjusted her breathing rate to quickly replenish oxygen to her brain.

"Cheer up."

Jessica muttered to herself, pinching her cheek to force herself to stay alert through the pain.

This is a battlefield, a place where the slightest lapse in concentration can implicate teammates and lead to certain death. She cannot… drag others down again, she cannot, she cannot, she cannot—the shadow of past failures lingered in Jessica's mind, her breathing became slightly erratic, but she gritted her teeth to suppress her trembling, overcoming her fear with sheer willpower.

"Jessica?" Frostleaf noticed that something was wrong with Jessica.

"It's okay, I'm fine!" Jessica shook her head. She took stiff steps and walked out of the bunker somewhat absentmindedly. Pointing to the place where the Reunion Movement had left behind, she suggested, "Shall we go take a look?"

"Ah."

As Jessica walked ahead, Frostleaf turned to look at Meteorite, seeking her opinion.

Meteor didn't know what Jessica had been through in the past, so she couldn't comment directly and could only say she would wait and see.

"These are..."

Jessica stopped and pointed to the wall covered with a thin layer of frost.

"Sure enough, this is exactly the same wall with the remaining traces of magic as before, and these corpses are also frozen inside the building. This is probably to maintain the low temperature, after all, these guys... are particularly difficult to kill."

Frostleaf said calmly, as she herself was a warrior skilled in ice-based Originium Arts. She could imbue her axe blade with magic, using her slashes to slow down enemies, but her magic was not enough to freeze an entire wall in an instant.

In terms of Originium Arts alone, her talent is indeed inferior to her opponent's.

“Cover me.”

Frostleaf reached out and placed her hand on the wall, attempting to analyze it using a reversal spell. A faint white glow emanated from the wall, transforming into patterns that extended outwards. These patterns eventually branched into two paths, one pointing straight down, the other extending into the building. Only then did the three realize that black Originium was buried around the infected corpses.

"hiss!"

The spell reversal reached its limit, and a thick layer of frost instantly appeared on Frostleaf's hand, with purple frost extending from her wrist to her shoulder almost instantly.

"Miss Frostleaf!" Jessica grabbed Frostleaf's waist just in time and pulled her away from the wall.

"Are you alright? Do you need any medical supplies? I have some here!"

Jessica quickly rummaged through her pouch for medical supplies, some of which were from Rhodes Island, and others were Rhine Lab's emergency spray purchased from the export market. The value of a single item exceeded the reward for this mission. Only Jessica would go to such lengths to prepare such supplies; other operators would have simply used bandages and endured their injuries to return to Rhodes Island for free medical treatment.

"It's okay, don't be nervous."

Shuangye said calmly, her tone completely flat.

Even though she was the one suffering from the backlash of the spell, Jessica was even more nervous than her.

Frostleaf was involuntarily touched by Jessica's naiveté, and she whispered, "It's just a minor injury, nothing serious. It'll probably heal on its own in about ten minutes, no need to make such a fuss..."

"No... we can't just ignore even the smallest injury!"

Frostleaf said casually, but Jessica didn't just obediently listen; at this moment, she was incredibly reliable.

Jessica meticulously examined Frostleaf's arm, rolling up her sleeve to reveal her purplish arm. After confirming it was frostbite, Jessica took out the appropriate ointment and applied it to Frostleaf's hand.

The overly direct physical contact made Shuangye's shoulders tremble slightly, and she turned her head away somewhat uncomfortably.

"Mind your own business..."

Jessica's hands were much warmer than she had imagined.

"Ah la..."

Meteor cast a warm gaze at Frostleaf, causing Frostleaf to lower her head with mixed feelings.

After a quick treatment, Shuangye raised her eyes, hesitated for a moment, but still whispered a thank you.

"Ah...ah ah..." Jessica, who hadn't heard what Frostleaf was saying, stiffened. She belatedly realized she had acted so forcefully, and almost burst into tears. "Miss Frostleaf, I didn't cause you any trouble, did I! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"No! No trouble at all!"

Frostleaf was startled by Jessica's bowing apology and quickly comforted her.

She turned to look at Meteorite, trying to seek help, but received only a more wicked, aunt-like laugh from Meteorite.

In this brutal battlefield, there is only such a short time for the girls to relax.

"Waaah..."

After Jessica finally calmed down, Frostleaf glared fiercely at Meteorite, who was still typing "|OMO".

"If I'm not mistaken, those three Reunion soldiers... were from the Yeti Squad. They came silently with icy cold and left silently with warmth, leaving the victims shivering in the shadows."

Frostleaf raised her arm, which was burning with pain. Frostbite, when it reaches a certain point, is similar to a burn; the skin feels intensely hot. She had been too complacent. If Jessica hadn't helped treat her injury, her arm might have been ruined.

"When I was a mercenary in Columbia, there was a legend circulating in our barracks. There was an infected guerrilla group in the northwest of Ursus that had always been an enemy of Ursus. There was no weakling in this guerrilla group; even the most ordinary person could single-handedly suppress a mine. Not to mention their leader, he was a monster as tall as an iron tower, and no one could stop him. In front of him, shields would shatter, weapons would break, and lives would end."

Frosty Leaf turned her gaze to Meteorite.

Meteorite's expression gradually turned serious; she had also heard the legends about the Ursus guerrillas.

"There is a special squad in this guerrilla force. They are monsters from Ursus fairy tales, they are synonymous with the cold winter. Wherever they go, they leave behind only lifeless, frosty land, and ice sculptures of the Ursus Inspectorate Army."

Frostleaf pointed to the frozen pile of corpses and let out a heavy sigh: "We are now... witnessing a legend firsthand. The Yeti Squad is right in front of us, and we have no way to turn back. Move forward, at least we need to report the information to Dr. Kal'tsit. If things really don't work out, then we need to tell the Doctor and Amiya—don't come to rescue us."

"That's true."

Meteor showed a slightly helpless smile, but she did not refute Frostleaf's words.

“Hmm…” Jessica didn’t join their conversation; her gaze remained fixed straight ahead.

"Jessica, what's wrong?"

"Um, can you smell something...?" Jessica sniffed, her brow furrowed, "...a burnt smell?"

"Speaking of which, the explosions have stopped, which must be related to this." Shuangye had been paying attention to the explosions coming from the center of the city. She looked back at the dark horde of corpses and said helplessly, "Let's go, let's go and face the truth."

If the mastermind behind these infected, mindless zombies intends to guide everyone who enters the city to the city center, then... they have no choice but to move forward.

This is not about merely surviving, but about gathering more intelligence and conveying hope for survival.

Salute to those who went to their deaths.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Lungmon, the Imperial Guard Building.

"Char Siu Cat, what time are you planning to sleep?!"

Chen Huijie took a can of black coffee from a plastic bag and threw it on the head of the sleeping Swire, startling her awake. Swire, somewhat dazed, thought the Guard Bureau building had also been invaded. She looked around warily, and it took her a while to realize who was behind it all.

"Changfenlong! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Swire roared like a lioness from the east bank of the river.

"Who's courting death? What time is it? Still sleeping! Aren't you afraid of being gossiped about?"

"You filthy swear word! How did you know I'd been sleeping all this time?!"

"All I know is that the first thing I saw when I arrived was you slumped over my desk. Do you really want my seat that badly? Miss Shi."

"Say it again! Believe me or not, I'll pounce on you and bite you to death!"

"Alright, alright, stop! Old Chen, Miss woke up when you went to the slums. She was handling matters related to the wealthy Longmen district for you."

Seeing that the two were about to argue again due to a misunderstanding, Hoshiguma quickly stopped them.