Ark Chess Player

Except for Amiya.

Through the thick metal gate, Amiya could sense a strong sense of unease and fear.

Fortunately, there was no madness.

"This shelter is fine; let these people stay here a little longer."

Amiya's words relieved Blaze; she was genuinely afraid that everyone inside had gone mad and started killing each other. The shelter's doors could only be opened from the inside; opening them from the outside required the Lungmen Governor's key. In other words… if something did happen, Rhodes Island wouldn't be able to help and could only watch helplessly.

"Let's go to the next shelter."

Just as Amiya was about to leave, she sensed a familiar mental fluctuation and stopped in her tracks.

"Dr. Kal'tsit?!"

A familiar figure appeared in their field of vision; Kal'tsit, wearing a white coat, walked gracefully towards them.

Kal'tsit glanced at Blaze first, startling the 1.72-meter-tall cat so much that she instantly stood up straight, barely daring to breathe. Kal'tsit nodded slightly, her gaze lingering on Amiya's dusty and blood-stained coat.

Kal'tsit reached out and wiped the dirt off Amiya's cheek, saying softly, "Kroos has already told me that you are the commander of this operation, issuing orders as the highest leader of Rhodes Island. My original opinion was to evacuate everyone, abandon Lungmen, and leave this place."

“Dr. Kal'tsit, I... believe this is what we can do, what we should do.”

Amiya didn't avoid Kal'tsit's gaze. She knew this was her time to prove herself. She couldn't rely on Kal'tsit any longer. Kal'tsit had shouldered countless burdens for Rhodes Island over the years; it was time for her to share some of the burden.

"In Upper Chernobog, the Doctor defeated the artificial false god created by Mephisto and saved Zoya and the others. But that's not all. If the Doctor hadn't done that, how many people would have died when Mephisto led the false god to Lungmen... or even when they reached Ursus? How much stronger would that bloodthirsty monster have become? The Doctor always says he's not a hero, that his actions were just on a whim, but to me, he is my hero."

Amiya laughed as she spoke.

Yes.

Even if the whole world denies the doctor, she will stand up and say that the doctor is a hero, a true hero.

"Dr. Kal'tsit, do you remember why the Doctor left Rhodes Island three years ago... no, why he left Babel?"

Amiya grasped Kal'tsit's hand, her gaze unwavering, which momentarily stunned Kal'tsit.

Three years ago, a young, petite Amiya took her hand and asked her where the Doctor had gone.

"Of course I remember."

Kal'tsit sighed softly. How could she possibly forget?

Moonlit Lake, an ancient site.

That's a trap.

That was the fuse.

That was the worst decision of her life.

If she hadn't insisted that Lin Lu go to the ancient ruins to find ancient knowledge that could turn the tide, or something similar to the legacy of the Rhodes Island ship, things might not be so bad now.

“Back then, three Old Gods appeared in the ancient ruins, a situation that could have been fatal.” Kal'tsit recalled the past, a lump forming in her throat, even her breathing becoming heavy. “Lin Lu killed two of them, but by then he was all alone. The elite squad of the Borderless Army fought alongside him to the very last moment, and was completely wiped out. He desperately left behind a message, saying… he was going to deal with the last Old God.”

Kal'tsit lowered her eyes slightly. She didn't know what had happened during the time Lin Lu was missing, whether he had embarked on the path of god-slaying, or whether it had ended in disaster. She knew none of that. All she knew was…

When Lin Lu returned to the ship, he became even more silent, as if all emotions had been stripped away, speaking no more than three sentences a day. He gave off an aura of unapproachability, becoming even colder and more ruthless when commanding operations, no longer treating operators as people, but as numbers.

He once said that in order to save an operator, he would rather turn the entire battle around than sacrifice a single person.

Returning from Moonlit Lake, even though he won every battle, the casualties were far greater than before. If he had to sacrifice fifty men versus fifty-one, he would choose to sacrifice fifty, instead of striving for absolute victory and ensuring not a single one was lost, as he had done before.

The evil spirits of the Tower of Babel.

Who exactly started calling him that?

Are they enemies from whom we can never see hope, or our own people from whom we can no longer see the future?

Finally, that thing happened.

Princess Theresa fell into Lin Lu's arms.

Lin Lu, critically injured and on the verge of death, held Theresa in his arms without saying a word, as if he had lost the ability to organize his thoughts.

Kal'tsit personally placed Lin Lu into the stone coffin. She didn't even know if she should hope for Lin Lu's resurrection; she didn't know who would awaken. Lin Lu? The legendary mercenary? The Originium Scholar? The historian? Or the evil spirit of Babel? She didn't know.

"Dr. Kal'tsit."

Amiya gently radiated her spiritual power, soothing Kal'tsit.

"This time we'll fight alongside the Doctor; we won't let him face this alone. Don't worry, it's just an ancient god from an ancient ruin. The Doctor has killed them before, more than once or twice."

Amiya's azure eyes were shining.

"They're just gods, nothing more."

Chapter 411 He is a PhD

Amiya knew that Kal'tsit had a deep-seated problem.

Princess Theresa has left, and the Doctor has also been laid in a sarcophagus. The Army Without Borders has left Rhodes Island after losing its leader.

The lives of hundreds of people on Rhodes Island rested on Kal'tsit's shoulders. She couldn't afford to relax; no one else could hold the line. At that time, Amiya was just a little Katya who could barely read; she was the future of Rhodes Island.

Kal'tsit carried Rhodes Island on her shoulders, injecting herself with psychiatric drugs countless times to force herself to stay energized, handling all matters like a tireless office machine. Only then did she understand what Lin Lu had been carrying.

At the time, Lin Lu was in charge of the basic construction and power supply of Rhodes Island's ships, served as the tactical instructor for Babel Tower, coordinated the combat training of all operators and Babel Tower mercenaries, and ensured that there were fixed manpower searches every day. If anyone with good attributes was found, he would just knock them out and take them away with a set of CQC combat techniques. He also entertained guests, processed materials, trained researchers, occasionally cooked himself, and was responsible for coaxing Amiya, who suffered from insomnia, to sleep every day.

He has a keen eye for talent, able to recognize the abilities of each operator and place them in suitable positions to shine.

He was resourceful and accurately predicted the work efficiency of his agents, thus adjusting their work schedules to suit their physical and mental conditions.

He was reasonable, understanding, and tolerant, using high emotional intelligence to encourage his operators, making them willing to serve him. As a result, these operators worked overtime during the unstable—flexible—working hours without complaint, even feeling it was a blessing from their past lives, grateful that they hadn't been fired, and placing their trust in him. They even gained five trust points every day they came to work.

He was never ashamed to ask questions, even those in high positions would humbly seek advice, asking where there were suitable people to recruit into the Tower of Babel. He always insisted on personally interviewing every new agent, regardless of friend or foe, race, trying to influence them with love and peace—if influencing them failed, he would cremate them.

He has a keen eye for talent; whether it's an operator or a mercenary, he can always see through their potential and find a suitable development path for them. He understands the equipment and materials they need to become stronger, knows the best places to obtain these materials, and knows the cost to achieve their goal.

Is it scary?

Yes, that's terrible.

The scariest thing is that these are all side jobs.

Lin Lü's position is the field commander of Babel Tower, who is both the chief of staff and the commander-in-chief.

At that time, Babel was embroiled in the Kazdel Civil War, with constant fighting, minor skirmishes every two days, and major battles every three days, with weekends off. The frequency of battles was far higher than it is now, and Lin Lu could be seen deploying his troops and slaughtering enemies almost every day, creating one battlefield anecdote after another.

This is why, after Lin Lu was placed in his coffin, the situation at Babel Tower plummeted to rock bottom, forcing him to go into hiding.

No one can replace him, no one can take his place, not even Kal'tsit.

Now that the Doctor has returned to Rhodes Island, he's only been at work for a few days and he's already disappearing every day.

When Kal'tsit saw Amidala appear in Lungmen, her PTSD flared up on the spot, and she was completely terrified. So what if the Lungmen cooperation negotiations fell apart? Anyway, I can't lose my Lin Lu; if I lose her, Rhodes Island will go bankrupt. I can't stand this kind of humiliation.

At that moment, Lin Lu stepped forward again and suppressed the Old Ones with his own strength.

"They're just gods, nothing more."

Amiya stood before her, speaking with unwavering conviction.

Kal'tsit couldn't help but laugh.

Huang saw this and was so frightened that he trembled.

Kal'tsit actually smiled? Kal'tsit can smile? Blaze felt like her brain couldn't keep up with what was happening.

"Amiya, you are right."

Kal'tsit smiled, feeling as if something had been let go.

Amiya's face lit up with joy, and she confidently patted her unremarkable chest.

"We will definitely succeed, don't worry, Dr. Kal'tsit!"

Kal'tsit gently shook her head. "That's not what I meant."

"That is……"

Amiya tilted her head in confusion.

Kal'tsit murmured to herself, "When you, Ace, and Scout suggested rescuing Lin Lu, I hesitated for a long time. I knew it was the only chance. At that time, we didn't know that the Reunion Movement was ready to attack the city. We only knew that Chernobog was very likely to leave the Yanwu border and go into the heart of Ursus in order to escape the natural disaster. The probability of success in carrying out a rescue inside Ursus was close to zero."

"But I don't dare to gamble."

"I dare not place Rhodes Island's future on a vague and unrealistic plan."

“Rhodes Island cannot withstand another blow. If it fails, it won’t even be able to survive. I don’t know what that person will be like when he wakes up. If he is still a war machine without emotions, I hope he sleeps in the sarcophagus forever and never wakes up again. Perhaps the one who will destroy this world is not a natural disaster, but him. The destroyer of the world, Lin Lu.”

"So I chose to abstain."

"Because I still have a glimmer of hope in my heart."

Kal'tsit gently put her arm around Amiya's shoulder and hugged the little bunny who had unknowingly grown to her chest height.

“If it were you, even that cruel and ruthless war machine would be moved. I believe in you, Amiya. That’s why I agreed to let you infiltrate Chernobog as commander. You are his and Theresa’s future. The only person in this world who can restore his emotions is you.”

Lin Lu, who had just returned from Moonlit Lake, was indifferent to everyone he met, but when he saw Amiya, a trace of humanity returned to his eyes.

"Dr. Kal'tsit..."

Amiya gently hugged Kal'tsit from behind.

It seemed to be the first time she realized that Kal'tsit's body was so petite, and that she was much more ordinary than she had imagined.

This slender woman single-handedly held up the sky after losing her beloved and important person.

"Go, Amiya."

After recovering from her brief emotional outburst, Kal'tsit looked at Amiya with eyes full of relief.

"Defeat the ancient gods of the ruins, help Lin Lu, and tell him that Rhodes Island is also well-established. Also, keep an eye on him and don't let him get lost again. He maxed out my credit card; I won't let him leave without 30 years of unpaid labor."

"Yes, Dr. Kal'tsit!"

Amiya blinked, tiptoed, and whispered in Kal'tsit's ear, "Thirty years isn't enough, we want his whole life."

After saying that, Amiya, blushing, led Huang towards a refuge below Lungmen, ignoring Huang's shouts.

Kal'tsit watched them walk away and couldn't help but smile.

"lifetime……"

Kal'tsit clenched her fists.