Ark, after I died, the operators started to love me.

"Relax, sir. You're safe now, even if it's only temporarily."

Mike picked up a bottle of brandy from the table, poured a glass for the manager, and then poured one for himself.

"Thank you, thank you."

The still-shaken administrator picked up his glass and took a sip. He didn't know if what he was seeing was real, but if a drink could help him ease his tension, he would accept it even if it was fake.

At the very least, he could numb his senses before he died, so he wouldn't have to think about those unbearable hardships. For him personally, this was a disaster.

Mike watched as the manager downed the brandy in his glass, only touching the glass to his lips before putting it down.

"Let me introduce myself, Mr. Administrator. My name is Mike, Mike Ann, a PhD from Columbia. If you want to know my identity, I can only tell you that I am backed by the Melander Foundation."

The idea came from Feathered Serpent, and after some debate between Holhaya and others, Mike finally decided to use the name of the Melander Foundation.

This decision made the feathered serpent proudly raise its tail.

Are you Colombian?

After finishing a glass of wine and numbing his senses, the administrator's emotions recovered slightly. He looked up at the man in front of him, realizing that being spoken to by a Colombian might not be such a bad thing.

40. Mike seizes power

“Is it surprising? There are many Colombians in Sami. You don’t need to be surprised or nervous. The Melander Foundation is a non-governmental organization, but we will provide support when necessary, like now.”

Mike and his team took control of the transit station, and with Frostnova's help, they poured ice walls over three meters high around it. This took a heavy toll on White Rabbit, but she was really going all out for everyone's safety.

When Mike learned of this news, he decided to personally visit Yelena after everything was arranged. As the team leader, he had to be considerate and meet all the team members' needs.

He wouldn't accept anything other than selling his looks.

The administrator lowered his eyes, wanting to say that the timing of the Colombians' appearance was quite coincidental, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. After all, he had been saved by them, and these people didn't seem like bandits wandering the wilderness.

Mike glanced at the document and immediately understood what the administrator was talking about. He thought to himself that the bandits near Sami's base had probably all become puppets corrupted by evil spirits. Forget about being robbed, even if they left their valuables outside, no one would come to collect them.

Humans don't need these things; monsters turned into puppets aren't even human.

"Thank you so much. Without you, I would already be..."

“Sir Administrator,” Mike interrupted, “there’s no need for formalities now; we have more important things to do.”

As he was speaking, Destreet walked in from outside, holding a stack of white paper with some writing on it, and handed it to the man.

Mike looked down at the contents of the document without looking up and said, "Mr. Administrator, you understand that the Melander Foundation does not have the authority to take over everything at the transit station for the time being, so it must be handed over to you to take command. You still have more than a hundred people at your disposal. Have you thought about what to do?"

"No, we can't do that."

The administrator looked terrified. If these people left, he might not even see the sun rise tomorrow.

The other party must be saying this in order to make an exorbitant demand later. Even though he is a Sami, in order to survive and to return to his village to see his beautiful wife and lovely children, he can only grit his teeth and accept the unreasonable demands.

“Mr. Mike of the Melander Foundation, why are you trying to fool me with these words? You and your team have taken control of the transit station. If you leave now, there will only be a little over a hundred corpses left here, if we can leave any corpses behind.”

The administrator then clarified his thoughts: "Just tell me what you want, and I'll do my best to fulfill it. I just hope you don't ask me to betray Sami's national interests, because that would put me in a hopeless situation."

They're very pragmatic.

Mike looked at the trembling middle-aged man in front of him with some satisfaction.

He said all that just so that the other party would bring it up first.

Desty, who was standing next to him, secretly gestured to him, indicating that everything was ready, and only then did Mike continue speaking.

“Alright, Mr. Administrator, I am a Colombian citizen, a peace lover, not one of those barbarians who only have conquest and fighting in their eyes. Since you have made a request, I think I should do my best to help you. Take a look at this, you should know what to do.”

Mike handed over a stack of papers, a draft he had prepared with Destreet during his conversation with the administrator, and it bore the seal of the Melander Foundation.

Of course, Mike didn't make any excessive demands. After all, all the members of his team were righteous and hated evil. Even those who were on the side of justice still upheld the principles of righteousness, not to mention the Grandmaster was also there.

Would a Grandmaster allow him to bully men and women?

The contract the administrator is seeing now is actually quite short. It simply states that the Melander Foundation will temporarily take over the management of the transit station, and his relationship with the administrator will become that of superior and subordinate.

Administrators without a single soldier under their command naturally become obedient puppets; otherwise, many accidents would occur on the Sami Icefield, and it wouldn't be surprising if a few people died.

The administrators must show them the supplies stored in the transit station, which are crucial to everyone's survival and whether they can hold out until Sami's reinforcements arrive.

Mike was very conflicted when he wrote down the payment, thinking that there probably wouldn't be another chance in the short term.

To verify this, after signing the agreement, he and Chongyue will temporarily leave the transit station and go to another transit station parallel to the main camp to check the situation. It is not far from here, about 20 kilometers away, and a day is enough for a round trip.

Destreet played a significant role in drafting these terms. As a lawyer herself, she was well-versed in all sorts of traps in clauses, but at Mike's request, she also drafted an agreement with broad responsibilities and few pitfalls.

As for the seal of the Melander Foundation, it comes from the feathered serpent.

Holhaa was more than willing to help Mike through her organization, and even offered the seal herself. She was an agent of the Melander Foundation and had discretionary power in certain areas, but she never expected it to be used on Sammy.

After quickly reviewing all the terms and conditions, the administrator read them carefully again and exclaimed, "Mr. Mike, I really don't understand your thinking. You clearly had a chance..."

"Sorry, as I said, I have no interest in those things, and what I'm doing is simply using the wealth you have, which is of no use whatsoever. If you think there's no problem, then sign it. I'm very busy, really."

"Of course, as you wish."

Without hesitation, the administrator picked up a pen and wrote his name at the end of the agreement. Finally, feeling that it wasn't enough, he found some ink and pressed his fingerprint on it.

Alright, from now on, he and the warriors of the Melander Foundation will share weal and woe.

Mike put away the agreement and handed it to Destreet, then said, "Mr. Administrator, you can talk to my team about the next steps. They'll tell you what to do. I have to take care of something else, something that concerns our lives."

"Alright, please go ahead. I wish you every success."

Mike got up and left the bar. He had no doubt about the manager's next move. They had saved this guy's life, and the threats outside were outrageous. If infighting broke out at the transit station again, everyone would die.

When Mike arrived at the backyard, he saw Chongyue adjusting the performance of two snowmobiles.

41. Elkirmisher, the Cyclops

"how is the situation?"

“It’s usable. I’ve found enough fuel for us to make a round trip. To be honest, we need to speed up and try to get back before nightfall.”

"That's what I think too, let's hurry up."

Mike hopped on the snowmobile and sped away with Chongyue, using the still-uncleared snow on the ground.

Their only goal was to reach the neighboring transit station, where they would seek assistance if conditions were favorable, and immediately return to maintain the status quo if the situation deteriorated to an extreme degree.

……

North of the Sami Mountains, the foothills are covered in deep, white forests, with countless years of ice buried beneath the snow.

Inside the ice caves traditionally carved by the Sami people, despite the icy and snowy landscape, careful planning can keep them warm and prevent them from being buried alive. This is one of the ingenious ways the Sami people have survived in this place for thousands of years.

This not-so-narrow ice cave, with its flickering firelight, emitted a faint glow, providing barely enough illumination.

A tall woman lay on a haystack with her eyes closed, her features almost scrunched up, and she occasionally made soft calls.

More importantly, she was still dreaming with her eyes closed, while an eye on her forehead was slightly open, emitting a faint glow.

If any Sami were here, they would surely recognize this as their prophet, Elchi, a branch of the Sarkaz and the Cyclops.

The Cyclops is now lost in his dream, unable to escape, witnessing a horrific scene: the land has completely lost its luster, turning into a deep, starry sky, with only a circular archway standing normally in the far north of Sami.

This is the future of this land, and also its end.

Elchi had observed fate countless times, but in the end there was only one result that caused her immense heartache.

In theory, she didn't need to work so hard, but the problem was that two months ago, the frequency of demonic appearances around Sami suddenly increased.

To be precise, it had been increasing for the past three months, until it suddenly surged two months ago to the point where the Sami's strongest warriors had to fight with all their might for the migration of their tribe.

That person broke through the frozen lake that had been sealed for thirty years for the first time, and retrieved the Wood Release technique that had sunk to the bottom of the lake during his youth. He was a warrior, but he had to take defensive measures.

Elchi warned him not to go too far north, as that would be his final resting place, but Sami's hero did not heed her advice and went there without hesitation, never to be heard from again.

The Cyclops only knew that Sami's most powerful warriors received help from foreign warriors and went north together, but never returned.

Just days earlier, Typhon came to see her, and she also saw the questioner's fate of death, reminding the girl that she must leave and follow her intuition somewhere.

She doesn't know what the outcome will be.

This terrifying dream seems to foreshadow an extremely bleak future.

No.

They have no future.

The Cyclops suddenly awoke, sitting up in bed, still somewhat dazed. Her third eye in the center of her forehead slowly closed, and a series of sharp pains made her feel dizzy.

This power should not be overused. The appointment cannot bring a real future. She can only see a corner of fate, and fate has countless possible branches.

She witnessed someone's death and Typhon's doom, but that doesn't mean it will happen.

Elchi took a couple of breaths, picked up the water glass next to her and took a sip. The icy feeling stimulated her throat, causing the Cyclops to cough a few times.

She has to do something, instead of just sitting here and waiting to die.

But what can she do, and what is worth doing?

……

When Typhon left the headquarters of the United Investigation Association, a small accident occurred.

After driving a short distance, she noticed something following her, but when she turned around, she found nothing.

Typhon's hunter's instincts told him that he was being entangled by something, but it was too early to tell who the prey was and who the hunter was.

With this in mind, the girl deliberately drove in a circle on the snow towards a low valley. If the other party really followed, she could use the terrain to her advantage and set up an ambush.

Opportunity awaits those who are prepared.

With these thoughts in mind, the girl began preparing her weapon.

Facing those terrifying enemies, her greatest reliance was this giant bow, whose length even exceeded the girl's height.

Fortunately, the girl was a Sarkaz, who was skilled in strength, which gave her enough strength to draw the bowstring and make it work.

Just as Typhon was standing at attention, nocking an arrow onto his saw bow and slowly drawing back the string, causing it to vibrate, a dozen figures appeared.

These people seemed to have followed her around the hillside to the other side. Each of them was wearing rattan armor or fur clothing. They were the most powerful warriors of Sami, also known as the Wood Crack Warriors.

The Woodcutter Warriors come from various tribes, fearless and single-minded in their advance. The Sami are everything to them, symbols of unwavering will and moral exemplars, except for this moment.

In Typhon's mind, the powerful and troublesome Woodcrack Warriors, swaying their bodies, fixed their gazes on the cloak as if they wanted to devour it alive.