I, the leader of the esoteric sect, am doing great things in the infinite world!

......

At this moment, Li Lin and his friends were sitting at a table with the curtains drawn, a lantern burning on the table, and the doors and windows locked.

—Li Lin’s residence was temporarily locked, so they moved to another house, and the Reunion Movement members who originally lived there were forced to set up tents outside.

Nian put down his chopsticks, his face full of displeasure: "So another Sarkaz. I'm telling you, you little rascal, how come you always manage to pick up some weirdos?"

She drew the nameless short stick and waved it in the air, tiny sparks of fire emerging from its tip.

Li Lin suddenly got up and walked towards the kitchen. A loud bang came from the other side of the wall, followed by low, rapid breathing.

Scout felt something sweep across the void, and something unseen landed on him, binding him tightly.

This feeling is not unfamiliar. Logos, the young Sarkaz sorcerer on Rhodes Island, is very good at using such curses and spells to insure important documents. If you rashly violate them, you might end up shedding tears of blood at two in the morning.

Logos is the chosen successor of the Great Banshee. The Banshee's bloodline will keep him young for a long time, but he can weave crafts as soon as he opens his mouth—this is due to both his innate talent and the inheritance of his bloodline.

Scout was certain that the invisible flames falling on his head, once they erupted, would burn him to ashes from head to toe.

But after realizing all this, Scout actually breathed a sigh of relief.

"I told you, if you can take the doctor away, then go ahead, but not now." Li Lin came up from behind with the remaining half bottle of chili peppers, and casually picked up Nian's chopsticks to mix it into the rice.

At this moment, Li Lin was so normal that he didn't look like a human being. Nian glanced at him and saw a small red spot on his forehead.

He just hit himself with a crowbar, and with the crowbar's "stunning" effect, he temporarily suppressed the onset of the illness.

"Can I contact Rhodes Island?" Scout asked tentatively.

Li Lin turned his head, his black pupils staring indifferently at Scout. Sarkaz almost suspected that his inner self had been completely seen through by the young man in front of him. The air froze, and the surroundings were silent, with only the sound of Nian smacking his lips coming from the air.

“Okay.” Li Lin looked away, and Scout was finally able to catch his breath. However, what surprised Sarkaz even more was Li Lin’s attitude. “Rhodes Island and Reunion are not natural enemies. You treat the infected, and we fight for the infected.”

But the doctor is in your hands... Scout silently complained to himself.

“Now that the Doctor has been taken away by you, he might not be safe.” Li Lin’s gaze fell on Scout’s brow. “You also suspect Kal’tsit. Whether it’s Sweet’s inaction, her abstention vote, or the princess’s death—”

“I never thought that way,” Scout vehemently denied.

Li Lin remained noncommittal; the sage's time brought by the crowbar was limited, and he had to act quickly.

"I don't deny that the Doctor will eventually return to Rhodes Island, but the Reunion Movement can also acknowledge his status."

Li Lin reached out and tapped the table: "Within the Reunion Movement, his identity as a member of Rhodes Island represents medicine that is crucial to the infected, so the Reunion Movement trusts and respects him. And on Rhodes Island, his identity as a member of the Reunion Movement can provide you with the necessary assistance, and it is also a guarantee for his personal safety."

Scout's breath caught in his throat for a moment, his pupils behind his sunglasses seemed frozen, the person in front of him knew Rhodes Island far too well.

It was as if he had been on the main ship of Rhodes Island, indifferently watching everything unfold—back then, Rhodes Island wasn't called that now; it was called the Tower of Babel.

Scout knew it was impossible, but Li Lin's certainty sent chills down his spine: it was hard to say whether he or the Doctor at that time was more like an evil spirit, but the Doctor got that title because he used human lives as precisely as chess pieces, while Li Lin got that title because he really looked like a vengeful ghost at this moment.

Did he watch over them from a higher place?

"You want revenge on Theresis."

"You want to support the next Demon King."

"You want to gently save this land, but that's impossible."

Li Lin smiled with a hint of sarcasm, placed his hand on the table, his long, slender fingers showing distinct knuckles: "I know you and W were comrades-in-arms, and you're also old friends with Hedley and the others. So, for their sake, make a one-sided deal with me."

“You should know that emotions mean nothing to Sarkaz mercenaries,” Scout said with difficulty, Li Lin’s words as precise as a scalpel.

"You think I'm negotiating with you?"

Li Lin looked down at him, the smile on his lips vanished, and his dark eyes seemed to hold a frozen, sharp glint.

"What do you want me to do?" Scout wisely refrained from pressing the issue further.

“Rhodes Island is a neutral organization, but I think your squads wouldn’t mind being mercenaries for a while.” Li Lin smiled. “I know you’ll have some reservations, but it’s okay, I won’t.”

“I don’t think Rhode Island has ever been to Chernobog. How could a pharmaceutical company be standing under a crumbling wall?”

Scout stopped breathing again.

He couldn't discern Li Lin's race, but Li Lin seemed more like a demon than a Sarkaz.

“I’ll talk to them,” Scout agreed through gritted teeth, “but Doctor…”

“After the Battle of Chernobog, you can take him away, but if the Doctor himself does not wish to, you must not stop him.” Li Lin waved his hand impatiently. “Therefore, you must pay close attention to the Battle of Chernobog.”

Scout stopped talking. After all, it was Reunion who had rescued the Doctor, but he didn't believe the Doctor would be unwilling to leave.

How could the "evil spirit" who once led Babel to victory against Theresis on the battlefield possibly refuse to return to Rhodes Island?

He was unaware that the doctor had lost his memory.

Scout, however, personally did not want the Doctor to return to the battlefield. If anything had turned the Doctor from a researcher and teacher into a war machine, it was these damned people.

Just then, the sound of running footsteps came from outside the door, and a faint commotion entered the room like waves. A moment later, a deep knocking sounded on the door.

"Professor, are you there?"

Scout instinctively looked up and heard the doctor's voice.

"Not here, get lost!" Li Lin scoffed, but it sounded more like a dog barking.

Scout and Nian looked up at the same time and found that Li Lin had once again turned into a dead fish with his eyes.

The period of respite brought by the crowbar is over.

37. Integration Movement, Marching Forward

Abraham the Grizzly Bear awoke to the cold wind. The window had been opened sometime earlier, and a biting wind rushed into the second-floor room, chilling his hands and feet.

The night outside the window was still dark. One of the twin moons of Terra hung in the sky, while the other had already sunk to the level of the window, with snow piled up on the windowsill.

He began to toss and turn, unable to sleep.

Chernobog is about to undergo a major relocation, abandoning the already depleted mines.

Abraham the Grizzly was able to become the manager of the mine because his uncle had served under the previous emperor and made great contributions in the war between the four emperors. Although he was killed in battle, Abraham was still awarded a position.

With his substantial annual contributions, he secured a place in Chernobog's high society.

Of course, since Li Lin arrived, Abraham Grizzly's life has not been smooth. He has thought about using and taking revenge, but whenever he has this idea, he always unconsciously slid in other directions, or was stopped by various unexpected obstacles.

Li Lin and his mining area are like something hidden in the fog, making them elusive and hard to fathom.

Even now, whenever Abraham the Grizzlies tries to make a move against Li Lin, a series of unexpected events always occur, leaving him filled with resentment.

Grizzly knew that the mine had long since slipped from his control, and that Li Lin and the Twelfth Mine were like a giant magnet, attracting other mines to him.

With Li Lin as a role model, the attitudes of other mine managers have gradually begun to change over the past few months.

Grizzly was powerless to do anything about it. At first, he might have been angry, but as time went on, his ambition was gradually worn down.

This is the best illustration of "the season of burgeoning ambition": if someone wants to achieve something, someone else's dream will inevitably be crushed.

Grizzly couldn't sleep. He took a bottle of decent liquor from the liquor cabinet in the corner of his bed, broke off the cap, and drank it down in one go. The special feeling brought by the liquor made his lungs feel like they were on fire, and it also made Grizzly's brain start to sway. He felt like his thoughts were floating in the clouds, and those pointless worries and anxieties went away and disappeared like flowing water.

Abraham the Grizzly staggered onto the bed and began snoring loudly.

He didn't hear the growing noise outside the window, nor the chaotic footsteps; those things were no longer relevant to him.

......

“You know, this mine is almost entirely inhabited by infected people, while the non-infected sit high above them, drinking the blood and bones of the infected. Their conflicts are like a powder keg, initially with nowhere to vent, until their mentor becomes a role model and gives them direction.”

The Doctor rarely speaks so much at once; if Talulah hadn't been standing next to him, he probably wouldn't have even bothered to explain.

Scout, standing not far away, watched the Doctor with a helpless expression. He didn't know how to describe the scene before him—the leader of Rhodes Island was actually so concerned about other organizations.

Is it good or bad for the Doctor to risk getting his hands dirty and return to the killing machine? Scout didn't know how to describe it.

Talulah nodded. She was well aware of the situation of the infected: before the Reunion Movement, there were many infected who tried to resist, but all they did was flee to the wilderness or give up their resistance after tasting some benefits.

More often, leaders sell all the infected under their command to use as resources for their own advancement.

This has happened countless times before.

Under the careful control of the rulers and the guidance of public opinion, new lucky ones will soon be born or rise to prominence. Seizing the opportunity, they will grasp this ticket to the top, stepping over corpses and blood, and standing on the gambling table once again with great ambition.

Then, a new round of the game will begin.

As long as the old kingdoms of Terra still exist, this cruel cycle will never end.

And so-called hope, like the mirage of a match the little girl saw before she froze to death, has always been nothing but a lie.

At this time, if you want to seek warmth, you can't rely on the charity of the gentlemen.

We have to find firewood ourselves.

Then, I ignited that anger myself.

Just then, amidst the doctor's explanation and Talulah's sigh, a deafening roar suddenly resounded from afar, and violent tremors swept across most of the mine.

An unprecedented tremor struck suddenly, and dozens of explosions and the deafening roar of collapsing scaffolding echoed in everyone's ears amidst the spreading shockwave.

Thick smoke rose up, obscuring the sky.

The raging flames surged from the darkness, churning like a dragon, as if trying to pull the sky up.

So dazzling, so scalding hot.

"what happened?"