CHAPTER 297: CHAPTER 297 ETERNAL YOUTH

In the shelter.

Lin Yi didn’t have time to understand the Beetle Queen’s pun before he was rendered speechless.

Everything suddenly became so calm and peaceful...

It was as if a small pebble had been in his shoe all day, and now he finally got rid of it and lay down on a comfortable bed...

As he scanned the Ark and the shelter, everything became extraordinarily clear—

A bullet was flying through the air.

A knight was slashing a Chimera.

A hapless civilian had his head bitten off.

Lin Yi only needed to think, and he clearly knew which positions had enemies and which did not.

He immediately redeployed the entire army, positioning the soldiers in more advantageous spots.

Additionally, each commander received orders from Lin Yi through telepathic command.

This included the location, quantity, and their strengths and weaknesses of nearby enemies.

"Lin Yi... I can’t do it..."

Siri’s voice echoed in his mind, filled with pain, and then everything abruptly ended.

The connection broke, Lin Yi opened his eyes.

He was at home, drenched in sweat.

"Are you okay, Siri?"

"I’m fine, your thoughts are unstable. Understanding your thinking requires too much energy..."

"Hey, I can see all situations and command everyone like an omnipotent god!"

Lin Yi focused again on the battle situation, but the fight was already nearing its end.

Some Chimeras and mages below the castle were still resisting, but they didn’t expect an infantry squad to suddenly appear behind them...

While the Chimeras and mages were distracted by the troops attacking from the tunnels, Lin Yi deployed a large number of soldiers, including some advanced mages.

What followed was more like a massacre!

Unlike the knights, the mages who didn’t expect an attack were completely defenseless against bullets, let alone laser rifles.

When the last monster fell, Lin Yi sighed and collapsed onto the bed. Coordinating the actions of so many squads was extremely exhausting.

Now with the battle over.

All knights were disarmed and, along with the civilians from the Ark, were driven together.

Those with potentially fatal injuries were sent to the hospital, while others were given spring water and first aid.

But there were too many severely injured knights...

He even had to summon Servant Number 12, whose abilities were just right for restoring the doctors’ magic value.

Thanks to the old alchemist’s advice, Lin Yi found the storeroom with potions, which helped somewhat.

They also found some healing potions on the fallen knights’ corpses.

For those patients with the most severe injuries, they combined the use of potions and recovery pods for treatment.

He couldn’t save all the new recruits.

Only a few injured civilians survived.

But when the townspeople saw the devastation of the town now, they were all terrified.

The town had become a smoking ruin, with some neighborhoods still burning.

"Boss, we’ve already counted all the prisoners. The mages’ corpses have been sent to Siri. We also sent her some Chimeras, but she doesn’t want them.

Also... Are you sure you don’t want to feed her the corpses of those dead soldiers? Their abilities were quite formidable."

Solomon asked as Lin Yi was having his meal.

"I’m sure." Lin Yi said with a chicken leg in his mouth.

He took the chicken leg out and explained, "We need to return their corpses to their families.

They’ll bury the bodies, and we just need to find a place to build a cemetery.

I’ve heard there were some casualties. How many?"

"Eleven civilian volunteers..."

Solomon shook his head, saying, "A chain lightning magic shot through a gap in the lower layer of the city wall, killing a whole group of volunteers.

There were originally fifteen volunteers, only four survived... We only managed to save four people.

We also lost five Tarro people, and many more Tarro were injured. We underestimated the knights’ close combat abilities..."

"I saw their swords, along with their potions and aura... Even Mira got injured."

The Argonans are extremely tough enemies...

They’re nothing like the Tarro.

When the Tarro tried to breach the gates, Lin Yi’s gunners shot them like fishing, easily taking them down.

"How are those knights?"

"There are five thousand seven hundred twenty-two knights, almost all were injured, with most injuries quite severe.

The doctors have dealt with the critically injured, so the situation is quite stable now.

But three hundred died during treatment..."

"I’m glad so many survived." Lin Yi replied while eating.

The dead knights are truly a loss, they were strong and highly skilled warriors.

Letting them deal with zombies would be very useful.

"What about the new townsfolk?"

"There are eight thousand three hundred five civilians, almost no injuries, approximately six hundred died in town."

"...So many? Where are we going to settle them? Doesn’t matter... Orianna will find jobs for them, how are they doing now?"

"They are immersed in grief and fear, unaware of what will happen to them. There are too many people, the cooks can’t keep up, even my wife is helping out."

"Ask Chen Youyou to find more people, then invite the families of those deceased soldiers to meet me.

"I was the one who sent their loved ones to fight, so I have to give their families an explanation."

"Yes, Boss!" Solomon started to walk toward the door, but Lin Yi stopped him.

"Have our people set up a stage for me, preferably one with a big screen, so everyone can see me and hear me speak."

After lunch, Lin Yi went to see Azarus, who was held in a special prison.

It was a small building, and even the modified half-mechanical people couldn’t escape from it.

Its walls and ceiling were astonishingly thick.

The prison was guarded by reliable guards, and it was equipped with devices that could instantly eliminate prisoners if necessary.

They had built this prison just in case, and it finally came in handy.

The old man’s several female companions were with him in the cell.

They had already received first aid, but had not fully recovered, as there were too many severely injured individuals to manage.

However, one of them was still undergoing treatment, so there were six people in the cell instead of seven.

The cell was actually quite comfortable, with a sofa, beds, and a table, but all the prisoners still crowded around the old man.

"Where is Ula?!" the old man asked viciously when he saw Lin Yi.

The five women all glared at Lin Yi with fierce eyes.

Lin Yi glanced over the old man’s harem.

"You mean the girl in the pool? They’re treating her now. Once all the critically injured are taken care of, your other women will be healed."

"Ha! It seems my soldiers did manage to give you some trouble, didn’t they?"

"Old pal, the ones I’m treating are your soldiers, though now they’re my soldiers,"

Lin Yi replied with a malicious smile, sitting down in a chair.

Azarus heard this, leaned his head against one of the women’s chests, and grinned.

"Those fools who would feed their own family to vampire creatures, what can you expect?

What do you want? I doubt you’re here to chat with the oldest person in the world."

"I want you to work for me."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t want to create Chimeras or any other monsters using sentient creatures anymore,"

the old man said disdainfully, then turned over and buried his face in the woman’s ample bosom.

"I don’t care for those trashy things; they can’t even defeat those knights."

"Knights? You mean those soldiers?" the old man asked, returning to his original position.

"Without good genetic material and resources, Chimeras are useless. The ones you’ve seen are indeed trash; it’s hard to find decent samples in the Fragment World."

"If I were interested in Chimeras, I could give you dozens of mutated animals...but I need you, and it’s not for that reason."

"Is it about Alchemy and Enchantment?"

"First, I want to know what you can actually do and what you know.

The privileges you can gain from me will depend on the value you create for me. You can... consider this a job interview."

Lin Yi said, comfortably sitting on the sofa, taking a sip of watered-down wine.

The old man was shocked, turned his head, and stared with wide eyes.

"A job...interview? I’m an old man; I don’t have much time left, and when I die, they’ll die too because my magic will fail."

"We’re ready," the pink-skinned woman said softly, stroking the old man’s cheek.

The other four women nodded in agreement, smiling.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise to give you girls a life," the old man said, embracing his beauties as much as he could.

Lin Yi watched expressionlessly and asked an extremely foolish question.

At least, it seemed so to everyone else in the room.

"Why die?"

"That’s a philosophical question, and I’ve thought about it many times," the old man chuckled.

"I’d rather think that the time nature allowed me is coming to an end, and there’s nothing we humans can do about it. You will die, I will die—we will all die!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but as far as I know, I will never die.

Let me pose a philosophical question for you—what would you do to gain this?"

Lin Yi said, a skill book appeared in his hand, and then...

A system message appeared before Azarus.

[You share a skill description]

[Eternal Youth]

A unique skill.

There are only four existing skill books; after your death, this skill book has a chance to reappear.

You will gain eternal youth, and your body will become younger, down to the age you choose.

Your chosen new age cannot exceed 25 years.

Note: Your body’s internal functions will change with your age.

[Since you will no longer mature, the energy originally used for growth will not be consumed!]

The old man was utterly shocked, breaking away from the embraces of his female companions, running up to Lin Yi,

"A unique skill? Original! Does that mean... you are the Savior?!

You want me to work for you for this skill? Are you serious? You’re not messing with me, right?!"

"Of course, I am serious. And while rummaging through the ruins of your tower, I found this..."

A piece of parchment appeared in Lin Yi’s hand.

It was the same type of parchment Marala used to draft Lin Yi, for purchasing slave contracts.

Any contract written on it would be meticulously tracked by the Shelter until the end of time.

That’s why it’s so valuable...