Taking Saul Away

"Are you all right?"

After Aokiji left, Ye Chen moved around a little and was surprised to find that he had not been completely frozen. He quickly turned to look at Olvia.

Olvia's face was pale and bloodless, her eyes tightly shut. She did not respond to Ye Chen. After calling to her several more times, he nervously reached out and checked beneath her nose. It nearly scared him to death. She was still breathing, but it came and went, weak and faint.

The bombardment in the distance continued without pause. Shells rained down madly upon Ohara, filling their ears with a constant buzzing as even the ground shook and trembled violently. No one noticed that two people were still hiding in the lake.

Ye Chen hesitated, but reason ultimately won out. Saving her was what mattered now. As long as there was even the slightest hope, he could not let Olvia die. He held her face, took a deep breath, and pressed his lips firmly against hers.

He did not know any other way to save someone. He had only learned mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from foreigners.

A moment later, Olvia suddenly opened her eyes. Seeing Ye Chen's lips approaching hers again, she was both embarrassed and furious. She hurriedly pushed him away. "Smack..." Then she swung her hand and slapped him across the face.

Ye Chen had just drawn in a breath, his cheeks puffed up like an inflated balloon. The slap landed squarely, sharp and solid. It hurt so badly that he bared his teeth, and his face immediately swelled.

"I was saving you! Are you crazy? It was mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. I didn't do anything to you. Besides, I'm only six. What were you thinking?"

Before Olvia could spit out a curse, Ye Chen decisively used his age as a shield.

"Hmph... If you dare do that again, I'll kill you."

Although she had once been married, Robin's father had died long ago. Olvia had spent all these years traveling about and had never been touched by another man. Matters between men and women had long ceased to stir her heart, yet Ye Chen's intimate action still left her flustered and angry.

Though he claimed to be six, Ye Chen was secretly pleased. Seeing that Olvia truly did not continue holding him accountable, he breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes, being a child isn't so bad. At least no one will treat me like a pervert.

It took Ye Chen great effort to crawl out from beneath the pile of books. Olvia's legs, however, were still badly frozen, and with her injuries so severe, she could not break free from the ice at all.

Ye Chen had no choice but to dive underwater and free her legs. Inevitably, he came into even more intimate contact with Olvia's body, but she did not think much of it. Who would treat a six-year-old boy like a pervert?

They finally emerged from the lake and had only just reached the shore when a sharp crack sounded in the distance. Ohara's Tree of Knowledge was finally blasted down by the artillery fire. Watching the massive tree collapse, tears streamed uncontrollably down Olvia's face.

"All right, now you don't have to die either."

Olvia had kept insisting that she wanted to die in the library. Now that the tree had fallen and the library had been destroyed, Ye Chen felt an inexplicable sense of relief. That tree was going to fall sooner or later anyway.

The fierce bombardment continued until nightfall. The two found a place to hide, and even after dark, the Marine warships still had not left.

Neither of them dared show themselves. Ye Chen managed to find some bandages and wrapped Olvia's wounds. They hid in the woods without daring to move. Ye Chen knew nothing about medicine and could only treat her injuries crudely.

Fortunately, she was badly hurt. Otherwise, Ye Chen truly feared that Olvia would stubbornly go protect those damned research materials again.

Before long, the Marines came ashore again to search the island. Ye Chen grew increasingly worried. At this rate, they would be discovered sooner or later. These Marines were truly hateful; they clearly did not intend to leave a single survivor.

At first, they had only targeted the archaeologists. Now, even the civilians were not being spared.

"Robin never had a single friend growing up. Children her age bullied her, and her aunt's family abused her every day. Heaven truly has its own protection. In the end, all those who treated Robin like a monster and bullied her died, while Robin, who had never known happiness, survived." Curled up in the grass, Ye Chen could not help sighing.

Learning from Ye Chen about Robin's suffering, Olvia's heart nearly broke. She had never had the chance to care for Robin. Six whole years had passed, and only now did she learn how miserable her daughter had been. While desperately waiting for her mother to return, Robin had endured far too much hardship.

"All right, stop crying. I'm going out to take a look. It isn't safe here either. We have to find a way to leave."

"Be careful," Olvia reminded him anxiously.

"You're the one who should be careful. If you dare go protect any more materials, I'll... Forget it. I'm only six. What can I do to you? But don't you think you owe Robin far too much?" With a sigh, Ye Chen cautiously slipped out of the woods.

"Save me! Save me!"

A group of Marines was searching the ground in the distance. Fatty, the leader of the children, had had one leg blown off and was struggling painfully on the ground. A Marine stepped toward him. The next moment, Ye Chen watched helplessly as the Marine aimed his gun at Fatty's head.

With a bang, Fatty's head exploded the instant the gunshot rang out.

"Hm? What's that?"

Seeing quite a few Marines gathered around Saul as though measuring something, Ye Chen was puzzled. Saul has already been frozen. He should be dead, right? Why won't the Marines leave him alone?

Only when he got closer did he hear that they intended to transport Saul away. Because Saul was so enormous, they had to send several more large ships. They were measuring him to ensure they could transport Saul away smoothly.

"This is Vice Admiral Aokiji's order. Be careful, and don't touch him carelessly," an officer with military insignia on his shoulder instructed sternly.

"Don't touch him? And they're taking him away? Could Saul still be alive?"

Ye Chen found this world difficult to understand. A person had been frozen solid; surely he had stopped breathing long ago. Yet judging by how serious these men looked, it seemed Saul might truly still be alive.

Still, no matter what, Saul was going to be taken away, and it was Aokiji's order.

Ye Chen could more or less guess what was going on. Aokiji and Saul seemed to have been on good terms. Ye Chen had happened to see them talking, and they had looked more like old friends chatting.

The more he thought about it, the more Ye Chen felt that Aokiji could not possibly have truly killed Saul.

Whatever. Shaking his head, Ye Chen's eyes suddenly lit up as he watched the enormous giant being prepared for transport. He had thought of a good idea.

He could hide beneath Saul's body and be taken away with him. A giant that big should have room to hide two people. If they stayed on the island, the Marines would find them sooner or later.

P.S. I hope everyone can give this a bookmark and recommendation. I would be immensely grateful.