Ancient Dragon in Arknights

At this moment, the shop in front of Nesario has an antique decoration. Looking inside through the warm-colored glass, there are retro oak furniture, Victorian-style colors, a lot of fabrics with anti-scratch function... and film beasts can be seen everywhere.

Ding-a-ling—Nesario and Losilie entered the shop as the wind chimes at the door rang.

Even more enthusiastic than the shop assistants were the gathered beastmen—those on the shelves and under the chairs all crowded around Lothiri's feet. Occasionally, a few showed interest in Nesario, but the gleaming tails of hers immediately deterred them with their biological instincts.

"Meow--"

The girl's melodious voice imitated the cry of the Phyllin Beast, and the voice seemed to truly possess the beast's magic, like a claw scratching at the heart.

"It looks like this afternoon tea will be delicious."

Nesario believed this.

Chapter 111 Celia, Far Away in Colombia (Can be skipped)

Sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining on the glass of the building. The refracted light burst forth in all directions, creating a blinding glare.

Compared to the more classical elegance of Victoria, Colombia's social style is completely futuristic and modern; skyscrapers, steel forests, bright lights, and neon lights—these are all words that can be used to describe Colombia's scenery.

In those unseen corners, Colombia's darkness surpasses that of the Terran countries. Other countries may only have violence, bloodshed, exploitation, and slaughter; but Colombia is different. If you accidentally fall into Colombia's dark side, even death becomes a blessing.

Those shady laboratories are conducting experiments that violate human ethics every moment, and all kinds of "guinea pigs" are trapped in a painful state of being unable to live or die.

Ultimately, the body, utterly ravaged by various experiments, surgeries, and drugs, will be incinerated in some furnace, turning into ashes, while his suffering will become a groundbreaking academic paper—using the pain of others as a stepping stone to reach the pinnacle of academia, that is Columbia.

Of course—most Colombian citizens are unaware of that level of depravity, despite the lab's utterly shameless actions. However, Colombian law has long established a red line—prohibiting the killing of Colombian citizens. Therefore, the final destination for most of Terra's human trafficking is a port in Colombia.

Columbia Trimont Polytechnic University

Inside laboratory A423 of the first laboratory building.

At this moment, a student is filling out a lab report inside. This is a very common thing in universities. After all, graduation certificates cannot be issued casually. Precise data and innovative inventions are the most effective credentials.

But for this student, graduating from Trimont Polytechnic University was a trivial matter. She could simply pick one or two of her ingenious ideas and her diploma would be issued in no time.

Judging from her racial characteristics, she is a Pero, but the typical Pero's enthusiastic and slightly silly temperament is nowhere to be seen in her. She has long hair, with various sci-fi-style hairpins and accessories adorning her golden hair, and her light blue eyes always reveal a wise gleam. Her clothing style is also quite different from the usual Colombian fashion style, using brown tones, a very mature color that is difficult for ordinary people to pull off.

Moreover, she was dressed in a coat and trousers, an outfit that would have greatly affected her appearance if her figure hadn't been a little off—but she pulled it off perfectly. More than a student, she resembled a seasoned CEO who had fought her way through the business world; if it weren't for the student ID card hanging around her neck, probably no one would be able to accurately identify her.

Kristen Wright – one of the rising stars at Tremont University. She is the heir to the Columbia Wright family, a family with a unique history in Columbia's scientific community – for no other reason than that Kristen's parents attempted to build a manned aircraft, which, if successful, would revolutionize the entire technology of Terra.

Unfortunately, this vision was destroyed in flames along with Christensen's parents during the first test flight.

What followed was a classic inheritance battle, filled with slander, defamation, deception, and coercion—young Christensen experienced many ups and downs. In the end, an old friend of Wright's parents helped her by adopting, funding, supporting, and encouraging her.

Of course, the person who truly changed this girl with a complicated background was her best friend and classmate, Seria.

Upon entering university, Christensen unsurprisingly attracted criticism from her classmates. There are always fools in the world who are deceived by superficial lies and remain obstinate.

Saria's arrival disrupted this status quo—she was a proponent of the Wrights, and regardless of the outcome, her courage to fly was commendable, while mediocre people who might fail these exams were not qualified to fly in the sky.

Such a unique person naturally attracted Christensen, and after a brief conversation, the two hit it off immediately. And so, they've been best friends for two years now.

As two of the most popular students at Trimont University, they received offers from major companies as early as their sophomore year. Once they signed the contracts, they could instantly transform from students into renowned researchers.

But that's the approach of mediocre people. Kristen and Seria are not content with working for others; they want to start their own company—though it's still in its early stages. The team consists of only three people.

"Ah, I can't trouble Aunt Yara too much. She's already done so much for me... But where can we get these funds?"

Establishing a company is not something that can be done on a whim; it requires registration, capital injection, setting up a workplace, and most importantly, defining the company's structure.

Obviously, this is not something that two college students can accomplish on a whim.

Christensen and Seria's dreams are still a long way from being realized.

"By the way, hasn't Saria arrived yet?"

This lab had long since become their team's office—given their exceptional abilities, they could easily have taken over a lab entirely.

Christensen knew her friend's character very well: tenacious, determined, self-disciplined, rational, and calm.

To be honest, sometimes she wondered—would Saria cry?

Today, Saria was unexpectedly late, something that had never happened before.

"Wow! Your adorable Miu Miu has suddenly appeared!"

Footsteps sounded outside the laboratory door, quick and light—Saria wouldn't take such steps. Before Christen's thoughts could settle, a lively and noisy voice burst into the laboratory.

It was like a rampant, unrestrained tide, filling the entire laboratory without any restraint, as if afraid that the people inside wouldn't know.

Its owner, just like the voice, was dressed in the most fashionable and beautiful clothes in Colombia, with a smile on her fair face, flaxen green hair cascading down her back, and elfin pointed ears peeking out playfully from her hair.

A beautiful and adorable young woman who exudes energy and charm—she is Muelses, an extremely rare elf on Terra. She is also a renowned genius student at Trimont University and a member of Christen's team.

However, unlike Saria and Kristen who hit it off immediately, she joined a year later.

On her mentor's recommendation, she attended a startup investment expo, where she was drawn to the ideas of Seraya and Christensen, and the three of them came together.

"Keep the lab quiet, Muels."

"Huh? Anyway, no one's conducting experiments, right? Look, Saria... where is she?"

Muirses habitually tries to drag Saria into her banter with Christensen, a long-standing way the three of them get along—after all, Saria's diamond-like brain would never spontaneously tell a joke, and Christensen, when fully focused, is hard to distract.

So sometimes—even when the two are sitting in the same lab, busy with their own things, whether it's academics or career—they don't exchange a single word!

When he first joined the team, Muirses thought the two creators had a huge disagreement and were arguing.

After learning more, she simply couldn't believe it—a company's most indispensable element is the team's lubricant, so she rightfully took on this position.

And he often went out to play under the guise of inspecting company activities, watching movies, playing games, eating delicious food, shopping... In short, Christensen wanted to get rid of this irresponsible guy countless times!

"Saria hasn't arrived yet."

"That Saria is late!?"

Chapter 112 Saria: Slightly Angry (Can be skipped)

Unbelievable news! Saria's daily schedule is incredibly packed, yet she manages to be completely at ease.

In any case, unlike Muels's fun-filled lifestyle, Saria is as precise as a machine, arriving at the exact location at the exact time, completing the predetermined task within the allotted time, and then moving on to the next task.

Muels once curiously followed Seria to experience this kind of life and concluded that he felt he was improving every moment, but was also extremely tired.

Saria's way of relaxing is going to the combat training center to hit the punching bag—is that really a relaxing activity?!

In Muirses's view, relaxation should be a light and enjoyable activity, such as watching a movie, shopping, having afternoon tea, or attending a dance.

The key point is that Seraya maintains this lifestyle every day, rain or shine.

"What exactly made her late? I'm curious."

"Why don't we just wait for her to come and ask her?"

"No, no, no... For something to happen to Saria, it must be an extremely important matter! It's definitely not something you can find out just by asking."

"ha..."

Just as the two were chatting, there was a knock on the laboratory door—after three rhythmic knocks, the door was pushed open.

Her long, silver-white hair was neatly tied back, giving her an incredibly capable look; four black-orange gradient horns curved around her head, and her tail was covered in scales; her beautiful face was unadorned, yet possessed a captivating, rational beauty, which, combined with her linen trench coat and white trousers, perfectly embodied the ascetic aesthetic; but upon closer inspection—she wore black earrings, revealing a unique kind of femininity.

This person is none other than Seria, who had been separated from Nesario for a year. She is his sister, one of the most popular people at Trimont University, one of the main creators of the "Rhine" team, and the Trimont Fighting Championship champion.

"Saria, you're late."

Christensen was also curious: what had made Saria late?

"I'm sorry, it's because of some personal matters."

"!?"

Muels, sitting in his seat, straightened his back.

"What's wrong? Do you need my help?"

Christensen's gossipy thoughts were less about genuinely helping Saria and more about offering genuine assistance.

"It's nothing serious, it's all settled now. We should get to work. Tell me your thoughts."

"Okay, in the last round of venture capital, as before, several investors expressed interest in our idea. However, because we didn't have any compelling research results to show, they were all in a wait-and-see phase..."

Instantly, Christensen and Saria entered work mode, while Muelses, on the other hand, couldn't concentrate at all.

'I'm curious, what could be the reason?'

For the first time, Muirses found herself so distracted; she was now desperate to know what Seria's so-called "private matter" was.

But they didn't know where to start, because Saria herself didn't seem inclined to say anything, and pressing her too much would only annoy her.

Urgent!

After several hours of discussion, Seria and Christen finally finalized the plan: the concept of "Rhine" could not be confined to words but should be brought to life.

They need a work that they can be proud of, a work that can represent Rhine Life.

This is what will impress those investors and motivate them to take the first step for Rhine Life.

However, the choice of which work to present is worth discussing. Innovation—all three present could contribute something, but whether it truly represents their innovation remains questionable.

This reflects the immaturity of the company's philosophy—"Rheinland" still needs more refinement.

The vision is wonderful, but the reality is complicated.

But they weren't in a hurry, because they still had two years left before graduating from university, so they had plenty of time.

"Speaking of which, winter is almost here."

Colombia is closer to the ice sheet than Victoria, so winters come earlier and are more intense. But the magnificent snowscapes are not a bad thing for Colombians; they can inspire all sorts of things.

For example, research on climate, research on environmental evolution, and the new Blue Cardwood movie season, etc.

"School break is coming up soon, what are your plans?"

"Of course I'll participate in all sorts of activities; who knows, maybe some like-minded people will join us."

Christensen had no way of knowing whether Muirses was going out to have fun or working during his leisure time, but the tasks she assigned to Muirses were always completed perfectly.