Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Muirseth couldn't help but shake his head when he thought about it. "We all thought these two would definitely end up together, but it turned out that things didn't go as planned—"

"How did Ms. Saria leave Rhine Life?" Noah asked curiously. "If that's what you said, then why did Ms. Saria and Ms. Christen become like this?"

"That's a long story..." Muirseth sighed, "I mentioned the Balrog incident to you before, right?"

"...Well, I seem to have heard of it. Is it the one related to Ifrit?" When mentioning the Locke Water Tank incident before, Muirseth mentioned the incident about the Fire Demon. At that time, Noah thought that Ifrit was also a victim of the Locke Water Tank, but it was denied by Muirseth at that time.

As for the Fire Demon incident, Noah didn't know much about it, after all, the news was strictly blocked.

"It was because of the incident with Ifrit that Saria realized that the ideological conflict between her and the Commander-in-Chief had become so great that it was despairing." Muirses told Noah about the Fire Demon incident as briefly as possible. Especially when she heard that Ifrit had transformed into a Fire Demon and almost destroyed the entire laboratory, Saria descended from the sky and suppressed the runaway Ifrit with one hand, forcibly terminating the experiment - her face was full of shock.

"...Wow." Apart from exclamations, she was unable to utter any other comments.

"And with the incident at the Rocken water tank, it's impossible for Saria to stay at Rhine Life anymore," Muirseth said helplessly. "The fact that they didn't fight back then was already very restrained."

"I roughly understand." Although gossiping behind people's backs is not a good thing, after knowing these things, Noah finally understood why Saria had such a big opinion of Christen.

If Noya were in Saria's shoes, she would have also fallen out with Christen. After all, human experimentation was a step too far. And unlike her, Ifrit was completely deceived. She had no idea she was becoming a test subject for Rhine Life. This was undoubtedly unforgivable.

What about Kristen...

Although she was not directly involved in the plan, she acquiesced in these things happening.

What Saria could not tolerate was probably the indifference shown by Christen. When science is completely free from the constraints of human ethics, there will be more victims sooner or later.

Moreover, this matter was not discussed with Saria at all. Although even if it was discussed, Saria would definitely oppose it, it also meant that Saria had been excluded from the core in a sense.

People can easily bypass the Director of the Defense Department, Saria, to conduct experiments, so there is no point in her staying in Rhine.

"...Ah." After understanding the whole story, Noah immediately gave up the idea of ​​reconciling the two. This kind of ideological dispute is the most difficult to reconcile, and it is impossible for Noah to reconcile a conflict of this magnitude.

It's no exaggeration to say that these two people might never see each other again. Unless one of them is in danger of death, they will put aside their ideological conflicts and help each other.

Of course... on one side was Vaifan, who single-handedly suppressed the Balrog, and on the other was the Commander of Rhine Life. Both were heavyweights, so it seemed unlikely that it would come to that. The most logical outcome would be for them to die together.

Although it is a pity, it is inevitable considering the situation of the two people.

And more importantly, as Ifrit's friend, she also felt that what Saria did was right - she couldn't forgive one of the culprits who caused her pain on Ifrit's behalf.

"Ahhhh - I always feel like when a couple quarrels, their relatives and friends are more upset than them." Muirses covered her head and screamed, not having the image of a lady at all.

Perhaps this is the only thing that can drive this elf, who cares so much about his image, crazy.

It can be seen that both Saria and Christen are the elf's favorites. She may be the most conflicted person here. She wants the two to reconcile, but she feels that the possibility is really slim.

Being between the two of them, she could only say that she had the will but not the ability.

"...I understand Christen's thinking," Noah sighed. "She didn't tell Ms. Saria because she knows her too well. Not every company is like Rhodes Island... As a general manager, there are always things that are beyond your control."

Thinking about myself and Margaret, didn't I do those things without telling Margaret and leave without saying goodbye because I knew that Margaret would not agree with my self-sacrifice?

In this regard, what I do and what the general commander does are actually similar in a sense.

However, I chose self-sacrifice, while the commander-in-chief chose to turn a blind eye.

…Thinking of this, she also began to have stomachache.

Chapter 10: There is always a higher level

That night, Muirseth had to leave Noah's side temporarily because his men had a small experimental accident. But anyone with a discerning eye would know that the elf really didn't want to leave this time, after all, they were having a great time chatting about gossip.

Muirseth also likes girls' favorite things, such as makeup, sweets, and gossip.

As the biggest gossip collector in Rhine Life, she could chat about all day long. It was a rare occasion that Noya showed interest in Rhine Life gossip, but she was caught up in a graduate student's lab accident. She had already decided to give the offending graduate student a graduation extension.

Not long after Muirseth left, Noah received a communication from Christen.

Noah hesitated for a long time before answering the call, and from the other end came Christen's slightly cold voice.

"—Come to the office."

The other party's words were concise and clear, with an unquestionable feeling, but it was not a threat, but simply because he was too lazy to use more rhetoric.

"...Can I inform Ms. Saria?" Noah asked after hesitating for a moment.

"She doesn't need to know this," Kristen decisively rejected Noah's idea. Sometimes, Noah felt that Kristen was a bit like Dr. Kelsey, whom he knew. Just as mysterious, just as knowledgeable. Is it true that intellectuals don't like to talk nicely? Or do they only say something particularly sensible when it matters most?

After some deliberation, Noah decided to go to the meeting alone. If it was before Muirseth told her about Saria and Christen, she would never be so arrogant as to go to Christen's office without telling Saria.

But after learning about the establishment of Rhine Life, Noah had a vague feeling.

She believed it was difficult for someone like Saria to misjudge someone. Not just Saria, but everyone around Christen was captivated by her brilliance. It could be said that Rhine's life was largely built on Christen's charisma, like Theresa to the Tower of Babel—a genuine, white moonlight. And judging by Muirseth's description, Christen was a stubborn person.

Can such a stubborn person really change because of fame, fortune and wealth?

Are there any other possibilities for those radical experiments besides seeking quick success and instant benefits?

Noah was thinking about these things, and she believed that Miss Saria had also thought about these questions, but she just didn't have the chance to come up with an answer.

Noah was really curious about what kind of person Christen was, and she especially wanted to know what the real Christen looked like, so she planned to go alone. She wanted to personally unveil the mysterious veil of Christen and see what kind of person this governor of Rhine Life was.

Moreover, he was not without room for counterattack. Even if Christen wanted to harm him, he would probably be able to resist a little.

After setting a scheduled email to be sent to Saria on his terminal, Noah pushed his wheelchair and left his dormitory.

-

"...Ah? The data of the ecological park is disordered? How is it possible? This entire energy system has been in use for many years. If it was going to be disordered, it should have been disordered long ago. What on earth did you do to make this system go wrong? This is an ecological circulation device designed by the chief commander himself." When Muirses rushed back to the Ecology Department in a hurry, those panicked researchers were even more anxious than her. Everyone knew that this ecological park was the apple of Director Muirses' eye. If anything went wrong, none of these people would be able to graduate.

But they were also confused. The procedure was the same as before. Why did this happen during simple maintenance?

In their anxiety, they could only call on Director Muirseth to clean up the mess himself.

"Let me see... the oxygen value, the carbon dioxide value, the nitrogen value... Hey... there are indeed fluctuations in the values, but why? There is obviously no problem with the system settings." Muirseth was also puzzled. Just now in the ecological park, the oxygen content suddenly increased sharply, causing the researchers working in the ecological park to have symptoms of "oxygen intoxication" for a time, and some even fainted.

Only then did people realize that there was a problem with the ecological park's circulation system. After pulling the unconscious colleague out of the ecological park, the medical department arrived immediately. Not only the medical department, but also Saria, although she was no longer the director of the security department, arrived at the scene as soon as possible.

After seeing Saria, Muirses felt a little relieved. No matter what kind of accident it was, with Saria there, she really felt that it was no big deal.

Saria will take care of everything.

This was the trust that Muirseth, a member of the Old Rhine Life, had ingrained in his bones. However, when Saria asked about the details with a gloomy face, the new researchers who didn't know Saria yet were still hesitant. They didn't want to tell the stranger in front of them the situation, but they were suppressed by Saria's aura and felt that they were inferior to her.

"There's a malfunction in the circulation system, causing a surge in oxygen levels. The oxygen level in the eco-park is now beyond what most people can tolerate—" Muirseth pushed aside the two hesitant researchers and reported directly, "This system was designed by the general manager. I didn't anticipate a problem. The setup and debugging failed, and now we have no choice but to temporarily close the eco-park."

"Kristen designed it?" Saria frowned. "Her design couldn't possibly have such a low-level bug. Did someone tamper with the entire system?"

"Who could do that... Ferdinand? Or Parvis?" Muerses thought of the two directors of Rhine Life, who were his worst enemies, and then shook his head. "No, my ecological park has nothing to do with them. They wouldn't have the time for that."

"The system core is probably inside the eco-park. I'll go shut it down manually." After a moment's thought, Saria decided to personally take charge. She donned protective gear and strapped on an oxygen tank—yes, operating in such a hyper-oxygenated environment required an oxygen tank. The air's oxygen content was so high that even someone with Vayvan's exceptional physique wouldn't be able to survive long before experiencing symptoms of oxygen intoxication.

"Be careful—I'm worried it's not that simple." Muirseth didn't stop Saria. After all, she was a true superhuman, and there was nothing for a little elf like him to worry about. "Be careful."

Saria nodded to Muirses through the mask, and then Muirses opened the entrance to the ecological park and let Saria in.

After Saria entered the ecological park, Noah finally arrived at the general manager's office.

On the top floor of Rhine Life is a huge experimental site, which is Christen’s exclusive experimental site. It is said that it cost hundreds of millions to build, but Christen has already created hundreds or even thousands of times the value of this experimental site.

After entering the office, Noah opened the Eye of God to observe the situation nearby, and then couldn't help but marvel. A strange system was running in the experimental site of the general manager. There were several golden spheres in it, which were rotating around the light ball in the center according to orbits. Even after entering the office, Noah felt a lot more relaxed. She soon realized that this was not a sudden improvement in her body, but a sudden reduction in gravity.

Artificial gravity device?

Noah had seen this thing published in a science and technology newspaper before, but wasn't it said to be a technology that would not see any breakthroughs within twenty years?

But it seemed that Christen, the general manager of Rhine Life, had already made this technology a permanent fixture in his laboratory. She couldn't help but marvel at Christen's true genius.

At this time, Christen was facing away from Noah, watching the planetary system running in the test site. She didn't speak until Noah pushed the wheelchair to her side.

"It's beautiful—if you could see this image, you'd be amazed at the wonderful, self-consistent cycle formed between planetary systems by gravity and rotation. Attraction, capture, revolution, rotation. Planets and stars—if you understand astrology, you might have some idea." Christen gave a brief introduction to the system he had created. "Our planet, Terra, is a planet in this planetary system."

"... Terra?" Noah asked doubtfully, "I know Terra is spherical, but Terra revolves around a certain star? So... is it the sun?"

"Yes, for someone who knows nothing about astronomy, you're quite quick to react." Christen nodded. "The sun we see is the closest star to us. This star has a mass thousands of times greater than Terra, so it holds Terra firmly in its grasp. The reason Terra isn't swallowed by this gravity is because it's rotating. Although Terra can't escape the sun's gravity, its rotation prevents it from being engulfed by the sun."

"...rotation." Noah chewed on these terms. To be honest, she didn't understand these things before today. She didn't take astronomy, nor did she study astrology, so her understanding of the universe was probably only the few stars that she could occasionally see at night.

In Casimir, it was also extremely difficult for her to see the starry sky - after all, Casimir was a city that never sleeps.

Through the Eye of God, she seemed to have caught a glimpse of the outside world of Terra for the first time. Although these were only simulations, they still made her heart surge with excitement.

"What about other planets? If there's life on Terra, there must be life on other planets too, right?" Noah asked curiously. "Can we go to other planets and take a look?"

"Indeed, for you, since there's life on Terra, there's no reason why other planets can't have life—but it might be more complicated than you imagine. Most of the other planets are quite barren. Planets like Terra are truly rare, even in the vast universe."

"...Is that so." Noya nodded, not quite understanding. "Then Terra is lucky?"

"I guess so." Christen didn't seem bored; she was in a good mood when she talked about this. This wasn't surprising, though. After all, when she'd discussed literature in other settings, most of her ideas had been dismissed as heresy by the Astrological Association. As an organization with a century of experience in Colombia, the Astrological Association had a near-monopoly on the study of the stars, linking them to fate and the future. They simply wouldn't believe Christen's claim that the stars were giant, burning balls of fire.

It was actually quite rare for Christen to be able to communicate with someone like Noah who could easily accept such a statement.

"This is the first time I've heard of this." Noah sighed, "It turns out I'm the one who's just looking at the world from a narrow perspective."

"No, most people on Terra don't bother to look at the starry sky—it's a vast world, and we're like a mustard seed in the vast ocean," Kristen explained. "If no one is willing to take this step, then those bound by war, conspiracy, money, fame, and gain won't even bother looking up at the sky."

"...But getting through this must be difficult..." Noya knew that Terran aircraft had a flight limit. Once an aircraft reached a certain altitude, there was almost no record of survival. This flight limit was known as the Death Zone on Terra.

No one can cross the death zone. This is the conclusion reached by generations of pilots who have challenged and fallen.

Some say that a behemoth so massive it could encircle Terra dwells above the Death Zone, devouring anyone who dares to push their limits. Others claim that the sky is actually a blue wall, and that aircraft simply collide with it. These theories and theories permeate every forum in Columbia. After countless failures, most Terrans have given up on the sights of space and returned their attention to the earth.

Even with the rapid advancement of technology today, Terra's exploration of the sky is still infinitely stagnant in the death zone.

The scenery outside the death zone can probably only be described in one sentence - let's explore the area ahead next time.

"Do you know the legend of the Sky Veil Beast? It's about the beast that envelops Terra." Christen looked at Noa and asked, "Do you believe that there is something that envelops all of Terra?"

"...I've heard of it, but if there really is a beast that big, what would it eat?" Noah shook his head. "I guess no one in all of Terra could feed it, so I don't think that's the case."

"Indeed, your idea is correct." Christen couldn't help but smile and nodded. "However, although no such behemoth exists, the barrier layer covering the entire Terra does exist."

"...barrier layer?" Noah turned his head in confusion. "What is a barrier layer?"

"It's like a glass cover. Most people can't see it." Christen explained in simple words, "It covers the entire Terra—a glass cover."

Christen stretched out her hand, as if popping a soap bubble, and pointed at the empty space around her. Immediately, the space fluctuated slightly, revealing something like a transparent wall.

"This is a defensive device I developed based on that thing. I call it—Bo Hai."

Chapter 11 Containment

"Bo Hail?" Although Noah could not see the incredible transparent wall-like existence, she could still feel the slight vibration in the air. After all, she used to play with bows and arrows and was very sensitive to the flow of air.

"Of course, the strength of a real barrier should be much stronger than the wave hack." Christen didn't compare the wave hack she developed with the actual strength of the barrier. There was no comparison. To break through the barrier, she would have to do something very difficult. "My wave hack is still immature, and it was even broken by someone using physical strength once."

"...Even things like barrier layers are being researched and developed, yet there are still people who can break through them with their physical bodies?" Noah began to wonder about the person who broke through Bo Hai, but soon she knew the answer.

"It's Saria."

“…That makes sense.”

Although Noah felt that the mace should be tried, Ms. Saria was a Vaifan after all. This race was born to refresh Terra's cognition, and their physical strength was truly terrifying.

In comparison, although their numbers are smaller, if we only talk about physical strength, probably only Fengti, Deep Sea Hunters, and some special races can compare.

"Sir Commander, I don't understand. These things shown to me in this laboratory, no matter what they are, are enough to cause an earthquake in the scientific community, but you seem to have confined all these things in this laboratory with no intention of releasing them. Especially this Bohai. If it can really be mass-produced, it can directly elevate Terra's military capabilities to a higher level." Noah understood very well the horror of things like Bohai.

Not everyone is like Saria, able to break through such invisible and intangible walls with physical strength. These are technological products, not calcified objects. They are something that anyone can use as long as they possess them. This thing is actually like the energy shields in many science fiction works, and it is extremely strong. Noya even thought that if he had this thing in Casimir, he would be able to challenge the black iron without any worries.

Although this thought only flashed through my mind, it was enough to prove the value of this thing.

"Because these are just byproducts of my research. My actual research has not yet yielded results, so publishing them is meaningless." The commander responded, "What do you think of when you see these?"

"...Technology, human progress, wealth, war, Terra will change." Noya counted on his fingers, then added, "And you truly are a genius of luxury."

If Noah didn't quite understand the concept of luxurious genius in the past, now she completely understood it. So many incredible technologies were just by-products in Christen's words. You know, wanting to create these things itself can be a scientist's lifelong goal, but Christen is different. She doesn't care about these by-products, she will only keep moving forward.

She is the highest mountain and the widest river in the scientific community. Anyone who wants to surpass her must cross the high wall of theory she has built. Genius? Genius is just the threshold to her.

"Yes, most people would think of this. Technological advancement will cause social changes and make society move in a certain direction - but have you ever thought about whether it is the times that give birth to technology, or technology that gives birth to the times?" Christen asked, but this question was obviously a bit beyond the scope. For Noah, who graduated from the history department, she certainly knew that Terra civilization had experienced several turning points, such as Originium industrial technology, Originium craftsmanship, and the emergence of mobile cities.

These technologies shape the lives of Terrans today, turning cities into arks that carry life.

So what does the general commander mean by this sentence?

"...I don't know either, but based on my limited understanding... it's technology that shapes the era," Noya said. "Thanks to the maturity of Originium industry technology, we're able to more efficiently utilize this dangerous mineral, Originium. This advancement has spawned a variety of technological explosions based on Originium, including the mobile city itself, which is built on Originium industry technology. It can be said that the Originium industry technology of the past shaped the current era."

"That's right. Human progress always undergoes fundamental shifts due to the emergence of so-called new technologies. Let me give you an example. Perhaps for most people today, the various inventions and creations based on the Originium industry are common knowledge. People have taken its byproducts as gospel truth. But is there a possibility that if we hadn't developed the Originium industry in the first place, and had chosen a different direction? For example, the technology that the Agors brought to Iberia wasn't based on Originium, but rather used hydrogen extracted from water as its energy source."

Christen explained, "Therefore, the technological paths of the Agors and us have diverged dramatically. The people on land have developed technology based on the Originium industry, becoming somewhat path-dependent. But the Agors are different. Their technology contains almost no Originium. This is enough to prove something: technology, as long as it appears at the right time, can change an era."

"...I see." Noah suddenly understood the commander's idea. If the land civilization had used the same hydrogen technology as the Agor people, then developed countries would have been centered around the sea, and seawater would have become the most important source of energy. People might have been more inclined to build cities in the sea or on the sea surface to facilitate energy extraction. Then, mobile cities would have been almost impossible to invent, and the Originium technique itself might not have appeared.

Even most of Terra's land will be covered by Originium because Originium is not used, and life will be driven to the ocean to survive.