Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

It is hard to imagine how exaggerated the previous civilization was to be able to develop such a horrific virus that is almost a natural disaster for later generations. It is also hard to imagine how powerful the enemies faced by the previous civilization were.

It was useless to ask the doctor about this, as he was still in a state of amnesia, but what about asking Precious? She... To be honest, Noah didn't dare to ask about this kind of thing.

So far, Noah has seen Christen's research results on the previous civilization in Rhine Life's research, and the information he obtained is very limited. He only knows that the technology of the previous civilization is exaggerated, but even such a powerful previous civilization was still destroyed.

Noah had no idea what Doctor Priss faced back then.

But now, those things that seemed to be created casually by the previous civilization can easily destroy everything of the current civilization.

Noah, who has become half a pre-civilized person in a sense, couldn't help but become curious - what on earth destroyed such a powerful pre-civilization.

What is it that completely covers up everything.

No one except Precious could give her the answer...

But let’s not talk about the previous civilization for now. After sending Alex back to the temporary shelter, Noah returned to his office and met Diana, who was scared out of her wits by Alex and now looked like she had difficulty just standing.

The other person was Alex's sister, or more precisely, a relative of researcher Alex. Noa didn't really want to pursue this loss. On the one hand, it was her decision to let Diana see Alex's specific condition, and if she really wanted to pursue it, it would be her fault. On the other hand, even though she knew the difference between Alex and the original Alex, she still had a different view of Diana.

It has to be said that the reason why Diana has come to this point is somewhat due to the problem of Rhine Life——

Rhine Life concealed the information of the prototype and did not give the family members enough right to know. Although Noah could understand the reason for doing so, it was precisely because of Rhine Life's concealment that the current loss was caused.

Fortunately, for Rhine Life now, repairing these things is a small amount of money.

Director Nasti, who is in charge of the renovation, will have to work hard. After all, she is the largest contractor of Rhine Life. Any problems that occur in Rhine Life are compensated by this civil engineer. In any case, the maintenance fee will not be reduced, but she may get scolded by Miss Nasti.

"Miss Diana—" Noah suddenly spoke, causing Diana to shudder subconsciously. She looked up at the oppressive and trusted commander in front of her, her eyes evasive. However, in front of Noah, escaping was meaningless.

"...Mr. General."

Diana was probably the most unsettled during this incident. First and foremost—she was a powerless researcher, possessed of little more than her own courage. After facing the horror of the prototype, it's fair to say she was terrified. After all, this was her first experience of the horror of a containment breach. As the thick walls ripped apart layer by layer, she could clearly feel the entire facility vibrating... that was the prototype's power.

It was also the first time that she realized what kind of monster the person who looked so much like her sister was.

"I understand your lack of trust in Rhine Life. In fact, we didn't have any obligation to inform you. From your perspective, it's not surprising that you consider Rhine Life, and us, your enemies." Noah's tone was actually quite gentle, but in Diana's current state of mind, the meaning of these words might have been completely different. She broke out in a cold sweat. This time, such a big incident... If Rhine Life really lived up to her expectations, she might be used as a test subject.

Or just throw it to feed the prototype?

After all, in her mind, Rhine Life was a group of morally corrupt scientists, a small group of scientific bullies who were laughing sinisterly and conducting moral experiments without any bottom line...

"Regarding this incident, I hope Miss Diana can keep it confidential. As a member of Rhine Life, I will give you a confidentiality agreement—" Noah could sense her emotions, but this time, she didn't actively absorb the negative emotions. After all, some lessons need to be remembered more deeply, and she wouldn't be so gentle. "Regarding the containment facility, if there's anything you don't understand, I can ask Director Saria to explain it to you—"

Noah continued, pausing deliberately to aggravate the other person's tension before she spoke slowly. "You will be fined three months' salary, and your transfer application will be rejected. Director Muirseth will be responsible for arranging your subsequent experiments. You will have two days to write a 10,000-word self-review. I ask for your sincere and heartfelt response."

"……what?"

"Didn't you hear clearly? Three months' salary deduction, your transfer application rejected, and you must write a 10,000-word self-review. If you have any objections, please raise them now." Noah had already let the girl off; these punishments were truly painless. After all, Diana herself wasn't short of money. Alex's pension was being paid out regularly, and even if it was a salary deduction, Rhine Life had free cafeterias and dormitories within the institution, so she wouldn't starve.

"...That's it?" Diana asked in disbelief. "You...are not going to fire me?"

"Would firing you bring any benefit to me?" Noah asked doubtfully. "Besides, keeping you by my side would be a better way to ensure that you don't leak the secrets of Rhine Life, right?"

"...I see..." Diana nodded, "You're planning on spying on me, right?"

"...You're not wrong to understand it that way." Noah nodded. "You have to understand that since you've chosen to access a company's confidential information... then you must be prepared to work here for the rest of your life. This is already the most tolerant way I can handle this."

"...Indeed, you are a tolerant person...If you were the commander-in-chief when my sister was still alive...perhaps such a thing would not have happened." Diana was not an ungrateful person. She was well aware of the influence of Rhine Life in Colombia. She could have [accidentally died] in an experiment, but Noah spared her life. This in itself was a very tolerant way of handling the matter.

"I can only apologize for what happened to your sister...but you also have to understand that it was not a conspiracy...it was just an accident." Noah knew that Diana still had a knot in her heart, and that was the death of her sister.

Diana is a very outstanding person. Just from the papers she published during her school years, we can tell that she is a rare scientific talent. This is also a big reason why Noah is tolerant.

Rhine Life needs people like this now...

If possible, Noah hopes that she can use this talent to truly benefit mankind, rather than engage in intrigue and investigate the illusory truth.

Alex did die in an accident. The Blacklight virus leaked, and it wasn't just Alex who was affected, almost the entire laboratory was affected. If Director Saria hadn't taken action immediately, Rhine Life would have been wiped out at that time.

Or rather...if it weren't for Saria's existence, Rhine Life would have been wiped out countless times already...

Advancing on the forefront of science is inherently dangerous. No matter how careful scientists are about safety, they are vulnerable to the Blacklight Virus, a creation of previous civilizations...

Researcher Alex is a respectable researcher who has dedicated herself to science. Noah respects all researchers who die accidentally like this. They are dedicated people and should not be regarded as part of a conspiracy.

"I respect your sister. She was a great devotee. I'm sorry for her death..." Noah continued, "So, as her sister, I hope you can inherit your sister's will. Rhine Life welcomes you, Miss Diana."

"...Thank you." Diana lowered her head. Only at this moment did she finally let go of the things about her sister.

"...I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you earlier, and..." Perhaps it was those heartfelt words about Researcher Alex that touched Diana, but she continued, "I can only give you a warning... Be careful of Director Parvez."

Diana didn't say it clearly, but she felt that this sentence was enough.

Without waiting for Noah's response, she turned and left the office. Saria, who was leaning against the wall, looked up at Noah, who seemed lost in thought, and asked, "Do you need me to bring Parvis over?"

"No, no need." Noah waved his hand quickly. "—I roughly know who's behind him... Or rather, there aren't many organizations in Colombia that know so much about us right now."

"what do you mean?"

"Let's just pretend we don't know for now." Noah shook his head. "The Melander Foundation and the Colombian government are in cahoots. After all, Rhine Life is just a tech company. A falling out with the Melander Foundation won't benefit anyone."

Is the Melander Foundation's target this time the Blacklight Virus? Or do they know more?

Noah had to start thinking about this problem. After accepting the position of commander-in-chief, she learned about Kristen's many plans, including the act of defrauding military funds to research aerospace equipment... To be honest, Noah didn't think that the Colombian president knew nothing about this matter. The strange bird's indulgence of Rhine Life made her somewhat confused. The fundamental interests of the Colombian government and the Melander Foundation should be the same... but their attitudes towards Rhine Life are completely different.

Therefore, even within Columbia, there are probably differences of opinion on Kristen.

Noah sighed. She really didn't understand much about politics, but that didn't affect her ability to understand people's hearts.

Often, two people with the same goal can't come together. Their different approaches to achieving their goals naturally lead to disagreements. Just like the situation between Margaret and me, or Encia and Enya, does the current difference in attitude between the Melander Foundation and the Colombian government also represent a division within Colombia?

Noah was just guessing, maybe...behind the rise of Colombia, in addition to Rhine Life, the Colombian government also had things related to the previous civilization.

After all, a big part of the reason why Rhine Life can access these relics of previous civilizations is because the Colombian government allows Rhine Life to explore and research these relics of previous civilizations. By exploring the technology of previous civilizations and allowing Colombia to achieve technological advancement, this is the first step in their plan.

So...is Christen's space program also within their consideration?

Having reached this point, Noah has to think from the perspective of a company leader about how much support the Colombian government will provide, or how much tolerance it will provide.

She and Kristen were currently walking a tightrope. She had lost all trace of her since her disappearance, but Noah knew she was definitely planning something, and it was something big. The reforms she had completed within Rhine Life and everything else were all designed to provide greater assistance once her plan was launched.

After all, her dream, that seemingly unreachable sky...

Those words from a madman who wanted to break through the sky, which could be described as a pipe dream, gave Noah, who had been in confusion since leaving Casimir, a new goal.

Break through the sky and let all of Terra know that the sky is not unreachable.

If successful, then thousands of years later, people who follow her path and fly into the sky should sing praises in her name.

That fiery dream, like the wings of Ikaros, was so dazzling that even someone like Noah, who was in darkness, had to raise his head and look at the sky.

However, these words probably made Saria angry again, so Noah could only smile bitterly and shook his head. He said, "I have to meet with the head of the Rutland Firearms Research Association today. If there's nothing else... Saria, I'll trouble you with the rest."

"...I understand." Saria nodded. She knew what Noah was talking about.

Although Noah doesn't want to break up with the Melander Foundation, the Melander Foundation should not think of doing whatever it wants in Rhine Life.

Chapter 40: Justice!

The day after Alex's runaway accident, Noah had his own work to do early and was unable to inspect the reconstruction work.

However, after this stress relief, Alex is now incredibly quiet, staying in the containment room and doing little. Director Nasti handles maintenance, and Noa handles the payments. This is the healthiest civil engineering ecosystem. The boss spares no expense, so naturally, the civil engineering lady gives it her all. Judging by the progress, it should be resolved in less than a week. Is Miss Nasti really a banshee? Really not some stone-winged demon or something?

Noah suddenly understood why Miss Nasti was able to secure the position of director of the Rhine Life Engineering Department. With this speed of infrastructure construction, she even believed Noah when she said she could build a mobile city single-handedly.

This efficiency is too high—

However, Noa was going to meet with the head of the Lateran Firearms Research Institute today. Although she had been waiting in the reception room early, she was still a little nervous. It wasn't because she was nervous, but because after she proposed the concept of the Terra Expo, the Lateran Firearms Research Institute had responded the most enthusiastically. As a special institution with a monopoly on firearms technology and a religious background, their support was somewhat unexpected by Noa.

Religion and science and technology... there seems to be an inherent and irreconcilable contradiction between these two terms...

But there was no point in thinking so much. Today's meeting was quite important, and Noah attached great importance to it. Not only did she arrive early, she had even prepared some trump cards - in the worst case, she was even willing to share a milder singularity technology.

Of course, sharing Singularity Technology would definitely require consultation with Saria. As long as Saria nodded, Noah would feel confident.

Ultimately, I knew nothing about scientific research. Strictly speaking, it was still Saria who was primarily responsible for the research, so I had to ask Saria's opinion on most things. She was actually more inclined to help Rhine Life raise sponsorship.

As expected - it would be better to give the position of chief governor to Saria... This was not the first time she had this idea.

While he was thinking, the door suddenly opened. Noah was stunned for a moment, but he quickly regained his decent smile.

"These two are our friends from Lateran, right?" Noah said. "On behalf of Rhine Life, I welcome you two. What are your names?"

Although the other party represents the Rutland Firearms Research Institute, he is not necessarily someone from the institute. You must know that Rutland has a strong sense of integrity, and it is possible that the other party is sent from other departments.

"Hello, you can call me Mostima, and as for the one accompanying me - you can call her the Narrator of Suffering." The other party said with a smile, but when he said the five words "Narrator of Suffering", Noah was a little stunned, but he didn't know what to say, so he could only show an awkward but polite smile.

"That's... a very special name," Noa replied politely. "Well then, Ms. Mostima and Ms. Narrator of Suffering—please take your seats."

"...Moss! St. Ma! How many times have I told you! Don't call me that in front of others!" However, Miss Narrator of Suffering didn't seem to like the name and immediately raised her gun towards a certain Blue Angel who was smirking. "My name is Fiammetta! Not Narrator of Suffering!"

"Alright, Ultraman, we're here to discuss serious matters. Let's not bring up such trivial matters." Mastema smiled and waved her hand. "Wreck-It Ralph's opinion is unimportant. She's here to accompany me. This matter is primarily between you and me—ah, right, let me ask you something first. Miss Commander, since we've already introduced ourselves, then—"

"Well... my name is Noah Kyrielight. You can just call me Noah. There's no need to call me Commander-in-Chief." Noah nodded. Although it was just a short exchange, Noah seemed to have understood the ecological environment of the two people. It was very special. One party was like a powder keg, while the other party was a bad friend who was quite familiar with the limit of the other's explosion, so he frequently spread his wings on the edge of danger.

To be honest, Noah is quite envious of this kind of relationship where they can make fun of each other. As for himself, he probably won't be able to keep making people angry and then cool them down quickly.

"Okay, Miss Noah—that's a nice name. Sure enough, you didn't lie to me when you asked me to come here. You are indeed a very charming lady." Mostima propped up his chin and narrowed his eyes with a smile. "I wonder if Miss Noah is free this afternoon. I—oh, don't hit me, it hurts."

"Shut up! Sorry, Miss Noya, she just can't control her mouth." Fiameta, sweating profusely, hurriedly explained, "It's just a personal behavior, don't escalate it to Lateran!"

"That's too much! I was just attracted by her beauty!"

"Shut up! Please, stop embarrassing the Lateran people in front of others!"

——To be honest, watching them bicker is more interesting than negotiating, but this time they are here to discuss business after all, so Noah could only bring up the business again with some regret.

"The original intention of this Terra Expo is to increase scientific and technological exchanges among countries and share what they have. If possible, I hope to have as many countries as possible participate in this exchange. Regardless of whether they are large or small, strong or weak, they should at least have something to show. Therefore, I plan to not only display scientific and technological achievements at this Terra Expo, but also include the local customs, folk customs and traditions of various countries. Each country can showcase itself through this Expo."

After Noa expressed her thoughts, she observed the other person's emotional reaction. Strangely, she could barely sense any emotion from Mostima. However, Fiammetta was quite excited after hearing her thoughts, seemingly agreeing with Noa's idea. "That's a good idea indeed. Showcasing the strengths of each country—"

"Ahem..." But before Fiammetta could finish, Mostima coughed, causing Fiammetta to immediately shut down. It was obvious that although Fiammetta seemed to be in charge of Mostima, the real decision-maker was still Mostima.

"Ms. Noah, I'm actually a Messenger of Nations. As such, I've been to many places. My job is to travel extensively, so I know the faces of many countries and understand the differences between them. Some countries have already reached the pinnacle of science and are on their way to perfection. Some focus on people's livelihoods and are determined to feed their citizens. Some have only just begun to establish trains, and even stoves are rare goods."

Mostima paused before continuing. "Of course, I'm not opposed to events like the World Expo, but ultimately, it's something only countries with the wherewithal can afford. Your idea is beautiful, but unrealistic."

"...I know." Noah had been to Kjerag and knew about its dire situation. She naturally knew that it would be difficult for Kjerag to produce anything worthy of being exhibited at the expo, so Noah wanted to lower the standards. However, lowering the standards meant that more funds were needed. As the bulk of the funds, those powerful countries might not want to bear this.

The Terra Expo is essentially a place for major powers to flex their muscles - even if this was not Noah's original intention, after it was proposed and attracted the attention of various countries, it was bound to become like this.

Terra is a place where the strong prey on the weak. If a weak country really attracts the attention of a big country, it may not be a good thing.

Mostima had seen all kinds of "great power styles" and that's why she warned Noa not to be too idealistic. The result of getting those small countries involved might not be as good as she thought.

"But, Terra Expo—my ultimate goal is to make it clear to all of Terra that we are one. We are all Terrans. After discarding race, position, and country, each of us is the same, and we are all working hard to live in this world. And in the face of a greater vision... Terra should unite. No matter how difficult it is, I hope that such a picture can eventually be realized. First of all, Terra Expo is a test—I admit that my ideas are idealistic, but at least we should try."

Noah said seriously, "I can't guarantee I can take on everything, but since what I said in my inaugural speech has already attracted a lot of attention, I don't mind being the first to speak out. The future evaluation of my merits and demerits has nothing to do with me. I just want to be the first to try something new!"

Noah said seriously, "I'm not a genius, nor can I influence the international situation, but I've reached this position. All I can do is do what I can, regardless of the cost. I'll do my job and be the first to step forward!"

"What a wonderful speech—" Mastema clapped her hands. "I'm almost shedding tears for you."

Despite saying so, Mostima's emotions remained calm. She simply looked at the girl in front of her and said, "I'm surprised you didn't lie."

"Mastema..." Fiammetta's blood boiled at the words, but the decision was still made by Mastema. She wanted to say something else, but Mastema held out his hand to stop her from saying the next word.

"So, what does Rutland get out of this—?"

"..."

"So, what will Dayan gain from this?"

"..."

"So, Colombia... I'm sorry, I don't see any reason why they would support this proposal." Mostima held up three fingers. "The three countries have already reached this point. Where else do you want to turn? Ursus? Or the already half-crippled Victoria?"

"..." Noah was speechless, "...I will try my best."

"Then let me ask you again, if the Sarkaz succeed in rebuilding their nation, will you bring them into it? By then, have you considered how to resolve the conflict between Kazdel and Lateran?"

Everything Mostima said was very realistic. Not everyone can put aside national hatred and family feuds.

Ursus and Casimir, Lateran and Kazdel, how could such feuds sit at the same table?

So, Mostima refuted Noah's idea from beginning to end.

"...Such a grand and forward-thinking concept, why has no one ever realized it? Is it because the ancients lacked the wisdom? No, it's simply that it's nearly impossible to realize." Mastema shook her finger. "So, Ms. Noa, have you truly considered the price of all that you envision?"

"Ms. Mastema." Noa looked up. "Have you ever looked up at the stars?"

"……certainly."

"Have you ever seen the starry sky twinkling in the wilderness, without the illumination of city lights?"

"I've seen it."