Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

Murphy was so shocked that he even forgot to play the maggot for a moment. His eyes widened, and he lay on the ground looking back at Gertrude in a moon-gazing manner.

His reaction made Gertrude frown.

The doubt and shock he felt seemed genuine.

"Stop testing me. I didn't get the information from Murphy." Qi Yan saw through her intention and laughed. "I wasn't sent by the Gemini Queen to probe your strength. You're not worthy."

Gertrude fell silent again.

She wasn't angry; instead, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Yes, she doesn't deserve it.

"So, you weren't drawn here by me, nor by this remote little town, but by the research notes on the Sounds of the Mortal World?"

Gertrude felt she had found the truth.

But Qi Yan shook his head again in front of her:

"Although I've now set my sights on the Sounds of the Mortal World, a mere fragment of a musical piece left behind by the Witch King isn't enough to make me travel all this way."

I was drawn here by the beautiful friendship between the boys!

Gertrude: ?

He flipped himself over, changing from a crawling position to lying on the ground, thus protecting himself.

Qi Yan glanced at him sideways, ignored him, and continued speaking to Gertrude:

"I've come here to take two people with me, but neither of them are currently in Viseheim, so I need your help to gather them here."

Of course, as part of the transaction, I will also give you a very good reward.

“…I would like to hear the details,” Gertrude said calmly.

Qi Yan was quite satisfied with Gertrude's compliant attitude and slowly began to introduce the background story in detail:

"The Sound of the Mortal World" is a piece of music composed during the reign of the Witch King. After the Witch King's rule in Letania was overthrown by the Twin Queens, his music became taboo.

However, these forbidden items were not completely destroyed. Instead, they were collected by the remnants of the Witch King's faction and, after a series of 'pleasing' human experiments, injected into the brains of the Witch King's collateral bloodline.

They hoped that this would restore the Witch King's power to the mortal realm, thereby rebelling against the rule of the Twin Queens.

Gertrude's expression was rather unpleasant.

These secrets are taboo among the nobles of Letania, and ordinary people would never know them.

The more Qi Yan knew, the more passive her situation became.

As Qi Yan said, she was researching this taboo.

"However, they say they are remnants of the Witch King, but they have killed more of the Witch King's bloodline than the Twin Queens."

Qi Yan sneered, "The Twin Queens didn't really investigate the traces of the Witch King's collateral bloodlines, but they gathered them together to conduct human experiments, and in the end, only the two little ones survived."

"It's just that the Witch King doesn't have hands right now, otherwise he would definitely give them a thumbs up and then slap their heads off."

Gertrude pursed her lips, somewhat unable to adapt to Qi Yan's bizarre thought process.

She was all prepared to face Qi Yan's threats, but then this guy started gossiping.

Another rustling sound rang out.

Murphy casually sat back on the sofa, looking at Qi Yan with an open and honest expression:

"Keep going, keep going. What happened next? Anyway, I've heard enough news to make me disappear eight hundred times over. I'm so rich, I don't have to worry about anything, hehehe."

Qi Yan's eyes lit up when he saw that someone was interested in his gossip:

"One of those two little ones is now the Earl of Utica, who is imprisoned on a high tower within Utica, serving as a mascot to prove to the world how benevolent the Twin Queens are, willing to give the bloodline of the Witch King a chance to live."

Another, because the experiment on the Sound of the Mortal World was not entirely successful, was being monitored by the Queen's spies and was wandering this land.

Because of the fragmented worldly voice within his mind, wherever he goes, the symptoms of Oripathy worsen in those infected; he's practically a walking plague!

Murphy gasped, then patted his chest in relief: "Luckily he wasn't in Viseheim, otherwise such a terrifying guy could have destroyed the city without anyone noticing."

"It'll be soon. That wicked woman is searching the whole world for that young man named White Chalk."

Qi Yan suddenly turned his attention to Gertrude, whose face was dark.

Gertrude took a deep breath and suddenly realized that coming to find Qi Yan was the worst decision she had ever made in her life.

In front of Qi Yan, she felt as if she had no secrets, which was even more uncomfortable than walking naked in the street.

But she had to come, because she was the lord of Viseheim.

With a powerful figure like Qi Yan suddenly appearing, and her inaction as the lord, her good days are numbered.

In front of Gertrude's gloomy face, Qi Yan continued with a grin:

"I'll give you another piece of free information: your actions, which you thought were well-hidden, have already been discovered by the Queen's spies."

Before long, they will deliberately present chalk to you, making you feel that time is of the essence, and thus initiate your own suicide.

Then you'll successfully transform from a bad woman into a dead woman.

Are you happy? Are you surprised?

Chapter 273 I was really just gossiping

Qi Yan seemed to think that wasn't enough, and continued to recklessly reveal all sorts of explosive news.

“Gerdrud Strolo, your family was most powerful during the reign of the Witch King, but after the Witch King fell, your father lost his side and was killed by the remnants of the Witch King’s faction. After that, your brother was installed as the new ruler.”

Qi Yan's smile gradually turned cruel: "But you knew your brother was weak and incompetent, so you personally poisoned him to death, became the master of the Strolo family, and began to rule Viseheim."

Unfortunately, the situation is not something a mere earl like you can control. The remnants of the Witch King's faction still hold you back, preventing you from resisting.

To prove your worth, you tried many things, and ultimately you set your sights on the sounds of the mundane world.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Murphy even subconsciously held his breath, afraid that his panting would attract Gertrude's attention.

At this moment, Gertrude looked incredibly terrifying in Murphy's eyes.

It was the expression of a trapped beast suddenly driven to a dead end.

Just when Murphy thought Gertrude would suddenly lash out, the elegant and beautiful woman calmed herself down with a deep breath.

"This is a very exciting revelation, Mr. Qi Yan. I am truly astonished that you have such detailed information, even surpassing that of Her Majesty the Queen's spies."

Gertrude's dark eyes were fixed on Qi Yan, as if trying to discern something from him: "I've heard you're from Rhodes Island, but as far as I know, you haven't been with Rhodes Island for very long, and Rhodes Island doesn't have the capability to extend its reach into Letania."

Therefore, there is a hidden organization behind you, and all your actions are for that organization. Rhodes Island is just a pathetic front.

Gertrude seemed to be holding her breath, trying her best to guess Qi Yan's identity in an attempt to salvage the situation.

Unfortunately, the more she talked, the stranger the smile on Qi Yan's face became.

"Ah, yes, yes."

Qi Yan nodded repeatedly.

Seeing Gertrude's increasingly gloomy face, Qi Yan shook his head and said:

"It seems you really enjoy this kind of information exchange. What a coincidence, I enjoy it too, because... I know everything on this land."

Gertrude's heart skipped a beat.

She felt she had made a wrong decision, triggering some strange switch on the Lupo in front of her.

Sure enough, the next second, Qi Yan's revelations came flooding in like a dam bursting:

"You suffer from insomnia every day because you hate the feeling of having your fate controlled by others, but you are powerless to investigate the identity of the force that controls you, and can only simply categorize it as the remnants of the Witch King."

In an endless predicament, you choose to rebel. You go mad and seek revenge on everyone, on the remnants of the Witch King, and on the Twin Queens. So you study the Voice of the Mortal World, intending to use this power to smear those people's faces with your own life.

You have transformed the Hall of Sunset, the music hall built by the Witch King, and intend to use it to unleash the power of earthly sounds.

You even sponsored a musician named Czerny because you liked him…

Gertrude suddenly interrupted Qi Yan sharply, as if she had been stepped on.

In front of her, Qi Yan slightly stood up and looked at the soft tail behind Gertrude.

"It's not even being crushed, so why is it yelling so loudly?" Qi Yan muttered.

Gertrude: "..."

That guy is insane!

We can't let him lead us astray anymore!

Gertrude took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

“I admit defeat. I am powerless to resist you. I admit my previous arrogance, which led me to attempt to have an equal dialogue with you.”

Gertrude's tone was somewhat desolate: "State your purpose, and I will no longer try to resist."

Qi Yan tilted his head in confusion: "I told you, I just want to take two people with me."

Gertrude frowned: "With the information you've presented, finding two people should be easy... I'm sorry, I questioned you again, but I'm willing to cooperate."

"So obedient?" Qi Yan was somewhat surprised.

Gertrude remained silent.

She didn't want to be so obedient, but Qi Yan's previous threats made her feel powerless.

The feeling that all her secrets had been exposed put her under even more suffocating pressure than the remnants of the Witch King's faction and the Queen's voice.

"If these are all the requirements, I'll arrange it for you right now."

Gertrude stood up and glanced at Murphy: "Mr. Qi Yan will be your responsibility for now. If he's satisfied, you'll be fine. If he's not satisfied... well, I probably won't need to get involved."

Murphy's eyes lit up.

I can live a few more days!

Murphy became instantly excited as he watched Gertrude leave:

"I knew that my diligent service to you along the way would be rewarded. It's all thanks to you for scaring that bastard woman, otherwise my head would definitely be gone."

Looking at the excited Murphy, Qi Yan seriously suspected that if Murphy had a tail, it would probably be spinning like a propeller by now.

"When did I scare her?" Qi Yan asked, puzzled. "I just chatted with her about some gossip. How come it's like I'm threatening her? You guys are all too suspicious."

But the gossip you're talking about is all about her personally!

Murphy thought to himself, but dared not show it on his face, obediently playing the fake-smiling boy.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell her about the payment."

Qi Yan slapped his forehead, realizing it was too late to find Gertrude, so he had to put it aside for now and deal with it when they met again.

He looked at Murphy and instructed him:

"Get me a pass in the next few days, I'm planning to take a couple of laps around Viseheim."

"Okay, no problem, bro!"

Murphy readily agreed and decided to become a heartless tool.

"Who's your brother?" Qi Yan asked with a look of disdain.

"Then... shall I call you Father?"

"……roll!"

The clouds on the horizon gradually blushed with red, and the setting sun slowly descended, casting a shy veil over the city.

Qi Yan patted his belly and strolled leisurely along the path of Murphy's manor to digest his food.

Murphy was dressed in an exquisite aristocratic gown, but he followed Qi Yan obediently like a butler.

"Old Mo, let's go for a walk in the city," Qi Yan suggested.

Murphy nodded in agreement, but a hint of hesitation still lingered in his expression:

“Father… oh no, brother, I mean, your identity is still somewhat sensitive. Going out is definitely not a problem, but could you tell me the route so I can help you make arrangements?”

Qi Yan's smile was somewhat strange. He glanced sideways at Murphy and asked:

"Who are you bribing, the Queen's Voice?"