Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

"Why should we face Qi Yan?" the shapeshifter asked rhetorically.

Theresis: ?

Seeing that Theresis and the Exorcist had not yet reacted, the Shapeshifter looked at the Blood Lord.

The Blood Demon Lord remained expressionless, gazing out the window at the scenery.

The shapeshifter withdrew its gaze and smiled:

Qi Yan had only one desire: he wanted to lick the original source stone.

Think back to the beginning; in every conflict between the Sarkaz and Qi Yan, it was always the Sarkaz who started it.

Upon hearing this, the Blood Demon Lord's expression finally showed a slight change.

He felt a sudden, inexplicable pain in his lower back.

The shapeshifter looked at the Blood Demon Lord and added, "You can't even attack the Demon King."

Blood Demon Lord: "..."

The absolutioner could hardly contain himself and said in a deep voice, "But the Sarkaz and that alien demon king are destined to stand on opposite sides."

The room fell silent again.

The shapeshifter tilted its head and silently looked at the absolutioner.

After a long pause, Theresis slowly spoke: "Perhaps, it is not the Sarkaz who stand on the opposite side of the Demon King, but us."

The pardoner: "..."

Therese clenched her fist slightly on the table in front of her.

After a brief moment of contemplation, his thoughts gradually became clear:

“The Sarkaz do not need a demon lord from another race… No, if a demon lord is a shackle for the Sarkaz, then the Sarkaz do not need a demon lord.”

Whether it's the Demon King or Qi Yan, I will find an opportunity to meet them. Since Qi Yan knows everything, I will go to him to seek an answer.

Before that, if the news brought back by the shapeshifter was true, Qi Yan could only be considered an unstable factor; as long as he wasn't provoked, he wouldn't be an enemy of the Sarkaz.

The pardoner turned and gave Theresis a deep look, but said nothing in the end.

“The Sarkaz might be able to find something for Qi Yan to do,” the shapeshifter said at the right moment. “I’ve gotten some information from the Rhodes Island team that Qi Yan has clearly shown interest in the three plots of land in Londinium.”

He's already taken the Sadion plot; it's now parked near Little Hills. The remaining two are in Highbury and Norbert districts.

"Highbury cannot be abandoned for now!"

Therese said decisively, "The factory there is crucial to Sarkaz. Even if Qi Yan tries to take it, we must not give it up."

Let's choose the Norbert district. Let's move our plans forward and bring the Norbert district into the Duke's army's sights."

The absolution master hesitated, as if he wanted to speak but then stopped.

He felt that doing so would be tantamount to falling into Qi Yan's trap, and if Qi Yan did anything...

Thinking of this, the Pardoner suddenly looked at the Blood Demon Lord.

“I agree,” the pardoner said decisively.

The three exchanged a glance, then turned to look at the Blood Demon Lord, who hadn't spoken a word throughout.

A green liquid swept across the table in front of everyone, then a pen was tossed to the Blood Demon Lord, followed by a notebook, a water glass, and then another pen...

The Blood Demon Lord finally withdrew his gaze, looking expressionlessly at the shapeshifter, who calmly stopped after consuming all the items on the table right in front of him.

"……I agree."

After leaving those words behind, the Blood Demon Lord looked out the window again, looking every bit like a jade-sick patient who had lost all will to live and was utterly despondent.

No one doubted that if there were a pitfall in front of the Blood Demon Lord right now, he would jump in without hesitation...

With the Blood Demon Lord's approval, the decision made at this meeting was passed unanimously.

Just as Therese was about to announce the end of the meeting, there was a knock on the door.

“It’s Manfred,” the pardoner said.

"come in."

Manfred, having received permission, rushed in with an anxious expression, bowed, and reported:

"Qi Yan has entered the city again, heading straight for the central district. He then wandered around the city as if searching for something, making it difficult to understand his thoughts."

Tracy frowned immediately and began to ponder the meaning behind Qi Yan's actions.

The shapeshifter held up a finger: "Maybe he's lost."

Manfred: ?

Theresis: ? ?

Pardoner: ? ? ?

The Blood Demon Lord was still gazing out the window.

“You must be joking, sir. How could a powerful figure like Qi Yan get lost?” Manfred said with a wry smile. “However, we did learn something else from this.”

There's no need to waste time cleaning up the blood Qi Yan left behind; it has long since lost its ability to restrain the Sarkaz.

When Theresis heard this, the only piece of good news in recent times, even he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief:

"You did a good job. Was the information obtained through experiments? Was it accurate?"

Manfred looked at him strangely and shook his head as he replied:

"It's definitely accurate, after all, it was Qi Yan who told us."

Theresis: ? ? ? ?

Seeing Tracy glaring at him, Manfred quickly followed up with an explanation:

"At the time, a Sarkaz squad was cleaning up blood when Qi Yan, who happened to be passing by, approached them and patiently explained the properties of his blood to them."

As soon as Qi Yan appeared, half of the Sarkaz in the squad were so frightened that they foamed at the mouth and fainted.

So Qi Yan used the unconscious Sarkaz as test subjects, pressing them into pools of blood to prove he wasn't lying.

Afterwards, he meticulously explained how to prevent Oripathy after a natural disaster, expressed his condolences and concern to the Sarkaz, and even said he welcomed them to the Sadion district outside the city... no, not the Sadion district..."

At the end, Manfred suddenly seemed a little awkward, looking like he didn't know how to start the conversation.

Seeing this, Therese became somewhat angry:

“I taught you, Manfred, to remain calm and composed in the face of adversity, to speak your mind, and that those who aspire to great things should not be bogged down in trifles.”

"Yes! Then I will speak."

Manfred bowed his head and admitted his mistake, saying in detail: "Qi Yan said that he had built the Ark Retirement Home outside the city, and that the Little Hill County plot and the Sadion District plot had been renamed."

The Hillshire site is the main site for the Ark Nursing Home, while the Sadion district site is called... the Kazdel Nursing Home branch...

Qi Yan is spreading the word throughout the city, saying that the Sarkaz can go there for post-disaster Oripathy checkups and treatment, and there's a 20% discount for group purchases!

Chapter 614 The Shapeshifter: Regret, in short, deep regret.

The absolutioner looked at Theresis, and Theresis looked at the shapeshifter.

The Blood Demon Lord was still gazing out the window.

A moment of silence filled the room, then Theresis spoke in a low voice:

"So you do know something, Shapeshifters."

Shapeshifter: "..."

We really didn't know!

We were just making a random comment, but who knew Qi Yan would pull off such a bombshell, even bringing out Kazdel!

"So Qi Yan's real goal is to become the Demon King again?" The more Therese thought about it, the more her brows furrowed.

How could you take it seriously!

The shapeshifter was dumbfounded.

“But Qi Yan is not a Sarkaz; at least for now, the body he’s using is that of Rupert.” The pardoner analyzed seriously.

What the hell are you analyzing?!

The shapeshifter was dumbfounded.

“Perhaps this is exactly what Qi Yan planned.” Theresis’s thoughts were becoming clearer. “That little leader of Rhodes Island is not a Sarkaz either.”

What are you talking about?!

For the first time, the shapeshifter felt a pang of regret for the mess he had made.

Manfred stared blankly at Tracy and her companion as they talked back and forth, but he gleaned a shocking piece of information from their conversation.

"Qi Yan... was once a Demon King?" Manfred asked in shock.

Therese and the pardoner remained silent.

What are you all tacitly agreeing to?!

The shapeshifter's eyes twitched violently.

Then, he inexplicably had a sudden realization.

"Eureka..."

The shapeshifter lowered his head helplessly: "Eureka's curse is still with us; we should talk less from now on."

Theresis and the others looked at the shapeshifter in confusion, wondering why he was mentioning that name at this time.

The shapeshifter was unable to explain this.

If Qi Yan's power is something you can see and experience firsthand by getting beaten up, then Eureka's power is something no one can truly understand except those who have personally experienced it.

As for their casual, prank-like speculation, it also cannot be confirmed.

The history of Sarkaz is so ancient that even ancient beings like the Exorcists and Blood Lords, whose lifespans are measured in millennia, cannot count every Demon Lord.

Or rather, who could know that the Demon King they know isn't Qi Yan?

Theresa, who once wore that crown, now exists in a very unusual state and has already removed the crown.

On this land, only the young Demon King of Rhodes Island can use the crown to glimpse the shadows of past Demon Kings throughout the ages.

"Hehe, whatever you want, we're going back now."

The shapeshifter chose to accept reality, uttered a single sentence, and then vanished into the ground as a green fluid.

They need to hide for a while; Qi Yan's warning was no joke.

The shapeshifters realized they hadn't fully grasped Eureka's power yet, and if they were to be wiped out, things would get really messed up.

The shapeshifters are simply searching for the meaning of their existence and having some fun along the way; they don't want to become the fun itself.

The shapeshifter's departure did not affect the rest of the people in the room.

Therese looked at the pardoner and instructed:

"The King of Carrion has gone to Rhodes Island. He must be going to make contact with Wendigo. We need to inform him of this matter when he returns."

“I understand.” The pardoner nodded earnestly in response.

Then, Tracy looked at Manfred, who was still somewhat stunned, and instructed him:

"You don't need to worry about Qi Yan's affairs right now. Let him do whatever he wants. I'll find an opportunity to contact him."

You are now to focus on matters related to the Sarkaz Military Commission within Londinium, and to locate the hideouts of Rhodes Island and the Self-Defense Forces in the central city. Report back to me immediately upon discovery.

Manfred readily agreed.

Lentinium, central city, main street.

Qi Yan squatted on the edge of a flower bed, holding a terminal and frowning in deep thought.

To his left, a squad of self-defense forces looked at each other, bewildered by the situation. To Qi Yan's right, a squad of Sarkaz huddled together, the more timid ones so weak in the knees that they had to lean on their comrades to stay upright.

This self-defense force squad was unexpectedly discovered by the Sarkaz squad while investigating the current situation in the city.

Both sides were about to fight, but were so frightened by Qi Yan's sudden appearance that they dared not move, allowing Qi Yan to borrow the terminal from a self-rescue army soldier.