Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

"However, our Victoria delegation is shopping for gifts on this shopping street in preparation for our upcoming meetings with the Rhode Island delegation and the Kazdale Retirement Home delegation. If Miss Zillyn has any needs, we are happy to assist her."

Qi Lin nodded and looked at the cotton candy stall that had been moved far away.

While Victoria's captain approached him, Justin cleverly slipped away to intercept the cotton candy stall, and had already calmed the frightened stall owner down so they could start buying cotton candy.

There are three things that are never lacking in the city of Lateran.

First, there are desserts that seem terrifyingly sweet to outsiders; second, there are the occasional legal explosions; and third, there are the churches and similar buildings of all sizes along the streets.

At the edge of a church that appears large to outsiders but is unremarkable to the Lateran, Andorn's figure slowly emerges.

He put down his guard gun, still feeling a bit of lingering fear.

"That girl kept her eyes glued to me the whole time, until I was out of her sight."

Andorn truly hadn't expected that Qi Yan's sister was also an unfathomable powerhouse.

He clearly realized that Qi Lin not only had the ability to lock onto him, but also the ability to subdue him instantly within her field of vision.

Even though he has escaped at this moment, it's not a true escape; it's simply that Qi Lin's mind wasn't on him at all.

“These brother and sister are no ordinary people.” Andorn couldn’t help but smile bitterly. “Even without Qi Yan, that girl alone is enough to stand at the top of this land. How could I have made such a big mistake?”

Just as Andorn was reflecting on his actions, he heard footsteps approaching.

Andorn stopped talking to himself and looked up, only to find a girl dressed in Victorian attire gazing up at the church beside her with a look of astonishment.

The girl, Philin, was watching intently until she walked right up to Andorn before suddenly noticing someone standing next to her, which startled her.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see anyone here... Judging from your attire, are you a priest from this church?"

After a brief moment of shock, the girl immediately displayed her lively and cheerful personality.

“I’m sorry, I’m not a priest of this church,” Andorn denied.

"What a pity. I was thinking of taking advantage of this rare business trip to Laterano to learn a lot from their experience."

Miss Felin said regretfully, "It's a pity that although the priests of Lateran were kind, they didn't seem to be engaging in any meaningful conversation. When they talked about doctrine, they only gave exaggerated pronouncements about the sanctity of the law and its inviolability. Could it be because I concealed my identity...?"

Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Biura, and I'm a poor working-class girl from Victoria.

"My name is Andorn."

Andorn introduced himself in return, while taking a few more glances at the girl, Felin, in front of him.

The girl's complaint, by sheer coincidence, struck a chord with him.

“Miss Beura, I feel the same way,” he said with sorrow. “The religion of Laterano has only ever protected the Sarkaz. Laterano… cannot save the world.”

Biura shrugged and said, "But I don't understand. Isn't the basic characteristic of religion to be good at spreading, to provide its followers with a pursuit of faith, so that even if they suffer, they still have a hope and a will to resist?"

What is the value of a religion if it is limited to a specific group of people?

Andorn was somewhat surprised by the girl's religious beliefs.

He probed, "Miss Biura seems to have studied religion in depth?"

"No, not at all!" Biura waved her hand shyly. "It was just for work requirements. I used religious theories to slightly modify the company I work for, and created a lofty virtual god-like figure for my boss... oh, my former boss, just to slightly improve the company's cohesion."

Andorn was shocked.

He struggled to process it for a moment, mentally rehearsing Biura's description before reciting it:

"You mean, you created a new religion within your company for work purposes?"

"It's very crude, it can't even be considered a religion yet, it's currently in the stage of personality cult."

"So you came to Laterano to learn from their experience?"

"That's understandable."

Andorn was momentarily at a loss for words.

Today's experience was too surreal for him.

After being silently stunned by Qi Lin, they unexpectedly encountered a brand new religious founder. Could it be that the land has become so teeming with talent that it's running rampant in the streets?

“Hey, Mr. Andorn, judging from your attire, even if you’re not a priest of this church, you must be a priest of another religion, and of a high rank.”

Biura looked the thin man up and down: "Judging from your appearance, your religion may not be very large, but it is clearly different from the traditional religions of Lateran. Your religion is not xenophobic, is it?"

Andorn hesitated for a moment, but still nodded in agreement with the assessment.

Biula immediately extended an invitation:

"Then we two are truly in the same boat. Why don't we stick together for warmth and exchange doctrines?"

“My views are still somewhat…immature,” Andorn tried to refuse.

"What a coincidence, our Qi Clan only has a basic framework right now." Biyura grinned and chuckled.

"Well... thank you for the invitation, Miss Biura."

"Let's go! I just passed a dessert shop, and it smelled amazing!"

Biura excitedly led the way: "Latland is really terrifying for us beautiful girls, there are dangers everywhere, but... I just can't refuse!"

Looking at the lively girl in front of him, Andorn couldn't help but feel a little suspicious.

How can such a cheerful girl preach her religion to others?

The reason why religions are followed is because people are suffering from unavoidable and unsolvable suffering, and can only yearn for the protection of a higher power.

Where there is no fire, there is no scripture.

When people are satisfied with both their material and spiritual needs, and are as happy as Beola every day, why bother to find a false god to worship?

It is precisely because this land is full of suffering that Lateran, with its paradise-like life, has become a holy city that everyone yearns for.

However, this holy city will not shelter any outsiders.

Andorn looked up at the top of the cathedral in the city center, where a corner of it was visible.

“Heh… Perhaps the path I’m looking for doesn’t necessarily need to be told to me by others.” Andorn looked at Biyura ahead. “I’m not the only one walking this path to find my way home.”

“Mr. Andorn, stop whispering and reviewing your doctrines in the back. We’re almost at our destination.”

Biyura turned around and beckoned Andorn to follow.

Upon hearing this, Andorn smiled easily and followed with light steps.

"Yes, I believe we'll be at our destination soon."

Chapter 986 Rewards

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Qi Yan."

"Teacher Qi Yan, have some water."

The judges were reduced to mere assistants, frantically supporting Qi Yan, who handled all the output for the entire competition by himself.

When the scores were finalized and the host calculated the total score to determine the champion, the judges jumped out to make their presence known as soon as Qi Yan sat down in her chair.

Qi Yan casually took the water glass handed to him, tilted his head back and took a sip, then spit it back into the glass after rinsing his mouth, and handed it back to him.

Ignoring the judge who was staring blankly at his water glass, Qi Yan pushed aside another judge who was trying to rub his leg and asked:

"What happened? We were having so much fun that we forgot to do the math."

Upon hearing the inquiry, the host quickly jogged over and presented the list:

"Teacher Qi Yan, in the final score, contestant Aileen narrowly defeated contestant Patia by one point."

"Tsk, did black stockings still fail?"

Qi Yan sighed regretfully, never expecting that the final scores would be determined by him personally while he was engrossed in the game.

Qi Yan slapped the list back and raised his chin:

"Announce the result."

With permission granted, the host jogged back to announce the competition results.

Eleanor and Pattia stood at the front of the contestants' line. When they heard the results of the competition, Eleanor cheered loudly, while Pattia gritted her teeth in anger.

"Now, let Teacher Qi Yan personally present the medals for this Liboli Beauty Pageant!"

As the host guided them, the stage curtain opened, and Aizer held a red tray in her hands. The heavy gold medal on the tray shone brightly in the sunlight, and there was also an exquisite feather relief on the medal.

Qi Yan stood up, picked up the ribbon of the medal, and walked solemnly to Elena.

Looking at the medal in front of her, Elena's face flushed with excitement.

"Congratulations, Elena." Qi Yan personally pinned the medal on Elena's neck. "Tell us your acceptance speech."

"First, I want to thank my teacher Dario. Then, I would also like to thank all my friends who support me here. At the same time, I would also like to thank all the players."

Elena took the microphone from the host and, feeling dizzy, uttered her thanks.

She held the trophy to her chest with one hand, her smile beaming from ear to ear.

Patia stood in the team of players, looking at Elene with displeasure, but in the end she joined the others in clapping.

Amid cheers and applause, Elena's shoulders slumped.

Qi Yan smiled and asked, "Did you have fun?"

Elena nodded vigorously, but then suddenly remembered something.

Her expression gradually became blank as she stood on the stage looking at Qi Yan, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Wait, I'm not here for fun, I'm here to attend the International Summit... and also, I'm here to see you!"

“No problem, come to my room tonight,” Qi Yan said, raising an eyebrow.

"Really?!" Elena exclaimed in surprise.

Their conversation, carried clearly through the microphone, resonated throughout the entire venue.

For a moment, all was silent below the stage. After a few seconds, all the male audience members erupted in cheers.

"What's going on? There's even a reward system like this?"

"Wait a minute, is this a reward for the champion or for Mr. Qi Yan?"

"Damn it, there's even a reward for interacting with Teacher Qi Yan! I should have participated too!"

"You can't do it, can you?"

"What makes you think I'm no good? Just because I'm Sakta?"

"Um... I meant it's because you're a guy."

The audience below the stage was in complete chaos, and the host broke out in a fine sweat again.

He didn't know if the men in the audience who were shouting that they could do it too were serious, but he knew that tomorrow's headlines in all the Lateran newspapers would definitely not be about who won the beauty pageant.

Instead, it was headlined with a strong Sakta-esque humor: "Shocking! The beauty pageant winner's prize is him!"

Wiping the fine sweat from her forehead, the host carefully took the microphone from Elena's hand and decisively left with it, leaving behind these two troublemakers who never seemed to care about making a scene.

Elena was completely unaware that she had been taken advantage of by Qi Yan without her even realizing it, and was still immersed in the excitement brought by Qi Yan's straightforward attitude.

She grabbed Qi Yan's sleeve and urged him impatiently:

"Why don't we skip tonight and find a quiet room now? I can't wait any longer."

"That's it for now."

Fiameta walked out from behind the stage, interrupting their conversation.

She looked at Qi Yan and said seriously:

"You've had your fun, and I hope you haven't forgotten the promise you made to me."

“Senior Fiameta, if you’re hoping this guy will keep his promise, you might as well believe the sun will rise in the west.”

Patia stepped in, walking forward and staring at Qi Yan with a face full of resentment.

Before Qi Yan could even react, he was already surrounded by three little birds.

The host, who was trying to restore order at the scene, noticed the new gossip and instantly forgot his job, throwing the microphone away again to join the crowd in watching the drama unfold.

The microphone landed on the stage, causing the sound system to emit a deafening hum, seemingly announcing the official start of a new round of fun.

Alene watched the other two birds warily: