Asura in Arknights

Suppressing the urge to complain, Li Ang explained to Shuiyue, "What I want is the information you know."

"information?"

Shuiyue tilted her head, looking somewhat confused.

He didn't understand why he couldn't even figure out his own situation, but Li Ang thought that what he knew could help.

"Don't you think this place is a bit strange? It's similar to the scenes in your memory, but there are also many differences."

"...It is a bit strange."

Shuiyue had only just regained consciousness and was still in shock at why her boss had reappeared in front of her, unchanged from years ago, when Li Ang, that unpleasant guest, had already come knocking on her door.

However, in this short period of time, Shuiyue also discovered many important clues.

"Could this place... be formed based on my memories? But there are just too many random things here... I don't remember ever seeing any of those things before."

For example, Shuiyue had never seen the huge pile of coins that the boss took out of the cash register before.

It's already 1095 years ago, what country still uses such troublesome things as coins!

"You guessed right, but there's something wrong."

"This city is a reflection of Liu Yi's memories, but our memories have also interfered with it, which is why it has become so strange. It is a mixture of the deepest impressions in everyone's heart."

"Oh, I see!"

Shuiyue suddenly realized.

"So what you want to know is the part affected by my memories?"

Chapter 115 Fishing Village

Compared to others, Shuiyue, who was assimilated into Haisi, undoubtedly falls into the category of 'abnormal'.

His memories could have completely unknown effects on this place, which is what Li Ang is worried about.

If a whole bunch of monstrous sea monsters suddenly jumped out from some corner, even if they were fake and couldn't leave the range of this mountain range, it would be enough to give Li Ang a stomachache. He didn't want to experience another biohazard here.

Moreover, to be honest, Shuiyue was the one among them who had the closest relationship with Liuyi. Shuiyue had known Liuyi for more than half a year longer than the others.

"Even if you say that, I don't know what to tell you..." Shuiyue seemed a little embarrassed.

He didn't know where to begin with this nonsensical matter.

"Let me first share our general speculations. If you have any further ideas, please let me know."

Li Ang wasn't in a hurry. Since Shuiyue had already shown a cooperative attitude, as long as he kept her by his side, he would eventually gain something.

So Li Ang simply told Shuiyue his guess.

"You mean, although you don't know where that girl is now, there's a high probability she's connected to some church, so you're planning to start from the source?"

Li Ang nodded.

Shuiyue gave a thoughtful look.

"As for the church... I might actually know someone there, but I don't know if it's the one you're talking about."

...He actually knew?

However, considering the city's unique circumstances, Li Ang didn't seem too surprised.

What appears here are the most profound memories in everyone's heart; everything has a reason for existing.

"What church?" Li Ang quickly asked.

Shuiyue remained silent for a moment, his eyes showing some complexity.

"...I'll just take you to see it directly."

With that, he turned and walked toward the back of the izakaya.

Following Mizuki to the back of the izakaya, they found themselves on a winding path that led nowhere.

The existence of this alley is obviously illogical and somewhat out of place with everything around it, yet it appears here, just like the different neighborhoods pieced together in this paradise city.

Shuiyue walked ahead and took the initiative to explain to Li Ang, "This road... leads to my village."

"As I mentioned before, I was born in a small fishing village near the sea in the East. That village had almost no contact with the big cities outside, so life was very poor, and all the villagers made a living by fishing in the sea."

“Villages like this, which don’t even have names, might disappear from the map one day, but we survived and even lived in that place for many years.”

Li Ang pondered for a moment and suddenly felt that something was not quite right.

It's not unusual for people to make a living by fishing, but the problem is... a fishing village?

An entire village relies on fishing for a living?

Shuiyue also said that their village is close to the sea, and fishing in the sea is completely different from fishing in inland rivers and lakes. If it is a large company or enterprise, it may be able to come up with the technology to have a stable catch in the sea, but how can a group of poor people who may not even be able to afford food survive by fishing?

If a few voyages at sea fail to yield any results, it could lead to a large number of people starving to death in the village.

"How did you manage to survive there?"

Li Ang raised his question, "Is it because of that church you mentioned?"

"...You guessed right."

Shuiyue replied without turning her head, "I didn't think anything was strange when I was a child, but now that I think about it... there are just too many strange things. The people in the village must have been used as experimental subjects by the people in that church."

"That church possesses a magical ability: if you take one of their people out to sea, the fish will desperately try to get into the fishing net, as if committing suicide."

"Because of their abilities, the village never lacks food, but those people also hold a supreme position in the village."

After all, without the church's power, the villagers would starve to death.

If they have the ability to attract schools of fish, then they should also be able to ensure that a person goes out to sea and catches nothing.

Perhaps the village where Shuiyue came from didn't want to communicate with the outside towns, but rather that the church didn't allow them to do so.

In this isolated place, having such a group of obedient villagers is like having a testing ground that can be repeatedly harvested and utilized.

Was Shuiyue's transformation into Haisi also the work of this group?

"What's the name of that church?" Li Ang couldn't help but ask.

"It has no name, or rather, I don't know it."

After all, Shuiyue was only a teenager at that time, and it was already quite difficult for him to remember what happened back then. Over the years, he may have forgotten a lot of things.

"However, I did not come away empty-handed. I remember that the bishop was holding a very uniquely shaped cane."

"I later learned that the symbol on the cane represented Lateran."

“Latran? That’s impossible.” Leon denied it without even thinking.

Although Laterano is one of only two countries in the world that openly have a religion, Leon doesn't believe that those optimists would do such a thing. The Sarkaz are probably the only race that is generally kind, and you don't have to worry about them robbing you if you meet them in the wild.

Besides... they have absolutely no connection with Hai Si...

From the memories of Originium, Li Ang saw images showing that they were dealing with a threat from outer space, but he didn't know exactly what it was.

“I didn’t say they were Laterans… that bishop was just carrying a scepter with the Lateran symbol; he was also an Agor.”

Shuiyue stopped, turned around to look at Li Ang, blinked innocently, and said.

"Also, we've arrived."

A gentle breeze swept by, and Li Ang could detect a strong fishy smell, indicating that they were now very close to the sea.

Looking over Shuiyue's shoulder into the distance, a dilapidated village appeared before them.

Most of the wooden houses were rotten and emitted a peculiar odor, mixed with the smell of dried fish drying in the sun. This strong smell alone was enough to deter most people, and the priests would not live in such a wretched place.

In the distance, the spire of a church can be vaguely seen. If there are no surprises, that must be the stronghold of the church that Shuiyue mentioned.

So, Li Ang let out a soft breath and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Chapter 116 A Different Church

This is Shuiyue's hometown after all. Since they have reached a cooperation agreement, Li Ang is prepared to give Shuiyue some face. If Shuiyue has any requests, Li Ang intends to comply.

"Do whatever you want with it."

Shuiyue kicked a small stone aside and said nonchalantly, "I just felt that it was hard to explain with words, so I brought you here to see for yourself. You can do whatever you want, even kill them all."

"..."

Although everything here is fake, these are all people Shuiyue knows, including his biological parents, yet he uttered such cold words.

This also made Li Ang realize more clearly that although Shuiyue is behaving very normally now, he was ultimately transformed into Haisi more than ten years ago, and his thinking is somewhat different from that of ordinary people.

In the end, Li Ang shook his head and said, "No need. The villagers here probably don't know any secrets either. Let's just go find the person in charge."

He had just scanned the village with his senses. There were twenty or thirty households living there, each with bare walls and at most some simple wooden furniture. There was nothing noteworthy about them.

Li Ang had identified all the villagers, and none of them had anything to do with Liu Yi. Rather than wasting time on these people, he decided to go directly to the main person in charge, the church built on the cliff.

However, before taking action, Li Ang still took out the ledger and recorded the matter.

Li Ang found several new messages left by the previous year above.

[Things like Haisi can actually communicate?? Well... I'm not entirely sure either. Anyway, be careful yourself.]

【I've got new trouble on my end, tsk... I really don't know which guy is so interested in Si Suitai. Those annoying guys have even been identified; they're now the city's special forces. You should be careful too.】

The Terrace of the Year God...

Li Ang thought about it for a while, but still didn't feel much of a sense of reality, since he had never met those people before.

"Hey, what are you writing?"

Shuiyue leaned closer, somewhat curious.

Li Ang slammed the ledger shut. Cooperation was one thing, but he couldn't possibly tell Shuiyue all his secrets.

After putting away the ledger, Li Ang said to Shuiyue, "I need your help. They definitely won't trust an outsider like me, so I need you to go in and get some information for me, such as whether they have any plans to hold a sacrificial ceremony recently."

Upon hearing this, Shuiyue frowned, but did not directly refuse.

He thought about it carefully for a while before sighing and agreeing, "Okay, okay, anyway, I don't think I have any room for negotiation."

However, when Shuiyue looked up at the church on the edge of the cliff, he froze.

After a moment, Shuiyue said blankly,

"...That place seems a little different from what I remember?"

"Was it influenced by other people's memories?"

Li Ang didn't initially pay much attention to Shuiyue's little discovery.

After all, it's perfectly normal for what you see in this city to differ from your memories. However, Shuiyue's next line about flowers alerted Li Ang.

“But…didn’t you say that this place is influenced by people’s memories?” Shuiyue said seriously. “If this church is a reflection of my memories, then why has it become something I don’t recognize?”

Shuiyue's words were like a wake-up call.

yes……

Li Ang thought about the places he had visited so far. He didn't mention the factory area, as every mobile city had one, and apart from the different locations where they were built, they were basically the same.

An even more important reference point is the alley where I lived in 1990.

As a race with long life, Nian's memories were naturally quite good, and she didn't mention that the place was any different from what she remembered.

Another one is Kabukicho. Although it is not a real place, it perfectly matches Li Ang's impression and has some reference value.

Everything here may not be real, but it is logically consistent.

This village is Shuiyue's hometown. Among them, apart from Shuiyue, probably no one else knows about this small village located on the border of the Eastern Kingdom. Therefore, this place perfectly presents Shuiyue's past memories.

But what about that church?

This organization secretly controls Shuiyue's hometown; apart from Shuiyue, no one should know of their existence.

However, the reality is that this church differs from Shuiyue's memories, which means...

“…Some of us also know about the existence of this church.” Li Ang’s face darkened.

Year? Awakening of Insects? Xuancheng? Or... Yi who was imprisoned? They are the most suspicious.

Adele can be ruled out immediately, and Xi, that shut-in, doesn't seem like the type to go out and about. As for Sang Shen... she's just an unlucky girl, and it's unlikely she'd get involved in something like this.

"Huh? I thought it was you."

Shuiyue tilted her head, looking at Li Ang with some surprise, "You don't know this church?"