Asura in Arknights

She softened her tone and said gently, "Oh, I see... Then come with me, and I'll give you a thorough examination."

119

This flower... has a sea breeze scent.

Although the smell was faint, Li Ang had an instinctive aversion to this creature, and no matter how faint the smell was, Li Ang could still clearly distinguish it.

The scent comes from the flower itself, not from anything strange on it. But apart from the scent, it looks like an ordinary flower.

This is the conclusion Li Ang reached after completely crushing the flower.

So what's the use of flowers that merely resemble Hai Si in aura? Li Ang doesn't believe that the church planted such a large area of ​​flowers just because they look nice.

"...Could it be used to deceive Hai Si?"

Unlike humans, sea creatures recognize each other by scent, or rather, a special pheromone, much like some insects, rather than by their physical appearance.

If this flower smells exactly like Hai Si, then could we use it to make a tool to deceive Hai Si?

Even if he couldn't fool a highly evolved sea creature like Shuiyue, Li Ang thought he could still fool ordinary sea creatures or brainless dinosaurs.

After thinking for a moment, Li Ang picked a few flowers and put them inside his pocket. This way, the scent would appear to emanate from him to the olfactory organs of the sea monster or the dinosaur.

Although there was no mental link between him and the other Sea Heirs, Li Ang managed to deceive Shuiyue, who was then under the control of the God of Sea Heirs, in a similar way... He seemed to have been treated as an outcast? The God of Sea Heirs did not notice the problem until Li Ang threw away the badge.

This flower serves a similar purpose to the badge; it should be enough to fool the other Sealings.

"Huh? They actually took the bait?"

Just after Li Ang finished making this preparation, which he wasn't sure would be of any use, he sensed that the situation on Shuiyue's side had also changed.

After pondering Shuiyue's words for a moment, Li Ang realized the purpose behind his actions.

"So that's how it is. You used this vague description to mislead the other party and make them think of him as a successful experimental subject?"

Indeed, none of those who can survive alone in the world outside the mobile city are simple characters.

Shuiyue's seemingly innocent appearance was nothing more than a disguise.

Hiding in such a remote place, this church was undoubtedly conducting an experiment on Hai Si's conversion.

Of course, their purpose is certainly not limited to that.

After all, the assimilation ability of the Sea Si is terrifying. If it is contaminated by the flesh and blood of the Sea Si and left unattended, it will definitely turn into a Sea Si or an ugly Terror Fish. There is actually no difference between the two, except that the former is a higher level of evolution.

There's really nothing to study here. What this church probably wants is a way to perfectly transform into Hai Si. Of course, it would be even better if they could break free from the control of the Hai Si God.

Those people coveted Hai Si's power and long lifespan, but they did not want to fall under the control of others, not even Hai Si's gods.

Human greed has been depicted to death in various literary works, but it is precisely because of this that such things are possible in reality.

Even those bizarre creatures like the alien species have people's attention, so it's not surprising that there's also a Sea Child.

At least in terms of appearance, Haisi is far superior to the Xenomorph.

As a high-level sea creature, Mizuki could easily maintain her human form.

Where else can you find such a good deal: a long lifespan, great strength, and no need to become deformed?

No wonder this land has fertile ground for the church to thrive...

Is this church related to the organization they are currently investigating? Li Ang believes that they are more or less related. After all, the news about Shuiyue was given to Li Ang by the leader of the organization. Even if that priest is not a high-ranking member of the church, he must at least know a lot about them.

At this moment, in Li Ang's perception, the woman used something to knock Shuiyue unconscious, and then had the church workers bring a cart, put Shuiyue on the cart, and prepared to push him away.

It's clear that their conditions here are quite harsh; they don't even have a decent means of transportation, so their speed won't be very fast.

Although Shuiyue's body would be exposed with a detailed examination, Li Ang was not in a hurry. He followed behind those people at a distance, waiting for them to take him to their base.

Those who can examine Shuiyue's body, even if not their stronghold, must be one of their important bases, making it a perfect opportunity to sneak over and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Hopefully, Liu Yi hasn't fallen into their hands yet...

No one knows whether what happened here will affect them or not; no one can give Li Ang an answer.

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Inside the church, Amaya's heart was burning with passion as she gazed intently at Shuiyue, who lay unconscious on the trolley. The question she had been pondering earlier was instantly forgotten.

For her, knocking out an unsuspecting child was an easy task. To ensure the effectiveness of the anesthesia, Amaya used several times the usual amount. Even though the brat's body had been partially transformed by the sea, it couldn't withstand this dose of anesthetic.

"You guys hurry up and get this child back before dark today."

Amaya urged the busy believers on, then turned back to carefully observe every feature of Shuiyue.

[Abnormal appetite...it seems he has already undergone his second transformation.]

Is it simply that the fusion of the central nervous system hasn't finished, which is why it can't understand the sounds coming from the larger group?

The child in front of her was definitely the most precious specimen she had encountered in all these years.

Assimilation of sea brethren generally occurs in three stages.

In the first stage, there are only some potential changes. Infected people generally do not know what is happening to them. They just feel excited and have increased strength. Everything seems to be developing in a good direction, and there are no changes that can be detected by the naked eye.

In the second stage, the effects on the human body become visible to the naked eye. Deformed limbs, skin covered in scales, and internal organs become completely different from those of humans. This stage can be described as developing in the direction of monsters.

The final stage is when the nervous system and brain are completely assimilated, enabling one to receive sounds from the large swarms of sea creatures deep in the ocean.

By this time, a brand new Sea Child has been born.

Chapter 120

This conclusion was reached by their Deep Sea Church after countless experiments.

Very few lucky ones manage to reach the third stage. The vast majority of test subjects lose their rationality in the second stage and become mindless, terrifying fish, which is not what they wanted.

After so many years of experimentation, only a handful of people have reached this point, and all of them are Agorians.

The Agor people's physiological structure seems to share some commonalities with the Haisi, so the transformation effect is very good. The difficulties that other races can hardly overcome, the Agor people can even survive if they are lucky enough, which makes Amaya extremely jealous.

Who told her to be a Liberi? Physiologically speaking, Liberi have nothing to do with aquatic creatures like Haisi, so they have to bear greater risks in the process of transforming into Haisi.

However, the Agors didn't gain much advantage either, as most of them perished in the third phase.

This stage completely transforms a person's brain and nervous system, connecting them to the mental network of the Haisi Group. This stage has little to do with physiological structure, but is closely related to the ethereal spiritual will.

The mental and physical qualities of the experimental subjects they used... let's not even mention them.

This child is different. According to Amaya's deduction, being able to hear the sounds from the deep sea swarm means that this child has entered the final stage of the second phase, and the nervous system has been initially modified.

What's most remarkable is that he didn't show any visible changes, something many in their church longed for.

After all, apart from those who are truly nearing the end of their lives, not many people can accept becoming a non-human monster.

Amaya never doubted that Shuiyue was lying, after all, what he said at that time were secrets known only to the higher-ups of the Deep Sea Church, and it was impossible for a country boy like him to know such things.

She was also unaware that Li Ang had been secretly following them not far behind.

After following them for a while, Li Ang suddenly felt that something was not right.

[Is this direction... towards Tianyue Mountain?]

Shuiyue's hometown was located in a very remote area. After passing through the long alley behind Kabukicho, they had almost left the area of ​​Peach Blossom City. The cultists pushed Shuiyue in a cart, taking her further and further away from Peach Blossom City.

At the end of their road, they could faintly see the shadow of Tianyue Mountain.

If they maintain their pace and nothing unexpected happens along the way, they might actually be able to reach Tianyue Mountain before dark.

For a moment, Li Ang was also in a dilemma. He did not expect that the church's stronghold was hidden in this place. He was like a hero who had just left the newbie village and accidentally entered the demon king's castle. He had not collected any clues or items yet, but he had rushed into the final level.

But if he were to snatch Shuiyue back now, wouldn't all his previous performance have been for nothing?

Moreover, if we miss this opportunity, we may never have such a good chance again.

After hesitating for a while, Li Ang decided to wait and see how things developed.

The only gain now is that this church is definitely related to that mysterious organization lurking within the Great Yan.

After recording all of this in the ledger, Li Ang silently followed.

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On the other hand, after just one night, Nian was already quite annoyed.

He kept banging on the table beside him, looking at the group of people outside her courtyard with annoyance on his face. They were openly watching him without even trying to hide it.

At first, the police were easy to deal with. Nian just made up an excuse and sent them away. After all, her identity was clean. At most, she just looked a little young and didn't look like she had lived here for more than ten years.

However, the guys who appeared later gave Nian a bit of a stomachache.

It's unclear whose obsession ran so deep, but they actually projected out a small team from the Si Sui Terrace. The leader was someone Nian knew, none other than Zuo Yan, who had been stabbed in the abdomen by Nian's sword in Gouwu City not long ago and pinned to the ground, unable to get up.

It's truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road. This 'Zuo Yan' may not remember what happened back then, but Si Suitai's hostility towards the incarnation of the Year Beast can be said to have been completely inherited.

It wasn't convenient to take action in this kind of place, so he could only silently endure the surveillance of those guys, and he couldn't even find a chance to release the people in the painting world.

What Nian found most unbearable was how she had become a so-called remnant of the previous dynasty? What kind of ridiculous identity had this lousy place assigned to her?

But after calming down and thinking about it carefully, what this remnant of the previous dynasty said doesn't seem to be wrong?

Before that true dragon wiped out the Great Yan god, that land was actually ruled by the god, and as the incarnation of the Year Beast, it seems reasonable to say that Nian is a remnant of the previous dynasty.

Looking at the few members of the Si Suitai standing outside, Nian shouted impatiently, "Hey you guys, stop blocking the door like idiots! I can't do business like this!"

Actually, there wasn't much business during the year, and the neighbors didn't need so many pots and pans. She basically stayed indoors all day, just lazing around. The reason she shouted like that was just to see if she could drive these people away.

Unfortunately, those people remained unmoved, as if they hadn't heard the sound of the year.

Nian could only click his tongue in annoyance and avert his gaze.

Fortunately, these people only stopped at monitoring and did not take any further action.

They took out the ledger used for communication and opened it openly. Those people were quite a distance from that year, so they couldn't see what was written on it.

After glancing at it briefly, Nian's gaze sharpened.

Compared to when she saw it last night, there were a few more new lines of writing in the ledger.

This is getting a bit troublesome...

Seeing the few lines of text written by Li Ang, Nian felt a sense of urgency.

How could he be so reckless? He actually dared to go to Tianyue Mountain alone?

That's the enemy's stronghold, the location of the Year Beast resurrection ceremony. No matter how rare the opportunity, we shouldn't be so reckless.

Of course, Nian also knew that Li Ang was very strong, and that she herself was far from being his match.

However, it's impossible to determine exactly how strong it will be this year.

At least in her understanding of the year, she did not believe that Li Ang could face the resurrected Sui Beast alone.

Therefore, we must do something to get rid of these troubles.

After a moment of contemplation, Nian called out to his younger sister in his heart.

[Xi, I know you can hear me, I need your help.]

【……Um.】

Xi's voice emanated softly from the depths of Nian's heart.

Chapter 121 Ruins of Tianyue Mountain

Li Ang was unaware that his message had prompted Nian to make a difficult decision; he was currently following far behind the group of Deep Sea Church followers.

As night fell, the amount of anesthetic they gave Shuiyue was indeed potent; Shuiyue showed no signs of waking up yet.

Shuiyue has shown great sincerity this time. If Li Ang were to leave now, he would surely be dead.

Of course, Li Ang wouldn't just abandon him like that.

Following these people all the way, Li Ang also noticed some things about them that were a bit off.

For example... their stamina seems a bit too abundant.

Crossing mountains and valleys is a severe test of their physical strength, and on top of that, they were pushing an unconscious person. On this rugged mountain road, these people did not stop to rest for even a minute.

Leaving aside those few who were clearly ordinary followers of the Agorians, the fact that some of their bloodline as Agorians would indeed grant them strong physical attributes is undeniable.

Regardless of whether the three believers were this type of Agor, the exquisitely dressed Liberi woman leading the group clearly possessed physical strength exceeding what a Liberi should be capable of.

The Liberi are not known for their physical strength. Among the many races of Terra, their physical fitness is not the worst, but it is almost the second worst.

But this woman... after walking such a long mountain road, Li Ang didn't even notice a change in her breathing rhythm.

Although it's unclear how she did it, it shows that this woman is not as weak as she appears on the surface.