Asura in Arknights

"However, I'm certain that the explosion here was caused by some kind of Originium Arts, not by explosives."

"You can tell the difference?" Adele asked in surprise.

This place had long been blown to smithereens, and Adele could only detect some residual traces of Originium energy. She never expected that Leon could even determine what kind of residue this energy was.

How can I explain this to you...?

Touching his chin, Li Ang pondered how to describe his feelings to Adele.

"Simply put, while both Originium Arts and magical devices leave behind Originium energy reactions, the former will leave behind a subtle trace, well... let's call it mental residue. The traces left by Originium Arts will contain the mental characteristics of the caster."

Li Ang concluded, "In short, to my perception, these two are as distinctly different as inanimate objects and living objects."

“I see… Then Li Ang, you should remember the characteristics of that caster, right?” Adele said thoughtfully.

“That’s right,” Li Ang smiled. “If the caster appears within my perception range, I will be able to identify him.”

As far as Li Ang knew, mental characteristics or soul frequencies could not be faked by any means.

This was Li Ang's biggest gain this time, so it wasn't a wasted trip.

"Adele, have you discovered anything?"

"I've discovered it..."

Just as Adele was about to tell Leon about her discovery, something nearby seemed to crash heavily to the ground, making a loud noise.

"That sound just now?"

Li Ang scanned the area with his senses and spotted a familiar figure there.

"Ah... so it was her. Let's ignore that for now and continue telling me what you discovered?"

Nodding, Adele carefully took out a shard of glass.

"I found this in the ruins."

On this shard of glass, about the size of a fingernail, was a sticker that hadn't been completely burned.

"Isn't this the symbol of Rhine Lab?"

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

The tattered sticker had a small circle drawn on it, with a small notch in the upper left corner and a minus sign in the middle.

This logo is so distinctive that the moment Li Ang saw it, he immediately remembered what it represented.

This is the right half of the logo of Rhine Life, a well-known Colombian technology company. They even had dealings with one of Rhine Life's employees.

More than half a year has passed, and Magellan still hasn't replied to them. The two are worried that Magellan might have encountered some kind of accident.

However, Magellan's job was rather unusual, and she might have been thrown into some godforsaken place where she wouldn't see a soul for ten days or half a month.

They never expected to see the Rhine Life logo in such a place.

“I found the same substance in this fragment as I do in the air,” Adele said.

"You mean... this was done by Rhine Lab? But I don't think so..."

Although the fragment clearly points to Rhine Labs, Leon still felt somewhat that it was a bait-and-switch tactic.

After all, thinking about it carefully, it's just too stupid. It's just an explosion, and it's impossible to cover up all the traces. Who would be stupid enough to leave something that could expose their identity at the scene?

In short, Li Ang has reservations about whether Rhine Lab is the mastermind behind it all.

"But Rhine Labs has that technology, and didn't they want to open up the Casimir market before?"

Adele was referring to the fact that Rhine Life was also one of the bidders when the Zero plot was publicly tendered previously.

Unfortunately, the treatment they offered was too expensive, enough to drain the entire savings of a middle-class family, and the treatment effect was only so-so.

Even so, Rhine Lab's proposal was the most competitive besides Rhodes Island's, which shows how inept this world is at researching Oripathy.

Unfortunately, Rhodes Island's inhibitors were like cutting-edge technology, completely outclassing the drugs that Rhine Lab had spent a fortune developing.

Although Rhine Life ultimately lost the bid, they demonstrated their attitude.

They've already started eyeing Kazimierz, and Adele's suspicions aren't entirely unfounded.

"Let me think about it for a moment," Leon said, gesturing for Adele to give him some time to consider.

When talking about Rhine Life, one cannot help but mention Colombia.

Colombia is the youngest country in the world. It was once a colony of Victoria in the West, and only forty years have passed since it gained independence. Many of those who witnessed the founding of the country are still alive today.

Perhaps because it is a relatively young country, it is very tolerant of all unorthodox ideas, and a large number of high-tech companies have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

In just a few decades, Colombia has become one of the world's leading powers, to the point that even their former master, Victoria, now has to act according to Colombia's wishes.

Victoria is in decline, while Colombia is now at its peak, rapidly closing the gap with established powers.

Even the model for Plot Zero was inspired by Columbia University.

In Colombia, infected individuals enjoy a degree of autonomy, earning income through land reclamation and even obtaining citizenship if they own their own land.

Although discrimination still exists and infected individuals are still subject to zoned control, it is still much better than before.

The reason the business federation so readily agreed to the plan for Plot Zero was probably because they saw the example of Colombia.

Even in Colombia, a country teeming with competitors, Rhine Life is a rising star.

Rhine Life Sciences, officially known as Rhine Life Medical Research Institute, is a key enterprise supported by Colombia.

Their research fields are very broad, ranging from high energy sources to life sciences, from Originium technology to engineering construction, from the ecological environment to scientific research, and even military weapons. They are not on the same track as companies like Bol Pharmaceuticals that specialize in the pharmaceutical field.

However, this also illustrates just how massive Rhine Labs is; it's practically like six or seven large companies merging together and sharing the name 'Rhine Labs'.

Colombia is very close to Casimir; from Casimir, it takes less than a day's drive to the nearest Colombian city.

The headquarters of Rhine Life, Trimont, is not far from the Great Knight Territory; it takes at most two days to reach it.

If they were just bored and had nothing better to do than travel all the way from Colombia to try and steal a piece of the pie from Pol Pharmaceuticals... then they wouldn't be entirely without suspicion.

Of the countries bordering Colombia, Sami is a godforsaken place, Minoan is practically unknown due to its isolationist policies, Bolívar is still at war with Colombia, and Cheylag... where is Cheylag? Is this country even on a map?

If we want to open up overseas markets, Casimir seems to be the first choice.

Li Ang nodded thoughtfully. After analyzing the situation in his mind, the suspicion surrounding Rhine Lab had indeed increased significantly.

However, they had too little evidence; this single fragment couldn't prove anything at all.

Unless... we can catch the person who used Originium Arts to destroy the evidence here.

Carefully placing the shard of glass into their portable scroll world, the two prepared to leave temporarily and entrust the subsequent investigation to more professional individuals.

Shining had already sealed off the area, but Leon had them wait nearby to see if they could catch a big fish.

In the end, instead of catching a big fish, they caught a small shrimp.

"By the way, Li Ang, what was that sound just now?"

At that moment, Adele also remembered the loud noise. "You seemed to have said something like, 'Oh, it was her.' Who was this 'her' you were talking about?"

"Of course, they're old acquaintances of ours. Do you remember who we came here with?"

"Is that Miss Destreet? She's here too?"

Li Ang nodded and said with a smile, "Of course."

"However, it seems that Sona discovered her. That sound just now was made by Sona while she was subduing her."

"What did Sona do...?"

"It's nothing, it just knocked over a nearby abandoned crane."

On the other side, Descartes, who was being trampled on the ground, rolled her eyes.

It felt like I was being met with overwhelming malice.

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

Destreet felt incredibly unlucky.

She thought it would be easy to gather information in Plot Zero, since it was inhabited by a group of incredibly poor infected people. At most, she could get any information she wanted by spending a little money.

However, once Destreet actually entered the plot, she realized she was wrong, and quite terribly wrong at that.

Destreet didn't know where she had slipped up, but all the infected people here had discovered her identity, and her investigation here was almost always blocked.

Even when Desty produced the press pass she had obtained through connections and offered money as a lure, no one was willing to cooperate in answering her questions.

This infuriated Daisy.

Bohr Pharmaceuticals might be using infected people for human experiments, and I'm saving them! Why can't these idiots understand?

Finally, Destreet had no choice but to approach the lower-ranking knights on duty there, who were quite happy to answer her questions.

In the eyes of competitive knights, being a reporter is a very popular profession; a competitive knight who wants to become famous cannot do without the help of a reporter.

Moreover, the press pass that Destreet forged was from the Rose Press, the most famous newspaper group in Casimir.

However, if she could, Destle would be very reluctant to deal with these people.

There might be... no, there definitely are spies from Pol Pharmaceuticals mixed in among these people, so we must be extra careful when questioning them.

After some questioning, Destreet finally obtained some somewhat useful information.

This urban area is jointly managed by Ball Pharmaceuticals and a pharmaceutical company called Rhode Island. A very strict management system is in place here, and if someone goes missing, they will be found very quickly.

However... there is a garbage dump behind the factory, where some infected people who have smuggled themselves in seem to be hiding, barely surviving on the help of other infected people who have obtained identification.

Those people are the easiest targets to take down.

But before Destle could even get close to the scene, she encountered an opponent she simply couldn't contend with.

Destreet still had some ability to protect herself; after all, being a lawyer is a profession that easily offends people, and she had no problem dealing with those lower-ranking knights.

But just a moment ago, Destle was taken down by that little dwarf Zalak. If she hadn't instinctively used Originium Arts to deflect the blade, she might have been struck in the shoulder.

This level of skill... it's at least at the intermediate knight level!

"Is this guy crazy?" Destreet cursed inwardly.

A mid-level knight could already live a good life in a Grand Knight's territory, so why did this guy have to come to this place? And of all things, he just happened to bump into me.

No matter how angry Desmond was inside, she still needed to put on an innocent act on the surface.

"Um... could you let me get up?"

Lying on the ground, Destle glanced at Sona out of the corner of her eye and said weakly, "I feel the ground is a little cold..."

"No."

Sona coldly refused, "I don't completely trust you. My employers will decide how to deal with you when they return."

employer?

Desty was taken aback. This guy was dressed like a gladiator, but he was doing the work of a mercenary.

"You're not planning to kill me, are you? That's illegal!"

Destreet's voice betrayed a deep unease, and at this point she could invoke the law to see if she could intimidate the man.

"Oh."

With a cold laugh, Sona's disdainful smile seemed to say to Destreet, 'You talking to me about the law? I find it laughable.'

Sona truly had no reverence for the law. She didn't know what the laws were like in other countries and regions, but in the Great Knight Territory? The law was merely a tool in the hands of those directors and nobles, a tool they were quite comfortable using to control the lower classes.

Once this tool becomes unusable, they will simply switch to another, better one, such as public opinion.

Wasn't she reduced to this state because she naively trusted the so-called law? The law that those board members and aristocrats talk about is less powerful than a fart.

This is getting bad...

Cold sweat trickled down Destle's forehead; she too understood exactly what the laws of the Great Knights' Territory were all about.

Frankly speaking, if she dies here, this Zalak probably won't face any consequences.

Destreet had handled several similar cases before, and few people knew better than her what was going to happen next.

People are going missing every minute in the Great Knights Territory, and no one cares about a nobody like her, even if she is the MVP of the new generation of lawyers at Longbridle Law Firm.

In this city, Descartes is still a nobody.

A week later, she will be fired from Long Ridge Law Firm for unexcused absence. A month later, she will be classified as a missing person by the police. A year later, apart from her family, no one will remember that there was ever a person named 'Desert' in this world.

Without evidence, it's as if this never happened.