Asura in Arknights

For example... idols? If that's the case, it might usher in an era of entertainment to the death?

Standing on the balcony, Li Ang gazed at the people gradually becoming busy on the distant road, his heart filled with emotion.

However, Li Ang is now in the position of a beneficiary, so his feelings are limited to feelings and he will not take the initiative to change anything.

Everyone says that capitalists should be hung from streetlights, but honestly, if given the chance, how many people wouldn't want to be one of those capitalists who deserve to be hung from streetlights?

The mess Adams and Ayin made still affected him to some extent, and the thought of having to clean up their messes gave Li Ang a headache.

It's still early, and none of the people who went to catch up on sleep seem to be waking up. They'll be sleeping until noon at the earliest.

By this time... the diligent secretary should have already woken up.

Although Li Ang was a little embarrassed to bother her now, there was nothing he could do. There were some things that only Hinterlea could do. Neither Li Ang nor Adele had experience managing such a large organization.

Marner is just a lowly employee. Without external intervention, his career would at most be that of a mid-level team leader in the company. He could lead a few teams, but he would be incapable of managing the company.

At this critical moment, Cintraya, which offered its services proactively, helped Li Ang out of his predicament.

Li Ang is not the kind of person who pretends to know what he doesn't. For important matters like press conferences, he would definitely consult professionals.

In addition, Li Ang also needs to contact Sona to warn them to be careful of attacks from the Radom Hometown Association.

When they parted ways, just in case, Li Ang not only gave Sona his business card but also asked for her contact information.

In retrospect, this move was indeed the right one.

Just as Li Ang took out his phone to open his contacts, a call notification popped up on the screen, and the slightly noisy ringtone broke the rare tranquility.

Upon closer inspection, Li Ang realized that it was actually Nian calling him... How could he not feel the slightest surprise?

Li Ang's body holds many secrets. He may be one of the twelve incarnations of 'Sui,' the oldest god of the Great Yan Dynasty, and he also has an unknown connection with 'Chusheng,' the god of the Hai Si. No one knows what happened to him in the past.

When Li Ang opened his eyes, he was already in a small border town in Iberia.

Based on the clues currently available, Li Ang made a bold guess.

His predecessor most likely made a deal with one of the newborns of the Sea Clan, sacrificing his own life to permanently sever the possibility of the Year Beast's resurrection. That's why he has human characteristics belonging to Agor, instead of appearing as a dragon like his other brothers and sisters.

His remains were later obtained by some people in Iberia and hidden in a secret research institute located underground in the town for study.

Then, a natural disaster struck, burning everything there to the ground, and Li Ang's consciousness awoke from that body at the same time.

If Li Ang's guess is correct, then in a sense, he is already a completely new person, with no longer any connection to the Sui Beast incarnation, and can no longer be one of the components for the Sui Beast's resurrection. In fact, his connection with Hai Si is even closer than that.

At least the uncontrolled Terrorfish and Sea Spinners will not attack Li Ang on their own initiative.

However, the two sisters, Nian and Xi, clearly disagreed. Nian even told him bluntly, "No matter how things change, even if you lose your memory, you'll always be my little brother."

Compared to the initial hostility she showed towards Li Ang, Nian's current attitude is completely different, so enthusiastic that Li Ang feels somewhat uncomfortable.

Clearly, the clever Sister Nian had guessed what was going on, after all, she was doing the same thing as Li Ang's predecessor.

The difference is that 'Ayu' has succeeded, while Nian has not found a single clue.

These thoughts flashed through Li Ang's mind. He hesitated for a moment, then pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear.

The two sisters had already accepted him as their elder brother and younger brother. Could Li Ang possibly turn his back on them? He really didn't know how to deal with this situation, so he eventually acquiesced.

At least when he marries Adele, the guest seats for the groom won't be empty.

"Hey, hallo? Ciao? Little brother, can you hear me?"

As soon as the call connected, Li Ang heard Nian's overly lively voice in his ear.

Compared to her sister Xi, Nian is the complete opposite. Even over the phone, you can feel the energy she exudes, and it seems you will never see her looking depressed.

Originally, the two sisters, Nian and Xi, came here for a vacation and would return to Yan Kingdom after a while.

But judging from their recent behavior, it seems they have no intention of going back at all.

Nian didn't want to be conscripted by the Ministry of Works, while Xi didn't care where she was, since she spent more than 99% of her time in her own paintings anyway.

However, this is also good. The arrival of the two sisters has brought life to this huge manor, and little Maria is very happy to welcome the two older sisters.

For Maria, who aspires to become an engineer, Nian is practically an omnipotent god.

"...The cell phone signal is fine, I can hear your voice."

Li Ang really didn't know how to answer, so he could only say this.

"Why are you calling so early? Is something urgent?"

To avoid escalating the topic further, Li Ang quickly asked.

Li Ang knew all too well how talkative Nian was, no wonder Xi hated her sister so much. Putting a chatterbox next to someone who liked quiet would eventually make even the most patient person want to kill her.

To be honest, Li Ang was also finding it hard to resist the enthusiasm of the New Year.

Fortunately, there was another 'master' in Linguang Manor who could restrain Nian. Mrs. Sarah and Nian were evenly matched and could talk from dawn till dusk. Even Xi felt a deep sense of awe towards Mrs. Sarah.

She had never met anyone who could talk to her sister for so long before.

"Tsk, I just woke up and you called me right away, little brother."

Seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with Li Ang's directness, Nian couldn't help but click his tongue.

However, she seemed to be in a pretty good mood today and quickly got to the point, "Well, there are a few things I need to talk to you about."

"Where did you and your sister-in-law go? Didn't you say you were just going out to have some fun? Why haven't you come back yet?"

Nian complained, "You have no idea, my sister-in-law's father is driving me crazy. He asks hundreds of times a day where you've been, and several times every hour."

The old man... I think he refers to Professor Valcke, right? Even someone like Nian who enjoys a good time would find his actions quite annoying.

Upon hearing this, Li Ang frowned.

The professor's reaction seemed a bit excessive; even if he was worried about Adele's safety, he shouldn't have been this concerned.

It seems that Adele's guess a few days ago was correct. Even though Professor Valcke appears to be perfectly normal on the surface, the series of events that have occurred in the past two years have dealt a significant blow to the old man, and he may very well be suffering from a serious mental illness.

It is necessary to find a psychologist for the professor as soon as possible.

As Li Ang was pondering this, just as he was about to reply, he vaguely seemed to hear Xi's voice.

'You woman, you actually know how to be annoying? You should experience firsthand how I feel every day.'

"Cough cough."

Nian suddenly coughed twice, silencing Xi's faint voice.

It seems that even today, Nian hasn't given up on bothering his younger sister after getting up.

"Alright, nothing happened just now," Nian said in a serious tone.

“…Let’s just say that.” Li Ang didn’t pursue what happened on the other end of the phone and replied, “You probably know what I’m busy with right now. It’s the riot at Plot Zero the day before yesterday. The company doesn’t have enough trustworthy people, so we have to handle it ourselves.”

"It's company business... then I really don't have much to say. But little brother, is there anything that Xi and I can help with?"

"...The military strength here is more than sufficient, so there's nothing we need to help with for the time being," Li Ang said rather tactfully.

"Tsk, saying that makes it sound like I'm a brute."

Nian's tone sounded very displeased, "I'm at least the third-in-command of the Great Yan Ministry of Works."

What about Xi?

Poor Xi Bao was ignored by her own sister.

But it seems that, apart from her own abilities, Xi, this homebody, doesn't seem to have anything else to offer that's not impressive.

"The situation here is somewhat complicated, and it's likely the result of a power struggle among multiple forces. I haven't been able to figure out the full picture yet," Li Ang said, rubbing his temples.

If the year were to enter the game under these circumstances, the situation would likely become even more chaotic.

After all, Nian is the aspect of the beast that symbolizes 'war', and she is best at head-on combat.

"However... if you want to help, I do have someone here who needs protection."

Li Ang thought for a moment and said, "A poor girl accidentally got into a life-threatening situation. Considering that she provided me with important information, I will lend her a hand."

"Adele and I can't protect her every minute. If you have time, come and visit."

“No problem.” Nian readily agreed. “I was also planning to go away for a while, and Xi’s patience seems to be reaching its limit. Let’s avoid her for now.”

Upon hearing what Nian said, Li Ang's lips twitched involuntarily.

He didn't know whether to criticize her for being self-aware or to say that she knew her sister's temper perfectly.

It's not easy to accurately grasp Xi's bottom line and keep teasing her until now.

“I’ll help you take care of that little girl. As for your sister-in-law… let her come back first. You should be more considerate of your elders.”

Nian sighed, "If my sister-in-law doesn't come back soon, the old man's mental state is indeed not good."

"Okay, I'll tell Adele when she wakes up."

After considering it for a while, Li Ang decided it wasn't a bad idea.

After all, given Shuiyue's experience, staying in the safe house in Hinterland is not 100% safe.

There were times when he had to act alone, such as the site survey for Plot 21 a few days later, which allowed Adele to return to the relatively safe Nearlight Manor and, incidentally, stabilize Professor Valcke's mental state.

"Then it's settled. I'll go tell the old man in a bit."

After receiving the assurance, Nian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She understood Xi's feelings to some extent, but it didn't matter. Understanding was one thing, but the bond between the two sisters was still essential.

"Is there anything else? If not, I'll hang up."

“There is indeed something else I need to tell you,” Nian said. “My eldest sister came to my dream last night.”

“My sister said she will come over once in the near future, and... my brother will also come with her.”

Arrangements for Chapter Fifty

"..."

Li Ang took a deep breath. "You should have mentioned this first."

Compared to Professor Valcke's mental illness caused by excessive stress, the second piece of news that Nian mentioned was the real bombshell.

If it were just another person coming, Li Ang wouldn't think much of it.

Although Linghe's relationship with Li Ang was not as close as his relationship with Nian and Xi, he had at least acknowledged Li Ang, and Li Ang had long been prepared to entertain this guest.

But the next time she came along, her older brother was also there.

The eldest among the incarnations of the Year Beast… Li Ang didn’t know much about this person, but he could still glean some clues from the two sisters’ few words. Even someone as carefree as Lian Nian spoke with a tone full of awe when mentioning her eldest brother.

Just like the conflicts that can arise between siblings in an ordinary family, the twelve incarnations of the Year Beast are not on good terms, and there is even hatred between them.

The reason they can maintain their current superficial harmony is partly due to the shared threat of the resurgence of the Year Beast, and partly due to the existence of their eldest brother.

Shuo was the first among the incarnations of the Year Beast to develop his own will. His brothers and sisters who awakened later all received his care to varying degrees, making him the undisputed backbone among them.

Li Ang still felt a little nervous when such a person came specifically to see him.

After guessing a bit about his own identity, Li Ang always felt inexplicably guilty when facing them.

"Don't worry, they won't be here anytime soon."

Perhaps guessing Li Ang's feelings at this moment, Nian said with a smile, "Your sister just came to say hello in advance. She still has a lot of things to take care of."

Last night, when Ling entered Nian's dream, he also mentioned the current situation of the Great Yan.

The uproar caused by the collapse of Tianyue Mountain is not something that can be easily quelled, especially since it involves a well-preserved ancient site, making it even more difficult to let go of.

"The situation in Da Yan has already exploded. Not only the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War, but also the Ministry of Works want to get involved. As one of the people who experienced this firsthand, you can probably imagine what her situation is like now."

Nian's tone revealed obvious schadenfreude: "Luckily I ran fast enough, otherwise those old fogies from the Ministry of Works would have come running after me again."

"Moreover, even if your sister's troubles are resolved, your brother won't be able to get away so easily."

“Unlike us idle folks, my elder brother holds an important position, and the court won’t let him go so easily. He’s been talking about retiring for decades, but it’s been dragging on until now. It’s not so easy for him to come out.”

Li Ang could understand the actions of the Great Yan Dynasty.

The transformation of the Year Beast involved too many things, which surprised Li Ang greatly. The fact that Nian and Xi could move freely and even leave the territory of the Great Yan was very unexpected.

Perhaps this is also related to Shuo's important position in the imperial court.

With this core figure, the incarnation of the Year Beast, serving the court, the Great Yan need not worry too much about the threat posed by other Year Beast incarnations.

"I understand."

Although Nian had already explained things quite thoroughly, after a moment's thought, Li Ang still asked, "Is there anything else I need to be aware of? That way I can prepare in advance."