Asura in Arknights

Everything is developing in a good direction.

Byron believed that missions deep into contaminated areas should not be assigned to ordinary members of the Knights.

However, after selecting some suitable candidates, Byron hesitated for a moment before sending a copy of the mission briefing to the Candle Knight.

Even though the other party is unlikely to come, I still need to do what I'm supposed to do.

After serving as the leader for a period of time, Byron's strength did not improve much, but he made great progress in interpersonal skills.

After waiting in the office for a while, the people Byron had called out all put down what they were doing and rushed over.

Byron glanced at the young knights lined up and said in a deep voice, "I have a task for you."

"The company needs to send someone to Plot 21 to oversee the progress of a project. You are all the Knights with the mildest Oripathy and the best-controlled condition in the Order. Who among you will go on this mission?"

"Commander, monitoring the progress... what exactly is required?" someone asked.

"What for? To keep an eye on where those people go every day, what they dig out of the ruins, and whether they're hiding anything from there. That's about it," Byron replied casually.

However, the knights looked at each other in bewilderment. After a period of silence, one of them tentatively spoke up, “That captain… it’s not that we don’t want to go, and the pollution there doesn’t matter to people like us, it’s just… you see, we’re people who can’t even read, so we probably can’t keep an eye on those people. It’s easy for them to fool us.”

The others nodded in agreement.

So what if it's a contaminated area? It's not like they haven't been there before; in fact, the places they lived before were even worse than contaminated areas.

Besides, protective suits will be provided this time, so there's absolutely nothing to be afraid of.

They were just worried about being blamed for failing to complete the mission. No infected person who passed the Blood Knights' selection would ever allow themselves to return to their past living environment.

"..."

Byron opened his mouth, then fell silent.

It's true that literacy rates in Terra are low, but it's not as exaggerated as being completely illiterate. These people weren't born infected; they've all received some education and can at least recognize words. The so-called illiteracy is just an excuse.

However, they are indeed easy to fool. How much experience can infected people, whose lives are hanging by a thread, have? If they have such intentions, it is not difficult to deceive them.

What should we do now? Should we go there ourselves?

Byron certainly had the confidence that he could not be deceived, but if he left, who would take over the work of the Knights?

Just as Byron was at his wit's end, the office door opened again.

A tall figure walked in and said softly, "Then let me go."

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Time slips away quietly, and half a day has passed in the blink of an eye.

Nothing unexpected happened during the first half of the day, and Li Ang's plan proceeded relatively smoothly.

Despite Shuiyue's obvious reluctance, he eventually agreed to Li Ang's request and agreed to impersonate him and attend the press conference in Li Ang's place.

All you need to do is clear your mind and read the script. The only thing you need to overcome is the fear of being in front of the camera.

Once the press conference is held and Chairman Li Ang makes his appearance, it will be the best opportunity for either the General Manager's Construction Department or the Radom Association to do whatever they want.

Not long after giving instructions to Shuiyue, Adele also woke up.

Upon learning of Professor Valcke's mental state, Adele did not linger and hurriedly ran back to take care of the professor.

Soon after, Nian arrived as well.

However, she also had a little tail with her—the little girl Maria also ran over and hid in a painting provided by Xi Youqing. If Li Ang hadn't asked a question, he probably wouldn't have discovered it at all.

Nian, however, seemed completely unconcerned. After all, Maria was hiding inside the painting, so even if something did happen, it wouldn't affect the little girl.

"If you're really worried, then go and talk to my little apprentice yourself."

"Disciple? She became your disciple?"

"That's about it. Well, this child is quite eager to learn, so teaching her wouldn't be a problem."

It seems that Li Ang has no other reason to refute this, so he'll just let the two of them do it.

Unfortunately, Miss Destreet was probably exhausted and showed no signs of waking up until Leon was ready to leave.

Under Li Ang's surveillance, the Rhine Lab mentor-apprentice team acted very quickly. They had just received the authorization letter that morning and did not waste a minute before contacting Rhodes Island and asking them to prepare as soon as possible.

Kal'tsit also contacted them, hoping that Leon could arrive at Rhodes Island as soon as possible.

According to the agreement they signed with Rhine Life, the first exploration team will set off for the ruins of Plot 21 early tomorrow morning.

After instructing Nian to protect Destreet and remember to check the glasses that had been delivered in the past two days, he disguised himself and headed to Rhodes Island.

That night, Li Ang rested in the staff dormitory of Rhodes Island.

Although he and Adele lived in Rhode Island for a period of time, they stayed in guest rooms, not staff quarters.

It must be said that although Rhodes Island's employee dormitories are relatively small, they have everything you need.

Not to mention the single dorm rooms and private bathrooms, Rhodes Island even provides a computer in the room. The conditions here are no worse than most hotels in the Great Knight Territory.

Is this a sign that Rhodes Island is rich or poor...?

With mixed feelings, Leon spent the night on Rhodes Island.

The next morning, before the designated assembly time arrived, Li Ang got out of bed on time.

Wearing the standard protective gear provided by Rhodes Island and a helmet for disguise, Leon no longer looked so strange.

As soon as Li Ang arrived near the assembly point on the deck, he spotted an old acquaintance.

The white-haired Blood Demon Doctor leaned against the wall, arms crossed, looking extremely agitated, and kept tapping the ground with his heels.

"Hey, Dr. Warfarin, it's been a long time."

Li Ang greeted the Blood Demon Doctor, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, "Dr. Kal'tsit actually sent you out too?"

Hearing someone call her name, Warfarin turned her head and saw a strange person whose face was not even visible.

"Who are you?" Warfarin stared at Li Ang with a suspicious look.

With a slight twitch of her nostrils, Warfarin finally recognized a familiar scent.

"Oh...it's you." Warfarin said with a look of realization. "Kal'tsit and I told you yesterday that I didn't recognize you because you were wearing a helmet."

"Not everyone has arrived yet, let's wait a bit. Once everyone is here, you can introduce yourselves."

Nodding, Li Ang wasn't in a hurry.

Besides Warfarin, there were three other people waiting there: one man and two women.

A middle-aged Fydian man wearing sunglasses and carrying a large shield, and a Felin woman who seemed to know him; the box she was carrying contained... uh, a chainsaw? People actually use that as a weapon?

Yes, that's very creative.

If we disregard the speed at which the chainsaw blade can chip, this is indeed a very intimidating weapon.

And the last Lupo woman... Leon's first reaction upon seeing her was, wow, her tail is huge... It's nothing like a normal Lupo should have, it's almost the size of a cushion, all fluffy and looks so comfortable to hug.

Perhaps because Li Ang's gaze lingered for a couple of seconds, the Rupert woman noticed his stare and nodded slightly to him.

Li Ang coughed awkwardly and quickly looked away.

Just then, Warfarin approached Li Ang and asked in a low voice, "Hey, how come you have time to get involved in this? Is there something wrong with this commission?"

As someone who knew Li Ang's true identity, Hua Falin didn't think he would be so idle as to get involved in such a trivial matter. Even if Plot 21 was his property, there was no need for him to hide his identity and come over in person.

"Hmm... how should I explain it? You could call it business competition. Since it's quite important, it's safer for me to do it myself," Li Ang thought for a moment and explained.

"That's great." Warfarin breathed a sigh of relief.

It's business competition, huh? That's fine, I can understand.

In any other situation, she would have to consider how to escape.

However, Warfarin did not realize that if it was just a regular survey mission, Rhodes Island did not seem to need to send such a luxurious lineup as two elite operators and the deputy director of the medical department.

Before Warfarin realized this, she was drawn to what Leon was about to say.

"Are those two the final choices?"

Following the direction Li Ang pointed, the Ubika sisters stepped onto the deck of Rhodes Island.

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Chapter 55 Abnormal Situations

The Liberi sisters walked side by side on the spacious deck of the Rhode Island.

"Sister, you really didn't need to come with me, your health..."

Elena said softly, her eyes filled with worry for her sister.

She knew very well that her sister's health condition was not particularly optimistic.

Although Astrolabe contracted Oripathy due to special circumstances, her condition did not worsen in the slightest; in fact, it was even more severe than Elena's.

Otherwise, Elena wouldn't have been able to go back to work as if nothing had happened after treatment, while her older sister, Astesia, would still have to stay on Rhodes Island.

Because he needed to monitor the progression of the illness at all times, Xingji accepted Rhodes Island's offer to serve as a so-called 'astrology literature consultant'—otherwise, why would a pharmaceutical company study astrology? At least that's what most people thought.

This time, they are heading to a heavily polluted area located at the epicenter of the natural disaster.

Elena herself is fine. Yesterday's checkup results showed that her health condition is quite good, her Oripathy is very stable, and she does not have the sub-health caused by long-term irregular work and rest.

But Xingji... unexpectedly, after hearing this news, she actually applied to participate in this mission, and the Rhodes Island management center actually agreed.

Both emotionally and rationally, Elena didn't want her sister to be in danger because of her again.

However, before she could finish speaking, Xingji interrupted her.

“I have no problem. I consulted Dr. Kal'tsit before, and she agreed with my idea.”

"Okay, alright..."

Upon hearing Kal'tsit's name, Elena's imposing manner softened somewhat. "But sister, if you feel unwell, you must tell me."

Xingji nodded, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

The two sisters hadn't seen each other for a long time. Xingji actually had a lot to say to her sister, but when they finally met, she couldn't bring herself to speak.

The unexpected disaster a year ago completely changed Xingji's life, and after that, her parents' attitude chilled her to the bone.

Should I hate my sister? I got Oripathy because of her recklessness.

But Xingji also knew very well that Elena hadn't actually done anything wrong, and she couldn't hate anyone because of this.

If you're going to hate, you can only hate that damned fate.

After letting out a silent sigh, Xingji pointed to the group of people waiting not far ahead and said, "It seems we're late."

"It's not time yet..." Elena muttered softly.

However, they were indeed the two who arrived last.

"This way."

At Li Ang's prompting, Warfarin noticed the Ubika sisters and waved to them.

"The Ubika sisters, the elder sister Astesia is an employee of Rhodes Island who volunteered to participate in this operation, and the younger sister Elena is a researcher at Rhine Lab and our employer this time. The one with loose hair is the elder sister, and the one with a single ponytail is the younger sister."

Once everyone had arrived, Warfarin, as the person in charge of the operation, naturally took the initiative to introduce everyone's identities.

"These two are ACE and Blaze, elite operators from Rhodes Island with experience in contaminated areas. They are responsible for protecting our safety during this operation."

As Warfarin introduced herself, the burly man from Fydia and the woman from Felin nodded.

The fact that Rhodes Island was able to send two elite operators to participate in the operation demonstrates the importance that Rhodes Island attaches to Rhine Labs' commission.

As for why they are needed to protect the team's safety... that's easy to understand.

Even though Plot 21 has been reduced to ruins, it doesn't mean there are no dangers there.

Besides the terrain ravaged by natural disasters, what's even more dangerous are the infected creatures that use the area as their nests.

For the Terrans, the Cataclysmic Contaminated Zones are dangerous areas that they would avoid at all costs, but for certain special infected creatures, the highly radioactive contaminated zones are actually the most suitable places for them to live.

Generally speaking, these types of infected organisms are extremely dangerous.

Several months have passed since Plot 21 was destroyed by the Cataclysm, enough time for infected creatures to nest there.

"This is Provence, the messenger of natural disasters and the overall commander of the operation. Just follow her orders."

The girl with the big tail, Lupo, greeted everyone with a smile.

Messenger of natural disasters... well, that's barely a match for my major, right?