Asura in Arknights

But... didn't Leon remember that Warfarin was also in the team back then? When Leon first returned to reality, the Rhodes Island group still thought of him as a monster that had invaded from outside the world.

"Tsk... Don't even mention it. That riddle teller only mentioned 'hole' and the outside of the world to me. I didn't understand what it meant at all, and she didn't seem to care to explain it in detail."

Warfarin was extremely frustrated and wanted to scratch her hair, but the helmet of her protective suit stopped her hand, so she could only stomp her feet a few times in anger.

Kal'tsit clearly knows a lot of things, but she's unwilling to explain them to others, which drives Warfarin to the brink of madness.

It wasn't just Warfarin; anyone who had spent time with Kal'tsit could relate. But what could they do? They couldn't exactly tie Kal'tsit up and force her to explain, could they?

If Kal'tsit is unwilling to talk, there's no point in forcing her.

"You guys must have had a really tough time," Li Ang said with sympathy.

Leon's feelings toward Kal'tsit and those of the Rhodes Island members are completely at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Perhaps because he had taken the lead in every conversation, Li Ang did not encounter any signs of being a riddle-maker when communicating with Kal'tsit. On the contrary, Li Ang felt very comfortable because Kal'tsit really knew a lot of secrets.

"So there really was a problem! I knew that bastard Kal'tsit wasn't that kind of person!" Warfarin cursed angrily.

What? You have a simple task to handle... You just want to draw some blood, don't you? That bastard Kal'tsit is really getting revenge, isn't she!

Warfarin's voice caught the attention of two elite operators waiting nearby. She quickly waved her hand to indicate that she did not need help, and then forcefully dragged Leon away to a more distant place.

"Give me a proper explanation for what happened! I don't want to die here without knowing why!"

"...It's not that dangerous, is it?" Li Ang raised an eyebrow.

The culprit has long been eliminated, and the 'hole' leading to the outside world has long been healed. This should just be an ordinary disaster-contaminated area, nothing special.

—That's what Li Ang thought, but when he saw Warfarin's angry expression, he felt he should explain.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone else about this."

Leon broke free from Warfarin's grasp and cast a silencing spell around them to prevent their conversation from being leaked.

Warfarin is a high-ranking official at Rhodes Island and had helped him and Adele a lot before, so there was a foundation of trust between them. Leon felt that it wouldn't hurt to tell her part of the truth.

Seeing that Li Ang was willing to explain, Warfarin breathed a slight sigh of relief. What she was most worried about was that these guys were like Kal'tsit, knowing everything but unwilling to say anything. The feeling of being led by the nose was truly awful.

"I swear in the name of the Demon King, I will not tell anyone what we are about to discuss," Warfarin solemnly declared.

"...Actually, there's no need to be so serious."

Li Ang sighed slightly and said, "Let me make this clear first, there are some things that I myself don't understand. I can only tell you what happened, and you'll have to judge for yourself what the specific clues are."

This is a good opportunity for Li Ang to recall what happened, see if there's anything he missed, and perhaps find new clues from a third-party perspective.

Nodding, Warfarin adopted a posture of attentive listening.

"Where should I begin... this timeline seems to be going on for quite a while..."

After recalling the series of events that occurred in the Great Knights' Territory, Li Ang realized that many things could not be explained without starting from the beginning, such as Kane's purpose and his relationship with McKee.

Even what they are doing now is a continuation of that series of events from back then...

It's true what they say, good people don't live long, but bad people live for a thousand years. Those two bastards, Adams and Ayin, are still causing trouble for themselves even after they're dead, and it's foreseeable that the trouble will continue.

After all, where Adams got the technology to transfer souls remains a mystery.

"Indeed, we have to start from the beginning."

After organizing his thoughts, Li Ang began, "You should know that when I first came to the Great Knight Territory, I only intended to become a gladiator knight to earn a living. Later, a lot of things happened, and that's how I became the chairman of Pol Pharmaceuticals."

"I've heard some of it."

Warfarin recalled the rumors she had heard, "I remember that the chairman of Ball Pharmaceuticals personally invited you to join them. Later, the chairman died unexpectedly, and you inherited his share of the shares... I heard that you even missed the Special Championship final because of that accident?"

This is considered a legend in the Great Knight Territory. From an ordinary knight, he rose to become a member of the board of directors of the Commercial Federation. The deeds of the 'Hurricane Knight' inspire countless young people in the Great Knight Territory, all of whom want to become the next 'Hurricane Knight'.

A miracle has already happened once, so why can't it happen a second time? Maybe I'll be the next lucky one.

Even now, the number of new registrations to the Knights Guild continues to rise.

"It's the quarterfinals... but it doesn't really matter, it's part of the deal."

"Okay, I know there are complicated reasons behind this, but what does it have to do with the anomalies in Plot 21?"

Warfarin knew, of course, that the truth was not as simple as the rumors suggested, and that there must be a lot of shady dealings behind it.

Putting everything else aside, Warfarin would never believe that the Business Council and the Securities and Futures Commission didn't get involved in this matter; they were probably fighting tooth and nail behind the scenes.

"Don't rush. What I'm trying to say is that Adams Ball, the former chairman, is the culprit behind all of this. All the problems, if you trace them back to their source, were actually all caused by that bastard."

After a pause, Li Ang continued, "You probably don't know why Adams invited me to join them in the first place, do you?"

"Isn't it because we have high hopes for your future?" Warfarin asked, puzzled.

Although the specifics are unclear, someone as strong as Li Ang would be sought after wherever he goes, so it's not surprising that Adams did this.

"Most people think that way, but this is just a smokescreen that Adams put out to cover up his real purpose."

Even now, recalling that overconfident fellow, Li Ang still can't help but let out a cold laugh.

"It's very simple. Adams was conducting an experiment on transferring souls at the time, and he just wanted my body."

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Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Missing Candle Knight

"Soul transfer? Dead souls?"

After a moment of surprise, Warfarin subconsciously thought of those special beings.

"Dead souls? What are those?"

Li Ang frowned when he heard Warfarin utter that unfamiliar term.

“The undead… are a special race of the Sarkaz,”

Warfarin thought for a moment, then explained, "Actually, it's hard to say whether those things count as life or not."

"Dead Souls are a special group of Sarkaz who only have souls and no bodies. They usually attach themselves to objects to carry out their activities. For example, if a Dead Soul attaches itself to a car, it can directly control the car. After possession, the machine becomes its body. Whatever the driver can do, the Dead Soul can do as well as some difficult operations that the driver cannot perform."

“That’s pretty much it,” Warfarin shrugged. “However, the undead can only possess inanimate objects; they can’t take over other people’s bodies.”

"Perhaps, their race is so small that I cannot be completely sure."

Thinking that she herself hadn't encountered many undead spirits, Warfarin added uncertainly.

"...I've learned something new."

Li Ang opened his mouth, but it took him a long time to utter these few words.

What is this thing? A machine spirit?

Why are there so many strange things in the Sarkaz? I feel like their art style is different from the others on Terra.

With his carefully organized thoughts interrupted, Li Ang's mind was now filled with all sorts of random ideas, such as "ringing the bell three times will greatly please the machine spirit."

After a long while, Li Ang finally came to his senses and coughed casually.

"Let's get back to the main point... Adams invited me to join them with this intention. He caused the first explosion on Plot 21. His scheme failed, and he ended up dying by his own hand."

"...So that's what happened. No wonder his company ended up in your hands." Warfarin nodded knowingly.

This explains many things; it turns out he was the victim from the very beginning.

"Was the 'hole' in plot 21 opened by Adams?"

After Li Ang said so much, Warfarin naturally connected this matter to Adams.

That was truly insane... Not only did it fail in the end, it also destroyed its entire business.

If it were Warfarin, she certainly wouldn't do something so foolish; she would at least leave herself a way out.

"It's related to Adams, but he wasn't the one who caused it directly."

Shaking his head slightly, Li Ang explained, "Although Adams' purpose is little known, he still managed to win over some loyal allies with it. After all, it's immortality... How many people in this world can resist such a temptation?"

Warfarin could understand; as an immortal being, she had long been accustomed to death, and she knew all too well how strong the allure of immortality was.

What surprised her more was that Adams, who clearly had mastered the technology, had squandered his advantages... Just how incompetent did he have to ruin himself?

Meanwhile, Li Ang's narration continued.

“I don’t know exactly how many allies Adams has. As far as I know, there’s the former head of research at Ball Pharmaceuticals, Kane from Rose Newspaper, and even Rhine Life… all of them could be his partners.”

As he spoke, Li Ang glanced at the two sisters who were intently studying the withered tree not far away.

Although they had obtained many clues from Kal'tsit, and the Energy Department's "Dream Project" was most likely a byproduct of the "Loken Water Tank," who could guarantee that there was really no connection between the two? Besides, Rhine Lab has more than just the Energy Department.

"Kane from Rose Newspapers? The one who failed to evacuate from Plot 21 in time?"

Warfarin immediately remembered the name. He had long been a laughing stock in the intercity network of the Great Knight Territory, and even Rhodes Island employees rarely failed to hear of his famous name.

After all, Kane Ross's cause of death was extremely rare. Hundreds of years had passed since the invention of mobile cities, yet a resident of a mobile city still died from a natural disaster? Moreover, Kane was not an ordinary poor person. Who else would laugh at him if not him? At least for a long time, before the next fool appears, Kane's name will be remembered.

"It was him, no doubt. That previous natural disaster was caused by Kane's experiment."

"The commotion these people are making is getting more and more outrageous..." Warfarin clicked her tongue in amazement.

The first time, an Originium reactor malfunction destroyed a building; the second time, a natural disaster destroyed a city. So what about next time? Surely they won't have to wipe out an entire mobile city next time?

"Kane, like Adams, pursued immortality, but their approaches were completely different. Adams' method was to choose the most suitable body from among countless people, while Kane believed that was a dead end, and he planned to cultivate a body for himself from scratch."

“McGee Ross is ostensibly Kane’s son, but in reality, he is Kane’s clone, the body he prepared for himself.”

So far, things have been relatively simple: it's just a drama of a son rebelling against his father for a woman. If there are no unexpected factors, even a hundred McGee's combined wouldn't be a match for Kane.

Kane had laid the groundwork for that moment for a full thirty years, planting the seeds of his spirit that left McGee no room to resist. In fact, even McGee's series of acts of resistance were carried out under Kane's covert guidance.

However, unexpected factors eventually emerged.

[The Empire of Consciousness]

The agent of the Consciousness Empire possessed McKee's body and led everything toward an incredibly disastrous outcome.

Originium life forms are born, natural disasters strike, the hole leading to the outside world is violently pierced, and reality gradually becomes alien...

Whether due to the unique nature of the outer world or the nature of the Originium lifeforms themselves, during the final confrontation, Li Ang unexpectedly read some fragments of the Executor's memories, thus learning of the existence of the Consciousness Empire.

Before this, Li Ang hadn't noticed anything unusual and assumed that it was all McKee's doing.

Fortunately, it ended relatively well. The consciousness of the Originium lifeforms and the Agents was erased, the 'hole' which lacked support was repaired on its own, and Ayin, who was secretly causing trouble behind the scenes, was locked outside the world with no possibility of returning to reality.

The storm that had been stirred up by Kane and his son gradually subsided.

"...That's roughly the situation."

After careful consideration, Li Ang revealed all of this to Warfarin, including the existence of the Consciousness Empire.

To this day, Leon has found not a single word related to the Consciousness Empire, not even the Witch King, who once stood at the pinnacle of Terra, had ever heard of their existence. Leon has also realized that it is impossible to find any relevant clues through ordinary means.

“You can tell Kal'tsit about this; I’d also like to hear her thoughts.”

"Wait a minute, let me organize my thoughts."

Upon hearing Li Ang drop such a barrage of information, Warfarin immediately wore a headache-inducing expression.

As she rubbed her temples, she slowly said, "You mean, some agent of some consciousness empire took over McKee's body, turned himself into an infected creature, killed Lao Tzu who was about to take over his body, and then caused a natural disaster that pierced the hole leading to the outside world, and you finally killed him on the outside world?"

"That's a concise summary, that's pretty much it. However, the Executor transformed McKee's body into an Originium life form, not an ordinary infected creature."

After thinking for a moment, Li Ang felt that Warfarin might not have seen any Originium life forms and had no concept of them, so he gave an example that she was familiar with.

"Take the monster that Kal'tsit's spine transformed into, for example. It was an incomplete Originium life form. Ordinary infected creatures don't have the ability to cause a natural disaster."

"Something like the MON3TR..." Warfarin said dismissively.

"It doesn't seem like such a big deal, does it?" Thinking this, Warfarin habitually started arguing, "Why can't infected organisms cause natural disasters? That's because you haven't seen a three-story-tall volcanic Originium worm. That thing could cause a volcanic eruption if it moves."

Li Ang twitched his lips. He had never seen such a large Originium Bug before, nor could he imagine the destruction it would cause.

"Ahem... Thank you for your explanation. I understand the situation now."

After coughing twice in a mock manner, Warfarin voiced her guess, "Do you think it's possible that the hole wasn't completely closed?"

"Unlikely."

Li Ang did not agree with Warfarin's conjecture. He had seen similar 'holes' more than once and considered himself to be quite familiar with this type of phenomenon.

"First of all, the 'hole' must be actively maintained by a person or something else. It cannot spontaneously absorb energy to sustain itself; otherwise, once the hole is opened, it cannot be closed."

This planet lacks many things, but it has no shortage of free Originium energy.

Even if Li Ang couldn't create an energy vacuum in an open area, if Warfarin said that once the hole is opened, it will expand endlessly.

"Besides, if the hole really hadn't been closed, that ruin would never be as peaceful as it is now. You've been through that situation, so you should be able to understand."