Asura in Arknights

"Sir, what brings you here?"

"I'm here to post a commission."

Upon hearing this voice, Nian subconsciously twitched his eyebrows.

The middle-aged male voice is very magnetic. It doesn't sound particularly special, but it always gives people a very subtle sense of disharmony.

Moreover, the man's appearance... gave Nian a very strange feeling.

Resolute face? Rugged? Masculine? None of these adjectives seem quite right. He is clearly quite handsome, with a mature aura unique to middle-aged men, and should be very popular with some young girls, but no matter how you look at him, Nian just doesn't like him.

To be frank, Nian felt that this man's face was the result of plastic surgery, and it was full of artificial traces.

At first glance, it seems fine, but upon closer inspection, its peculiar flavor is almost overflowing.

However, it would be truly impolite to simply block someone at the door like that.

"I'm sorry, but the boss is currently handling other projects and may not be available for the time being. You'd better look for someone else."

This isn't a legitimate law firm, so why would we accept other people's cases? Nian made up a random excuse, wanting to get rid of this middle-aged man as soon as possible.

However, the man looked as if he couldn't live without them and showed no intention of leaving.

“It’s alright, I can wait,” the man said. “The commission will eventually come to an end, and I can wait until then.”

"This...is not a matter of waiting or not..."

Nian scratched her head, surprised that the other party was so persistent, and for a moment she couldn't think of a reason to refuse.

Just as Nian was racking her brains for a reason, the man suddenly took something out of his pocket.

"Don't rush to answer. It's not too late to make a decision after reading this."

What the man handed over appeared to be a business card.

She hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the business card.

When Nian saw those lines of text on the business card, her heart tightened, and she couldn't take her eyes off it.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Trevor Friston, an employee of the Components Department of Rhine Labs."

When introducing himself, the man named Trevor paused for a moment for some reason, but Nian was in a very complicated mood and did not notice this inconspicuous detail.

Trevor said, "I am here on behalf of Rhine Labs to make a private request to your president."

After saying that, Trevor stood there expressionless, waiting for Nian's reply.

"...Come in first."

Nian gave him a deep look, then stepped back, clearing the way to the interior of the house.

"Sorry to bother you."

Although he said that, Nian didn't seem to feel the slightest bit embarrassed that he was bothering others.

Rhine Life...

Before Li Ang left, he told Nian about a series of messy events that had recently occurred, so that she might not accidentally miss any important clues while protecting Destle.

Although some of the latest intelligence had not yet been told to Nian, Nian knew that the root of these troubles lay with Rhine Lab.

Now, Rhine Life's people have actually come knocking on our door, which is completely different from what Li Ang had planned.

Nian felt a bit of a headache. She knew absolutely nothing about negotiation and really didn't know what to do next...

Well, let's just take it one step at a time. If all else fails, I'll call my sister-in-law for help; she knows more than I do.

With that in mind, Nian decided to first fulfill the most basic courtesy.

She found the kettle in the drawing room, turned around and asked, "Would you like black tea or coffee?"

However, Trevor said in a cold voice, "No need for all that trouble. I'll leave soon after I've done what I need to do."

Nian paused involuntarily, her hands still moving. Had she finished what she was supposed to do? A very ominous premonition suddenly arose within her.

Almost at the same time that she had this premonition, she heard a strange flowing sound... and Desmond's scream from next door.

Through his powers, Nian could sense that a substance, similar to metal but not entirely metallic, was rapidly flowing into the adjacent bathroom through the tap water pipes.

In an instant, Nian thought of the things Li Ang had warned her about before.

This guy... is so arrogant? He actually dared to commit violence in front of her?

Although Nian couldn't say exactly what the substance in the tap water pipes was, it did have a metallic quality... and as long as it was metallic, it fell under Nian's control.

Just before the water burst through the showerhead, the gushing fluid in the pipe abruptly stopped, and Trevor's face showed obvious surprise upon noticing this.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Nian conjured up his weapon and slammed it heavily on the table.

"Isn't it inappropriate to do this in someone else's home?"

"This is...your ability?" Trevor looked at Nian with considerable surprise. "That's interesting."

His gaze toward Nian was no longer as indifferent as before, but rather held a hint of scrutiny that was barely perceptible.

After a moment's thought, Trevor said slowly, "What you said makes sense. I apologize for my behavior just now."

As she spoke, Trevor moved her fingers slightly, and then she felt the fluids that had been bound by her powers suddenly burst forth with tremendous force, breaking free from her control.

This time, however, the fluids retreated along the water pipes and completely disappeared from the area of ​​the annual power.

Before retreating, it also plugged the shattered showerhead to prevent the precious water resources from being wasted.

"master!"

Maria's startled cry came from next door. Judging from the commotion, they seemed to be coming to Nian for help.

"Don't come any closer! Just stay there!"

Nian immediately stopped their reckless behavior.

The truly dangerous guy was sitting right in front of her. Sending those two girls, who had no fighting ability, over was no different from delivering food to her door.

Fortunately, Maria still heard Nian's shouts, and after a brief commotion, the neighborhood finally quieted down.

Then, Nian turned to look at Trevor, who was sitting opposite him.

Throughout this process, Trevor did nothing special; he simply sat there quietly, as if he were watching a wonderful play, almost clapping his hands to applaud the brilliant performance of Nian and the others.

Seeing that Nian's attention had returned to him, Trevor crossed his arms and calmly said, "Well then, let's talk about the commission."

"You bastard! Don't you know what manners are?"

From the very beginning, it was as if this guy hadn't even glanced at her, and was just going about his own business.

After the attack on Destreet was exposed, he still nonchalantly offered to continue the commission. I don't know how to describe this guy.

Nian was also enraged by Trevor's arrogant attitude. She drew her longsword, wanting to teach this arrogant fellow an unforgettable lesson.

However, even with a longsword pressed against his neck, Trevor's attitude did not change in the slightest.

Trevor raised her head slightly, her gaze towards Nian filled with a complex emotion she couldn't understand at all, and said in a low voice, "No matter how similar they may look, a beast is still just a beast."

Regardless of whether Nian understood the meaning of his words, Trevor continued,

"Politeness? I think I've been polite enough. If you want to take action, then go ahead."

"……snort."

Nian stared at him for a few seconds, then snorted and sheathed his sword.

"What, aren't you going to make a move?"

"What good would it do to take action? Even if we dismantle this metal shell, I'd still have to clean up the mess later."

Only when she activated her powers did Nian finally realize what the inconsistencies she had previously noticed were.

The Rupert man named Trevor in front of me... is not a real person at all, but an iron shell made entirely of metal, nothing more than a remotely controlled puppet.

The puppet is made of some common metals, which means it is completely under Nian's control. With just a thought, Nian can turn this iron shell into a pile of scrap metal.

Even if I'm still angry, I'll understand what choice to make now.

Rather than killing a harmless puppet, it's more important to hear what his request actually is.

“This is actually my true form,” Trevor said meaningfully.

"Stop talking nonsense and explain your purpose."

“Alright,” Trevor nodded. “I’m using two commissions this time.”

"First, it's a request from Rhine Labs. I need your help to find a lost item from Rhine Labs. It's very dangerous, and finding it as soon as possible would be a good thing for you as well."

"Secondly, it's my personal request. Please tell your boss that I'm very interested in the 'Star Pod' fragments he has and hope he can name a price, or... I can also exchange some information he wants to know for him."

"What is all this nonsense?"

Hearing this nonsensical request, Nian said with considerable annoyance, "You asked us to find items lost by Rhine Lab, but you didn't even say what these things are. Where are we supposed to start looking? And... what is this star pod you mentioned?"

"I think you should ask the girl next door about that. As for Xingjia..."

After a pause, Trevor continued, "You know, just tell your boss this."

As he spoke, Trevor took something out again and placed it on the table in front of him.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a check from the Kasimir United Bank, and the amount on it left Nian speechless.

Regardless of whether they agreed or not, Trevor left the check and prepared to leave.

As he reached the door, he suddenly remembered something, felt his pocket, took out a handful of loose bills, and stuffed them into an empty decorative vase next to him.

"This is the cost of bathroom repairs; I think that should be enough."

"Then, farewell."

With an incomprehensible expression on his face, Trevor swaggered out of the firm.

After a long pause, Nian finally managed to utter a few words, "Damn it, you're insane."

Indeed, besides being insane, Nian couldn't think of any other word to describe this arrogant fellow.

In just a few minutes of contact, Nian was furious with this scoundrel. In her long life, she had never met such an arrogant fellow.

After thinking for a long time and still not figuring out what this guy was here for, Nian decided to go check on the situation next door first.

Those two little girls were probably terrified.

Are you two alright?

Pushing open the door to the next room, Nian was greeted by a scene of utter chaos. In their panic, the two girls had knocked over many things, even overturning the sofa and pinning it against the wall.

Nian looked around the living room but couldn't see Maria and Destreet anywhere.

"What about people?"

Just as Nian was feeling puzzled, she saw two heads cautiously peeking out from behind the sofa.

"Um... Master... is everything alright now?" Maria asked cautiously.

"What are you doing there? Come out now."

Realizing why the two were hiding there, Nian suddenly found it somewhat amusing. "What can a broken sofa block? If someone really wants to harm you, this thing is unreliable."

Clearly, they must have turned the sofa over on their own initiative.

The two pushed the sofa to a corner of the room, creating a small hiding place with the wall, where they had just been hiding.

Regardless of whether it was actually effective, it at least provided the two girls with some psychological comfort.

“But… I just heard a sound from the bathroom that sounded a lot like the sound I heard that night…” Descartes hesitated.

Although nothing happened afterward, the sound and the sudden explosion of the showerhead still terrified her.

She didn't want to experience such a life-or-death crisis a second time.

"Oh... a madman did come to our door, but he's left now, so you should be completely safe."

Recalling Trevor's actions, Nian thought for a moment and replied.

Since Trevor knew that Destreet was there, he still didn't make a move, which should mean that he let Destreet go.

"perhaps."

Chapter 78 Meanwhile, on the outside of the world

Under the gray sky, the unchanging apocalyptic scene unfolds.

After humanity disappeared, the power of nature once again triumphed over civilization. Unidentified, strange plants grew all over the ruins of the mobile city, making the terrain even more complex than a wasteland.