Asura in Arknights

"Then why did Hai Si appear in the ruins of Plot 21? If it's a trade secret that's inconvenient to disclose, you don't have to tell me."

Kal'tsit considered for a moment, then said with great caution, "After all, this kind of creature... is extremely dangerous."

"There's nothing to hide. Those Haisi are unrelated to the company's research—neither in the past nor now."

Li Ang answered readily, "And based on my speculation, this is very likely just a simple accident."

"Remember when I asked Rhodes Island to help me search for the meteor that landed in this area? That thing was actually a piece of Hai Si's body tissue."

"Wait? You're saying that meteor was Hai Si's body tissue?"

For a moment, Kal'tsit thought she had misheard and pinched her brow, feeling a sharp pain in her stomach.

Despite her best efforts to prevent it, she never imagined that such a dangerous creature would spread to all parts of the world in this way. Thinking of the catastrophic consequences caused by the mass reproduction of the Sealings, Kal'tsit instantly had the thought of giving up and quitting.

However, this thought only lasted for a moment, and even if she was in a bad mood, she had to keep going.

“I know what you’re worried about. This time, Hai Si is a little different. Its fragments have almost completely lost their activity, so there’s no need to worry about it infecting other creatures.”

Seeing what Kal'tsit was worried about, Leon explained, "This time someone is interfering, using that piece of tissue to plot something in the ruins. I discovered traces of other people entering the ruins. As for others also finding those fragments... if they really want to die, it's not hard to get Hai Si's body tissue."

However, whatever they were plotting, there wasn't even ashes left there, so there was nothing to worry about.

After hearing Li Ang's explanation, Kal'tsit breathed a slight sigh of relief.

What he said does make some sense. If humans want to court death, you can't stop them just by stopping them, not to mention that those things called "Sea Species" are everywhere along the Iberian coastline. The existence of the Deep Sea Church is the best example of this.

"But I didn't expect that you would know so much about Haisi."

This kind of information isn't something just anyone can know. Kal'tsit gave Leon the feeling that she knew a little bit about everything.

"Because I have cooperated with the Iberian Tribunal before, and... there is also a Deepsea Hunter being taken in on Rhodes Island."

As she spoke, Kal'tsit gave a brief introduction to what Deepsea Hunters were: "Deepsea Hunters are biological weapons created by Agor based on the Sealings, specifically to deal with the Sealings. They are a kind of existence between the Sealings and the Agors, and they may slip toward the Sealings at any time."

Li Ang nodded, paying no attention to the deep-sea hunter Kal'tsit mentioned.

If someone like Shuiyue, who is completely transformed by the sea, can appear, then some beings that fall somewhere in between are nothing special.

After all, if we exclude some subjective factors, Haisi does have many strengths, and it is not surprising that people have the idea of ​​taking advantage of them.

"Then...why did Hai Si turn into a meteor shower?"

This is something Kal'tsit just can't understand.

It's not surprising that something as resilient as the Sea Serpent could appear anywhere, but... it shouldn't be in the sky, right? Could it be that the Sea Serpent had evolved the ability to fly, and was eventually shot down?

While Kal'tsit's guess had some issues with the details, it was generally correct.

Her question hit the nail on the head, and Li Ang hesitated whether to tell her the whole story.

This time, Kal'tsit didn't say anything about not telling me, but quietly waited for Leon's answer.

"...Well, to tell this story, we have to start from a few months ago when I went to the Eastern Kingdom. It's a very long story."

After much deliberation, Li Ang finally decided to tell Kal'tsit part of the situation.

Because Li Ang believed that anyone who understood the danger of the Sea Creatures could quickly reach a consensus—to find a way to completely eliminate these dangerous creatures, and if that couldn't be done, to send them away as soon as possible.

Based on Li Ang's understanding of Kal'tsit, there's a good chance she'll support him and Shuiyue, and even if she doesn't, she probably won't oppose it.

However, Li Ang left some room for maneuver, not telling Kal'tsit about the existence of Mizuki, but only explaining about the Path Shapers.

"Haisi sensed an impending crisis and wanted to leave the planet. They discovered a former civilization's airbase in the Tianyue Mountains and eventually activated one of the still-functioning spaceships, preparing to undergo targeted evolution in the outer space environment."

"However, before it entered space, the spaceship was destroyed by something and turned into the meteor you saw that day," Li Ang explained.

The words just now revealed a lot of concepts that the natives of Terra shouldn't know, but that doesn't matter.

Leon has a secret, and so does Kal'tsit; as long as they don't interfere with each other, that's enough.

"My idea is that since no one can solve the threat of the Sea Si, we might as well take this opportunity to send them away, so I'm trying to collect the fragments left behind by the Pathfinders."

Considering the terrifying number of the Sea Siege, even if all the countries on Terra were mobilized, they probably wouldn't be enough to defeat them. What else can we do but send them away as soon as possible?

Upon hearing Li Ang's explanation, Kal'tsit's brows furrowed tightly.

"Have you considered how many resources it would take to get all the Sealings off this planet?"

After much deliberation, Kal'tsit pointed out the biggest problem with Leon's plan.

Given the terrifying number of sea creatures, it's uncertain whether the resources in the ocean would be sufficient to sustain their destructive tendencies if they were to complete their evolution.

"That's still better than a direct confrontation, or do you think there are other ways to resolve Haisi's crisis?"

Even if there aren't enough resources in the sea, they'll just come to the mainland to plunder them.

Since the outcome is the same anyway, why not choose the option with the higher probability?

If this plan succeeds, at least it can avert a crisis that is close to the end of the world.

Upon hearing Li Ang's question, Kal'tsit initially wanted to answer that they did indeed have other methods, but after carefully considering the person who could make this method a reality, Kal'tsit sighed helplessly in her heart.

"You're right, I really have no other choice."

“Your method sounds good, but you need to understand one thing—because of the 'star pod,' it’s almost impossible to leave this planet from the inside unless you have a way to break the star pod.”

"Wait, star pod... what's that?"

Upon hearing a completely unfamiliar term, Li Ang quickly pressed for an answer.

"You do not know?"

This time, it was Kal'tsit's turn to be surprised.

“Just recently, we received a call from your ‘sister.’ She said that someone came to our door and said they were very interested in the Star Pod fragment in your possession.”

"You actually say you don't know what a star pod is?"

"...I really don't know."

Amid Kal'tsit's expression that seemed to say, "Are you kidding me?", Li Ang spoke sincerely.

-------------------------------------

P.S. Yeah, I still got betrayed by Lone Star. That's painful.

Chapter 81 Conversation

Kal'tsit looked at Leon suspiciously, and only after confirming that he was not joking did she explain.

“The Star Pod… is a protective measure that completely isolates Terra from the outside universe.”

“This land is facing countless challenges, and it’s not time to turn our gaze to the stars yet. It’s not safe there either,” Kal’tsit said very tactfully.

In her view, with so many messy problems still unresolved on this land, where would the energy come from to develop the aviation industry?

Putting aside other matters, it's more realistic to wait until the various nations of Terra have developed their flight technologies before considering this issue.

"What consequences would breaking the star pod have? Is there a way to achieve this?" Li Ang's expression also became slightly serious.

"The consequences? Nobody knows." Kal'tsit shook her head.

How could anyone know the outcome of something that has never happened?

"Moreover, with the current level of technology, there is absolutely no possibility of breaking the star pod."

Terra's prosperity was almost entirely built on Originium. Their energy utilization efficiency was only slightly better than that of primitive humans. Under these conditions, breaking through the barrier of the Star Pod was simply a pipe dream. Even the combined power generation of all of Terra over a hundred years might not be enough to meet this requirement.

Star pods... are almost creations left behind by previous civilizations at their peak, and also serve as the last line of protection, or rather, a test, for the new civilization.

If this layer of protection is broken, it means that this season's civilization has the ability and the right to face the cold, dark, and infinite void.

But Terra is far from being ready for that right now.

Therefore, although Li Ang's idea is good, it is almost impossible to realize in reality unless a way to manually activate the star pod can be found.

But the difficulty of this method... is not as great as considering how to break open the star pod by force. Although the energy required is almost astronomical, at least it is not an unattainable fantasy.

What puzzled Kal'tsit even more was where Leon got the Star Pod fragment from, and who was trying to get it from him?

Beast Lords? They all have their own functions and shouldn't interfere with other matters.

"Is that so?"

Li Ang gained a lot from his conversation with Kal'tsit.

Seeing Kal'tsit's confident demeanor, Leon realized that his previous plan had been ill-considered.

Even pre-civilization spaceships driven by the Pathfinders couldn't break through the Star Pod's barrier. Could a massive number of Sea Legions really accomplish that? Simply piling up quantity doesn't easily compensate for a lack of quality.

However, Li Ang's furrowed brows soon relaxed.

Returning the wreckage to the horde at the right time would allow Hai Si to confront the protective device left behind by the previous civilization, which is not necessarily a good thing.

It's too early to think about such things now. He hasn't even collected a single piece of the Road Shaper's remains yet. Maybe something will happen later.

Soon, Li Ang remembered what Kal'tsit had just said.

"You just said that my 'sister' called and that someone wants the Star Pod fragment I have?"

Sister...it's probably that girl from Nian, no, it must be her, no one else would call themselves that.

“That’s right,” Kal’tsit nodded, “but that’s all she said. You should ask her for details yourself.”

It seems... not a big deal?

If the situation were truly urgent, given Nian's impulsive nature, he would probably have already stormed Rhodes Island, instead of just making a phone call here and having Kal'tsit relay the message to Leon.

"I'll ask about it later."

However, judging from Kal'tsit's tone, she seems to be quite familiar with Nian.

"Do you know Nian?" Li Ang asked casually.

"...we've had some dealings with each other before."

"I see."

Seeing that Kal'tsit didn't seem to intend to say anything more, Li Ang didn't ask any further questions, since it wasn't really important anyway.

"Also, the research data that Rhine Labs needs has been completely destroyed in the explosion. There may be other problems in the ruins of Plot 21. I'm just reminding you that if you want to continue to fulfill your contract with them, remember not to investigate any voices that appear there."

Leon's actions have come to an end. By infiltrating Rhodes Island's ranks, he has perfectly achieved his goal and will no longer participate in Rhodes Island's subsequent operations.

Unable to interfere with Rhodes Island's decision, Leon, out of good intentions, still offered a reminder to Kal'tsit.

"That's all I wanted to say."

-------------------------------------

Before leaving Rhodes Island, Leon stopped by to visit the Ubica sisters.

After learning that the two women were resting, he left his contact information and arranged to contact them again later.

After using his senses to check on Viviana's condition and confirming that she wasn't making any strange moves, Li Ang left Rhodes Island.

In the end, they still couldn't figure out Viviana's purpose. Although they confirmed that the knocking sound she mentioned was real, it was definitely not the reason why she went into the ruins of Plot 21 alone.

Before leaving, Li Ang took the time to take off his Rhodes Island work uniform and change back into his usual clothes.

At this point, he was no longer a temporary operator of Rhodes Island, nor a private detective from Yan Country, but the identity he used when he first came to this country: a refugee from Letania.

It doesn't matter if we don't understand Viviana's purpose; Li Ang has the best way to deal with her.

That just so happens, because what he needs to do next does require him to visit that lady.

Walking among the crowd, Li Ang looked no different from an ordinary office worker. He took out his phone and dialed the secretary's number.

"Hey, it's me."

"That's right. Help me contact that lady and see if we can arrange a meeting soon. I have some things to discuss with her."

"Business or personal? Probably both, it's related to her precious daughter... By the way, I'd like to ask, isn't it enough to just send anyone to oversee Rhodes Island's operations? Why did you send her?"

"Okay, okay, I understand. I'm not blaming you. You've worked hard these past few days."

"After the press conference, there shouldn't be much to do at the company, so I'll give you a break then."

That's about it.

Li Ang's voice blended perfectly into the hustle and bustle of the city, and no one was interested in the work he was talking about.

The screens on both sides of the street played advertisements from various companies on a loop, and every now and then a news item or two would be inserted, such as which knight had won another victory, or who had been involved in a scandal with whom.

In these images, Cintraya's figure flashed by, announcing in a mundane manner that Pol Pharmaceuticals would be holding a press conference, like a drop of water falling into the ocean, causing almost no one's attention except for the initial ripple.

"So, this is your plan?"