Asura in Arknights

After laughing, perhaps sensing that Li Ang still seemed a little skeptical, Adele added, "A mother's minimum expectation for her son-in-law is that he has to be at the level of a master's student and be able to help out in the lab."

"Li Ang, you certainly won't meet this request, will you?"

"It really is..."

Strictly speaking, Li Ang's level of education was illiterate! He didn't even have a primary school diploma.

"This is really a headache... I don't know if my mother-in-law will recognize my Casimir degree. I can still get a master's degree if I work hard."

Under Adele's slightly puzzled gaze, Leon spoke earnestly.

"It's okay if we miss it this time. We can have another wedding after they wake up."

Chapter 85 Walking into a Trap

"Get a replacement... well, that depends on your efforts in the future."

As Adele spoke, Leon seemed lost in thought, and it was unclear whether he had heard her.

After a while, Li Ang suddenly said, "Adele, I have an idea."

"Ok?"

Adele tilted her head and looked at Li Ang curiously.

"You know... if I donate money to get a degree, would that count as passing the test?"

"..."

Adele simply couldn't be bothered to answer.

She rolled her eyes, nudged Li Ang with her head in annoyance, and then broke free from his embrace with a little effort.

As is well known, degrees obtained through donations are usually at the bottom of the social hierarchy, looked down upon even by many ordinary people, let alone by academic families like Nauman's.

If that's what Li Ang was planning, then it would have been better to do nothing at all in the first place.

"Okay, okay, let's stop joking like that."

Rubbing his slightly reddened forehead, Li Ang said in a serious tone, "Has Adele asked the Witch King these past two days?"

The Witch King was in a terrible state; no matter how powerful he was in life, he was now nothing more than a wisp of a dead soul.

After teaching Adele, he had to enter a deep sleep to recover some of his strength. His waking hours were actually quite limited, only lasting for a short period every few days.

Unless they can obtain some items that house the Witch King's power, such as the scepter kept in the Brandenburg Library, the Witch King can regain some of his power and be more lucid each day.

But Li Ang strongly suspects that the scepter was deliberately released by the Gemini Queens as a bait; otherwise, why would they put such a precious artifact in a library? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to put it in a museum?

Perhaps the Gemini Queens also knew this use of the scepter.

Apart from this one and only known target, all of the Witch King's other relics are missing, and it's hard to say there aren't other issues involved.

Therefore, the remnant soul of the Witch King remained in this limbo state.

Even so, under the guidance of the Witch King, Adele's Originium Arts improved rapidly in a short period of time. If the Witch King's melodies hadn't been so difficult and obscure, Adele probably would have been playing those musical instruments.

After all, the Witch King was the most powerful warlock in modern Terran history, bar none.

What Li Ang asked Adele to inquire about was the question of 'Viviana'.

"The teacher said that he never left any bloodline descendants, but... there may be a few distant relatives of his in his hometown. If we have to talk about the bloodline of the Witch King, then only they fit the bill."

After the Witch King himself confirmed that he had never heard of the Drost family, and Viviana was not from the Witch King's hometown, this possibility could be ruled out.

"However, my teacher also reminded me that many Letanians have been influenced by Dionysus, and there is a mad factor hidden in their blood. So... their views on 'bloodline' may be different from those of normal people. They may create 'bloodline' that conforms to their understanding through some cruel means."

Dionysus represents chaos and madness, and under his influence, the situation in Letania is in utter chaos.

Although the Witch King ruined Dionysus's plans and banished all his followers, Dionysus even cursed the throne of Letania in the process.

However, this does not mean that the Witch King was no longer important to Dionysus. In fact, Dionysus favored the Witch King even more and was madly eager to obtain his soul.

Given this premise, it goes without saying what the resurgent Dionysian followers will do.

For example, a melody left behind by the Witch King could be inserted into a person's head, artificially creating an echo of a certain aspect of the Witch King.

Originium Arts are closely related to the soul, which can be considered a kind of bloodline.

The Witch King's explanation failed to clarify Viviana's identity, instead making the matter even more perplexing.

However, it is certain that Viviana possesses some means of tracking the Witch King.

The first place where the Witch King used his power after awakening was the ruins of Block 21, and Viviana was very likely tracking the traces left behind at that time.

Later, Adele followed Leon around the Eastern Kingdom and the Yan Kingdom several times. After returning, she was busy preparing for the wedding and had no chance to use the power of the Witch King.

He had inquired about these matters with the Witch King a few days ago, and this was also the first time he had awoke since returning to Kazimierz.

The only clues Viviana could find were those left in plot 21.

This speculation is reasonable enough, and Li Ang will accept it for now.

If nothing unexpected happens, Viviana should approach Adele in the next few days, but it's unclear what her purpose is.

Overall, Viviana's problem is easy to solve; at worst, the Grand Knight Commander can be brought in. However, the problems facing Leon are much more complicated.

He had no idea how many people would come here to cause trouble, but the most dangerous of them all was probably that man named Trevor Friston… or rather, the robot.

To prevent his intrusion, Li Ang specifically sealed off all the pipes and gaps here in advance.

Trevor has already performed twice, sneaking into rooms through pipes and other channels. If Leon falls for it again, he can only be considered foolish.

With the press conference drawing ever closer, Li Ang and Adele lost interest in chatting and simply stood there quietly, waiting for those people to take the bait.

Time passed slowly in the silent atmosphere, and Li Ang used his senses to envelop the entire hospital, silently observing every move in the outside world.

The press conference was expected to last about two hours. Li Ang felt that those people wouldn't be in such a hurry to launch an attack now. Their best time to act would be in the second half of the press conference, when people's vigilance would be at its lowest.

Ferdinand, whom Li Ang was particularly concerned about, also remained silent, as if he had given up on finding Trevor.

Just as Li Ang thought things would develop as he predicted, a sudden thought struck him: a commotion at the entrance of the Central Hospital caught his attention.

A large group of infected people gathered together and arrived at the central hospital in a chaotic manner.

This kind of thing happens frequently in Plot Zero because Plot Zero has been in use for too short a time and has not yet been able to establish enough trust with the infected people there.

So many people came together just to protect themselves, so that if one person came alone, no one would even notice if they went missing.

The Knights Guild and some local businesses have a lot to say about this. The missing infected people were either sold into slavery in underground arenas or simply captured for human experimentation. Black clinics that are willing to accept infected people are hotspots for this kind of thing, so they brought this habit to Plot Zero.

Of course, Li Ang was not concerned with the actions of these infected people, but rather with the familiar figure he spotted among them.

Leon couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation, "Isn't that Sona? She's actually alright?"

He thought that poor little girl Zalak was already dead, but he never expected to run into her here.

Adele overheard Leon's mutterings and asked, "Is it the knight Sona we encountered before?"

“It’s her.” Li Ang nodded.

At this moment, Sona was mingling in the large group of infected people, and under the guidance of a triage doctor, she was in one of two lines registering for pre-diagnosis.

Sona was also infected and needed treatment, but perhaps because Li Ang had preconceived notions, he always felt that Sona seemed a little suspicious in the crowd.

Li Ang could neither contact her nor find her whereabouts; she had been missing for several days.

But when Sona reappeared, it was at such a sensitive time and in such a sensitive place that it was hard for Li Ang not to have some doubts.

What made Li Ang most suspicious was that Sona had actually hidden a short sword on her person, cleverly concealed in her large tail.

"That's really interesting."

After thinking for a moment, Li Ang took out his phone, ready to give the little girl a surprise.

"Adele, you and Shining stay here for now. I'll let you know if anything happens."

"I'll go and meet her first."

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

"Please don't push! Line up and register one by one!"

At the triage desk, several doctors were shouting loudly, trying their best to maintain order.

Although these dozens of infected people were noisy and disruptive, surprisingly no one caused trouble. They all cooperated with the doctor's arrangements and formed two long lines.

During this crucial public notice period, those who pass the review and are admitted to plot zero are at least intelligent infected individuals who haven't degenerated into trash.

They at least know which regulations are for the benefit of those infected, what they should and shouldn't do.

The Central Hospital in Plot Zero is the only legitimate hospital willing to accept infected patients. If anyone tries to cause trouble here, not to mention the hospital's security, the infected patients receiving treatment here will be the first to object.

That's why the riots a while ago were so unbelievable, and the consequences were extremely serious. The number of knights patrolling in Block Zero suddenly increased several times. Near these infected people, several members of the Bloodblade Knights coldly stared at them.

The recent riots had already made them lose face, so they wouldn't hold back when it came to teaching these guys a lesson.

And what about these infected people? Of course, they just go about their business as usual.

Anyone with a modicum of rationality would not have those inappropriate thoughts upon seeing the gleaming armor and weapons on those knights.

However, this was not so friendly to Sona, who was hiding in the crowd.

Slightly curled up, Sona tried her best to minimize her presence, but under the watchful eyes of four knights—two on her left, two on her right, and one on each side—her attempts to conceal herself were futile.

Fortunately, Sona is petite, so her movements are not particularly noticeable in a crowd.

[What should we do...? Why are there suddenly so many more knights maintaining order?]

As the registration line slowly moved forward, and it was almost her turn, Sona couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

She had been kept in the lower structure area by Lucifer for the past few days and had no idea what had happened outside. She thought that the Central Hospital was the same as before and that it would be easy to sneak in.

Given the current level of security, let alone finding the secret laboratory hidden beneath this hospital, she'll probably be caught by those knights as soon as she deviates from her examination and treatment route.

[How about we register now and then look for an opportunity later?]

With only one person in front of her in line, Sona had no choice but to come up with this compromise.

"Go to the second floor to have your blood drawn and sent to the lab. This isn't your first time coming for a checkup, so I don't need to repeat the next steps, right?"

After diligently filling out her information on the registration form, Sona successfully obtained her medical record.

The secret laboratory she was investigating was underground, so the main search area should be the first floor, while the blood collection area was on the second floor of the hospital.

No... we can't be sure. Maybe there's an entrance leading there from the second floor too.

Let's go take a look first.

Sona thought it best not to do anything too conspicuous for now.

She has two hours in total, and only a dozen minutes have passed so far, so she still has plenty of time.

Let this be for the sake of all those infected.

Sona convinced herself of this.

Although she was forced to get involved in this mess under Lucifer's threats, Lucifer also gave Sona an acceptable reason.

Do you really think those powerful figures would be so kind as to provide jobs, housing, and medical care for the infected? You're just their guinea pigs. Otherwise, why would there be a secret laboratory underground at the Central Hospital?

Not only because of my threat, but also for the sake of your infected compatriots, go find that secret laboratory.

Lucifer's statement hit Sona's sore spot. Having been deceived once before, she had no trust in the Business Federation. They claimed to help the infected on the surface but secretly experimented on them, which aligned with Sona's expectations.

After seeing that her companions were all safe and sound, Sona finally relented and agreed to help Lucifer with this dangerous job.

Although she still suspected that Lucifer planned to silence her after the deed was done, Sona had no other choice.

Upon reaching the second floor, Sona observed all suspicious places along the way, leaving no stone unturned—the restrooms, the storage room, the corners of the stairs, and other places that usually went unnoticed.

Although she remained outwardly calm, Sona was actually inwardly extremely tense.

However, in this situation, someone silently approached Sona from behind and reached out to pat her on the shoulder.

"Hey, isn't this Sona?"

"ah!!"

Sona jumped up in fright.

Chapter 86 Search

"What are you doing! You scared me to death!"

Turning around, Sona saw Li Ang appear behind her at some point and shouted angrily.

For a split second just now, she was so terrified that she almost drew the short sword hidden behind her back.