Asura in Arknights

The Tin Man made no disguise; his appearance was that of a distinctly mechanical being. As for Trevor… he even used artificial skin. Unless one was exceptionally perceptive in this area, they probably wouldn't have noticed anything unusual about Trevor and would have simply thought of him as a rather aloof person.

The thought that there might be many more of these robots lurking around him sent shivers down Ferdinand's spine.

Medical examination! Everyone must have a medical examination!

Ferdinand decided that once he returned to Rhine Life, he would arrange a thorough physical examination for all employees. He didn't believe that those lumps of iron could fool all the machines.

"The Melander Foundation..."

Li Ang slowly savored the name in his mind.

Organizations with the name 'Meland' are very common in Colombia. If you walk down the street and look in any direction, there is a 90% chance that you will see a related sign. Not long ago, Li Ang also heard such a name from Kal'tsit.

The Melander Children's Rights Protection Foundation—Rosemary was rescued from the Loken water tank by them and sent to Rhodes Island for treatment. Kal'tsit and those people seem to have a lot of cooperation; it's a rather powerful organization, even the Colombian military is keeping a close eye on it.

The children's rights protection foundation is just a tiny, insignificant branch of the Melander Foundation.

Ultimately, the founding of Colombia is inextricably linked to the Melander Foundation, and even the president of Colombia was elected by the founders of the Melander Foundation.

Although the Melander Foundation has gradually faded into the background since Colombia's independence, it rarely intervenes in national affairs anymore.

However, just by looking at the branches that are spread throughout Colombia, one can see just how exaggerated the influence of the Melander Foundation is in Colombia. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are the de facto rulers of Colombia, and the president is actually working for them.

Ferdinand insisted that the other party was from the Melander Foundation, and Leon didn't sense that he was lying. His guess was very likely true.

An agent from the Melander Foundation appeared before him, and even Li Ang couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

It wasn't because of the opponent's strength. Although the humanoid robot sounded cool, its actual strength was just so-so. Excluding the magical creations he had used before, which were like liquid metal, Li Ang only needed two punches to tear Trevor in half.

What really troubled Li Ang was the power behind those people.

He said he wanted to get the Star Pod fragment from Leon... Was this his own idea, or the will of the Melander Foundation?

On his own turf, Li Ang was not afraid of the people from the Melander Foundation. No matter how many people they sent, they were just fodder. But if Li Ang went to Colombia, the situation would be completely different.

The other party doesn't even need to resort to force; they can create countless troubles for Li Ang by using methods within the rules.

Facing the power of a nation is a completely different experience than when facing the pursuit of the twin queens.

Or... should we just hand over the Star Pod fragments to them? Leon began to consider the feasibility and consequences of doing so.

Thinking about it carefully, there was actually no real conflict between him and the Melander Foundation. Although he destroyed one of their seemingly expensive bionic robots, there were no casualties. Money is the most useless number for a giant organization that secretly controls a major country. Moreover, the other party was in the wrong first, and Li Ang completely occupied the moral high ground.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to give them a fragment of a starpod. Back then, Li Ang destroyed a bunch of those constructs in the Tianyue Mountains, and now Xi's scroll preserves the remains of a relatively complete construct. It's unclear what it can be used for. The piece that Li Ang took out was just something he picked up casually when he left, and it doesn't have much practical value.

However... Li Ang didn't know what the consequences of doing so would be.

Perhaps the research of the Kristen and Melander Foundation is only one step away from completion, with only the final piece of the puzzle—the Star Pod Fragment—to be finished.

Li Ang's experience taught him that any research related to ancient people did not yield pleasant results in the end.

Star pod fragments... might become the key for them to break through the barrier. Although Kal'tsit was certain that with the current level of development of Terra's civilization, it was impossible to break through the barrier, there are always exceptions. Kal'tsit is not an omniscient god, so it is not surprising that she would make a mistake.

Thinking about it this way, the 'only fragment of a star pod' in Li Ang's hand became a hot potato. Giving it away was not an option, but keeping it in his hands was an even bigger problem.

Furthermore, how did the people at the Melander Foundation know that the Starpod fragment was in his possession? This is also quite suspicious.

Only a handful of people know about this, and they wouldn't casually reveal it. Apart from the people around Li Ang, the other people in the know are far away in Da Yan on the other side of the continent. Surely the Meiland Foundation's influence couldn't have expanded to Da Yan, and they wouldn't have obtained the relevant clues from there.

This is a bit too much...

As Li Ang remained silent, an eerie quiet atmosphere permeated the dean's office. Ferdinand sat uneasily on the sofa, seemingly waiting for another question.

Finally, Ferdinand couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "What do you want by asking me about Christen and those guys?"

"Well... I'm actually quite interested in Christensen's research, so I'd like to learn more about it."

After regaining his senses, Li Ang, unfazed by Ferdinand's 'you're kidding me' look, said...

"Don't be skeptical. I think the aerospace industry has a very promising future, so I'm preparing to invest in Miss Christen's project. That's why I'm here to learn about some relevant information in advance."

Li Ang could guess Ferdinand's intentions. He probably wanted to win him over to fight against Christensen. But Ferdinand was clearly no pushover either. Li Ang couldn't just accept the invitation without question. That would not only make him look foolish, but also cheap.

He also has another identity with the Ubica sisters. Considering the old grudges between the Astronomical Society and Christensen, it is unlikely that the Astronomical Society did not see Christensen's plan. Li Ang can also try to contact Christensen through this channel. There is no need to be fooled by Ferdinand into going to Christensen head-on.

For a moment, the two people, both harboring ulterior motives, began to play a game of cat and mouse, making the scene quite unpleasant.

Meanwhile, Adele also saw the person who was calling her.

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Let's go back to a short time ago, when Li Ang said he was going to meet Sona, who had disappeared for several days and then reappeared, and left from underground first.

Not long after, Shining also left. She was going to guard another passage leading to Ayin's laboratory, which was much more concealed and secure than this one.

With herself now alone in the underground space, Adele's slightly rapid heartbeat gradually subsided.

She leaned against the wall, clutching her staff, and quietly watched the only entrance.

Although the chances of being watched here are slim, Adele stayed just in case. Once this incident is over, all the secrets that were originally hidden in the hospital's underground will be transferred to Xi's painting. If you want to hide any secrets, there is no more suitable place than the world of the painting.

Being alone in such a dark environment can cause a distortion in the perception of time. What feels like a long time may actually be just a few minutes in reality.

Now, Adele is experiencing that feeling of each day dragging on endlessly.

Suddenly, a high-frequency noise imperceptible to humans pierced Adele's consciousness. As if someone had hit her on the head, she instinctively covered her head.

With the appearance of this high-frequency noise, the consciousness attached to Adele's horn was forcibly awakened from its slumber.

That was a melody I wrote in the past... a clumsy adaptation, but it worked quite well.

The Witch King's cold snort reached Adele's heart.

"Teacher, you're awake."

That person is calling you; you can only hear her voice because of my presence… The decision is yours: do you want to see her?

If you don't want to see me, I can help you block out this voice, so she won't be able to find me this way again.

Even with only a wisp of his soul remaining, the Witch King is still one of the greatest warlocks in Terra's history.

After this brief encounter, he had completely seen through the tricks the other party was using.

Adele was initially hesitant about going, but upon hearing the noise rising like waves and sensing the anxiety conveyed in the jarring melody, she decided to go see the person.

“Teacher, I’ve decided to go and see.” Adele reaffirmed her resolve. “If I want to return to Letania, I can’t avoid these things.”

She had been drawn into this vortex left behind by the Witch King countless years ago, and now it seemed too late to escape.

Okay, let's go then.

After sending a message to Leon, telling him that she was going to meet the 'Candle Knight', Adele followed the source of the noise.

Perhaps sensing Adele's approach, the melody, woven from noise, gradually slowed down.

Finally, Adele found the source of the noise in an unfinished factory near the Central Hospital.

Even though the factory doors were open, all the light from the outside seemed to be swallowed up by the darkness inside, and Adele couldn't see what was inside the factory at all.

Taking a deep breath, Adele gripped her staff and stepped into the almost tangible darkness.

A faint candlelight flickered in the darkness, illuminating the blonde Caprini woman not far away.

"I didn't expect it to be you who came."

As Viviana watched Adele slowly emerge from the darkness, a strange light flashed in her eyes.

She had considered many possibilities, but she never expected that the person who came would be the little girl Caprini who had never studied music and was nothing like a Letanian.

It seems her disguise was so convincing that even Viviana was fooled.

Adele showed no surprise at seeing Viviana there; her face only displayed the caution one would show when facing a formidable foe.

"It seems you noticed me a long time ago. So that was him back then... I was wondering where all those unknown strongmen in the Great Knight Territory came from."

Viviana wasn't an idiot; the moment she saw Adele, she had already guessed the true identity of the 'knight' from a few days ago.

However, Viviana clearly misunderstood something; she thought Li Ang had come for her.

"What do you want to do?"

Adele gripped her staff tightly and asked warily.

"Don't be nervous, you should be able to sense from my melody that I have no hostility."

Adele wouldn't understand this! She didn't learn the traditional magic of Letania, which forced the Witch King to change his teaching methods. How could she possibly understand how to perceive someone's emotions from a melody?

In order to avoid being exposed as a fake in a second, Adele could only keep a tight face and pretend to be very serious.

Viviana didn't pay any attention. She gently pulled the bow, and a soft melody flowed from the violin in her hands. She closed her eyes, as if to confirm something.

"As expected, I didn't choose the wrong person. You also have a [reverberation] within you."

"I'm here to warn you, don't go any closer to Letania, they've found you."

Chapter Ninety-Two: The Voice of the Empress

they?

This nonsensical statement puzzled Adele, but before she could ask what it meant, she saw Viviana's expression change several times in a short period of time.

"Wait... I remember you were wanted by Letania and then fled here? No... how is that possible?"

Wanted criminals in Letania? Although there aren't many, there are always some.

Communication between different regions of Terra is inconvenient, so it's actually quite common for someone to commit a crime in one place and then move to another to start a new life under an assumed name.

However, the matter involving Leon and Adele caused quite a stir. Because of Professor Valk's disappearance, Letania sent a special envoy from the Queen to this area. Some curious people investigated the two's experiences in Letania and naturally discovered the wanted poster. Although the wanted poster has now been withdrawn, it did exist after all.

Now, a simple search on the intercity network will yield a ton of related information. It seems that someone intended to smear Li Ang's reputation in this way, but the Grand Knight Commander suppressed it in the end.

Naturally, no one cared about such a trivial matter.

Please, this is Kazimierz. So what if he's a wanted criminal from Letania? Here, they have to abide by the rules of the Grand Knights. And it doesn't affect their ability to make money, so why bother with all that?

Even Viviana was no exception. Because of work, she and Adele were quite familiar with each other and had a good relationship. She also didn't care about the wanted poster on Adele.

However... things changed completely after Viviana discovered that Adele harbored an echo within her.

Before confirming the other party's identity, Viviana had mentally rehearsed countless times. Her conclusions could be applied to most people, but Adele was different... The wanted poster on Adele's body made Viviana feel that she was quite wrong, and all her previous mental preparations were rendered useless.

Considering the fates of those who possessed the [Echo], Viviana found it hard to understand how Adele managed to escape to Kazimierz alive.

"Was that a warrant personally issued by the Twin Queens? Did you see the Twin Queens? The one with gold or the one with black? And how did you manage to escape Letania?"

A barrage of questions poured out of Viviana's mouth, and the eagerness flashing in her eyes completely shattered her usual serene demeanor.

Adele comforted Viviana with a hint of helplessness, promising to tell her everything that had happened, before Viviana finally calmed down.

She felt like something was off. Shouldn't she be the one questioning Viviana about why she had secretly lured her to this place? Why was she the one explaining things instead?

"Well... this matter is rather complicated. Could we go somewhere else and explain it to you slowly?"

However, because they were acquaintances, Adele was quite friendly.

The factory they were in was in a remote location, completely empty, with nothing inside. There wasn't even time to sit down and rest. Adele noticed that Viviana was carrying a lot of things, which made things very inconvenient for her, so she thought of finding another place to talk.

Viviana hesitated for a moment, but then shook her head and declined the suggestion.

“Let’s do it here. This darkness can conceal our presence. Neither my spells nor the [Echo] on you can be exposed.”

"They...are very likely watching this city."

At this moment, Adele realized that the thick, almost tangible darkness around her was not just a scare tactic, but actually served a purpose. What was Viviana guarding against?

The Witch King remained silent throughout, as these events occurred after his death, and therefore he could not offer Adele any further advice. He simply helped Adele maintain the facade of 'resonance' and waited for things to unfold.

Only when more information is gathered can the Witch King deduce roughly what happened based on his own experience.

"OK then."

Adele thought for a moment and then briefly told Viviana about it.

“My arrest warrant… This matter is somewhat complicated. It is true that it was issued by the Twin Queens, but we have not been able to meet Her Majesty the Queen.”

However, even now, neither she nor Li Ang has figured out what happened back then, and they can only tell Viviana a very small part of it.

Then, Adele asked doubtfully, "From what you're saying, am I supposed to see Her Majesty the Queen?"

“Yes, you should see one of them.” Viviana nodded firmly. “To ensure the death of the vessel, the Empress personally carries out both the sentencing and the execution.”

"Furthermore... I'm very curious, how exactly did you survive the Queen's Voice's pursuit?"

“The Queen’s Voice? They only sent one elite Tower Knight… Leon defeated him easily, and those who pursued us afterward were just ordinary Tower Warlocks, not any other members of the Queen’s Voice,” Adele explained.

In fact, ordinary tower warlocks alone would have been enough to give the two of them a hard time back then. They were relatively weak at the time, and if they had encountered the Queen's Voice's pursuit, they probably wouldn't have had much chance of escaping from those elites. Looking back now, they were actually quite lucky.

However, Viviana was greatly shocked when she heard this, because it was completely different from what she had imagined.