Asura in Arknights

Forging cold weapons is not actually that difficult; anyone can learn for a few days and forge a decent-looking one.

The key point is actually the word 'qualified' in Nian's mouth.

A qualified weapon must be able to withstand the test of actual combat, which is a hellish difficulty for Maria, who has only been learning forging for a short time.

No wonder we haven't seen Maria much lately; it turns out Nian gave her such a difficult problem.

"Well, my skills aren't really suitable for ordinary people to learn. If she can't even overcome this little difficulty, then I think she should give up sooner rather than later." Nian said lazily, waving his hand.

After all, powers are on a completely different level compared to Originium Arts.

For Nian, the power of forging is entirely instinctive, and it is indeed difficult for her to teach others.

During the Great Yan Dynasty, some craftsmen wanted to learn her forging techniques, but the final results were somewhat unsatisfactory. It can only be said that those without talent could not learn them, and those with talent could learn them but it was not very meaningful. It was tasteless to eat but a pity to throw away.

However, for a child like Maria who has no one to teach her, learning the forging techniques of the year wouldn't be such a bad thing.

If she fails Nian's test in the end, Nian plans to teach Maria some ordinary skills. Having been exposed to the technology in the Ministry of Works for so many years, even if Nian doesn't need it, he has mastered some related skills, which is more than enough to teach Maria.

As they were talking, Nian got up from the table and grabbed the coffee cup next to him.

After taking just a small sip, Nian looked like he was about to vomit, and clicked his tongue, saying, "Tsk...it really tastes awful. I don't know how you guys can stand this kind of flavor."

"If you think it tastes bad, just don't drink it," Li Ang replied, somewhat speechless.

There are always some people who can't stand the taste of coffee, but they always find all sorts of reasons for themselves, and I don't know what they're after.

The current year is a prime example.

Then she began to complain in a serious tone, "That won't do."

"The food here is so bland, and it's only been a short time... I feel like my sense of taste is almost gone. The dishwater is awful, but at least it has some flavor... I miss Shang Shu's hot pot."

In that year, Li Ang gave a reason that left him speechless.

Shang Shu's hot pot... well, compared to that pot full of chili peppers, the flavor of Casimir's is indeed a bit bland.

but......

"If you want hot pot, you can make it here too, right? When you came last time, didn't you ask her to bring some broth?"

Unlike the complex cuisines of Yan Kingdom, hot pot can be considered a very down-to-earth dish. It doesn't require much skill; the most important element is the hot pot broth.

Once the base is cooked, you can just keep adding various ingredients. These ingredients are not hard to find in the Great Knight Territory, and there are similar substitutes.

If Nian really wanted to recreate those Great Yan dishes in Kazimierz, she only needed to give Ling a heads-up to solve the most troublesome problem of raw materials.

Li Ang actually knew a little about the cuisine of the Great Yan Dynasty, but without all those various seasonings, he could only say that he was powerless to do it.

"You mean your sister... I do have that thought, but she doesn't have time to run errands for me right now."

Nian explained listlessly, "I don't know what she and my older brother are doing in such a secretive way. Last time I met them, I didn't even get to say a few words before they left in a hurry."

Just as he had told Li Ang years ago, Ling did indeed bring Chong Yue, the leader of the Year Beasts, to attend his wedding.

However, the two simply stood silently in the shadows, with no intention of contacting anyone else.

After the wedding, they only exchanged a few words with Nian before leaving in a hurry, rendering all of Li Ang's previously prepared speeches useless.

Of course, before leaving, Reiwa Shigeaki also left Li Ang their congratulatory gift.

"Perhaps the aftermath of the collapse of Tianyue Mountain hasn't been dealt with yet. It's only been a little over a month, and this matter hasn't cooled down so easily yet," Li Ang guessed.

The speed of information transmission on Terra is limited, and a major event can become a topic of conversation for a very long time, unlike people living in the Internet age, where most people's memories last less than three days.

"Maybe so. But I think my eldest brother and sister are probably busy cleaning up the mess my second brother made. This time, Si Suitai probably won't let that bastard off easily," Nian said calmly.

If it weren't mentioned years ago, Li Ang would have almost forgotten about this.

Although the collapse of Tianyue Mountain caused by the Road Shapers attracted the attention of most people, Yi, as one of the masterminds behind the scenes, also had his own problems.

Just by evading the Ministry of Rites' surveillance and making moves against ordinary people, he was already in for a lot of trouble. Si Suitai was just worried about not finding an excuse to attack the incarnations of the Year Beasts, and Yi took the initiative to provide them with this reason.

The fact that Nian lingers here is perhaps partly an attempt to avoid the God of the Year.

"Why can't it be that the three of them are secretly plotting something together?"

"Ha, if that's the case, the old emperor probably won't be able to sleep soundly at night."

From trivial matters like dietary habits to grand conspiracies that could shake a nation, Li Ang, who had nothing better to do, sat at the dining table with Nian, who also seemed flustered, and they chatted about everything under the sun.

Around noon, I go to the kitchen to help prepare lunch. In the afternoon, I help look after Sarah's children for a while when she is a little tired. If I don't receive a call from Cintrea before the end of the workday, it means that everything in the company is going smoothly as usual.

Take some time to review their compiled report and the development details of Plot Zero... The day will pass quickly.

Nothing life-threatening was driving Li Ang forward; his daily life was just that ordinary and uninteresting, but that was exactly the kind of life Li Ang liked.

However, such peaceful days will obviously not last long.

For this world called 'Terra', the brief period of calm is merely the prelude to a much larger storm.

That evening, Li Ang received a message from Elena.

She had completed the task assigned to her by the Energy Department, and her plan to return to Columbia was now on her agenda.

Chapter Two: Kal'tsit's Entrustment

"Hey."

Upon seeing the text message, Li Ang, who was lying on the bed, turned slightly to the side and patted Adele's arm next to him.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Feeling the movement on her arm, Adele asked in confusion.

"Take a look at this, a text message from Elena."

As he spoke, Li Ang raised his arm and handed over the phone.

Adele was leaning against the headboard, using the light from a nearby lamp to read a book about geology.

As she took the phone, Adele also put the book she was holding aside.

"This text message...do you mean we're going to Colombia with them?"

Adele glanced at the message and read the entire text.

Li Ang had previously mentioned the Upika sisters to Adele, but only briefly mentioned their background without explaining his intentions at the time.

Because, according to Li Ang's initial expectations, the series of events that had occurred recently would not end so easily, and the Ubica sisters were very likely to return to Colombia ahead of schedule, so he did not mention this matter at the beginning.

But who knew that the last, rather unreliable fishing plan would solve all the problems at once?

Li Ang entered a state of idleness much earlier than expected.

“Actually, it depends on what you mean,” Li Ang nodded in reply. “We can also bypass them and enter Colombia through another means, mainly because of… the difference in our status.”

Adele probably understood what Leon meant.

If they abandon the Ubica sisters and enter Colombia in their own way.

They would first need to contact Rhine Life Sciences, and then try to meet with the head of the Ecology Department.

If he were to travel to Colombia with the Ubica sisters, Li Ang would try to make contact with the Astronomical Society. These people are considered enemies of the Rhine Lab, and half of the reason for Christensen's parents' deaths can be attributed to them.

Contacting Rhine Lab through the Ubica family's channels undoubtedly carries considerable risk, but if successful, the rewards would be equally astonishing, potentially even directly touching upon Christensen's core plans.

However, if he were to do something that might offend Rhine Life, Li Ang would discuss it with the Ubica sisters beforehand.

His primary objective was actually the Ubica family's collection of books.

Furthermore, if Li Ang were to contact Ferdinand, who was far away in Trimont, through Elena, they could even enter Colombia as partners in the Energy Science Department.

While this identity is convenient, allowing easy access to other directors at Rhine Lab, it also comes with the most severe restrictions.

On the one hand, they need to be careful of Ferdinand, a man of deep thoughts; on the other hand, their true identities are very likely to be exposed.

When Trevor sees this, he'll realize it's the guy who killed his clone.

In short, while there is cooperation with Ferdinand, Li Ang does not intend to use this channel unless absolutely necessary.

"I don't really care,"

Adele handed the phone back to Li Ang, took off her light red glasses, and said, "But... it's only been a little over a month. If we go on another long trip, Uncle Valck might have another attack."

Some time ago, Li Ang invited a professional psychologist to conduct an examination on Professor Valcke, and the results proved that the professor did indeed have significant mental health issues.

However, with his remaining family members by his side and with the help of medication, Professor Valcke is in good health.

Of course, this is all on the premise that Adele does not leave. If she were to disappear without a word one day, Professor Valcke would most likely go crazy again. Adele has become a major worry for the professor. Even when the two of them went on a date, the professor would give them a barrage of calls.

Even though Professor Valcke's symptoms improved considerably after the wedding, he still needed to come up with a plausible reason if he wanted to travel far away.

"It's easy to explain. Just tell him we went on our honeymoon," Li Ang replied casually.

Although cross-border transportation in Terra is not very convenient, tourism still exists, and there are even dedicated tourist cities.

As an emerging industry, middle-class families with some savings can actually afford to take one or two trips, and cross-border travel does indeed exist.

Looking at the countries surrounding Kazimir, Letania and the others definitely can't go there. Ursus is a place of war and chaos, and extremely xenophobic. No one would be so bored as to go to such a hellish place to suffer.

Victoria is a great place to visit. As one of the oldest and most powerful countries in the world, it attracts many business people and tourists every year.

Unfortunately, due to the rebellion more than a decade ago, the throne has been vacant ever since, and the current situation in Victoria is very delicate. Unless you are an idiot who knows nothing about politics, no one would go to Victoria for tourism at this time.

However, such an idiot wouldn't live long enough to reach the middle class.

Aside from these major countries, there are also small, impoverished countries like Sami and Shelag. If anyone says they want to travel to such places, don't doubt it, 99% of the time they have ulterior motives.

After eliminating a large number of surrounding countries, it seems that only Colombia, a newly emerging country, is suitable as a travel destination.

Adele thought about it and felt that the reason Leon came up with was not bad, so she replied with a smile, "Then I'll tell Uncle Valck that tomorrow."

"Hmm... In that case, I'll reply to Elena."

Li Ang sent a text message to Elena and waited a few minutes, but did not receive a reply.

Looking at the time, it's highly likely that Elena sent this text message before going to sleep. Now that she's asleep, she naturally won't see the message Li Ang sent.

"Alright, it's getting late, let's get some rest. We can contact Elena and the others again tomorrow morning."

"Okay, go to sleep then, goodnight."

"Good night."

With a soft click, the desk lamp went out, plunging the room into darkness.

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

"Have you packed everything? Did you bring your resident ID card? And your Rhodes Island medical records... Honestly, you're an adult, how can you still be so forgetful?"

Inside the Rhodes Island staff dormitory, watching Elena frantically packing her luggage, Xingji couldn't help but feel both annoyed and amused.

Just yesterday, Elena finally completed the task assigned by her mentor, explored the ruins of Plot 21, and confirmed that all the information related to Project Illusion had been destroyed in the explosion.

Following the aftermath of the explosion, and after assessment by Rhodes Island's risk management department, they decided not to send any more operators to the ruins of Plot 21. However, they did send a few robots there, which appeared to be rare items imported from Raytheon Industries and then privately modified.

The robots were a little slow, but they were fearless and took a month to finally explore all the ruins, big and small.

In the end, unsurprisingly, nothing was found. But that had nothing to do with Elena. She had finally finished this annoying task and could go back to report.

"elder sister!"

Hearing Xingji's lecturing voice, Elena snorted with some dissatisfaction, "Instead of wasting time making sarcastic remarks, you should come and help your cute little sister."

Elena failed to pack her luggage properly, and in the end, it was both of them who wasted time.

Xingji chuckled, shook his head, and came forward to help organize Elena's huge pile of luggage.

She lives on Rhodes Island, and this trip home is just to visit relatives. She will return after a while, so unlike Elena, she doesn't have to go through all that trouble and bring back a bunch of stuff.

While casually flipping through the things Elena had organized, Xingji discovered that one of the most important things was missing.

"Elena, where are your medical reports?"

Elena stayed on Rhodes Island as a renowned doctor seeking medical treatment.

After all, Ferdinand was doing this on his own, behind the backs of the other section chiefs at Rhine Life, so it wasn't appropriate to reveal it to others.

Therefore, Elena needs a suitable reason to stay here.

Ferdinand found Elena a reason to stay on Rhodes Island for treatment of Oripathy, since she had indeed received treatment there before, and no one would doubt her purpose in staying.

Of course, they also need a detailed medical record of Elena's treatment to deal with the management of Rhine Life, and to help Elena get reimbursed for this part of the treatment costs.

Xingji also had a similar report, but her situation was slightly different. Not only did her report need to be reviewed by Rhine Life, but the Astronomical Society also needed to keep a record of Xingji's medical treatment.

After all, Xingji's infection situation was a bit complicated, and her treatment was jointly handled by the two organizations.