Asura in Arknights

As a veteran who had been working in academia for over forty years, Palvis, the original gold standard of Rhine Life, had done a flawless job in every aspect, and Christensen saw through his intentions at a glance.

New developments? It must be the gains from that 'fragment of a star'.

As expected, that old guy Palvis secretly kept a portion of the sample, which was actually something Christensen had anticipated.

Shaking her head, Christen wrote "Rejected" directly on it and signed her name.

Unlike the 'Flame Demon Project' led by the Structural Engineering Department, this new thing that Palvis has come up with is playing with fire. If an accident occurs, even Rhine Lab might not be able to handle the mess.

After thinking for a moment, Christensen warned Palvis again, but she didn't mention the possible consequences of doing so.

In a sense, Kristen and Palvis are the same kind of people; they are both fanatics who are willing to sacrifice everything, even themselves, to satisfy their thirst for knowledge.

That's why Christensen knew all too well that if she told Palvis, the consequences would only make things worse.

She simply warned Palvis that the Melander Foundation might have its eye on his research and advised him to tone it down a bit.

This should dispel some of his unrealistic ideas.

"Transforming yourself into a garbage disposal unit? Your hobby... is quite unique."

A malicious voice suddenly rang in Christensen's ears.

A second person appeared in Christensen's office, which was originally occupied by only one person.

The 'Bohai' defense system, which Christen had placed high hopes on and whose hypothetical enemy was the strongest person in the entire Rhine Lab, proved to be completely ineffective. The seemingly ordinary Luper man appeared beside Christen as if he were in an empty room, looking at the report in her hand with great interest.

Since Christensen received a mysterious signal more than two months ago, similar scenes have been playing out around her frequently.

Habit is a truly terrifying force; now Christen is no longer surprised by sudden sounds around her.

Christen didn't turn around, calmly replying, "Garbage processors...that's only in your eyes. For the current Terra civilization, that kind of life form is undoubtedly perfect, surviving in space with a physical body...even I would be tempted to study it."

"Then why don't you prepare to give yourself an injection after you break through the Star Pod? You don't even need to prepare a spacesuit."

“That is indeed a good suggestion. If I have the opportunity to prove the feasibility of this plan, I will consider it,” Christen replied indifferently.

This answer clearly did not satisfy the man who had suddenly appeared, and he clicked his tongue in obvious displeasure.

Everything Christensen knew about that creature came from this man.

In the previous civilization, those creatures might have been just garbage disposals or environmental modification devices, but to the current Terran civilization, they are near-perfect beings.

"Actually, I'm quite looking forward to you guys getting wiped out by that thing," the man said, smacking his lips.

"Perhaps that day will come," Christen said noncommittally.

This person... this AI left over from a previous civilization, harbors an extremely contradictory and distorted attitude towards the existing civilization on Terra.

On one hand, he wished the current Terran civilization would be destroyed immediately, but on the other hand, he was not stingy in extending a helping hand to them. Even now, they are still acting with the goal of saving the world.

Perhaps in the eyes of this advanced AI named Trevor Friston, they are just a group of parasites living on Terra. It doesn't matter if they all die, but the planet cannot be destroyed.

In short, they are cooperating within this twisted relationship.

After a few seconds without hearing Trevor's harassment, Christen turned to the next page of the report.

This was an ad-hoc report given to her by the head of the Ecology Department, a report on Originium exposure, intended to study the contact between biological individuals or groups, including humans, and the natural environment, with the impact of Originium on the entire ecosystem and even life forms being of paramount importance.

Around the beginning of this year, a report submitted by a member of the scientific expedition team who returned from Sami attracted the attention of multiple departments. Due to his special condition, the member had been confined to the ecological park of the ecological department and was not allowed to leave. The ecological department and the structural department jointly provided him with treatment.

However, after studying for so long, they gained almost nothing.

An infected person... should be an infected person, right? How exactly did they manage to maintain a 0% somatic cell fusion rate even when the blood Originium crystal density reached 0.7u/L?

With such a high density of blood crystals... no one would be surprised if she could explode at any moment, but she's been perfectly fine, lively and energetic for over half a year without showing any abnormalities... The head of the ecology department is almost going crazy because of this.

This was not the direction Christensen was researching, and she couldn't offer any useful suggestions, so she had to set the report aside.

"Wait! Let me take another look at that report."

At that moment, Trevor suddenly spoke up to stop Christensen.

"Didn't you say you weren't interested in these things?"

Despite saying that, Christensen picked up the report she had tossed aside again.

As for why Trevor doesn't do it himself... because he's currently in a form similar to a hologram, capable of communication but unable to make direct contact.

The mechanical body that Christensen had specially prepared for him, which he obtained from the Melander Foundation, was destroyed last month, and he was unwilling to reveal what had happened to him.

Since we can't get a second body of that caliber in a short time, we'll have to make do with a holographic projection for now.

"This, Sami... has the anomaly in the northernmost part of the continent been eliminated?" Trevor asked, pointing to a seemingly insignificant line in the report.

"You mean the demons of Kitahara? Director Mariam of the Scientific Research Division has confirmed this news. The influence of the demons has indeed disappeared, but the special environment there still exists."

"Without the demons as a buffer, the situation between Sami and Ursus has become more tense, and a new round of war is likely to break out. Most of our members there have been expelled, so we cannot confirm more details about the situation."

After briefly explaining the situation, Christensen asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"Interesting... How was the problem over there solved? And who solved it? What was discovered deep within that ice field?" Trevor asked, squinting.

Christen shook her head. "Unfortunately, the researcher lost consciousness at the most crucial moment. She didn't know what happened in the end. All she knew was that... there were several tiny insects living there, suspected to be the true form of a demon."

"In the end, all of this should have been resolved by the combined efforts of two Sami Snow Priests and two sorcerers from Letania."

"Snow Priest? A warlock?" Trevor scoffed. "That's a cataclysmic disaster that even we couldn't handle, only barely managed to control... How interesting..."

"However, if the problem there is truly solved completely, then you can rejoice. In the far north of the continent, you can find a natural stargate, but... hahaha, even if your civilization is destroyed, you might not be able to build the equipment to cross the stargate." Trevor laughed wildly.

Christen ignored the raving Trevor and simply wrote down what he said.

Although I don't understand what a stargate is, as long as I can save the records, they will come in handy someday.

After Trevor calmed down, Christensen asked, "So what level of disaster are we facing this time?"

Trevor's expression darkened, and he remained silent for a moment before replying, "If everything goes smoothly, then it will only be a catastrophic event. If the worst-case scenario occurs... then it will be the same doomsday event."

Upon hearing this, Christen nodded silently.

Even in the best-case scenario, the catastrophic disaster as defined by the previous civilization... seems to be beyond their ability to withstand.

Quietly ending the topic, Christen turned to the next report.

But when Christensen saw those few lines on the report, her face darkened.

"The Horizon Arc Light Project has been approved, but you don't seem happy."

The report contained a project proposal titled 'Horizon Arc Light,' bearing the official seal of the Department of Defense, indicating that her plan had been approved by the Department of Defense and would receive support from them.

"...It's nothing, I just feel that this country is truly beyond saving."

Kristen quietly put away the proposal.

The idea that you can get strong support from the Department of Defense by packaging some random projects as weapons development is ridiculous!

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P.S. Looking at Sami's Rogue, it seems the backstabbing in Volume 3 wasn't too severe. Apart from not knowing about the stargate at the deepest part of the Inferno Icefield back then, it seems to make a rough connection.

Chapter Seven: Trimont

Having reached an agreement with the Ubica sisters, Li Ang's next task was to wait patiently until they arrived in Trimont, and then, through their family's connections, negotiate a business deal with the Astronomical Society.

After that, it's time to enjoy this rare journey.

Although Li Ang had traveled far from home many times, he always had various special reasons for doing so. While he wasn't rushing around, he didn't have much time to waste on the road either, so he traveled slowly and leisurely with large caravans.

This was the first time Li Ang had ever experienced such a traditional mode of transportation.

Casimir is located in northeastern Colombia. Apart from Bolívar, which is adjacent to Colombia, Casimir is the closest to Colombia, and commercial exchanges between the two countries are quite frequent.

The Ubica sisters chose a well-known local chamber of commerce that has been trading with Colombia for over a decade and has a decent reputation and credibility.

After paying a hefty commission, Li Ang and his group were accommodated by the merchant guild on a small escort ship that accompanied the caravan, with only two rooms in total.

With no other option, Li Ang had to squeeze in with Adele and Rosemary, sleeping on the floor in that tiny room.

This slow and leisurely way of moving forward was quite interesting at first. You could see the scenery outside the window slowly changing, and from time to time you could even catch a glimpse of some very rare wild animals in the distance.

But once the initial excitement wears off, this slow and leisurely pace of progress becomes nothing but torture.

Apart from the young Rosemary, the other native Terrans all seemed quite used to it. Putting aside the Ubika sisters, Adele had often traveled this way during her field research, only to find that Leon was the one who felt stifled.

When Adele found him and brought him back to Brandenburg, he didn't seem this bored... Back then, Leon was probably trying his best to adapt to that world without light, and simply didn't have the energy to pay attention to anything else...

In this boring environment, chatting becomes their only way to pass the time.

After chatting for a while, Li Ang realized that although their current treatment wasn't the absolute top tier, it was still quite good.

Sometimes, when encountering a merchant guild with little reputation and low fees, they might turn into robbers on the way and kill passengers for a quick meal.

Sometimes, even the merchant guilds were not at ease with their passengers, fearing they might be accomplices of raiders in the wilderness. Even if they accepted the deal, they would lock the passengers in their rooms during the journey and not allow them to go out. In more serious cases, they would even search the passengers and confiscate their communication devices.

In short, it was a situation where both sides were afraid to fight, and the description they gave Li Ang a real eye-opener.

"Given the harsh environment, why would the Chamber of Commerce still engage in this kind of business? Compared to the profits from a single shipment, this amount of money is practically negligible, isn't it?"

Although the fee paid by Xingji and his group was considerable, it was only enough to buy a decent motorcycle, not even a fraction of what a caravan could afford to transport goods.

It's really strange that they're still taking on passenger transport jobs when things are already like this.

"Actually, this has nothing to do with the chamber of commerce itself... It's basically all about the caravan leaders trying to make some extra money. Over time, this has become a consensus among most chambers of commerce. As long as no one dies or the reputation of the chamber of commerce is affected, the caravan leaders can do whatever they want."

"So it was a side job...that's not surprising."

Li Ang nodded, then poked Rosemary's little face in his arms, "So, we still benefited from little Rosemary's presence?"

Rosemary looked up at Li Ang with a puzzled expression, then shifted her body to a more comfortable position.

Ever since Li Ang used the reversed killing intent to eliminate Rosemary's unfounded wariness, the child has become quite attached to him.

Even Li Ang himself didn't notice that, perhaps due to racial characteristics, his body temperature was slightly lower than that of other races. In the sweltering heat of summer, this physique was quite popular with children.

The lovely rosemary was very popular. Unaware of the truth, several women in the group tried to take the rosemary back from Li Ang's clutches, but unfortunately, Li Ang did nothing and they all failed.

Still somewhat resentful, Adele snuggled into Leon's arms and conducted a test herself, finally revealing the answer to the mystery.

It's not their fault, it's not their fault. It's just a pity that none of them know the Originium Arts that can lower the temperature, otherwise they could really try to compete with Leon.

Eighty percent of their teammates were women, and there were even children like Rosemary. Naturally, their threat level was minimized in the eyes of the caravan, so their management was quite lenient, and their activities were basically unrestricted.

After spending a few days together, Rosemary gradually got to know these two kind older sisters.

However, Rosemary still doesn't like to talk; she only shows a faint smile when she's happy.

If Rosemary hadn't personally told Li Ang that she wanted him to hug her, Li Ang would have even suspected that Rosemary had suffered some kind of injury during the experiment, causing her speech impairment.

Fortunately, this was just unnecessary worry for Li Ang. Rosemary simply had too many gaps in her memory and was slightly withdrawn. If this trip to Rhine Life could cure Rosemary, she would definitely be able to grow up healthy.

The caravan gradually arrived in Colombia in this peaceful atmosphere, which took a full ten days.

During these ten days, many unexpected events occurred. For example, they encountered the legendary raiders, but they only discovered their presence from a great distance. Those people would not risk their lives to rob such a large caravan.

After exchanging a brief encounter, they wisely withdrew on their own, leaving Elena, who was eager to try, slightly disappointed.

The caravan was only responsible for taking them to a port city on the Colombian border; they were required to make their own way to Trimont.

This brought Elena to a familiar place. Even in a port city on the Colombian border, there was an office of Rhine Life. As the favorite student of the head of the Energy Department, Elena still had this privilege.

The office specially sent someone to take them to Trimont. Within Colombia and on an officially planned route, their safety was somewhat guaranteed, unlike in the borderless wilderness where they had to proceed with extreme caution.

Even so, by the time they arrived in Trimont, it was already the very end of August.

After passing through customs in Tremont, Elena ran to the front of the group, turned around, and said spiritedly,

"Welcome to Trimont, the technology hub of Columbia!"

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Well... that's true, but when they passed through the Trimont customs, they actually encountered quite a bit of trouble.

Think about it carefully, aren't all five of them infected? They would be key targets for monitoring anywhere.

As the most developed region in the entire Terra world, Trimont has long been using X-ray machines to identify infected individuals, unlike other regions that are still using primitive methods such as blood sampling.

Even Li Ang's eyes would show abnormalities under an X-ray machine, making it impossible to find a way to hide them.

Li Ang and Adele had enjoyed too many privileges in Kazimierz and even in the Great Yan, and had almost forgotten that there was a procedure to identify infected individuals when entering the mobile city.

The Ubica sisters don't need to worry. Although they are infected, they also have a guarantee from Rhine Lab, which allows them to enter Trimont City normally.

Rosemary was the same; she went to Rhine Life as a patient for treatment and also received Rhine Life's guarantee.

However, Leon and Adele are different. If they are marked as infected, it will definitely cause a lot of obstacles to their subsequent actions.

While Colombia's attitude towards the infected is relatively mild, it's only because they're using the infected as cheap labor. Perhaps the mobile cities under construction will welcome the infected, but where are they now? Trimont is the research center of Colombia, and countless people are desperate to get in. How could they possibly welcome the disgusting infected?