Asura in Arknights

They claim to be members of the association... interested in the Astrology Association? Why did they have to come now of all times?

Thinking this, Li Ang was in no hurry to leave. He wanted to see what kind of person would come.

By this time, all the dishes he had ordered had been served, but Leon showed no intention of trying them. Due to the reserve of a 'Gallic nobleman,' Mr. Ubika could only watch longingly until all the dishes had gone cold.

Before Li Ang's patience ran out, the person Mr. Ubika had mentioned finally arrived, albeit late.

"Miss Horhaya, you've finally arrived."

Upon seeing the person who entered... Liboli? Or a woman from Phydia, Mr. Ubica immediately stood up and greeted her with great enthusiasm, "Let me introduce you, this is Mr. Andrew Nelson, the executive director of the Rose Newspaper Group, the one they want to acquire ownership of the Astronomical Society."

He looked exactly like a sycophantic lapdog with its tongue lolling out, but the woman, whose race was unknown, completely ignored him.

The woman had ear feathers unique to the Liberi and a long tail belonging to the Fedia clan, making her look completely different from the features that Li Ang had disguised.

"Oh, so you're my rival?"

"...Bloodline of the gods?"

Looking at the mature... even somewhat alluring woman in front of him, Li Ang frowned deeply.

“That’s right, I am ‘Feathered Serpent’ Horhythia.”

The woman licked her lips and said meaningfully, "Now let's talk about the acquisition of the Astronomical Society."

"Mr. Andrew Nelson."

Chapter Nine: Alternative Plans

The concept of "godspeople" is rarely heard in Terra today.

They were born with extremely powerful strength, even fragments of authority, and before the beginning of the Terra calendar, most of the world was ruled by the gods.

It wasn't until the year 31 of the Terran calendar, when the Eagle Empire ruled by the Protoss was overthrown by the Ursus, that the Protoss began to gradually withdraw from the stage of history. More than twenty years ago, Victoria declared that the bloodline of the Drak had ended, and the last regime controlled by the Protoss also disappeared.

The root cause lies in the fact that the power of the divine people comes from their own bloodline, but the reproduction of the divine people is relatively difficult. In addition, the bloodline itself will continue to deteriorate. As a result, the power wielded by the divine people has gradually degenerated to a level that is only slightly stronger than that of ordinary people.

Li Ang also knew many people with divine bloodlines, such as Lin Qingyan, who lived far away in the Great Yan Dynasty. Her Qilin bloodline was extremely pure, which gave her great power at a young age.

And closer to home... the Lin Guang family, and even his secretary, all have a trace of 'Pegasus' blood, which is why Roy always likes to call Hinterlea 'Little Pegasus'.

However... none of them can compare to the woman in front of Li Ang.

Some details reveal that this woman, who calls herself 'Feathered Serpent,' is very powerful, even capable of overwhelming Lin Qingyan, who is equally strong.

She was equipped with a pure black exoskeleton on her back. Such equipment is not uncommon in technologically advanced Colombia, but it is still very expensive.

Moreover, Li Ang discovered that the pure metal exoskeleton was not as light as it looked; it weighed at least 100 kilograms... Most people probably couldn't even lift that thing.

The reason that woman could wear that thing so easily was because a strange aura was constantly wrapped around her body, providing her with considerable buoyancy. Moreover, this was not Originium Arts; even though Horhyah had already walked up to Leon, he couldn't detect a single Originium energy reaction.

Power... This feathered serpent likely possesses fragments of power.

The luminous blue solution slowly flowing through the transparent tubes connecting her coat to her exoskeleton was not merely decorative; it was an extremely expensive emergency medication with numerous effects, including analgesia, hemostasis, and anti-inflammation, making it unaffordable for most people.

With Holhaa looking like this, you'd believe she was going to fight in the Bolivarian war zone, let alone doing business.

I have no idea where Mr. Ubika found such an oddball. Li Ang even suspects that the two of them are here to put on a show and double-cross each other.

"No, the company's financial resources are limited. Since Miss Horhaya is also interested in the Star Association, then we'll give it to you."

Li Ang had no intention of communicating with this woman. He stood up and prepared to leave. "Then I'll take my leave. I hope you two can agree on a price that satisfies both of you."

"Walk slowly without sending."

The two men made no attempt to stop Li Ang, and watched him leave with smiles on their faces.

It's worth noting that Li Ang didn't even pay for the meal. If these two were really putting on an act, they would definitely lose a lot of money in the end.

After leaving the restaurant, Li Ang did not rush to leave. Instead, he turned around and walked into a nearby alley, using his senses to observe the two people inside.

This was Li Ang's first time facing a divine being who possessed power. He didn't know what abilities the other party had, so he only used the most basic senses to observe them, without using the little tricks he had figured out himself.

I sensed that the two people exchanged a few words at the dining table, and then Holhaya took out several agreements.

Mr. Ubica barely glanced at it before gleefully signing his name... It seems the woman's offer was indeed much higher than Li Ang's.

Horhaya didn't linger after that, turned around and left, even paying the bill before leaving, leaving Mr. Ubika alone in the restaurant to enjoy his meal.

Only after Horhaya left the range of Li Ang's perception did he slowly walk out of the alley where he was hiding.

"...They're actually serious? There are other people really eyeing that lousy association?" Li Ang found it hard to believe.

What is that woman after?

For a moment, Li Ang began to doubt what he had overlooked, and what value the Astronomical Association might hold that he had not noticed.

The lineage of astrological magic was a private collection of the Ubika family and was not included in the Astrological Association, so Horhaya only bought an empty shell.

Li Ang thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure out why. He didn't think that a powerful descendant of the gods would be a fool. She must have other plans.

Shaking his head, Li Ang simply took out his phone and made a call to Xingji.

After a brief pause, the call was connected.

"Hey, it's me."

"Mr. Li...it seems your conversation with my father is over. Did everything go smoothly?"

"It didn't go smoothly; the Astronomical Society was acquired by someone else."

"Huh? How could this be...?"

The surprise in Xingji's voice was impossible to conceal.

The Astrological Association has been largely ignored in recent years, making it a case of being neither useful nor worth abandoning. Xingji has clearly analyzed her father's bottom line, and there is no way he could refuse such conditions.

She never expected that her seemingly foolproof plan would encounter such an unexpected turn of events.

“Have you ever heard of a woman named Horhaia… that may not be her real name? She has the blood of the gods, the ear feathers of the Liberi, and the tail of the Phildia. According to your father, she is also a member of the Astronomical Society. That woman bought the ownership of the Astronomical Society for a huge sum of money… at least twice what I offered.”

Although the other party's offer was not as much as Mr. Ubica's later exorbitant demand, it was definitely much higher than Li Ang's offer; otherwise, Mr. Ubica wouldn't have turned his back on the matter so quickly.

Li Ang gave Xingji a detailed description of Horhaiya's appearance, hoping to get some useful clues from her.

"...Sorry, I've never met anyone like that."

After carefully recalling her memories, Xingji said somewhat apologetically, "She is very likely a new member of the Astronomical Society who joined during the time I was treating Oripathy on Rhodes Island."

It's been almost a year since Xingji left home, so it's not surprising that new members have joined the association during this time... Bullshit!

The Astrological Society is on the verge of closing down, so how could there be any new members coming here to suffer?

After hearing what Li Ang said, Xingji also felt that the woman named Horhaiya was very suspicious.

So Xingji thought for a moment and said, "I'm still a member of the Star Association. Do you need my help investigating that woman's identity?"

"No, please don't!"

Li Ang quickly stopped Xingji's reckless plan, "That woman is very strong. You are no match for her. It's best not to investigate her identity on your own."

“I have other backup plans, you don’t need to take this risk.”

The difference in strength between Xingji and Horhaiya is enormous. Even without considering the powers she possesses, Horhaiya's exoskeleton alone is enough to give Xingji a run for its money.

Combined with her mysterious powers, Xingji has absolutely no chance of winning against her.

Moreover, when Holhaya left, she demonstrated a high level of counter-surveillance ability; Xingji's little actions could not possibly have escaped that woman's notice.

"I understand, I will try to avoid contact with her."

Fortunately, Xingji wasn't as stubborn as her sister. After being persuaded by Li Ang, she easily gave up the idea.

“However, Mr. Li, I am doing this for my own sake as well,” Xingji said. “If that woman is after our family, then I will confront her in the end no matter what.”

Upon hearing this, Li Ang frowned.

What Xingji said makes sense... Besides the Star Association, the Ubika family does indeed have something else that others covet—the inheritance of astrological magic.

Although Li Ang and Xingji both knew that the astrological magic was almost useless, the others didn't...

If we only consider the glorious achievements of the Ubika family's ancestors, this is indeed a top-tier legacy, enough to attract people of the divine level to take action.

“Let me think… normal contact is enough. If you don’t leave the Star Association, you’ll definitely have to deal with her. If she wants to harm you… remember to contact me directly. I can still handle her,” Li Ang said after thinking for a moment.

Li Ang wasn't incapable of winning; he simply didn't want to get into trouble.

Any pure-blooded god-people who have survived to this day must have a powerful force behind them. The exoskeleton that Horhaya wore was clearly custom-made, and it didn't seem like something that could be taken out by an individual on their own.

However, now it concerns the defense mechanisms of those constructs... namely, the Star Pods. Li Ang is counting on the Star Extreme and the Ubika family's collection of books, so he can't let her get into danger.

"Thank you, I'll remember that."

Xingji sincerely thanked Li Ang, and then asked, "I have finished organizing the family's collection of books. When would you have time to come and pick them up?"

"...Let's wait a while."

The appearance of Horhaya made Li Ang feel a slight sense of crisis. He felt that it was better not to alert her for the time being.

"Next, I plan to take Rosemary to Rhine Life Sciences for treatment, but I may not be able to find the time recently."

With the plan to use the Astronomical Association going down the drain and unable to pressure Christen through external means, Li Ang had no choice but to try to get close to Rhine Lab from within.

Among the three options—energy science, ecology science, and structural science—Li Ang ultimately chose structural science.

Ferdinand is the last resort; there's no need to consider him now.

As for the Ecology Department... this department would have been a good choice, but Magellan's disappearance always made Li Ang feel that something was wrong.

More than half a year has passed. Even if there has been no progress, he should have written them a letter. But the fact that there has been no news at all is rather strange. Li Ang even wondered if Magellan had been imprisoned.

Regardless of the specific reasons, approaching it from the perspective of ecology is a poor choice.

As for Rosemary's condition... it will eventually need to be addressed, and they will all visit the structural engineering department sooner or later.

"I'll contact you again when I have time. Remember to be careful in the meantime," Li Ang instructed.

"Yes, I also hope that Rosemary can recover soon," Xingji said softly.

After hanging up the phone with Xingji, Li Ang removed his colored contact lenses, wig, and fake ears, and used magic to burn them to ashes.

He took off his coat, turned it inside out, and revealed the inside, and he looked like a completely different person from before.

The identity of Andrew Nelson is no longer useful.

Fortunately, Agor has no other racial characteristics besides his red eyes and white hair. Otherwise, if he had an extra tail, or an extra pair of horns or ears, it would be really inconvenient for him to disguise himself as someone else.

When disguising himself, Li Ang only needs to wear colored contact lenses and make some changes to his hair and head.

Fake horns might be easily detected due to their texture, but for races like Pero, Felin, and Volper, who have an extra pair of ears, it's very easy to fake them.

There's no need to consider the tail behind them, because in some areas of Terra, and even in the military, the custom of tail docking is still maintained.

Aside from being less aesthetically pleasing, cutting off one's tail doesn't bring any disadvantages. On the contrary, it can reduce a weakness in battle, so it's not surprising that some people would choose to cut off their tail.

Having returned to his original appearance, Li Ang went back to the hotel he had previously booked for Adele.

"You've already reached an agreement?"

Adele was also somewhat surprised to see Li Ang suddenly return.

"There was a problem; someone beat us to it. Now we can only use the backup plan."

Li Ang shook his head and told Adele about Horhaya.

The existence of such a powerful being with an unknown background makes me feel somewhat constrained in whatever I do.

After hearing Li Ang's explanation, Adele realized what he wanted to do.

"You mean...we should contact Rhine Life's Structural Department next?"

Thinking of that obviously ill-intentioned joint consultation agreement, Adele looked at Rosemary, who was fast asleep in bed, with some worry.

Seeing this, Li Ang stepped forward and took Adele's hands, reassuring her, "Don't worry, we can keep an eye on their every move, there won't be any problems."

"Besides, didn't Kal'tsit also say that people from the Melander Foundation would be involved in Rosemary's treatment process? There's no need to worry about Rhine Lab people causing trouble."

Hearing Li Ang's words of comfort, Adele could only nod silently.

"I hope so."

Chapter Ten Structural Science

After a night's rest, Li Ang dialed the structural department's number on the consultation agreement during his work hours the next morning.

A moment later, the call was answered, and a weak female voice came from the other end.

"Hello, this is the Rhine Life Structural Department... May I ask how I can help you?"