Asura in Arknights

After extinguishing the active source stones he had casually collected, Li Ang looked at the woman in front of him with considerable surprise.

"...I already said it was just a misunderstanding, why would I run away?"

Although she spoke with an annoyed tone, Muirsey's mind was filled with the scene from just now.

That's an active source stone, isn't it? She wasn't so careless as to not recognize an active source stone.

But... can an active Originium that's on the verge of extinction really be stopped so easily? If it weren't for the fact that her Originium Arts were still functioning, Muirsey would have doubted that she was dreaming.

"Alright... since it's a misunderstanding, please explain why you, as the head of the Ecology Department, would sneak into the Structural Medicine Department's ward in the middle of the night?"

"...Because Saria and I, who is the head of the defense department, are investigating an illegal human experimentation."

Although somewhat annoyed at having her train of thought interrupted, Muirsey explained, "We received a report from the defense department that another child of similar age had been sent to the structural department, so I decided to come and check on the situation."

Then he bumped into Li Ang and got a lot of bumps on his head.

"A child the same age? Ifrit?"

“It’s that child, I’ve been in contact with her for several months now.” Muirsey nodded.

"You suspect... that the Structural Engineering Department is orchestrating all of this?"

“I didn’t say that,” Muirsay said vehemently.

However, Muirsey's reaction shows that she did have such doubts.

"Heh... I don't know what happened to Ifrit, but that old bastard Palvis definitely wanted to use rosemary for experiments. I was always on guard against what dirty tricks he might use, but I didn't expect it to be you who escaped in the end."

“…” Muirsay fell silent.

So, she actually took a bullet for Palvis?

If I hadn't rushed over so quickly, the person who would have enjoyed that series of treatments would probably be Palvis and his accomplices.

As for Parvis's plan to use those children for experiments, Muirsay was not surprised at all.

The old man's moral values ​​were extremely weak, and given his advanced age, it is indeed possible that he made this choice due to his eagerness for quick success and instant benefits.

But guessing is meaningless; what she and Saria want to grasp is concrete evidence.

Palvis has been working in academia for over forty years and has long since honed his skills to perfection, making it very difficult to find any weaknesses in his work.

Although it's unclear who that little girl from the film is, she may hold special significance for Palvis, and perhaps this is an opportunity.

Moreover, for Muirsey, there was something she wanted in this man.

Muirsey's mind raced, and she quickly found a suitable topic to start with.

"Who is this Trevor you just mentioned? Is his ability similar to mine?" Muels asked.

It's all because of him... If she hadn't been mistaken for that guy, things wouldn't have gotten this far. Muirses still feels a dull ache all over her body...

"I wouldn't say they're very similar, but they're exactly the same."

Leon glanced at Muirsey; now that she had calmed down, she did resemble the director of Rhine Lab somewhat.

"He controlled some kind of magical creation, infiltrated my and my subordinates' home through water pipes, and nearly killed my sister and my subordinates. And that person also happened to be a member of Rhine Lab. Isn't that a coincidence?"

"This is impossible!"

Muirsey instinctively retorted, "I'm the only one in Rhine Life who has this ability. I've never even heard of Trevor."

Every day, she sent her clones to crawl in and out of the water pipes, spying on countless secrets of other departments, but Muirsey never encountered any of her colleagues.

“Really? But… Ferdinand told me about that person’s identity himself.”

Ferdinand?

Upon hearing this name, Muirsey's pupils contracted slightly. How did this matter get involved with that annoying guy again?

Then she heard Li Ang say, "Trevor Friston, an employee of the Components Department of Rhine Labs, you might as well go and confirm with him before you refute him."

"...I'll go and confirm with him."

With that remark, and without Li Ang's obstruction this time, Muirsay's clone successfully disintegrated into a shower of water droplets and re-entered the faucet.

"So... I'm supposed to clean up all this water?"

Looking at the large water stains left by Muirsay on the ground, Li Ang couldn't help but shake his head.

Chapter 14

Chapter Fifteen: I Need Your Help

1095年9月2日，9:13A.M.

Elena hurriedly ran towards the Energy Department's experimental base.

Elena had been idly staying in Rhode Island for a while, and then it took her almost half a month to return to Columbia. She had become somewhat lax.

Unexpectedly, on her first day back at work, she overslept... Even though Elena tried her best, she was still more than ten minutes late.

When Elena arrived at the main building of the experimental base, the other employees of the Energy Department had already begun their work.

Upon seeing Elena rushing over, the employees all lowered their heads as if they had seen something filthy, and left her side even faster than Elena herself.

Regardless of the reasons in the past, Elena is now an infected person, which is an indisputable fact.

Infected people naturally receive differential treatment from others, even her former 'good friends,' which Elena had long been used to.

To say that she felt no disappointment would be a lie. The change in how others treated her before and after the infection did indeed deal a significant blow to Elena, but it also allowed her to see their true colors.

Most of the people who surrounded Elena before were sycophants; they just wanted to curry favor with her teacher through Elena.

Even after Elena contracted Oripathy, those who continued to associate with her, even if they harbored ulterior motives, were far better than cowards who didn't even believe the knowledge they had acquired.

Of course, those people only dared to use passive-aggressive tactics on Elena; they didn't even dare to say a single extra word.

Because... Ferdinand really valued Elena highly, even more than his own son did.

Ferdinand was even willing to give Elena a gift during the holidays, while he would only consider a phone call from his own son a waste of time... The difference in their values ​​is obvious.

Ignoring the strange expressions on the faces of those around her, Elena went straight to the laboratory that her group was in charge of.

"Sorry I'm late."

Addressing the other members of the group, Elena calmly asked, "Where is the experiment at now?"

Having been toughened up by society, Elena has long since learned to separate work and life.

Although she still has a few friends within Rhine Labs, Elena only adopts a businesslike attitude towards others.

In Rhine Life, ultimately, it's your own ability that matters.

Elena then found the temporary leader she had assigned to the group before leaving and learned about the progress of the experiment from him.

Just as Elena was about to continue her unfinished work, the man suddenly said to her, "Researcher Ubica, the director is looking for you. You'd better go there as soon as possible."

"My advisor is looking for me? I understand, I'll be right there."

"Perhaps there's a new task for me..." Elena didn't seem to have any doubts, nodded, and left the lab.

Ferdinand's office was not far from the laboratory, but he was not there more than 90% of the time.

As the head of the Energy Department, Ferdinand's schedule was extremely full every day. In addition to being in charge of the department's affairs, he also had a lot of social engagements. He was either soliciting sponsorships or on his way to solicit sponsorships every day, and only had a small amount of time to follow up on the laboratory's research.

When Ferdinand was not around, Elena was the highest-ranking person in charge of the laboratory.

"Mentor, I'm here. Is there any new work for me to do?"

As Elena entered Ferdinand's office, she asked quite naturally.

Elena had experienced this kind of thing many times before, so she didn't find it strange. However... Elena felt a little resentful. She hadn't finished her work yet, and after a month of relaxation, she still had a lot of work to catch up on.

And now she has a new job... Elena feels like she has less and less time to rest lately.

I was planning to spend some quality time with my sister... but it looks like I won't have the time now.

Elena sighed silently to herself.

"Don't rush, I have something I want to show you."

As he spoke, Ferdinand pointed to a few pages of manuscript paper placed in front of him, gesturing for Elena to come and take a look.

“I hope you can stay calm when you watch it,” Ferdinand said with a grim expression.

"What on earth is it...? It's so mysterious..."

Muttering to herself, Elena walked to the desk and picked up the few sheets of paper.

The ink on the manuscript paper was fresh, clearly written not long ago, and it was the handwriting that Elena was very familiar with, belonging to Ferdinand.

Elena initially thought that Ferdinand had somehow secured another investment, and the paper contained a new project requested by the investors. Although it was a bit strange that it was written on draft paper, Elena didn't think much of it at first.

However... after just one glance, Elena was completely captivated by the messy handwriting on those few sheets of paper.

What was written on it wasn't a new project from the investors at all, but rather several projects that Rhine Life already had. However, before this... let alone the specific details of these plans, Elena had never even heard of their names.

【Neurogen】, 【Flame Demon】, 【Horizon Arc】—these were some of the names Ferdinand wrote down on the draft paper.

These are projects led by the Originium Arts Application Department, the Structural Department, and the General Components Department, respectively.

The transdermal transfer program has the longest history, dating back to when Director Franks joined Rhine Life.

Although the Flame Demon Project was relatively short-lived, it was still more than a year ago.

The Horizon Arc Light Project... is a project that was just approved a week ago and has not yet officially started.

After seeing the contents of these plans, Elena clenched her hands tightly, almost tearing the thin sheets of paper to shreds. The contents were simply too much to bear.

The Transmitter Project involved the Energy Department directly, so Ferdinand's writing was the most detailed. Elena saw many familiar things in it. Many projects that the Energy Department had done before were just a tiny part of the huge Transmitter Project.

Even the information about the Dream Project that Ferdinand asked her to find last time was part of it.

Although the descriptions of the other two projects were brief, those few words alone were enough to deeply shock Elena.

Project Flame Demon involves surgically transforming infected individuals into powerful bioweapons... while Project Horizon Arc is the most outrageous, with the military planning to build a massive energy generator in the sky to launch devastating attacks on any corner of Terra.

How are you feeling?

"This is insane..."

Elena murmured, "I never expected Rhine Lab to do something like this... This is completely different from what I imagined."

“Oh? I thought you wouldn’t believe what I wrote.” Ferdinand raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Upon hearing this, Elena gently shook her head.

Ferdinand had no reason to lie to her. The information written on this draft paper, whether true or false, was valuable, and Elena could easily verify it herself.

Moreover, Ferdinand also wrote down all the things that the Energy Department was involved in, many of which Elena already knew about, and she could tell at a glance whether they were true or false.

Helping the Department of Defense develop new weapons... compared to human experimentation and that insane Horizon Arc Project, the Energy Science Department doesn't seem like such a villain.

Upon closer examination, it seems that among Rhine Life's several research departments, only the ecology department is the cleanest.

Studying ecology... surely it wouldn't lead to something horrific, would it?

Perhaps sensing Elena's thoughts, Ferdinand immediately wore a disdainful expression. "You think the head of the ecology department is a good person?"

“Müllseth must have her own projects too… That elf isn’t exactly an honest fellow. Besides Saria, she was the first person to know that woman Christensen, and their relationship was even closer than Saria’s.”

"Müllersey wasn't involved in Christensen's plan? Ha...that's hilarious."

Elena fell silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "Mentor... what are you trying to do by telling me all this?"

"Is this just to tell me that all the directors at Rhine Labs are bad people?"

Dorothy Franks, the head of the Originium Arts Application Department... Elena has a fairly good relationship with her, having collaborated with her quite a few times because of Ferdinand.

Elena never imagined that the seemingly kind woman was actually using the homeless in the wilderness for human experiments... Although Ferdinand also wrote that there might be other hidden reasons, it is certain that in the Originium Arts Application Department's large experimental base 'Base 359', many homeless people have already fallen into a permanent coma.

Another head of the ecology department, who seemed to have a very cheerful personality, was also described by Ferdinand as being in cahoots with the chief executive.

Add to that her mentor with his ambiguous relationship with the Ministry of Defense, and it seems there aren't many good people among the upper echelons of Rhine Life.

“You’re not wrong in saying that, we certainly aren’t exactly good people,” Ferdinand admitted without batting an eye, “but that’s not important.”

"What I want to ask you is... after looking at these project details, don't you feel that something is off about Rhine Lab right now?"

Elena hesitated, unsure how to answer Ferdinand's question.

Could this be a test? What if she says something detrimental to Rhine Lab? Ferdinand might just sneer and say she knows too much... and call the defense department to take her out, right?

However, after hesitating for a while, Elena's trust in Ferdinand prevailed.