Asura in Arknights

Just as Himer turned to leave, Parvis stopped Himer as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right, there's one more question I forgot to ask... Where did you learn about the Flame Demon Project?"

The Flame Demon Project is a secret of the Structural Department. It wouldn't be surprising if Himer noticed something wrong with the chimera therapy experiment, but what is surprising is that she accurately described the specific details of the Flame Demon Project.

Saria? She shouldn't have had a chance to tell Himer before Christen captured her.

Moreover... the way Saria learned about the Flame Demon Plan was also strange. Even though the relevant clues had been destroyed long ago, Palvis couldn't figure out where the oversight had gone wrong.

According to his original estimate, even if Saria could find clues, it would take at least one or two months.

Yesterday's battle also disrupted Palvis's plans.

"I......"

For a moment, Himer seemed flustered; she hadn't expected Palvis to ask such a question.

However, Himer quickly calmed down and said expressionlessly, "I'm sorry, Director Palvis, I secretly used your access card... and found relevant documents on your personal computer."

When Himer sneaked into Palvis's office late last night, although she didn't have time to search it, the fact that Palvis returned so quickly meant that there must be a secret hidden inside.

In desperation, Himer could only think of this excuse to get away with it.

"...I see. It seems to be my oversight."

After gazing at Himer for a moment, Palvis slowly nodded. "Alright, I'm all done. You should go back and get ready."

After bowing to Palvis, Himer left the office without looking back.

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After Himer left, Li Ang, having watched a good show, said to Parvi, "You really do care about your students."

I have the flu and need to take leave.

I've caught the flu, I don't know if it's COVID or H1N1, and I'm having so much trouble writing these past few days... I can't take it anymore, I need to ask for a day off...............................................................

Okay, may good fortune come to those who wish for it!

I've been taking oseltamivir for a few days and it's completely useless, plus my heart rate is too fast... I'm positive again, it's really hopeless... there's no way to avoid it.

Fortunately, the symptoms aren't too severe this time. I feel like I'll be fine after resting in bed for a week or two, so it shouldn't affect my updates? Probably...

....................

Chapter 101

Of course, Li Ang only wanted to make a sarcastic remark about Palvisi; he had no intention of praising him whatsoever.

Whether Palvis was thick-skinned enough or simply didn't understand the implication, he actually nodded shamelessly.

"Hermer is my most valued student. The structural engineering course will be handed over to her sooner or later... She will understand sooner or later."

It seems to be the former... But then again, if this old man wasn't thick-skinned, how could he have said those words just now?

Li Ang couldn't help but shake his head. Was it really worth sacrificing humanity in pursuit of knowledge? Li Ang didn't comment; he wasn't a researcher.

But Hermer... now Li Ang has also figured it out. Although Miss Liboli is a bit stupid, she is at least not the kind of person who has lost all humanity.

Li Ang doesn't know what the future holds, but at least for now, things are as they are.

“Never mind... I won’t bother you any longer,” Li Ang said listlessly. “If you’ve arranged a time to meet with Loken, just contact me... Palvis knows how to contact me.”

"As for your Horizon Arc Light Project... I'll look into it when I have the chance; I'm not in the mood for it right now."

The three people in the office remained silent. Seeing that they seemed to have no intention of communicating with him anymore, Li Ang simply left.

Not long after Li Ang left, Palvis also said goodbye to the other two.

"Well, I should leave now... I still need to deal with those troublesome media outlets. Unless it's urgent, don't contact me again during this period."

It is foreseeable that Palvis will be very busy for some time to come, and will not have time to help Christen with those trivial matters.

Christensen remained silent, watching Palvis leave without saying a word.

With the departure of irrelevant personnel, only Christensen and Trevor's projections remained in the office.

"Here's a suggestion: try your best to win over that person from earlier."

After leaving behind those words, Trevor's projection vanished into thin air.

Upon hearing those words, Christensen's face showed undisguised shock, appearing even more shaken than when she had just heard that her plans would be ruined.

She was the only one who knew Trevor's true identity, so Christensen understood exactly what he meant.

"people?"

There is no doubt that Trevor did say that word just now.

If Christensen remembers correctly, although the specific reason is unknown, Trevor's only term for the beings of this era is 'lowly beasts'.

Although Christensen was somewhat special, she was still within that category... She could tell that Trevor's attitude towards her was only slightly different from that towards others.

But... now a guy that Trevor calls a 'person' has suddenly appeared. How can Christen not take him seriously?

Compared to this, the little bit of power that Li Ang had previously displayed was utterly insignificant... Although it was a rare mind-based spell, apart from the spell's effect, Christensen did not feel the slightest fear towards it.

She pondered for a moment, then reopened the internal communication channel of Rhine Lab.

"Have Justin come over here, and... tell Williams I need to talk to him."

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On the other side, after leaving the building, Li Ang did not rush to leave. Instead, he circled the building for a while and came to the shadow of the building on the side.

Leaning against the wall, Li Ang took out his notebook and slowly translated the part of the information he hadn't finished translating before.

Not long after, Li Ang saw someone running over from not far away, panting heavily.

“Mr. Kennedy… I have something I want to talk to you about,” Hammer said breathlessly.

"Oh, really?"

Li Ang said this casually, his attention focused on the notebook in his hand, without even glancing at Himer.

Even before leaving, Li Ang had already located Himer's position through his senses. After obtaining the blank application form, she did not rush back to the structural engineering department, but instead stayed at the building's exit.

While Himer was negotiating with Palvis, Li Ang had already realized what she wanted to do. Because he had been asked by many people, Li Ang did not mind giving Himer this opportunity.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Kennedy, I've misunderstood you all along."

Himer bowed deeply, his head almost touching the ground. "I still can't believe... or I don't want to believe that the teacher deceived me. I apologize for my previous behavior."

Parvis was Himer's only support here, so out of gratitude, but also out of fear of losing everything, Himer subconsciously refused to admit that Parvis had deceived her.

Unfortunately, faced with irrefutable facts, Himer's self-deception was utterly meaningless.

Fortunately... Hermer's worst fears did not come true. Although she finally made up her mind to expose the lies Palvis had woven for her, Palvis did not seem to be angry about it.

This made Himer realize that she had never truly understood her teacher... Even after this experience, Himer still couldn't be sure if she truly understood Palvis's thoughts.

However, there was one thing Himer was certain of: she absolutely did not want to become like Palvis, who would do anything to pursue knowledge.

Of course, the most important thing now is to get clues about Rhodes Island as soon as possible. Hemer doesn't want to waste the opportunity she finally got.

Then, Himer heard the man in front of him sigh.

"I apologize... Actually, I don't really want to forgive you. It took me a lot of effort to convince you to believe in the Flame Demon Plan."

Upon hearing this, Himer immediately became anxious.

The hope of curing Ifrit largely rests on this man; if he refuses to help, Himer might have to ask Palvis for help...

As he said, it's not easy to find an organization capable of treating Oripathy, and one that surpasses even the Structural Department in skill level.

After being deceived a few times, Himeru learned her lesson and no longer trusted the organizations Palvis introduced, lest Ifrit become another experimental subject of some organization.

Therefore, given the tight timeframe and the inability to find other suitable organizations, Rhodes Island became the most appropriate choice.

If Leon wasn't willing to tell her the location of Rhodes Island, Himer didn't know how long it would take to find the organization.

Just as Hermer was anxiously trying to say something, Li Ang preemptively shut down the words she was about to say.

"Of course, I hate trouble... plus a few people have asked me for favors, so I'll just forgive you for now."

Leon put the notebook back in his pocket and said calmly, "You want to know Rhodes Island's current location, right?"

He opened his mouth and replied with a complicated expression, "Yes... I want to entrust Rhodes Island to treat the problems that Ifrit has, they are the most suitable choice."

“Telling you is no problem... but don’t get too excited yet, I also have two conditions.”

"What conditions?"

"First, I'd like to ask you to help investigate information about Device Nine... Yes, the one in Joyce's head. I heard that the person in charge of the experiment is dead, and some data has not been entered into the database, which even Joyce herself is unaware of. So I'd like to ask you to investigate that information."

If Muirsey or Dorothy were here, Leon could ask them to investigate, but unfortunately they have already left.

And in Rhine's life, the only person who could be considered an acquaintance of Leon... was actually only Himer.

Although he holds the title of technical advisor for the Originium Arts Application Department, Li Ang's identity will be quite troublesome once the incident at Base 359 occurs in a couple of days.

Although there wasn't anything seriously wrong, Li Ang didn't want to continue the investigation under that identity.

If what appeared in Joyce's dream was indeed the will of Originium, then the seriousness of this matter was no less than the destruction of the Star Pod. Leon did not want Joyce's matter to attract too much attention... especially that mysterious Trevor.

If that guy discovers Joyce's secret, it will definitely cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.

It makes much more sense for Himer, Joyce's good friend, to investigate this matter; no one would doubt Himer's motives.

Upon hearing Li Ang's conditions, Hermer's expression changed from tense to astonished.

“Joyce? Why?” she asked instinctively.

After thinking for a moment, Li Ang decided to explain the reason to Himer, lest the suspicious Li Boli misunderstanding him again and ruin his plan... After all, this was not the first time.

“Didn’t I tell you before? I also heard that strange voice, just like Joyce… except I heard it in a different way than she did.”

“It’s not just for Joyce, I also want to solve this problem, and Device Nine, which caused all of this, is a very important clue… Do you understand what I mean?”

Hearing Li Ang's explanation, Hemer's astonishment faded slightly. She nodded thoughtfully and said, "No problem, I can agree to this condition."

"There's one more request: don't let anyone else know you're investigating this, especially your teacher."

After thinking it over, Li Ang decided not to mention Trevor. He felt that emphasizing the man's existence too much might actually make things worse.

In any case, Trevor is almost invisible if he doesn't speak. Hemer probably didn't even notice the man's presence just now, so he simply didn't say anything.

"...I know, I will pay attention to the teacher."

This time, even Himer felt the need to keep it a secret from Palvis.

Device Nine was considered a failed experiment within the Structural Engineering Department. In private, Palvis even told Himer that Joyce shouldn't have been allowed to conduct the experiment, which almost... no, has already cost the Structural Engineering Department an excellent researcher.

Joyce's way of thinking was distorted by Device Nine, which gave her special abilities that were as precise as a machine, but at the same time stifled her most valuable talent as a researcher—imagination.

Although Joyce, having lost her imagination, could still assist others in their research in a methodical manner, and even did some of them better than Palvis, she had lost the ability to be a pioneer.

As for the voice in Joyce's head... although she reported it, no one took it seriously, assuming it was just Joyce's mental state and that she was experiencing auditory hallucinations.

If Palvis finds out that the voice is real... who knows what crazy experiments Palvis will plan next.

Even if it were just for her friend's sake, Himer would never let him discover this secret.

"I completely agree to this condition. So what is your second condition?"

"The second condition..."

To be honest, Li Ang was just saying it casually, only wanting Himer to help investigate Joyce's matter, and there was no other condition.

But... now that Himer has already agreed, wouldn't it be a loss if he said there were no conditions?

So Li Ang thought for a moment and said, "I haven't thought about the second condition yet. I'll tell you when I've thought it through."

"Of course, I won't make any unreasonable demands. If you feel it's not suitable, you can refuse at all. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Hermer hesitated for a moment, then nodded gently.

"can."

“Then that’s settled, the deal is done.” Leon snapped his fingers. “Your question earlier… Rhodes Island is currently located in the Grand Knight Territory of Kazimierz.”

“Yes, you’re right. I’ve established a partnership with Rhodes Island. They’ll stay there to treat the infected. They won’t leave Kazimierz for at least six months. You can then take that brat to the Grand Knight’s Domain.”

"But before that, I still suggest you contact Rhodes Island first to see how that kid is doing and ask Dr. Kal'tsit for her opinion, so you don't make a wasted trip."

Hermès nodded seriously and replied, "Thank you for your suggestion."

Chapter 102