Asura in Arknights

At this time, all the police forces in the entire West District had been mobilized, and they began to block his way from different directions. They were still some distance away from the city exit, and the main roads leading there had already been blocked.

Li Ang has now completely broken free from the limitations on the range of perception, sacrificing accuracy to extend the range of perception to nearly one kilometer.

Observing the surrounding terrain, a plan quickly formed in Li Ang's mind.

To everyone's surprise, including the police behind them, Li Ang suddenly turned the steering wheel sharply, driving the SUV into an inconspicuous, narrow side road.

Looking at the suddenly changed scenery around her, Adele seemed to realize something. When she compared it with the map of the West District in her memory, her eyes widened.

"Lyon! It's a dead end!" Adele cried anxiously. "There's a wall blocking our way."

“I know! Adele, get your spell ready, remember to blow that wall up later!” Li Ang said without turning his head.

"But there's no way behind the wall!!"

Adele was frantic. If she remembered correctly, there was a fifty-meter drop behind that wall.

If they fell from that height, the SUV simply wouldn't be able to withstand that level of impact. Even if the two of them were lucky enough to escape unharmed, without their vehicle, they would have no chance of escaping the police's pursuit.

But Li Ang showed no intention of turning around and resolutely drove into this dead end.

“I know, that’s exactly what I want,” Li Ang said calmly.

"Believe me."

These three words seemed to possess a magical power, inexplicably calming Adele's mind.

"Well, I believe you."

……

When he saw the SUV ahead suddenly turn onto a side road, Severin paused for a moment, then glanced at the map and immediately beamed with joy.

"Prepare to close the net! There's a dead end ahead! They have nowhere to escape!!"

In his view, the other party had been driven to desperation and had no other choice.

At the end of this fork in the road is a wall made of high-strength carbon bricks. Behind the wall is a gap more than forty meters below the ground. Falling from there would be certain death.

Upon hearing this news, all the police officers involved in the manhunt relaxed.

Severin was worried that the other party was unaware of this, so he used Originium Arts to amplify his voice and loudly warn the other party.

His warning had no effect. As soon as they rushed into the side road, they heard a loud bang at the end of the road, and thick black smoke instantly filled the entire alley.

When they reached the end of the road, what appeared before them was a large hole in the wall, at least three meters wide.

"Tsk...why would someone be so foolish?"

Looking at the opening in front of him, Severin thought with a headache that falling from this height would surely result in a horrible mess, and shoveling the body out of the ground would be another troublesome affair...

But just then, a surprised voice came from his companion beside him, "Captain!! Look!"

What are you looking at? Are you looking at a dead person?

Severin thought impatiently, but he still glanced ahead.

But that one glance completely stunned him.

"It's flying?! It's flying?!"

The SUV sped out of the cave entrance, but instead of falling to the ground as they expected, it soared straight into the sky to everyone's near-dumbfounded gaze, as if there were an invisible road in the air.

This unusual situation did not last long, only a few seconds, before the SUV began to slowly slide down to the ground. However, this short period of time was enough for it to travel three or four hundred meters.

The encirclement they had painstakingly built with countless police officers was breached in an unbelievable way.

After regaining his composure, Sheriff Severin connected to the police department's internal communications and said in a very complicated tone, "Headquarters, the operation failed, the target... they escaped."

"This is beyond our control. Let the Tower take over personally."

Chapter Fifty: Aftermath

Half an hour ago.

"Phew...they're all gone..."

After Leon and Adele left the warehouse, Professor Valcke lowered the warehouse door, leaving it to be swallowed by endless darkness.

In the pitch black, Professor Valcke murmured, "Taylor... I can't believe you bastard just left with Janice like that. Without you two... what will happen to Adele?"

As he spoke, Professor Valcke's gaze drifted into the distance, as if returning to the distant past, to the moment when the four of them met at William University.

"Now, I'm all alone..."

His wife died of illness years ago, and he later had a conflict with his daughter and they lived apart. Now the Taylors have died in a foreign country under mysterious circumstances, without even being able to see each other one last time.

Now, of the original four, only Professor Valcke remains.

“Fortunately, your luck isn’t completely terrible, you bastard,” Professor Valcke said with a wry smile. “Adele… at least has someone she can trust.”

As he muttered to himself, Professor Valcke pictured the young man from Agor in his mind.

That brat... is much more reliable than this old man. At least he doesn't have the ability to bring Adele out of the library without alerting anyone.

"It's time to go back..." Professor Valcke thought to himself.

He'd done everything he could; whether Adele could escape depended entirely on that brat.

Of course, this doesn't mean Professor Valcke has nothing to do next. The cause of death of the Naumans, the tower's unusual behavior, and many other things await his investigation.

Professor Valcke is now the only person who can openly appear in Brandenburg, and no one else can continue the investigation.

He still has a lot of responsibilities to shoulder.

Just as Dr. Valcke turned to leave, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of something out of place in the darkness not far away: a figure was standing there, watching him with calm eyes.

"Who goes there?!"

Professor Valcke clenched his fists, his heart leaping into his throat. Who was that person? How long had he been standing there? Had he witnessed everything that happened just now, when he saw Adele off?

Originium could gather in his palm. Professor Valk was now prepared to risk his life to keep the other party alive. If the news leaked out from here, he would have no face to face his wife and the Nauman couple, even if he died.

"Don't be nervous, it's me."

As soon as the figure spoke, a soft light appeared in the person's hand, allowing Professor Valcke to see the other person's face clearly.

"Headmaster? What are you doing here?" Valcke asked in surprise.

The person standing behind him was the president of William University, an old man who seemed too old to walk.

"Phew... I knew you weren't so honest. Luckily I came along to take a look, otherwise I don't know how much trouble you would have caused the school." The old headmaster stroked his long beard and glared at Professor Valcke with a reproachful look.

"You're not young anymore, and your daughter is already married. How can you still act so thoughtlessly? It's one thing to secretly slip that young girl some money, but you actually want to continue investigating the cause of death of the Nauman couple?"

"What... Headmaster, are you trying to persuade me to give up?" Professor Valcke frowned. "I'm telling you, that's impossible!"

"...Phew," the old headmaster choked and rolled his eyes. "Now I know why your daughter doesn't want to live with you. Can't you use your brain?"

"On this matter, I share the same thoughts as you. I also want to know who exactly killed these two outstanding scholars."

"But can't you think about what would happen to you if the one who did it was the Tower?"

"Also, I've taken care of all the traces related to this warehouse. Don't think these clumsy methods can fool the Tower... Ha, they probably can't even fool a rookie detective who's just started out."

Professor Valcke's brain automatically ignored the sarcastic remarks and directly grasped the most crucial information in the old headmaster's words: "You mean... the one who killed Taylor and the others wasn't the Tower?"

The old headmaster's lips twitched. Seeing Valk's reaction, he knew that the other party hadn't listened to anything he had just said.

After a long sigh, the old headmaster said, "No."

“I have confirmed that the Naumans are only on the Tower’s surveillance list, and there are no plans to take action against them for the time being.”

"A watch list? Why would the Tower be monitoring them?"

The old headmaster discovered that Professor Valcke always mysteriously failed to grasp the key points of his words, or rather, their thought processes were simply not aligned.

“Because their research is extremely dangerous,” the old principal stamped his foot impatiently. “The point is, the group that killed the Naumans and stole their research results was a powerful faction. Even so, are you still going to continue investigating?”

“I will,” Professor Valcke replied firmly without any hesitation. “I cannot stand by and watch my friends die without knowing why, nor can I accept that their daughter is being hunted down for no reason.”

“Mr. Principal, I am ready to resign. I will put my resignation letter on your desk first thing tomorrow morning.”

"...Taylor really made a good friend."

The old principal shook his head slightly and said with some emotion, "Let's put the resignation on hold for now. I have some advice for you; I think it would be better if you stayed here."

"Your friend's daughter... will be caught soon, barring any unforeseen circumstances. The girl should be out of danger, but the person who helped her escape is another story."

“No, they can escape,” Professor Valcke replied without hesitation. “I know what kind of person Lyon is; he can definitely do it.”

“Oh?” The old headmaster raised an eyebrow. “It seems you have a lot of confidence in that person? What if I told you that he’s going to be facing a ‘knight’ this time? A knight who stands at the top even in the ‘Queen’s Voice’?”

"He will do it."

"No one knows better than me how powerful that kid is. If I didn't know his background, I wouldn't believe that such a power could be wielded by an unknown young man. It's like... the legendary 'immortals'."

Professor Valcke said with some mixed feelings.

He had witnessed the speed of that young Agor's progress firsthand, after all, Professor Valk had also been involved when the other party was improving Originium Arts.

At first, Professor Valcke was overjoyed to have discovered a promising talent, but gradually this appreciation turned into fear.

If Professor Valk's talent in Originium Arts is 6, then Adele's talent is at least 10, which is a level of talent that is unimaginable to ordinary people, enough to leave her mark on history.

But that guy... that Agorian's talent in Originium Arts is 20, 30, or even higher. No matter how complex the Originium Arts are, they are not difficult for him at all, as if... he can directly control Originium itself.

However, Professor Valcke gradually came to terms with it, because he could see that the boy was a good child.

Hearing Professor Valcke's confident words, the old professor opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he shook his head helplessly.

"Let's wait and see."

Chapter Fifty-One: Twists and Turns

The off-road vehicle sped through the desolate wilderness.

The sand and dust outside kept pounding against the windows. Normally, this annoying noise sounded pleasant at this moment, which meant that they had successfully escaped from Brandenburg.

Li Ang's somewhat reckless plan yielded unexpected results. The Brandenburg police had no idea they would escape in this way. By the time they realized what was happening and tried to reorganize the blockade, it was too late. Li Ang wasn't going to be foolish enough to be surrounded again.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Ang broke through the police cordon in one fell swoop.

Having learned from this experience, Li Ang avoided approaching the city exits of the West District. Instead, he found a high platform with a decent angle and accelerated from there, breaking through the protective barrier at the edge of the city.

In this situation, it would be impossible to stop Li Ang unless the city's defense devices on the protective wall were activated immediately.

When Li Ang felt the ceaseless sandstorm in the wilderness, he knew they were safe, but this safety was only temporary.

As long as they haven't left Letania's territory, they can't be said to be completely safe. No one can say for sure how many people the Twin Queens will send to hunt them down. They might send their most elite guards, or they might not care about their escape at all.

The good news is that at least the police won't be chasing them anymore. After seeing Li Ang escape from the protective barrier, the police decisively gave up the pursuit.

Police can manage to use sheer numbers in the city, but they can't carry out missions outside of mobile cities.

Firstly, operating outside of a mobile city requires a great deal of expertise, which most police officers do not meet. Secondly, it is impossible to send so many police officers outside the city just because of two people, as that would likely cause a major upheaval in the city.

But... before Li Ang could even catch his breath and relax his tense nerves, he discovered a new situation ahead.

They hadn't gone too far from Brandenburg at this point. Amidst the swirling dust, Leon sensed something amiss—someone was standing there, seemingly anticipating Leon's escape route and lying in ambush.

Seemingly sensing Li Ang's arrival, the wind outside grew louder, and the sandstorms common in the wilderness were gradually escalating into a terrifying sandstorm. Fine sand and gravel kept hitting the off-road vehicle, producing a series of dense crackling sounds.

The whole world darkened. In a sandstorm of this magnitude, it was impossible to tell which way was going with the naked eye. Yet the person seemed completely unaffected by the external environment, standing motionless in the howling wind.

"Adele, be careful, we might be being watched."

"...Leon, I can't see what's going on outside." Adele's voice sounded a little nervous.

"Damn it... are they trying to block our view?"

Li Ang gritted his teeth, turned the car around, and charged toward the figure. Since it was unavoidable, he had no choice but to fight it head-on.

However, Li Ang always had a concern in his mind: he did not sense any hostility or similar emotions from the other party, which made it impossible for Li Ang to judge what the other party's stance was.

But now is not the time to think about those things. Li Ang stepped on the gas and used Originium microparticles to build a thin shield around the off-road vehicle to deal with the upcoming impact.

However, just as the SUV was about to run over the figure, the howling wind outside seemed to stop, and Li Ang felt a powerful force descend upon the vehicle, forcibly changing its direction.

The SUV almost brushed past the figure, the distance between them being less than ten centimeters.

In that fleeting moment as they passed each other, through a blurry car window, Adele seemed to see the true face of the figure outside, and she covered her mouth in surprise.

At that moment, concealed by the sound of the wind outside, a faint figure was brought into the off-road vehicle, echoing in Li Ang and the others' ears.

It was a young-sounding voice, completely unfamiliar to the two of them. The voice said, "This country is going to become unwelcoming to the infected. Leave here and never come back."

The sound gradually faded away, and when it completely disappeared, Li Ang and his group had already broken free of the sandstorm's reach. Although the surrounding weather was equally harsh, it was no longer as bad as before, to the point where they couldn't open their eyes at all.