Asura in Arknights

"Okay, you guessed right, the Securities and Futures Commission certainly won't let this go unchecked, but..."

Marna clutched her forehead, looking like she had a stomachache. "But that guy won't cooperate so easily..."

Manager A has considerable autonomy, and nothing can interfere with his ideas. Moreover, he is a rather willful person. The thought of trying to persuade such a guy makes Marner feel an unbearable stomachache.

"Don't worry, he'll cooperate."

"Oh?" Marna narrowed his eyes. "It's already been resolved ahead of schedule? That's intriguing... I wonder how you persuaded him."

"It's nothing, I just had a brief talk with him a couple of days ago and made a deal with him."

For someone like Manager A, the only thing that can impress him is information of sufficient value.

Unfortunately, Li Ang, who had ventured deep into the Originium Will, had as many useful items as he could muster, so while returning to repair his armor, Li Ang made a deal with him.

However, doing so is also very risky. If you don't keep a close eye on things, who knows what kind of crazy scientist might come up with?

With Marna keeping an eye on him, there shouldn't be any major problems.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now. Adele has been waiting for me there for a long time,” Li Ang said, pointing to the car parked in front.

Adele sat in the car, quietly waiting for Leon's arrival.

"...It's all over now. I can handle the rest myself."

"Then see you in the spring."

After saying goodbye to Rennes and Marner, Li Ang opened the car door and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Adele, in the passenger seat, tilted her head and gave Li Ang a slight smile.

"Then... let's set off."

P.S. I'm having a lot of writer's block; it took me several hours to come up with this chapter, ORZ...

Chapter Fourteen: Two People Walking Together

"I wish you both a safe journey. The Grand Knight Commander awaits your return at any time."

Amidst the cheers of the guards, the vehicle slowly drove out of the gates of the Grand Knights' territory.

As soon as they left the mobile city, the unique atmosphere of the wilderness invigorated the two people in the car. Li Ang could feel that Adele's slightly tense mood gradually relaxed.

Amidst the barely audible sound of the Originium engine, Adele said softly, "It feels like... it's been a long time since we've been together like this in such quiet."

“Really?” Li Ang thought for a moment, then said, “It seems that’s true… We’ve both been too busy lately.”

Li Ang was busy with both competitions and scheming against the people at Pol Pharmaceuticals, keeping him extremely busy all day long. Adele was also working hard in her own way. The two of them might only have a chance to meet once every two or three days, which is why they had this feeling.

However, it was precisely because of their hard work during that period that they earned this opportunity.

"Let's take this opportunity to relax on the way."

They still had plenty of time, and at least before they left the territory of Kazimierz, the scenery along the way was quite nice, making it a relatively easy journey.

“Relax…” Adele’s expression looked somewhat subtle.

Relax... Some places in the wilderness may look beautiful, but they are actually full of deadly dangers. From the infectious creatures that may suddenly appear to the plants and trees in the wild, everything that people take for granted can pose a threat to their lives.

No matter how carefree a person is normally, they will become cautious when they enter the wilderness. Going to such a place to relax... seems a bit inappropriate, doesn't it?

Suddenly, Adele covered her mouth and chuckled, as if she had just remembered something.

Li Ang, who was driving, felt a little confused and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Did he do anything funny just now? It doesn't seem so.

Adele didn't want to tell Li Ang either; she simply leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and stretched forward.

There's nothing there.

"Really? I have a feeling... I think I smelled a lie just now."

"Huh? You can actually do something like that? What does a lie taste like?" Adele asked with great interest.

"...Okay, that was just a metaphor. I can't do that kind of thing yet."

"Hmph, so you were lying to me just now?"

"Absolutely not, why would I lie to you?"

Time passed slowly as the two chatted, and soon they drove out of the territory of the Great Knights, where traces of human activity gradually diminished.

Only at this point did they truly leave the realm of civilized order.

At this point, the road they were traveling on finally came to an end. If they continued forward, they would be entering areas that were rarely visited by people.

After finding a relatively flat spot nearby, Li Ang slowly stopped the car. He took out the map from the storage compartment and spread it out in front of the two of them.

"Now, let's confirm our next plan and route one last time."

“First of all, we should be in this position now.” Li Ang pointed to a location in the lower right corner of the map. “And Sami is in this position.”

Sami is located in the upper left corner of the map, northwest of the Great Knights Territory.

“If we want to go to Sami, we can take this route.”

Leon drew a half-circle on the map with his finger, making a large turn, first leaving Kazimierz, and then entering Sami from the unmarked area on the map.

"Why do we have to go this way? Can't we just go straight to Sami?" Adele asked, finding it a bit strange.

Since only Li Ang could see the route map in the notebook, Li Ang was the one who planned the route. Before this, she had no idea where to get to Sami.

“Because this is the forest ranger’s territory,” Li Ang replied. “To avoid trouble, it’s better to go around it.”

"Forest ranger? What's that?"

Adele seemed a little puzzled; she had never heard of this name before.

"The Forest Rangers... to put it simply, are a guerrilla organization that operates in northern Kazimir."

"Guerrilla groups? But the war is over, isn't it?"

“The large-scale war has ended,” Li Ang corrected, “but the small skirmishes on the border have never stopped. The red pine forest where the forest rangers are stationed is the main location of the conflicts.”

After the Knights of Conquest withdrew from that area, the Rangers became the main armed force there.

They had been fighting the Ursus people there for so long, who knows what it had become? Besides, the dense forest terrain was very unsuitable for vehicles. Therefore, Li Ang gave up the idea of ​​crossing the red pine forest.

“Or we could go the other way,” Leon’s finger traced along the other side, “We could enter Ursus territory and head to Sami from there.”

only……

"There are certain risks involved in both routes these days, and I haven't decided which route to use yet. What do you think, Adele?"

After examining the map for a while, Adele finally looked up and asked, "What's in this unmarked area to the west?"

“I don’t know,” Li Ang patted his head in exasperation, “because there’s practically no one with nothing better to do than run in that direction.”

In this day and age, most of the land suitable for human habitation has been divided up, and the territories of various countries are basically fixed. They don't have much energy to explore unknown areas, as the cost would be too high. It's much simpler to just seize the land of neighboring countries.

Therefore, only a few fearless explorers would venture into such places, and the maps they drew in private were obviously very difficult to obtain, since they could easily die in some remote corner.

"Furthermore, the popular 'Sami Countryside Villa 7-Day Tour' in Kazimierz isn't actually located in Sami... You should understand, right?"

Adele nodded silently.

On the other hand, traveling from Ursus to Sami is not guaranteed to be foolproof.

Although Ursus is sparsely populated, there is still a possibility of running into the Ursus army... Even if the soldiers are unharmed, it would be troublesome if the supplies in this truck were destroyed.

Both paths carry certain risks, so which one should you choose?

After thinking about it carefully for a while, Adele spoke up.

"I think... it's better to go down the Ursus route."

Unbelievable, it actually got banned.

Another infected person came back from another province. There was a close contact in my building, and when I woke up this morning, the whole building was sealed off. Unbelievable.

I tried hiding and dodging, but I still couldn't escape being locked up for 14 days. (Damn it!)

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

Chapter Fifteen: Speculation

In the end, they chose to travel from Ursus to Sami.

Compared to completely unknown dangers, the risks of entering Ursus are more controllable. The worst-case scenario is just a head-on collision with the border guards. Li Ang can roughly sense the situation several kilometers away, and as long as he is careful, he can completely avoid such a thing.

Even if Ursus's environment is terrible, it is still land under human control. They might even encounter a small village or two and get some much-needed supplies from the villagers.

"Oh right, there's something I forgot to ask. Adele... does she understand Ursus?" Leon asked casually while driving.

Upon hearing this, Adele's previously relaxed expression froze.

Oh right, how could she forget that? Adele speaks Victorian and Gaulish, and has some knowledge of Sargon's language, but she really knows nothing about the language of Ursus.

"Then, Leon, do you understand Ursus?" Adele's voice revealed a hint of expectation.

"Haha..." Li Ang chuckled dryly twice, then replied, "No."

"I don't think knowing just two words counts as understanding the language, right?"

Li Ang only knew two Ursus words: one was comrades, and the other was the famous and well-known Sukabrie. Both words were quite well-known.

"If it were Yan or Dong, I could still be of some help, but Ursus... I really can't do anything about it."

"Li Ang, you understand Yan language and Dong language?" Adele was slightly surprised.

"Well, I'd say I know a little bit, but I think I should be fine with general communication."

Based on the information Li Ang has currently obtained about Yan Kingdom, he can only say that the language used there is very similar to Chinese, but not exactly the same. The same applies to Dong Kingdom, which is why Li Ang did not speak definitively.

"I see..."

Nodding thoughtfully, Adele said, "But it doesn't matter. Even in Ursus, we should be able to find someone who understands Victoria... right?"

Victoria is the most widely spoken language in the world, but they were passing through one of the most remote areas of Ursus, where... could they really find anyone who understood Victoria? Adele wasn't sure either.

"Let's take it one step at a time. Anyway, we have enough supplies, and we don't necessarily need to go and replenish them."

Unlike his hasty escape last time, Li Ang had ample time to prepare this time.

The trunks of both cars were crammed full, containing almost everything they needed, and these were all high-end items that they had bought at great expense.

With the help of these things, both Leon and Adele were full of confidence for the journey.

The food they brought may not have been very delicious, but it was enough to last them until they reached Sami.

……

Time passed little by little. The sun rose in the east and slowly sank into the depths of the western horizon. By this time, the sky was gradually darkening.

After traveling through the wilderness for a whole day, even with the excellent suspension system, the two were exhausted from the bumpy ride. They found a relatively open place to stop and rest while preparing dinner.

Li Ang's perception range also expanded outwards, and he also used some killing intent fluctuation techniques, which could very effectively drive away the infected creatures in this area.

The infected creatures have far more acute senses than humans. As soon as they get close to this area, they can sense the danger lurking within and naturally won't easily venture in. This effectively eliminates the risk of infection for them.

After parking the car, the two set up a simple campsite together. Adele picked up some dry branches from nearby, dried them slightly, and then lit a campfire.

Li Ang was not good at this kind of delicate operation; if it were him, he would probably only be able to burn these dry branches to ashes.

Their dinner consisted of rather unappetizing compressed food. Unfortunately, Li Ang couldn't find anything safe to eat nearby, nor could he find anything edible other than the infected creature. Otherwise, they could have improved their meals a bit this time.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, and feeling the warmth of the campfire, Li Ang slowly said, "Speaking of which, before I left, I asked Shining a few questions, which were related to your notebook."

Adele blinked and adopted a posture of attentive listening.

"Adele, I want to ask you something first. Did your father's lineage... have any ancestors who intermarried with the Sarkaz?"

Adele was somewhat surprised to hear this question, but after thinking about it carefully for a while, she shook her head.

"I don't think so. At least my great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather were both Caprini of very pure blood. As for those before that, I don't know."

Although Nauman is not a historically significant surname, they are native Leitanians who have always been rooted in this land and have basically never left, nor have they ever intermarried with the Sarkaz.

Why ask that?

So, Li Ang told Adele the answer he had previously obtained from Shining.

"Shining's statement is probably believable. The Originium Arts of the Sarkaz are very different from the Originium Arts we have learned. They should be closer to the spells awakened by ordinary Infected. There are indeed spells that require a specific bloodline to use."

Li Ang had already witnessed an example of this firsthand—the Blood Knight Byron.