Asura in Arknights

He was already an infected person, but due to the sudden reversion of his bloodline, he awakened the unique magic of the Blood Demon clan. Apart from the abilities of the Blood Demon, there seemed to be no other magic that could control blood.

"So either my uncle awakened some ancient Sarkaz bloodline, or he used some method to bypass the restrictions of Sarkaz incantations. In terms of difficulty, I think the former is simpler."

The former only needs to get lucky like Byron once, while the latter... no matter what trickery is used, it is equivalent to breaking through some of the restrictions of the Sarkaz inscriptions. Even if Originium Arts theory is one of Professor Nauman's main research directions, Leon doesn't think he can do such a thing.

If it were that simple, then why have Sarkaz rituals been gradually lost to time?

Is that...so?

Adele finally understood what Leon meant.

So... her father also had Sarkaz blood?

Chapter Sixteen: Blizzard

Of course, this is also Li Ang's speculation.

Perhaps Professor Nauman had some extraordinary encounter back then, and suddenly gained the power to use the Sarkaz Ritual. You know, things that happen in reality are often more bizarre than in novels. Novels need to be logical, but reality doesn't.

This was just one of the many topics Leon and Adele discussed. After it was mentioned, neither of them took it to heart, since they couldn't ask Professor Nauman how he had done it.

However, it is now certain that there is another layer of hidden information in the text of the notebook.

But to whom Professor Nauman left this information is something worth pondering.

If it was meant for Adele, how could Professor Nauman guarantee that Adele would be able to decipher this hidden message? Even Leon only discovered this message by chance.

If it wasn't left for Adele, then... who else would Professor Nauman want to leave this information to?

Fortunately, so far there are no contradictions between these two pieces of information, so we can tentatively believe that what is written above is true.

Leon and Adele thus bypassed the border post in Ursus and quietly slipped into Ursus territory, heading towards Sami.

If they encountered a village along the way, they would go and take a look to see if they could find someone to talk to. If they spotted a patrol from Ursus, they would avoid it in advance. Leon's reconnaissance range was farther than the drones used by the patrol team, and they managed to avoid several searches along the way without any major incidents.

Gradually, they had covered half the distance to Sami, and it wouldn't be long before they reached the place where the Nauman couple had died.

Perhaps for this reason, Adele has become somewhat quiet lately.

"Ah...it's snowing..."

Just as Li Ang drove around a deep ditch ahead, snowflakes suddenly began to fall from the sky, followed by a fierce, cold wind.

In just a few minutes, the weather changed dramatically. Thick, dark clouds covered the entire sky, and howling winds brought large swaths of snowflakes, plunging the world into darkness.

A blizzard is coming.

The snowflakes, swirling in the sky, flew faster and faster with a sudden gust of wind, finally slamming hard against the car window.

Outside the window, everything was a white blur, and Adele could see almost nothing. Only Leon's perception remained unaffected. But even if the driver was unaffected, it would be difficult for ordinary vehicles to drive normally in such weather.

"What bad luck... Why is it suddenly snowing at this time?" Li Ang couldn't help but click his tongue.

At their previous pace, they should have been able to enter Sami territory in about a week. However, this sudden blizzard disrupted their plans, and due to the blizzard's interference, they would likely have to spend more than twice the expected time.

After traveling less than a kilometer, the two felt the car suddenly lurch forward and heard the sound of tires spinning and slipping. On the snow that had accumulated so much in such a short time, ordinary snow chains were no longer sufficient.

Fortunately, Li Ang had already prepared for this.

"I'm going out to change a tire on the car. There might be some noise later, but don't worry."

“Hmm.” Adele nodded, then said, “Do you need my help?”

"No need, it's too dark outside, I can manage on my own."

As he spoke, Li Ang pushed the car door open forcefully while simultaneously erecting a shield to seal the gap that was exposed by the open door, preventing the wind and snow outside from rushing in and making a mess of the driver's cab.

Braving the fierce wind outside, Li Ang slowly squeezed out of the car.

"The wind is very strong..."

It seems that not letting Adele appear was the right choice.

With Adele's small frame, even with the weight of her protective suit, she wouldn't be able to withstand this level of gale. If she didn't grab onto something, she would likely be pushed around by the wind.

Li Ang walked step by step to the back of the vehicle and removed the tracks and skids that were suspended from the rear of the car. These were things that Li Ang had specially prepared for this trip.

Both the Sami and northwestern Ursus regions are covered in snow and ice year-round, making it essential to choose the right mode of transportation.

Considering that ordinary snowmobiles can only move on snow, Li Ang specially obtained this off-road vehicle, which can be converted into a snowmobile by changing the tires.

Although this is a bit more troublesome, it is more adaptable to various situations than a simple snowmobile.

After removing the tracks and skids, Li Ang lifted the rear half of the vehicle with one hand, twisting the tires while sensing the surrounding environment.

"Only by experiencing it firsthand can one truly understand how unique this environment is," Li Ang thought to himself.

North of Ursus lies an endless, boundless ice plain, one of the regions of Terra that has been invaded by outsiders. Inhabiting this area are monsters that resemble humans but are fundamentally different, known as 'Aliens'.

For countless years, the Ursus people have kept the aliens firmly at bay outside the ice plains, but due to a lack of decisive power, they have never been able to completely eradicate them from this place.

This is a persistent problem rooted in the land of Terra.

Therefore, similar to the human body's self-defense mechanism, Originium energy will spontaneously converge in this area, catalyzing the emergence of more talented individuals to resist the invasion of alien species.

Under the influence of these factors, the blizzard in northern Ursus can no longer be called a simple blizzard, but an anomaly that is not a natural disaster but is even worse than one.

Although the damage to people or other materials is no different from that of a regular blizzard, it causes greater damage on another level.

The Originium here can be completely disrupted by blizzards. If a warlock is not familiar with this environment, they may not even be able to ignite a small flame under such interference. However, if they are familiar with this environment, their spells should be able to exert greater power.

This is an insurmountable difficulty for warlocks, but it is a rather fatal obstacle for machines that use Originium energy.

Machines don't have the flexibility and adaptability of humans; they only operate according to fixed programs and are almost impossible to avoid being affected by this energy turbulence.

Li Ang quickened his pace, swiftly installing the skids and tracks, attaching the removed tires to the rear, and then crawling back into the cab.

“Adele, we’re in trouble. We need to find a place to rest before we turn off the engine.”

P.S. Expecting to work four hours a day is wishful thinking. Working from home is much more troublesome than usual. At most, you can get up a few hours later than usual, but your work efficiency will not be high, and you will actually spend more time than usual.

Chapter Seventeen Scientific Research Station

Judging from the scale of this blizzard, it probably won't stop anytime soon. This is the first crisis that Li Ang and his group have encountered since they set off.

In this kind of weather, a car engine will stall after a short time, and forcibly starting it will only cause more serious damage to the power system.

The best solution at this stage is to find a sheltered place and stay there for a while until the blizzard subsides and the propulsion system can withstand external interference before continuing.

"If I remember correctly, there should be a mountain not far ahead. Let's go there and hide for the night."

They were currently in a somewhat remote location, with no Ursus villages nearby. The fortifications marked on the map, abandoned by the Ursus military, would take at least a day to reach.

They now only go to the mountains over there and find a cave to stay in for a while.

Even if a cave cannot be found, Li Ang can artificially carve one out of the mountain.

Li Ang couldn't think of a better idea right now. Staying put was one option, but he wasn't sure how long the blizzard would last. It would be ridiculous if they were buried alive by the blizzard.

Listening to the howling wind outside, Adele secretly broke out in a cold sweat.

Even though she knew the situation wasn't too bad, Adele couldn't help but feel nervous in this dark and oppressive environment.

Suddenly, in the pitch-black world outside, Adele seemed to see a faint glimmer of light.

Blinking, Adele thought she had just imagined it. How could there be lights in such a desolate place?

But when she looked in that direction again, Adele realized it wasn't her imagination—

Under the black night sky, a few faint lights flickered among the distant snowflakes, and she took in this scene very clearly.

Adele immediately called out, "Leon! There's a light there, it looks like someone's there!"

"What? You're not seeing things, are you?" Just like Adele, Li Ang couldn't believe that anyone would live in such a desolate place.

“I’m not mistaken, there are indeed a few bright lights in that direction,” Adele said with absolute certainty.

In most cases, Li Ang's perception is better than that of the average person. For example, right now, Adele can't see the situation in the blizzard outside at all, but Li Ang can drive normally in this kind of weather.

But light is the only thing... Li Ang's current soul strength is not enough to detect the existence of light.

If Adele hadn't been there, Leon would never have noticed the lights.

"Which direction are those lights coming from?"

"It's roughly at the one o'clock position."

After considering for a few seconds, Li Ang made a decision, "Okay, let's go take a look."

If it's just one o'clock, it won't deviate too far from their original route, and going to take a look won't take too much time. What if, as Adele said, someone really lives in such a place?

If they could stay there for a while, they wouldn't have to go up the mountain to dig a cave.

Li Ang then changed direction and drove towards the location Adele had mentioned.

As they drew closer to that direction, Adele could vaguely make out what was hidden in the blizzard ahead.

It was a very secluded natural canyon with a very narrow entrance that could easily be missed if one wasn't paying attention. In Li Ang's perception, there were more than a dozen low-rise buildings of various sizes inside the canyon, more than enough to accommodate the two of them.

Although the blizzard did not affect the buildings inside the canyon, the camouflage at the entrance was destroyed by the strong winds, and the light Adele had just seen was leaking out from this gap.

"Li Ang...do we really have to go in?"

Having already reached the other person's doorstep, Adele hesitated.

Because this place didn't look like a typical villager's home at all; instead, it looked like a secret base built by some organization, which they stumbled upon by accident.

Moreover, there were obvious signs of human activity in the canyon, and Adele was worried that she might have a conflict with the people inside.

Seeing Adele's worry, Li Ang replied, "Don't worry, there's only one person inside right now."

"We're just staying here for a short time. If they don't want us to stay, we'll leave."

With only one opponent, Li Ang was confident in handling any situation that might arise.

Hearing what Li Ang said, Adele relaxed somewhat and no longer opposed the plan to enter the valley.

So Li Ang carefully avoided the wreckage at the entrance and drove the car in.

Once the vehicle had fully entered the canyon, they noticed a significant decrease in the wind noise, and the view outside the windows gradually became clearer. Several pure white buildings, almost blending into the surrounding snow, came into view.

“Then, I’ll go and discuss it with the owner here,” Li Ang said to Adele after parking the car.

"I'll go too."

Adele seemed to want to go with Leon, and after thinking about it, Leon felt that it would be more convenient to protect Adele's safety if they went together, so he agreed.

"Okay, let's go together then."

After the two got out of the car, Li Ang shouted loudly, "Is anyone here? Is anyone here?"

However, Li Ang's cries went unanswered.

In his perception, the only person seemed to be asleep, staying in a house deep in the canyon, without any reaction.

"...Didn't you hear me?"

Thinking this, Li Ang walked towards the house where that person was, intending to knock on the door and see what the other person's attitude was.

Adele followed behind Leon, curiously observing everything around her with the help of the lights from the surrounding buildings.

Perhaps to withstand strong winds and snow, these buildings are all hemispherical in shape, and they are almost indistinguishable from the outside. The only thing worth noting is that without exception, all of these buildings have antennas or similar objects mounted on their tops.

Adele vaguely recognized the shape of these things. After staring at them for a while, she remembered that they seemed to be detection antennas that could only be seen on some large equipment.

"Could this be... a research station?" This thought popped into Adele's mind.

But why build a research station in such a place? Is there something interesting about this ice field?

Before Adele could tell Li Ang her speculation, another voice came from behind them.

"Don't move! Put your hands up!"

Chapter 18 Magellan

It was a young-sounding female voice, but because of nervousness, the tone of her voice sounded a little strange.

If nothing unexpected happens, these are the owners of these houses.

However, in Li Ang's perception, the other party was still in the room and had not moved. So what was the situation with the sound coming from behind them?

Sensing an object hovering behind them, Li Ang had a sudden realization.

...Is it a drone?

It turned out that the other party had already discovered their presence, but instead of showing themselves, they quietly deployed drones to confront them remotely.

Moreover, the drone this person used was no ordinary drone.