Chlorine Sodium's Arknights

Although the Priest had already left, his prophecy didn't stop there; instead, it spread more fiercely.

He had specifically instructed them to await the final prophecy, to await the God who would descend divine punishment upon the unrighteous land.

Everyone seemed to be waiting, waiting for the final prophecy to come true.

The cold light illuminating the snowy night swept over the crowd. Soldiers and military police, lost within the curtain of snow, were unaware of each other's presence. Their response to the situation was slow. The gathered Infected also waited silently, a crisis brewing in the quiet. Yet, the surface of the crisis was unusually calm, so deathly still it was like…

The calm before the storm.

It was so quiet it was almost frightening.

At this moment, playing a piece like Kenji Kawai's "Hallucination" would be incredibly fitting.

Just as everyone held their breath, awaiting the command, awaiting the final prophecy, a purple light gradually rose in the pitch-black sky.

"Look! In the sky! On the horizon!!"

The Infected were the first to react. With their backs to everyone else, they were the first to see the rising purple speck of light.

The crowd instantly erupted. The final prophecy, too, had come true.

God would ultimately punish the unjust bullying.

Was even God going to extend a hand to save the Infected?!

Seeing the crowd erupt, the military police were also slightly affected. A small portion, seeing the crowd pointing and shouting towards the direction behind them, turned to check the situation.

It wasn't a big deal to look, but the military police had been maintaining order in Ursus for a long time. Some guards even stayed in the mines daily, so they had heard about these so-called "prophecies."

Although the authorities had suppressed them effectively, preventing these rumors from exploding, some people still knew. Once a prophecy, originally just a rumor, was "fulfilled" by a supernatural phenomenon, people would believe it to a certain extent.

God would ultimately punish the unjust bullying.

Could this be true?

God above, Your Majesty, is this… is this true?

A wave of doubt then spread among the military police.

The only ones completely unaware of this were the military forces, who were busy reorganizing their formation.

In the sky, the purple speck of light was steadily rising.

However, far away, outside the main army tent, Koschei watched the rising purple light with his usual elegant smile.

He knew exactly what it was, for it was a "new friend" coming to the meeting, as per their contract.

The Snake Scale had already brought the information onto the stage. Now, everyone knew about this "prophecy" he had fabricated.

Ha, how foolish, to believe such rumors so easily.

If not for his Snake Scale, how could the things outside have entered the mine? How could anyone have bribed the guards watching the Infected?

All these seemingly coincidental miracles were actually man-made, all orchestrated by Koschei.

This was within his Duchy. Everyone here, whether Infected or the Ursus Garrison Legion, had been kept in the dark by him.

All the reasons were perfect and justifiable. The coincidental lack of communication left the people here unaware of the truth. The Snake Scale had completed its mission perfectly.

Many people would die today, but it didn't matter, for this was their purpose and the meaning of their birth.

He loved all people, whether the wealthy and distinguished or the struggling poor, whether good or evil. He loved them all, as long as they had a goal, were alive, and strived for it, regardless of the goal.

But he disliked things that wasted resources meaninglessly. Without a goal, without a goal to strive for, they were meaningless things, simply a waste of resources.

But he was kind, so kind that he was willing to give these people he didn't love a goal and a reason to strive, and to gain meaning.

Today, all these people would die with meaning and purpose. They would all have their own goals and their own reasons to strive for life.

Isn't this simply beautiful?

However, what was already perfect had become even more so, because a new "friend" had joined his plan.

Even if the other party only shared the same interests, not the same ideas, and even looked down upon him and his plan.

But it didn't matter. As long as the goal could be achieved, that was enough. This was also his meaning.

Now, he needed to accelerate the process of the "Infected Uprising." It was still too slow. The oppression wasn't enough, the hope bestowed wasn't enough, and the resistance was far from sufficient.

Since the will to resist wasn't strong enough, he would create it artificially.

Since the oppression wasn't enough, he would add fuel to the impending explosion!

Since the hope bestowed wasn't enough, he would give them more false "hope."

Making empty promises, that was simple.

And now, the artificially created resistance was about to begin.

Boring thoughts.

Chlorine Sodium herself scoffed at Koschei's ideas. If it weren't for the fact that this guy was still useful to her, with her personality, she would have simply torn him apart.

But right now, the matter of the protagonist still loomed over her.

Causing trouble everywhere was a good way to fish for information, but this kind of exhaustive method was a last resort, unless it was a targeted exhaustive search.

And now, this scope has arrived.

Staging a "rebellion of the Infected" like this is like adding fuel to a world that's already a powder keg. The ensuing chemical reactions will absolutely stir up tremendous waves.

This way, no matter who the protagonist ultimately is, they will be forced onto the stage of the story.

Once that happens, with a goal in place, formulating future objectives and measures will simply be a matter of time.

She loathes trouble, and even more so, she loathes those who create it. The protagonist is precisely that kind of troublesome entity.

She detests intense joy and profound despair alike. I, Chlorine Sodium, desire a peaceful life, one spent like a plant for my entire existence; that would be best.

However, to achieve her goals, she doesn't care about the means. Because when she gets serious, she hasn't encountered anyone who could truly threaten her.

Even the Child of the World was merely defeated in the role of the villain she played, along with the schemes and enterprises she orchestrated. She herself was not threatened, and thus, her points were abundant.

Although Chlorine Sodium detests intense joy.

To achieve her goals, if it could accelerate the process, temporary cooperation would be acceptable.

She is a pragmatist. There is no one she cannot use, no one she cannot cooperate with, and nothing she cannot do.

Being a villain herself, the pride of a villain struck her as utterly foolish.

Since it's inherently a matter of having no bottom line, it's only natural to exploit that.

With a slight manipulation of her abilities, she forcefully spread Honkai Energy outward in a broadcast!

This was akin to a small-scale "Honkai."

And the moment this power was released, it was truly like a miracle.

It was an ethereal song, like the chanting of an Ancient Monk. A vast domain unfolded, and within the rapidly expanding area, those who were consumed began to undergo astonishing mutations!

Purple, eerie patterns started to seep from everyone's skin, emerging from deep within!

Their hearts beat uncontrollably, pumping polluted blood throughout their bodies. The Honkai energy instantly destroyed the central nervous system of their brains and took over all control nodes of their bodies, turning people from masters of themselves into puppets of a god.

Their original reason was instantly replaced by a frenzied urge to attack. The Originium infection sites on the Infected even mutated directly due to the stimulation of Honkai Energy, turning the Infected into the perfect hosts for monsters!

"What's going on?!"

"Attack! Attack quickly!"

"Ahhhhhhh!!!"

The Infected instantly transformed into a furious Beast Herd, charging towards the formation of the military police!

The military police were originally only responsible for internal public order maintenance. Their batons were sufficient for dealing with unarmed Infected and some lawbreakers, but lacking heavy weaponry, they became extremely vulnerable when faced with the onslaught of a maddened crowd.

Coupled with their lack of equipment for such a situation, no one knew what was going on with these common, subservient, lowly wretches.

However, the radiation continued, and even the military police began to go mad, biting their own teammates!

"What in the world is happening?!"

The Rear Admiral, who was urgently commanding the Garrison Legion to defend, was dedicating all his energy to controlling the situation, completely ignoring the flashing lights of the reporters who served as the government's mouthpiece, and Koschei, who had disappeared into the crowd.

The "rebellion" of the Infected had begun.

ps: Special notice, due to issues with my bank card, I cannot sign the contract during these three days of holiday [crying]. I need to go to the bank to unify my card and phone number with the one registered on Qidian. However, both the bank and the Qidian editor are on holiday, so I have to wait until at least the day the bank opens. Therefore, because I updated too frequently before, the word count is a bit high now. If I continue updating, it will likely be time for the shelves after three days!!!! So, the updates for these three days will be calculated as one update per day to delay it a bit, whimper.

I hope for your understanding [crying].

Section 20, Chapter 20 [Work-Life Balance]

"What do you think of this scene?"

With his hands behind his back, Koschei once again displayed the etiquette of a noble.

However, the Queen who appeared here was not impressed.

Chlorine Sodium was like a depiction of the gods in this world: mysterious, majestic, and seemingly holding a dismissive disdain for everything.

Yet, when manipulating people's hearts, she would display a false facade to deceive mortals.

Although Koschei did not know her motives, he didn't care about them.

Having a goal and striving for it is the embodiment of meaning. This is good and aligns with his aesthetics.

However, her actions gave Koschei a new idea.

He needed a puppet, an heir of his own. But this matter had been delayed because "Koschei" had no offspring.

Because he was merely a curse, anyone could be Koschei.

He had spent many years searching for a suitable candidate, but he had never found one.

Finding such a perfect person is indeed difficult.

This legend passed down through the land was indeed true.

But he could not see through his nameless "friend."

However, this new idea was very helpful to him.

Why not find an heir himself?

Or rather, since he couldn't find a ready-made one, he would create one himself.

Koschei didn't like the bleakness of tragedy. Those shambling corpses who merely lived to exist were just wasting society's resources. Only sufficient conflict could drive social development, propel civilization forward, and inspire people to create rich stories.

Just like in novels and legends, conflict was the essence of every story, and people were no different.

Therefore, by imbuing the found blank slate with the colors of conflict and tragedy, she could naturally drive all of this forward.

This was wonderful, perfect!

Originally, what was needed was a grand plan, a plan for the "Infected to rise," and this "rise" naturally required a leader.

He had been searching for the right candidate to be this puppet leader.

But he had been struggling to find anyone, until now, when he had a new idea.

Since he couldn't find one, he would create a Chosen One himself.

Someone burdened by a fate bestowed by tragedy.

Immensely perfect.

"The self-devouring of ants is utterly boring. I only hope that after causing me trouble, you can give me what I desire."

The silver-haired girl merely gazed down at the burning land with her golden eyes for a moment before losing interest.

She detested conflict and intense stimulation, naturally having no interest in such scenes.

Of course, Koschei's words were just preamble to start the conversation.

"Although it's boring, it's efficient. Here is what you wanted, it's all on here. Please do make this fire burn even more fiercely."

It was a classified report. Koschei's influence was deeply rooted within the Empire, making such confidential information easily obtainable, especially since he knew all the noble commanders of the various Army Groups.

On it was a deployment map of Ursus, with several important mine sites and their corresponding garrisons thoughtfully circled in red.