Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Xia Yu blinked.

Oh, by the way, this usually shy lion scorpion seems to be an assassin.

How should I put it...? The contrast is cute?

As for this punk thug in front of us?

Well, if he gets treatment in time, he probably won't die, provided that he gets treatment in time.

Xia Yu used her magic to locate the lion scorpion.

Right next to him, someone was wiping a dagger with a look of disgust on their face.

Mmm, so cute!

The screams of the guy in front were a bit of a downer.

Xia Yu turned her head and kicked him, sending several yellowed front teeth flying out of the punk thug's mouth.

I hate your mouth.

As he spoke, he took out a tissue and checked the blood on the toe of his shoe.

Then, he casually stepped over the body of the thug who was covering his mouth and dared not make a sound, and walked towards the tavern in front of him.

"..."

"That's really ruthless..."

"Tsk tsk tsk, these teeth are ruined."

Several people dressed in punk style came out and shook their heads in front of the thugs.

"Take him away and find a doctor to treat him. He's risked his life for us, after all. We can't let our brothers down."

As soon as he finished speaking, several people silently carried the injured thug away.

"He dared to hurt people as soon as he entered the city; he's probably not someone to be trifled with."

"Don't rush, let's take another look and find out where it came from first."

"How about we just let this deal go? I have a feeling that people who dare to cross the wilderness with one other person are not to be trifled with."

"A thousand pieces of pure gold... such a big order... we should give it a try, shouldn't we?"

People die for wealth, birds die for food; this has been true throughout history.

Eighty-nine culprits

"A thousand pieces of pure gold..."

Xia Yu grinned. "So I'm worth that much?"

He sat on a chair by the bar counter, casually pulled a glass of juice from thin air, and handed it to the manticore beside him.

"Who exactly has the resources to make such a large-scale operation?"

Several bandit leaders knelt before him, trembling with fear.

The usually bustling tavern was now empty except for a few people and the corpses scattered all over the ground.

It was too fast. Before they could even start testing the waters in their own way, only a few of them remained alive in the gang.

This person in front of them is not playing by the rules. They haven't even decided whether to make a move yet, and they are even planning to test his background first.

To secure this deal, the entire staff of the tavern today, from the customers to the owner, has been replaced by members of his own gang.

For this small amount, the gang was willing to owe the ship's owner a huge favor.

As a result, everything was ruined.

"I'm really curious about him, can you satisfy my curiosity?"

Can we say no?

Obviously not.

Simon glanced at the dozens of corpses around him out of the corner of his eye, then humbly prostrated himself.

This time, we've really hit a brick wall.

"If I tell you, you'll let me go..."

"Your Excellency, this is a mission issued by General Alexei through the black market... Whoever can bring you to him will be treated favorably on the sea routes under his control."

Simon did not try to use sweet words to save his life like his companions, because he knew that would be a path to death.

The person in front of them didn't care about their lives at all; all he needed was information.

And now, there are five people, including himself, crawling in front of him.

There will always be someone who will tell him everything without any conditions.

After a simple act of making an example of someone.

Because these five people have never been a unified group. Although they are in the same gang, there are factions, and only the leader can always subdue the others.

And this 'highly respected' leader is now lying with those low-life thugs.

Simon considers himself a pragmatic person, and now he naturally has to make a pragmatic choice as well.

He didn't want to die here with the leader.

"We were simply able to get close to you because of our proximity."

Simon dared not raise his head and continued to prostrate himself on the ground, saying humbly, "General Alexei is a nobleman of Ursus. His father is a powerful count, and their family's fiefdom is just across the waterway."

"And General Alexei, as the Earl's favorite son, commands a noble army. Near this earldom, no one dares to disobey his orders."

“Simon, you…”

One of the leaders glared at Simon, not because he had leaked information, but because he had talked too much.

You've told us everything, so what are we supposed to do?

But the next second, the lion scorpion's dagger pierced his heart.

Xia Yu watched all of this in silence.

Scorpion did what he wanted to do. As for intelligence, all he needed was someone who was pragmatic enough, and that person's life was the reward for Simon, who was pragmatic enough.

Yes, it's not a threat, it's a reward.

You must consider this a reward.

Of course, it's also about 'motivation'.

But he did not intend to let the lion scorpion do the work.

Even before this, Xia Yu had planned to personally deal with the thug who came to test the waters.

But almost the instant he reveals his intentions, the Manticore will diligently handle everything.

Xia Yu looked at Lion Scorpion.

Facing his gaze, the lion scorpion, who was wiping the blood off his dagger, tilted his head.

So cute!

But not this one.

It's just murder. Besides, these scumbags in front of us, what kind of good people can someone who takes on human trafficking jobs be?

Although this was just wishful thinking on his part, it would be better for a girl as innocent as Lion Scorpion to have her hands less stained with blood.

Although the lion scorpion may have killed countless people.

She's an assassin.

Xia Yu also knew that her preconceived notions were not quite suitable for this world.

After all, even a fourteen-year-old like Amiya wouldn't hesitate to fight against thugs in the wilderness.

But, alas...

This terrible world.

Simon gritted his teeth at the sound of his companion's lifeless body falling.

For some reason, he sensed that the important person in front of him suddenly became very upset.

The oppressive air pressure made it hard for the people in the tavern to breathe.

He knew that now was the time to demonstrate his value.

We must fight for our lives.

“We, the Tiger Claw Gang, won’t be the last to cause trouble for the adults. There are too many people trying to curry favor with General Alexei.”

"And then?" Xia Yu withdrew her gaze from the lion scorpion and asked casually, "What price are you willing to pay for your life?"

“We can help you contact General Alexei,” Simon said eagerly. “It’s because we have connections in the military that we were able to get the news so quickly and be the first to appear before you.”

"The Tiger Claw Gang has channels to contact him. I don't know what misunderstanding exists between you and the General, but a person of your stature is certainly capable of resolving misunderstandings."

"But the longer it drags on, the more flies will bother you. You certainly won't be afraid of them, but it's still a nuisance, isn't it?"