Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Compared to Skadi, whom he knew through memories from his past life, Kal'tsit clearly understood her better.

She wouldn't refuse even if it were for the Ghost Shark.

"As for the mission," Xia Yu shrugged, "actually, I'm the same as you, I didn't accept any missions either."

"I was just curious about Kazimierz. The renowned Knights Tournament of Terra is about to begin, and I wanted to join in the fun, so I just stopped by to find you."

He would never admit that he came specifically for Skadi.

“I see,” Skadi frowned upon hearing this.

Her original plan was to quickly resolve the matter and return directly to Rhodes Island.

Firstly, she was worried about leaving Xia Yu, Ghost Shark's hope, outside; secondly, she wanted to go back and check on Ghost Shark's current situation.

But if Xia Yu is here for the knight competition, then it will take quite a while.

After learning about Specter's current situation, he obviously couldn't leave him behind and return to Rhodes Island alone.

What if something happens?

Even now, Skadi still can't understand why Kal'tsit would let Xia Yu cross the wilderness alone instead of equipping him with an entire elite squad.

She admitted that Xia Yu was indeed a good fighter, but was it a question of whether she could actually fight?

To reiterate, can someone with strategic value be compared to these readily available combat personnel?

Unless the person in front of you is strong enough to be fearless of any threat in the wilderness.

But the possibility is too small. Even Skadi herself wouldn't dare to guarantee that she could ignore all the threats in the wilderness.

There are many strange and wonderful things in this world.

"Oh, right," Xia Yu said again while she was deep in thought, "I also received a request from Operator Nearl to deliver a few letters for her."

Hearing this, Skadi sighed helplessly.

Fine.

It seems I can only follow him around like a servant.

Skadi gritted her teeth and thought, "No rush, the Knights' Tournament will only last a few months."

No need to rush...

"Where are they being sent?" she asked, taking a deep breath. "If I'm not in a hurry, I need to pick up something else here."

"Something Kal'tsit needs, and soon, that thing is inside the cave."

“That’s a coincidence,” Xia Yu clapped her hands upon hearing this, “The recipient of one of the letters I’m sending is also in the cave.”

"Is it that Kuranta?" Skadi blinked, immediately realizing who it was.

“Yes, it’s her, Operator Grani,” Xia Yu nodded. “I was so worried when I saw the two of you fighting.”

"Luckily, I made it in time."

Upon hearing this, Skadi opened her mouth as if to explain to the future captain why she had acted, but she couldn't say anything.

After all, sigh...

"Let's not delay, let's go in and find her now."

After saying that, Xia Yu walked past Skadi and headed into the cave.

The latter followed closely behind him, watching his back with a complicated expression.

Skadi, who had kept her heart closed off for so long, only realized when the time came that she simply didn't know how to interact with people properly.

I want to explain my behavior, since hitting a colleague is not a good thing, but I don't know where to start.

Because the other party is the hope for curing Specter, it's difficult to know where to start in trying to improve the relationship between the two.

In a daze, she recalled that the first half of her life was all about wielding a sword and fighting.

Comrades who are also deep-sea hunters don't need many words. After fighting side by side for so long, a single glance is enough to convey their meaning.

When she stepped over the corpses of countless comrades, rushed to Him, and swung her sword, she thought it was all over.

Although he can never return to his hometown, he has probably escaped the shadow that accompanied him for the first half of his life.

When Skadi first set foot on land, she thought carefully about what kind of life she would lead.

But in an unexpected bloodshed, those false dreams were shattered, and the swarming sea creatures used the blood of their newly acquainted friends to declare to her that she could never escape her destiny.

Then, Skadi found Specter. In order to cure her madness and to avoid repeating the same mistakes, she chose to close herself off.

The wonderful life I had once dreamed of was buried with that bloody night.

But now, with hope right in front of her, she suddenly realized that she had been so depressed for so long that she didn't even know how to interact with people.

Even Kal'tsit, who took in Specter, always adhered to the principle of one thing for another, defining the care between the two as a transaction.

But both Skadi and Kal'tsit knew that their relationship was far more complex than a simple transaction.

Skadi is quite talkative with friends or acquaintances.

For example, when bargaining with Kal'tsit, Skadi is quite talkative.

Although their conversations always end with Kal'tsit's sharp tongue.

But when faced with Xia Yu, someone she didn't know at all, yet whose existence was very important to her, she felt helpless for the first time.

If it's just an ordinary, unrelated person, all you need to do is put on a cold face, say a few sarcastic remarks, and then act a little more brutally on the battlefield, and they will automatically stay away from you.

If they are enemies, then there's no need to say anything at all.

Just use the greatsword to finish it off.

Watching Xia Yu's retreating figure, Skadi sighed silently.

Perhaps things will get better once we get to know each other better.

Then she silently followed behind him.

The two reached the cave entrance. Xia Yu glanced back at the forest thoughtfully before going inside with Skadi.

in the forest.

A white-masked figure from the Reunion Movement gripped his weapon tightly.

Two... monsters.

I was hoping they would fight, but...

Who would have thought they were in cahoots?

Bob... Bob and the others are still inside. Those two were also after the treasure.

If this continues...

The man in white struggled in pain for a while, then slapped himself hard, left some messages on the spot, and ran towards the cave.

-

"Was there anything I did wrong in my acting?"

Big Bob stood in front of Grani, his tone helpless.

Upon hearing his words, Grani had a bellyful of complaints to vent, but before she could even open her mouth, Big Bob's teammates began to backstab her.

“I’m telling you, Bob,” a white-masked man sighed, raising his hand to pat Big Bob on the shoulder, “acting…do you have that stuff?”

"Come on, that battle back then was so fake it was almost unbearable to watch, you expect people not to notice?"

Upon hearing this, Big Bob glared angrily at his teammates beside him, "If you guys hadn't been playing so fake, how would I have been exposed?"

"Come on, this girl doesn't seem like a naive and innocent person. Maybe she's already seen through you."

"Yes, yes, she's no ordinary person; she managed to get through so many bounty hunters to bring that village chief here."

Although they kept making sarcastic remarks about Big Bob, even Grani across the street could tell it was just their usual banter.

Big Bob didn't seem angry at all; perhaps this is the friendship of these people who stick together for warmth.

Similar to a bad friend.

“We became infected a few years ago.”

Ignoring the team members' laughter, Big Bob spoke to Grani.

"We were hiding, and our peaceful life turned into a luxury overnight."

Upon hearing this, the Reunion Movement members all fell silent.

“Originally, we thought the integration movement would improve our lives, but... there is still no shop that will sell us bread, and no place that can accommodate us.”

The cave was filled with an atmosphere of sorrow.

"So my brothers and I left that place and wandered around until we heard about the treasure and came here."

"If we can seize this treasure this time, we can go to Colombia. Although it's a remote land, the infected can still have their own towns and fields there."

“I don’t know if Colombia is our promised land, but we have nowhere else to go.”

“So, Grani, for all my brothers, I will get my hands on this treasure. It’s not far away. I know you’ve done a great job, but unfortunately…”

"Korol has her own village to protect, and I have my brothers to survive. I'm sorry, Grani."