Arknights' Lock of Heaven

And then there's this famine...

And those monsters in the ocean...

If you can solve these problems and recreate the golden age of Iberia, I'll talk about becoming an emperor, or even a single god!

253 We cannot live forever relying on the kindness of others.

"After we succeed, will we be able to live comfortably in Kazimierz?"

One morning, while tending to a patient, Wildmane Knight Evona looked at the gloomy sky in the distance and casually remarked...

"..."

“Don’t lie to yourself,” Jamie said weakly from his hospital bed. “Think about what we’ve been through.”

After a period of recuperation, he was able to speak again.

It's limited to speaking; eating, drinking, and using the toilet all require care.

"Fighting beasts and comrades in the underground arena, every match leaves behind real injuries."

"The organizers want to see more bloodshed and excitement, match-fixing, and off-field conspiracies."

"What is the reason for all of this?"

"Let's look at the areas outside of Kavaleria. Where can the infected go?"

“Now we have a piece of land,” Evona said earnestly, “a small territory, supposedly a valley with a river flowing through it…”

“Yes, I know,” Jamie said, bowing his head. “I know.”

"But does that only apply to us if we're right?"

He looked around. "It's limited to the thousand or so people in the camp..."

"These are not all the infected in the Great Knight Territory, nor are they all the infected in Kazimierz."

"Only we have been saved..."

“Jamie, you…” Evona’s face was full of worry.

“I know, I know I shouldn’t think like this,” Jamie closed his eyes in anguish, “but… maybe it’s because I’ve died once, Evona, I don’t want to go to the snowfield anymore.”

“I will stay in the Great Knight’s Territory,” he murmured to himself. “I will gather the remaining infected, just as Sona gathered us. Evona, life on the snowfields… though I haven’t experienced it firsthand, it must be very difficult…”

“We need supplies, we need aid. Even Sona couldn’t possibly build a paradise with just a thousand people all at once.”

"We need supplies from the Great Knights' territory, and we need money!"

"We should be grateful when others help us, but we cannot place all our hopes on the kindness of others."

"Cough cough."

“I… am very old. You know, Evona, my child, my wife, the only two things I care about in this world are the Knights and my family.”

"They can't possibly go to the snowfield with me."

“That was a poor and backward place. It would take a lot of money to build it up.”

“But your body…” Evona clearly knew what he wanted to say.

“Listen to me, Evona,” Jamie said, looking at the infected in the ruins, who were full of hope for the future.

"The doctors at Rhodes Island are good people, willing to go to so much trouble for us abandoned people without asking for anything in return. Mr. Xia Yu is a good person, and even more so, our savior. He has shown us a bright path."

"But we can't rely on them forever. People are patient. It's already a great thing that they did such a good deed today out of compassion for those infected."

"How can we keep making them give so much?"

“You’re still young, Evona. You don’t understand that if there’s only one-sided giving between people, the relationship will break down sooner or later, cough cough.”

“I will stay in the Great Knight’s Territory, not only because of my wife and children, but also because of the Red Pine family.”

“I’ve never left this city in my life. If I go to the snowfield, I’ll probably just be lying in a hospital bed. You’ll have to spare some people to take care of me.”

"It's just a burden."

"But in the Great Knight Territory, I can still compete and earn money... even if that money can only buy a little bit of supplies, a few bags of rice, a few dozen kilograms of bread, as long as it can help you..."

“Jamie…” Evona’s expression was complicated when she heard this.

The so-called transnational trade (smuggling) plan was known only to Sona and other core members of the Hongsong Group.

After all, it's not good to publicize this kind of thing, right?

So everyone in the camp thought they were going out to clear land.

Actually, it doesn't matter much, since no one lives in that valley.

But the problem is that Hongsong will never lack funds.

The Patriots' guerrillas raided far too many mines, not only mines, but also noble caravans and even moving castles.

So they don't lack money, they lack channels to spend it.

Spending money on the snowy plains of Ursus... haha.

In the past, most of the looted money was buried on the spot for future use.

Because money is really hard to use on the snowfield, and the few opportunities you have to spend money don't buy much.

Although some of the buried money was used when the Integration Movement was established, the Integration Movement was like a gust of wind, coming and going quickly.

Overall, it didn't cost much.

As long as Hongsong can deliver the supplies to the guerrillas, the money will definitely be plentiful.

Of course, the guerrillas weren't just relying on their past achievements. With so many mines in the snowfields, they could easily recover a lot of losses by liberating one and moving some Originium ore.

Although it sounds like a risk-free business, it's not really, because the guerrillas can't just ignore the infected people who have been liberated, right?

Although the snowfield is a harsh environment, with a little effort, it's not impossible to support a person. With the addition of external aid, it's still possible to barely survive.

The problem is very real; even those who are infected are not all without ties or worries.

Like Jamie, whose wife and children are still in the Great Knights' Territory.

Some people are not very willing to go to the snowfield.

However, it's not a big problem, because even if the Red Pine Trees went to the snowfield, the Great Knights' Territory wouldn't completely abandon them.

Ultimately, we still need to keep some people.

Why keep them here?

They gathered infected individuals, procured supplies, and negotiated cooperation.

There's no shortage of things to do.

Of course, the Red Pine Knights don't have any talent in this area, since everyone here is an infected person who has been living away from home.

There is a difference between infected individuals and infected people.

The difference is that wealthy infected individuals can still live comfortably with food and clothing, and have their own private doctors for care.

Those infected without money are forced to live at the very bottom, scavenging for a living.

Therefore, the people infected with the red pine generally did not come from very good backgrounds.

It's quite normal that there isn't enough talent in this area.

However, Xia Yu was prepared.

“Leave the business negotiations to me,” Charne said with a slight smile to Sona. “I consider myself to have some experience in this area.”

"Whether it's contacting various companies or negotiating prices for bulk commodities, you can leave it to me."

"Really?" Sona remained skeptical.

The former spokesperson for this business association was brought by Xia Yu, who said it was safe to use.

But since she was still a member of the Business Federation, she still felt some... resentment.

"Then I'll leave you to my care," she said, though she still had reservations.

Because there really aren't any talented people in Hongsong Village when it comes to this...

Going to negotiate with those big companies that value money above all else... you'd probably get swindled out of everything.

Don't underestimate human greed; when faced with absolute profit, even death cannot stop them from amassing wealth.

As for Xia Yu herself, of course she didn't care.

Charne is a pragmatic person and has no prejudice against the infected. He was the one who promoted the Blood Knight and the Infected Knight.

that's enough.

Moreover, he would never dare to betray them.

Countless people are now terrified of Xia Yu's existence. If word gets out that Xia Yu betrayed him, I believe many, many people will be willing to help him resolve the trouble.

And it will continue to be the same in the future, just to earn some points in front of Xia Yu.

Ciarnay is a smart man; he knows what to choose.

It's useless to talk about ideals with these people; you have to talk about the future.