Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"After all, that huge amount of data needs someone to guarantee its authenticity, so I think you'd be a good fit."

"Isn't data-related stuff handled by an expert like Eyjafjalla?" The Doctor looked at Xia Yu upon hearing this, thinking, "You little rascal, are you trying to trick me?"

No wonder you came to find me as soon as you got back to Siesta.

Heh, Xia Yu scoffed at her wary look.

When I was working overtime every day recently, you were the one who would bring me a cup of tea every day to show off, right?

You don't think this matter is over and done with, do you?

Don't even think about it!

Do you want to have time to go to the beach or a concert while I'm working?

Dream on!

“No, I think you’re more suitable,” Xia Yu smiled slightly. “After all, you’re a Doctor, and you’re the best representative of Rhodes Island.”

"And what if something happens to Eyjafjalla?"

Upon hearing this, the doctor's eyes widened. "You mean my safety isn't important?"

“No, I believe in your abilities, Doctor,” Xia Yu patted her shoulder kindly. “It’s too early for Eyjafjalla to face this kind of situation.”

"And you, the one who chatted and laughed with the Business Federation in Kazimierz, the one who blended in with them in just a few days, are the perfect fit..."

“Alright, I’ll go if you want,” the doctor said, his eyes darting around as he realized he couldn’t win the argument. “But for your safety, you’ll have to come with me.”

Ha, I don't believe you'll just stand by and watch the show if something really happens.

287. Mutual sabotage is just a little bit of fun between us.

Upon hearing the doctor's request, Xia Yu chuckled.

“No way,” Tianhuo said righteously before he could speak, “We still need the advisor to protect us while we go to solve the volcano problem.”

"Since the problem stems from the frenzy of organisms caused by environmental changes, and then these frenzied organisms affect the natural environment, then it's much easier to solve."

"It's much easier to deal with than a volcano that erupts due to normal crustal movement."

“Those volcanoes are impossible to stop with human intervention, but since they are influenced by biological factors, if we remove the biological factor, even if we cannot stop the eruption, we can delay it for a considerable period of time.”

"This gained time is enough for Siesta to prepare."

"This..." Upon hearing this, the doctor's expression stiffened, then he stubbornly said, "There's no rush, after all, the volcanic eruption is still more than two weeks away..."

“No, time is already very tight,” Eyjafjalla shook her head. “After all, this is not the middle of nowhere. There are still so many citizens and tourists in Siesta.”

"The biological communities that can affect the volcanic environment... are either enormous in number or contain special variants; no one can guarantee which one they are."

"We must find the cause as soon as possible and then exert influence. The volcano is so large and the caves are so complex that no one is sure that we can find the culprit that triggered the volcano in just a few hours."

Eyjafjalla's face was serious.

"The search alone might take several days, not to mention the subsequent campaign... We really don't have much time left."

Hearing this, Xia Yu turned her head and gave the doctor a smug smile.

Ah.

Upon seeing this, the Doctor gritted her teeth. She knew that the problems Eyjafjalla had mentioned... truly existed.

But are these problems still problems in the face of Xia Yu?

She knew that some things couldn't be said outright, and since Xia Yu herself wanted to play dumb, she could only suffer in silence.

"But it's dangerous over there too..."

"Rhodes Island has so many operators..." Xia Yu smiled slightly and said, "Can't I go with you?"

"If you're really worried, go find Skadi and Surtr. They can definitely help you conquer this city."

“Don’t worry,” Ceylon reassured him, “Nothing will happen. I’m not that naive. If it really was Kronin who did it, I wouldn’t expose him directly.”

"He wouldn't dare do anything to us unless things escalate into a full-blown conflict."

"After all, I am still the mayor's daughter. If anything happens, my father will definitely rush back from the new development zone."

"By then, nothing he does will make a difference."

"So he wouldn't dare let anything happen to me at this time."

Ceylon's thinking is very clear.

Her father was not an incompetent man; most of Siesta's military power was controlled by the Black Hand.

Whatever Kronin wants to do, he must be careful.

"Not this..." the doctor hesitated, then stopped.

"What's that?" Xia Yu's lips curled up at this, feigning curiosity. "The evil spirits of the Tower of Babel, aren't you scared?"

"No way, right?"

"What a joke!" Hearing this, the professor naturally couldn't back down. Although she knew it was a provocation, she still puffed out her chest and said, "What kind of big scenes haven't I seen? Would I be afraid of a mere mayor's secretary?"

Ha, a mere provocation? Do you really think I have no way to deal with this?

"Watch me single-handedly charge in and out of him seven times!"

“No, Doctor, you should take a few operators with you,” Provence said, looking at her thin arms and legs. “It’s better to be safe than sorry!”

"Ha, you're joking," the doctor sneered upon hearing this. "What can a mere Kronin do to me?"

"Alright," Xia Yu clapped her hands upon hearing this, "Doctor, you're really brave."

"Come on, I'm optimistic about you."

-

“I said,” Skyfire said, walking along the forest path and looking back in the direction of Siesta, “Is Doctor… really nothing bad will happen to her?”

"Mr. Consultant, I know you two don't get along very well, but... you're pushing her to face this kind of environment..."

Tianhuo hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Xia Yu chuckled. "Why do you think she was entrusted with such an important task as soon as she was rescued? This girl is shrewd."

"Do you believe that if she lets loose and acts recklessly, she could kill that guy named Kronin?"

"Um..." Skyfire recalled the Doctor's seemingly gentle and weak yet incredibly stubborn figure, "It shouldn't be... that exaggerated... right?"

“If you still have doubts, it means you don’t understand her,” Xia Yu said with a smile. “When she was at the height of her power, that guy named Kronin was probably still somewhere in Terra.”

“A force to be reckoned with…” Provence recalled the Doctor’s ordinary life on Rhodes Island.

He spends his days wandering around with a cup of tea, as if he really has no job at all, strolling around here and there for a glance.

"Do those four words really describe a doctor?"

"How could this be fake?" Xia Yu shrugged. "Why do you think those veteran elite operators on Rhodes Island respect her so much?"

"Since the Doctor wields so much power at Rhodes Island, why are you, Advisor, offending him like this..."

"Oh, don't worry," Xia Yu chuckled, "What's this offense? It's nothing at all."

"We have a great relationship."

“Uh,” Tianhuo pursed his lips, recalling their previous confrontational relationship, “I don’t see how they’ve gotten along.”

"Oh, it's just friends teasing each other," Xia Yu said with a smile and a wave of her hand. "It's perfectly normal."

"I don't even have time to enjoy the sun, beach, and concerts, so I certainly can't let her be idle!"

"Who told her to come and brag to me every day when I was working overtime like a dog a while ago?"

“Senior…” Eyjafjalla looked at Xia Yu with a hint of regret upon hearing this.

“This is how we communicate,” Xia Yu chuckled. “Last time she came to provoke me every day, this time I tricked her, next time she’ll definitely get her revenge.”

"It's just a matter of who has the better methods. This is just a little entertainment between us, just like how she used to come and show off to me every day."

"Even if I have to stay up all night every day to revise documents, I have to pretend to be relaxed the next day, haha."

Xia Yu said with a smile, "Her stubbornness is just tsk tsk."

"What?" Upon hearing this, Provence was stunned.

"Does a PhD student stay up all night every day grading documents?...Isn't she supposed to have plenty of free time?"

"Just to spite you, you spend all your daytime pretending to be relaxed, and then stay up all night working yourself to the bone?"

She was so shocked that her tail stood straight up.

"If that's really the case, what's the Doctor's motive?"

"What, you don't believe me?" Xia Yu glanced at them, and Provence and Tianhuo shook their heads in unison.

They couldn't understand this thought process.

"Isn't this easy to understand?" Xia Yu shrugged upon seeing this. "After finally finding such a useful tool, wouldn't Kal'tsit use it to the fullest?"

"She has a lot of tasks every day!"

"But..." Upon hearing this, the two looked at each other in silence.