Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Upon seeing this, Tianhuo was dumbfounded. "This...this...I thought there was going to be a big battle..."

“Perhaps, this is the normal thing to do…” Eyjafjalla said thoughtfully. “The instinct of living beings is to seek advantage and avoid harm.”

"Faced with three such powerful operators, retreating is not an unthinkable option."

"After all, Pompeii is somewhat different from other places because it has survived to this age."

Seeing this, Skadi sighed.

I thought I'd have a great fight.

She put the greatsword back into its scabbard, tossed it behind her back, and turned to look at the elevated platform.

Forget it, let's go back and enjoy our vacation.

“This… is a good thing, right?” Ceylon breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this. “It’s really great that we can make it leave without fighting.”

On one hand, she was worried about the Rhodes Island operators, since they were there to help, and it would be bad if they were injured.

On the other hand... she was also worried about Pompeii; it would be really troublesome if this future hope of Siesta died here.

Of course, she knew the gravity of the situation, so all she could do was worry.

It's wonderful that this was resolved peacefully.

“We also need to set up a continuous monitoring team to prevent Pompeii from returning,” Tianhuo instructed the returning group.

“Ah, let’s leave this to Siesta,” Ceylon said hastily upon hearing this. “Rhodes Island has already helped us so much, please allow us to do our part.”

"Now, everyone, enjoy your holiday in Siesta."

Her face was beaming with a happy smile.

"Since stopping Pompeii can buy three months of time, then Siesta should be able to hold out until the Obsidian Music Festival ends in a month. After the tourists leave, the evacuation of the citizens will be easier."

"We can also run the music festival well, so that Siesta doesn't get a bad reputation."

"Thank you so much everyone!"

Faced with Ceylon's gratitude, Skyfire and Eyjafjalla guiltily looked away.

Stopping Pompeii cannot be delayed in three months at all...

Hopefully, Xia Yu's advice will be helpful.

Of course, they will not let their guard down.

318. Human nature is treacherous!

“Let us take over the monitoring station for the volcano from now on,” Tianhuo thought for a moment and still felt that they couldn’t just leave it alone.

"Although our speculations are probably correct, no one can guarantee 100% certainty, after all, our understanding of nature is still too shallow."

She quickly brought out the story she had previously discussed with Eyjafjalla.

They are scientists, and they cannot stand by and watch an entire city live under the threat of a volcano.

Even if you trust Xia Yu and the judgment of Rhodes Island's higher-ups, necessary preparations are still required.

In case something really goes wrong, we won't be helpless and have to wait in despair for the volcano to erupt.

“Ah, wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you all?” Ceylon hesitated upon hearing this. “After all, you’re here on vacation. If you spend all your time at the monitoring station…”

“No trouble at all,” Provence smiled slightly upon hearing this. “Necessary monitoring is definitely necessary. After all, after what happened with Cronin, the staff at the monitoring station can no longer be trusted.”

"And since you're unlikely to find suitable staff in the short term, why don't you let us take over temporarily?"

"Besides, we can take turns, so we won't completely waste the whole holiday."

“This… I’m so grateful for everyone’s contributions to Siesta,” Ceylon said, deeply moved. “Compared to you all… that guy Kronin… he’s simply… simply…”

The well-mannered young lady, Ceylon, was speechless for a long time, unable to utter a single swear word.

“Miss Ceylon, this is actually not a problem for me at all,” Eyjafjalla smiled and comforted her, “My main profession is volcanologist, and this kind of research environment is what I’ve always dreamed of!”

"A volcano about to erupt, rare examples of biological populations, and a well-equipped monitoring station..."

At this point, Eyjafjalla was beaming with joy; she never had such research opportunities in the past.

It's important to know that while Kronin's death was not a great loss, the equipment at Siesta's monitoring station was extremely advanced.

Mayor Hermann takes the situation at the volcano very seriously.

Siesta and Eyjafjalla are now practically a case of one willing to hit and the other willing to be hit.

A match made in heaven, a mutual journey.

Moreover, the data that can be observed here in Eyjafjalla is not ordinary data; the addition of Xia Yu makes this sample unique.

This makes it even more important not to miss this opportunity.

"Going there again, this is the opportunity I've been dreaming of!"

“Yes, yes,” Skyfire exclaimed upon hearing this, “My major is Originium Geology, and this place is also an invaluable research location for me.”

"You know, last night I contacted my university advisor via the intercity network and told him about the situation here. Now he's already applying for project approval."

"I believe that it won't be long before the mentors and junior students flock to Siesta."

"After all, this case is so typical and rare that it's easy to find something about it that could be the subject of a research paper."

"So many junior students are counting on this to graduate!"

“Me too,” Eyjafjalla said enthusiastically upon hearing this. “Many professors at my alma mater, William University, are also interested in Siesta, but Letania is too far from here… so they’ll probably arrive quite late.”

“I have many messengers here who are very… disgusted with Cronin,” Provence chimed in. “And quite a few people want to come and see, since, as Skyfire said, such cases are extremely rare.”

"As messengers of natural disasters, what we need most is this kind of insight; it is what guarantees our professionalism and competence."

"Oh, really... That's wonderful..." Upon hearing this, Ceylon was so happy that she could hardly speak. "Thank you all so much... Rhodes Island, I don't know how to repay you all."

“So let those big shots worry about these things,” Skyfire said, shrugging. “We’re just researchers. Leave these matters to the doctor and your father.”

"As for us, we should enjoy our hard-earned vacation."

-

Seven hours later.

sunset.

In the slightly chilly sea breeze, the doctor groggily opened his eyes.

Through the dark mask, she watched Xia Yu intently studying the magic array before her.

"Is it not ready yet?" Her voice was languid. "Let me see, it's already evening..."

The professor said disdainfully, "Your efficiency is terrible."

Hearing this, Xia Yu rolled her eyes at her.

"If someone hadn't been lying on top of me so shamelessly, I wouldn't have had to use magic to inscribe the magic circle."

"There would have been no need for all this trouble!"

"Oh, you didn't just leave me here?" Hearing this, the doctor said with a smile, "Looks like you're quite the gentleman."

"Ha, you?" Xia Yu retorted instinctively. "I'm afraid that if I leave you here, I won't be able to find you after I finish drawing the magic circle."

"With your weakling appearance... it's actually quite possible. How am I going to explain this to Amiya then?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, the doctor fell silent.

Xia Yu remained silent.

a long time.

“It’s boring,” the doctor muttered, looking down. “Don’t you think this is pretty boring?”

“Yes,” Xia Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, and after thinking for a moment, she nodded in agreement, “It’s quite childish.”

"Especially when you try to impress me by coming to me every morning to show off and then go back to work overtime like crazy at night, it's so childish."

"What? You know all this?" The Doctor sighed upon hearing this. "Amiya is no longer my sweet little angel. She tells everyone everything!"

"Huh? You don't want it anymore?" Xia Yu laughed upon hearing this. "Then I won't be polite. Amiya is so cute!"

"Get lost," the Doctor chuckled upon hearing this. "You think you can take Amiya from me? Do you think you can?"

"But there's one thing I really agree with: Amiya is super cute!"

"You know what, especially when she's working seriously, she looks so mature and composed, it's really..."

"It makes you want to pick her up and squeeze her face hard!"

"..."

“It’s pointless,” the doctor muttered again, as if he had suddenly realized something after a good night’s sleep. “Do you really think it’s meaningful for us to scheme against each other like this?”

Why can't we live more open-mindedly and frankly?

These words were not spoken to Xia Yu, but to herself.

“Then… let’s be more frank from now on,” Xia Yu said, spreading her hands nonchalantly. “Anyway, I’d be happy to.”