Arknights' Lock of Heaven

-

"Where are the two of them?" Ifrit had finally run back from Croissant's place, only to find Skadi all alone in front of her stall.

Upon hearing this, Skadi blinked, somewhat hesitant.

The main problem is that she doesn't know where the two of them went.

"I went to fight," was the only answer she could give in the end.

"Aaaaah! They didn't even call me when they were fighting!" Ifrit exploded upon hearing this. "Especially that lady! She can forget about ever eating my roasted sandworm legs again."

Hearing this, Skadi looked at the barbecue grill and rubbed her stomach.

To be honest, she hasn't eaten yet.

All the time was spent waiting for Xia Yu to come back.

I have no appetite at all.

But now... haha.

I am indeed a bit hungry.

"Want one?" Ifrit's eyes lit up when she saw this. "Grilled sandworm legs, they're super delicious!"

Hearing this, Skadi nodded silently.

Ifrit happily went to have a barbecue.

Children's anger comes and goes quickly.

Just as she was enthusiastically roasting sandworm legs, a slightly disheveled Surtr and a relaxed Xia Yu appeared from the void.

"Big sister, you lost!" Upon seeing this, Ifrit burst into laughter. "It hasn't been that long, and you've already lost."

She said smugly, "Looks like it's nothing special."

Hearing this, Surtr glanced at her, too lazy to say anything, and plopped down next to Skadi, weakly supporting Leivadin.

Is this guy even human? Throwing out weapons of that caliber like they're free and hitting himself with them... What a nouveau riche!

Surtr finally understood what he meant by "let's dance"...

It means I'm attacking you, and you're dancing on the edge of a knife.

She wasn't known for her physical strength to begin with, and she was quickly defeated. This guy could fly... she couldn't reach him no matter what she tried...

Is this some kind of twisted thing?!

“You’re quite capable,” Ifrit laughed heartily at this, first handing Skadi a few strings of sandworm legs, then setting aside a string for Xia Yu.

"This is your reward!"

"Oh, there's a reward too," Xia Yu smiled slightly, "Then I'll gladly accept it."

"By the way, what exactly is your relationship with Himer?" After Xia Yu took the sandworm leg, Ifrit asked expectantly, "Why do I always see you two when I go to see her..."

"Just colleagues," Xia Yu said, shrugging. "What else?"

"Then why do you smell like her?" Ifrit asked, her face full of confusion.

"...You don't actually believe that, do you?" Xia Yu chuckled, "So you'll behave yourself because I smell like her..."

"This is fake?" Ifrit's eyes widened instantly upon hearing this.

“Of course,” Xia Yu shrugged. “No normal person would believe that, right? It’s been several days, how could I still smell her?”

"Besides, I shower every day!"

"I...of course I didn't believe it!" Upon hearing this, Ifrit stubbornly retorted, "How could I possibly believe it?"

"I was just... just trying to get information out of you!"

Ifrit suddenly had a bright idea. "See? You admit it, you were lying!"

"Then why don't you get angry when I get close to you?"

“Oh my, Ifrit is indeed clever and quick-witted,” Xia Yu said with a smile. “My little tricks can’t fool you at all. You just set a trap for me and I confessed on my own.”

“Of course, I’m very clever!” Ifrit said, hands on her hips.

“So, you clever Ifrit,” Xia Yu continued with a smile, “can you figure out why you don’t want to get angry when I’m near you?”

“This…this…” Ifrit stammered when she heard this.

Skadi and Surtr just watched quietly as he played with the child.

"It's because...it's because...because..."

Ifrit stammered and couldn't say anything.

"Of course it's because I've cultivated the Ice Heart Technique!" Xia Yu said seriously, "No one can get angry around me!"

"Ice Heart Technique? What's that?" Ifrit asked eagerly, her eyes full of curiosity.

“This… was given to me by my good brother Nie Feng,” he said while eating a sandworm leg. “Let me tell you, this Nie Feng is no ordinary person. He is the adopted son of Xiong Ba, the leader of the Yan Kingdom’s World Association. As the saying goes, a golden carp is no ordinary fish; once it encounters wind and clouds, it transforms into a dragon…”

"Oh, oh, oh..." Upon hearing this, Ifrit's eyes lit up, and she obediently sat next to Xia Yu to listen to his story.

Right beside them, Surtr, exhausted from a great battle, sat down next to Skadi and leaned against her.

Skadi froze upon seeing this.

Then he quietly started eating the grilled sandworm leg in his hand.

Under the twin moons of Terra, the crowds on the cool beach gradually dispersed as night fell, leaving only the glowing campfire, Ifrit's excited shouts, and Skadi and Surtr huddled together in silence.

"..."

"And then? And then?" Ifrit asked excitedly. "Keep going!"

"What happened on the wedding day? What about the last two sentences of the approval document?"

"To find out what happens next," Xia Yu said, using her palm instead of her eyes and her thigh instead of a table, with a loud thud, "stay tuned for the next installment!"

"What do you mean?" Ifrit looked completely bewildered. She was too young to understand.

“That means,” Croissant, who had packed up her stall early, sighed, “that’s all for tonight.”

"Come back tomorrow if you want to hear the story."

"Huh?" Ifrit was stunned when she heard this. "Isn't it still very early?"

Pointing at the pitch-black night, she blatantly lied, "What do you mean, 'That's it'?"

"This is just the crucial moment!"

"It's getting late, it's eleven o'clock!" Croissant emphasized upon hearing this, "But stopping at the crucial moment is indeed..."

Faced with Ifrit's pleading, Xia Yu dismissed her with a single gesture.

He took out his communicator, opened Himer's contact information, and placed it in front of Ifrit.

She immediately chickened out.

326 The Dark Past

There was nothing she could do; the fearless Ifrit was afraid of displeasing Himeru.

Faced with Xia Yu's special skill of telling her parents, she could only pout and obediently go with Croissant.

Seeing this, Xia Yu nodded in satisfaction, then looked back.

Skadi had already picked up the sleeping Surtr and was looking at herself.

Surtr's use of Levadin is very costly. Although it is invincible in normal battles, it is not without its price.

She was exhausted both physically and mentally after fighting with Xia Yu.

"Let's go back too..."

-

While she was destined to sleep soundly that night, some people were unable to sleep.

"Amiya... that's enough..." the Doctor said weakly, "I'm almost drained by you."

"Let me rest."

“Okay,” Amiya said, reluctantly turning her gaze away from the Doctor.

"I never imagined those words were so profound..." She recounted her gains, then exclaimed, "Doctor, you're amazing too, you were able to analyze so much in such a short time."

“No, I think my view is still too shallow,” the doctor said with a quick turn of his head, snapping out of his previous exhausted state. “It would be better to go to Xia Yu and have him teach us this kind of thing.”

“After all, I’m just stating my opinion, and it’s easy for my own thoughts to lead to bias,” she said, grabbing Amiya’s shoulder. “Just like translation, when translating a Letanian book into Victorian, there will inevitably be some subjective thoughts mixed in with it.”

She said sternly, "So I can only explain these basic terms to you, and I can't even guarantee their accuracy..."

At this point, she finally revealed her true colors, "You still need to study hard with Xia Yu in the future... even if it's something I explained today, you should ask her again."

“Such profound knowledge, it would be terrible if I made a mistake somewhere,” she said with a bright smile. “Don’t you agree, Amiya?”

“I trust the Doctor,” Amiya straightened up upon hearing this. “I also have my own judgment, and I don’t think the Doctor’s explanation is too wrong.”

Upon hearing this, the doctor silently rolled his eyes.