Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“Tell me in detail about your interactions with this Mrs. John over the past few days,” the doctor said, pulling out a chair from the base and sitting down, his eyes narrowed.

“That day,” Huang hurriedly recalled upon hearing this.

"I remember……"

“Miss Gavial, are you really not going to reconsider?” John’s mother’s business representative pleaded with Gavial, “In Columbia, you’ll hardly find a more suitable partner than John’s mother. We can offer very favorable terms for Rhodes Island’s drug sales.”

"Thank you for your kindness, but..."

In this situation, Gavial, unlike his usual carefree self, responded appropriately: "The purpose of our trip is limited to technical exchange. Rhodes Island currently has no plans for deeper business cooperation."

"Moreover, the mineral disease inhibitors we brought are still in the experimental stage. They only have technical verification significance and are not finished products."

"The research process for treating OriginStone disease is complex and lengthy, and we will have many more opportunities to collaborate in this area in the future."

Hearing this, John's mother's business manager narrowed her eyes and said, "You're right, you're right. We'll have many more opportunities to cooperate in the future, hahaha."

"..."

"Gavial, why refuse to cooperate with them?" Upon hearing this, the Doctor looked at Gavial.

"Because this Mrs. John's company isn't a legitimate pharmaceutical company at all!"

Gavial, upon hearing this, complained, "Forget about their past business scope, they can't even offer a few production lines... They've got quite the appetite, wanting our technology patents, complete formulas, sufficient autonomy, and they even want (TM) production lines..."

"With all these things, we can start our own company. Why would we need to cooperate with others?"

"If you ask me, these people are just here to get something for nothing. They have no intention of cooperating at all. Look, I just rejected them, and I was attacked as soon as I turned around."

Gavial gripped his staff and sneered, "Judging from the reaction of the Tecalendo municipal government, they were prepared all along."

“We were labeled as terrorists this morning,” Huang shook his head and helplessly turned on the radio, saying, “Listen to this broadcast.”

The armed conflict in northern Tecalendo has gradually subsided. Police found numerous signs of crossbow use at the scene, but no suspects have been apprehended.

Ticalando police have announced that one of the parties involved in the conflict were members of the foreign company "Rhode Island," but this station does not yet have specific details about the organization...

Sources indicate that the foreign company has some business conflicts with local companies, but a spokesperson for the relevant local company declined to comment.

Police believe this may be a terrorist attack targeting Ticalendo, and further details regarding the armed conflict are still under investigation.

“Listen to this, it’s obvious they were prepared all along. How long did it take from when we refused to when the attack happened?” Huang said angrily. “They were just waiting for us to walk right in.”

“From the city hall to the police station, they’re all their people.”

"They never intended to have a serious business discussion!"

“It seems your judgment is largely correct,” the doctor nodded upon hearing this. “Indeed, this company called Mrs. John has a lot of problems.”

"But what I'm curious about now is, how come a company like this, which hasn't even undergone a background check, is on Rhodes Island's list of partners?"

Huang said with a frown.

"Well... we'll have to wait until we get back to talk about it," the doctor said helplessly, spreading his hands. "While it's still early and the wanted notice hasn't reached this area yet, let's go and gather some information."

"I need to get to know this Mrs. John better."

“Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated,” Amiya nodded upon hearing this. “Then we should…”

“Oh, this,” Huang said, pointing to the distance of the safe house. “Yesterday when I went out to scout, I met a merchant. How should I put it, he seemed to know a lot.”

“We can try our luck there. If all else fails, there’s the Pioneer Town over there, we can try our luck there too.”

"Then what are we waiting for?" The doctor slapped his thigh upon hearing this. "Let's go!"

-

“Mother John,” the merchant who called himself Cannot looked at the doctor with great interest, “you want to know about this company?”

“Yes,” the doctor smiled and narrowed his eyes as he said, “We had a little ‘friction’ not long ago, so we need to find out what happened.”

“Ha, then you’ve come to the right person,” Cannot laughed. “Sit down and tell me, the story is a bit long.”

Upon hearing this, the Doctor, Amiya, and Huang all sat down.

"Here, would you like some drinks?" Kannot handed over two bottles of beer, one to the Doctor and one to Huang. "These are local specialties from a small workshop. Try them."

"Well, I'm sorry, little one, I don't have any juice here, so I can only offer you plain water."

“Oh, it’s alright,” Amiya quickly took the water glass he handed her.

"This is... beer?" The doctor picked up the glass and looked at the clear liquid inside.

"Yes, it's said that the owner of this small winery is an infected person. You wouldn't believe it, would you? Even among the pioneers in Colombia, very few people could achieve this."

Cannot said with a smile, "It's because of this story that his beer sells very well. After all, many times people aren't drinking beer, they're drinking a legendary story."

"You know, there aren't many infected who can stand out in the pioneering and obtain stable land and business. After all, it's Colombia, and those who know, know. Very few people actually realize their pioneering dream, but there are too many people who go down this path."

"Those who can stand out from the crowd will indeed be sought after."

“That’s certainly legendary,” the doctor said, raising an eyebrow before casually setting down the bottle. “However, now is not the time to celebrate.”

"We're in a very urgent situation!"

342 The Truth

Seeing this, Amiya naturally held the water cup in front of her with both hands, pretending to listen attentively.

Huang tapped the bottle lightly and casually, looking out of the camp.

Cannot chuckled softly upon seeing this, but did not point it out.

Actually, this is quite normal. People who casually drink whatever others offer them when they're out and about... usually don't live long.

Police believe this may be a terrorist attack targeting Ticalendo, and further details regarding the armed conflict are still under investigation...

The broadcast from Ticalendo TV came over the loudspeaker, and he chuckled, "It sounds like your people have successfully evacuated. That's good."

Upon hearing this, the doctor shrugged and made no reply.

It's all obvious. When John's mother was targeting Rhodes Island, she came to them herself, saying she had some conflicts with them. It's hard to imagine any other explanation.

“We are the victims, and now we are the ones being investigated by the police,” the doctor said, shaking his head. “In terms of the style of conspiracy, this place is quite similar to Kazimierz, only a bit more direct than Kazimierz.”

“Ha, this is standard practice in Colombia. These guys are quick and clean up their mess beforehand,” Cannot said, as if to say, “Don’t even think about it, friend.”

"It's too late to dwell on this kind of issue now. Just be more careful next time."

"You mean, we should just swallow this bitter pill?" The doctor crossed his arms in front of him.

“Even a mighty dragon can’t suppress a local snake,” Kannot shrugged, then looked at the three from Rhodes Island, “Besides, you don’t look like a mighty dragon either.”

"What other choice do we have but to accept this loss?"

What other choice do we have? Upon hearing this, the doctor instinctively suggested that Xia Yu should handle it.

His words will surely lead to a very satisfying outcome.

Then she and Amiya exchanged a glance, both realizing what the other was thinking.

This is not good, not good...

The professor silently reminded himself that others had their own things to do and couldn't possibly ask him to help with every little problem.

Regardless of whether he's willing or not, the impact and consequences of doing this are enough for Kal'tsit to give him a good scolding when she gets back.

It's impossible to do it.

But Kannot had seen their expressions just now.

The man, who called himself a merchant, looked at the doctor with great interest.

Wow, that's incredible. I never thought they actually had the guts to flip the table.

Instead of calming things down after hearing his own advice, he wanted to get back at the other party...

And he also seemed quite confident.

This is extraordinary; I underestimated it.

It has to be said that everything Xia Yu did in Kazimierz had an impact on the perceptions of the people on Rhodes Island. In the past, the Doctor always launched a counterattack from a weak position when faced with such a situation. Although he won many times, he still had to take many consequences into consideration.

But now, given the weakness of farts, how can they just openly crush anyone and try to pull off some kind of comeback? Even if you're just playing around, once or twice is enough. Don't you get tired of doing it every time?

Of course, the doctor didn't come here to learn about these things; she wanted to understand the history of John's mother's company to see if she could figure out the ins and outs of this matter.

"Before that, Mr. Know-It-All, can you explain to me why they went to such lengths?" The doctor squinted at Kannot before him. "After all that hard work and stirring up trouble, we didn't manage to steal much of our most important product, the Oripathy Inhibitor. Instead, we stole a batch of semi-finished analgesic samples..."

"What is the point of this?"

“Alright…it seems you’re determined not to give up,” Cannot shrugged. “Then I’ll tell you everything I know.”

"Are you familiar with Colombian businesses, my friend? How much have you dealt with them before?"

“Some tech companies in Rhode Island and Columbia have simple business dealings,” Amiya quickly explained upon hearing this.

“Oh, ‘simple business dealings’—that’s probably a respectable thing,” Cannot chuckled. “But, my friend, unseemly things are rarely made public.”

"Come on, I'll take you somewhere to see something fun."

After saying that, he took the lead and stood up from the chair, heading towards the pioneer camp outside the house.

Upon seeing this, the doctor followed without hesitation.

“Wait, Doctor,” Huang stopped the Doctor before they had gone far. “...There seems to be a mark of Mrs. John on the house over there.”