Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Upon hearing this, Skadi gave her a strange look.

Feeling her gaze, the Earth Spirit shrugged. "After all, I'm just a messenger of natural disasters; I can't do the work of a commander."

Then Skadi nodded in agreement.

indeed.

However, Di Ling is still quite something; the first half is probably pretty much the same, but it's the second half that's the problem.

Skadi felt that she didn't know Xia Yu well enough.

Sneak away?

No, how is it possible...

Although Skadi didn't know any specific plan, or rather, the so-called plan didn't exist at all, there was one thing she was certain of.

Xia Yu isn't the type to suffer a loss; let him slip away?

Ha ha.

I remember Xia Yu saying something to himself in the Great Knight Territory: "A single punch can prevent a hundred more."

Skadi wholeheartedly agreed with this.

The Orville's eastward journey may seem fraught with danger to others, but with Xia Yu here... those in the know have no worries.

In Skadi's view, Xia Yu's constant looking at maps these past two days was less about planning an escape or sneaking away, and more about wanting to find a more significant enemy to take down.

Meanwhile, the Sixth Army of Ursus was stationed in Cheprini.

If we kill the chicken to scare the monkey, won't that chicken come along?

The problem is that the Sixth Army is stationed in the city of Chepulini. Xia Yu can certainly kill them, Skadi, who has experienced the Great Knights, has no doubt about it, but it will inevitably involve innocent civilians.

So in Skadi's plan, the first half is pretty much the same as the Earth Spirits, except that if she sneaks away at the end, she will definitely be 'discovered'.

The Sixth Army pursued them, and then... well, you know what I mean.

What's this called again? Oh, luring the snake out of its hole.

Perfect, Miss Skadi sorted out the logic in her mind, and then secretly felt smug for two seconds.

But she wouldn't say it.

Seeing Skadi suddenly curl the corners of her mouth into a smile, looking quite happy, the Earth Spirit and Eyjafjalla exchanged bewildered glances.

Perhaps she had thought of something happy, for the two exchanged a glance and reached a consensus.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," just then, the servant opened the door and poked his head out with a stiff expression, "My master is unwell and cannot receive guests."

Then the door slammed shut.

"Tsk, they didn't even put on an act," Di Ling shook his head.

“So what should we do next…” Eyjafjalla turned to look at her.

"What's next?" Di Ling glanced at the villa's window, a heavy expression on his face. "Keep pretending to be a headless fly, looking for opportunities everywhere in Cheprini, just to buy time."

"Coincidentally, didn't Mr. Archimonde give us a business card? He said we could go to him if we needed anything."

"Now is the time."

-

"They left?"

Inside the villa, a young man with a gloomy expression looked at the 'servant' who was peeking out through a crack in the curtains and asked a question.

“Yes, Mr. Igor, they left, and they seemed quite unwilling,” the servant replied casually. “By the way, do you know them?”

“I only know one, that pink-haired girl, who is a very famous scholar in Letania,” Igor sighed, “the kind that receives a lot of attention.”

“Oh, so it seems it’s not fake,” the servant turned to Igor. “The mayor is very pleased with your performance, Mr. Igor, but don’t forget, he’s been keeping an eye on you, and of course, your mother as well.”

Upon hearing this, Igor clenched his fists, and then, under the watchful eyes of his servants, gradually lost his strength, slumping back onto the soft, luxurious sofa.

"I see."

355 Reunion

Is that your home over there?

On the streets of Ciprini, Victor gazed westward into the distance, lost in thought. Anton, noticing this, asked him softly.

"No... how did you know?" Hearing this, Victor was shocked. There was nothing he could do; his family... was one of the few things he still cared about in this world.

“Your eyes,” Anton said with a smile, pointing to his own eyes, “are far too easy to understand.”

"I see," Victor said, relaxing upon hearing this.

“Three hundred meters to the east is the school where I used to work,” he said with a complicated expression. “I worked there for twenty years. My friend, my whole life was there.”

"And my home is two hundred meters to the west of this street."

At this point, his voice trembled slightly, "My wife and I were classmates. We met and fell in love in college, and then got together after graduation."

"She is so gentle and kind. To take care of our elderly parents and young daughter, she quit her job six years ago to become a full-time housewife."

“I’ve always been proud of them, and then, two years ago, I got infected.”

"Should we go back and take a look?" Anton suddenly asked upon hearing this. "Although there isn't much time, it shouldn't be a matter of a few tens of minutes."

"No...no...no need, I'm too ashamed to go back and see them."

Victor leaned against a streetlamp, looking dejected, his hands covering his face, muttering to himself, "The people in the village respect me. They all say I'm a good man, and that I can help them survive."

"But to my family... I am a bad son, a bad husband, and a bad father."

“When my parents were in their old age, I couldn’t take care of them and let them enjoy their later years. When my wife needed support the most, I left her side. When my daughter needed companionship the most, I couldn’t be there for her…”

"Just because of a single Originium, just because I got infected, haha."

“Really, we don’t need this much time,” Anton sighed, looking at his self-destructive state. “As someone who’s been through this, I advise you to go back and see your family.”

"After all, the future is too much of a luxury for us... Let's cherish the present as much as possible."

“I have no face,” Victor’s voice was tinged with a sob. “A year ago… I came back and saw her from afar.”

"My quiet wife is now a saleswoman. She, who never used to lift a finger, has learned to haggle with people in the market. She doesn't like to haggle over small things, but she won't argue with people over a few cents. This gentle and refined woman went straight for the bully when her daughter was being bullied, grabbing a stick and confronting him..."

“In the past, I could never have imagined her like this now. It’s all my fault! My fault!”

“Everyone says I’m a good person, always willing to help others in any situation… but when I fled the city in such a sorry state, I couldn’t even leave my family enough savings to live on…”

"That day, when I saw my wife, who was no longer the gentle woman I remembered, but instead a shrew arguing with people over a few loaves of bread, and when I saw my well-behaved and lovely daughter, who was still in school but had to help her mother set up a stall, I ran away."

“I ran away in shame,” Victor muttered to himself. “I have no face to see them.”

“They should have had a better life; I ruined everything…”

Upon hearing this, Anton opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

In the end, all I could do was sigh.

This world...

Just as the two remained silent, a hesitant voice suddenly rang out from behind them.

"Professor Victor?"

Victor instinctively turned his head and saw a young man dressed as a teacher, pushing a bicycle, standing hesitantly behind him.

"You...you are Teacher Victor, right?"

Victor recognized the man instantly.

Ah, Kress, that rascal, I didn't expect him to actually amount to something after all these years. Back then, I tried to persuade him again and again, trying to pull him back to the right path, and it seems I really succeeded.

Victor suddenly felt a sense of relief, but kept denying it, "No, no, you've mistaken me for someone else, my name isn't Victor."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." the young man replied hesitantly, but his eyes continued to scan him.

"Excuse me, but your back view really looks just like my old teacher."

It's so similar, so incredibly similar. The eyebrows, the eyes, the figure... it's just too similar.

But…Professor Victor, how could this be… The person in front of him had a hunched back, while in his memory, Professor Victor always had an upright back. Professor Victor always dressed himself up meticulously, but this person was covered in the marks of time, with specks of dirt splattered on his trousers. Professor Victor always looked at people at eye level, but this person kept his head down, avoiding his gaze…

All signs pointed to him as just an ordinary farmer from Ursus.

Kress could find countless differences between the two, but the more he looked at this man, the more indescribable a feeling arose in his heart.

This person is Teacher Victor!

"Sir, may I know your name?" Kress asked hesitantly.

“I…I’m Anton, sir,” Victor said, bowing his head and looking uneasy.

"Ah, sir, he called me sir," Kress paused, taken aback.

Teacher Victor... probably... wouldn't...

Meanwhile, Anton watched this unexpected encounter with great interest.

“You just called him Victor,” Anton smiled gently. “What a coincidence. Actually, I’m also called Victor, but I’m probably not the one you’re looking for.”