Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“Old friend, I know what you’re thinking,” Alexei shook his head. “Igor, that young man, is indeed outstanding, and he is not…submitting to money and desire.”

He looked at Di Ling and the others, "Instead, they submit to power. I'm sure you've all seen that."

“Indeed,” Di Ling nodded, “Although the villa is luxurious, it’s actually just a gilded birdcage.”

“Victor, you watched him grow up too, you know how much he loves his mother, he had no choice.”

“His mother… sigh,” Victor sighed, but then a smile appeared on his face, “It’s good to know that he hasn’t changed, he’s just being coerced.”

“Then let’s not delay, let’s set off now,” Diling nodded, looking at Victor, “Mr. Victor, is your access route still usable?”

"Um, you don't need instruments to observe natural disasters?" Victor was taken aback. "You don't need to go back and bring them..."

“Ah, this,” Di Ling smiled. “Actually, there are more than just the two of us scholars on the Orville. After hearing the news of the natural disaster, we also made two preparations. We came to the city to gather information. The special advisor, who is also the commander of this operation on the Orville, has already taken the equipment and headed east.”

"What?" Upon hearing this, Alexei jumped to his feet, then, seemingly realizing his lapse in composure, quickly said, "No, this kind of confidential information shouldn't be with me..."

“It’s alright,” Earth Spirit smiled at him upon hearing this. “Mr. Alexei, you helped Victor and the Infected. You are our friend, so there’s nothing we can’t say.”

"The original plan was for us to attract attention in the city while the consultant conducted the observations alone, but now that we know so much inside information, there's no need to waste time in Chiplini."

"Even with the news from a few people, we still need to be cautious. Monitoring natural disasters is necessary. We bear the hopes of hundreds of thousands of infected people, and we must be careful with every step we take."

Di Ling recalled Xia Yu's instructions and said with a smile, "We went to complete the observation for the advisor. The advisor will return to command the Orville to be ready to escape at any time. We must leave before the mayor and the Sixth Army find out, so we can only do both at the same time."

“I see… Thank you all for your trust,” Alexei took a deep breath. “Without further ado, I won’t keep you any longer.”

Have a safe journey, everyone!

-

"Miss Earth Spirit, did that advisor really go to the East?" Anton asked with a frown as he came out of Alexei's mansion.

He had been posing as an infected person from Victor's group, which was at his own request, since he couldn't completely trust Alexei.

“Of course it’s true,” the Earth Spirit nodded.

“That shouldn’t have been said in front of Alexei,” Anton said seriously. “Victor, perhaps I’m being offensive, but… I have a feeling this man isn’t as simple as he seems.”

“Mr. Alexei should…” Victor was about to argue, but his voice trailed off as he spoke.

"I don't necessarily want to suspect him, it's just that this matter is of great importance..."

“It’s alright,” Earth Spirit said with a smile, seeing their expressions. “This was part of our plan.”

-

"Are they gone?"

Inside the mansion, Alexei paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

“We’re leaving, sir,” the servant said respectfully.

"..." After receiving the reply, he was not relieved. Instead, his pacing became more and more impatient.

“Eight hundred men… eight hundred… sigh,” Alexei clenched and unclenched his fists several times.

I was torn between these thoughts several times.

In his confusion, he recalled his past self.

The self that was once so full of vigor in Castel Sant'Junção, the self that was so distraught in Ciprini, the self that was so witty and charming at banquets, and the self that is now so despised and hated in Ciprini...

"Thirty-seven years old..." He happened to walk to the window and saw his face reflected in the glass. He was no longer full of vigor; he had entered middle age and his face had a few more wrinkles.

"How many thirty-seven-year periods does one have in a lifetime..."

Finally, he made up his mind, summoned two servants, and instructed them: "Take this letter... to the mayor in my name, and tell him that I have made my choice and he will be satisfied."

"Then, this letter... was addressed to the general of the Sixth Army."

-

"Stranger! Stop! Don't come any closer!"

The assault team member from Anton's squad stood at the village entrance, knife in hand, watching warily as two people approached. "Outsiders aren't welcome here..."

boom!

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp-eyed crossbowman slapped him on the back of the head.

"What stranger? Open your eyes and look! That's Sister Frostnova!"

The crossbowman's voice was excited. He turned to look at the two of them and waved excitedly, shouting, "Big sister! It's me, Thomas from Anton's team!"

"What? Big Sister?" Upon hearing this, the assault soldier forgot about the slap he had received and stared wide-eyed at the newcomer. "It really is Frostnova, Big Sister!"

"How could this be fake?" Frostnova approached and said with a smirk, "Thomas, ah, you're Bloom, right? Long time no see."

"Thomas, your eyesight is still so good. Bloom needs to practice more."

“Hey, I’m not a crossbowman,” Bloom waved his hand, “Why would I need such good eyesight? And how did you find us, lady?”

“It’s just a coincidence,” Froststar glanced at Xia Yu. “I was just here to scout, and I didn’t expect to run into you guys.”

"What? Big Sister is here?" Just then, a group of guerrillas from the village rushed out and excitedly surrounded Froststar. "It really is Big Sister!"

"Big sister, how are you doing on Rhodes Island?"

"Big sister, how did you find us?"

"Big sister, big sister, how's the Orville?"

"Alright, alright, one at a time," Frostnova said, clearly pleased to see them. "Rhodes Island is a nice place..."

As they reminisced, Xia Yu turned to look at the dilapidated village.

The village, hidden in the cedar forest, was small and showed many obvious signs of repair. At that moment, many heads of all sizes were curiously peeking out to observe the guerrillas and the two newcomers.

Finally, after the excitement of the reunion gradually cooled down, Froststar remembered Summer Words.

Turning around to look for him, I found him teasing a few infected children with Rhodes Island-specific jerky.

"Thank you, Uncle!" Several children, big and small, excitedly grabbed their jerky, politely thanked him, and then ran home.

Xia Yu was left alone, feeling depressed.

"What's wrong? You look so gloomy," Froststar came to his side and teased him, looking at his stern face.

“I mean, with my face, there’s no way I should have to call you uncle,” he replied dejectedly. “They’re just a bunch of unlovable little brats.”

“No, how old are you? Why are you still worrying about this? How childish,” Frostnova laughed and patted his shoulder, then looked at the guerrillas. “Come on, let me introduce you. This is Xia Yu, a special advisor to Rhodes Island and the person in charge of the Orville.”

“Ah, I get it,” Bloom, the former assault soldier, winked at Xia Yu and said, “What’s that saying again? A man is a boy until he dies.”

"Show some respect!" Upon hearing this, Froststar deliberately put on a stern face and said, "This is an outstanding scholar. As I mentioned in my previous letter, the inhibitor that everyone can afford was developed under his leadership."

"Ah, well... I see she's so young, ah! My mouth!" Bloom paused for a moment, then scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Sorry, well, I'm a rough guy, I'm really sorry..."

Young... Froststar chuckled upon hearing this, "Let's just say I'm young."

She definitely wouldn't believe it.

The other team members also felt uneasy because of Frostnova's words. After all, the letters Frostnova had given to Patriots were always made public to all the guerrillas, and they had personally witnessed the miraculous effects of the inhibitors that accompanied those letters.

No one understands the importance of this inhibitor better than them. It's normal that they were caught off guard and at a loss when the developers were suddenly placed in front of them.

"Why make it so serious?" Xia Yu waved her hand with a smile. "This isn't just my achievement. Besides, I like what you said."

“That’s right,” he said, giving Bloom a thumbs up. “Men are boys until they die!”

"And you are..." Just as they were speaking, a slightly weak voice came from behind them.

“Ah, Matic,” Thomas the Crossbowman slapped his forehead when he saw him. “Sorry, we were so excited to see our eldest sister after so long that we forgot to introduce her to you.”

“This is our eldest sister, Frostnova, the captain, Patriot’s daughter. This is the Orville, the captain of that big ship I told you about.”

“A big shot,” Matic said excitedly, “the Patriot’s daughter.”

“No need for ‘Madam’,” Froststar corrected upon hearing this, “My father… doesn’t like being called that, so just call him Patriot.”

“But how can this be…” Matic hesitated.

“Just listen to me,” Frostnova nodded at him. “By the way, is Mr. Mattich the village chief?”

“No, of course not,” Matic shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this. “The village belongs to Mr. Victor, who went to the town of Chepliny with Captain Anton of the guerrillas to gather information because of the recent natural disaster.”

“I see,” Froststar lowered her head, pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Xia Yu, her words full of confidence, “I’m afraid we’ll have to find another place.”

"..." Hearing this, Xia Yu was silent for two seconds, then looked up into Shuangxing's eyes, "Trust me, I can do it."

"You know me. This is just a village within a hundred meters. If I can't even protect this area, what am I doing here?"

"Big sister, what's going on here..." Thomas asked, puzzled.

"Nothing much, just preparing for war."

"Prepare for war? Who is the enemy?"

"The Sixth Army of Ursus!"

Mayor 358's Calculations

"They went to find Alexei?"

The current mayor of Ceprini, Lermontov, is enjoying afternoon tea at his luxurious estate.