Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Thirty million is not bad.

I came out of this prosperous city for a stroll, made a great contribution, and even got an extra 30 million yuan. I'm so happy!

Actually, he didn't intend to do so much at first; he was just habitually looking for excuses to raise prices.

But who knew that Mayor Lermontov would be so generous, increasing the amount by hundreds of millions or even tens of millions.

He expected to get around 15 million, but he didn't expect them to double that amount.

If the other party hadn't been looking like they were ready to fight to the death, he really would have wanted to raise the price again.

Now that we've already reaped the benefits, it's time to change our approach.

“Since the mayor has said so, I certainly believe you,” Boris said with a smile. “We will drive that ship a hundred kilometers away before we take action, so you can rest assured.”

"Like a hunter with a crossbow in the winter forest."

"Then, happy working together."

Lermontov raised his glass.

"Happy cooperation!"

"..."

At one o'clock in the morning, a drunk Boris was helped away from the mansion by his bodyguards.

“Sir, regarding the amount of the charitable donation,” the butler asked Lermontov in the mansion, “those merchants and small families have been waiting for a long time.”

“Oh, just tell them fifty million, ten million of which will come from our family,” Lermontov said casually while drinking his hangover medicine. “We can’t squeeze them too hard; it’s not good to bankrupt too many people at once.”

“We’ll just have to settle for ten million. Oh, and by the way, remember to tell them that Boris asked for seventy million from me, and I managed to get fifty million down for everyone.”

"Yes, sir, you are a very responsible mayor."

"Ha, Harris, what I love most about you is your mouth, you're so good at talking."

Just as the two were flattering each other, a purple light flickered in the corner before falling silent.

376 Propaganda

“Okay, I understand,” Xia Yu said into the communicator as she sat in front of the campfire. “Well, go back to the Orville and after you hand over to Mudrock, go and keep an eye on those mercenaries for W.”

"Well, although I have left countermeasures on the ship, I will try my best to avoid any accidents. Well, let's leave it at that for now."

After saying that, he hung up the call.

"Any new information from the Orville?" Seeing him hang up the phone, Frostnova, who was sitting next to him holding a bowl of hot meat soup, turned her head and asked, "Did the plan go wrong?"

Hearing this, Anton, who was sitting across the campfire, also perked up his ears.

"No problem, don't be nervous," Xia Yu said reassuringly, seeing their expressions. "It's a communication from Lion Scorpion, good news."

At this point, he stood up and addressed the villagers and guerrillas sitting around the campfires, saying, "Our people in Chepulini have just sent word."

"The plan is going smoothly. Those corrupt and incompetent bureaucrats and nobles don't dare to confront the emperor's authority directly, so they won't make a move near the city."

Although Xia Yu didn't think the Ursus Emperor had any authority, that was only true for himself.

These guerrillas and infected people still had some goodwill towards Emperor Ursus.

After all, the emperor himself has been trying to implement policies to reduce the oppression of the infected over the years, although he may not have done so out of any sense of justice, kindness or compassion. It would be ridiculous to talk about such things with a political animal.

But he is indeed pushing these things forward, and that's enough.

Under these circumstances, Xia Yu did not hide anything from them and told them that perhaps tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, a regular army of 15,000 men would arrive in two warships.

Their only hope was the Orville.

There is enough food and supplies there, and a safe environment, but all of this requires everyone to work together to achieve it.

First, rune base plates are deployed within a radius of ten kilometers.

Actually, Xia Yu could handle all of these things by herself.

But Kal'tsit's advice still worked.

If you are not an omniscient and omnipotent god, then don't actually act like you are all-powerful and carry everyone's expectations on your shoulders.

Perhaps for an ambitious person, this is fine; they always put their own interests above everyone else's, so this problem doesn't arise.

But you're not that kind of person; once you take on a burden, it's hard for you to let go.

Human nature is greedy, human nature is lazy, and human nature is inherently inclined to seek comfort. When there is someone in front of everyone who is willing to accept any request and appears to be omnipotent, most people will kneel down, sing praises, and then become complacent and start to enjoy your protection without any motivation.

Even if a few people awaken, how can they shake the will of the majority?

If you're happy to play this game of playing a god, then I have nothing to say.

But you are not, I know. If it really comes to that, then these people are just bloodsuckers clinging to you, and this civilization will slowly rot until it perishes.

Well, Kal'tsit truly lives up to her reputation as an 'old lady' whose age is measured in tens of thousands of years; her words are always insightful and to the point.

Ah, no, maybe she really did experience something like that, just like when she advised Xia Yu not to let others treat him like a god, Xia Yu teased her about whether someone had previously established a Terra Cat Cult for her.

Judging from her expression at the time, there might actually be such a thing, but it certainly wouldn't be this quirky name.

As the saying goes, "Those who don't heed the advice of their elders will suffer the consequences."

The saying "Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure" perfectly describes Kal'tsit!

Ahem, let's stop tormenting Kal'tsit and get down to business.

A civilization must eventually learn to move forward on its own; you can't keep it in a comfortable cradle forever.

The resources in the cradle will eventually run out, and the baby in the cradle needs to grow up before that happens and find more resources to survive.

Xia Yu thought she was right.

Moreover, Terra is not a comfortable cradle.

"According to reliable intelligence, those two warships will make their move when they reach a hundred kilometers east of Chepulini, which is about twenty miles east of here."

“I believe everyone is familiar with that place,” Xia Yu said loudly, looking at the faces in front of her, which were glowing red from the campfire. “I heard that the news of the natural disaster that was circulating recently caused panic in the village.”

We need to reassure them first.

"Your village chief, Mr. Victor, went to Ceprini with Anton to verify the authenticity of this news, right?"

"Yes! I've been worried about that for the past couple of days!"

"Village chief, alas, I hope he recovers soon."

"Doctor, is this news true or false?"

The villagers still prefer to call Xia Yu "Doctor," and Xia Yu has never corrected them. Most of the time, this special profession is of great significance to those infected.

"Quiet down, everyone, listen to me," he said, pressing his hands down until everyone was quiet before announcing, "The news is indeed false!"

"As for why we can be so sure, Mr. Anton, why don't you tell everyone? After all, you went to Chepulini with Chief Victor."

“Hmm,” Anton stood up upon hearing this, “Everyone has definitely seen me before. We are all infected. Under these circumstances, let’s not talk about trust or distrust.”

“Since you have been able to struggle and survive in this snowy plain for so long, you should know our situation in Ursus.”

"Let me explain why news of natural disasters has emerged."

He looked around and shouted, "Because of us!"

"Because of the guerrillas, because of the hundreds of thousands of infected people gathered around Patriot on the snowfield, and because of the Orville that came from afar with food and supplies!"

"The existence of our guerrillas is like a fishbone stuck in Ursus's throat. Hundreds of thousands of troops are stationed on the snowfield, surrounding us like an iron barrel. With so many of them, why don't they attack?"

"Because the patriots are here! Because we infected people have nothing left but our worthless lives! We are not afraid to die!"

“Thomas!” he pointed to a guerrilla fighter. “I remember you had a wound on your hand when you left the camp with me, right?”

"It's all better now," Thomas said, standing up apologetically. "After all, it's just a minor injury."

"Tell everyone how you got this injury?"

"It was to save two fellow countrymen who were transporting grain," Thomas said, pursing his lips. "They were just children, yet they had to brave gunfire to move the grain we had taken from the army to the rear."

"My injury was just a small cut from shrapnel. Luckily, it wasn't serious."

"Aside from the artillery fire, did you encounter a single enemy while transporting supplies?"

“No, that’s not true,” Thomas sighed upon hearing this. “The troops are all holed up in their fortresses and warships, too afraid to come out.”

"Why? Because we're not afraid to die! Teenagers are willing to brave gunfire to help transport food, because they know that if they don't go, everyone will starve to death in the snow!"

But they're afraid!

Watching Anton's impassioned speech, Xia Yu nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that he was a rare talent in the guerrilla force.

"So despite having an army of over 100,000 men and dozens of warships, they dared not take a single step forward!"

"They can only trap us in the snowfield, hoping to starve us to death this winter!"

"I have to say, although it doesn't sound good, it is indeed a good idea for them."

"Not much food can be grown on the snow-covered plains, and I think everyone knows this all too well."

"Even if our guerrillas are very capable and can break through fortresses time and time again, we still can't produce food."

"To be honest, a month ago, we were all waiting to die. Some of us even made simple bombs out of Originium, waiting for the camp to run out of food so we could rush out and take the army down with us."