Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Even if I see through him, what can I do? He never intended to hide his intentions.

It's about humiliating yourself, about trampling yourself underfoot.

But what can I do?

Alexei lowered his head.

“It was my fault, Mr. Mayor,” he bowed deeply, “please give me another chance.”

There's nothing I can do, because there's no going back.

The emperor and parliament would not trust a traitor, especially since his actions were tantamount to slapping the emperor in the face.

He was a member of the Emperor and the Parliament, yet he betrayed vital intelligence, allowing the Dukes' plans to proceed smoothly... They must be furious with him when they find out.

Therefore, there is no turning back.

Alexios saw no hope on the path of the Emperor and the Parliament, and while the Dukes plotted against the infected, they actually pinned their hopes on a cargo ship.

To deal with the cargo ship, the Duke even sent two warships and a general, but the only support he received was a few words, instructing him to do his best to support the ship.

With all my might? I've been ostracized like this, what power do I have left?

They couldn't even bear to send any people over!

This absurd situation completely disillusioned Alexei with the Emperor and the Parliament. After much deliberation, he decided to sell the information about the ship for a good price as a stepping stone for his advancement.

He had originally thought that since he had already pledged his allegiance, Lermontov probably wouldn't target him too much.

But reality told him that he was still too naive.

This person intends to completely destroy his past and find pleasure in it.

Want to resist?

Can we resist?

No, because once the choice was made, Alexei could not go back.

He could only express his submission with the utmost humility, hoping that Lermontov would be lenient.

“Mr. Alexei, there’s no need to be so humble. I certainly acknowledge your abilities,” Lermontov said with a smile. “After all, we have all witnessed your achievements in the past.”

At this point, Alexei felt a pang of pain in his heart.

How ridiculous are the past achievements! The plan I spent three years developing was signed by someone else, and everything I did was for someone else's benefit. When I reported it to the higher authorities, the parliament told me to keep quiet and wait for the right opportunity.

Did they not consider how many three-year periods there are in a lifetime?

His hard work became a bargaining chip used by powerful figures, and the person who rose to power through it was right in front of him.

Through his father's machinations, Lermontov successfully won the mayoral election.

As for myself, well...

Now Lermontov is bringing this up in front of me... This is blatant humiliation...

“I…I am ashamed, Mr. Mayor,” Alexei bowed even lower.

“Well then,” Lermontov nodded in satisfaction, then instructed, “Go and invite those esteemed gentlemen to a banquet at my estate.”

A mocking smile appeared on his lips. "I'll be the one to persuade them."

Should I go and invite him?

Alexei took a deep breath upon hearing this.

This is the servant's job.

How could I, a deputy mayor, possibly...

Everything before was just bowing down to the mayor, who was in a higher position, but now...

The office fell silent.

Lermontov awaited Alexei's reply.

“…I understand, Mr. Mayor,” Alexei bent down a little more.

Thinking back on all that had happened in recent days, he couldn't bring himself to say the word "refuse."

"Alright, go and get ready," Lermontov nodded happily upon hearing this.

Alexei left the office with his head down.

“Bohr, do you think I’m being too hasty?” Lermontov said to the butler beside him while sipping his tea. “Actually, there’s no need to push him so hard.”

“Master, I am not qualified to judge your methods, but from a servant’s perspective,” the butler said, placing one hand on his chest, “I think he should enjoy the sweetness of power a little longer.”

“I think he’s had enough,” Lermontov said, glancing at Alexei’s report. “Tsk tsk, twenty million! In such a short time, he’s already squeezed so much money out of those poor bastards. And none of the big merchant guilds have said a word yet.”

“It’s obvious that everyone knows who really makes the decisions in Ciprini,” the butler said respectfully. “Everyone is waiting for your party.”

"Hmm, tell me, how has he been these past few days?"

“Quite comfortable. You’ve given him plenty of power,” the butler replied. “He’s directing almost the entire city to do as he pleases. He’s deeply involved and can’t extricate himself from it.”

As for those large chambers of commerce, they naturally exist outside the realm of power.

“Ha ha, just like you said,” Lermontov laughed heartily, “after experiencing such a wonderful feeling, who could let go without hesitation?”

“In the past, he would have thrown his gloves in my face if I said that, but now, look at him groveling like a clown.”

"Oh, I'm starting to understand why there are always clowns and jesters in the king's court. It's really a good thing to have such a source of joy when you're feeling down."

"It seems you're going to have your first clown, even though he's not very obedient yet."

“It’s alright, I’ll make him listen eventually,” Lermontov said casually. “As long as you keep power in front of him, like the carrot in front of a donkey, he’ll keep chasing it.”

"Alright, now we should prepare for the party. Taming the clown is just for leisure and entertainment, but dealing with the Sixth Army is the real business."

"We can't let this interfere with important business, right?"

404 Prayer and Humiliation

"Major..."

The veteran looked at his superior and sighed inwardly.

He has remained silent ever since he was released.

At first, it didn't matter; everyone was immersed in the joy of surviving the ordeal. But as Riccipulini drew closer, everyone realized a problem.

Should we do as those people say?

After doing it... will I survive?

At times like these, someone needs to step up and take charge, but Major Jonathan's continued silence is causing everyone concern.

It's not that I'm worried about him, but about my own future.

"Say something, Major!" Just then, several junior officers gathered around.

They were all Franz's trusted confidants, and they couldn't understand why he had become like this after disembarking, when he was perfectly fine on the ship.

It's okay if you're feeling down, the problem is we still have a mission to complete. If we fail to finish it... and Lieutenant Colonel Franz dies, we'll all be buried with him.

The immediate priority is to make contact with Ceprini and then, through some channels, relay the message back to Lieutenant Colonel Franz's family, informing them of the demands of the people on that ship.

Once they achieved this, they wouldn't need to worry about the dissemination of the news. However, the problem was that they didn't have enough influence to gain the trust of those who wanted to win over Ceprini.

What if people don't believe it? They insist on going to the site to verify, and by then it'll be too late.

Only with this major's involvement would their credibility be somewhat higher; otherwise, would Cheprini's men believe a few junior officers and a group of soldiers who were shouting that the Sixth Army had been completely annihilated?

After all, this was too outrageous. Who would have thought that a cargo ship could turn the tables and kill two warships and tens of thousands of fully armed soldiers?

Everyone was anxiously awaiting Jonathan's response.

Faced with their eager gazes, Jonathan snapped out of his reverie.

"Don't worry, I won't let this interfere with business," he sighed. "Just like those people say, if something happens to Lieutenant Colonel Franz, I won't be any better off."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

After Jonathan finished speaking, he looked up again and stared blankly at the two moons that were gradually appearing in the darkening sky, seemingly lost in thought.

In the silence, someone suddenly began to pray softly, right across from Jonathan.

Ah, the gods of Laterano, the religion of Laterano, are not actually very popular in Ursus. Ursus people don't really believe in gods, but there are still some believers.

I never expected that among the dozens of people who were lucky enough to survive, there would be one.

Then, with the whooshing sound of the vehicle speeding forward, more and more people bowed their heads in prayer... Their movements were clumsy, some of them had just learned from the people around them, and from that believer to the last person in that row, the movements were so distorted that they were unrecognizable.

His actions and his words were so varied that some people had no idea what he was muttering.

But it's clear that after everything they've been through today, they need some solace.

In such times, religion can always meet people's needs, especially after facing life and death and scenes that are incomprehensible to humankind.

Suddenly, Jonathan found that his hands were moving involuntarily. Since the believer was right in front of him, the gestures he was imitating were quite convincing.

Jonathan suddenly realized that he vaguely remembered his past conversations with his colleagues about Lateran religion, which he considered to be something only the weak needed and was full of disdain for.

But now he understands that he is also a weakling.