Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"Putting aside the existence of that leave slip that I myself was unaware of, I need to make it clear to you that many operators came to the medical department this afternoon to inquire about that tea."

A hint of resentment flickered in Ya Ye's eyes. "It seems everyone's been talking about its miraculous effects, but where can we find such a thing..."

"Huh? It spread so fast?" Xia Yu was a little surprised.

"Aren't you underestimating the appeal of those effects to everyone?" Ya Ye analyzed. "Actually, everyone has always felt pressured, after all, our actions have almost provoked half of Ursus."

“You may not think so, but in our eyes, Ursus’s image is… well, slightly terrifying.”

"And as for treating hair loss... the effect is practically immediate," Aya said, somewhat speechless. "Did you give Operator Fang some tea leaves?"

"After hearing that it could cure hair loss, she gave it to a senior operator who had always taken good care of her and her team. In just one night, when he woke up the next day, many fine hairs had appeared on his deep hairline..."

Ya Ye was speechless at this point, "This immediate effect... if it were sold as a product, it could be the foundation of a multinational corporation. After all, from kings to nobles, who can escape hair loss?"

“The most powerful people in the world will be advocates for this drug. They would even spend an entire town’s tax revenue to buy a high-end wig just to cover up their hair loss… Believe me, if you were willing to sell it as a commodity, the profit would be far greater than what we at Rhodes Island make selling inhibitors.”

"Alright, so you're targeting me, aren't you?" Xia Yu chuckled upon hearing this, deciding to tease her a bit, and said slowly, "But you're right, the market here is huge, so I need to make some plans..."

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Aya quickly explained. “I only said all this because that senior operator took off his hat, which he never takes off, and went around showing it off to everyone, so everyone came to our medical department. I definitely didn’t want to…”

"Alright, alright, I was just kidding," Xia Yu smiled. "You're just too serious. If Kal'tsit were here and I was joking, she would have just signed a contract."

“Teacher is indeed very amazing,” Aya breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. “Of course, I can’t compare to her.”

“But what you said isn’t wrong. I had anticipated that the market here would be huge,” Xia Yu said, stroking her chin. “However, I don’t plan to sell these teas as ordinary commodities. I want to make them into luxury goods.”

"Reduce the drug's effectiveness, raise the price, and then rake in huge sums of money from the wealthy."

"I also plan to reserve it for Froststar as the first project after the Snowfield Ecological Park is established."

Xia Yu looked out the window as she spoke, “Relying on mining is ultimately only one-legged a way of life. They need to gradually establish agriculture and animal husbandry in the ecological park and truly gain a foothold on this snowy plain.”

“At this time, Frostnova, who naturally bears the mark of Rhodes Island, is someone I plan to have lead the establishment of a joint venture. We will provide the technology, and the Snowfield Infected will provide the labor and land.”

To be precise, this thing doesn't really qualify as a joint venture; it's more akin to technology-driven poverty alleviation.

"Um, don't you feel bad about it?" Aya asked curiously, "After all, if you held onto these things, the profits you could generate would be..."

"I'm not a businessman, why should I care so much about profits?" Xia Yu shrugged upon hearing this. "Do I look like I'm short of money?"

"To be honest, I did all of this for one reason: I did it for the pleasure of it."

"Once we have sufficient production capacity, the tea produced will become one of the basic benefits for all Rhodes Island employees. You know, do you think everyone is working for us for our meager salaries?"

Risking their lives for a pittance? From Chernobog to Kazimierz and Victoria, just for money? Take the crew of the Orville, for example. Apart from the Sarkaz who were genuinely tricked into coming, who on this ship doesn't know what everyone's purpose is?

What were they going to face? They had told everyone this before they set off, but they still boarded the ship.

Most people have some ideals, more or less.

"You're really planning to make this an employee benefit?" Aya clicked her tongue in surprise. "If you're going to sell it at luxury prices, the tea that gets out of circulation will probably be inflated to exorbitant prices very quickly. If this is all the basic benefits our Rhodes Island employees get then..."

"Then everyone could make a fortune!"

Thinking of this, Ya Ye's eyes narrowed with a smile, and she gave Xia Yu a thumbs up, "Boss is so generous, I thank you on behalf of all the employees."

“Actually, making it into a luxury item is a last resort,” Xia Yu shrugged when she heard this. “Based on the current progress of analyzing the barrier, the first ecological park that is built will probably not be too big. We also need to prioritize the infected people’s need for food, so the initial production will not be too high.”

"It can only be made into luxury goods."

“I don’t understand those things, I’m just a doctor,” Aya said with a smile. “I just want to know if the current production can be allocated to the medical department. There are just too many people asking about tea every day. That senior operator is showing off the fine hairs growing on his forehead everywhere…”

"At least, providing us with a little bit of medicine would be helpful. Before I came here, W's Sarkaz mercenaries came to ask about it. That fierce-looking bald man almost scared my nurses to tears when he walked in!"

“Oh, this? Turn around,” Xia Yu pointed behind Ya Ye, who turned around as instructed. “Do you see that potted plant?”

"Oh, this one?" Ya Ye pointed to a somewhat familiar potted plant and said in a puzzled tone, "I remember this was an ornamental plant that was purchased. The Kazimierz people heard that you were from Yan Country, so they specially found a tea tree bonsai to cater to your tastes... a tea tree?"

"Yes, that's the potted plant. All of our current production is there."

"No, this is it?" Aya stared dumbfounded at the potted plant, which was less than 1.5 meters tall. Although it was the dead of winter, it was still lush and green, but what was the use?

That's all? There's not even enough leaf for one person on this ship!

We've been talking for so long about the business empire, with you pontificating on everything from luxury brands raking in the rich to Rhodes Island employee benefits, and even venturing into the future of the Snowfield Infected...

I thought this thing was at least not a laboratory product, it should have moved beyond the experimental stage, and it should be ready for mass production, right?

And the result? It's not even as good as a lab product! At least they have a lab, and you just put a potted plant in your office and start experimenting, huh?

This pie was drawn for me...

Facing Ya Ye's reproachful gaze, Xia Yu shrugged and said, "Why are you looking at me? At first, I just had nothing to do and saw a tea tree bonsai in the office, so I just kept it for fun. But it gradually became quite something, so I started thinking about doing this."

"It wasn't a big project at first, so it was a bit rough around the edges, but that's okay. I've already developed the functions of hair growth, whitening, and body conditioning, so it won't be difficult to produce another batch in the next few days."

Hearing this, Aya turned her head with difficulty to look at the lush potted plant, then at the consultant's sincere face, then at the potted plant, then at the consultant.

Ah, a business empire worth hundreds of billions, nurtured in his spare time... No wonder people don't take it seriously.

Can this feature be fine-tuned? And it's supposed to be nurtured over these few days? If those biologists who spend all their time in the lab hoping for a lucky break saw this, they'd be mortified!

Aya recalled the advice her teacher had given her before she set off.

Just focus on your own work; don't delve into or overthink anything related to the consultant.

I originally thought it was just for the sake of secrecy, but, Kal'tsit-sensei, I finally understand.

So this was all for the sake of my values.

Ah, the teacher's wisdom is indeed boundless; I should really listen to you.

Exactly, next time, could you please stop beating around the bush and make me figure it out myself? You can just say it directly!

Xia Yu continued, "As you can see, the yield is indeed not very good, so I have had the researchers build a cabin specifically for cultivating these tea trees. When you go back and meet someone who asks about it, just tell them the same thing."

"Oh, okay," Aya said blankly as she left the house.

He seemed preoccupied, ignoring the mudstones that brushed past him.

“Captain, news from Prostov: they welcome us into port,” Mudrock reported as he entered the office. “But… the wording is strange.”

"What's so strange about it?" Xia Yu reached out and took the document, noticing that Niyan had put on that heavy armor again. "Why are you wearing that again?"

"After all, the attitude of the city ahead is unclear. What if something unexpected happens..." Mud Rock sighed as he said this.

It's just a matter of being prepared; even with advisors on board, we can't let our guard down completely—that's an old habit of Mudrock's.

"Alright," Xia Yu simply asked, then lowered her head to flip through the documents. "Oh, greetings, Your Excellency, your presence is truly remarkable. Tsk tsk tsk, it seems the prisoners you sent back have delivered their messages."

"But what the heck is this Royal Court?" Xia Yu asked, her face full of confusion.

“I don’t know either,” Mud Rock and Xia Yu looked at each other in confusion.

Where did this royal court come from? Is it because I'm a Sarkaz?

This doesn't make sense. According to intelligence, Prostov is clearly a city under the control of the Imperial Diet. The Emperor of Ursus should know that he is a Yan citizen.

"Huh? They even sent people aboard the ship. Tsk tsk tsk, look at the wording, it's a gesture of condolence to the warriors who escaped the natural disaster. It seems that from the emperor to the duke, everyone tacitly attributed the annihilation of the Sixth Army to the natural disaster."

“That’s not surprising,” Niyan nodded upon hearing this. “They can’t possibly tell everyone that the Sixth Army had designs on merchant ships that were personally approved by the Emperor, and then they were all wiped out, can they?”

"But what exactly does this royal court mean? Is it because the prisoners we released have been guarded by the Sarkaz?"

-

Prostov

Ms. Kayne was in a very bad mood.

There's no way around it; anyone would be in a bad mood if they were sent to take the blame at this time.

The Sarkaz royal court! The demon royal court! Tell me, how many people in the world wouldn't tremble when provoked into meeting such a great figure?

Kaine considered herself a person of importance. Her father and the family rose to prominence with the rise of the late emperor, and she herself was now one of the top people in the Ursus business world. Although the group's stance had become neutral in recent years due to changes in the Ursus political situation, it still maintained many dealings with the dukes.

But she could see clearly that the aristocracy's ways would eventually become outdated, and the current turmoil was nothing more than a counterattack by the old era, unwilling to let it end.

Times have changed! Nobility should have been swept into the dustbin of history long ago.

So although the group is nominally neutral, she has long been aligned with the Emperor and the Parliament.

To be precise, it was the parliament, especially the speaker, Witte.

The councilors are much more straightforward than the nobles. The former don't play games with you; as long as there's profit involved, everything is negotiable. The latter always bring up things like bloodline and honor to try and get something for nothing... For a businessman, nothing is more annoying than nobles.

Her ideal Ursus was like Casimir. Don't laugh, although the Ursus suffered so many defeats in the Ursus-Casimir War, the current political situation in Casimir was very much to the liking of these merchants.

Unfortunately, Ursus was far stronger than Kazimierz, and the conservative forces of Ursus were also stronger than the pathetic knights of Kazimierz.

With this in mind, Katie secretly became a member of the so-called reformists.

In the past, she never regretted it.

But today, she regrets it.

Why did I ever believe that weak and incompetent emperor?

You %￥＃@＃……＆＆……%￥% of!

That's the Sarkaz royal court! The royal court!

Despite the emperor's repeated assurances that it was definitely not a Sarkaz, but a Yan citizen.

But judging from the eagerness you showed when you used your secretly developed aircraft to transport me from Cheprini to Prostov... you can't be sure that it wasn't a Sarkaz, can you?

So you're sending your mother to scout the way?