Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“Charles…I heard cheers,” Martha leaned against Charles’s chest, her voice weak yet expectant. “Are they coming?”

“Yes, Martha, the Rhode Islanders are arriving soon,” Charles replied softly.

They are now in a very good position on that planned, essential route.

When the people around heard that Martha wanted to come out and meet her allies who had come from afar, they all generously gave up the good spots they had taken.

Because everyone knows their story, no one in this base can help but admire Martha's deeds.

Oripathy, oh Oripathy, the Oripathy that so many people fear. It is an all-pervasive curse. Once you become infected, your friends, your neighbors, even your closest relatives... they will all leave you, whether willingly or unwillingly.

After becoming infected, how many joys and sorrows, how cold and indifferent the world is, do outsiders know?

At this time, Martha appeared, and her deeds were unbelievable to many.

Even knowing she would die, she would never abandon her husband... She stubbornly brought him to the base time and time again in the face of desperate situations. How many people could do that?

The infected people admired her because she could do what ordinary people couldn't, and everyone hoped to have someone like her in their lives.

Even Charles himself felt that Martha's greatness paled in comparison, and many people whispered behind his back that he was not good enough for his wife.

Charles knew all of this.

And he never refuted it.

Perhaps that's what he was thinking too.

“Charles, what kind of people do you think they are?” Martha struggled to lift her head and look at the other side of the street, asking expectantly, “Infected… Ah, Infected, what kind of people would go to such lengths to risk offending Ursus to come and help a group of us Infected?”

“I think he must be a very noble person,” Charles replied, “like a true knight.”

“Kazimir…the land of knights,” Martha murmured wistfully. “I originally thought it was just Kazimir’s propaganda, but I never imagined that such knights actually exist in the world.”

She recalled the chivalric novels of her youth, and the beautiful dreams she had in her spare time as a young girl.

“That’s right, Ms. Martha,” the shield guard who was maintaining order in front of them said after hearing her words. “Actually, although the Orville set off from Kazimierz, it is backed by Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals, a friend of our Infected.”

“The Kazimierz people might not risk offending Ursus for the sake of the infected, especially since we are Ursus people. As a university professor, you must know that the Uzbek-Kazimierz war alone has been fought ten times.”

"The Orville only departed from Kazimierz, it was not Kazimierz's support for the infected. At least I have never heard of Kazimierz's attitude towards the infected being any different from that of other countries."

The shield guard was very talkative. "The real contributors are our allies, Rhodes Island. To be honest, these people are really good. We fought side by side in Chernobog. I have a very deep impression of that little cat."

"So what kind of organization is Rhodes Island?" Martha asked curiously upon hearing this.

“Rhodes Island, well,” the shield guard scratched his head, “they say they’re a pharmaceutical company, but… well, most pharmaceutical companies don’t have that kind of capability.”

"The captain is on good terms with their leader. Although the leader looks very young, you know the captain's age. That guy is definitely not that simple."

The shield guard said confidently, "Furthermore, they are exceptionally skilled in combat and do not discriminate against infected individuals. Many of our current medical supplies, including the ones you are using, Ms. Martha, were provided to us by Rhodes Island when we parted ways."

"I didn't ask for a single penny!"

"To be honest, this alone is quite remarkable. When have we infected people ever been treated with such sincerity? Not to mention that they have come from afar to provide support."

“That… is indeed extraordinary,” Martha laughed happily upon hearing this, then a look of melancholy appeared on her face as if she had thought of something.

"What's wrong, Martha?" Charles, keenly aware of his wife's mood, quickly asked.

“If only I had known sooner… sigh… Rhodes Island… I might still be working there…” Martha forced a smile, “It would have been perfect for my field…”

“It’s alright, Martha,” Charles took a deep breath upon hearing this, “You’ll have your chance, I promise.”

“…Charles,” Martha paused for two seconds after hearing this, then said, “I have a feeling…you’re hiding something from me…”

“Don’t worry,” Charles reassured him, “Listen to me, everything will be alright.”

“No… Charles…” Martha felt herself being held tightly by her husband, and the people from Rhodes Island and Mr. Patriot were almost there.

“Don’t do anything stupid… Charles!” she tried to shout in a hoarse voice, but her condition prevented her from doing so.

In the end, only Charles could hear her voice.

Charles did not respond to her, but silently stood up while holding her.

Then walk towards the street ahead.

448 Please, save my wife.

"Hey, Charles, just watch from the outside, don't get pushed to the front," the veteran Shield Guard maintaining order in front of him said as he saw Charles carrying his wife forward. Then he looked back and said to the infected people behind him, "Don't push, don't push, if you push any further you'll end up on the main road."

"We can't let the guests laugh at us! Besides, didn't you see he's carrying a sick person?"

He thought Charles had been pushed forward by the enthusiastic crowd behind him.

When he turned around to look at Charles, who was holding Martha, he found that Charles had not stopped walking and was heading straight for the middle of the avenue.

"Hey Charles, what are you trying to do?" At this moment, the veteran of the Shield Guard also realized that something was wrong. He originally had a pretty good impression of Charles, a university professor who was passionate about love, and his wife was the envy of many. He never expected that Charles would cause trouble at this time.

The veteran reached out to grab Charles, but it was too late.

The captain, accompanied by the guests from Rhodes Island, has arrived here.

"Eh? Who is that person?"

Why did he walk to the middle?

"Is this an assassination attempt?"

"How could that be? Didn't you see he was holding someone else in his arms?"

The infected people around them were also very puzzled as they looked at Charles, who was blocking the road.

But soon, someone recognized him.

"That person...isn't that Charles?"

"Oh? You know him?"

It's human nature to gossip, and if someone claims to know someone about it, dozens of ears will perk up to listen.

"What? You don't know?" the man said vividly, "Never heard of him? His wife is the one who traveled thousands of miles with him, carrying his serious illness, over mountains and valleys to come to the base..."

"Oh, so he's Martha's husband," the people around them exclaimed in realization.

To be honest, although the whole base knew about it, not many people actually knew the couple.

Martha was admitted to the hospital from the beginning of her illness, and Charles stayed by her side almost every day after she recovered.

And those infected... are mostly unwilling to go near the intensive care unit unless absolutely necessary.

Looking at those critically ill patients wailing in agony, everyone knows that their day will come too.

So even though they are very famous, only a small number of people in the base know the couple.

Martha is alright, as many people have heard of her name. But Charles is in a worse situation; in most stories, he is simply described as Martha's husband.

"Charles appears at this time... so the person in his arms must be Martha from the story?"

"What is he going to do?"

This statement clearly expressed the sentiments of those infected in the surrounding area.

What exactly is this lucky husband trying to do by blocking the path of the Patriots leader and Rhodes Island's guests at a time like this?

“Charles…you…oh dear,” the veteran Shield Guard rushed out, grabbed his hand, and said to Patriot, “Sorry, Captain, I’ll take him right away…”

“It’s alright, let him go,” Patriot shook his head at the veteran, then looked at Charles. “I know you.”

"I also know about your wife."

"The undying love between you is still sung in the base to this day."

"So, Charles, is there something you want to say to me?"

puff.

“Mr. Patriot,” Charles knelt down before everyone, embracing his wife and pleading, “Please, save Martha!”

“Uh…” Patriot was stunned when he saw this. There was no kneeling in the plan. It seemed that Charles had taken it upon himself to do so.

However, Patriot still remembered his role, so when faced with Charles's request, he remained silent at first, and then sighed.

"I can't save her."

At this point, everyone around was in an uproar.

"Wait, what's wrong with Charles? No matter how powerful the Patriots leader is, he can't cure Oripathy!"

"Sigh, he's a pitiful man too, watching his wife, who gave everything for him, slowly die... He's probably going crazy..."

"They are all pitiful people, him and his wife."

“Actually…maybe,” some voices rang out from the crowd just as everyone was sighing.

"The Patriot leader, he was also seriously ill before, but now he's still leading the guerrillas to crush the Ursus army..."

"I heard that the Patriot leader's Oripathy has been cured."

“Charles must know something, otherwise he wouldn’t…”

Various opinions emerged among the crowd. Of course, this could not have been spontaneous; the guerrillas still had a good mass base among the infected.

Most of those spreading rumors were Ursus spies and assassins, along with some infected individuals who had been misled.

“You’re saying that… I think I’ve heard that before,” Romy hesitated for two seconds, looking at Orton beside her, whose face was full of fanaticism. “What evidence do you have?”