Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"Sigh," Aya sighed deeply, then casually prescribed a supplement for Evelina and complained, "We have to change this feature that doesn't require work points for medical treatment tomorrow."

Hearing this, the two people in front of them could only chuckle awkwardly.

There was nothing they could do. Aya shouldn't have been here in the first place, but after the news spread that medical care at the construction site was free, the number of workers seeking medical treatment surged, so everyone had no choice but to grit their teeth and make do for now.

We can't just tell the crowd outside that the rules have changed, can we?

If it needs to be changed, that's something for tomorrow; it can't be changed today. Besides, to be honest, this regulation was set by the medical department itself.

Ultimately, it was my own immaturity and lack of experience that led to this mistake. Even if Anto were here, he wouldn't have made such a big blunder.

After all, she had a lot of experience practicing medicine outside, it's just a pity that she went to Letania instead of coming with me.

"Well, doctor, we'll be going now..." Seeing the doctor's tired expression, the two knew they had caused him trouble, so they smiled awkwardly and tried to leave.

"Wait, here are your test results!" Aya looked helplessly at the two who were trying to slip away, and took out two inhibitors from under the table. "Your conditions are both stable. Take these to the injection point outside and find a nurse to administer your inhibitors."

"Oh, okay, thank you, doctor," the two said quickly, then lowered their heads and slipped away.

“Next…” Aya called out weakly.

I'm working overtime again today.

-

"Hey, snap out of it," the nurse at the injection site said, having finished giving the injection and removed the needle. Seeing the big Ursus guy staring blankly to the side with unfocused eyes, seemingly lost in thought, she raised her voice slightly and called out, "Injection done? What are you thinking about?"

"Oh? All done? Thank you, doctor, thank you, doctor," the tall man said, quickly thanking the nurse.

The nurses were clearly pleased with the repeated calls of "Doctor"... After all, if nothing unexpected happened, she should be able to become a doctor after a year of training. Unfortunately, the snowfield couldn't wait, so these trainees could only serve as interns on the ship.

But when they got here, they found that the most urgent need was for nurses... so they were transferred back to their original positions, and will return after a group of infected people have been trained in the basics of nursing.

It sounds ridiculous, right? But that's the helplessness of the snowfield. Everything is lacking, so they can only pull people out from all over to fill in.

"What are you looking at? You seem so engrossed," the tall nurse teased, looking at her repeatedly apologetic. "If you're looking at Natasha next to you, you're out of luck. Her boyfriend is a proper doctor at Rhodes Island, treating patients in a tent up there, unlike us nurses who haven't even graduated yet..."

"Monica, are you trying to get yourself killed?!" The nurse next to her rolled her eyes at the thought.

"No...no," the tall man said, looking embarrassed, and fled in panic, leaving behind only the giggling and teasing of a group of nurses at the injection site.

This has drawn attention from many infected individuals.

"Hey, isn't this Andros?" The tall man hurriedly ran away when he heard a whistle. He turned around and saw a familiar figure winking at him. "You got flirted with by that little girl? Hahahaha!"

"No! I didn't!" Andros cried out in embarrassment. "Don't talk nonsense, or I'll sue you for defamation!"

"Sue me? Where are you going to sue me? The guerrillas?" The man grinned and put his arm around his shoulder, whispering, "Or... where is this damn David?"

"What do you mean?" Andros asked in a low voice, "Don't mention that name outside."

"Hmph, you may be afraid of him, but I'm not. At worst, I'll just die," the man sneered. "Don't you know that people like us are destined to die a violent death sooner or later?"

“I…” Andros hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

"Putting everything else aside, isn't forcing us to hand over inhibitors just like driving us to our deaths?" The man continued, intimately putting his arm around Andros's shoulder and leading him to a secluded spot. "Don't tell me you don't harbor any resentment."

"Those leaders can boss us around and order us around, but we can't even protect life-saving things like inhibitors..."

"If the people at Rhodes Island hadn't been so clever as to insist on immediate injection of the inhibitor, would this stuff even be in our hands now?"

"Sigh..." Andros sighed upon hearing this. He had been thinking about this question intently while he was getting the injection.

"What can we do? Our lives are in the Duke's hands."

“…Just let things slide,” the man said sadly after a two-second pause, “and then one day he’ll be discovered and hanged.”

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Rhodes Island, Kal'tsit looked at the number on the communicator. Although she found it strange that it wasn't the time she expected, she still answered the call.

Needless to say, Xia Yu must have gotten into some trouble again that I need to clean up. Oh well, one more time won't make a difference.

"I told you, you would come back to me," she said as soon as the call connected, seizing the initiative to gain control of the conversation and elevate her position.

"As expected of Lady Kal'tsit, truly a master strategist," Speaker Witt's voice came from behind the communicator. "It seems that we Ursus underestimated the heroes of the world. We never expected Rhodes Island to have such a profound foundation."

"Hmm, hmm?" This flattery completely baffled Kal'tsit. She looked up at the calendar in her office. It hadn't been that long, had it? They shouldn't have started yet, right?

Before, Speaker Witt and the Emperor were both skeptical... so why do they seem so convinced now?

Something is wrong, maybe even nine out of ten points!

“I think we can deepen our cooperation,” the Emperor chimed in, “I heard Rhodes Island is planning to establish distribution centers across the continent? Why not ask your allies? Like me.”

“I naturally trust Rhodes Island’s inhibitors. If Ms. Kal’tsit agrees, the Royal Family will become Rhodes Island’s largest distributor in Ursus!”

“The Imperial Diet can also offer various preferential policies,” Speaker Witt added. “Ms. Kal’tsit, as you know, we are all very concerned about the unfair treatment suffered by infected people in the country, and we have been trying to solve this problem since the late Emperor.”

"Unfortunately, the obstacles were too great, and it ended in failure in the end," the emperor said regretfully. "Before he left, the late emperor instructed me to make sure that he could realize his vision, but how difficult that was. The resistance within Ursus was just too great."

"But Rhodes Island's inhibitors gave me hope."

The two of them were talking back and forth, making Kal'tsit's head buzz. "Wait, what exactly happened?"

"Oh? Ms. Kal'tsit, you're not aware of what happened?" Speaker Witt asked in surprise. "Have you not received news from the front lines yet?"

“Yes,” Kal'tsit said through gritted teeth, “Please tell me what happened over there!”

"Fairyland, Avalon, Wizard Merlin, the Everlasting Flower."

A few simple words instantly shattered Kal'tsit's mental defenses. Her hand trembled slightly as she asked, "How many people know?"

"Oh, I can't give an exact number, I can only say conservatively two hundred thousand."

Upon hearing this, Kal'tsit's vision went black.

Why can't Mon3tr write letters for me?!

"Two hundred thousand?"

"Yes, two hundred thousand," came the affirmative voice from the other end of the communicator.

“Ms. Kal’tsit, there’s no need to keep it from us anymore,” Speaker Witt said helplessly. “That miracle was witnessed by countless people, and it will surely spread throughout Ursus soon.”

"Therefore, we sincerely propose cooperation between the two parties. Rhodes Island can submit an offer first. From policy support to royal promotion, we will spare no effort to help you expand your sales network."

"All you need is one thing, and you should know what I mean."

'No! I don't know and I don't want to know!' Although Kal'tsit wanted to say that, it was clear that she couldn't.

Moreover, she realized that the only thing that could make the Ursus Emperor and the Speaker of the Imperial Council so eager to communicate was that.

Thinking of this, Kal'tsit said expressionlessly, "Regarding this matter, you can consult Xia Yu, the special advisor of Rhodes Island, who is also the captain of the Orville."

"He was in charge of all of Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals' operations in Ursus, while I was tied up because there were still sales networks in dozens of countries waiting for me to establish."

Ha, isn't it just shifting the blame? Anyone can do that! You think I'm going to dug a hole for you and then stupidly fill it myself? Do you really think I've been wasting all these years?

Back in the day, I organized a major siege against the Tikkaz Empire and served as a staff officer under the Great Khan. I know all about these things!

Although that's what she thought, Kal'tsit didn't actually have many complaints... because everything Xia Yu did was for the sake of the common plan, and she just liked to keep herself busy.

Rhodes Island's sales network in Ursus has not been very successful. Ursus has its own unique circumstances. For the infected, let alone being able to afford inhibitors, most of them don't even have the wages to ensure basic food and clothing.

In Ursus, infected people have no human rights, so naturally there is no market for them.

But once news of the snowfield base gets out, coupled with that planned event... changing Ursus becomes less difficult.

Use power to intimidate them, and lure them with benefits.

This is what Kal'tsit wanted Xia Yu to learn: stop thinking about fighting and killing all the time. But clearly, although Xia Yu was convinced and did as she was told, she still felt a little resentful.

So I started finding all sorts of things to do.

Of course, there's also the reason why Kal'tsit simply didn't equip her ship with any management personnel.

They're all newbies starting out.

On the one hand, it's for overall considerations. Rhodes Island is short of talent everywhere, and since Xia Yu can handle all the risks on Ursus by herself, then she should be allowed to do more.

On the other hand, they hoped he would use his own guerrillas to establish order among the infected in the snowfield, instead of having Rhodes Island send people.

Rhodes Island's attitude towards guerrillas leans more towards support than assimilation; there needs to be a clear dividing line.

This would be beneficial for Rhodes Island's operations in other countries. After all, while supporting infected individuals and expanding the market as a pharmaceutical company might raise concerns, it's not entirely incomprehensible.

But if you were to absorb the guerrillas... then it would look very different to other countries. After all, the infected guerrillas were still considered rebels in Ursus, and Rhodes Island's actions would change from market expansion to an ambitious attempt to overthrow the regime.

In an era when communication on the mainland was not very advanced, people from afar only had a vague impression of what was happening in the snowfield. They could not possibly understand the intricacies of the situation and would only notice the most superficial aspects.

That's why Rhodes Island's strategy is so conservative, and they're not worried about losing control.

Because the technology is always in Xia Yu's hands, only he can manufacture those rune tablets. It's a completely black box technology. The job of the accompanying technicians is simply to decipher how the system operates after it's built, and then combine it with Terra's local technology to achieve localized control.

As for the most basic rune tablets, it's not that Kal'tsit underestimated them, but it would be a pipe dream to decipher them in less than several decades. After all, they were the masterpiece of a civilization with a completely different technological approach.

As long as Rhodes Island has this crucial technology, it has no fear of losing control of the established eco-parks.

In conclusion, Kal'tsit and Xia Yu do not have any fundamental conflict. With a foreseeable disaster looming, they will rationally restrain their thoughts.

If they can survive the disaster... then Kal'tsit won't care what Xia Yu wants to do at all, as long as civilization is still there. Does she really think she looks down on those backward nobles and feudal system?

These obstacles at work only cause her personal trouble; overall, they are beneficial to everyone's plans...

Kal'tsit can tolerate that... but what the hell?!