Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“It’s my teacher. After hearing about Ms. Martha’s deeds, he agreed to come to the snowfield. He also knows that it’s unrealistic for you, Charles, to take Ms. Martha to Colombia under these circumstances.”

Simmons said sincerely, "I can assure you that the teacher is not that kind of crazy person, and the meeting can be fully supervised by the people of Rhodes Island. He just wants to confirm the truth of the matter."

"What? Someone actually agreed to come?" Upon hearing this, everyone around was stunned.

Although letters were still being written, no one had high hopes for a response. If they wanted the bigwigs behind the scenes to come over, they would have to wait until the first phase of the Eden Project was completed and the Ursus nobles withdrew their troops.

Who would risk their life to go to a war-torn place to verify the possibility of a technology that seems like a fantasy? That's gambling with your life.

It's honestly surprising that someone would actually be willing to come at this time.

"Teacher... well, I won't hide it from you, his daughter was unfortunately infected, and her condition is not optimistic. She is his only relative in this world, and he would do anything for his daughter."

Simmons lamented, "My previous communications went unanswered because they were about the eco-park, and although the professor was a relevant expert, he simply didn't have the time."

"But after news of Ms. Martha's situation reached back home, the teacher contacted me and said she wanted to come and confirm."

"This..." Upon hearing this, the people around exchanged glances. Although it was a good thing that someone was willing to come, the reason behind it was not something to be happy about.

“If that’s all there is to it, I can agree,” Charles said, feeling a sense of empathy.

“Thank you, thank you so much, Charles,” Simmons said, shaking his hand and expressing his gratitude repeatedly.

"So how did he get here?" Charles asked, "After all, the situation outside is not very clear right now."

“Don’t worry, I’ve spoken with the advisor,” Simmons said with a smile. “The teacher will contact Rhodes Island and come over with the support sent from our ship.”

"No one dares to touch the people of Rhodes Island along the Orville's route."

"That's good," Charles breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been better if he hadn't gotten involved in the research; once he did, he realized it was driving him crazy.

No wonder these colleagues are constantly writing to their mentors for help; this is something they really can't handle.

“That’s a good thing. Once there’s a first, there will be a second,” Cindy said optimistically. “As long as your teacher is willing to promote it, there will always be people who are interested.”

“Yes,” Simmons laughed upon hearing this.

“Hmm… I’m not sure if I should ask this question,” Charles said hesitantly upon hearing this.

"What's the problem?" The others looked at him.

"Is this so-called [Simulated Gaia - Spiritual Particle Environment Modification System] really that miraculous?" Charles asked. "A magic array covering such a large area... can the Snowfield Infected really withstand the energy consumption?"

His concerns were not unfounded, because Terra did have this kind of technology, but the cost and the benefits were disproportionate, making it impossible to popularize.

Simply put, using similar technology to cultivate an acre of land, the Originium consumed could buy hundreds or thousands of times more grain that could be harvested from that acre of land.

People will do jobs that risk their lives, but nobody will do jobs that lose money.

"And I also noticed that the technical manual says that it can basically be self-sufficient... That's incredible."

“Charles, you haven’t been involved long enough,” Alcott sighed, patting him on the shoulder. “Do you know why we value this technology so much, that we even came to this theater of operations with the Orwell for it?”

"It's because it's so incredible!"

"You think our Eden Project Phase 1 is too big? No, no, it's too small. Even if we planted all the crops on this small area, it might not be enough to feed the 200,000 people at the base."

"Compared to the Eden Project that we are actually building, it is far too small, so small that it can rely on a filtering array to absorb the Originium particles in the surrounding world and achieve basic self-sufficiency most of the time."

“The reason we built such a small eco-park is simply because of the threat of war,” Cindy continued. “The hundreds of thousands of Ursus troops are stationed on the edge of the snowfield, posing a constant threat. Only by presenting the facts to them will they compromise and talk to us.”

“Um…I think…” Charles hesitated before speaking.

As an Ursus native, he knew all too well the character of those warlords and nobles; they preferred to rob and plunder rather than negotiate.

“I know what you’re trying to say. This proves that you haven’t fully grasped the significance of the [Simulated Gaia - Spiritual Particle Environment Modification System] for all of humanity.”

Bai Dong, seeing his expression, interjected, "Didn't you notice? Cindy just said that it can achieve self-sufficiency by absorbing Originium particles from the air. Even larger magic arrays can replenish some energy through this ability. Did you realize anything when you heard that?"

Charles paused for a moment, then a word instantly popped into his mind.

"Natural disaster!?"

“Yes, it’s natural disasters,” Bai Dong nodded and said, “If it weren’t for the ubiquitous Originium particles in the air, many natural disasters would not occur because they would lack the necessary conditions for their formation. Even if they did occur due to climate or geological movements, they would only be ordinary storms, volcanic eruptions, or earthquakes, and would not be natural disasters that destroy everything due to the catalysis of Originium particles.”

"This technology is just as important as mobile cities are to humanity today. Our civilization is fragmented, and we can never settle in one place. We can only build expensive mobile cities to escape natural disasters."

"But if this technology can be popularized, human civilization will undoubtedly take a new step forward. With the [Simulated Gaia - Spiritual Particle Environment Modification System], we can truly settle down on the earth instead of living like the ancient nomadic peoples who followed the water and grass."

"Productivity will be fully unleashed, social conflicts will be temporarily alleviated, and we will all have a bright future."

"Ursus can refuse an eco-park where people can only settle in the snowfields and wage war, but they cannot refuse the possibility of making natural disasters a thing of the past."

460 Spy and Counter-Spy

"Elena, we don't have time."

In the secluded cabin, three spies sat on the floor.

“Seeing those projects being completed at such a rapid pace every day, we must take action now,” Petal said in a deep voice. “Otherwise… we will never have another chance.”

“My men are all ready,” David said, looking at Elena. “What are you waiting for?”

"..." Upon hearing this, Elena remained silent.

Yes, what am I waiting for?

“I’m waiting for an opportunity,” Elena said, looking at them. “I’m just a doctor; I don’t understand the purpose of all those things they’ve built!”

"You told me to find an opportunity to cause a disaster, but those are just ordinary buildings... they're only three stories high at most, how could they possibly cause a major disaster?"

She frowned and argued, "I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush. We might only have one chance; we can't make a move again and again."

"Really, there's absolutely no Originium Arts or spells at all?" Petal couldn't help but ask, "You didn't notice anything at all?"

"If I had, how could I have waited until now!" Elena said irritably. "They're all just ordinary houses; they didn't prepare any similar spells at all! Let alone disrupt or detonate them."

“But… how is that possible?” Hearing this, the two exchanged a glance. “Even if they’re just bluffing, they should at least put on some show. How could they come up with nothing at all?”

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Elena was still complaining. "Do you think I don't want to? There's just no chance! There are some strange designs on the construction site, but I can't understand them at all! They're not related to any Originium Arts or spells."

"Sigh, forget it, you'll have to find your own opportunity," the other two said, but they had no choice; they couldn't get involved on the construction site.

“Perhaps you could try asking Charles,” David suddenly said. “He didn’t suspect you, did he? And you handled the aftermath of the last operation very cleanly.”

"Otherwise, you could go ask him what tricks those people are up to. You might not understand it, but he's a proper university professor and he can join their project team. Maybe you can find out something from him."

"Well... well, I'll try my best."

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.

Charles didn't sleep.

He looked at the construction site, which was almost completed, and couldn't fall asleep at all.

Speaking of which... this project is really fast... mainly involves building eight buildings in eight directions, and then building a house in the center...

And then?

Then there is none.

So simple, yet so magical.

He was still thinking about what his colleagues had revealed during the day.

Eliminating natural disasters... is that really possible?

Well, that theory isn't wrong. So-called natural disasters are all kinds of natural calamities such as climate and geology that, under the catalysis of high-energy particles like Originium, evolve into terrifying disasters capable of destroying everything in their path.

Some are disasters that were already forming but were catalyzed, while others are simply disasters caused by the enrichment of Originium particles. They are all collectively referred to as natural disasters.

Once the Originium catalyst is removed, their destructive power will decrease to an acceptable level, at least preventing natural disasters and the extinction of humans and livestock.

But the problem is, how is it possible to completely remove Originium particles from the air? Originium has permeated every aspect of this world; it is an integral part of the natural workings of the world. The difficulty of eliminating this influence is unimaginable.

But they say that the "Simulated Gaia - Spiritual Particle Environment Modification System" can solve everything.

A super-large magic array with self-sufficiency, capable of drawing energy from Originium particles in the surrounding atmosphere, theoretically does indeed have such an effect.

But... but alas!

Isn't this the kind of technology that only appears in science fiction novels? Terra probably couldn't have developed something like this without hundreds of years of research.

Moreover, judging from the content I've come across... this doesn't seem like knowledge native to Terra; it's more like something left behind by our ancestors.

Can it really do that? The colleagues seemed to have no doubt, as if they had already witnessed it.

Charles looked at the buildings before him, his mind a jumble of thoughts.

Not only what is right before our eyes is nothing short of a miracle

"Hey, still awake so late?"

Just then, a light voice came from behind him. Charles turned around and found the person in charge of Rhodes Island, Mr. Xia Yu, right behind him.

"The first phase of the eco-park is about to be completed," he said, walking up to me. "Don't stay up too late, or you'll miss the next few days of work."

“Ah, sir, I just…” Charles was a little flustered for a moment, mainly because the special advisor from Rhodes Island had left a very deep impression on him that day.

The all-powerful Merlin was actually... Although he knew it was acting, he still felt it wasn't.

"Don't be nervous," Xia Yu smiled slightly. "Actually, it's good that you're not asleep. I have some things to discuss with you."

“Oh, you mean,” Charles said with a smile.

How have you been getting along with your colleagues these past few days?