Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“That’s impossible,” Xia Yu shook her head. “Natural disasters caused by climate and geological reasons are not within its scope of function, but Originium…”

“Yes, that’s right,” he stood there, stunned. “As long as we remove the Originium catalyst, the power of natural disasters won’t be so devastating… then urbanization can definitely proceed…”

“Hey, that’s why I say don’t work in isolation,” Muirsay stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder. “I just realized you didn’t know this?”

“I said, if you had just listened to a few of our discussions, things wouldn’t have come to this.”

503 We had no choice

“No,” Johnson suddenly realized, “the vision you’ve described is indeed wonderful, but to completely eliminate natural disasters, we’d have to cover the entire continent with simulated Gaia!”

“Originium is ubiquitous. As long as there is a wilderness that has not been covered, the natural disaster will still occur... We can prevent natural disasters from forming inside the simulated Gaia, but we cannot prevent them from forming outside.”

"Who can blame us when over 70% of Terra is now a desolate wasteland devoid of civilization?"

“We’re not stupid,” Muirsay said helplessly. “Eliminating natural disasters? That’s just a beautiful vision. We probably won’t live to see that day.”

"At this stage, we are discussing using dozens of simulated Gaias to form a circle, with the city and industrial facilities at the very center, and farmland and wilderness on the outer perimeter."

"As mentioned before, without the catalyst of Originium, natural disasters don't have that devastating power. The wilderness and farmland act as a buffer zone. When natural disasters enter this area, they are stripped of the influence of Originium by the outer buffer zone, and only pure natural disasters reach the city."

“…There are many difficulties,” Johnson silently calculated in his mind, and then said, “Just the so-called firebreaks for dealing with different types or intensities of natural disasters vary greatly, and it is not an easy task to fully master them.”

“It’s all about human effort,” Fujimaru Ritsuka chimed in from the side. “How can we give up just because of difficulties? How will we know if a path won’t work if we don’t try?”

"And isn't your research exactly aligned with this problem? Mobile simulated Gaias, you know. We can keep some in cities as reserves, and when a natural disaster strikes, we can assess its power first. It would be best if we could intercept it with an outer perimeter barrier. If that's not possible, we can just take out the transport ships carrying the simulated Gaias and use them as shields."

She blinked and said, "I think this idea is pretty good."

“Not just good, it’s absolutely brilliant,” Muirsay patted Fujimaru Ritsuka on the shoulder upon hearing this. “Your mind works really fast, doesn’t it?”

"Basic stuff, basic stuff," the latter waved his hand, but his eyes were already smiling like crescent moons.

Aside from her and Xia Yu, almost everyone present had two doctoral degrees. The elfin-like young lady in front of them was an expert in ecological research, so it wasn't easy to receive such praise.

Keep in mind, Fujimaru Ritsuka is just a high school student! Imagine how proud her family would be if they knew she'd been praised on the shoulder by a super-amazing scientist…

……

Ugh.

“Did you hear that, Johnson? Your days of working behind closed doors haven’t been entirely useless,” Muirsey said, turning to the dejected Johnson. “Let’s go, let’s continue our seminar.”

“The government has sent word that we must help Rhode Island master this technology no matter what,” she said with a smile. “Columbia needs to create a virtual Gaia; the wilderness on our land can no longer remain idle.”

"Believe me, those pioneers will absolutely love this technology."

After saying that, he nodded to Xia Yu and then led a group of Colombian scientists to continue their seminar.

"This world is truly full of disasters," Fujimaru Ritsuka nudged Xia Yu with her elbow as she watched their departing figures. "Sigh, do you think they can succeed?"

"Is that even a question?" Xia Yu glanced at her. "Don't you believe in Leonardo da Vinci's abilities?"

“Ha, I certainly don’t doubt Leonardo da Vinci’s abilities,” Fujimaru Ritsuka said with a sidelong glance. “I’m talking about…political matters.”

"Sigh, although I've heard you say a lot about it, I've only realized how terrible this world is after actually experiencing it."

She sat down next to Xia Yu.

"The earth is torn apart, war and friction, swords and fire, blood and tears, oppression and injustice. Do you know what Sherlock Holmes told me yesterday?"

"He said that the world is a powder keg, just waiting for a spark to fly over and ignite it, and then the whole world will explode together."

"This country called Ursus, which stands beneath our feet, has started countless wars. I've heard it fought ten wars with Kazimir alone..."

"The land's overlords ranged from the Khan of Nightmares to the Emperor of Sargon, from the Lion of Victoria to the warships of Iberia. Nations were constantly at war with each other, and wolves lurked around civilizations."

“Honestly, this world is terrible,” she sighed. “After creating Gaia and learning what natural disasters and Originium really are, I finally understand the significance of this technology for this world.”

"It doesn't make sense that I understand something that others can't."

"The creation of Gaia is bound to cause conflict on Earth, and the benefits it brings are too great for anyone to ignore."

“No, it won’t happen,” Xia Yu patted her shoulder upon hearing this, “the conflict you fear will not come.”

"Why? Are you that confident?"

“Because I’m here.”

“I control the source of the technology. Whoever I say gets it, that’s who.”

Upon hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly asked, "What if someone misbehaves? What if someone is eyeing the food in someone else's bowl?"

“Then they are traitors to all mankind,” Xia Yu smiled slightly and looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka, “Before the disaster comes, only by uniting can mankind survive.”

"I will give a decent living to anyone who does anything that is detrimental to unity."

“Then your hands will be covered in blood,” Fujimaru Ritsuka whispered. “They’ll call you a butcher, no one will thank you, all you’ll get is fear!”

Hearing this, Xia Yu stared at her intently.

Was she talking about me?

Haha, I doubt it.

“I know I’m doing the right thing,” Xia Yu said, looking at her. “Other people’s opinions mean nothing to me.”

"But what if I... you feel guilty in the end? What if you know that those who died under your hands were not only the guilty, but also many innocent people?"

"They were just caught up in it! They just wanted to survive! They might have even helped you at some point! Saved your life! But if you want to achieve your goals, if you want to survive, you have to treat everything they did as stepping stones! Step over them!"

The topic is getting more and more off-topic, but the content gets straight to the heart of the matter.

At this point, Fujimaru Ritsuka lowered her head, her whole body tense, and her fingers trembling slightly.

“Ritsuka,” Xia Yu reached out and took her hands in hers, “I will step over it.”

"I may hesitate, I may feel guilty, but when the time comes, I will still step over it."

"Disaster is imminent, those people are lives, but the countless people behind me are also lives."

"You actually know, right? What seems like a difficult choice is actually something we don't have a choice at all."

504 It's this world that's wrong!

Xia Yu put her arm around Fujimaru Ritsuka's shoulder and pulled her in front of her, their foreheads touching.

"I did nothing wrong, you did nothing wrong, the fault lies not with us."

“You can be a little willful,” he said softly. “The world is wrong.”

“But that’s not what my heart tells me,” Fujimaru Ritsuka said weakly.

“Then just ignore it and listen to me,” Xia Yu continued. “Remember, we’re not wrong.”

"Don't think too highly of yourself, Ritsuka. We were not the ones who caused all of this, nor were we the ones who pushed them to their deaths. It was fate."

"For you, it's that alien god."

"He caused all of this, He made those alien belts appear, He pushed you into this situation where you have to make a choice."

"Put away your sentimentality. He never gave you any choice. There is only one thing you need to do."

"That is to wait and hope, and in the very end, to slam your fist into His face."

Fujimaru Ritsuka let out a soft sob upon hearing this, reached out and hugged Xia Yu, and nodded.

Then he looked up, took a step back, and a bright smile reappeared on his face.

"I'll go check on Mashu."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Ahhh! ! !

Fujimaru Ritsuka, what are you doing?!

She clearly wanted to persuade him indirectly, but somehow she ended up getting herself into a mess!

She's even crying and acting all cute in someone's arms... Is that really me?

How could I do something like this?!

I &%＃*＃@￥%！ ！ ！

She walked faster and faster, her legs moving as if she were about to fly, and from Xia Yu's unseen front, her face grew increasingly red.

She wanted to scream in embarrassment, but the area was too crowded and inconvenient, so she could only sprint away from the fortress that served as a research facility.

"Mashu!!!"

Having finally spotted Mashu outside, she immediately pounced on her and snuggled against her.

"Senpai?!" Mashu was taken aback when she saw Fujimaru Ritsuka's unusual appearance, then reached out and stroked her head. "What's wrong?"

"Mash! Xia Yu is bullying me!" After replenishing her lost energy with her junior, Fujimaru Ritsuka raised her head and looked at Mash with righteous indignation, "You have to stand up for me!"

"Grab your shield and go knock him away!"

"...Senior, how did he bully you?" Mashu asked hesitantly.

"He, he, he... he flirted with me!" Fujimaru Ritsuka hesitated for two seconds, then pitifully said to Mashu, "Look at my face, it's so red... how could he do that to an innocent girl..."

"Mash, grab your shield and swat him away!"