Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“Oh, what you said reminds me,” Xia Yu said with a smile. “If something happens to this ship, they really won’t be able to go back. Hehehe, it seems I need to find a chance to do something to them so that they can never go back and can only stay and work for me!”

At this point, he patted Amiya on the shoulder with satisfaction, "As expected of the head of Rhodes Island, you're all smiles and ruthless. I'm very relieved to hand over this company to you in the future."

Seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed, Mashu looked somewhat helpless, and Amiya said with a wry smile, "Mr. Xia Yu, I'm talking about serious matters!"

“I’m talking about serious business,” Xia Yu said with a smile, “and don’t you want to take a ride on it? It’s a ship that can travel through the sky! The legendary Nautilus!”

“Of course she wasn’t that looking forward to it,” Fujimaru Ritsuka said, pulling Amiya into her arms. “As her master, how could I mistreat my only little apprentice!”

"I believe it won't be long before she owns an identical boat."

"It was built by someone else."

510 Have they always been like this?

"Is it really okay?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu subconsciously looked at Ritsuka, "I meant Captain Nemo."

Honestly, nobody wants to see someone else displaying their own face and abilities in front of them, right?

“It’s alright, I asked the captain, and he doesn’t mind,” Fujimaru Ritsuka said, pulling Amiya into her arms and nuzzling her cheek. “After all, it’s a gift for my only little apprentice, how can it be shabby?”

Although they had only known each other for a few days, Amiya quickly got used to Fujimaru Ritsuka's personality and helplessly winked at Xia Yu in her arms.

"Then thank you very much," Xia Yu nodded to Ritsuka upon seeing this.

"Who are you? This is a gift for my apprentice. Do you need to thank me?" Ritsuka rolled her eyes.

Xia Yu smiled but remained silent.

Storm Border is not just a simple ship; it is an entity formed by incorporating the imaginary submarine of Chaldea, the Noble Phantasm of Captain Nemo's Nautilus, and various complex technologies.

In the British Lostbelt, Ritsuka and his companions sailed this ship to confront the Horned God.

Its value cannot be simply measured by its top-tier escape capabilities, such as imaginary submarine navigation, or its status as a spaceship.

They knew they wanted to do something big in this world, and Ritsuka also saw her own expectations for Amiya.

Leaving behind information about the ship's technology and Captain Nemo's spirit portrait... is also a way to help himself.

To be honest, there still has to be some scenes featuring the so-called ancient gods. Since we've put on this facade, we have to act it out properly.

Having ability alone is not enough; you need to put on a show.

Xia Yu also considered using some special Noble Phantasms to make a grand entrance, such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the vanity of the Assyrian Empress Semiramis.

Appearing as a "great fortress floating in the air," it consists of neatly arranged, lush green floating islands, marble floors, and pillars. All sorts of plants entwine everywhere.

The garden appears to float because of its "inverted" concept, in which plants grow downwards and water flows from downstream to upstream.

It's enough to make a scene!

But there is a problem.

The specific details of the Noble Phantasm are said to originate from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but in reality, Semiramis has no connection with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

However, it is actually quite normal that it can be established as a Noble Phantasm by taking advantage of the faith of a large number of misunderstandings, after all, even phantom spirits like Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty can manifest under certain conditions.

Since Semiramis was not the one who built the Hanging Gardens in history, it was named "Vanity," and therefore the activation conditions of the Noble Phantasm are quite strict, and it cannot be manifested through magic.

To complete this Noble Phantasm, one must first collect a certain amount of wood, stone, minerals, plants, and water from Semiramis's former residence (ruins near Baghdad, the capital of Iraq), then combine them, and finally have Semiramis perform a long ritual to turn the fantasy into reality. The minimum number of days required from the start of preparation for activation is about three days.

The material issue alone was a major obstacle for Xia Yu.

This is not something that can be accomplished by magic or by sheer force.

Where is he supposed to find materials about Baghdad in Terra?

Moreover, Fujimaru Ritsuka has a deeper meaning.

After all, the things this world has to face don't seem simple. An interstellar civilization has been wiped out. Xia Yu is determined to stay here, so give him Storm Border... If all else fails, he can run away if he can't win, right?

“But I still feel…” Amiya struggled to break free from Fujimaru Ritsuka’s embrace, “We’re just going to buy a batch of fruit trees, do we really need to use such a treasure? Wouldn’t that be too conspicuous? And even if we’re going to do what Master said, there’s no need to show up in Sargon, is there?”

"Just going to buy a batch of fruit trees?" Upon hearing this, Xia Yu and Fujimaru Ritsuka exchanged a glance, then simultaneously revealed a meaningful smile.

"Amiya, is that what you think?" Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled and put her arm around her apprentice's shoulder. "Hey, looks like you've been kept in the dark."

"That's right, that's right! Amiya, you're the person in charge of Rhodes Island!" Xia Yu chimed in, "How dare someone keep something like this from you? They're despicable! They're despicable!"

"In my opinion, it must be because Empress Dowager Kai saw that you, Amiya, were a young prince ruling the court and took advantage of your ignorance. She then began to rule from behind the curtain, monopolizing power. We dared not speak out against her, but who knew that Empress Dowager Kai would go so far as to keep such a thing from you! In any case, I can't stand by and watch!"

Xia Yu winked at Amiya, "Should we gather our troops now, drive the Storm Border, and head back to Rhodes Island to catch Queen Dowager off guard!"

“Absolutely, absolutely. But if you ask me, what’s the point of having someone in charge of a tiny Rhodes Island? Why don’t we feign an attack while secretly making a move?” Fujimaru Ritsuka said with a smile, “Let’s launch a surprise attack on Emperor Sargon under the guise of purchasing fruit trees!”

“Once we seize that bird’s throne, Amiya, you’ll be the empress, and I’ll be the imperial tutor! Mashu will be the commander of the Imperial Guard, and Xia Yu will be the chief eunuch.”

"Hey, you dog!" Xia Yu's face changed upon hearing this. She grabbed Fujimaru Ritsuka in a fit of rage and began digging her knuckles into her temples. "You eunuch? How dare you treat me like this!"

"Mash! Save me!" Fujimaru Ritsuka cried out in anguish, looking at Mash with pity.

"Yes," Mashu said, turning to Amiya and taking her hand. "It's alright, they're just joking. We don't really want to take Sargon's throne."

“I’m not a child anymore, Mashu,” Amiya said with her sweet tongue, “Of course I can tell they’re joking.”

However, I'm so envious... Although Mr. Xia Yu is easygoing, no one on Rhodes Island can be as close to him as he is.

The Doctor always shamelessly sought opportunities to stick close to him, but Amiya could also see that the Doctor's feelings for Mr. Xia Yu were more out of curiosity and a desire to explore, rather than the pure friendship they had now.

No! It might not necessarily be pure friendship!

Although Amiya was young, she had heard of a certain saying.

Where does pure friendship come from between men and women?

She didn't know if what she said was right or wrong...

He only dared to glance at the two who were playfully fighting.

Hmm, it seems fine. Shall we take another look?

Hmm, are friends really this close? That's weird.

Take another look!

Mashu stared at Amiya, who was stealing glances at the two of them, her head filled with question marks.

She was already used to the two of them being so irreverent when they were together. Although her senior would occasionally joke around, and Xia Yu was usually quite proper, they were pretty normal when they were alone together. But as soon as the two of them got together...

They'll immediately start acting inappropriately.

Looking at the little rabbit in front of her, Mashu's heart melted. Hehe, her senior's only apprentice! She's so polite and cute!

Without realizing it, she reached out and stroked Amiya's head, then rubbed and rubbed it.

Amiya watched the two bickering in front of her, then looked at Mashu beside her, who was rubbing her head and grinning foolishly. Her feelings were very complicated.

Based on her observations over the past few days, Mashu and Master are practically inseparable; they're definitely not just ordinary friends. And sometimes, Mashu does things that show she cares a lot about Master…

The master craftsman's gaze was practically dripping with adrenaline!

There's definitely something fishy about these two!

But Xia Yu-senpai... he's just joking around with his master like this, and Mashu-senpai doesn't react at all, acting like everything's normal...

Amiya had a rather terrifying thought about this: the little rabbit knew a lot!

How terrifying, is this the adult world?

But there's nothing strange about these three people getting together...

How strange.

Just as she was thinking rapidly, the two people who had been bickering over there stopped and assumed the same posture, scrutinizing Mashu and Amiya.

"Hmm, do you think Amiya is older or Mashu is older?" Xia Yu suddenly looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka.

He genuinely didn't know how old Mashu was.

"What do you mean? I'm not a pedophile!" Fujimaru Ritsuka exclaimed angrily upon hearing this.

Then he was met with Xia Yu's extremely complicated gaze.

I was just asking your age, I didn't expect you to be like this...

Fujimaru Ritsuka also realized what was happening and looked at the other side guiltily.

Amiya seemed lost in thought, while Mashu looked over with a puzzled expression, clearly not understanding what they meant.

Ah, our Mashu is such a pure child.

It's great that I didn't understand; if I had, I would have had to jump off the Storm Border.

"Ahem, let's get down to business," she coughed twice and tried to change the subject, not giving Xia Yu a chance to make a fuss, "Amiya, you really don't know what happened to Sargon?"

"What? I can't get there?" Amiya asked, her eyes wide with confusion.

“You said,” Fujimaru Ritsuka nudged Xia Yu with her elbow, gesturing with her eyes, “How about we let our little sister off the hook and skip that topic?”

Xia Yu smiled smugly at this, then turned and looked at Mashu with gentle eyes.

“Mash, you know…”

Before he could finish speaking, Fujimaru Ritsuka tugged hard at his sleeve, then clasped her hands together and pleaded with him.