Arknights' Lock of Heaven

The unit is Lungmen coin.

After converting the prices, the Lungmen Dollar doesn't seem to have much less purchasing power than the RMB.

The reward for completing this mission is 100,000...

Xia Yu didn't think this mission would be difficult. After all, if it were really dangerous, they wouldn't have brought someone of unknown origin like herself. Rhodes Island had so many elite operators whose backgrounds were well known.

He was well aware of his place in Rhodes Island's eyes.

Not very dangerous, and the pay is so high...

Is Kal'tsit giving herself a perk?

Xia Yu glanced at Kal'tsit suspiciously.

Is he planning on two fronts? On one hand, he openly sends people to monitor him to prevent him from harming Rhodes Island, and on the other hand, he spends a lot of money to appease him.

Having witnessed the purchasing power of LMD, Xia Yu didn't believe that 100,000 LMD could be earned in a single special mission.

A 100,000 yuan bonus for accompanying the boss on a business trip—even the biggest company can't afford such extravagance.

"So, are you interested in taking on this mission?"

Kal'tsit took out a black card. "This is a bank card issued by Lungmen Bank. The mission rewards are all in there."

Xia Yu looked at the black bank card.

Of course I'll take it! He's already tasted the bitterness of being brought down by a penny.

Although I haven't heard of Lungmen Bank in the game, it's normal for Yan Kingdom, as the window to the outside world and the issuer of Lungmen currency, to have a bank.

Kal'tsit doesn't need to deceive herself with this.

“I’ve accepted the mission,” Xia Yu said without hesitation, reaching for the bank card. “When do we leave?”

“We’re leaving tomorrow morning,” Kal’tsit replied calmly. “We’ll depart at 8:30. Manticore will tell you where to meet.”

After saying that, he got up to leave.

“I have another question,” Xia Yu asked calmly, “I want to know where I can buy Originium.”

Hearing this, Kal'tsit turned her head and looked at him with surprise, "You need Originium?"

"I need Originium to unleash Originium Arts; I need to make some preparations for tomorrow's trip."

Xia Yu chose to reveal some of her secrets to Kal'tsit.

He does need Originium to restore his own power and the magic in the Holy Grail.

Originium is indeed a magical thing; it can power massive mobile cities and can also be converted into magic.

He discovered this while treating Kal'tsit; he could convert the Originium crystal on her shoulder into pure magic.

This cannot cure the disease, because Oripathy cannot be cured by simply removing the crystallized Originium from the body.

Xia Yu was healed by the Holy Grail, a miracle that could turn everything around.

But since Originium crystals on the human body can be converted into magic power, then Originium itself is even more so.

This is simply a gesture of goodwill.

Revealing this to Kal'tsit was partly to dispel some of her doubts about him, since it was, after all, a weakness of his.

At least until the weaknesses are restored to the point where one can unleash their Noble Phantasm.

Knowing her weaknesses meant she could control her better, and she could feel more at ease with herself.

Moreover, Xia Yu would never give up on restoring her magic power; having a knife in hand would put people at ease.

On Rhodes Island, it's impossible to hide the use of Originium from others, so it's better to just openly reveal it.

It's better than hiding it, using it secretly, and then being discovered.

"Go talk to Kroos; I'm not in charge of this."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Watching her departing figure, Xia Yu used the bank card she had just received to order a few more dishes.

He hasn't had enough to eat yet.

7 The Cruelty of the World

“Be careful,” Kroos said with a frown, looking at Xia Yu who was clutching the Originium tightly. “Although we’ve smoothed out the rough edges, it’s better to be safe than sorry. I won’t be responsible if you really become an infected.”

From the moment she first saw this guy, she couldn't stand him no matter what.

The reason is simple: if you were eating hotpot and singing, and suddenly there was a loud bang, and your originally leisurely work suddenly turned into 007, you wouldn't be happy about it either.

Moreover, his attitude towards Originium... Although Kroos also acknowledged that Originium was indeed an indispensable part of human civilization, as a member of Rhodes Island and a Sarkaz, she had witnessed too many tragedies caused by Originium.

While it's not fair to attribute everything to Originium, this behavior shows absolutely no awareness of the dangers posed by Originium...

If it weren't for the money, Kroos wouldn't want to say a word to him.

"It's alright," Xia Yu said, not paying much attention to Kroos's emotions, his mind was entirely focused on the Originium in his hand.

He felt the abundant energy within the Originium and took a deep breath.

The Originium in his hand instantly turned into dust, scattering into tiny specks in the air.

"What...what have you done?!" Kroos stared at him in disbelief.

After a second or two, she snapped out of her shock and screamed.

"Damn it, the dust concentration is definitely above the limit!"

Then, as if facing a formidable enemy, he instantly distanced himself from Xia Yu, nimbly ran to the corner of the wall, grabbed a protective suit, put it on, and then turned and charged towards Xia Yu.

"I've never seen anyone as reckless as you," Kroos screamed as she dragged Xia Yu out of the dust-filled area. "Why haven't the alarms gone off yet, and why haven't the emergency procedures been activated?!"

She dragged Xia Yu outside and slammed the door shut. "Do you even know what that is?"

"That's Originium! It's Originium!!!"

"Do you know what a Level 1 dangerous item is?" Kroos grabbed Xia Yu's collar, pressing the transparent face area of ​​her protective suit against Xia Yu's face. Her ruby-like eyes were filled with boundless rage. "Do you know how many people on this ship are suffering from Oripathy?"

"Do you know how painful it is to watch your body harden and crystallize little by little until your internal organs are petrified? Do you only realize that not everything in this world is safe to touch when your body is covered in crystals?"

Xia Yu did not reply.

He looked at the enraged Kroos.

Or rather, this cruel world revealed a glimpse of his true self to him for the first time.

Kroos, an engineer, shattered his nonchalance with her attitude of avoiding Originium like the plague and her angry words.

Originium.

He previously only regarded Originium as a tool to restore mana. As for Originium causing Oripathy? He knew that, but... it's the same principle as "knowledge gained from books is never enough".

Originium brought the Terrans an energy source with limitless possibilities, ushering in a new era.

But this is not a nice gift.

He will remember everything he saw today.

The Originium crystal on Kal'tsit's shoulder, the Lion Scorpion's personality twisted by its mutated abilities, and the crowds coming and going in the public corridors and cafeteria.

There were teenagers and elderly people nearing sixty...

Aside from their uniforms, the vast majority of them share a common identity.

Infected.

Infected individuals who don't know when they will die.

Infected individuals who cannot even be buried after death; their bodies can only be 'disposed of'.

He thought of people he had never met.

Frostnova, who will die fighting in Lungmen in the future; Patriot, whose entire body is corrupted by Originium; Eyjafjalla, whose eyesight and hearing are severely impaired; and Eyjafjalla, who is still persisting in her parents' research...

There are millions of infected people like them on this land.

“What a cruel world…” Xia Yu murmured softly.

Through the thick protective suit, Kroos didn't hear her clearly and asked in confusion, "What did you say?"

“I said, I’m sorry,” Xia Yu forced a smile, “I should have told you beforehand.”

"I was reckless, I'm sorry."

"You call that recklessness?" Kroos was furious at this. "You were just asking for death!"

“Believe me,” Xia Yu raised her right hand, her fair and jade-like palm spot as clean as ever, “the source stones that come into my hands won’t leave a speck of dust.”

"I should have told you this in advance, I'm sorry."

Xia Yu apologized again, acknowledging that it was indeed her mistake.

“This,” Kroos asked, her brow furrowed as she looked at his right hand, which was completely free of dust. “I clearly saw dust floating in the air.”

"That's a special effect. That's how my Originium Arts work," Xia Yu said, touching her nose. It was actually a step in converting magic power, but magic power was a difficult thing to explain, so she could only gloss over it for now.

After hearing his explanation, Kroos looked at him suspiciously, then opened the studio door a crack, stuck an arm in, and pulled it back after two seconds.