Arknights' Lock of Heaven

She could tolerate it, but Xia Yu wasn't the original Jin Gu, and a modern soul simply couldn't stand it.

So he had no choice but to move out and live in a tree...

Fortunately, the trees in the world of gods were tall and thick enough. He found a tree that would take dozens of people to encircle and carved out a small hole to make a place for himself to hide.

It was really just a place to stay; although it was more than enough for one person to sleep in, it was only good for sleeping.

It's not that he can't expand it, but that would damage the trees' very essence, and he doesn't want to do that.

After acquiring this body, Xia Yu seemed to have become a bit sentimental.

Later, he found some strange crystals that could glow when filled with magic. He tied these crystals to vines and hung them on the top of tree holes to serve as a light source.

A large piece of bark covered the entrance to the cave, which served as the door to his small refuge.

It's fine for blocking wind and rain, but expecting this piece of bark to keep out unwanted guests is clearly asking too much.

Later, that piece of bark was destroyed by Mashu.

The reason, of course, is that Xia Yu had been eyeing Chaldea's abundant Heroic Spirit resources, so she secretly captured Fujimaru Ritsuka and coerced the doctor into sending her those materials.

Later, Mashu discovered it and rushed over without hesitation, smashing the piece of bark that had sheltered Xia Yu from the wind and rain for who knows how long with a single slap.

So, relying on Fujimaru Ritsuka, Xia Yu used this to extort money from Chaldea.

Those are my brothers and friends, my good brothers who have sheltered me from the wind and rain for so many years, I deserve extra money.

However, as expected of a savior, the little girl Fujimaru Ritsuka keenly noticed that Xia Yu didn't seem to be as determined to fight them to the death as he claimed.

He readily agreed to Xia Yu's conditions, and then, seizing the opportunity, he used various indirect methods to try and find out some unknown information and Xia Yu's true attitude.

They didn't look like they had been kidnapped at all.

What attitude could Xia Yu possibly have? This was just a singularity. Having seen the ending, he knew that the Rakhmu would not tolerate him.

Following Gorgon, or rather Tiamat behind him, is a dead end.

His own survival depended entirely on his betrayal at the last minute. If he could restrain Tiamat, the Counter Forces probably wouldn't let go of such a high-quality employee who had accomplished the great feat of restraining the Creator God.

The great undertaking of binding the creator god is so powerful that the divine aura on the Heavenly Lock is about to boil over.

Putting aside the quota for the Hall of Heroes in Gaia's territory, even signing a guardian's contract with Alaya like Shirou Emiya would be better than staying in the Singularity to wait for death.

However, something went wrong, and instead of seeing the suppressive force, I found myself on the continent of Terra.

9. Business Empires That Failed

8:20 in the morning.

Rhodes Island forward deck.

Xia Yu carried a thermos to the location marked on the Lion Scorpion's hand-drawn map.

I bought the thermos from Kroos yesterday. It was filled with piping hot broth. I had already arranged with the cafeteria manager yesterday, and this morning I poured a whole pot of broth into this ordinary thermos.

Horn Peak's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

But as a reliable employee under SilverAsh, he naturally wouldn't ask any more questions. He could only watch as Xia Yu poured the meat soup he had been simmering all night into the small thermos and then walked away.

Kal'tsit was already waiting here.

"Good morning," Xia Yu greeted her, then noticed that her attention was entirely focused on the unremarkable thermos in her hand.

To be honest, I was only able to persuade the cafeteria manager to prepare such a large pot of meat soup for me thanks to Kal'tsit.

Or is it a case of the fox borrowing the tiger's power?

Ordinary operators don't know Xia Yu's situation; only elite operators know his background.

Xia Yu, who ate with Kal'tsit in the cafeteria yesterday, has become the center of gossip on Rhodes Island.

That's Kal'tsit, the legendary workaholic. Even though the cafeteria manager has been in office for so many years, she's hardly ever been seen in the cafeteria.

Normally, it's Aya, Kal'tsit's favorite student, who brings her food back to eat.

I not only saw her in the cafeteria today, but I also saw her chatting happily with a stranger.

Someone who receives such hospitality from Kal'tsit must be a very important business partner.

After all, even SilverAsh, the current patriarch of the Shivaesh family, has never seen Kal'tsit personally host him for a meal.

So it's quite easy for Xia Yu to buy a pot of meat soup.

Kal'tsit immediately stared at the thermos in her hand, probably because all her actions over the past two days had been reported in great detail.

Keep in mind, I had only been able to demonstrate the extraordinary features of this thermos for a little over ten minutes.

After getting the meat soup from the cafeteria, Xia Yu rushed here.

Then what happened at Kroos's workshop yesterday must have already appeared in her records.

However, this was all expected, and he didn't care much about it.

When I did these things, I never thought of hiding them from others; everything was out in the open.

"May I see it?" Kal'tsit asked Xia Yu without hesitation, pointing to the thermos.

“Of course,” Xia Yu nodded readily and handed the thermos to Kal’tsit.

Kal'tsit, who was not surprised by his decisive attitude or had expected it, did not waste any words and reached out to take the thermos.

It feels warm to the touch; the smooth bottle exudes warmth. In the dead of winter, it would be a great hand warmer.

I looked at it over and over again, but the thermos was still the same thermos, with nothing else unusual.

The size and weight are correct, and the bottle itself is the same one that was on the Cloosir shelf just yesterday.

But Kal'tsit still remembered the shocked look on the cafeteria manager's face when he video-called her a dozen minutes earlier, and the surveillance video was also sent to her at the same time.

Without any magic tricks, they simply poured a large pot of broth into a bottle.

The bottle, which could be held in one hand, contained everything.

Even Kal'tsit, who had seen too many things beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, was stunned by this.

This thermos was on the shelf at Clooch yesterday, and today it's become so magical.

There's no clichéd bargain hunting involved. The bottle in my hand is indeed a modern creation, complete with manufacturer and production date information. There's no question of some divine object being tarnished.

In other words, this person not only has the ability to cure Oripathy, but also possesses an unknown technology.

Without Xia Yu's permission, Kal'tsit opened the bottle, and the aroma of the broth that had been simmering all night immediately filled the deck.

She took out a bottle slightly larger than the thermos in her hand, which she had asked Kroos to send over urgently a few minutes earlier.

They come from the same place, just in different sizes.

Then he poured the broth into his own bottle.

Even after the thermos in my hand was filled to the brim, the broth in Xia Yu's thermos hadn't decreased at all.

That's it, Kal'tsit thought as she tightened the bottle cap, unknown spatial technology...

She knew all too well the value of this technology.

If it could be widely adopted, the entire world would be turned upside down.

This assessment is not an exaggeration at all.

From the simplest business transactions to the national defense and security of various countries, everything will be transformed.

This is just the most obvious point; it's only a matter of time before all industries are swept up by this wave.

Even if he only brings out a scrap, such as his thermos, he would be treated as an honored guest by any country.

It was essential to have an army corps stationed outside the laboratory, and daughters of princes and nobles would flock to his room if he liked them.

If this technology could be obtained by exchanging blood ties, Kal'tsit would never doubt the wickedness of those in power.

It's not impossible that they would even send their wives out.

To put it bluntly, this is the key to a new era, and a unique one at that.

Looking at the thermos in her hand, which had suddenly increased in value from forty LMD to a priceless treasure, Kal'tsit inexplicably thought of that item in Chernobog.

This is technology that shouldn't exist in this era.

A certain idea in my mind has found some evidence again.

Xia Yu hadn't expected Kal'tsit to raise that thermos to such an extent.

Because he knew this was not a technology that could be replicated, and it might not even be defined as a scientific achievement.

To create such a bottle, you first need a Holy Grail.

The exorbitant entry requirements are enough to deter everyone on this continent, because they do not possess the Holy Grail.

Xia Yu doesn't count; he's an outsider.

By taking out the bottle in full view of everyone, Xia Yu was obviously considering cooperating with Rhodes Island.

He could earn 100,000 LMD per field mission, but he also knew that this was just a friendly price from Kal'tsit.

There won't be that many in the future.

Half of those 100,000 Lungmen Dollars were spent on Originium, and the Originium they bought wasn't even enough to fill the Holy Grail.