Arknights' Lock of Heaven

The remnant soul in his hands was completely cut off from the outside world.

Xia Yu is not afraid of a fair and square duel, but Black Serpent is best at scheming and plotting.

Honestly, it's really annoying.

That's why he takes this matter so seriously.

“Instructed…” Alexei stood there, stunned.

Was someone directing me?

No... I was simply blinded by lust...

But how do I explain this? Can I say I've taken a fancy to your daughter and want to abduct her?

It’s simply courting death!

Thinking about this, he wanted to slap himself twice; he couldn't control himself once he saw that photo...

Wait, photos?

Alexei's eyes lit up.

“It was Koser!” He immediately put on a fawning smile. “It was Koser who gave me a picture of your daughter! He instructed me to do it?”

"Oh?" Xia Yu narrowed her eyes. "Then who exactly is this so-called Koser?"

"He's in the room across the street; he's one of my lieutenants!"

Lieutenant.

Xia Yu glanced at him.

A lieutenant ordering a general around?

"No, I'm not lying to you, he's the one who seduced me!" Alexei sensed Wendigo's distrust and cleverly replaced "instructed" with "seduced" in her words.

92. Are you here to change this terrible world?

Xia Yu loosened the head of the so-called Koser.

It seems I was worrying unnecessarily. There was no conspiracy or trickery involved. It was simply that Lieutenant Koser took a picture of me when I was passing through the checkpoint and then used it to curry favor with his superior.

The only reason he wasn't stopped at the checkpoint was because there was a caravan of a high-ranking nobleman with him crossing the border at the time, a caravan that even an earl would have to curry favor with, and he didn't want to cause trouble at that moment.

“It’s all his fault!” Alexei looked at Koser, who lay lifeless on the ground, his face full of fawning. “He’s the one who seduced me!”

He attributed everything to this lieutenant.

Is Koser innocent?

of course not.

What about Alexei?

The land slowly revealed a corner to him.

It just doesn't make any sense.

Even going out requires trepidation; one must conceal one's face, for bandits and robbers are everywhere, and the army is insatiably greedy...

He had never seen such a scene in his previous life, because the country was peaceful and prosperous, and fighting was the most illegal thing he had ever seen.

In the Absolute Monster Front, it was a battle of pure civilization and savagery, a war between humans and monsters, and between humans and gods. People united to face this perilous world together.

Before coming to Terra, all the suffering he experienced was only news reports and descriptions in books. Even the most direct videos could not truly convey his feelings.

But here, Xia Yu confronts the malice of human nature.

Although I knew the world was terrible while I was in Chernobog, I found out it was even worse than I had imagined after I left.

There's a scene in "Let the Bullets Fly" where, after entering the city, Master Tang complains to Zhang Mazi that the previous county magistrates had already collected Goose City's tax revenue ninety years into the future.

He initially thought it was just an exaggerated description.

It wasn't until I watched a video on Bilibili that I learned that warlords in Sichuan during the Republic of China era had done something like this, actually collecting taxes up to ninety years later...

You'll never know how low a person's limits are until you see it for yourself.

Just like the general standing before me.

Hehe, General.

Looking at his fat head and big ears, he doesn't look like a general at all.

A general who plunders caravans and controls bandits can simply say what he wants, and plenty of people will fawn over him, eager to curry favor.

As for his soldiers...

Whenever I barged in, even if they resisted for a while, I considered it as them doing their duty.

But such a large warship failed to mount any decent resistance for so long...

They had already arrested their military commander! They also broke in and arrested a junior officer, but still encountered no resistance.

Are they simply too incompetent, or is the reputation of patriots too profound?

Looking at Alexei's fawning face, Xia Yu felt only disgust.

With a casual wave of his hand, he severed his head and left the warship, feeling utterly bored.

Along the way, soldiers were peeking around everywhere.

But not a single person dared to pick up a weapon and stand in front of them.

And just like that, he easily left the high-speed warship that had been custom-made from Victoria.

Even after they had gone so far away, they didn't dare to use the ship's cannons.

Xia Yu finally understood why so many people from Rhodes Island were surrounding Amiya.

Not everyone is happy with this cesspool-like world.

Especially someone like Kal'tsit, who has clearly lived through a long era.

In this distorted world, amidst the ruins of this civilization, she must also miss the past.

Xia Yu was unaware of what catastrophe had occurred in Terra that led to the regression of civilization.

But it is clear that the nations of today have all risen from the ruins of past civilizations.

The ancient technologies discovered through archaeological excavations are the best proof of this.

Xia Yu recalled the twisted words he made after she caught the black snake.

"I did all of this for Ursus! For Ursus to move forward better!"

The war was started to advance Ursus.

Indeed, war is a catalyst for technology. In the past, countless technologies were spurred by World War I and World War II, and then reached their peak during the Cold War.

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union, representing their respective ideologies, engaged in a comprehensive contest.

Competing in technology, competing in economics, competing in systems...

That was the golden age of human development.

The idea that war drives technological advancement is, to some extent, true.

However, this does not mean that waging war for this reason is the right thing to do.

What about the black snake?

Was he also driven mad by the backward and barbaric era he once lived in, which led him to come up with such a twisted idea in order to promote the development of the times?

Thinking of this, Xia Yu shook her head.

Regardless of Black Serpent's intentions, his crimes are unforgivable.

How many people died because of his conspiracy?

Your atrocities will never become virtues because of the noble intentions behind them.

Emperor Yang of Sui built the Grand Canal, a feat that benefited both the present and future generations. But did the laborers who performed the forced labor think the same way?

Xia Yu couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Amiya truly embodies the hopes of everyone on Rhodes Island.

Xia Yu also understood why Kal'tsit had so readily allowed her to go on field missions.

She wanted to see the world for herself.

In her eyes, she was clearly someone who had lived through a golden age.

Xia Yu has never hidden the differences in her views with those native to Terra.

Kal'tsit couldn't possibly miss it.

But since they were born in a wonderful era, it's only natural that they would think about this ignorant and backward world.

Dissatisfaction is inevitable, and since there is dissatisfaction, it is only natural to want to make changes.

If change is needed, Rhodes Island and Amiya are the best paths.

Or what? The decadent feudal aristocracy, the emerging but soon-to-be-degenerate bourgeoisie—would you choose them?