Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"Apart from the Operations Department, almost all departments on Rhodes Island are under the direct command of Kal'tsit, including the Personnel Department."

The reason I say "apart from the operations department" is because that position was reserved for the Doctor.

“I see,” Eyjafjalla nodded, somewhat bewildered. “It seems this Lady Kal'tsit is quite remarkable…”

“But isn’t Rhodes Island a pharmaceutical company?” Eyjafjalla asked, her eyes wide with confusion. “Why would it have a operations department?”

Right, why would a pharmaceutical company have a war department?

Why are there specialized artisan groups? Why are the crisis contracts they receive always for direct armed conflict instead of their primary job of providing medicine?

And why are there so many claims?

Is this what a legitimate pharmaceutical company should be like?

The answer is simple: Rhodes Island was originally the Tower of Babel! It was a political force under Theresa's control! Isn't it normal for it to have these things?

But is this something I can say to Eyjafjalla?

A scholar should not get involved in political matters.

“You know, this world isn’t peaceful,” Xia Yu looked earnestly into Eyjafjalla’s eyes, “and what do pharmaceutical companies represent?”

"It means they're rich. How many people are eyeing our drugs?"

"Therefore, it is normal to have an operations department to protect the interests of employees and the company."

"Just like Rhine Labs, they also have a defense department, right? The only difference between us is the name of the department."

"Is...is that so?" Eyjafjalla was clearly fooled. "Looks like I'm really ignorant..."

"No, no, after all, you don't usually deal with this kind of thing," Xia Yu waved her hand. "It's normal to know less about it."

“Oh,” Eyjafjalla nodded, then continued, “Which route should we take to Rhodes Island’s main ship?”

“No, we won’t go straight back to the Rhodes Island main ship,” Xia Yu said casually as she packed Eyjafjalla’s luggage. She had to admit, traveling light felt really good.

Do you know Wolumond?

"Wolumonde?" Eyjafjalla paused, "Is that the Letanian city that recently suffered the Great Rift Valley catastrophe?"

"I've heard a little about it; that Great Rift Valley is quite serious."

“Yes, it’s good that you’ve heard of it,” Xia Yu sighed. “We need to go there first.”

“Uh,” Eyjafjalla was taken aback, “Although as a scholar I am also very interested in such rare natural disasters, but…”

Why would someone from a pharmaceutical company request a job in a city that has absolutely no connection to them?

“Because of a request for help from one of our operators,” Xia Yu sighed. “Rhodes Island is a company established to solve the problem of infected people, and many of our members are infected people.”

"In Wolumond, the people there have just been struck by a natural disaster, and many have become new infected as a result of the disaster. The predicament that the Great Rift Valley has brought to that town has prevented it from returning to the richer regions of Letania."

“In that disaster, Wolumonmold lost almost a quarter of its urban area, which happened to be farmland and part of its ecological facilities.”

"The real trouble began after the natural disaster. As a well-known commercial settlement in Letania, Wolumonde's nature meant it wouldn't store much food, and with the harsh winter approaching, they were unable to return to the heart of Letania for supplies due to the Great Rift Valley."

"Soon, famine will strike that city."

Seeing Eyjafjalla's face gradually turn pale, Xia Yu continued, "Famine brings chaos, and the infected are undoubtedly the first targets of those in chaos."

"Dr. Anto of Rhodes Island chose to stay in Wolumonde to maintain the fragile order and set up a medical station to provide medical care for the infected, thereby easing the conflict between them."

“I have 1,500 doses of inhibitors on me, and Dr. Anto needs these drugs, so we must get to Wolumonde first.”

“Famine? But…” Eyjafjalla said blankly, “After learning about the Great Rift Valley disaster, I studied the map. All I had to do in Wolumonde was stay in the safe zone and wait for rescue…”

"How could there be famine, or even riots? Wolumonde has military police, right? They'll maintain order; we just need to wait for reinforcements from other city-states..."

“There are no military police,” Xia Yu shook her head at her, “or rather, there is only one military policeman in Wolumond, at least that’s what Dr. Anto said.”

"What can one person do?"

"There has been no support either; at least not a single city-state has received an order for support so far."

“This…this doesn’t make sense,” Eyjafjalla clutched her staff tightly. “How could there be no support after a natural disaster? And the military police…Wolumond is a town of tens of thousands of people, and an important commercial market. How could there only be one military policeman?”

“Yes, Wolumonde has more than one military policeman, and the surrounding city-states should have sent support as well,” Xia Yu sighed, “but all of this has been delayed.”

"Delay?" Eyjafjalla was stunned. "Near Wolumond...Winterspire Mountains...Ursus..."

Is it...war?

That's all she could think of.

What else, besides the war with Ursus, could delay the rescue?

"Sadly, no."

Xia Yu shook her head. "It's because of a wedding."

"wedding?"

"Yes, a wedding."

"For a marriage between two great nobles, the gendarmes of Wolumonde were all called up to their city-state as a sign of their regard for the wedding."

"When Wolumonde was in dire need of rescue, they spent a whole month negotiating with each other about which mobile city should be the one to go to."

"Everyone is preparing for this wedding, including the city-states that were supposed to come to the rescue of Wolumonde."

"So, until now, as long as Rhodes Island is still trying to maintain the fragile order of Wolumonde."

Eyjafjalla stood frozen in place, clutching her staff.

A minute later, she took a deep breath and a determined expression appeared on her face.

"Senior, may I make a presumptuous request?"

"What are your requirements?" Xia Yu asked with a smile.

"Aside from the necessary medicines, how much more can your Originium Arts hold?"

"Even including the medicines, there is more than enough food to feed 10,000 people through the winter."

Xia Yu smiled as she spoke this terrifying truth to the Terrans.

If he wanted to, he could be the most terrifying smuggler in the world.

none of them.

Well, it seems that with his abilities, he wouldn't have reached the point where he needed to smuggle to make a living, so Terra's fragile economy escaped a disaster.

What, you need magic?

Friend, have you ever heard of robbing the rich to help the poor?

The rich are the rich who are heartless, and the poor are the poor who, like Xia Yu, cannot even fill the bottom of the Holy Grail with magic.

People are not rich without windfall, and horses are neither night nor fat.

For example, those who have ulterior motives along the way.

And two noble families who are preparing for their wedding.

The latter, in particular, made Xia Yu quite unhappy.

Although Xia Yu is currently lacking in magic, when he really needs to use it, there are plenty of nobles in this world whom he dislikes.

With his abilities, who could catch him if he were to rob the rich to help the poor?

Even if you get caught... hey, do you really think getting caught is a good thing?

“Senior, I need a little time,” Eyjafjalla gritted her teeth, “If we go now, we can buy a large quantity of bread that will fill you up!”

“There are many breads sold in the lower city for the poor. Although they don’t taste very good, they are enough to keep you full,” she said clearly.

"The daily sales volume is enormous, and it's wonderful that your Originium Arts can preserve the state of objects. There's no need to worry about the risk of them deteriorating over time."

As she spoke, she began to run. "My savings... may not buy much, but I can borrow! First, I'll go to the bank. Yes, Mr. Kyle, I can still get some loans by using my academic credentials."

"Under what pretext should we use? Research on a new type of staff? A breakthrough in spellcasting theory? Or the refinement of Originium..."

"No, I need to finish my paper first... Oh right, the ideas in that notebook from yesterday! But that's not my research..."

Look at this kid, he's really... resourceful...

They're even planning to use some non-existent projects to scam funding to buy bread.

But this is good.

Eyjafjalla is really good, kind, and decisive.

The first thing they did wasn't to pointlessly complain about the government, but rather to use the resources around them to do something for the people of Wolumonde.

“Don’t worry,” Xia Yu reached out and gently tapped her corner. “After learning about Wolumond’s predicament, how could I not be prepared?”

It's important to understand that his leniency towards the gangs that tried to do something to him along the way came with conditions.

For example, their granaries.

96 A large amount of Originium

Looking at the vast rift valley stretching for dozens of miles before her, Eyjafjalla couldn't resist the urge to explore.

The widest part of the rift can reach two kilometers, and above it, you can see crystalline Originium dust constantly flying in the wind.