Arknights' Lock of Heaven

It is mudstone.

She glanced at Xia Yu, then led the Sarkaz, who were supporting each other, toward Anto.

"Doctor," Mudrock's voice, muffled by the heavy armor, was completely undetectable; it was no surprise that a beautiful white-haired, red-eyed girl was inside.

"Thank you for being willing to treat my compatriot."

“It’s alright,” Anto said, standing on tiptoe and patting Mudrock on the shoulder. “Didn’t I say that any law-abiding infected person can come to me for treatment? Besides, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

"These must be the patients?" Anto glanced at the patients behind Niyan. "Come in and get a check-up. Niyan, you come in too."

Upon hearing this, Mudrock led nine Sarkaz infected and followed Anto.

The people around them were actually quite afraid of them, after all, the Sarkaz had a notorious reputation.

But since they came to see Dr. Anto for treatment, they wouldn't say anything more.

Xia Yu stretched, ignoring the hostile gazes of the infected around her, and stroked her chin as she looked at the Sarkaz.

Sure enough, while Oripathy is indeed quite serious, this is a Sarkaz, after all...

Severe Oripathy means they can unleash greater combat power and are more fearless in the face of death.

If these Sarkaz, who have spent half their lives as mercenaries, really went berserk, nine Sarkaz could easily wipe out the hundreds of infected in this camp.

Xia Yu didn't try to get closer to Ni Yan, since they didn't know each other based on their current personas.

The official explanation to outsiders is that the Sarkaz were invited by Anto.

There's no rush to deepen feelings, and Xia Yu has several cards hidden in her hand.

For example, those grains.

Is the mudstone squad short of food?

Of course it's lacking.

After all, they were all mercenaries who did not engage in production, and with the recent series of natural and man-made disasters, everyone's pockets were empty.

As for the Sarkaz under Mudrock's command, Rhodes Island is desperately short of manpower. Although it's better to have fewer but better people, how bad can these Sarkaz who can restrain themselves along with Mudrock be?

Archives Document 4

The Mudrock Squad's experience in Letania was far from fortunate. Because it contradicted the Reunion Movement's violent stance, Mudrock did not participate much in the bloodshed the Movement instigated in Ursus.

Instead, she led her like-minded Sarkaz colleagues to Letania, hoping to find a suitable hiding place in that prosperous yet corrupt country where Originium Arts were highly developed.

During this time, infected people from Letania were constantly drawn to them, and Mudrock's rare kindness for a mercenary also earned her some fame.

When she came to her senses, the name "Mudrock Squad" had become somewhat famous among the infected in some areas. However, she would become speechless and blush whenever she talked about it, so it seemed that she did not like to talk about that "glorious" history.

Those who could break away from Reunion during its most fervent moments, along with Mudrock, must be decent people at heart.

110 is adding fuel to the fire.

While the people in the camp weren't particularly enthusiastic about these Sarkaz infected individuals, they weren't exactly hostile either.

They quickly arranged accommodations for Niyan and the others.

Among those who greeted them was a figure with an unusually bright smile.

Thorwald.

Xia Yu blinked when she saw this, then looked at the invisible lion scorpion behind him.

Noticing Xia Yu's gaze, Lion Scorpion gently shook his head.

During the past few days of surveillance, Manticore had already figured out Thor's entire plan, including the two frozen corpses he used as decoys, and the most crucial L-44 phonograph core.

The L-44 phonograph is an advanced piece of equipment in Letania. In the hands of Letania's people, who have undergone compulsory education, it can unleash power far exceeding that of ordinary sorcerers.

As the town that serves as the economic center of northern Letania, Wolumonde naturally also has some phonographs.

It was the existence of these machines that allowed Thor to carry out his ruthless plan with peace of mind, without worrying that the townspeople of Wolumond would be slaughtered by the infected rioters after he stirred up conflict.

But he clearly underestimated the strength of the Mudrock Squad; these battle-hardened warriors were no ordinary Sarkaz infected.

If the phonograph were operated by professional soldiers, it might pose a threat to them, but in the hands of a group of civilians, the L-44 phonograph could not protect them from the mudstone.

The stone statues summoned by ancient Sarkaz sorcery are the nemesis of the phonograph. The phonograph's spells can easily penetrate flesh, but they are so weak against the indestructible stone statues.

Fortunately, Mudrock was a rational person and stopped the riot from escalating further; otherwise, the fate of the entire city of Chern might have been repeated here before the nobles could even react.

Thor and Biederman were both at the camp.

The phonograph core, which was crucial to their plan, remained in their secret hideout.

This shows that they don't intend to implement the plan today.

But perhaps tomorrow, or perhaps the day after, that time is not far off.

Xia Yu casually tossed her long hair, intending to add some more pressure to them.

Now everything is ready except for the final push. I'm not afraid they'll do something desperate, I'm just afraid they won't.

Xia Yu didn't have the patience to waste time with them here.

With that thought in mind, he got up and walked toward Anto.

He was ready to add fuel to the fire.

"Excuse me," Xia Yu said, stepping past several sullen-faced infected individuals, as she approached Anto and Niyan. "I need to speak with Dr. Anto."

"Let's talk inside the tent."

Although they apologized verbally, they completely ignored the Sarkaz infected in their actions.

This made some Sarkaz veterans frown.

Mudstone kept her promise and did not tell them the plan. These people were also specially selected by her, and none of them had ever met Xia Yu.

"What is it?" Anto glanced at Thor, who was observing the area, out of the corner of his eye, then frowned. "Let's talk here."

"Here?" Xia Yu's face showed a hint of dissatisfaction, but she suppressed it.

"Alright, as you wish, here it is."

Why recruit new infected individuals?

“Didn’t I say that yesterday?” Anto said matter-of-factly, “It was agreed upon a long time ago.”

"I thought that was just a pretext to appease people, Anto, are you really sure? Are you going to disobey the company's orders?"

"You know what the consequences will be."

Upon hearing this, the people around them gradually put down what they were doing and looked at the two of them.

When faced with Xia Yu's words, Anto turned his head to look at the ground and remained silent.

"Do I need to repeat myself? The contract you signed with Rhodes Island?"

Xia Yu arrogantly raised her head and looked around.

"One million two hundred thousand Lungmen Dollars, that's the price of defaulting."

"Based on the exchange rate between Letania and Yan, this figure would be several times higher when converted into the official currency here."

"Rhodes Island nurtured you, turning you from an unwanted orphan into the skilled doctor you are today, not so you could do charity work here!"

Hearing this, Anto's fist hardened. She gritted her teeth, turned her head away, and remained silent.

Well, the reason is that she's not an orphan...she has her own parents! Anto loves them very much, and they are still alive and well in this world!

Although she roughly knew the consultant's purpose, she now finally understood why her teacher had mentioned in the letter that the consultant often did some... 'unexpected' things.

While these actions often yield good results, it clearly takes a lot of heart to accept the process.

Of course, this was just a minor complaint, nothing serious, something that could be resolved with a verbal apology.

But the onlookers around them saw it differently.

What they saw was their beloved Dr. Anto being reprimanded without uttering a word; although she clenched her fists, she could only silently endure it.

The infected people unconsciously gathered around, their eyes filled with a chilling light as they looked at Xia Yu, whose usual gentle smile had been torn away, revealing her true colors.

"Several million, when will you be able to pay it all back?"

"Or rather, how much money do you have in your pocket right now?"

"You disobeyed orders from the company, was it for the sake of this city?"

"But what can this city offer you? Putting aside everything else, can they help you pay the millions in breach of contract fees?"

"Just them?"

“You have a bright future ahead of you, Anto, and it’s not worth staying in this small place.”

The infected people around stopped in their tracks.

Reality can eventually crush a person.

Faced with a number of millions, which is out of reach for these ordinary people, they hesitated.

Seven or eight noble coins can buy you a nice meal on the street, a hundred or so coins can rent a small room, and two or three thousand coins can buy you a small shop in Wolumond.

What about millions of coins?