Arknights' Lock of Heaven

To the southwest lies Victoria, a wealthy and stable country, but precisely because of this, mercenaries like themselves would be extremely conspicuous, making it a poor choice.

Should we head north through the Winterling Mountains and then west to Kazimir?

I heard that Big Bob went there, I wonder how they are doing now.

But from Big Bob's previous letters, we know that it's not a good place either; the self-proclaimed civilized knights have always looked down on the infected.

Should we follow the original route, passing through Syracuse back to Kazdel?

But Kazdel...

Having escaped that nightmarish quagmire years ago, I now want to go back.

Is the Sarkaz destined to forever remain in that chaotic land?

“I can see you’re confused,” Xia Yu smiled slightly and extended her hand to the silent Ni Yan.

"So, will you come with me?"

124 The Despicable Me

How many people in your team still want to continue fighting?

"A battle...?"

Niyan lowered his head, recalling his teammates who had been with him day and night.

Old Dao must be in his late forties or early fifties, which is quite an age for someone infected.

Back when the Reunion Movement hadn't yet degenerated, when everyone was still helping each other, he said more than once that he hoped to find a place to settle down.

As the Reunion Movement grew increasingly radical under Talulah's leadership, he spoke less and less. Finally, after Mudrock invited him to come with him, Old Knife followed without saying a word.

His condition was already very serious, coupled with the hidden injuries left over from years of fighting... This old soldier could truly be said to have little time left.

Gary was younger than him, but he was still over forty. A normal person might still be considered to be in their prime at that age, but an infected person...

Paz was only fourteen years old. Although it was normal for someone his age to go to war in Kazdel, Mudrock, who had been wandering the continent for a long time, knew that a fourteen-year-old should not pick up a knife and fight the enemy every day, living a life of licking blood from the edge of a knife.

Old Dawson, Bud, Raki...

In a daze, Niyan went through the entire team of more than twenty people in his mind.

No one was a warmonger; everyone longed for a peaceful life.

That's true, after all, they were the people who followed him when the Reunion Movement was at its most fervent.

Those warmongers all died in Chernobyl.

"We just want to find a place to stay."

Mudstone looked up at the azure sky, "Perhaps it's not very big, perhaps it's in the middle of nowhere."

"As long as I have a small house, a home, and can live a self-sufficient life, that would be enough."

I dare not hope for anything else.

“Rhodes Island has many Sarkaz, including many elders,” Xia Yu stated calmly. “There, no one cares about your race.”

“Rhodes Island has many infected people, including Anto’s teacher, the woman who has a lot of influence within Rhodes Island. She is an infected doctor who has treated countless infected people over the years.”

"No one will discriminate against you because you are infected."

"Rhodes Island has offices in many cities. If you don't want to fight anymore, your team members can choose to live in a city that is less discriminatory against infected people, or they can choose to stay on the ship."

"Many veterans from the Kazdel Civil War are on board. Although they don't go out on field missions much, they are still an important force for Rhodes Island. I believe you and they will have something in common."

"We are the Integration Movement."

After a long pause, Niyan lowered his head and finally uttered these words.

"It's alright. You probably don't know this yet, but former Reunion leader Frostnova is now with Rhodes Island. Patriots has also established a very friendly relationship with Rhodes Island."

“We welcome people like you who can remain clear-headed and withdraw from the Reunion Movement at its most fervent moment.”

“Froststar…” Mudrock was stunned when he heard the news, and his face under the helmet softened a bit.

“What if someone wants to stay here? Stay in Wolumond,” Mudrock said in a deep voice. “Leitania… is actually quite good for the Infected. If they could have a legal identity, it would be a blessing to stay here.”

"I heard that Rhodes Island is planning to set up a factory here, right? They're quite capable; being a security guard here would be a comfortable way to spend their retirement."

“Well,” Xia Yu frowned in distress upon hearing this, “it’s… hard to say.”

Although he really wanted to bring Mudrock back to Rhodes Island, making empty promises wasn't his style.

After all, he couldn't really let Rhodes Island open several factories here just for mudstone, could he?

As a company, no matter how idealistic it may be, it still has to consider reality. Rhodes Island has never had any plans to expand into the Letania market.

The reason is simple: their apparent strength is insufficient. It's only been a few years since they transformed from Babel Tower to Rhodes Island. The old resources they had under Theresa's command are not something they can easily access.

After all, countries around the world treat the Sarkaz like thieves.

Therefore, Rhodes Island's organization is not yet strong enough to dominate the market.

Putting aside everything else, finding qualified employees is a huge problem.

Xia Yu wouldn't make promises to others lightly about such major matters.

After all, he hadn't been on Rhodes Island for very long. Although rumors circulated that he was a veteran like Kal'tsit, and despite repeated denials, his popularity remained high, he couldn't take it seriously.

“Rhodes Island has never had any plans to build a factory in Wolumonde,” Xia Yu sighed, laying everything bare, “so I cannot make any promises.”

"Then why did you invest so many resources?" Mudrock gripped his warhammer and said in a deep voice, "Are you really not looking for anything in return?"

“To be precise, it’s not us, it’s me,” Xia Yu corrected again. “These supplies are not from Rhodes Island to support Wolumonde; they are just my personal donation.”

"I remember emphasizing this many times before."

"Personally..." Mudrock paused for a moment, then asked again, "And why are you asking?"

"The people of Wolumond are planning to do such terrible things to Dr. Anto, are you really going to be so magnanimous?"

"First of all, the real Anto conspiracy was just the plan of a very few lunatics, and it cannot be blamed on the more than 10,000 residents of Wolumond. They knew nothing and did nothing, so there is no need for them to bear such a crime."

"Secondly, why am I donating so many supplies...?"

Does "fighting for justice" count?

"Is that all?"

That's all.

"..."

"You are as noble as a saint."

"No, I am the most selfish person."

Xia Yu never thought of herself as selfless.

If he were truly a saint, he would have already used the Holy Grail's power to turn decay into magic, turning the vast land red and overthrowing this corrupt old world.

But he knew that he couldn't do this job since he hadn't even studied Mao Zedong Thought properly in college or read Das Kapital.

If we force it, it will only lead to disastrous consequences for the country and its people.

No matter how powerful a nation is, class contradictions, backward productivity, oppression, and exploitation cannot be resolved by force alone.

There was a time when he regretted not studying hard enough, but life never gives you a chance to regret.

"The so-called chivalry is nothing but self-satisfaction; I have never fundamentally solved the problem of Wolumonde."

"I don't plan to do that either."

“It doesn’t really matter,” Mud Rock looked at him quietly, then shook his head and extended his hand to Xia Yu. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s despicable or noble, as long as you can give me the place we need to stay, I will naturally fight for you.”

"After all, we are mercenaries."

125 like-minded people

"More than 20 formidable Sarkaz warriors..."

The Doctor rubbed his temples, looking slightly helpless. "Although Kal'tsit approved your application to form a squad, even an elite operator's squad won't suddenly expand to more than 20 people."

"Not to mention that these are all mercenaries. Although it's commendable that they managed to extricate themselves from that quagmire, as a Rhodes Island combat team, they can't be composed entirely of these mercenaries, can they?"

"At least a few veterans from Rhodes Island need to set up a framework for you, so that these mercenaries can learn how Rhodes Island does things. Now that they've become Rhodes Island operators, they can't use the same mercenary methods as before."

"Looking at it this way, your squad size will suddenly exceed thirty... which is far too bloated for a combat squad."

More than just bulky, the doctor under the mask even wanted to roll his eyes. Seriously, with you as the captain, does your team really need that much combat power?

Maybe a squad of ten or more people, eighty percent of whom are in logistics, and the remaining twenty percent are a sniper and a heavy armorer responsible for protecting the logistics, and then you can just start carrying.

"And although I hate to admit it, you know how different countries treat the Sarkaz. It doesn't matter if there are a few Sarkaz in the team, but if the team is composed entirely of Sarkaz, it will bring a lot of unnecessary trouble."

"Rhodes Island's teams are frequently deployed to various countries around the world, so you understand?"

“Actually, my team doesn’t need that many people,” Xia Yu sighed upon hearing this. “All I want is Ni Yan. I just want her to be my vice-captain.”

"After all, I am quite self-aware. I am not very good at management. I need a vice captain who can at least keep up with my combat capabilities to take charge of the overall situation."

The professor rolled his eyes silently. "Heh, you say you're not good at it? You just want to slack off and be a hands-off manager!"