Arknights' Lock of Heaven

That shouldn't be the case. There's no reason why I wouldn't know about a company in Letania that can raise large amounts of supplies in a short time.

Unless this isn't a Letania company.

But that doesn't make sense. Why would a company that doesn't even exist in Letania travel all the way to this small town of 10,000 people to do charity work?

Where did this pushover come from?

Moreover, these supplies... including the patrol team's clothing, seem to have been donated by a company called Rhodes Island?

“This is no pushover!” North Mainz turned to Koss and they reached a consensus.

"Sir, hundreds of cartloads of supplies... is that true?"

Kevin spoke cautiously, but no matter how he tried to hide it, he couldn't conceal his excitement.

“That’s right. Hundreds of truckloads of supplies have already perished outside the Great Rift Valley. We just need to confirm the situation in Wolumonde before we can transport them in little by little through the mountain roads.”

North Mainz said kindly, "Although the efficiency may not be very high due to the road conditions, it's not a big problem since you can hold out for another two months."

“Sir, thank you, really, I mean thank you,” Kevin said, his voice trembling with excitement at the affirmation from the fellow Wolumond military policeman.

Leitania, their homeland, did not abandon them.

"Don't get excited, let's go into the city and see what's going on there," North Mainz said kindly, patting Kevin on the shoulder encouragingly.

"Tell me more about this company called Rhodes Island. To be honest, I'm also very curious about such an enthusiastic organization."

“Yes, sir, this way,” Kevin said, immediately calling to his companions to lead the advance team.

The moment he turned away, North Mainz's amiable face turned cold, and he secretly made several hand gestures to alert his men.

Then he winked at his trusted confidant.

The trusted confidant understood immediately and slowly retreated to the back of the group. Taking advantage of the patrol's inattention, he quietly hid in the bushes with a mercenary.

We have to be careful, North Mainz sighed.

Judging from the so-called Rhodes Island supplies these patrol teams are wearing, Rhodes Island is probably not a legitimate company.

Who knows why someone of unknown origin would get involved at this time?

It's better to be more careful.

After he finished making the arrangements, Kevin turned around and began to introduce Rhodes Island to him.

"My lord, Rhodes Island's contact with Wolumonde began with a doctor named Anto..."

……

"The advance team has information."

Simmons Mainz, outside the Great Rift Valley, summoned Streich and pointed to the two maps on the table, saying, "Two teams were the first to arrive at Wolumonde, and one of them successfully found a usable route."

"And what about Wolumond now?"

“According to the advance team, Wolumonde’s current supplies are quite sufficient,” Simmons Mainz frowned, “but there is an unexpected factor.”

“That’s great…” Upon hearing this, Streich, who had been tense all over, suddenly went limp, completely ignoring the unexpected factors the former had mentioned.

It’s okay if it’s okay, it’s okay if it’s okay.

The constant tension he felt these past few days was almost driving him crazy.

Simmons Mainz frowned when he saw this, and was about to cheer him on when he heard a snoring sound.

He stared in disbelief as the young master of Streich collapsed onto the sofa and fell asleep within seconds.

It seems he's barely slept these past few days.

Upon seeing this, Simmons Mainz shook his head.

Not only him, but almost everyone who had come into contact with Streich in the past few days could feel the overflowing confusion and despondency emanating from him.

Now even the younger generation doesn't really associate with this somewhat neurotic young master anymore.

Hopefully, he can recover after this incident.

Simmons Mainz quietly looked at the documents in his hand.

Rhodes Island—he felt like he'd heard of it somewhere before.

But I don't remember it very clearly.

That looks like a pharmaceutical company?

……

"So, they're planning to invest in building a factory here and extend their reach into Letania?"

On his way to the city hall, North Mainz breathed a sigh of relief as he looked around at the orderly town; it was good that nothing serious had happened.

The information Kevin revealed further reassured him.

When you offer a gift, you must have something in mind.

If Rhodes Island wants to open up a market in Letania, that makes sense.

After all, the infected population in Letania is relatively wealthy compared to other countries, so it's understandable that Rhodes Island, a pharmaceutical company specializing in Oripathy research, would set its sights on this market.

Moreover, although Wolumond has declined somewhat in recent years, if the town can weather this crisis, it will still be the 'eighth moon' of the Winterling Mountains.

It and seven other towns remain bustling commercial hubs in northern Letania, so it's not surprising that a pharmaceutical company eager to expand its market in Letania would be eyeing this time.

North Mainz was relieved, but his cousin Kauss, who was standing next to him, frowned.

He felt things weren't that simple.

As an internal affairs talent cultivated by the Mainz family, although his experience outside the home was not as great as that of North Mainz, his years of management experience still allowed him to quickly grasp a problem.

Many things may seem plausible on the surface, but the data doesn't lie.

A town that can supply food and supplies to 10,000 people for two months is no small amount.

Moreover, I heard that these supplies were transported in after the natural disaster.

So the question arises: why were the Mainz family, as the landowners, completely unaware of this?

It should be noted that after that incident, the Mainz family immediately gathered all information about the current situation in Wolumonde. If such a large amount of supplies were being transported into the Great Rift Valley region from their own territory, there was no reason why the family would not know!

There was absolutely no information about this batch of supplies at any of the relevant passes along the way.

If the family had known that Wolumonde had such a batch of supplies, they wouldn't have rushed over with hundreds of truckloads of supplies at such a high cost.

So, where did this batch of supplies come from?

Winterling Mountains?

Absolutely impossible; mountains are not so easy to cross.

But what about outside of the Winterling Mountains? The Great Rift Valley?

That's even more impossible.

Koss frowned deeply.

It couldn't have fallen from the sky, could it? Otherwise, it couldn't have appeared out of thin air, could it?

Thinking of this, Koss shook his head with a wry smile.

and many more!

Suddenly, a flash of lightning struck his mind.

It appeared out of thin air...?

His body stiffened.

So much so that the teammates behind him almost bumped into him.

"Appearing out of thin air?"

He muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, "Disappeared into thin air?"

"What's wrong?" North Mainz noticed his unusual behavior and stopped to ask, "What's wrong with you...?"

"No, it's nothing, I'm just a little tired," Koss chuckled awkwardly, giving the former a subtle look, but said self-deprecatingly, "Cousin, you know I usually work in an office, how can I compare to your strong and robust bodies?"

Upon receiving a look from Koss, North Mainz knew he had discovered something, but he couldn't say it in public, so he immediately signaled for the group to slow down.

“Sir, why don’t we rest here for a while?” Kevin was now very grateful to the people who came to their rescue. “I have already sent someone to inform everyone at the city hall, and they will definitely come to pick us up.”

“Okay,” North Mainz nodded, signaling the team to rest where they were.

"Um, Kevin, right?" Koss rubbed his legs, feigning exhaustion, and then asked, "I heard you say before that you and Rhodes Island had some...not-so-pleasant things happen between you two."

Can you tell us about it?

"This matter..." Kevin hesitated for a moment after hearing this, but finally spoke.

"The situation in Wolumonde wasn't as good as it is now before the aid from Rhodes Island arrived."

"Although the city hall officials blocked the news of the food shortage, without the help of the military police, it was impossible to keep it from those who were interested."

"To be honest, there was widespread panic at that time."

"At that very moment, a Wolumond man, together with a former Scourge messenger who had been ostracized by the citizens, plotted something truly insane."

Kevin looked up at Koss and North Mainz with a troubled expression.