Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"You might think it's childish, that you're all grown up and still talking like a child, but I'm asking you this from the bottom of my heart."

“Miss…” Hearing this, Hei’s expression was complicated. “You are my friend, and as long as you are willing, you always will be.”

Hearing this, Ceylon smiled with satisfaction.

"So, Black, can you help me now? As a friend."

"Pompeii, is that what it's called? The mutated Originium worms in the volcano."

Ceylon looks towards the distant volcano.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to defeat it!"

"No, Miss!" Hearing this, Hei jumped up immediately. "That's far too dangerous! Leave it to me!"

“Have you forgotten what I just said?” Ceylon looked into her eyes. “Siesta is not only Father’s and your Siesta, but also my Siesta.”

"I will no longer let you face everything alone."

“But…” Hearing this, Hei was still worried.

“There are no ‘buts’,” Ceylon smiled slightly. “Rhodes Island will also send people to participate in tomorrow’s operation.”

"Now you can rest assured, right?"

Hearing this, Hei hesitated.

She recalled the figures of the people from Rhodes Island.

That Sarkaz who wields a giant hammer and summons colossi several stories high...

The old man, Li Boli, who was shrouded in mystery and wielded a long knife.

The Sarkaz who wields a giant sword as tall as a man and summons a fire giant.

And... that Agor... just thinking about it made her hair stand on end.

That pure killing skill... Hei couldn't even imagine how she had mastered it.

Judging from these people alone, Rhodes Island seems to be a rather dangerous organization.

But if it's an ally... then I feel especially at ease.

"If I were with them..." Hei hesitated.

"Don't worry," Ceylon smiled slightly upon seeing this, "there will definitely be no problem."

"I will not be absent from the campaign to subdue the giant mutated Originium worm codenamed Pompeii."

"I also want to do something for Siesta."

-

"No, there's absolutely no need for a campaign against them!"

In the hotel of the Rhodes Island crew, Skyfire, hands on his hips, emphasized to a group of combat experts, "We just need to drive it away, as long as it doesn't expand its territory towards the interior of the volcano."

"There's absolutely no need to kill it!"

“But could this be the trigger for the next volcanic eruption?” Herag asked. “If it happens once, it will happen again. Even if we manage to drive it away this time, the Siestas will eventually return to this land after the eruption.”

"If it triggers another volcanic eruption..."

The old general didn't understand these cutting-edge academic issues; he was simply considering things from the perspective of a general, and naturally tended to eliminate the danger directly.

His words were unanimously endorsed by several field agents.

“No, on the surface this does seem to solve the problem,” Tianhuo sighed, “but this isn’t about human deceit and treachery. Don’t assume everything involves fighting and killing!”

"This is not out of any animal protection mentality, but because nature is not so simple or pure."

"The impact of biological populations on the natural environment is a new academic field that is still being developed. In other words, we cannot predict what would happen if the super-giant mutant individual codenamed Pompeii were completely killed."

"It might get better, the volcano might stabilize, but it could also get worse!"

"Nobody knows what ecological niche Pompeii and its people represented in the volcanic environment. Killing them might cause the already fragile volcanic environment to collapse directly!"

"But isn't the instability of volcanic activity precisely because of the activity of these lava Originium worms?" an operator asked, puzzled.

“That’s not accurate,” Provence said, “The reason for the unusual activity at Siesta volcano is actually the excessive mining of obsidian by humans, which disturbed the lava source stones that live in the volcano and feed on obsidian.”

"The shrinking territory and food supply made the Lava Originium Bug swarm restless, and then, in order to get away from human activities, they opened up new territories deep in the volcano."

"This action affected the volcano's structure, which is why this eruption occurred."

"In other words, the colossal mutant Pompeii and its race are just one link in the chain of logic; the real reason lies with us humans."

Provence sighed at this point, "If it weren't for the excessive exploitation by humans, they wouldn't have reacted so violently. The Lava Originium Worms have lived in the Siesta volcano for countless years, and such a colossal mutated individual as Pompeii could not have been conceived in a short period of time."

"I'm not saying that the Originium Bugs are innocent, or even whether we can apply our concepts of good and evil to these mindless creatures."

"I just want to say that we still know too little about nature. Right now, the Originium Bugs are undoubtedly one of the causes of the volcanic eruption, but if we just wipe them out like this, who knows if it will cause the collapse of the local food chain in Siesta and lead to an even bigger accident."

"After all, these are creatures that have lived here for thousands of years. Before they have been studied, who knows if these Originium Bugs have any irreplaceable role in the food chain?"

"The fact that this group could produce an individual like Pompeii means that it cannot be viewed through the lens of common sense, and we must be very careful."

"I know, I know!" Ifrit's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she raised her hand high, eagerly saying, "It's a story about wolves, rabbits, and humans, right?"

"People saw the wolves viciously hunting rabbits, so they took guns and killed all the wolves in the forest."

"Rabbits have no natural predators, so they began to reproduce rapidly and soon devoured an entire forest!"

Ifrit said with a proud look, "Hemer told me a story!"

“Yes, Ifrit is wonderful,” Provence said with a smile. “Miss Himer will be very pleased.”

310 Amiya, let me explain!

"Therefore, we cannot simply and brutally exterminate them without any understanding."

Tianhuo sighed, "Nature is amazing, but also very fragile."

“If they were just ordinary Originium bugs in the wilderness, that would be fine, but these are different.”

"As mentioned before, after surviving and reproducing for three thousand years, even producing super-giant mutants like Pompeii, and in a sensitive environment like a volcano, we cannot take that risk."

“I’ve learned something,” Herag nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this. “I didn’t realize there was so much to learn here.”

“So, all we have to do is drive them away,” Amiya nodded upon hearing this. “That would undoubtedly reduce the difficulty of the operation considerably.”

“Especially with so many operators here,” she looked up and around, “let’s decide on the operators for tomorrow’s battle.”

"Me! Me! Me!" Upon hearing this, Ifrit jumped up from her chair and raised her hand high. "Amiya, me! Me! Me too!"

“No,” Amiya rejected her request without hesitation, “Dr. Himer will not agree…”

“No, is there even a need to decide?” Before she could finish speaking, the Doctor sighed. “Who is better suited for this situation than our special advisors’ team?”

"Mudrock, a former member of Reunion, a Sarkaz, a powerful heavy-armored operator."

"Surtr, Sarkaz, I doubt anyone would question her strength."

"Skadi, needless to say, everyone should have heard of her deeds."

"The interior of the volcano is definitely not very spacious and cannot accommodate enough operators to launch an attack, so we can only find a few elites to fight."

The doctor shrugged at this point, "Besides, Miss Skadi might need a battle or two to calm herself down."

"But fighting humans... well, that's a bit uncontrollable. The colossal mutant codenamed Pompeii is just right."

“If that’s the case,” Herag said thoughtfully, “I have no objection.”

"But, is Miss Skadi... really alright?"

At this point, he frowned deeply. "I'm not doubting how she... well, that battle, or rather, the one-sided massacre..."

"In my opinion, it's far too uncontrollable, what if..."

Helag wasn't saying anything about Skadi; ​​he was a general who had seen battle and wasn't so merciful to the enemy. Rather...

What if Skadi loses control and accidentally kills Pompeii?

Recalling the battle this afternoon, Hrag felt it was entirely possible.

Scholars like Tianhuo have also said that we shouldn't interfere too much with the local lava source stone worm population. We should just force them to change direction and stop expanding their territory deeper into the volcano.

Herag was genuinely afraid that Skadi would lose control.

"Don't worry," the doctor assured him, patting his chest. "It's just a minor issue. She's not usually like this."

"Um, Doctor, how did you know?" Amiya asked curiously upon hearing this. "It seems you haven't visited Operator Skadi yet, have you?"

"Why……"

"Of course, if the problem were really serious, I'd already be hanging outside the hotel by Xia Yu right now!"

The doctor said with a proud look on his face, "The fact that I'm still here and doing well means there's not much of a problem!"

"A real man with cute big tits!"

She gave Amiya a thumbs-up, indicating that everything was under control.

“Um, Doctor…” Amiya forced a smile upon seeing this. “Mr. Xia Yu is a very nice person, it shouldn’t be that bad…”

“Believe me, Amiya,” the Doctor said, placing his hands on the table and resting his chin on them, “he absolutely deserves it!”