Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Upon hearing this, Victor quickly said to everyone, "Let's all go to the village entrance. We can't escape now... Oh, and cover up the Originium crystals on your bodies! Pretend it's a normal village, hurry!"

In a flurry of activity, Victor led a group of anxious infected people to the village entrance.

Then, upon seeing who it was, he painfully closed his eyes.

Even a regular patrol team wouldn't dare to act rashly in the face of a village of three hundred people.

However, the dozen or so people outside were all wearing steel armor and were well-trained. He knew that if a conflict broke out, and the armored fought against the unarmored, the infected would face a massacre.

"Sirs," but with the situation pressing, Victor had no choice but to grit his teeth and step forward, "May I ask what brings you to our village?"

"You...are all infected, right?" The leader's words sent a chill down his spine.

What happened? Why were we exposed so quickly? I told them to cover up the Originium crystals on their bodies...

Ah, yes, that young man who brought the message, he was the first person these people saw.

Forget about natural disasters; whether we can even survive this ordeal is another matter entirely...

"Don't be nervous," just when he was feeling utterly hopeless, the armed man in front of him smiled gently, then took off his gloves, revealing the Originium crystals inside.

"We are also infected, the Snowfield Guerrilla Team, you should have heard of us, right?"

354 We need to find a chicken to kill.

Do you really trust your students that much?

On the way to Ceprini, Anton looked at Victor with curiosity.

Anton, the advance team of the snowfield guerrillas who had just arrived in Victor village that morning, was tasked with rescuing the Orville.

Coincidentally, after receiving news of the nearby natural disaster in Victor's village and talking with the infected villagers who were very enthusiastic about the guerrillas, Anton made the same judgment as Victor.

The difference is that Victor made this judgment based on his trust in his student, while Anton knew more information. Moreover, in the entire northern Ursus, situations like Cheprini's were not uncommon, only most places were not as blatant as this.

Anton judged that the so-called natural disaster was just an excuse used by the nobles to delay the Orville's journey, which also explained why Cheprini made such a big fuss about this so-called natural disaster, contrary to his usual behavior.

However, basic caution was still necessary. Having fought in the snowfields for so many years, Anton naturally knew this principle. So he left his team in the infected village and went into the city with Victor through the latter's channels to investigate whether this so-called natural disaster was real.

Using local channels is undoubtedly the fastest way.

Victor did not doubt their identities, after all, the Originium crystals on their bodies could not be faked. In Ursus today, infected people are all in the same boat.

“I’m willing to believe him, but… sigh,” Victor sighed, “I’m not alone after all.”

He recalled what Matic had said to him, and the villagers' anxious expressions and fear of the natural disaster.

"Perhaps, someone as indecisive as me shouldn't be a leader."

He said somewhat dejectedly.

“Relax,” Anton patted him on the shoulder upon hearing this. “Nobody is born knowing everything. That’s what the captain taught me. Everyone needs to grow.”

“At least they all trust you. I can see that many people in your village yearn for our camp, but no one takes action. At least they are all gathered around you.”

“Speaking of this…” Victor turned his head and asked curiously, “You…don’t you think what I did…was a bit…”

“I know what you’re trying to say,” Anton laughed, but his voice was somewhat bitter. “Will I think you don’t trust the guerrillas or something?”

"I can tell you, of course not."

“Besides, you’re a rare smart person,” he sighed. “The camp… well, I can’t say for sure. Anyway, if we can survive somewhere else, then…”

He shook his head and gave a self-deprecating laugh, "Isn't it ridiculous for a guerrilla fighter to say something like this?"

Hearing this, Victor hesitated for a moment, then asked, "From what you're saying, you should also know about those hidden dangers, so why..."

“Why, why,” Anton shook his head with a bitter smile, “There are no so many whys in this world. If we have to say, they were driven to the snowfield with nothing, and we can’t just stand by and watch them starve to death, can we?”

Upon hearing this, Victor stopped in his tracks.

Ah, yes, starve to death.

What a horrific way to die.

He knew all too well what hunger felt like.

There were many questions I wanted to ask, such as whether the patriots could see that this was a scheme by the nobles, but all of these things seemed so insignificant in the face of starvation.

The two fell into silence, trekking one after the other across the cold snowfield toward the magnificent city.

-

"Is this the home of Cheprini's messenger of the calamity?"

Standing before the luxurious villa, Earth Spirit and Eyjafjalla fell into deep thought.

“Mr. Alexei said he was honest by nature, but…”

The Earth Spirit looked at Eyjafjalla and saw the same confusion in her eyes as it did itself, then turned to look at Skadi... well, her eyes remained calm, as if none of this concerned her.

This Miss Skadi... she's a little different from the rumors after meeting her in person...

But none of that matters; what matters is the villa in front of us.

What did Alexei say again? This messenger named Igor was born into poverty and completed his studies through his own efforts and the help of kind people...

But the villa in front of them didn't look like a sign of poverty.

"Greetings, gentlemen, may I ask what brings you here?"

Just as the Earth Spirit and Eyjafjalla were pondering, a polite servant opened the door, half-hidden behind it, and poked his head out to speak warily to the group.

"Is Mr. Igor home?" the Earth Spirit asked as he stepped forward. "We are messengers from Letania, sent by our company to Cheprini to investigate Originium deposits. We've heard that a super cold wave is forming, so we'd like to come and exchange some data. Is this a convenient time for you, Mr. Igor?"

“This…” The servant hesitated for a moment, then nodded to the three of them, “I’ll go ask him.”

Then he closed the door and left.

"I'm afraid we'll have to return empty-handed again. Sigh," Di Ling shook his head as he saw this. "Field investigation, ugh, more overtime, what a hassle."

"Huh?" Eyjafjalla, who was a bit simpler in this regard, was completely confused. Even before, although she was a genius, her genius was limited to the academic field. It was obviously difficult to ask a young scholar who buried himself in academics all day to have such keen observation skills.

The Earth Spirit was older than her and had seen more things.

Seeing her puzzled look, Di Ling explained to her in a low voice, "If I'm not mistaken, that person just now wasn't a servant at all, or at least not a professionally trained servant. Judging from his wary movements... anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was a mercenary."

"So, we're afraid we won't get any data from this messenger of natural disasters. Well, actually, we didn't have much hope to begin with."

"Oh, I see," Eyjafjalla said, lowering her head in disappointment. "I messed it up."

Seeing Eyjafjalla's dejected look, Earth Spirit quickly said, "Alright, alright, don't worry about it. I guess the advisors didn't even have any hope for us."

“We’re just pawns put out in the open. Our job is to run around all day and get nothing in return,” she whispered to Eyjafjalla. “We’re just there to attract attention.”

"But...isn't it important to us whether a natural disaster occurs?" Eyjafjalla tilted her head and asked softly, "Aren't we pressed for time? What if there really is a natural disaster..."

"Don't worry, there's a high chance it won't happen," the Earth Spirit comforted us. "If there really were a natural disaster, why would these people be hiding it? They would be eager to throw all the data at us and even send a professional disaster messenger to explain the meaning of the data to us."

"After all, if there really is a natural disaster, they don't need to do anything to stop us from advancing. It's so much easier. Why bother going through all this trouble?"

“But if we think about it that way,” Eyjafjalla still had a question, “wouldn’t they know that keeping things hidden might lead us to conclude that there is no natural disaster?”

"Of course I know, but who dares to bet?"

Di Ling gave a wry smile. "That's a natural disaster."

Yes, that's a natural disaster. Who would dare gamble with their life? The mayor of Ceprini thought they wouldn't dare, and Eyjafjalla and the Earth Spirits really wouldn't dare either.

After all, this wasn't just about his own life; the Orville was connected to the lives of countless infected people on the snowfield.

Who dares to gamble on this possibility?

Mayor Lermontov doesn't need to do anything; a single false message is enough to stall the Orville. It also satisfies the Emperor, since it's not that we're refusing to let it pass, but rather that the natural disaster has left us with no other choice, right?

If the Orville dares to gamble, the Sixth Army will turn the fake disaster into a real one, publicly stating that the Orville recklessly attacked the disaster and perished. If they don't dare, and the disaster doesn't actually occur...

That was the fault of the messenger of natural disaster; the mayor's mistake was simply in his poor judgment of character. It could be considered a big deal, or a small one.

Thinking of this, Di Ling sighed. That's why she hated politics.

Then I saw Eyjafjalla counting something on her fingers.

"What are you counting?" she asked curiously.

“I’m thinking about what equipment I need for field research in the snowy plains,” Eyjafjalla replied earnestly. “I’ve always done research in places like volcanoes before, this is my first time in a snowy plain.”

"Oh, this?" Di Ling waved his hand, "Don't worry about that, we'll just go take a look around later."

"Take a stroll?" Eyjafjalla's eyes widened. "But it's a natural disaster..."

“I’ve already said we’re just pawns used to attract attention,” Di Ling chuckled and whispered, “Since we have a visible side, we also have a hidden side.”

"Don't forget what our advisor did in Siesta. His understanding of natural disasters is no less than ours. He's probably already on his way to investigate 120 miles away."

"This is Ursus territory after all, so we can't just go along with them in everything, or we won't be able to move forward."

"With us drawing their attention in the open, they'll think that the Orville's existence of the natural disaster is still uncertain and can hold us off for a while, so they won't use any drastic measures for the time being."

"Then, after the advisor confirms it, let the Orville find a reason to leave Chepulini City, such as a conflict between some staff members and certain forces in the city."

"In the end, we'll ostensibly go to the snowfield to investigate natural disasters, but in reality, we'll slip away with the Orville..."

At this point, Di Ling sighed, "Well, although some of my predictions are too presumptuous and slip away unnoticed, it's easy to say but too difficult to implement. I just don't know what the consultant will do."

"But I estimate that the consultant's actual plan is not much different from this. I remember that before leaving the Orville, the consultant was looking at the map the whole time."