Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“Of course not,” Kress looked at him, his posture upright and his eyes bright, but he also had a sense of weariness from being weathered. “Perhaps it really is just a coincidence.”

“Could you tell us about Mr. Victor?” Mr. Anton glanced at Victor and then said to Kress, “You seem to care about him quite a bit.”

Upon hearing this, Kress subconsciously glanced at the familiar farmer from Anton, and then replied without thinking, "Of course."

“The Mr. Victor I’m looking for is my high school teacher. He is my role model and he changed my life.”

“He did so much for us students that I could talk about it for three days and three nights,” Kress said, getting a little emotional. “My father was an alcoholic bastard, and my mother died young in the factory trying to support me and that bastard.”

“I used to live a muddled life. My life was probably no different from that of millions of other teenagers in this city. I entered the factory before I was an adult, took that meager salary, found someone to marry, had children, and then died in my forties with a body full of injuries after my life was drained by the factory.”

As Kress spoke, she looked at Victor. “It was Mr. Victor who rescued me from that miserable life. He taught me knowledge and how to be a person. He pulled me out of the factory when my alcoholic father refused to pay my tuition. Even though he had already sponsored many people and was not very wealthy himself, and his suit hadn’t been replaced in a long time, he still gritted his teeth and sponsored me.”

“I am truly grateful to him,” Kress said, her shoulders trembling slightly as she looked at the man who called himself Anton. Her voice was also choked with emotion. “Without him, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

As she spoke, she reached out her hand to him, trying to lift his loose, long hair.

But Anton grasped the outstretched hand.

Anton gently shook his head at him.

Kress paused for a moment, his sharp eyes spotting the barely perceptible black crystal under Anton's sleeve. He seemed to understand everything, then withdrew his hand with a bitter expression.

"Two years ago, when I was in college, I heard the news of Mr. Victor's disappearance."

“I took leave overnight and searched for him with everyone for three whole days. In the end, it was the teacher’s wife who said that we didn’t need to search anymore and that we should continue our studies. We couldn’t afford to be delayed no matter what.”

Kress recalled the bitter smile on his teacher's wife's face and a realization dawned on him.

"Now, I have returned to my alma mater and, like Mr. Victor, have chosen to become a teacher."

“By the way, the students who received the teacher’s sponsorship back then have all grown up one after another,” Kress said softly. “When we came back here, we found that Mr. Victor’s wife and daughter were not doing very well.”

"Then, we all chipped in some money and forced it on the teacher's wife under the guise of the children's tuition. Together, we went to beat up the bastard who was bullying the teacher's daughter at school. Of course, he was wearing a hood."

"Now, although they are not living a life of great wealth, at least they are not living such a difficult life."

"after……"

"I heard that the current messenger of natural disasters in Cheprini is also from your school?" Anton felt that it was about time to find out, so he asked.

“Igor?” Upon hearing this, Kress hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “Professor Victor taught us that it’s bad to talk behind someone’s back, but… well, Igor was indeed the best among us, but two months ago he suddenly… well, he was like a completely different person.”

"He bought a very luxurious villa with money that I don't know where it came from. Even we old classmates have to inform him for a long time before we can go see him. Sigh, I'm not one of them either..."

“Alright, that’s enough for now,” Victor interrupted him, taking a deep breath. “You’re a good kid, but… we have other things to do, so we won’t talk any more.”

He then turned and walked across the street.

In the frigid winds of the Ursus snowfield, only one sentence remained.

"Don't tell anyone I came back."

-

"Did you know that this little flower, which doesn't even have a scientific name, can be processed into a highly effective frostbite medicine after professional treatment?"

Froststar picked a pale white flower from the grass beside her, placed it in her palm, and said to Summer.

“Of course I know,” Xia Yu smiled slightly upon hearing this. “I also know that you patented this frostbite medicine and are planning to use all the revenue to buy Rhodes Island’s inhibitors…”

“Of course I know you know,” Frostnova said, closing her hands expressionlessly. “Don’t you have any idea why I asked you this question?”

“I think Froststar is a nice name,” Xia Yu shrugged upon hearing this. “Don’t you think so?”

“Of course it sounds good… wait!” Frostnova frowned upon hearing this. “Is it a question of whether it sounds good or not?”

Who uses their own code name as the name of a drug?

“Now we have it, don’t we?” Xia Yu blinked and gave her a thumbs up. “Aren’t you happy? You’ve set a precedent.”

“I… never mind,” Frostnova glared at him, then sighed. “I mean, this is pretty awkward.”

She hesitated for a moment, then added, "After all, the main target audience for this drug is Ursus, in the snowfields... If the guerrillas find out about it..."

"So that's what you were worried about. I'm sorry." Xia Yu gave her a thumbs up. "It's okay, just say I did it."

“It’s not that simple,” Frostnova sighed, frowning in distress. “If the old fogey finds out… sigh.”

Seeing her anxious expression, Xia Yu couldn't help but tease her, "Don't forget that Patriot sent you here to study. If he knew about this, he would probably be very pleased."

“As a father, how can I blame my child for not just being able to fight and kill, but for starting to grow up?”

"You talk like you know everything," Froststar's eyebrows relaxed with a hint of joy upon hearing this, but she still didn't hold back, "You don't even have a girlfriend yourself."

Xia Yu immediately rolled her eyes at her, and said confidently, "Did I not have a girlfriend? I've dedicated the rest of my life to the greatest cause in the world!"

"Heh, so stubborn," Frostnova said, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Xia Yu was too lazy to continue hurting her and began to focus on exploring the environment.

"Do you think there's really a cold wave?"

After a while, Froststar asked again, her voice filled with worry, "If it really exists..."

"A cold wave? Don't worry, it won't happen," Xia Yu glanced at her. "Don't worry, trust me."

Hearing this, Frostnova felt a little relieved. After all, although she usually spoke unreliably and always caused a lot of trouble that made Dr. Kal'tsit's blood pressure soar, for example, Frostnova didn't dare to speak to the stern-faced Dr. Kal'tsit in the Grand Knight Territory for a whole week.

But you can actually trust him forever!

“However, although there isn’t a real cold wave disaster,” Xia Yu winked at her at that moment, “it’s not impossible if there’s a need.”

Alright, here it comes, Frostnova knows, it's time for him to do his own thing again.

Back in Rhodes Island, whenever he made such a statement, everyone in the medical department, especially those under Dr. Kal'tsit's supervision, dared not even breathe.

But now that the emperor is far away, Dr. Kal'tsit doesn't need to worry about anything. She's in charge herself... so she should be more restrained... right?

"Oh? There's actually a village here," Xia Yu said, looking towards the dense forest to the east. "What an unexpected find..."

356 Encounter

"You've never told me why you came to Ciprini, have you?"

Victor and Anton walked side by side through the alleys of Cheprini. Suddenly, Victor asked, "The guerrillas... you always operate in the east, while Cheprini is already west of Ursus, close to Casimir and Sami."

Why did you come here? If you could, please tell me, it really matters to me.

Deep down, Victor felt that the arrival of the guerrillas was inextricably linked to the escalating mystery surrounding the natural disaster in Cheprini.

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Anton shrugged upon hearing this. “After all, it’s not a secret for many people.”

“As I said before, you are a smart person. You saw our situation clearly early on and prevented the infected people around you from seeking our protection.”

"As you surely know, there aren't many rational people like you in the world. Our guerrilla force can't support so many infected people, but until I left, there was still a steady stream of infected people coming to the camp seeking refuge."

At this point, Anton sighed, "Those nobles and officials, they just want to use these infected people to wear us down. After the failed encirclement and suppression of the guerrillas a year ago, they learned that we can't deal with them by force."

"The Captain will always be the greatest warrior of Ursus!"

"And the reason I came here is for the future of all the infected people in the camp."

Anton then looked at Victor and said, “A ship called the Orville, fully loaded with food and supplies, supported by our allies, gathered and transported from Casimir, and if I’m not mistaken… that ship should have arrived in Cheprini by now.”

“A ship laden with food and supplies,” Victor murmured to himself, “If it really exists, it would be the only hope for the infected on your side…”

What kind of spirit is this? Someone would go through all sorts of hardships to transport an entire ship full of supplies from distant Kazimierz for the sake of the infected.

Viktor, living in this cruel country, cannot imagine it.

"No wonder, no wonder, the city hall went to such unusual lengths, no wonder those black-skinned dogs from the Sixth Army were urgently transferred here to suppress bandits a month ago. Heh, we were quite nervous when we first heard the news."

“But,” he said, looking at Anton, “if we’re going to gather supplies, why not gather them from the more nearby Great Yan, instead of transporting them all the way from Kazimir?”

“Da Yan…” Anton gave a bitter smile upon hearing this, “We can’t get in touch with them. Our allies actually have more power in Kazimierz.”

“Sigh,” Victor shook his head upon hearing this.

Doesn't he know this much about the northern border of Ursus? With only one ship like this, he'll probably be eaten alive, leaving not even bones behind.

In his view, Anton's mission was likely a death sentence.

“The situation isn’t that dire,” Anton said, knowing what Anton was worried about. “Our ally is incredibly resourceful. He’s obtained a royal warrant, so at least no one dares to make a move on the surface.”

"But in the North, where people devour each other without spitting out the bones, how many ways are there to secretly try to leave a ship behind?"

"Your Majesty, alas, Your Majesty has indeed issued many decrees for us infected, but... how many of them can actually leave Saint Jun Castle?"

Victor shook his head. "I know this land too well."

“We know all this,” Anton smiled, “but what can we do? They are the hope of hundreds of thousands of people in the camp.”

Hearing this, Victor didn't know what to say, and just sighed silently.

Only the sound of two people's footsteps remained.

“If all goes well,” Anton broke the silence after a short while, “I will discuss with the people on the ship and leave you some food and medicine to suppress Oripathy.”

"Food is secondary. If there are no natural disasters, I think your little village can barely be self-sufficient. But medicine is something else entirely."

Anton's face lit up with longing as he said this, "According to Frostnova's letter, ah, Frostnova is the captain's daughter. She is currently studying at one of our allies, a pharmaceutical company called Rhodes Island. Her letter said that Rhodes Island's drugs are really effective."

"It's not easy. I've seen too many brave comrades fall victim to Oripathy. If those medicines are really that effective, that would be wonderful."

"This...isn't it too expensive?" Victor hesitated for a moment before stammering, "After all..."