Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“Don’t be so polite with me,” Anton patted him on the shoulder and laughed, “As long as it’s used on fellow infected people, it’s not a waste, after all… sigh.”

In the end, it was he who started to sigh.

Victor could see it clearly, probably because even Anton wasn't confident that the medicine would reach their camp.

"Well then, thank you. We'll do our best to cooperate if you need anything in the future."

“It’s alright,” Anton forced a smile upon hearing this, “Those inhibitors are expensive, but…”

"Please allow me to correct you. Although Rhodes Island's inhibitors are indeed quite effective, they are by no means expensive."

"Who?!" Upon hearing this, Anton immediately reached for his waist, looking in the direction of the voice, his alertness heightened.

At the alley entrance, three women were looking at the two of them with either wariness or curiosity.

One of the white-haired women was the most intimidating to him, even though she was simply placing her hand on the hilt of the sword behind her back.

The remaining two were Caprini, who looked like scholars with their refined and scholarly demeanor.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation,” one of the taller men, Caprini, said with an apologetic smile, “but I was really bothered to hear the name of Rhodes Island in this unfamiliar city.”

"Furthermore, you two seem quite familiar with the cargo on our ship? You've already started discussing its distribution."

"How can you prove you're from Rhodes Island?" Anton narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.

“Ah, is it because of the special nature of this mission that going out without a uniform has become an obstacle?” Di Ling sighed. “I have some guesses about your identities based on our previous conversation.”

“But nothing is more persuasive than this.” She rolled up her sleeve, revealing the black crystal on her wrist.

"I think that in Ursus right now, apart from outsiders like us with special identities, probably no infected person would dare to walk so openly on the street."

Anton examined the crystal carefully and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that it was indeed an Originium crystal.

As he said, the fate of all infected people in Ursus is now intertwined.

"The...the eldest sister is on your ship, what's her name?"

"You mean Operator Frostnova, right?" Earth Spirit replied easily, "Codename Frostnova, real name Yelena."

At this point, she looked at Anton's face. He was a middle-aged man in his forties with a resolute expression. No wonder he had been a shield guard who had fought against the enemy on the snowfield for so many years.

"However, at your age, you still call yourself Sister Froststar?" Earth Spirit asked, puzzled.

“We old folks usually just call her Froststar,” Anton said somewhat awkwardly, “but I can’t just call her that when I ask you her name, so I can’t think of a name for her right now. After all, this encounter was too sudden, so I can only use what those Yeti brats usually call her.”

"It's nothing really. After all, there are quite a few Yetis who are older than Frostnova, and they still call her 'Big Sister'."

“I see,” the earth spirit nodded.

"Are you crew members from the Orville? By the way, my name is Anton, from the Guerrilla Shield Guard, and this is Victor, a local infected from Cheplini."

“To be precise,” Earth Spirit corrected him, “they are the researchers and armed guards on board. You can teach me, Earth Spirit. This is Eyjafjalla, and that is Miss Skadi.”

"I never expected to run into two people on what was supposed to be a chance trip. I'm so lucky."

Di Ling's face was full of joy. With the help of the locals and the guerrillas, his workload immediately decreased.

"Then, Miss Diling, what is the current situation of the Orville?" Anton asked impatiently.

“Everything is fine now,” Earth Spirit replied. “After all, with the Ursus Emperor’s approval, no one dares to do anything to us openly.”

"But there are some things you two should know, after all, Ciprini made such a big fuss."

"A natural disaster, right?" Victor asked, his feelings complicated.

“Yes, a natural disaster,” Earth Spirit sighed. “We’ve been running around the city like headless flies all day trying to figure out what’s going on.”

However, nothing was found.

“That catastrophe… is most likely fake,” Victor recalled his student, “Igor, he told me that the catastrophe never existed.”

"Oh?" The Earth Spirit raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Igor? Could you be referring to the current messenger of the Cataclysm in Cheprini?"

“Yes,” Victor nodded.

"Then may I ask what your relationship is?" the Earth Spirit asked with interest. "After all, we just visited that young messenger of natural disasters to borrow some materials, but we didn't even get to see him."

“I… was his teacher before I got infected,” Victor said, bowing his head bitterly. “He… sigh, I still want to believe in him.”

“I see,” the Earth Spirit nodded. “However, your trust alone is not enough. Eyjafjalla and I are also messengers of the Scourge. We must be responsible for the Orville and the countless people waiting for this ship.”

“I understand, I understand,” Victor nodded. “Both of you are messengers of natural disasters, truly young and promising.”

“Oh, right, if you want to see Igor… I think I can help you both. We were originally going to find Igor to confirm the news of the natural disaster,” Victor took a deep breath to clear his head. “It’s just that I haven’t been back for many years, and Igor has moved, so we came here to ask a well-informed friend.”

Anton, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement.

"Since you all know his address, then perhaps..."

“That’s not urgent,” Diling said with a smile, declining the offer. “On the contrary, Mr. Victor’s well-informed friend, could his name be Alexei?”

"Uh, you know Mr. Alexei too?" Victor was taken aback.

“Yes, he was a really kind gentleman,” Di Ling said meaningfully. “When we were constantly hitting roadblocks in this city, it was this kind gentleman who showed us the way, gave us Igor’s address, and said that we could come to him if we encountered any trouble.”

"You see, we've run into a wall with Igor, so we have no choice but to come here."

Anton frowned upon hearing this, understanding the unspoken meaning behind Di Ling's words.

The man named Alexei seemed to have ulterior motives.

But Victor didn't understand. He just felt that what Alexei said was a bit strange, but because he trusted Alexei, Victor didn't think much of it.

“Mr. Alexei... is one of the few people in this city who doesn’t dislike infected people.”

Victor exclaimed sincerely, "I met him at a donation event. These days, there are very few good people like him who are truly passionate about charity."

"After they found out I was infected, they not only didn't stay away from me, but also helped me a lot."

“The location of the village we are currently in was told to me by him. During the most difficult time, he raised a batch of food and various living supplies for us. It can be said that without Mr. Alexei, we would have starved to death long ago.”

“Oh, then it sounds like,” Earth Spirit raised an eyebrow, “that deputy mayor is quite a kind person.”

“Deputy…mayor?” Upon hearing this, Victor, who had been speaking fluently, suddenly hesitated.

“Uh, didn’t you know?” Diling squinted. “When Mr. Alexei introduced himself to us, he called himself the deputy mayor, and someone who had been in office for quite a few years.”

“Perhaps Mr. Alexei is just too low-key,” Victor paused for a moment, then said, “After all, his life is quite simple…”

“Well, this gentleman can definitely help us,” Anton suddenly said. “There’s no need to delve into some minor details; after all, it’s his privacy.”

"Let's hurry up and go visit them."

Although he said that, he was actually on guard in his heart.

He could trust Rhodes Island, which had traveled thousands of miles from Kazimierz to most of Ursus to bring hope to the infected, and he could also temporarily trust Victor, who was also an infected.

However, the allies from Rhodes Island don't seem to trust this so-called Mr. Alexei very much.

We can't just listen to Victor's side of the story. It's not that we don't trust him; although we've only known him for a short time, everything he's experienced doesn't seem fake. Rather, even Victor, being a local, may not know the whole story.

For example, even though Mr. Alexei had helped their village so much, he didn't know that the other party was the deputy mayor.

357 Preparation

“I see,” Alexei listened to their stories and then clapped his hands in amazement, “I never imagined you two would meet by such a coincidence.”

"Perhaps this is fate."

At this point, he looked at the Earth Spirit, "After all, the reason I told you guys to come back to me if you ran into trouble with that messenger of natural disaster was that I was planning to introduce you to Victor."

"After all, you guys are definitely going to the east to investigate the place that is suspected to be the site of a natural disaster, and Victor's village is over there."

"In any case, it will always be easier with the help of locals."

“Mr. Alexei is right,” Victor said with emotion. “If there is anything I can do to help you, I will.”

"After all, there aren't many people who still care about the lives of those infected these days. Your company has gone to great lengths to bring food and medicine to those infected from afar... I really can't express my gratitude."

“This is what we should do,” Earth Spirit nodded upon hearing this. “Rhodes Island’s mission since its inception has been to save the infected.”

“Your company is really something…” Alexei said with a smile, “Alas, if there were more people like this in the world, Ursus wouldn’t be in such a predicament.”

"What's hateful is that most people in the world are mediocre and incompetent like me. I'm truly ashamed."

“Mr. Alexei, there’s no need for such modesty,” Victor said quickly. “Without your help, we infected people of Cheprini would not have survived until now. And now that such a big thing has happened, the first person we think of is Mr. Alexei.”

“Perhaps you think I’ve done a lot, Victor, but I should have done more.”

Hearing this, Alexei smiled wryly and said, "I never told you before that I was the deputy mayor of this city, because I felt that I hadn't been able to do anything at all."

“Since I was transferred here at the age of thirty, I was full of ambition. His Majesty values ​​me so much, but I have accomplished nothing for so many years.”

"I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me, but as the deputy mayor of Chiplini, I live like a rat in the gutter!"

“I have failed to implement any of His Majesty’s policies, and most people in Cheprini are unaware that the city even has a deputy mayor.”

"The only thing I can say I've accomplished over the years is that I've secretly funded you guys, Victor. As for the rest... ha."

“At least we survived with your help,” Victor said, trying to comfort us. “How can you say we accomplished nothing?”

“What is this… well,” Alexei sighed, “but I could have done better.”

"Forget about these discouraging words," he shook his head. "I suggest you all head straight out of the city to Victor's village."

“But…” Victor hesitated for a moment.