Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Although he is just a middle school teacher, he is very particular about cleanliness and hygiene.

But after he began wandering the snowfields, life taught him what compromise was.

Besides, after working hard with everyone, he had no time to care about that.

Ah, right, it's been almost two years.

He stared blankly at the floorboards that he and everyone else had repaired brick by brick.

At first, there was a big hole in the building, and cold winds were blowing into the house all day long... Everyone could only try to stay close to each other for warmth.

Although it's tough, I have people around me...

people?

Everyone?

Village!

His aimless thoughts were instantly awakened here. He stretched out his sore and tired hand, threw off the covers and stumbled off the bed. Then, with all his strength, he moved towards the door using both hands and feet.

Ignoring his own weakness and aches, Victor went to the door, but even after getting there, he still couldn't hear anyone.

Only the biting wind howled outside the door.

He dared not think any further, and could only reach out with trembling hands to push the door open.

One stroke, two strokes, three strokes—my sore and aching hands were completely powerless.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, took a step back, and then slammed his entire body against the door with all his might. His frail body seemed to unleash boundless power at that moment, and the once indestructible door swung open instantly.

"Huh? What's wrong with this door... Ouch, holy crap!"

boom!

Anton had just placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it when he felt the solid wood door whistling relentlessly toward his face.

Completely unprepared for the attack, he took the blow squarely to the face, then crouched on the ground, clutching his nose and groaning in pain.

Victor struggled to squeeze out from behind the door, muttering "the village, the village..."

This village was his greatest source of hope.

However, the area behind the door was not as desolate as he had imagined.

A pile of military tarpaulins bearing the Ursus insignia appeared before him, bulging beneath them, indicating that there were many things inside.

Victor opened his mouth when he saw this, and felt dizzy.

The Ursus army's equipment has appeared here, so what about the villagers who are infected...?

"Victor, you're awake!" Anton rubbed his nose and stood up. He was pleasantly surprised to see Victor and was about to greet him when he realized that Victor looked like he was about to faint again.

Following his gaze, which seemed to see the sky collapsing and the earth splitting apart, Anton saw the pile of supplies and the Ursus army insignia on them.

Oh wow, playing ball.

In a flash, Anton understood Victor's thought process. He then suddenly turned around, grabbed Victor's shoulders tightly, dragged him out of the doorway, and pointed at the villagers not far away, shouting, "Don't overthink it! Your village is fine!"

After all, he had been with Victor all along, and he was the one who supported the latter when he was unconscious. He knew all too well what Victor was worried about.

"It's nothing...it's nothing..." Victor felt dizzy instinctively after being pulled over, and then he saw the villagers he had been thinking about day and night.

They were all safe and sound, their faces beaming with joy.

Oh, it's nothing.

Oh it's all right.

His mind went blank, leaving only a sigh.

Great.

Nothing.

Then, the combination of great sorrow and great joy, coupled with his already weak body, made Victor unable to hold on any longer. His neck tilted to the side and he fainted again.

"Victor? Victor?" Seeing this, Anton quickly and carefully helped him up.

"Wait, is that the village chief?"

Just then, a sharp-eyed child spotted Victor and exclaimed, "Grandpa Village Chief is awake!"

These words were like a bombshell dropped on the entire village, and instantly all the infected people swarmed around.

"Why is the village chief out? Has he woken up?"

"Isn't he still unconscious? And why is he dressed so lightly?"

"This won't do! Help them back quickly! What if they catch a cold in this freezing weather?"

When everyone saw that Victor had fainted again, they hurriedly carried him back into the house.

"What's going on? What's going on? I heard someone say the village has woken up?" Just then, Matic squeezed in. "Uh, he's still unconscious, isn't he? Everyone, get out. Don't all crowd into the room. The village chief said it's not good for the patient..."

“Matic, Victor did wake up just now,” Anton had to interrupt him. “He was probably startled when he saw the pile of things with the Ursus symbol at the door. Then, seeing how listless he looked, I could only point at everyone and tell him that no one was hurt.”

"Then, perhaps due to the successive shocks and his weakened body, he fainted again amidst the extreme joy and sorrow..."

"What? He's already awake?" Matic was stunned. "Then why didn't Sonny tell me... Wait, where's Sonny?!"

"Isn't he supposed to be watching over the village chief at this time? Why isn't he here?"

"Um," a hand was raised from outside the crowd, and someone said weakly, "I just went to the restroom..."

“Why do you have to go to the toilet at such an important time? Look, the village chief has fainted again. You really are…”

Upon hearing this, Matic flew into a rage, pointing his finger at him and yelling, "If anything happens to the village chief, don't call me Dad anymore!"

Yes, the aggrieved young boy at the door is his son.

She was also his only blood relative in the world.

Not satisfied with his outburst, he squeezed through the crowd, grabbed a stick, and prepared to carry out family discipline.

Sonny knew he had made a huge mistake, so he just stood there, sniffling, not knowing how to run away.

"Alright, alright, Victor's health is the priority now," Anton quickly stopped the enraged Matic. "Now that the Orville has arrived, let's get him on board as soon as possible."

“Yes, the village chief’s health is more important,” Matic said, throwing down his stick and glaring at Sonny. “I’ll deal with you later!”

Anton was worried for his son when he saw this. The boy was so simple-minded that he didn't even flinch when his father came over with such a thick stick.

What if something bad happens during the fight?

"Let's get the village chief to that ship quickly!" Matic rushed to Victor's bedside and was about to carry him out of the house.

"Wait a minute!" Seeing this, Anton had to stop him. "The village still needs you to take charge. What will happen to everyone if you leave now? The Orville won't stay for long. You need to lead everyone to move onto the ship as quickly as possible."

“I’ll take Victor with me,” Anton said, wrapping Victor in a blanket, hoisting his thin body onto his back, and then striding away.

Reaching the door, he saw the boy still standing there with tears in his eyes. After thinking for a couple of seconds, he said to him, "What are you still looking at? Come over here and help me support him! Do you understand the importance of atonement?"

Upon hearing this, the boy quickly stepped forward, reached out to support Victor on his back, and struggled to keep up with Anton, who was striding ahead.

"What are you still looking at?" Seeing this, Matic sighed, hoping the village chief was alright. Then he turned to the villagers who were looking at each other in bewilderment and said irritably, "Hurry up and go home and pack your things. That ship won't stay here for long!"

“Mattich,” a woman said hesitantly at that moment, “we really aren’t bringing these things…”

She was referring to the supplies that the able-bodied men of the village had brought back at Xia Yu's behest.

Xia Yu initially made them do this to keep the infected people calm, but now it seems she's starting to regret it.

"It's such a waste to just leave it here."

"Yes, look how much meat there is. We've never seen so much meat in our lives."

"And those quilts and coats, it's such a waste to just throw them away."

Everyone started talking at once.

Matic understood, and he also felt heartbroken.

They're all terrified of poverty. In this desolate snowfield, it's normal for a group of elderly, weak, sick, and disabled infected people to go months without meat. It's perfectly normal that they can't bear to part with so much food now.

But time waits for no one.

"I'll say it again, everyone only bring the essentials! Bring a few clothes, enough food for two days, and things you can keep as souvenirs. We don't have any extra time to waste!"

“That ship can’t stay here indefinitely waiting for us. Every extra day they stay here means another day of hunger for hundreds of thousands of infected people! They can’t stay here for so long just for a few of us!”

“There are far more supplies on the ship than here! Enough for each of you to eat until you die. It’s also very warm on the ship, so you don’t need these things at all,” Matic said, feeling very tired. He thought that the old Victor would never have panicked in the face of these problems. He could always explain things to everyone so clearly that they were convinced.

And all I can do is repeat these same old things.

Ultimately, it all comes down to poverty.

-

Victor opened his eyes again.

It's a ceiling I've never seen before.

The white, slightly grayish material looked high-end; I couldn't tell if it was metal or something else. I was lying in a warm bed, surrounded by unfamiliar beeping sounds.

Sure enough, my own patched-up ceiling, which I don't know how long it's been used, is still better.

Lying in his hospital bed, Victor's thoughts wandered.