Arknights' Lock of Heaven

At this point, Xia Yu revealed a devilish smile, "I will have Skadi and Manticore keep a close eye on everyone."

Hearing this, the surrounding researchers were stunned. They also had many feelings about these two colleagues. Once the order came down, they would definitely carry it out without any discount.

"Surely it's not that bad?" Hearing this, the spirit started to panic and tried to bargain, "I'll make sure everyone leaves work on time from now on..."

"Then take your work back to the dorm and continue working on it? Doing it in your personal time in the dorm doesn't count as overtime?" Xia Yu chuckled. "There are always ways to circumvent policies. Do you think I don't know that?"

Upon hearing this, Di Ling was speechless for a moment, after all, people really were capable of doing such a thing.

“But it’s not good if we fall asleep in the lab every day,” one of the agents retorted. “We’ll also have to trouble our colleagues to take us back to the dorm.”

"Yeah, yeah, our rule is to leave work at 8:30, but we can't expect to sleep until the next day after 8:30, can we? We need some time for ourselves too, right?"

"Yes, just like me. I have to set aside time every day to learn new knowledge, otherwise I won't be able to keep up with everyone else."

Seeing his subordinates speak out for justice, Di Ling felt very gratified.

But these delusions were quickly suppressed by Xia Yu!

"Oh, Rhodes Island isn't some heartless company, why would we squeeze everyone's working hours?" Xia Yu said with a sinister smile. "Don't worry, I gave you a super strong dose last night. Regular tea only has one function: to make you fall asleep at midnight every day! You won't feel sleepy before that!"

"These tea drinks are specially made for you all. Unlike the perks I'm preparing for all employees, you're in for a treat!"

There's no way around it; if he were to exhaust these precious darlings, his grand plan would be delayed until the year of the monkey and the month of the horse.

Every one of the twenty-odd people present is a graduate of a prestigious university. Do you think Rhode Island sent them to contact this project for their own benefit?

No, no, no. Geniuses like Earth Spirit and Eyjafjalla are ultimately a minority. Others are decades away from reaching that level. Kal'tsit and Xia Yu's plan has ulterior motives; they're after the teachers of these students.

Those old professors are all incredibly knowledgeable. If we want to analyze the [Simulated Gaia - Spiritual Particle Environment Modification System] and combine it with modern science on Terra, we'll have to rely on these people.

As for these researchers now? They're just bait for fishing. We're just waiting for them to start something, and then Xia Yu will create a spectacle to raise his profile and use his network to attract those highly respected professors.

If we really rely on this group of people, it will be decades before we see any results, by which time it will be too late.

"After you finish eating, go back to your dorms," ​​Xia Yu announced to the researchers around her who looked like they had lost their parents. "The medical department's psychologists will come to counsel you one by one. I've already made appointments for you. Consider today a holiday."

"How are you? Happy?"

413 Simple Justice

happy?

I imagine they weren't very happy.

After sending the group of reluctant researchers back to their dormitories, Xia Yu took Di Ling and Eyjafjalla to her office.

The researchers below can be talked to by psychologists, but these two precious things still need to be dealt with by themselves.

"Drink up, it's pure tea leaves, nothing added," Xia Yu said as she skillfully brewed three cups of tea upon arriving at the office, pushing two of them towards them.

After hearing his assurance, the two accepted it without worry.

“I know what you’re worried about, and I know you feel that those data… well, they’re stained with blood, but you don’t have to push yourselves so hard, do you?”

Xia Yu sighed, "Even if we take a step back and say that I killed those people, what does it have to do with you?"

Upon hearing this, the two remained silent.

“I understand the logic, but…” Eyjafjalla murmured, “I can’t use this data with a clear conscience.”

"Why? Just because you didn't stop me?" Xia Yu retorted. "If that's the case, there's no need for that. I can say with certainty that if I want to, no one in the world can stop me."

"And that's not your job either."

“But…” Eyjafjalla hesitated.

“I confess, it was my fault,” Di Ling suddenly said at that moment, “It was my fault for not managing the research department well…”

"No, no, no, Di Ling, we're not here today to assign blame," Xia Yu interrupted her helplessly. "You don't need to blame yourself like this. I just want you two to stop getting so hung up on this."

“But it really was my fault,” Di Ling sighed, “Anyway, during the few days you were gone, everyone knew what our research was going to be used for…”

"Fortunately, the people who joined our research had a very high sense of morality. Unfortunately, everyone's sense of morality was just too high... When you came back, you only saw us working overtime every day, but you didn't see the situation in the research department at that time."

"Almost everyone was demotivated, and the research progress stalled at one point. At first, everyone thought that what we were doing was to open up new living space for all mankind, and that everything we were doing was just.

"But... after learning that this technology was being used in the war, everyone lost their enthusiasm," Di Ling said with a wry smile. "They're not unreasonable people; they know that if we don't do this, neither will the Snowfield Infected."

"But advisor, the difference between then and now is too great, especially since, apart from the Sixth Army Group, there are still hundreds of thousands of infected troops in the snowfield... We used them this time, but what about next time? After we wipe out those troops, will the higher-ups, that is, you, still be satisfied with painstakingly expanding in the snowfield?"

"Everyone knows that our research progress is not ideal, but in your hands, it has become a terrible weapon of war. After dealing with those armies, would you rather lead the infected to wait in the bitter cold snowfield for this research, which may never yield results, so that they can live in peace and prosperity, or would you take this terrible weapon south, launch a war, and plunder those warm lands?"

“It’s not uncommon for dragon slayers to turn into dragons, Mr. Advisor,” Earth Spirit sighed. “I, and Eyjafjalla, know that you don’t need this research to deal with those armies, but we can’t tell them because of secrecy…”

“You can build this barrier on your own. All we’re doing now is trying to find a way to control it with science, but the problem is that this thing is also under the scope of secrecy…” Di Ling said with a helpless expression. “Right now, all they know is that these technologies were excavated from an unknown ruin.”

"Go on," Xia Yu said thoughtfully.

“So I can only use words to…motivate them,” Di Ling said, looking at Xia Yu and continuing, “tell them that I will seek a guarantee from you that this technology will never be used for military purposes after this.”

"I assured them that as soon as we arrived at Patriots' location, we would immediately begin constructing the barrier."

“I explained to them that as long as this barrier is raised, and given the identity of the infected, Ursus will definitely not dare to act rashly. Everyone knows why Ursus is so warlike; the snowfield is really not suitable for survival.”

“Once the barrier is raised, Ursus isn’t stupid. After all, this barrier is controlled by the infected. If they dare to launch an attack, we will perish along with this technology, and they will get nothing.”

“The Ursus nobles aren’t stupid. With such huge profits right in front of them, how could they bear to watch them vanish like snowflakes in the sun? They wouldn’t dare to make any rash moves. There’s no need to worry about the hundreds of thousands of troops on the defensive line.”

At this point, Di Ling, seeing Xia Yu's strange expression, quickly explained, "Firstly, this technology is not used for military purposes because it's a trump card you left behind. We can defeat the armies on the defensive line without it."

"The second guarantee is also in our plan. We originally planned to start building the barrier as soon as we arrived there, put up the signboard first, and then use these researchers to attract their mentors and friends to work together to analyze the barrier technology."

"So strictly speaking, I deceived them by taking advantage of the information gap, and that's where everyone's enthusiasm these days comes from."

"A sense of mission that may seem inexplicable to you, coupled with the mental state tormented by technology that seems like an incomprehensible book, combined to form what you see here."

"That's why I said the responsibility lies with me."

"Oh, you don't need to explain so clearly. I just... realized that the cause of this whole thing was actually me."

"Besides being bad for their own health, their behavior isn't wrong. Kindness is a good thing, a sense of mission... who hasn't been a bit immature at some point? In my opinion, it's not a problem."

Hearing this, Xia Yu exclaimed, "How should I put it? These researchers truly deserve to be people personally recruited by Kal'tsit..."

Look at these people, they're all moral exemplars! In Columbia's scientific community, they'd be saints! My goodness, how did Kal'tsit manage to gather them all together?

To be fair, working with these people is quite comfortable. At least they share the same values, and you don't have to worry about them betraying you, as long as you don't do anything inhumane.

Kal'tsit, Kal'tsit, you're really something. First there were the students who were willing to risk their lives to seal the sarcophagus so that Ursus wouldn't use it to start a war, and now you've recruited these moral exemplars...

Look at them, this is barely even started, and they're already worried about using this barrier to become kings and tyrants... How should I put it, if the Ursus nobles had even half their conscience, Ursus wouldn't be in this mess now.

Kindness is a good thing, but in this world, good people don't live long.

This is when you need to take matters into your own hands.

The reason why these researchers have been working so diligently these past few days, as if they were on steroids, has been found.

It turns out the Earth Spirit had been dangling a carrot in front of them...

Well, the rhetoric is a bit naive; it won't fool seasoned veterans, but it's enough to fool these enthusiastic young people.

Is Ursus really going to be fooled by the so-called "mutual destruction" rhetoric?

If it were just a bunch of simple researchers like you, they might actually be hesitant to act rashly, but the Patriot camp is a mixed bag, who knows how many spies are inside...

Do you really need a massive army to acquire technology? Believe me, they can secretly give you some information, and in a few days, some of you will be tied up and sent to a nobleman's castle.

As for the issue of having too high a moral compass... well, like I complained before, when the previous civilization created these descendants, they must have accidentally added a bit more philosopher genes...

Everyone has their own thoughts on things like the earth, home and country, ethnicity, survival, and so on. It's as if you could grab any random person on the street and chat with them about these things for an entire afternoon.

Of course, the above is just a metaphor, but Xia Yu already has a solution.

"Since they have too high a moral sense and are afraid that their research will cause some kind of disaster, then I have a way to solve this problem."

After thinking for a moment, Xia Yu looked up at the two of them and smiled slightly. "How about this, I'll approve a large cabin for you. I'll build a tiny barrier there beforehand, and your research department will be responsible for using technology to bring the temperature inside the cabin up to the average winter temperature of the snowfield."

“Earth Spirit, go back and tell them that because the Cheprini incident has caused such a big commotion, it is estimated that an envoy from the Emperor of Ursus will soon arrive on our ship to find out what is going on.”

"Your mission is to let the envoy know that this technology was never a weapon, and that our actions in Cheprini were merely a last resort. You must make the envoy realize the significance of this technology to Ursus."

“Tell the researchers that as long as we can use this to keep the Ursus Emperor and the Council, who have always supported us, on our toes, they will do everything in their power to stop all conflicts on the snowfield, and naturally there will be no war, let alone the situation they fear.”

"Since the sense of mission you've aroused is hard to dispel, and we can't dispel it either, let's use it where it's needed."

“Yes, I understand,” the Earth Spirit smiled happily upon hearing this.

"Of course, overtime is still not allowed, and those tea drinks must be consumed every day. Even if they are not capable enough to analyze my spell, I think keeping the temperature of a large cabin below zero should not be a problem, right?"

"Find them something they can do to do, otherwise they'll be driven crazy sooner or later if they're studying those incomprehensible technical books I give them with this sense of mission."

"Also, try to persuade them not to put too much pressure on themselves. If they can't handle it themselves, they can write to their mentors or classmates for advice," Xia Yu said with a smile. "Keep it a secret... Actually, it doesn't need to be kept too secret. Once this thing is built, it will be so big that it will be impossible to hide it."

414

"Advisor, I would like to ask about the tea drinks you developed..." In the captain's cabin, Aya hesitated before speaking.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem after drinking it?" Xia Yu looked up in confusion upon hearing this.

“No, there’s no problem, it’s just that the effect is too good,” Aya sighed upon hearing this, and said with a hint of resentment, “It’s so good that I slept past my morning work time and didn’t wake up until noon.”

"Don't worry, I won't deduct your salary," Xia Yu shrugged upon hearing this. "Anyway, there's not much going on in your medical department in the morning, so I already approved your leave slip in advance."