Arknights' Lock of Heaven

But today, their worries are nowhere to be seen.

Even when their last grain reserves were hanging by a thread, some of them still wanted to capture spies for interrogation first...

It was as if... overnight they had found a solution to the food problem!

But intelligence from all sources confirms that the ship the infected see as their lifeline will not arrive for another week. Where will these infected find enough food to feed 200,000 people for four days?

And this person.

He glanced furtively at Merlin, who was idly studying the map on Patriot's table inside the tent.

This guy is also acting strangely; the way the Shield Guards, including the Patriots, treat him is really odd.

When Patriot discovered that there was a danger in the storage area, his first reaction was to ask him if he was alright.

Who exactly is this person... who cured Patriot's illness... it doesn't seem like a baseless rumor.

This is the only thing that could make an infected person put down their precarious food supply.

Cure for Oripathy!

Petal's breathing grew increasingly hot; he realized he seemed to have struck it rich.

Why is Patriot, who was previously ravaged by Oripathy and whose life was hanging by a thread, now appearing completely unaffected by the disease?

What exactly caused his nearly withered body to regain its vitality?

While completing their plans, the dukes were also quite curious about it.

This task is second only to the infiltration itself in priority.

But no matter who it is, whether the investigation is overt or covert, the result will only be a vague answer.

Almost all spies had to give up hope. Ordinary people didn't know this secret, and those Shield Guards who did were incredibly stubborn.

But unexpectedly, he was caught red-handed here. For the reward promised by the Duke, Petal had no choice but to betray his allies.

Of course, this was because those allies were all people of other dukes, and they had no idea of ​​his identity. He had not interfered with their plans, but had simply stood by and watched.

Just as he was feeling smug, he didn't notice that the person who seemed to be looking at the Patriot's map was now turning his head to observe him with great interest.

He can see it as soon as he looks up.

437 Petal was actually a spy?

The suppression process was unremarkable.

With Patriots and Shields already involved, what waves can those spies possibly make?

If they were capable of confronting the Patriots and their Shield Guards head-on, what would they be doing as spies?

So unsurprisingly, they were crushed by the shield guards. The leader tried one last time to detonate the magic circle, but Patriot threw a halberd from afar, piercing right through him.

Unfortunately, no high-ranking officers were left alive; those who survived were mostly low-ranking henchmen, and no useful information could be obtained from them.

Those high-ranking spies were all suicide agents; they would immediately commit suicide if they saw that things were beyond saving. This is why Lukashenko wanted to proceed slowly before.

These assassins are such a nuisance; they can die so easily.

“Mr. Petar, your news is very timely,” Lukashenko said with a smile after returning to his command tent after eliminating the threat. “The captain is still at the base reassuring everyone. After such a big incident, we must put everyone at ease.”

“However, there’s been a little mishap,” Andrew continued awkwardly. “While we were parading those prisoners through the streets, they shouted out that the base is short of food. Now everyone is panicking, so we would like to ask Mr. Merlin to move to the storage area and help us solve the food problem first.”

"We must give our compatriots the necessary confidence and let them see that our food reserves are enough to support everyone until the Orville arrives."

“No problem,” Merlin said with a smile. “Oh dear, it’s finally my turn to shine. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

“Well, let’s go now,” Andrew said, turning around. “Petal, you come with us.”

The latter nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Merlin, carrying a bag of rice, walked at the very back.

Ha, the prisoners' henchmen accidentally leaked information, causing panic among the troops?

Pfft, Merlin almost burst out laughing. If the guerrillas' sense of secrecy was really that bad, how had they managed to resist in Ursus for so many years?

Patriot was just looking for an excuse to get Merlin to produce enough food to feed everyone for four days at once. Patriot was still worried that Merlin would use this opportunity to blackmail him into making some kind of promise.

Well, Merlin didn't know how to evaluate Patriot's cautious...thinking?Personality?

Having been betrayed so many times, you start to see everything through a tinted lens.

Patriots brought the Wendigos to Ursus to escape the endless strife in Kazdel, hoping to rely on their special abilities to defend Ursus against evil and secure a living space for their race.

However, in the end, he still had to join the Ursus army.

Then he discovered that the infighting within Ursus was no less intense than in Kazdel... Why did the Tenth Ursus War fail?

Even though he and General Helag had victory in their grasp, the nobles in the rear were unwilling to see these royalists achieve such great military success, so they withdrew the troops that had set up the defensive line. Ultimately, this allowed Kazimir's Silver Spears and Pegasus to break through, and the entire battle was ruined.

Although some people came forward to take responsibility after the war, everyone knew that they were just scapegoats.

The real mastermind is living a carefree life.

Then, due to the defeat in the Uka War, the late emperor's promise to the infected in exchange for their enthusiastic participation in the army could not be fulfilled. The infected began to march and protest, and his own son died in that suppression.

That was the pain of his life.

After that, they went to the snowfield and formed a guerrilla force. During this time, they suffered countless betrayals, the most significant of which was probably against Talulah.

Patriot valued Talulah so much back then. He knew that Frostnova's physical condition did not allow her to become the next leader of the guerrillas, and that he himself would not last long, so he poured everything into Talulah.

And what was the result? Talulah was merely a pawn in the Black Serpent's game, a pawn it used to instigate the infected to commit heinous crimes in order to achieve its own ends.

As for the fate of those infected afterward? It won't care.

As the saying goes, once bitten by a snake, twice shy, the Patriot has been thoroughly numbed by the ways of the world. Even with Merlin's great help, he still remains vigilant.

Well, it's pretty good!

It's good to be vigilant, so you won't be fooled by those shady immortals or anything like that!

The planning of the snowfield is of paramount importance to Xia Yu, but he cannot stay there permanently, so Patriot is the best candidate to take on the main responsibility.

To put it bluntly, as long as Xia Yu doesn't abandon these infected people in the snowfield, the Patriots won't be able to leave his support, and they won't have to worry about any betrayal or other unpleasant things.

As a leader, a necessary sense of vigilance is definitely an excellent quality. For example, Talulah. If Patriot hadn't been dying from Oripathy, he wouldn't have so easily handed over the infected to Talulah.

As for all the current probing... Merlin, or Xia Yu, didn't take it seriously.

Once the Eden Project is established, everyone will know that it's not Xia Yu who needs the infected, but rather the infected who need Xia Yu.

Patriots will also understand this: Xia Yu doesn't want anything from him. If Xia Yu is willing, there will be plenty of people willing to invest in the Eden Project.

Patriot is now paranoid because he's been badly beaten down by this world. He always feels that everyone is using the infected to achieve their own schemes, but once the relationship between needing and being needed changes, he will naturally see reality clearly.

It was with this mindset that Merlin was able to ignore these petty actions.

"Hmm, this should be considered a patriot's dark history," he thought to himself as he walked, stroking his chin. "Should I keep this for later..."

Ugh, Merlin's suit is really toxic. Why did I keep it? I almost let myself go without even realizing it.

Meanwhile, Petal, standing behind him, was increasingly puzzled.

What? Solve the food problem?

Rely on him? A doctor?

Petal felt like his brain was completely blank. What the hell was going on?

How is this guy who calls himself Merlin going to solve the so-called food problem? Is he really going to rely on that one bag of rice that he can carry all by himself?

He racked his brains but couldn't figure out why the Shield Guards were so confident.

Petar could also tell that the news of food shortages revealed by the henchmen during the parade was definitely a deliberate leak by the guerrillas, but he simply couldn't figure out why they would do such a thing.

Can the Shield Guardians really fill this gap?

And so, with their own thoughts, the group arrived at the warehouse area.

“Mr. Merlin, look…” Andrew opened the door to a warehouse, which was completely empty, the kind of place where even a mouse would starve to death.

He looked at Merlin expectantly, but Merlin glanced sideways at Petar.

“Well… Petal is the administrator of this area, and his loyalty can be guaranteed,” Andrew paused for a second, then quickly explained.

“My illusion magic is a closely guarded secret,” Merlin said, a hint of impatience in his voice. “Do you know I’m not comfortable with more people seeing it?”

“Uh, okay,” Andrew immediately turned to Petal upon hearing this, “I’m sorry, Petal, I’m sorry to trouble you to leave for a while. You should go to the medical department to get checked out.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, it’s alright,” Petal said with a smile. “I know, it’s classified. I’ll be going now.”

Then he left quite casually.

But that was all just a facade. In reality, his mind was in turmoil, and he was itching to turn back and see what they were up to.

But reason stopped him. He comforted himself by thinking, "I've already gained the trust of the guerrilla leadership. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. This one won't make a difference!"

Inside the warehouse, Andrew and Merlin locked eyes.

"Is this Mr. Petal...is his sexual orientation unusual?"

Merlin was the first to speak.

“Uh, no,” Andrew replied instinctively. “I heard he has a wife back home. What’s wrong, Mr. Merlin?”