Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“I’ll come find you about that thing once I’ve gathered more information,” Petal said, watching his retreating figure.

After hearing his words, David paused for two seconds, then continued walking away in a hurry.

Watching his figure disappear completely into the alley, Petar straightened his clothes and slowly walked out of the alley, humming an unknown tune.

Inside the Patriots' tent, the Shield Guard leaders looked at each other in bewilderment as they stared at the empty crystal ball.

"When did we get in touch with the Yan people?" one person asked before they could even process what was happening.

"Idiot, I was talking about the rice," the person next to him tapped his helmet. "I told you you should get your head checked. After you were hit by a shell at close range a couple of days ago, I thought there might be something wrong with your brain!"

“But I feel fine,” the man said reluctantly. “The doctors all said I have no problems.”

“Doctor…you should wait until Frostnova arrives with the Rhodes Island people and then go see them,” someone sighed. “Their doctors are more professional.”

"But I still feel like I'm fine..."

"Alright, enough of that nonsense," Lukashenko said, tapping the table in exasperation. "We're in a meeting right now."

"By the way, Dominic, when Frostnova comes back, have her recommend a reliable doctor to you."

"Now, let's talk about the issue of espionage."

At this point, he looked at Merlin.

"Merlin...sir, are you sure Frostnova and Rhodes Island specifically requested that these spies be kept alive?"

440. A genius? Just a thought!

“Of course,” Merlin shrugged after hearing his question. “I have no reason to lie to you, and didn’t your daughter tell you in her letter?”

This is addressed to patriots.

The latter nodded in agreement.

Frostnova did mention in her letter that if spies were discovered but not alerted, they should be kept alive.

The people of Rhodes Island have a great use for those spies.

"Actually, if I didn't tell you, none of you would know he was a spy, right?"

Upon hearing this, Andrew's expression became complicated.

The captains of the Shield Guard all turned their attention to him.

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault,” Andrew finally sighed. “Petal… he’s excellent. He has management experience and helped me manage the storage area very well. He also gave me a lot of advice on the planning of the camp.”

"He also led a group of infected people through the snowfield with great difficulty, showing more concern for the base than most of the infected, and even caught a few spies who tried to sabotage it..."

"In conclusion, I never doubted him at all. I didn't even know he had such exquisite Originium Arts skills."

"Really... sigh, how could he be a spy?"

“Yes, how could he be a spy?” A shield captain standing nearby frowned and muttered to himself, “David… how could he be a spy?”

"He started as a regular transport worker, but was promoted to combat units because of his tactical skills."

"A brave and courageous fighter, always leading from the front, and a veteran of the Eastern Uzbek Wars, who never backed down even when facing Ursus warships!"

"In the past, when we attacked various fortresses on the defensive line, he was always among the first to break through... Sigh, I even wanted to recruit him into the Shield Guard..."

"How could someone like that be a spy...?"

“The facts are already clear,” Lukashenko sighed, shaking his head. “Their identities are self-evident.”

"And I want to remind everyone to be more concerned about the outstanding newcomers under your command."

"Of course I understand your difficulties. You all know how tough things are for Andrew. Qualified management talent is extremely rare. It's already very difficult for them to keep this base of 200,000 people running. It's inevitable that someone would sneak in."

"As long as we take precautions afterward, it will be fine."

“As for you, Burton,” Lukashenko said, looking at Burton, the captain of the Shield Guard who had just spoken, “we can’t blame you. Who would have thought that someone who had risked his life alongside us was actually an enemy spy?”

"But we still need to be extra careful. We should try to prevent them from accessing too many classified documents..."

“And Mr. Merlin,” he looked at Merlin, “are you really alright? They seem to have their eyes on you…”

“What problem could I possibly have?” Merlin shrugged and replied, “I’m just here to help out. I’ll return to my Avalon once they arrive.”

"If you're so capable, then come find me in Avalon. As for these spies, I don't think they pose any threat to me."

Upon hearing this, the shield guard captains around him exchanged bewildered glances.

That makes sense. How could someone who could fight a seriously ill captain to a standstill be afraid of a few spies?

Moreover, when facing the seriously ill captain, he only used a sword; don't forget that his profession was a wizard.

Both the food that appeared out of thin air and the crystal ball that monitored the entire camp showed that his abilities were far more than that.

Just look at this crystal ball. The two people seemed to be openly plotting in the alley, but in fact, Petal's Originium Arts had already covered them up. If an ordinary person were to look for them, they would not be able to see them at all.

However, the crystal ball Merlin took out could see everything that happened within the area covered by his Originium Arts, and even hear what they were saying clearly.

“Then it’s settled,” Patriot tapped the table and said slowly, “When you go back, pay close attention to the people around you, but don’t be too aggressive. Just pretend you didn’t see anything.”

“Keep an eye on the names they’re talking about: Pete Elena, Twen Derrick, Carlisle Elena. See if they’re under your command.”

"Try not to cause too much trouble in the next couple of days."

“Well, there’s no need to be so pessimistic,” Lukashenko nodded in agreement, “Everyone has heard it, those spies don’t seem to be on the same page as their masters.”

"Trying to connect the dots and use the so-called secret of Captain Oripathy to negotiate with the Duke and gain freedom, tsk tsk tsk."

He shook his head at this point. "Blood Pact, is that what it's called? It's really eerie. I thought all the spies we captured before were die-hard loyalists, but it turns out they were bound by a spell and couldn't speak."

"No wonder they want freedom. Who would want their life to be in someone else's hands at any time? They don't look like brainwashed fanatics."

“Blood Pact…the legacy of the ancient Tikkaz,” Patriot sighed upon hearing this. “I’ve only heard of its great reputation, but I never imagined that after the fall of the Tikkaz, it would fall into the hands of the Duke of Ursus.”

"Since they have selfish motives, they can definitely be exploited."

"Yelena...sigh, I hope they know what they're doing."

------

Dr. Rhodes Island's office

"Medical training, personnel recruitment, weapon supply, funding for establishing offices, business registration, and even business negotiations..."

The doctor, radiating an aura of utter exhaustion, stretched out his arms and slumped his upper body onto the desk, yelling, "Ughhh, why is work never-ending?!!"

"Doctor, you can rest after signing today's business cooperation documents," Amiya said gently, pushing a stack of documents in front of her as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. "Doctor, it will only take ten minutes."

"Amiya!" Hearing this, the Doctor turned around and hugged Amiya tightly, nuzzling her in his arms. "I don't want to work overtime anymore!"

"Sigh," Amiya said calmly, glancing at the clock on the wall.

Yes, 2:30 AM, is the doctor's stable onset time.

"Alright, alright, let's look at the documents first, okay?" She sighed and reached out to pat the doctor's head. "Sweetie, we can rest after we finish reading this contract."

"Really?" The Doctor lifted his head from Amiya's embrace. Although he couldn't see her face, he could imagine her teary-eyed expression from her voice.

"Of course, Doctor, why would I lie to you?" Amiya said helplessly, and firmly pushed the Doctor away from her.

"Sigh, well," the doctor could only resign himself to his fate and start working on the documents.

Amiya stood beside her like a secretary, occasionally glancing up at the clock.

Sigh, I probably won't be able to go to bed until 3 a.m. tonight.

In fact, Kal'tsit would never have let Amiya stay up all night with the Doctor like this in the first place; she was still a child!

But since that incident, all we can do is let it be.

Oh, you're asking what that matter is?

Of course, it happened after the PhD student worked overtime until 4 a.m. and felt a bit hungry. He took out instant noodles but couldn't find a bowl. Finally, after staring blankly at the kettle for ten minutes, he lost his senses and tried to make instant noodles with his own mouth...

In the end, it was Dr. Kal'tsit's miraculous healing touch, or perhaps the Doctor's condition was unclear, but in any case, the Doctor was soon able to return to work.

Amiya gets a headache just thinking about it. At first, Dr. Kal'tsit was so worried when she heard that something had happened to the Doctor, she thought Rhodes Island had been broken into.

As a result, Kal'tsit was completely bewildered by the Doctor's mouth full of blisters. What kind of thief would attack the Doctor like that? Pouring boiling water into his mouth?

When the surveillance footage was finally reviewed, everyone was stunned.

Warfarin was the first to jump up and run to the doctor's side, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her violently, demanding to know what she was thinking.

And what exactly was her mouth made of? Boiling water at 100 degrees Celsius! She poured instant noodles into her mouth and all she got were mouthfuls of scalded blisters?

Even your mother's Blood Demon Lord couldn't withstand such a brutal treatment, right? No matter how powerful a person is, their mouth must be soft.

What species are you, anyway...?

Then Warfarin was kicked out by Dr. Kal'tsit on the grounds that she was disturbing the patient's rest.

Well, because the Doctor's actions this time were so outrageous, Warfarin wasn't hoisted onto the bridge.

But Amiya suspects that the main reason is that Rhodes Island is short of manpower. If Warfarin is left hanging like this, who will do her job?

Kal'tsit was also very puzzled by this. What was the Doctor's mentality in doing such a thing?

In response to her question, the doctor said he just did it on a whim...

According to Amiya's recollection, Dr. Kal'tsit's eyes were so cold back then... almost freezing people to death.