Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Finally, Amiya volunteered to become the doctor's caregiver, working alongside her as her secretary and learning along the way.

Of course, the main concern is to prevent the doctor from acting out of his mind again and doing something so shocking.

After taking on this job, Amiya discovered the true nature of the Doctor.

A lazy dog!

Work that can be piled up until the early hours of the morning will never be done during the day. Taking a break makes me feel relaxed and happy... At first, Amiya thought that the doctor was indeed working too much, but after actually getting to know her, she realized that she was addicted to taking a break.

Normally, the work doesn't even reach this level!

Of course, today is an exception, because a company's reneging on its promises forced the PhD to work overtime.

“Hey Amiya, what do you think Kal'tsit is thinking?” Just then, the Doctor suddenly spoke up, “She’s probably transferred most of Rhodes Island’s capable fighters out.”

"Isn't she afraid something might happen to this ship?"

“Um, this…” Amiya paused for a moment upon hearing this, then replied, “It should be fine, right? This place is full of infected people, Kazimierz won’t come to fight us.”

"Who would attack us?"

"Huh, who knows?"

441 Rumors

Good morning, Dr. Elena.

"Hey, Elena, Cerasu, the patient in Ward C, has been discharged. He asked me to convey his thanks to you."

"Dr. Elena, could you please take a look at me..."

The medical unit at Patriot Air Force Base was also bustling this morning.

Yes, it's very lively.

It's better than being lifeless.

Pete Elena greeted everyone with a smile as she walked.

Everyone likes Dr. Elena.

From medical skills to charisma.

“Dr. Elena,” just then, a caregiver rushed up to her, “there’s a problem in the intensive care unit…you should go and take a look.”

"Oh, I'll go right now," Elena said, giving the surrounding patients an apologetic look before turning and leaving with the caregiver.

"If I could marry a woman like Dr. Elena... my life would be complete..."

A wounded soldier watched her slender figure disappear around the corner and muttered to himself.

"Come on, look at yourself!" the other patients around him laughed and scolded. "Do you think Dr. Elena would even want you?"

"Can't I even think about it?" the man said, his face flushed. "Besides, what do you mean by 'what kind of person I am'? I'm fighting bravely on the front lines, you know!"

"It's like everyone's the same," a fellow patient laughed. "It's better to dream at night. How could a good woman like Dr. Elena fall for a common soldier like us?"

His words drew a chorus of agreement from those around him, leaving only the first soldier to speak muttering to himself about dreams and being a lazy bum.

The ward was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Not only the wards, but even the base outside was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Because the ship is almost here; according to the guerrillas, it will arrive around noon the day after tomorrow.

For the first time, the base opened up its food supply, and everyone no longer had to live a frugal life.

But there are places in the base where you just can't be happy no matter what.

Elena followed the caregiver to a row of wooden houses.

This is the intensive care unit for critically ill patients.

Although it's called an intensive care unit, it's actually just a few rows of warm wooden cabins. There's plenty of food here, and you don't have to worry about the cold winds of the snowfield.

But almost no one wants to live here.

Because once they move in here, it means their lives are entering their final countdown.

The guerrillas couldn't even guarantee food, let alone medical supplies. The so-called intensive care unit was just to make the last days of those infected people less painful.

So even though the camps outside were celebrating, this place remained lifeless.

"Doctor, Dr. Elena," as soon as she entered the room, a gaunt man rushed to her as if he had seen a savior and knelt down.

"Please, save Martha, Dr. Elena, I beg you..."

“Hey, you… sigh,” Elena sighed helplessly at the agitated man, then reached out and helped him up. The man was tall but thin, and didn’t have much strength. “Charles, it’s not that I don’t want to save your wife, but…”

"She is beyond help."

Elena thus sentenced the wife of the man named Charles to death.

The patients, their families, and caregivers around them all fell silent upon hearing this.

They all knew the man's story.

They were originally a very happy family, both husband and wife were university professors, but they were both infected in an experimental accident.

They happened to encounter Ursus's large-scale manhunt for the infected, and unfortunately, they caught them and sent them to the snowfield.

At this point, something even more unfortunate happened: Charles, due to the blow he suffered and his inability to adapt to the snowy climate, fell seriously ill and never recovered.

His wife dragged him step by step to the infected camp.

During this process, his wife also suffered many crises. She was a sorcerer, and even without her staff, her status as an infected person allowed her to continue casting spells.

In the midst of one crisis after another, she used her magic to turn danger into safety and successfully brought her husband to the infected's base.

However, due to these repeated spellcastings, her Oripathy worsened. According to her, the most dangerous time was when she had to use an Originium Crystal to cast a spell directly in order to drive away a giant bear that was storing fat for hibernation and was trying to eat her and her husband...

The effect was quite obvious; the giant bear's body became the nourishment that allowed the couple to live until now, and the act of casting spells directly with Originium Crystals made his wife's Oripathy extremely severe.

Everyone knows their touching story, but now, the heroine of the story, Martha, is about to give up.

The male protagonist, although cured of his illness by the base's doctor, could only stand by his bedside and watch his wife slowly lose her life.

How cruel this is.

“I’m sorry, Charles,” Elena said with a wry smile, “I can’t save her.”

“No…it’s not your fault, it’s not your fault, Doctor,” Charles swayed, looking dazed. “It’s my fault. If it weren’t for me, her condition wouldn’t have been so serious.”

“Cha…” Martha on the hospital bed slightly opened her eyes and used all her strength to raise her weak hand and tug at Charles’s clothes.

“I’m here, Martha, I’m here,” Charles immediately knelt down in front of the bed and gently took her hand to rub his face.

“No… it’s difficult… doctor…” Martha managed to utter a few words.

“Okay, I understand. You should rest now, Martha,” Charles gently kissed his wife’s forehead.

Martha also closed her eyes weakly.

The people in the ward watched the unfortunate couple in silence.

Finally, Charles watched as Martha fell asleep, then put her hand down and turned to look at Elena, whose gaunt face and eyes seemed to burn with fire.

“Dr. Elena,” he whispered in a hoarse voice, “please, save her.”

“I can’t help it, it’s Oripathy,” Elena said with a wry smile.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Charles said, looking into Elena’s eyes. “You are one of the best doctors in the camp. I don’t know if you’ve heard the rumor.”

"What rumor?" Elena asked with a surprised expression.

"..."

“Mr. Patriot…our protector, whose Oripathy was also very serious before,” Charles paused for two seconds, then slowly said, “but now he is in perfect health and has led the guerrillas to defeat the regular army time and time again.”

"So, Oripathy... can be cured, were you aware of that?"

442 The Patriots' Situation

"Mr. Charles, where did you hear this news?"

Upon hearing this, Elena frowned and said, "Oripathy is incurable; everyone knows that."

"Who told you such a ridiculous statement?" she said, glancing around. Everyone around her lowered their heads, but all of them were listening intently to what she was saying.

It is clear that this idea has spread throughout the intensive care unit.

If possible, no one would want to watch their loved ones suffer and die painfully from carcinogenic schistosomiasis.

Watching oneself slowly turn into a stone, powerless to reverse the process and only able to wait for death, is so cruel for the patient and their relatives.

“There is no cure for Oripathy,” Elena said to the people around her. “Don’t believe the rumors.”

"As for Mr. Charles... your wife's condition is indeed very bad, but it's not entirely hopeless. In my experience, she can hold on for at least two more weeks."

"Rhodes Island is also a pharmaceutical company, and it's said that there are many drugs in this aid package, which might be useful to Miss Martha."

"Don't be discouraged, everyone. We're not without hope."

Elena is encouraging the patients and their families in the ward.