Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"Huh?" Amiya pricked up her ears, looking puzzled.

“Actually, I just like them,” Xia Yu shrugged. “Talulah’s conspiracy is just a plausible excuse.”

“I think they’re quite agreeable,” Huang nodded in agreement. “They seem to genuinely consider the infected as their fellow citizens, and they even fought with that madman.”

"I really don't know how the Reunion Movement can accommodate both kinds of people at the same time."

“Only someone like you can act so recklessly using the excuse of ‘pleasing to the eye’,” the doctor sighed, adding meaningfully, “We ordinary mortals always have to think too much.”

Xia Yu simply smiled and ignored her probing.

Everyone unanimously avoided discussing the sword Amiya was holding and the enchanted barrier Xia Yu had created.

Not prying into other people's secrets is an unspoken understanding among the people of Rhodes Island.

Only Amiya, holding her sword, looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"What's wrong?" Xia Yu asked curiously, noticing her troubled expression.

“Um… I wanted to ask… well,” Amiya looked at the longsword in her hand and stammered, “was it true that no matter which sword I chose from around me, it would have ended up being this one?”

Hearing this, Huang turned his head away, trying hard to suppress his laughter. The Doctor put one hand to his forehead. Although his expression behind the mask could not be seen, he must have been having a hard time holding it in.

"Amiya," Xia Yu looked at Amiya, whose face clearly showed her curiosity, hesitated for a moment, but finally told the truth.

"Just like you think, no matter which one you choose, it will become the one you hold in your hand."

"Then... why..."

“Don’t ask,” Xia Yu turned her head away, “The answer is that life needs a sense of ritual.”

Why does this child always get so hung up on these details?

56. The current situation

Xia Yu didn't know how Frostnova would face Talulah after she said those things.

However, whether considering Frostnova and the Yeti Squad or Rhodes Island's interests, he had no intention of taking action against them.

The Rhodes Island operators, including Blaze, did not offer any rebuttal.

The Reunion Movement ignited a fire in the hearts of the world's oppressed infected.

Whatever the purpose behind this flame, it has finally been ignited.

Therefore, the Reunion Movement must not be destroyed by Rhodes Island under any circumstances.

Ursus can be destroyed, Lungmen can be destroyed, but Rhodes Island cannot.

In reality, Rhodes Island doesn't have that kind of strength.

If we don't count Xia Yu, they're good enough to form an elite squad for a decapitation strike, but they're not quite up to par for a head-on confrontation.

After all, Rhodes Island is now a company, no longer the Tower of Babel it once was.

I believe Kal'tsit will have no objection to Xia Yu's decision.

She has always been the one who understands the situation best.

The Rhodes Island crew, led by the Doctor and Amiya, are evacuating from the ruins.

Perhaps apart from the Yeti squad, there are no other living creatures left in this area.

The residents who once lived here, after escaping the initial riots, ultimately could not remain there indefinitely.

Under the madness of Mephistopheles and the indulgent influence of Corsiche, they could not escape their fate of becoming sacrifices to the evil god to realize his ambitions.

"What?!" Amiya exclaimed in surprise as she contacted Kal'tsit after leaving the city. "Commander Chen was attacked? The Royal Guard's operators were almost wiped out? He just woke up from his coma?"

Has the situation inside Lungmen deteriorated to this extent?

Huang and the others standing nearby also widened their eyes.

The Royal Guard's combat strength is clearly not weak, so why were they defeated in their more familiar home-field operations? Why could they only escape to the Rhodes Island main ship?

Has the Reunion Movement, which has been entrenched in Chernobog, launched a full-scale attack?

That's impossible. We're currently located between two cities. If the Reunion Movement in Chernobog had come out in full force, how could there have been no movement at all?

"The Royal Guard has been defeated?" Kal'tsit on the other end of the screen shook her head, a strange smile on her face. "Even you think so, Amiya?"

"Doctor Kal'tsit means things aren't that simple?" Amiya twitched her ears, looking puzzled. "But even Inspector Chen fled to Rhodes Island..."

“That’s the biggest problem,” the doctor, who was drinking tea, shook his head and explained to Amiya, “Think about how many people the Reunion Movement in Lungmen was before? Even if they controlled one gate and brought in all their companions from the wilderness, they could only manage a thousand people at most.”

"Moreover, Lungmen is not like the wilderness where thousands of people can swarm in. How could those thugs possibly win in street fighting against the Guard Bureau, which is skilled in street fighting and can take advantage of the terrain?"

"Moreover, Lungmen is still under the control of the Guard Bureau. Don't think that the people under Inspector Chen's command represent the entire power of the Guard Bureau. The vast majority of the Guard Bureau's power is devoted to maintaining the entire city."

"I'm afraid the Guard Bureau would be more than happy to see those Reunion Movement members hiding in various parts of Lungmen come together. They're already causing trouble from time to time while hiding in different places, giving the Guard Bureau a real headache. If they all came together..."

The professor lowered his head, took a sip of tea, and said quietly, "A city as big as Lungmen could easily handle a few thousand thugs..."

“Even if several thousand people gather, it’s impossible for them all to stay together in a complex city. We can use the Guard Bureau’s familiarity with Lungmen to divide and surround them, and then send out assault teams to eliminate them one by one. If we’re on the safe side, we can finish it in two or three days. If we’re in a hurry, one day is also possible.”

"The Reunion Movement's thugs aren't a regular army. It's questionable how many of those few thousand people in Lungmen have actually received proper combat training. How can they just swagger out and challenge the Guard Bureau to a decisive battle?"

"Either the commander has lost his mind, or..."

“They have ulterior motives; they’re just pawns thrown out to attract attention, used to cover up their strategic objectives,” Kal’tsit’s voice followed the Doctor’s. “Whether it’s Lungmen or Reunion, they are planning something we don’t know about.”

"Our allies don't seem to have any intention of sharing our plans with us."

"I see," Amiya said, clutching the longsword in her arms with a sense of loss. "It seems I'm still not mature enough; I failed to see through these behind-the-scenes maneuvers..."

“So,” Xia Yu stepped forward and ruffled her hair, “you’re only fourteen, it’s normal to be immature.”

"It's okay if you can't see it. Someone else has already figured it out. As for the rest, just leave it to time. You'll reach that level someday too."

“Yes, yes, yes,” the doctor chimed in, “If you could do everything right now, what would be the point of having us here?”

"When you grow up, you will naturally understand."

Growing up...

Amiya held the longsword in her hand, wondering how many familiar faces she would never see again by then.

On the other end of the video call, Kal'tsit stared at the sword in the lake in her arms. Xia Yu noticed this and shrugged. "This is a gift I gave her."

"However, it seems there's been a problem. Take a look when we get back."

It's best to ask Kal'tsit about the power of the Demon King.

“Yes,” Kal’tsit nodded, “Given the current situation, there’s no point in you staying outside the city. Just head straight back to Rhodes Island from here in the Land of Fallen Hoof.”

"Both Lungmen and Reunion are trying to conceal their strategic intentions. The situation is still unclear. Compared to the two parties mentioned above, Rhodes Island's strength is too weak. It's best not to get involved rashly."

"Since our ally was dishonest with us first, then don't blame us for standing by for now."

"The Reunion Movement within the city is almost complete; they have already occupied the Guard Bureau headquarters, Daigo Plaza, and several adjacent streets."

"No matter what Lungmen is hiding, Wei Yanwu should reveal his hand. We can set off to assist the Guard Bureau after that."

Kal'tsit explained so much because she wanted to nurture Amiya.

After receiving Amiya's reply, she turned off the communication.

"Lofty Hoof State, Rhodes Island's anchorage, looks like we're going to have to go on a long detour."

Huang looked at the map and sighed.

“Let’s go around in circles,” the doctor said from the side. “Going around for a long time can also be used to stall Lungmen. After all, the gate closest to us has already fallen, according to the shared intelligence.”

"Although I have no doubt that Lungmen can take it back at any time if it wants to, at least that's not in the information they gave us."

"It makes sense no matter what."

The route back to the city has been chosen, and everyone has lined up and set off.

But Amiya didn't seem very interested.

"Do you still feel like you can't help?" Xia Yu walked to her side and said, "You don't really need to be in such a hurry."

“No,” Amiya shook her head, “I was just thinking about Inspector Chen…”

"Hmm?" Xia Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What are you thinking?"

"I always thought... Inspector Chen was a cold-faced but warm-hearted person. She had a strong sense of justice and was nothing like Commander Wei from Lungmen..."

"but now……"

"You think she knew all of Longmen's plans but didn't tell us anything?" Xia Yu continued, "and that's completely different from how we usually interact with her?"

“Hmm,” Amiya nodded hesitantly. At least in the past few days, she felt that she and Chen were quite similar. “I thought that after fighting side by side these past few days, we could at least gain each other’s trust, but…”

“Have you ever considered,” Xia Yu interrupted her, “that Chen SR might also be kept in the dark, just like us?”

“Uh,” Amiya was stunned, “but she is…”

"She's the inspector of the Lungmen Guard Bureau, and she was in charge of almost the entire response to the Reunion Movement crisis, so how could she not know?"

Xia Yu smiled and said, "I consider myself to have a pretty good eye for people. As you said, she and Wei Yanwu are not the same kind of people."

"Perhaps even she is kept in the dark?"

"What the truth is is not for me to say; we'll just have to go back and see for ourselves."