Arknights' Lock of Heaven

But clearly, she wasn't in the mood to speak.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt."

Xia Yu watched as Kal'tsit drew blood from the Doctor's body and put it into a device on her waist. A few seconds later, she took out a pale blue drug from the device and injected it into Amiya's neck.

The effect was immediate; Amiya's previously pained expression quickly subsided.

Kal'tsit didn't wake her up on the spot, but tenderly tidied her clothes, which were disheveled from the battle.

The battle is over, and now our little leader needs a rest.

Even though she was right there and could have healed Amiya simply by speaking, Kal'tsit chose to draw the Doctor's blood instead.

There is no one else around, so there is no risk of leaking information.

But Xia Yu knew that this was by no means a sign of her distancing herself from him.

Instead... he turned his head and looked the doctor up and down.

Perhaps Kal'tsit didn't want her to know these things.

“Um… Miss Theresa…”

While the others remained silent, Amiya woke up on her own.

“It’s me, Amiya,” Kal’tsit gently leaned down and comforted her in a tone she had never heard before in Xia Yu. “It’s alright, the battle is over. Don’t force yourself to speak. We’re preparing to evacuate.”

"Waaah..." Upon hearing this, Amiya slowly began to cry.

"..." The Doctor didn't say anything, but quietly reached out and took Amiya's hands in his palms.

"I did it, Doctor... Waaah..."

"Doctor...Doctor..."

Amiya drifted off to sleep again amidst quiet sobs.

“I am here,” the doctor replied softly.

"Don't worry, I'm always here."

Kal'tsit checked Amiya's condition, then quietly called over the accompanying medical operators and asked them to put Amiya on the aircraft.

The Bad Guy is moored in the square below.

The doctor went down with them.

Only Kal'tsit and Xia Yu remained in the command room.

"..."

“I never imagined that such a ‘natural disaster’ would happen at this time.”

Even if I told you beforehand?

Even if you told me beforehand!

"..."

"What are your plans after this mission?" Kal'tsit walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window in the command room and asked softly.

"What do you mean?" Xia Yu raised an eyebrow.

“Your heart is cheering, your eyes are full of confidence, and your expression tells me that you yearn to understand this world,” Kal'tsit turned around, her gaze towards Xia Yu still as calm as ever.

"You are completely different now compared to when we first met."

"I don't know what answer you got from Him, but it's clear you won't stay put on the Rhodes Island main ship."

“I want to go out and see the world,” Xia Yu nodded readily, he really did have this idea, “to see the world with my own eyes.”

Lungmen and Chernobog are just a small corner of Terra, far too small.

The world is big.

“I understand,” Kal'tsit nodded readily. “When we get back, I’ll transfer you to the field operator role, and you can choose any field mission.”

"Or you can just go wherever you want to go."

"So decisive?" Xia Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You don't need me to protect Amiya anymore?"

“Unless there are special circumstances, Amiya will not leave Rhodes Island,” Kal'tsit patiently explained. “And don’t underestimate Rhodes Island’s elite operators; under normal circumstances, they are enough.”

"To be honest, now that you mention it," Xia Yu stroked her chin, "I really don't know where to go."

“I’ll give you some information when we get back to Rhodes Island,” Kal’tsit nodded, then turned and walked towards the command tower.

“I see,” Xia Yu followed behind her, “Then I’ll have to choose carefully.”

-

"Execute her!"

As soon as we left the command tower, we were greeted by a series of loud noises.

The Shield Guards were in high spirits, the guerrillas were eyeing them covetously, and they all looked toward the Bad Guy.

Just now, Talulah was put on Rhodes Island's aircraft.

"I need Talulah."

Kal'tsit's words were concise and to the point.

“Give me a reason, Lord.” The transformed Patriot no longer needed to speak slowly and deliberately, but it was clear that he had not yet fully adapted to his new body.

"Rhodes Island needs Talulah as a bargaining chip to extricate itself from this vortex."

"Ursus is still eyeing us covetously. Even though their conspiracy has been thwarted, they will not accept defeat. Similarly, Yan will spare no effort to maintain its international standing."

"Between the two, Rhodes Island is far too small. Your Shieldbearers can return to the snowfields where they have fought for decades, but Rhodes Island has nowhere to go."

"Rhodes Island has been too dazzling in this operation. No matter which side, Lungmen or Ursus, attacks us, the other side will definitely be happy to see it happen and sit idly by."

"Rhodes Island knows too much about this incident. In order not to become a pawn sacrificed on someone else's chessboard, we need to have something that makes others hesitant to act."

“Talulah is the best bargaining chip. Yan Kingdom will not watch her fall into the hands of Ursus to be used to plot the next conspiracy, and Ursus will not let her fall into the hands of Yan Kingdom to become a pawn in its diplomatic attack on Ursus.”

"Although everyone knows about this conspiracy, at least it hasn't been brought to the forefront yet."

"Therefore, Rhodes Island needs to seize this opportunity and use Talulah to get out of here."

84 Past and Present

Rhodes Island must seize this opportunity.

Even with Xia Yu's top-tier deterrent power, they still had to pretend to be desperately trying to escape this vortex, acting as if the meteorite was none of their business.

Because now is not the time.

Some things don't need to be revealed too early.

Moreover, Xia Yu is not just a weapon; he is a living, breathing person.

Human nature is always unpredictable, and Kal'tsit doesn't think she can rest easy just by relying on Xia Yu's reputation.

Friends of more than ten years can still turn against each other, and Xia Yu has only been on Rhodes Island for a little over a month.

Friendships are built up little by little over time. If you want Xia Yu, a top-tier fighter, to truly join Rhodes Island, a little bit of friendship alone is simply not enough.

Kal'tsit understood this principle well, so when she saw the longing in Xia Yu's eyes, she immediately let him go.

Therefore, Rhodes Island needs a pretext, a pretext to extricate itself from this vortex without relying on Xia Yu's power.

Talulah is the best choice.

Ultimately, Patriot agreed to Kal'tsit's proposal.

He also had his own plans.

-

Bad Guys.

Patriot's towering figure occupies the space of three operators.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Talulah was placed opposite him.

"I never expected to meet you like this."

Patriots didn't lay a hand on her; instead, Talulah spoke first.

"I heard that Frostnova is still alive..."

"That's good...that's good...at least there's still hope..."

"very nice."

This manner suggests that he is talking to himself rather than speaking to patriots.

She wanted to repent, but faced with the eyes of the patriot, she couldn't utter a single word.

The harm she caused them cannot be forgiven with just a few words of repentance.

She trampled the vows she made in the past under her feet, and tore apart what she wanted to protect with her own hands.

Talulah won't blame everything on the Black Serpent.