"Uhh…" Hu Tao was speechless. "Fine, fine, whatever you say."
"Director, let me demonstrate exactly why this is called a weapon!"
Jiang Bai took the vambrace and placed it against his left arm. The hidden patterns beneath his sleeve glowed faintly, and the vambrace reacted as if awakened, triangular lights glowing softly from its seams.
Even though he'd lost his memories, Jiang Bai's instincts took over. Operating [Baiyuan] felt as natural as breathing.
The vambrace melted into liquid metal, swiftly flowing over Jiang Bai's arm, solidifying into an exquisite black gauntlet.
It perfectly matched the curves of his arm, feeling almost like a second skin. He could move freely without the slightest restriction.
Hu Tao crossed her arms skeptically. "But it's still just a vambrace."
It might be impressive, but that didn't change the fact that it was fundamentally just arm armor.
"Watch carefully!"
Jiang Bai cleared his throat and struck a dramatic pose, as if wielding a sword. With a thought, [Baiyuan] melted again, shifting into a peculiar sword hilt in his hand.
He froze, staring at the empty hilt in disbelief.
Wait, where's my blade? Why does this feel so wrong?
"That's it?" Hu Tao rolled her eyes.
She'd been expecting something spectacular, yet all that drama had produced nothing but a bare handle.
Embarrassed by his failed performance, Jiang Bai scratched his head awkwardly. "Hold on, let me figure it out."
He flipped the empty hilt around, muttering, "That's strange... I could've sworn it should have a blade. Is it out of energy, or maybe broken?"
After a fruitless examination, Jiang Bai decided to try something else. "Let's try the third form."
This time, he skipped any dramatic poses and just sat straight.
The sword hilt shifted again, reforming into a futuristic-looking firearm.
The gun was nearly half a meter long, sleek and elegant, exuding a cold metallic sheen and a clear technological sophistication.
"See? This is [Baiyuan's] strongest form!" Jiang Bai declared smugly.
"It looks a bit like those Fatui gunslingers' muskets, though quite different." Hu Tao studied it closely, acknowledging its beautifully mechanical aesthetics.
"How do you shoot? Like a musket?"
Pleased that Hu Tao finally appreciated Baiyuan's strength, Jiang Bai boasted, "It's good for single shots up close, sniping from afar, and unstoppable against groups. This was how I survived that damned place—"
He stopped abruptly, eyes widening.
His memory had suddenly cut off; he couldn't recall why he'd said that, nor where "that damned place" was, nor why he'd been there.
Seeing his confusion, Hu Tao asked with concern, "What's wrong? Did you remember something?"
Jiang Bai was quiet for a long moment, then shook his head. "I have no idea why I said that. I can't remember anything clearly…"
"From a logical standpoint, perhaps your subconscious was briefly triggered," Zhongli gently interjected. "It may be similar to how you instinctively recognized and activated this weapon."
Jiang Bai stared at Zhongli in surprise. "Mr. Zhongli, you even know about this?"
"I've studied memories briefly, but only superficially."
"I see…" Jiang Bai nodded thoughtfully.
Hu Tao grabbed the weapon, studying it closely, but found no trigger or firing mechanism. "Forget about memories—how do you use this thing?"
Taking back Baiyuan, Jiang Bai adjusted his grip. As his hand reached where a trigger would be, it smoothly appeared.
He created a thick wall of Geo energy in the courtyard, aimed carefully, and pulled the trigger.
Under Hu Tao and Zhongli's attentive gaze, nothing happened.
"!!!"
"Where are my bullets? Why won't it fire?!"
He stared down the barrel in disbelief. After finally obtaining his weapon, it was somehow defective!
"Perhaps it's incompatible with Teyvat's elemental laws?" Zhongli proposed thoughtfully.
"That makes sense!" Jiang Bai perked up, quickly injecting elemental energy into [Baiyuan].
After about ten minutes, he felt [Baiyuan] regain its vitality.
He aimed again at the Geo wall and squeezed the trigger. Golden Geo bullets shot out in rapid succession like a machine gun, quickly shattering the thick wall into rubble.
"Wow! Amazing!" Hu Tao's eyes sparkled excitedly.
This weapon was far superior to the Fatui's slow muskets!
"Let me try! Let me try!" Hu Tao eagerly requested.
She'd closely watched Jiang Bai's method, confident she could replicate it.
Jiang Bai handed her Baiyuan and quickly formed another wall.
Hu Tao imitated Jiang Bai's stance and fired. Bullets rained out quietly, the recoil nonexistent, sounding as gentle as arrows from a crossbow.
"This is so much fun!" Hu Tao laughed excitedly, thoroughly enjoying her new toy.
"No wonder your martial arts are so lousy! With this, why bother training at all?" she sighed enviously.
Against enemies, just shooting wildly from a safe distance would suffice.
"It also has single-shot and sniper modes!"
Jiang Bai demonstrated both modes for Hu Tao.
Single-shot mode simply fired one elemental bullet per trigger pull. Sniper mode, meanwhile, extended an aiming scope from the gun, offering extremely high precision.
As long as he continuously infused elemental energy, the bullets flowed endlessly.
Unfortunately, Hu Tao couldn't infuse any elemental energy into [Baiyuan], nor could Zhongli.
Jiang Bai guessed he was the necessary conduit between [Baiyuan] and Teyvat, his body converting the energy for [Baiyuan's] use.
"Now my sword hilt should finally have a blade!" Jiang Bai switched [Baiyuan] back to melee mode. As expected, a glowing Geo blade of elemental energy appeared.
The blade looked intangible, but when swung, it sliced through stone effortlessly, like cutting tofu.
Curious, Jiang Bai infused Anemo energy into it as well, turning the blade into a teal-green shade, with swirling winds accompanying each swing.
When infusing both elements simultaneously, one side glowed gold, the other blue-green. Sadly, Geo and Anemo couldn't react violently; otherwise, each strike would trigger devastating reactions.
"Hahaha! With [Baiyuan], even Signora wouldn't stand a chance against me!" Jiang Bai gloated, confidence skyrocketing. He wished he could challenge her again immediately, settling their previous score.
"What's so impressive about relying on a weapon…" Hu Tao muttered sourly, feeling as if she'd eaten a hundred lemons.
She desperately wanted such a powerful weapon too…