Clockwork Meka are machines created from a combination of Fontaine's precision engineering and its unique energy technology. Initially, they were built for production and security. However, people gradually discovered their considerable combat capabilities, and so their use as weapons was officially put on the agenda.
Aside from official use, any other social faction wishing to deploy Clockwork Meka must first register them. Despite this, some wealthy merchants still prefer to use these unregistered Meka as their personal guards.
At this very moment, in a hidden factory in the outskirts of Fontaine, Lu Li and his other "family" members had run into just such a situation.
The unregistered Clockwork Meka guards were causing them an unimaginable amount of trouble.
...Lu Li, gripping his firearm, clenched his jaw as he watched one of his "family" members slide down a stone pillar, blood pouring from their mouth. The machine-gun fire from the Clockwork Meka was relentless. In this barrage, Lu Li, a man of flesh and blood, didn't dare risk being turned into a sieve to try and save his comrade.
He could only watch helplessly as his companion, their abdomen pierced through, bled out from their grievous wounds.
After seeing their head slump lifelessly to the side, Lu Li remained silent for a moment before whispering, "Goodbye, my friend."
With a teammate's death, this mission was an undeniable failure.
When he returned, he would inevitably have to face "Father's" punishment...
But the immediate problem was whether he could even escape from these Meka guards and successfully bring back the intelligence they had gathered. Furthermore, he had to take his companion's body with him. Otherwise, the punishment for failure would only be more severe.
Even though he had been on many missions before, even collaborating with the three siblings that "Father" valued so highly, none had ever felt as hopeless as this.
Facing the firepower of three Clockwork Meka... with just himself and the handgun in his possession? The person who gathered the intel for this mission must have been an idiot.
Hearing the constant whirring of gears and the approaching footsteps, a drop of cold sweat trickled down Lu Li's temple. A sense of powerless absurdity washed over him.
As a transmigrator, being born into the world of Teyvat was already absurd enough. But shortly after birth, he was sold to the Fatui by his gambler of a father, who had lost a fortune at the Yanshang Teahouse. From a young age, he was thrown into the House of the Hearth to be trained as a disposable soldier.
He had never lived a single day of peace. Every day was spent learning how to use poisons, how to fight, how to gather intelligence, how to hide his tracks, and how to gain the trust of others.
The moment he was deemed ready for missions, he was sent out. Even when covered in wounds, desertion was not an option. And the worst part? This work came with almost no pay. He was a complete and utter beast of burden.
So, was this how his life was meant to be spent, right up until his death?
How... laughable!
Feeling the violent tremors in the barricade behind him from the cannon fire, Lu Li clenched his teeth. He had no way out. If that was the case, he might as well go out fighting!
He calculated a desperate plan: appear before the Meka in 0.1 seconds, perform a slide in the 0.2 seconds it took them to raise their guns, get underneath them, and then, in another 0.1 seconds, pull the trigger three times. With a single slide, he could not only save himself but also eliminate the enemies and complete the mission.
The next moment, just as Lu Li leaped out to begin his slide—
An Annihilation Specialist Mek condensed Hydro onto its leg blades and struck out fiercely.
CLANG—
Lu Li's body was sliced clean in two at the waist.
——————
Just before his consciousness completely faded, Lu Li suddenly heard a question from the void.
[Do you... desire to truly live?]
His mind adrift, Lu Li, now severed in two by the Clockwork Mek, managed to give his answer before his consciousness vanished entirely.
"I want to truly live... I want... to be a protagonist, like the Traveler in the game... not just live and die a nobody, like a common beast of burden..."
[Very well. Then your wish is granted.]
[I will grant you a chance to be reborn, and with every new moon, you shall receive a gift from the myriad worlds.]
[Now, awaken. In place of the Traveler who has vanished, become the protagonist of your own story and save this world on the brink of destruction.]
The next moment, as the genderless voice from an unknown source finished speaking, Lu Li's body, which had been split in two and was about to fall to the ground, suddenly glowed with a golden light and fused back together!
His eyes, which should have lost their focus, sharpened instantly. His pure black pupils now seemed to burn with a golden flame, dyeing his irises a brilliant, shining gold.
They were the dazzling and resplendent, ever-burning Golden Eyes!
The next second, Lu Li twisted his body in mid-air, landing safely on the ground with a graceful flip.
He stared blankly at his own hands, then looked down at his waist where he should have been severed. He let out a slow breath.
...A protagonist?
If so, he was more than willing to play the part.