Dead of Night, Early Morning Hours
Lyney slipped quietly out of his dorm room, walking down the dark corridor, constantly glancing back to ensure he wasn't being followed. Once certain he was alone, he quietly made his way to the training ground.
He was unaware that a certain cat-eared girl, shrouded in fluorescent powder and Anemo energy, was watching him from the shadows with a frown.
And Lynette wasn't the only one.
In a room in the attic, Arlecchino watched the two boys meeting in the training ground below with a look of great interest. She swirled the vibrant red wine in her glass, took a sip, and a playful smile graced her lips.
...
"Sorry, I'm late," Lyney said as he reached Lu Li, then did a double-take at his sweat-drenched clothes. "Huh? What... what happened to you? Why are you sweating so much?"
"I've been training. And I managed to master some new ways to use my power," Lu Li said casually. "This shouldn't affect the operation, right?"
"Hmm... we'll be diving later, so all this sweat won't be an issue once you're in the Great Lake of Fontaine," Lyney said after a moment's thought. "But, after all that... do you still have any stamina?"
"Of course," Lu Li said, stretching his limbs. "Not only that, my mind has never felt sharper!"
Lyney was skeptical, but there was no time to dwell on it. "Alright, I'll take your word for it, Lu Li. Our main objective is to infiltrate that underwater factory."
"I found its location during my previous investigations, and I know how to open the gate," he said, producing a token. "Here, there are two of them, one for each of us."
"The factory has two entrances. We'll infiltrate from separate points. I've also scouted the layout. Look, here it is."
Lu Li leaned in, ignoring the bloodstains on the factory map, and studied the layout carefully. After a moment, he leaned back and nodded. "A pincer attack from the front and back. Is our objective to kill everyone inside and destroy the factory?"
Lyney's expression grew complicated. "While I'm sure they're all bad people, killing them all ourselves is a bit too extreme. How about we just eliminate the leader and capture the rest, then leave them for the Gardes?"
"That would increase the difficulty quite a bit, and we can't guarantee they won't expose us," Lu Li said softly. "But... fine. Since you put it that way, we'll do it your way. The Gardes should know who we are. We'd be doing a good deed, so they probably won't pursue it, though they won't give us any rewards either."
"That's fine by me. I'm not doing this for their praise anyway," Lyney said with a shrug.
The two exchanged a look, nodded, and prepared to leave under the cover of darkness.
Just before they left, Lu Li, feeling as if someone had been watching him, whispered cautiously, "By the way, are you sure you kept this from Lynette and 'Father'?"
"I definitely wouldn't tell 'Father' about this. As for my sister, I'm sure she doesn't know. I checked multiple times; she didn't suspect a thing," Lyney replied.
Lu Li nodded, and together they scaled the wall and headed towards the outskirts of the Court of Fontaine.
Naturally, the slender figure of a cat-eared girl followed them from a distance, hidden by the night.
————
"You don't need a diving suit? But how will you get in?" Lyney asked in surprise on the shore, after Lu Li refused the diving suit he had prepared.
"The waters of the Great Lake of Fontaine are different from other waters in Teyvat. As long as you can control elemental energy, you can breathe freely in it," Lu Li explained. "That's why Vision holders can dive without restriction. I may not have a Vision, but I can control elemental energy now, so I don't need equipment to swim here."
"You can control elemental energy now... Wait, it's not a Delusion, is it?" Lyney, also aware of Delusions, asked with a grave expression.
"No, it's a power of my bloodline, one that requires no price," Lu Li said, and with a flick of his wrist, a flame ignited on his fingertip, making Lyney's eyes light up. Such a display was indeed not something a Delusion could produce.
In truth, Lu Li wouldn't have been able to achieve such fine control before. But after an afternoon of practice following Clorinde's methods, his strength was on a whole new level. While his maximum power output hadn't increased, his baseline control had improved significantly. Manipulating a tiny flame on his fingertip was now remarkably easy.
"I see. In that case, let's not waste any more time. Let's go!" Lyney said with a nod.
They exchanged a look, and the next moment, they walked into the Great Lake of Fontaine and quickly submerged.
Breathing freely in the water, feeling no threat of suffocation, and even being able to speak without swallowing water, Lu Li was filled with awe. Fontaine, the Nation of Hydro, truly was special.
Following Lyney's lead, they swam for a while before diving deeper. Soon, hiding in a large patch of seaweed, Lyney pointed to a factory gate in the distance.
"Look, that's our target. I've checked; there are no guards at this time. We can slip in without any problems."
"You and I will take one entrance each. After we've gathered the necessary materials, we'll meet in the main hall and plan our next move," Lyney said.
Lu Li nodded.
Together, they swam towards the underwater factory. Using their keys, they opened the gates on opposite sides, exchanged a final look, and slipped inside.
Just as the gate Lu Li entered was about to close, the slender figure of a cat-eared girl swam up and slipped through.
It was Lynette.
She had been following them all along. Now that she knew what they were up to behind her back, she had no intention of backing down. She followed Lu Li's path into the factory.
Inside, Lu Li calmly took out a waterproof bag, opened it, and retrieved his firearm, loading it and attaching a silencer.
The next moment, hearing a sudden noise behind him, his expression changed, and he spun around, raising his gun.
Then, his eyes widened in shock and embarrassment.
Lynette stood there with her arms crossed, glaring at him, her cute, puffy cheeks indicating that she was clearly angry.
Lu Li awkwardly lowered his gun, holstered it, and slowly walked over. "Lynette... you, what are you doing here..." he asked sheepishly.
"I've been following you and Lyney ever since you left the Hôtel. So, of course, I'm here now," Lynette said with a small huff.
Hearing this, Lu Li scratched his head. He knew he'd felt a gaze on him. So it really was Lynette. And to think Lyney was so confident he had kept it a secret from her. It seemed he hadn't hidden it at all.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, Lynette, for doing this behind your back," Lu Li said softly. "But now, can I ask you to join me?"
"Mm, that's why I came. Let's go, we'll work together! Of course, I'll be settling the score with you and Lyney for hiding this from me when we get back."
Though still a bit resentful, Lynette's main purpose in coming was to help them. Seeing that she wasn't refusing, Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief, and they began to explore the factory together.
Soon, however, upon finding some special vials containing a liquid in a crate, Lu Li's expression changed.
This is... "L'es"?!
"It's a special concoction used by noble families at their parties. A psychoactive 'drug' that induces deep pleasure and euphoria. It's extremely addictive and sold for a huge profit. It's the culprit behind the ruin of countless families," Lynette said softly, her brow furrowing as she looked at the vials. She had seen the filth and debauchery hidden beneath the lavish banquets of some nobles during her intel-gathering missions.
She knew how dangerous this substance was. It could turn a chaste woman into a slave of desire, make an honest young man turn on his own parents for money... It was, without a doubt, a terrible thing.
And judging by the scale of the shipment, could this be a factory producing "L'es"? The Lefebvre family was truly like a centipede that never falls even in death... Lynette's eyes filled with cold disgust.
At that moment, remembering certain scenes from the main story, Lu Li's face grew serious. He knew what the raw material for "L'es" was. If this was indeed a factory producing it, then it was highly likely that there was also Primordial Seawater here.
For the people of Fontaine, that substance was an absolute killer. The slightest touch meant certain death.
"Lynette, wear my coat," he said, taking off his own robe and handing it to her sternly. "And from now on, wear a mask. Don't let any of your skin be exposed."
The cat-eared girl paused, but trusting Lu Li, she blushed slightly as she put on his coat, completely covering her skin. She then summoned a mask with her Vision and put it on.
Seeing her properly hooded and masked, Lu Li felt a little relieved, but his expression remained grave. This would ensure that no part of Lynette's skin would accidentally come into contact with any potential Primordial Seawater, but they still had to be extremely careful.
For now, the priority was to meet up with Lyney immediately and inform him of the situation.
With Lynette in tow, Lu Li followed the map in his memory and hurried towards the main hall.
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