Inside the Northland Bank, Tartaglia frowned, looking at his panicked subordinate. "What's happened now? Why are you in such a state?"
The ever-elegant Harbinger detested seeing his subordinates lose their composure. Even in a crisis, one should remain calm.
The Fatui intelligence agent knelt on the floor, his voice rushed. "Reporting to Lord Tartaglia, the seal on The Chasm has been unlocked! Ganyu and Keqing have already entered. Something seems to be happening inside now; the vibrations are non-stop."
"What did you say? The seal is unlocked? Don't tell me they've found a way to deal with the black ooze," Tartaglia said, standing up, his expression instantly turning grave.
The Chasm had been sealed for a year. Even their own people had been forced to withdraw. Why would they choose to open it at this specific time? Could it be that the laboratory at the Guili Plains had already pushed them beyond their limits?
"Th-this subordinate does not know. The intelligence from our people at the front just came in."
"Let's go. We'll go and take a look."
"Yes, sir."
By the time Tartaglia arrived at The Chasm, the strange phenomenon was still ongoing. The ground was constantly shaking. From within the chasm below, a clear light emanated, as if something was purifying the inside. Even from a great distance, one could feel the fresh, clean quality of the air, as if after a rainstorm. It was refreshing and pleasant.
"What in the world is that thing?" Tartaglia's face showed his shock. What method was Liyue using to suppress the abyssal ooze?
Although he wanted to investigate, tens of thousands of soldiers were gathered nearby. The entire perimeter of the mine had been surrounded. There were even people heading in his direction.
"All of you, retreat. I will go and investigate personally!"
"Yes, sir."
The Fatui agents quickly departed. Tartaglia's figure flashed, and he descended towards The Chasm.
After a few leaps, he arrived at the first level. The place, which had once been pitch black, was now as bright as day. Tartaglia even felt a warm sensation where the light shone on him.
"So this is Liyue's treasure for suppressing the ooze? Interesting."
Just as he was about to get a little closer, a beam of crystal-blue light shot up directly from the ground.
I've been discovered!
Tartaglia was incredibly shocked. What kind of joke is this? I'm thousands of meters away from the main group. How did they spot me?
The arrow's speed was unbelievably fast, arriving before him in the blink of an eye. Tartaglia hastily dodged.
BOOM!
The rock wall behind him was blasted, leaving a crater nearly ten meters deep.
Not only that, but a second arrow had already locked onto his current position.
"Damn it." Tartaglia cursed. Now he understood completely. He had truly been discovered.
This was a two-shot volley; dodging was no longer an option.
With no other choice, he could only raise his weapon and slash at the arrow. Although he was a Hydro user, it didn't stop him from defending against an attack.
However, when Tartaglia chose to meet the attack head-on, he discovered a strange power on the enemy's arrow. It actually caused his own Hydro element to stagnate.
BOOM! The explosion rang out again.
From below, the voices of the Millelith suddenly rose up.
"There's an enemy!"
"Who's hiding there?"
Because The Chasm was being purified, the Millelith had been re-stationed inside. The men had been wondering why Lady Ganyu had suddenly launched an attack. Only now did they understand: an enemy was spying on them from the shadows!
Keqing frowned. "Is it the Treasure Hoarders?"
"No. It's the Fatui," Ganyu replied, drawing her bowstring and firing another three-shot volley. The arrows formed a spread, directly locking down all of the enemy's potential landing spots.
Just then, a flash of purple lightning appeared. Her attack was completely nullified, and the enemy vanished.
Keqing watched the fleeing figure and said angrily, "Those guys just can't sit still! We've only just purified this place, and they're already here to snoop around! Do they think Liyue is their back garden?"
Influenced by Su Han, her tolerance for the Fatui was getting lower and lower.
Ganyu comforted her. "Alright, don't be angry, Keqing. Once our Millelith become stronger, we'll just drive the Fatui out of Liyue."
"I'm not angry, I just find them despicable."
Afterward, Keqing reported what had happened in the group chat. Based on the enemy's appearance, Su Han guessed that it was Tartaglia. He realized that relying solely on the Millelith for protection was too difficult. He turned to Zhongli and said in a low voice, "We've already done so much. You should put in some effort too. Don't just watch from the sidelines."
"Mm. This matter is simple," Zhongli nodded lightly, agreeing. After all, it was just creating a barrier. That was easy enough.
Seeing that he hadn't refused, Su Han felt relieved. Two hours later, news came through the group. Three adepti had descended upon The Chasm and laid down dozens of formations, completely cutting off any possibility of the Fatui entering.
In the Multiverse Mission Group chat.
Su Han:Come back once you're done. With the adepti's formations in place, you don't need to worry about The Chasm anymore. Come back and eat some Qilin meat.
Keqing:Coming, coming! But is that meat really delicious?
For such a huge beast, the meat must be very tough, right?
Xiangling:It's super delicious! I made a braised version. The taste is amazing! This time, it's not a weird experimental dish.
Hu Tao:Burp… I'm already full. It's really so fragrant. If I wasn't so stuffed, I'd definitely have another plate.
Mona:The taste is a bit like beef. And it increases your strength after you eat it!
Keqing:Then wait for me!
An hour later, Keqing and Ganyu arrived at the grotto-heaven in the Jade Chamber.
A banquet was already underway. Aside from Su Han and the others, the Liyue Qixing and some other important figures were also present. For example, Yelan, Yanfei, and Madame Ping were all there.
"Ah, Keqing, you're here! Quick, come and try my cooking," Xiangling said upon seeing her, quickly bringing over a plate of meat.
Keqing had originally wanted to be a bit reserved, but the rich, meaty aroma completely overwhelmed her. The smell was just too good.
She picked up a piece with her chopsticks and took a bite. Her eyes went wide. The flavor was, of course, incredibly delicious, but what truly surprised Keqing was the power contained within the meat. It was even stronger than the Blood Bodhi. The elemental energy within her body felt like it was rapidly becoming more active. This is too powerful! This Qilin meat is actually this magical!
"It's amazing, right?"
"Mhm, this meat… it's so strong." Keqing nodded while eating. Then, she remembered something and turned to Ganyu. "Do you want a piece?"
Ganyu was completely shocked. She was a Qilin, and a vegetarian one at that. Was Keqing asking her to eat her own kind?!
Seeing her shocked expression, Keqing finally remembered that Ganyu didn't eat meat. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! I almost forgot."
"It's alright. You all can eat. I'll just have some Qingxin," Ganyu said, not particularly minding. After all, she had encountered this situation many times before.
Fortunately, Xiangling had prepared for this and brought out a plate of vegetarian dishes, saving Ganyu the awkwardness of eating medicinal herbs.
Su Han walked over to Sucrose's side and asked, "How much longer until the rune steam engine is ready?"
The young woman, who was in the middle of eating, looked up and replied, "Probably tomorrow. The main issue is that we've run out of minerals, and there are still some stress tests to run. If there are no problems, we can attempt a test run."
The research on the rune steam engine had been ongoing for a long time. They had a major breakthrough yesterday. Now, they just needed to transport the special ore from The Chasm to begin the final test.
Su Han was surprised. "That fast?"
"Mm. Actually, it could have been completed a few days ago, but the ores we were experimenting with didn't quite match the data in the book, so we were delayed," Sucrose answered honestly. If the progress hadn't been so smooth, she wouldn't have taken the time off to come here.
The banquet continued until eight in the evening. Those who had eaten the Qilin meat were all busy heading back to digest the power. The remaining meat was stored away. After all, one had to digest the power within the meat after eating it. If you just ate it without being able to digest it, it would be a waste.
Night fell. Su Han returned to his room, took off his shirt, and prepared to take a bath.
But who would have known that at this very moment, Shenhe would push the door open and walk in.
She looked at his bare upper body and, far from leaving, actually undid her red ropes and walked towards him.
"Uhh… what are you…" Su Han was taken aback. A man and a woman alone, and she was untying her clothes? What was she doing? Especially since Shenhe's clothes had so little fabric to begin with. Once the red ropes were undone, all that was left was a layer of black silk. The temptation was astonishing.
Shenhe's actions didn't stop. Instead, she said with a deadpan expression, "Sleeping with you yesterday was very effective, so I came over. Besides, didn't Master tell you to be with me?"
She gently placed her outer coat on a cabinet, and her hair cascaded down her back, a heart-stoppingly beautiful sight.
Su Han froze on the spot. He couldn't argue with her logic, but for her to just walk in and start taking off her clothes… what man could possibly withstand this kind of test? Did she think he wasn't a man?
Shenhe bent down to take off her shoes and got into the bed, conveniently leaving a space for one person next to her.
Su Han rubbed his nose.
Should I just sleep like this? It's not like I'm the one losing out.
He just hoped no one would come visiting tonight.
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