Arriving in Inazuma City, Zhongli felt it at once— strangeness everywhere.
Every corner was peculiar, yet every street bustled with apparent normalcy.
From the outside, Inazuma looked like a dead land.
But once pulled into the dream, the nation was brimming with life, no different from a real country.
In the city, he even spotted a familiar figure— the elusive Ministry of Civil Affairs agent, Yelan.
At this moment, Yelan was slouched in boredom inside the Yae Publishing House, skimming manuscripts.
"Are Inazumans' imaginations always this wild? How can such messy plots even get approved?"
She had been working here for a week now— dragged in by none other than Yae Miko herself.
She recalled the day she accepted Ningguang's commission and crossed into Inazuma to investigate.
The moment she stepped on its soil, the Yae Miko of the Grand Narukami Shrine appeared.
At first, Yelan thought the shrine maiden had come to capture her, an uninvited intruder.
But without asking a single question, Yae Miko hauled her straight into the Publishing House—
slapped an editor's badge onto her chest:
Editor, Yelan.
Even now, Yelan still didn't understand the chief editor's motives.
Had she really just been conscripted into forced labor?
For a week she toiled by day over manuscripts, and by night scoured for traces of Beidou.
The workload at Yae Publishing House was endless.
Her private time was cut to scraps.
Counting her intelligence-gathering, she barely slept five hours a day.
Even she couldn't keep that up forever.
Yet oddly—she felt no fatigue.
Last night, she had cut it down to four hours, and still she was full of energy.
Another stack of manuscripts arrived.
"Again? Just leave them there, I'll look— …Zhongli?"
Yelan looked up, startled.
What is Zhongli doing in this remote place?
Was he trapped here too?
"Miss Yelan, why are you working here?"
Zhongli's gaze swept her desk:
Reincarnated as the Raiden Shogun: Now I'm Invincible!
My Kitsune Guuji Girlfriend
Reincarnated as a Hilichurl, Ate a Fall Fruit and Got Stronger
The Rock Emperor Princess Fell in Love with Me
He quickly averted his eyes.
"…"
Yelan stared back in silence.
She knew of Zhongli's reputation, his mysterious background.
But she had never approached him directly.
Their work never overlapped.
So the question was— how did he know her identity?
"People need money to live well. Yae Publishing House pays generously, so I stayed."
Her mission in Inazuma was something she could never reveal.
Not even to a fellow Liyue native.
Trusting no one was safer.
"So you spend your days here?"
Zhongli's eyes flicked once more to the manuscripts, then away.
"What else would I do?" Yelan sighed.
Even as a spy, she needed a cover identity.
And an editor at Yae Publishing House, backed by the shrine, was about as solid a cover as one could hope for.
"Have you thought of returning to Liyue?"
"When I've saved enough, maybe. For now, I'll focus on my job."
She picked up another manuscript.
"If it's something important, could you wait until I'm off work? I'm busy right now."
Zhongli was a guest consultant of Wangsheng, not an official.
She would never risk leaking intel to him.
Her editor cover fit perfectly as an excuse.
"My apologies for disturbing you."
Zhongli, recognizing her true role, did not press.
Instead, his attention shifted to Yae Publishing itself.
If even the Ministry's best agent had been planted here, then surely this place hid secrets worth noting.
Still—his priority was Baalzebul.
He turned and left.
Yelan put down the manuscript, watching his back with narrowed eyes.
The idle "consultant" of Wangsheng— known for nothing but bird-watching and theatergoing— why had he come all the way to Inazuma?
Something was wrong.
After he was gone,
a flash of pink entered the room.
"Looks like you're adapting well, Editor Yelan~"
Yae Miko stepped into the Publishing House, picking up a manuscript from Yelan's desk.
She read the notes and commentary Yelan had left, and her lips curled in satisfaction.
As expected of someone Su Ran recommended.
Her abilities rivaled Kuki Shinobu's— yet unlike Shinobu, she was easier to manage.
Because with an undercover agent, all you had to do was give them a cover identity.
Just like that Fatui spy in the shrine.
Competent people working under her roof?
Why not?
They needed intel, not loyalty.
And because their covers mattered, they worked harder for less pay.
A win on every side!
Yelan felt a chill of unease.
This fox had lived for five centuries, and was the Raiden Shogun's confidante besides.
Not someone to be trifled with.
"Thank you for your concern, Yae Miko Mam. I'll work hard. Though… it would be nice if the workload were a little lighter."
She dared not complain too little, nor too much.
For smart people could sniff out an ulterior motive in silence.
Who worked tirelessly without a word of complaint?
Fools—or schemers.
Yelan was no fool.
But Yae Miko brushed it aside.
"Don't worry, Editor Yelan. I see your talent clearly. In the future, you'll get a raise."
"…Thank you, Chief Editor."
See?
She dangled a false promise, and Yelan still had to thank her for it.
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