"Wh-what?" Schubert saw the Fatui behind him immediately surrender and was momentarily stunned.
Didn't they say the Fatui were the most powerful organization on the continent? How could they surrender so quickly? There were only three people on the other side, but they had over a dozen!
Not only Schubert, but even Yu Jin and the others were caught off guard. Wasn't "surrender without a fight" just a formality? How could they actually listen!
This completely threw Yu Jin off.
"Are they really the Fatui?" Eula looked at the surrendering Fatui and was also a bit unsure.
Shouldn't the Fatui resist stubbornly? Why were they so sensible this time?
"Th-they should be," Kaeya said, also feeling uncertain. The actions of the Fatui in front of him were completely different from before.
It was his first time seeing the Fatui surrender with their hands up.
"You're not the Fatui, are you? Get them! If we take care of these guys, everything will be fine!" Schubert glanced at the Fatui he had made a deal with and shouted loudly.
To his surprise, that Fatui gave a sudden shiver and immediately said righteously:
"Who are you calling Fatui! We are the Treasure Hoarders!"
With that, he took off his mask and put on a face-covering veil. The soldiers behind him followed suit, changing into veils as well.
They looked like a dozen Treasure Hoarders in Fatui uniforms, and somewhat overly well-fed ones at that.
After doing all this, the leading Fatui finally breathed a sigh of relief. Lady had emphasized repeatedly that if they encountered guys in armor, they shouldn't do anything but surrender immediately and disassociate themselves completely from the Fatui.
Now, it seemed he had perfectly completed his mission! Lady, I have not failed your expectations!
Watching the self-congratulatory Fatui, Yu Jin walked forward and took a blue firearm from in front of a Fat Man.
"Who are you trying to fool? Can the Treasure Hoarders have this?" Yu Jin aimed the gun at the leading Fatui.
The Treasure Hoarders were all a bunch of scoundrels, only good for trickery and deception. How could a disorganized rabble have such sophisticated equipment?
"It's fake," the large Fat Man behind Yu Jin said in a booming voice. Then he put down his hands, walked over to Yu Jin, and pressed the trigger.
"Sizzle—" A smooth jet of water shot out from the muzzle, dousing the self-congratulatory guy and waking him up.
"Oh, this is quite fun." Yu Jin found this thing very novel, so he started spraying around with this real water gun.
The leading Fatui saw Yu Jin having a great time and a slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Fortunately, he had the foresight to replace all their weapons with children's toys, otherwise, they would have been exposed just now.
"You... you..."
"What 'you'? Don't you know the Treasure Hoarders? We're skilled in all kinds of swindling and deception. Who told you not to have a brain?" The Fatui leader snorted coldly. Anyway, the Lawrence Family's value had already been squeezed dry, and there was no need to accommodate them anymore.
When Schubert heard the Fatui leader's words, he suddenly felt dizzy. Even he, as foolish as he was, understood that the Fatui were simply using the Lawrence Family.
Schubert staggered back a few steps, clutching his chest, looking at Eula with hope, "Eula, hurry! Quickly get rid of these guys, they're shaming Lawrence!"
Eula was the most Talented descendant of the Lawrence Family. At a young age, she passed the family's trials and obtained the "Mark of Frost." This honor had only been achieved by a handful of people in the Lawrence Family over a thousand years.
With this power, Eula, if she could turn over a new leaf, would surely be able to uphold the glory of the Lawrence Family!
Schubert thought so, but unfortunately, all he got was Eula's shake of the head.
"Uncle, come back with me. The glory of the Lawrence Family is long gone. Don't fantasize anymore."
"You traitor, how could the family produce such a rebellious person like you!" Schubert's anger intensified when he saw Eula refuse.
Eula saw Schubert's angry, bristling appearance, and a hint of anger also rose in her heart.
"Angry? Do you think I don't get angry! As a member of the Lawrence Family, you're still doing things that threaten Mondstadt's safety!"
"All your so-called family glory is just a source of trouble for others!"
"You actually..."
"Alright! Everyone cool down a bit!" A cold mist swept through, calming the two enraged individuals a bit.
Kaeya looked at the settled Eula and Schubert, nodding in satisfaction. It seemed his mediation skills were quite good.
"Next time you use a skill, give a heads-up. You almost froze my water gun," Yu Jin also chimed in, holding the water gun he had snagged.
"Now it's time to talk about serious matters." Kaeya calmly pushed Yu Jin aside, walked over to the large box, took out a blue and white potion, and said with narrowed eyes:
"What is this? You'd better tell me the truth, or I can't guarantee what will happen next."
"This is a potion the Fatui use to strengthen their soldiers' bodies, and it can also increase element affinity!" No sooner had Kaeya finished speaking than Schubert immediately blurted out.
Since the Fatui were unjust, then he wouldn't be righteous. If this information got out, even the Fatui themselves would probably suffer.
"Really?" Kaeya's expression became serious. If that were true, then this would be a huge gain.
"Of course it's... fake!" The Fatui leader said with a playful expression.
He stepped forward, spread his hands, picked up a bottle of potion, and drank it all. Then he laughed:
"We're just Treasure Hoarders, how could we have anything from the Fatui? These are just ordinary Springvale water, with some coloring added at most."
"Look, our uniforms are also imitations."
With that, the Fatui leader even tugged at his uniform. It was then that Kaeya noticed there was no emblem or dog tag on it.
He had been careless. The Fatui were renowned in Teyvat, and almost no one dared to impersonate them. This also meant Kaeya hadn't even considered that possibility.
But they were clearly the Fatui! Going to such lengths to quickly disassociate themselves from the Fatui, there must be something fishy going on!
Kaeya stroked his chin in thought. He looked at the surrounding environment, then at the Fatui still holding their hands up, and found no clues.
"You, you actually deceived me!" Schubert was incoherent for the umpteenth time. No wonder those potions had no effect after a few days; they were all fake!
He thought of the Mora he had squandered and suddenly his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight down.
"Bang!" The sound of him falling to the ground brought Kaeya's thoughts back. He bent down to check, then said to Eula: "He's fine, just overcome with anger. He'll be alright in a while."
Then he looked at the Fatui leader and asked: "Where did this spring water come from?"
"A guy named Hopkins in Springvale. He also often tricks people with spring water. You can go and investigate him," the Fatui leader answered Kaeya's question very readily.
Anyway, all the Mora had now been transferred to the Fatui's account, and the evidence had been thoroughly cleaned up.
So now, their crime was at most just defrauding Schubert, and the amount was split among a dozen people. At most, it would be a short stay with the Knights of Favonius.
Moreover, they actively cooperated with the Knights of Favonius' investigation and did not resist, so they should be treated leniently.
As for the other transactions, sorry, those were done by other Treasure Hoarders and had nothing to do with them.
Looking at the smiling Fatui leader, Kaeya became even more convinced there was a conspiracy involved, but for now, there was too little evidence to find any clues.
"Come with us, and don't try any tricks." Kaeya glanced at them. He would deal with it after returning to Mondstadt.
"Naturally." With that, the Fatui consciously got up and walked towards the exit.
"Tsk, there's a conspiracy," Kaeya shook his head, already beginning to consider how to make them talk.
"Is there?" Yu Jin, standing nearby, scratched his head. He thought it was just simple fraud.
"Absolutely!" Mondstadt's intelligence chief, Kaeya, declared.
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