"This kind of needle-in-a-haystack search reminds me of that competition with the Fatui."
Looking at the Thousand Winds Temple in front of him, Diluc frowned. "Half a year ago, thieves dug up a treasure from the Temple of the Lion among the Four Winds Temples."
"Eh?"
Hearing this, Paimon looked over in surprise. "What treasure? Barbatos's used water cup?"
"No. Although if such a thing existed, it would be very precious."
Diluc was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "But what was unearthed that time was the most difficult type to obtain among all possible antiquities—"
"That treasure was a sealed vial containing a wisp of the Anemo Archon's Breath."
"So there are artifacts in this form too..."
Paimon scratched her head.
"With such artistic creativity, of course I wanted to add it to my collection."
Diluc said calmly, "But after the news spread, the Fatui coveted the divine power within and began to compete with me."
"They manufactured a large number of fakes and released them into various markets."
"And my response was to buy them all, regardless of whether they were real or fake. Thus, we have been in a stalemate until today."
"I have seen at least two thousand bottles of fakes, and they haven't found the real one either."
"Okay, okay."
Hearing this, Paimon looked speechless. "Sounds like both of you are crazy enough."
"However, speaking of which... if we go to the black market now, is it still possible to buy that unique genuine article?"
"Then... then I'll transfer the genuine article to you at a... um, friendly price!"
"Sure, you can try. I won't refuse even if it's fake."
Diluc smiled faintly. "Come to the winery to find me after you buy it. Collect twenty bottles, and you can exchange them for a glass of beer."
Hearing this, Paimon looked at Kael and Lumine.
She already knew Venti was the Anemo Archon.
Just asking Venti for a drinking cup could earn Mora!
Thinking of this, Paimon's breathing quickened.
"Let's search for Dvalin's tears here first."
Lumine scratched her head. "The ruins are so big, how should we search?"
"As a Knight, I am confident in my search techniques."
Beside them, Jean chuckled. "I will use Anemo power to sense. As long as I cover the entire Thousand Winds Temple with Anemo power, I should be able to sense similar fluctuations."
"However, the Thousand Winds Temple is very large, and I can't cover it all at once. I can't cover distant places, so I need your help, Traveler."
"Because you can mobilize Anemo power."
Saying this, Jean looked at Lumine.
"Okay."
Hearing Jean's words, Lumine nodded immediately.
Then they dispersed.
"Eh? Kael, what do you plan to do?"
Seeing Lumine and Jean split up, and Diluc also acting, only Kael didn't move. Paimon grinned, "Anyway, we can't help, so let's rest first."
Paimon floated leisurely beside Kael.
Arms crossed, she peeked at the others who had already started acting in the distance, slacking off with peace of mind.
However, as soon as her voice fell, she saw Kael slowly take out a strange-shaped instrument from his embrace.
It was the Bio-wave Probe.
Paimon leaned in curiously. "Eh? What is this? Looks amazing!"
Kael didn't answer but gently pressed the button on the probe.
In an instant, the core of the instrument glowed faintly.
The surrounding air seemed to vibrate slightly, and ripples invisible to the naked eye spread out.
Immediately after, small energy fluctuations appeared on the virtual screen of the probe.
Like a radar scan, all resources containing elemental power were marked on the screen.
Kael's eyes flashed, and he soon found an unusually strong fluctuation point.
Almost several times richer than any surrounding energy reaction.
It even carried a twisted black-red color.
"Found it."
Kael followed the guidance of the probe without hesitation, walking toward the target location.
Paimon was stunned, hurriedly following. "Eh? Found it so fast?"
She thought they would have to dig three feet to find clues.
Unexpectedly, Kael locked onto the target in just a few seconds. This was too exaggerated!
Paimon followed Kael through collapsed stone pillars and dilapidated walls.
Finally, they stopped by a broken wall entangled with vines.
As Kael squatted slightly and reached out to push aside some gravel and dead leaves, a red-black crystal emitting a shimmer was revealed.
"This..."
Paimon's eyes widened.
She clearly saw that within that crystal, there seemed to be weak Anemo surging.
But that Anemo was eroded by some dark power, making the originally pure energy twisted and violent.
It was—Stormterror's Tear Crystal!
"Y-You... This is too fast?!"
Paimon exclaimed, her face written with disbelief. "This is in such a huge ruin, how did you find it all at once?"
Kael smiled slightly, picked up the crystal casually, and gently placed it in his palm to examine it. "Intuition."
"What intuition! It's clearly cheating!"
Paimon hugged her head with both hands, looking like she had seen a ghost.
Kael didn't explain.
He could clearly feel that the energy remaining in this crystal was not ordinary Anemo, but carried a deep sorrow.
It was like a teardrop falling into the mortal world, swallowed by darkness, lost in the river of time.
"Found what?"
A clear but slightly surprised voice came.
Accompanied by footsteps, Jean's figure appeared among the ruins.
But when her gaze fell on Kael's hand, shock flashed in her eyes.
Stormterror's Tear Crystal!
That red-black interwoven crystal lay quietly in Kael's palm, its surface revealing a twisted shimmer.
Like a tear falling from the sky, polluted by darkness, the fluctuation of Anemo within was weak and broken, carrying an indescribable sorrow.
Jean's footsteps stopped, staring at Kael blankly. "...Found it just like that?"
She had just released Anemo power, preparing to lock onto the traces of Stormterror's tears by sensing the surrounding environment.
As a result, Kael had already found it?
She hadn't even had time to gather the wind field and analyze the surrounding elemental fluctuations!
Jean's astonishment was not without reason.
After all, even for her, as the Acting Grand Master of Mondstadt, holding an Anemo Vision.
Finding a tiny crystal in such a large ruin area.
It would take at least half an hour or even more than an hour to find clues.
But Kael only used a few short minutes.
Without even any foreshadowing, he found the key item directly!
This was simply beyond common sense.
Jean's reaction instantly attracted the attention of Diluc and Lumine in the distance.
Diluc frowned and walked over quickly.
When he swept a deep look at the crystal in Kael's hand, he didn't speak, but his deep gaze already showed his doubt and confusion.
How exactly did he do it?
Lumine also ran over.
When she saw the tear crystal in Kael's hand, she was stunned first.
Then she was surprised. "Kael, your speed in finding things is incredible!"
Paimon nodded repeatedly beside her, adding with a shocked face, "Right, right! It's only been a few minutes."
"Lumine hasn't even finished wandering around the ruins, and you found Stormterror's tear?!"
Speaking of this, Paimon looked at the Bio-wave Probe Kael put into his pocket and scratched her head.
What on earth is that thing?
It found the tear crystal all at once.
"Over to you."
Kael threw the thing directly to Lumine.
"Exactly the same."
Lumine looked at the crystal in her hand and scratched her head. "Too smooth."
Beside them, Jean still looked amazed.
You have to know, this was Stormterror's tear.
Not some ore seen everywhere.
Even Anemo Vision holders couldn't easily perceive its existence.
But Kael just stood still for a moment and accurately locked onto its position.
Jean was silent for a few seconds, but finally didn't ask again.
She just took a light breath to calm herself, then nodded. "Anyway, since we found Stormterror's tear, that's great. We can save more time."
Paimon also looked excited. "Then let's hurry to the next location! With Kael here, maybe we can find all of Stormterror's tears this afternoon!"
"We have to take advantage of our good condition and hurry to the next location, the Ruins in the Forest!"
They already found one in one location.
Then for the next two locations, Paimon believed.
With Kael's help, they could definitely find them easily.
Then in the afternoon, they could go back to Dawn Winery and meet up with Venti!
Immediately, the group continued to the next location.
Leaving the Thousand Winds Temple, Kael and the others sped toward the Ruins in the Forest.
With the help of Anemo power and Path Power, their speed was several times faster than ordinary people.
The forest along the way swept past them. Sunlight spilled through the branches and leaves, mottled light and shadows swaying on the ground, creating a quiet and mysterious atmosphere.
Passing through a deep forest, the front suddenly opened up.
A long-abandoned ruin appeared in front of everyone.
Broken stone pillars, collapsed arches, and moss-covered walls told of its former glory.
However, it was now swallowed by nature.
Vines entangled the remaining buildings. The breeze blew, bringing a few fallen leaves spinning in the air.
"This is the Ruins in the Forest..."
"It used to be part of Mondstadt, but now it has become a ruin. What a pity."
Jean and Diluc spoke softly.
Kael directly took out the Bio-wave Probe and activated it again.
Beside him, Jean keenly captured Kael's movement, doubt in her eyes. "What is this?"
Why did Kael take out an inexplicable thing all of a sudden?
Diluc's eyes also flickered slightly.
Although he didn't speak, he obviously noticed the abnormality of this device.
Kael watched the probe's light flicker slightly, and soon found the abnormal red-black light point that appeared before.
"Found it."
Kael smiled faintly, then strode toward that direction.
Jean and Diluc's pupils contracted slightly—
This speed... isn't it too fast?!
Logically speaking, finding Stormterror's tear should be a long process, requiring a carpet search of areas, and relying on Anemo perception to possibly detect its residual aura.
But now, Kael just took out this mysterious device, and in just a few seconds, he directly locked onto the target!
What exactly is this thing?!
Could it be that Kael found it so fast just now because of this thing?
Jean took a deep look at the detector in Kael's hand, and a bold guess suddenly appeared in her mind—
"Could it be... those large amounts of rare resources Kael obtained before were all found through this device?"
She recalled Kael's contribution to the Mondstadt Adventurers' Guild.
Those rare ores, herbs, monster materials...
Were all things others might not find even after spending weeks or months.
But Kael could always obtain them easily.
If he had always been using this device to find resources...
Then everything made sense.
"Kael, this device... what exactly is it?"
Jean couldn't help asking, shock and suspicion in her voice.
"This..."
Hearing Jean's words, Kael smiled and said casually, "Just a... rather special detector. You can understand it as an alchemy tool."
Only this tool wasn't an ordinary alchemy tool.
But an invention of the geniuses of the Genius Society.
Hearing Kael's words, Jean was stunned.
Alchemy tool?
What alchemy tool can find Stormterror's tears?
I can ask Albedo about this later.
Thinking of Albedo as an alchemist, Jean felt she should ask Albedo when she got back.
Although Kael's answer was understated, she felt that thing wasn't so simple.
But the most important thing right now was finding the Dragon Tear.
Since Kael had already found the target, she didn't continue to question closely.
Thinking this, Jean and the others followed Kael.
Soon they arrived at the destination.
In the ruins, a red-black crystal lay quietly on the ground, shimmering slightly.
"Really found it."
Seeing this thing appear, Jean took a deep breath.
That thing in Kael's hand is really convenient.
It can even detect this kind of special energy crystal.
Also, can it find other Mondstadt specialties?
Jean thought about it but still didn't ask.
Instead, she smiled. "Finding Stormterror's tear so quickly this time is definitely good news."
"Since we found it, let's go to the next location as soon as possible."
"Kael, sorry to trouble you today, and thanks to you."
Saying this, Jean bowed to Kael.
Helping with travel was one thing.
Helping to find this thing, and finding it accurately in a short time, was another.
"You're welcome."
Facing Jean's bow of thanks, Kael shook his head, not caring too much.
Because helping these people was also helping himself.
The Trailblazer's Baseball Bat hadn't arrived yet!
"Let's go. Compared to these two places, the next place we are going to has some risks."
Looking up at the sun which was already at noon, Kael spoke softly.
Hearing Kael's words, Jean and the others instantly looked serious.
Indeed, the third place was Dadaupa Gorge.
For her and Diluc, they naturally knew that place very well.
"Ah? Risks?"
Paimon and Lumine were confused, not understanding.
With Jean plus Diluc, plus her and Kael, could there be any risks?
Even if they encountered danger, they could solve it easily.
After all, they had at least three Vision holders!
Thinking this, Jean and the others continued to set off.
Following the winding mountain road eastward, crossing the dense forest.
Finally, they came to a vast and dangerous valley in Mondstadt.
Dadaupa Gorge.
Surrounded by continuous mountains.
The valley was full of huge rocks and steep slopes. Among the dense vegetation, tribes built of wood and beast skins were scattered.
Sharp wooden stake fences surrounded the camps everywhere. Smoke from fires circled in the air, and the air was filled with the faint smell of burnt beast skins and damp earth.
And what was more disturbing was—Hilichurls everywhere!
Whether Mitachurls, Samachurls, or Pyro Shooters, everything was there.
And they appeared in clusters.
Paimon poked her head out to look down, instantly sucking in a breath of cold air.
Her eyes widened bigger than a Mondstadt wine glass.