After Lu Chen reopened the cave, Lumine immediately moved to lead her squad inside—but he stopped her.
"What's wrong?" Lumine asked, puzzled.
Lu Chen glanced at her teammates and spoke bluntly. "The aura in there is too much for ordinary humans to handle. Sending them in is no different from sending them to their deaths. My suggestion: only us elites with Visions go in."
The comment came off as condescending, and the Swordfish Second Team members didn't take it well.
Under Lumine's leadership, the squad had completed numerous major missions and gained recognition as a rising star within the military. Naturally, the members had grown somewhat proud.
So when they heard Lu Chen's words, they were unwilling to just wait outside.
"Captain! Let us go too!"
"Yeah! What's the point of guarding the entrance? We can't let you go into danger alone!"
Lu Chen's blunt tone was born of urgency. He cast an impatient glance their way.
"If you had the power to split mountains and smash stone, I'd be happy to let you in. But with your current strength? I'd just end up cleaning up your corpses."
Maybe it was the memory of Lu Chen casually cleaving a mountain stone earlier—few dared to argue with him directly. They only muttered quietly among themselves.
"But... there's a little girl in your team..."
"All of you, stay put! No one enters without my order!" Lumine cut the argument short.
"Yes, ma'am!" the squad quickly responded.
With that pointless back-and-forth out of the way, Lu Chen led Ei and Nahida while Lumine brought Paimon, and the group slowly made their way into the cave.
Inside, it was pitch-black. Everyone pulled out lighting tools—except for Lu Chen. His Traveler's Handy Sword was already glowing faintly blue, a sign that its Primordial Energy was active.
Lumine eyed the blue glow with curiosity. It was still a Traveler's Handy Sword, but the energy radiating from it was oddly unique.
"Lu Chen, your weapon... it's really strange..."
"This is my secret weapon," he replied.
"Huh? Secret weapon?" Lumine looked even more confused.
After all, it was just a Traveler's Handy Sword. How could that count as a secret weapon?
"This thing is especially effective against any kind of pollution." Lu Chen waved it casually. As it passed through the foul air, the blue glow shimmered like a glowstick. The Primordial Energy-enhanced sword seemed to pulse with cleansing light.
Lumine gasped. "What've you been through lately? Why do you have all these bizarre things?"
"That's a long story—definitely not one I can explain quickly..." Lu Chen turned and glanced helplessly at Ei.
Ei hadn't spoken the entire way, but it wasn't like she was ignoring them—Lu Chen could constantly feel a chill down his neck. It was obvious she'd been staring at him the whole time.
Sure enough, when he looked back, he caught Ei watching him with that same intense, criminal-investigator stare.
Every time he talked to Lumine, she looked at him like that. It made his hairs stand on end, pure survival instinct kicking in.
So Lu Chen quickly put on his most innocent, guilt-free expression. He had nothing to hide. He'd never once had improper thoughts about Lumine—he truly saw her as a bro. What could he do? She wasn't exactly flirt material...
Still, Ei's jealous glares never let up. Hanging out with Miko and the others wasn't even this mentally draining. Since arriving here, Lu Chen's brain had been on the verge of short-circuiting.
...
As they ventured deeper, familiar Inazuman architecture gradually came into view. The Fatui had excavated an enormous chamber deep within the mountain.
A visible purple mist began to seep into the air. Lu Chen's surroundings were quickly dyed in an ominous hue—resentment and corrosion thickened with every step. This was undoubtedly the most contaminated area on the entire island, steeped in remnants of the Archon's lingering power.
It was easy to see just how dangerous Delusions truly were.
"I can't breathe... This feels awful..." Paimon clutched her nose and hid behind Lumine.
Nahida also looked uncomfortable. She sniffled and tried to resist the aura of the evil god using her own power, but it didn't help much.
Seeing this, Lu Chen tightened his grip on the Traveler's Handy Sword and recalled techniques from Introduction to Primordial Energy Conversion and Application. He swept the sword forward.
Blue Primordial Energy surged out, instantly purging the foul aura from a wide area. The air cleared significantly.
"It actually works!?" Paimon floated over in amazement, examining the glowing sword in Lu Chen's hand. "What is this thing? It's amazing!"
Seeing how effective it was, Lu Chen retrieved three more Traveler's Handy Swords from the system and handed them to Ei, Nahida, and Lumine to boost their purification efforts.
Then, he gave Paimon a seemingly casual glance. "You seriously don't know what this is?"
"Huh?" Paimon's eyes widened. She bit her finger, utterly baffled by his words.
Lu Chen's Primordial Energy sword sparkled as he leaned in and said quietly, "Don't play dumb, little Paimon."
"How would I know anything?!" she protested, hugging her arms. "You've been getting weirder lately—always saying strange things!"
But when Lu Chen looked into her wide eyes, he saw stars.
She didn't seem to be pretending. He couldn't sense any power in her either. So, he shrugged. "Then just treat it as nonsense... but one day, you'll remember."
"Hey—!" Paimon grew even more confused and stomped the air in frustration.
...
As the group pressed on, Lu Chen noticed signs of a previous battle. Fatui corpses lay on the ground—Gorou's team had likely passed through here.
The Delusion Factory was massive, and soon, the path split. As expected, it twisted and turned like a maze.
But that didn't matter to Lu Chen. He could sense faint residual elemental traces left by combat. They were enough to guide his way.
"This way." Lu Chen led them into a narrow corridor.
Eventually, they entered a large chamber—and ran into a group of familiar Fatui faces.
"It's them—!" Lumine instantly went on alert. "The Fatui Skirmishers!"
Led by four elite units—Pyroslinger, Geochanter, Electrohammer, and Anemoboxer—a whole squad of Fatui agents surged forward, surrounding Lu Chen's group as they entered the hall.
"Perfect timing," Lu Chen said with a smile, flexing his wrists.
Gorou and the others were still missing, and searching blindly would take forever. This was the perfect chance to grab a few Fatui and ask for directions.