"Oh, I'm finally back." Yu Jin, who had been lying like a corpse on a beach, stood up. He had finally returned to land.
He looked at Liyue, still bustling in the distance, and nodded with satisfaction. It seemed his sailing direction was quite accurate.
And so, Yu Jin rushed towards Liyue City. Liyue was vast, and there were many places he had yet to explore.
Wandering leisurely, Yu Jin returned to Chihu Rock and arrived at Liyue's Adventurers' Guild.
There was nothing he could do. If he had no particular goal, Yu Jin always felt like a street loafer. He felt this wasn't ideal, so subconsciously, he ended up at the Adventurers' Guild.
After all, the Adventurers' Guild never lacked commissions. He could just pick one within the city, and it would double as sightseeing while he completed the task.
"Miss Katheryne, do you have any good commissions to recommend? Preferably within the city," Yu Jin asked Katheryne at the Adventurers' Guild counter.
The Marionette first recited Katheryne's classic line, "Ad Astra Abyssosque," and then pondered.
She looked at Yu Jin in front of her. She had waited for several days; she couldn't let him just leave like this.
"Good commissions within the city, huh…" The Marionette turned around and searched through the filing cabinet.
Then she pulled out a commission slip and explained to Yu Jin, "Most city commissions aren't very good, but I have a promising one here."
"Tell me about it?" Yu Jin wasn't too discouraged. Liyue was more than just Liyue Harbor. He hadn't been to other places, so a trip there wouldn't be bad.
"It's a commission for Tianqiu Valley. It seems many monsters have appeared there, and the Millelith are short-handed."
"How about it? Mr. Yu Jin, will you take it?" The Marionette smiled as she looked at Yu Jin after speaking.
"Is that so? Of course, I'll take it." Yu Jin took the commission slip and accepted the task. He had never been to Tianqiu Valley.
He then looked at the Marionette. This person was quite something. If she hadn't spoken a little more than Katheryne, he really wouldn't have noticed that Katheryne had been replaced.
However, before leaving, Yu Jin seemed to remember something and said to Katheryne behind him, with a hint of meaning, "Miss Katheryne is in good spirits today. She should be even better in the future, right?"
The Marionette watched Yu Jin leave, a little surprised. Was that a warning just now? But when did he realize something was amiss?
...Tianqiu Valley is a depression in the heart of Liyue. Legend has it that in ancient times, it once flourished but was later destroyed by the Dragon Scourge.
However, these are all folk tales passed down through generations, and their veracity can no longer be verified.
At this moment, Yu Jin arrived at the edge of Tianqiu Valley.
Tianqiu Valley is surrounded by mountains, and its lowest central point is a huge lake. Whether it's the towering buildings by the lake or the scattered fragments within Tianqiu Valley, they all speak of its past glory.
Yu Jin unfolded the commission slip and looked at the marked location. Then he was pulled behind a large rock by a blue thread.
"You…"
"Yelan." This time, it was Yelan's turn to speak first. She looked at the slightly bewildered Yu Jin and whispered, "Why are you here?!"
This was a truly deserted place. She was here because she had discovered a trade route hidden by the Regrator, but why was this guy here?
Yelan detected a hint of something unusual.
"The commission said that a large number of monsters had gathered here, so I came to clear them out." Although Yu Jin didn't know why they had to speak so stealthily, considering Yelan was doing it, he could only cooperate.
"Monsters?" Yelan looked around and found hardly any traces of monsters. Even if there were, it was a normal number, not enough to warrant special clearing.
Yu Jin also noticed this. He now felt that the guy who replaced Katheryne was truly unreliable. A mistaken commission? This was a mistake Katheryne had never made before.
"My King, there are four individuals ambushing nearby. Two are very strong, and the other two are weaker," Heidao said to Yu Jin.
Yu Jin said nothing. As long as he didn't speak, Heidao wouldn't act rashly.
However, he was still a little disappointed. He had initially held goodwill towards the person who replaced Katheryne. But now, it seemed that goodwill was somewhat superfluous.
"Be careful later, there's an ambush," Yu Jin warned Yelan.
Yelan's eyes narrowed upon hearing this. She had initially found it strange that she had discovered the Regrator's trade route so easily this time. Now, with Yu Jin's reminder, she was even more certain of her thoughts.
After all, Yu Jin had an extremely formidable intelligence organization under his command.
However, she wasn't too worried. Anyway, with Yu Jin around, since the Regrator decided to expose this trade route, then they would seize it!
Soon, on the distant grassland, several carriages and a group of cloaked figures appeared before the two of them.
"Who are those people?" Yu Jin was a little surprised. A caravan in such a desolate place? Could they be doing business with Hilichurls?
"Be careful, they are probably the Regrator's subordinates!" Yelan watched the slowly advancing caravan, gripping the Aqua Simulacra in her hand.
Fatui? Or the Regrator? Yu Jin immediately understood what was going on. So, they wanted revenge.
He was bold and skilled, so he was the first to leap from the large rock.
"Adventurers' Guild business! Hands on your head, squat down, or you'll get a good beating!" Yelan only saw a black blur flash before her eyes, and Yu Jin appeared directly in front of the caravan.
His speed left her dumbfounded.
But she quickly reacted, immediately activating the Vision at her waist, transforming into a blue phantom, and swiftly rushing over.
"Subdue them first!" The blue phantom weaved through the people of the caravan, and the Lifeline instantly wrapped around them, immobilizing them.
"Bang!" The water phantom burst, and Yelan emerged from the phantom, "Prevent them from destroying the evidence!"
She seemed to be speaking to Yu Jin, and also to Heidao in the shadows.
However, Yu Jin scratched his head after hearing it. He hadn't thought that much. If they wanted to mess with him, they had to be prepared to be messed with. There were no complicated twists and turns.
Just as Yelan was busy collecting evidence and Yu Jin was busy giving the caravan members a "thought education."
On a high ground, a group of Harbingers were watching everything below with great interest.
"Heh heh, your technique is good, but unfortunately, it can only be used once," the Regrator said with admiration, slightly moving the Marionette's body.
"Is that the Tianquan's special intelligence officer, Yelan?" The Marionette didn't respond to the Regrator. She controlled Katheryne's body and also came to Tianqiu Valley.
"Yes, that woman is incredibly formidable; she has ruined many of my plans." A flat, mechanical voice came from the Marionette's body. The Regrator had now adapted to this body.
"Oh? Between her and Yu Jin, who caused you more losses?" Dottore asked the Regrator beside him. In truth, the Regrator had the biggest conflict with these two, while he and the Marionette were merely doing their jobs for money.
As for Childe, he was just tricked into coming for a fight.
"About the same. To be able to turn Northland Bank's Mora into that state. Heh heh, a very strong guy." The Regrator looked at the chattering Yu Jin below, a hint of hatred in his eyes.
The money Yu Jin had caused him to lose was no small sum. Even for the Regrator, this money couldn't be earned back that quickly… "Hey, answer me!" Yu Jin tapped the head of the person in front of him, finding no reaction.
"Hmm? The feel is wrong!" Yu Jin immediately noticed the abnormality of these "people." He lifted the cloak and was startled to find that this guy was actually a Marionette!
Moreover, Yu Jin suddenly noticed that the coats beneath these Marionettes began to shake. Then, one by one, mechanical birds emitting black mist flew out from beneath the coats of those caravan members.
They either stood on the carriages or leaped onto the treetops, and large swathes of black mist rose, as if attracting something.
"Tsk, I didn't expect you all to be so cautious. It seems, before the actual battle, we'll have to watch a boring play," Childe said, somewhat displeased, looking at the monsters converging from all directions.
--------------------------
Thank you so much to everyone who has followed and supported the story! 🙏
Every like and comment means a lot to me.
If you want to go further, join my Patreon to be able to read the latest chapters!
👉 Check it out here: [patreon.com/Greyhounds]