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"Acting Grand Master Jean!"
At this moment, a Knights of Favonius knight rushed in, panting, his face anxious, and he spoke quickly: "The Knights of Favonius just received an urgent message! Mr. Albedo's Alchemy Workshop has suffered a violent explosion!"
"Albedo's Alchemy Workshop?!"
Hearing this, Acting Grand Master Jean's expression grew solemn, and a look of shock flashed in her sapphire eyes.
It was Albedo's Alchemy Workshop that exploded?
—This had never happened before!
Albedo is Mondstadt's top Alchemist, with an extremely rigorous approach to experiments. How could such a serious accident occur?!
Acting Grand Master Jean's heart rate quickened slightly, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
Acting Grand Master Jean immediately asked, "What's the situation? Are there any casualties nearby?"
The knight quickly replied, "The explosion was confined to the interior of the Alchemy Workshop. Fortunately, it didn't affect the surrounding streets. The area outside the workshop was untouched, so it must have been contained by Mr. Albedo."
Hearing this, Acting Grand Master Jean finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Thank goodness… at least the residents of Mondstadt were not affected.
But her expression remained solemn, and she quickly pondered all possible causes in her mind.
Albedo's experiments were always meticulous; he wouldn't make such a basic mistake.
This explosion was definitely not a simple Alchemy experiment accident.
Suddenly, Acting Grand Master Jean's eyelids twitched.
Could it be related to Klee's bombs?
It's worth noting that Albedo came to the office yesterday, took Klee's backpack, and studied those bombs.
Albedo himself said that while the bombs he developed for Klee were powerful, they wouldn't cause an explosion like the one at Cider Lake.
Without the slightest hesitation, Acting Grand Master Jean took a deep breath and decisively ordered: "Immediately dispatch patrol teams, strengthen city security, and report any abnormal situations at once!"
"Keep an eye on the Fatui's movements."
"Yes!"
The Knights of Favonius knight saluted and quickly left.
Meanwhile, Acting Grand Master Jean unhesitatingly grabbed the cape beside her, draped it over her shoulders, and strode out of her office, rushing towards the Alchemy Workshop!
She had to see Albedo immediately and confirm the situation herself!
For this, Acting Grand Master Jean even used her Anemo power to travel… The wind swirled, and Jean, wearing the Knights of Favonius' Acting Grand Master's cape, hurried through the crowd.
Anemo power surged beneath her feet, creating a light breeze that made her steps astonishingly fast.
The entrance of the Alchemy Workshop was already crowded with numerous Mondstadt citizens and patrolling Knights of Favonius.
Everyone's faces showed panic and confusion.
They discussed animatedly, trying to understand the cause of the explosion.
But no one dared to get too close.
Because black smoke was still billowing, and an unsettling aura lingered in the air, sending chills down people's spines.
However, Acting Grand Master Jean unhesitatingly walked directly through the charred smoke and stepped into the interior of the Alchemy Workshop!
As soon as she entered, Jean's expression suddenly changed.
Because she sensed a very familiar aura.
It was the lingering destructive aura from the scene where the Fatui elites met their tragic end last night.
However, compared to the residual aura from last night, the aura in this Alchemy Workshop was much stronger.
"Cough, cough,"
At this moment, Albedo coughed, instantly bringing Acting Grand Master Jean back to her senses.
With a thought, the surrounding Anemo power subtly surged, clearing some of the pervasive dust, and she looked towards the deepest part of the Alchemy Workshop.
She saw Albedo standing before a shattered workbench, his Geo power forming a shield that firmly protected the area around him.
Although his body was covered in black smoke, and his golden hair was slightly disheveled.
He still maintained a calm expression, with even a hint of contemplation in his eyes.
In front of him, there was a pile of charred debris.
Clearly, Albedo had been deep in thought because of this just now.
"Are you alright?"
Seeing this, Acting Grand Master Jean quickly walked up to Albedo: "What's going on here?"
Albedo gave a wry smile, reaching out to pat the ash from his cape: "Fortunately… nothing too serious."
"As for the explosion."
Speaking of this, Albedo sighed softly.
He looked down at the pile of charred debris beside him, his voice carrying a hint of solemnity: "Although this bomb was indeed made by me with materials for Klee, the problem is that it was modified."
"This aura is a special kind of power."
"The bomb's interior stored an energy that even I couldn't fully analyze…"
"It's a power… more volatile than Pyro, and harder to control than Geo."
"Because I dismantled one, I accidentally triggered its explosion, leading to a chain reaction throughout the entire Alchemy Workshop."
Indeed.
Hearing this, Acting Grand Master Jean's expression grew even heavier.
She had thought of this point before arriving.
Now, Albedo's words undoubtedly confirmed her worries even further.
Most crucially, this also involved Klee.
Someone had secretly modified Klee's bombs, injecting them with a so-called unknown destructive energy.
The danger of this power was such that even a master Alchemist like Albedo couldn't fully control it.
So if it really spread, wouldn't Mondstadt… "What's wrong?"
Albedo keenly noticed the change in Acting Grand Master Jean's expression, raising an eyebrow slightly, his deep blue-green pupils showing contemplation and curiosity.
Acting Grand Master Jean did not answer immediately, but instead looked deeply at Albedo.
Then she slowly exhaled, her gaze solemn: "Albedo, do you know? Just last night, an unusual incident occurred within Mondstadt…"
Hearing this, Albedo's expression paused slightly, and he perked up his ears, listening intently.
Acting Grand Master Jean did not hide anything, briefly telling Albedo about the tragic incident in Mondstadt last night, the mysterious deaths of the Fatui elites, the use of the Delusion's power.
As well as her and Kaeya's analysis and speculation.
"...In short, last night's incident was not an ordinary conflict, but an extremely unusual assassination or probing."
"The Fatui's elites are not simple individuals; they even used the power of the Delusion, but even so, they were still instantly destroyed by some powerful force."
"What's more important is…"
At this point, Acting Grand Master Jean paused slightly, her eyes deep: "The energy fluctuations remaining at the scene are almost completely identical to the energy fluctuations emitted by the explosion in your workshop today."
The air suddenly became quiet.
Albedo's expression finally changed.
His pupils suddenly constricted, and his already slightly disheveled hair from the explosion was unconsciously smoothed back by him, his fingertips tightening slightly.
...Such a thing actually happened?
A rare solemnity appeared in Albedo's eyes.
The reason for this was a crucial question.
This bomb was made by him.
He gave it to Klee to play with.
As a result, Klee's bomb was modified by an unknown energy.
Not only did it cause quite a stir at Cider Lake yesterday.
Now, the commotion caused by bringing it back to the Alchemy Workshop was actually linked to the incident with the Fatui elites last night.
Among this, there was even a shadow of the Abyss Order.
Thinking of this, Albedo frowned deeply.
Has the Abyss Order already developed this kind of energy?
Acting Grand Master Jean, seeing Albedo's expression instantly turn serious, couldn't help but frown: "Have you thought of something?"
"This bomb was in Klee's bag, doesn't this mean that Klee has also been drawn into the Abyss Order's conspiracy?!"
Albedo's gaze sharpened.
Although Klee is currently still in confinement, if this power has been lurking in Mondstadt.
Wouldn't Klee, unknowingly, have already become a key point in some plan?
Thinking of this, Albedo took a deep breath.