Night, Fontaine, a narrow alley.
"Damn it! How is this possible? Your consciousness should have been suppressed..."
"Curse it! I can't resist... What went wrong?!"
"I see now... so that's it..."
"Just one move short..."
The irritating voices vanished completely. Chu Xi removed her hood, revealing her stunningly beautiful face.
If her mechanical eye wasn't constantly rotating 360 degrees, no one would have given it a second thought. Heterochromia was common in Teyvat; Candace and Furina both had it.
Considering who she was—a fragment of Jiang Mumu's consciousness who had willingly cooperated with the Doctor's experiments—how could that fool possibly turn the tables on her?
The only reason she had allowed him to temporarily occupy her body was to escape the Doctor's laboratory with minimal effort. Now that she had reached Fontaine, Chu Xi couldn't be bothered with him any longer.
The segment that had controlled her earlier was from the Doctor's younger days. He seemed bitterly resentful of the other segments, constantly whining in her mind—she'd almost gone mad from the incessant complaining!
When she eliminated that segment, Chu Xi severed his connection to the others.
This meant she could now wreak havoc in the guise of a Doctor segment, and even if exposed, she could easily pin the blame on the Doctor himself.
After all, she had genuinely been experimented on by him. No matter what she said, it was impossible to deny.
Faced with his own frame-up, the Doctor—having lost his connection to this segment—would instinctively admit to it. After all, he knew himself better than anyone, and he understood that his younger self was perfectly capable of such actions.
Just as Chu Xi was pondering this, she sensed someone slowly approaching her from behind, a cloth in hand...
A faint smile curved Chu Xi's lips. She offered no resistance.
A cloth suddenly clamped over her mouth and nose from behind. Chu Xi, completely unaffected, feigned unconsciousness and cooperated.
Two men seized her, stuffing her into a burlap sack and cautiously surveying their surroundings.
"We've got her!"
"Quick, let's get her out of here."
"Offending the master? You've only yourself to blame."
"Ugh... what? How is she so heavy?!"
The pair heaved Chu Xi's weight together and vanished swiftly down the alley.
Hidden around the corner, a little girl witnessed the entire scene.
Seeing the Big Sister being abducted, she bolted to find a Maison Gardiennage guard on duty.
"T-there! Two men kidnapped a Big Sister over there!" the girl blurted out urgently.
"Quick, show me where!"
The guard followed the girl to the alley, but found no one.
"Run along home, little one. Leave this to me. I'll notify the Captain immediately and have the area searched."
"Okay, Brother. You have to save the Sister!"
-
Fontaine, Residence of a Wealthy Noble
Chu Xi was carried to a bed and bound hand and foot. During the process, her captors noticed her limbs appeared to be mechanical constructs, but with no time to dwell on it, they quickly secured her and left the room.
Once they were gone, Chu Xi opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings.
It was an extravagantly decorated chamber—or rather, a basement. Beside the bed lay an assortment of small torture instruments, clearly intended for female victims.
Tsk tsk...
Chu Xi waited for over twenty minutes before someone opened the door and entered.
"So it's this guy..."
Her kidnapper was none other than the wealthy noble she had rejected upon first arriving at Romaritime Harbor. Who knew such a simple refusal could be considered an insult?
Was it just bad luck to encounter Fontaine's worst? Or are most of the wealthy here like this?
Knowing her captor's identity, Chu Xi abandoned her pretense of unconsciousness.
With a gentle tug, the iron chains binding her limbs snapped cleanly. Witnessing this, Nevick's drunken stupor instantly cleared by seven or eight tenths. He cursed his incompetent subordinates and immediately turned to flee.
But the moment he took a step, Chu Xi's iron grip seized the back of his neck.
"Where do you think you're running?"
The icy voice pierced Nevick's ears, and he swallowed hard.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't know you... I'll compensate you! I'll give you so much compensation! Please spare me! I know I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong!"
"Because I have the power, you're groveling now, aren't you?" Chu Xi replied coldly. "You don't regret your actions—you just realize you're about to die..."
With that, Chu Xi wasted no more words. She clamped her left hand over his mouth and stomped down with her right foot, snapping both of his legs.
"Mmm—!"
The excruciating pain jolted through Nevick's nerves, his agonized scream choked in his throat by Chu Xi's iron grip.
Her grip was so tight that she accidentally crushed his teeth and split his gums.
"Mmm, ugh—!"
Nevick's head suddenly lolled to the side, and he fainted from the agony.
Chu Xi stomped hard on his groin, jolting him awake again. He resumed his agonized screams...
"Weak~"
Chu Xi punched Nevick in the head, silencing him completely. There was no need to cover his blood-soaked mouth anymore.
She walked to a basin in the room and washed the blood off her hands.
After all, I'm the "Doctor" in Fontaine now. A little cruelty suits the character, doesn't it?
After cleaning up, Chu Xi donned her bloodstained white hood and approached the basement door.
Opening the door, she effortlessly dealt with the two thugs guarding it—the very men who had kidnapped her earlier.
Emerging from the basement, Chu Xi discovered the entrance connected to a study.
Cautiously peeking into the reception room, she saw three wealthy men sprawled haphazardly, along with about a dozen of their entourage.
She listened intently, her face wrinkling at first, then contorting with fury. She confirmed it: every single one of them deserved to die, even their entourage.
The only silver lining was that, according to their conversation, there were few left who indulged in such depravity. This place was a den of thieves, ripe for a clean sweep...
-
On the other side,
The Maison Gardiennage's search continued, with the Special Task Force joining the operation.
Earlier that day, Fontaine had just issued a full investigation into the Serial Disappearance Case, and that very night, a girl was kidnapped—a blatant act of defiance!
During the day, the mastermind behind the Serial Disappearance Case had wreaked havoc at the Opera House, already enraging Fontaine's high command.
When the Maison Gardiennage officer reported the incident, it immediately garnered high-level attention.
The Special Task Force mobilized with astonishing speed. Even Lumine and Paimon joined the search, accompanied by Navia.
"Partner, we've found nothing on our side. What about you?"
"No luck. They're extremely cautious—not a single clue left behind."
The fruitless search dampened everyone's spirits.
Suddenly, Lumine's ears twitched. She... sensed a familiar aura, just a few hundred meters ahead. She immediately sprinted forward.
Though Navia didn't understand, she trusted Lumine's instincts:
"Quick, this way!"