Useless Thing

They were all girls who looked weak and frail, seemingly powerless, but when it came to a real fight, they revealed their strength to fight bears and tigers.

Otto's order was somewhat ill-intentioned, but Rita couldn't do without the Undying Blade.

After all, Otto gave such an order, so he would definitely keep a close eye on things; it's not so easy to fool your superiors.

(... Was this a test?)

Rita was slightly troubled; if Otto made a move against her, it would indeed be difficult to deal with.

Testing is not scary; what is scary is the unknown response prepared behind such testing.

Rita didn't quite believe that Otto would act rashly and attack her; the fact that he started testing her meant that Otto had already prepared various countermeasures.

Well, let's take it one step at a time. If all else fails, we can always go find Liu Bai.

Rita gave up thinking.

She was never the wise type; she just acted like a big shot among a group of noobs.

When a big shot starts making moves that seem like a bait-and-switch tactic, the wisest course of action is to pretend you didn't see it—or find another big shot to lead the team.

(It would be too hasty to raise the flag of rebellion now...)

Rita sighed and then began contacting Schicksal's logistics department.

Well, after all, there's a humanitarian aid front, so we can't just go empty-handed.

She had to wait for Schicksal's logistics department to arrive with supplies and some accompanying doctors before she could head to Liyue.

This whole thing involves a lot of things.

(Me, diplomacy, aid supplies... From which direction is the bishop planning to intervene in the situation this time? Or from multiple directions?)

Chapter 281 Useless Things

"Ningguang, are you in trouble?" Yelan asked with concern, looking at Ningguang's furrowed brows.

"About the same."

Ningguang sat at her desk, rubbing her temples.

"From Schicksal?" Yelan continued to ask, not entirely surprised.

"Yes, for example, the Palais Mermonia announced that the Water God will embark on a year-long global tour."

Ningguang pulled out a brand new document.

"And this, Schicksal has announced that it will conduct humanitarian aid operations for us."

"Wow, this is no friendly visitor." Yelan took the two brand-new documents. "Fontaine... the Water God himself is going on a tour. This is incredible."

Yelan recalled for a moment, and Fontaine was a name that was not entirely unfamiliar to her.

However, these people usually keep to themselves and rarely venture out, let alone participate in large-scale tours like this.

Is the mighty water god required to make a yearly tour?

Water God...

"... Could this be considered a form of escape?" Yelan hesitated for a moment before making a somewhat serious guess.

"I don't know." Ningguang shook her head. "That's not the point. It's about Schicksal."

"Schicksal? What's there to worry about Schicksal? Let me tell you, Liu Bai is a big shot in Rita's circle... Wow, it really is Rita."

The second document made Yelan raise an eyebrow.

"There's absolutely nothing to worry about now. Rita is leading the team, and they're one of our own."

"Things aren't as simple as you think... Never mind, there's no point in talking to you. I'll go discuss it with Lady Makoto later."

Yelan's political sensitivity is a bit low.

Yes, yes, yes.

Yelan could also sense Ningguang's slight disdain for her, but she didn't care.

It's because she's never been interested in the intricacies of politics.

Or if she were truly interested and capable, why would she work for Ningguang?

In any case, they are at most reluctant to start a war, not afraid to start one.

The only reason I don't want to is that Order hasn't been restored in Liyue yet.

If pushed too far, I might as well explode.

... This timing just happens to be Liyue's period of weakness.

If it were a weaker leader, they might actually be scared off by Otto's actions.

After all, they sought refuge with the authorities, but this move could turn Liyue into cannon fodder, and such a future is bound to make people uneasy.

... Is this Otto's goal?

Probe and, incidentally, apply pressure.

"Should I call Kafka over too?" Yelan asked.

"Miss Kafka ... whatever, she's basically just a larger version of you."

Ningguang speaks the truth.

Kafka is indeed shrewd and capable, but she doesn't seem like the kind of person who can coordinate the overall situation.

Like Yelan, she is a highly intelligent agent, and she is not a local.

Bringing her along to discuss this kind of matter is simply a way to gather ideas from all sides.

So, to be honest, Yelan's future is really bleak.

Was Kafka's control over her particularly severe?

They have similar character designs, similar voices, similar body types, and they both play with silk threads...

"Ningguang, what's with that expression?"

"Nothing."

Ningguang was actually a little curious about whether Yelan had been beaten up by Kafka.

But asking that question is pointless—she's definitely going to beat up Yelan once she's married into the family.

However, this also exposed the fact that Liu Bai's own family lacked someone capable of coordinating the overall situation.

The composition of Liu Bai's subordinates is far too complex, making it impossible for him to manage the affairs of those interstellar people.

—In fact, Liu Bai has leadership-type talents under his command.

Well, Cocoilia, although her leadership stat is probably only comparable to Raiden Makoto.

So, rounding it off, Ningguang's idea isn't wrong.

(This is also one of the hidden dangers on Liu Bai's side...)

Apart from Liu Bai, there is no commander at the next level.

It's fine now that the scale is small, but it might become more complicated once it grows larger and becomes organized.

Ningguang decided to talk to Liu Bai about this whenever she had the chance.

"Go and call Keqing over. We're under a lot of pressure here too."

"Clear."

Yelan nodded, then turned and left.

"It's no use..."

"Waaah..."

"It's alright, Firefly. Twenty minutes is pretty good this time too. You've improved by half a minute compared to last time."

"Waaaaah—!"

Firefly could barely remain calm despite Acheron's taunts, but Liu Bai's words of comfort suddenly broke Firefly defenses.

Firefly wanted to say that she could fight again—but her legs wouldn't listen to her.

Firefly collapsed onto the bed, the thick cream inside the cream puff slowly flowing out, and the crack-like patterns on her body gradually dimmed.

It seems that this happens when Firefly are overly excited.

(So embarrassing...)

"Ahem, speaking of which, isn't it already dinnertime? Is no one bringing you dinner tonight?"

Clearly, no one could answer Liu Bai's question.

One was completely limp and powerless, while the other's mouth was already stuffed full.

(We must take this opportunity to defeat Acheron directly.)

Although Firefly was indeed a minor character, the delaying action successfully gave Acheron a chance to recover and fight again.

Is this continuous process the most damaging attack to Acheron?

No, the greatest harm is the moment when Acheron experiences a mental breakdown due to his heightened sensitivity.

If Acheron doesn't experience a mental breakdown, he will recover quickly.

However, once Acheron loses his mind, Liu Bai can get three or four hours of rest.

The bad news is that the Firefly did indeed serve their purpose as cannon fodder for filling in the gaps.

The good news is that because there were so many weaklings, the scales of victory only wobbled slightly.

I... still have a chance.

Squeak...

The slight sound of the door opening was unusually loud in the quiet room, where there was only the faint sound of water.

The food delivery person has arrived...

Who will it be this time?

"Hi, Boss Liu! Little Gui is here!"

Guinaifen pushed the empty food cart that Firefly had placed in the house out, and then came back with a small cart full of food.

Upon hearing Guinaifen's voice, Firefly's weak legs trembled involuntarily.

Why, why is it Little Gui?

"... It was you?"

"Hey, why can't Jiu be | Xiao Ling Gui Zi cover me up, Ba Lao Qi Ban 1, you are really a man who likes new things and hates old dreams."

Guinaifen stood with her hands on her hips, her tone slightly coquettish.

"Alright, I'll feed you. Do you need Little Gui to help... chew it up?"

Little Gui's tone changed from lively to guilty.

"Don't say things that even you feel embarrassed about—that's not how you express femininity—and this kind of play is too inappropriate."

"Yes, yes, yes, it's because of the black stockings, right?"

Guinaifen, whose thoughts had been exposed, glared fiercely at Liu Bai, and then served Liu Bai rice and dishes.

While Liu Bai wasn't paying attention, Guinaifen secretly pressed Firefly's lower abdomen.

Hmm, it doesn't look as full as it did before.

Even Firefly won't work.

Guinaifen felt a little proud of being a higher-class cream puff, completely ignoring Firefly's angry look after her lower abdomen was pressed.

"I haven't gone out all day, has anything gone wrong outside?"

"Don't worry, Ningguang and Kafka will just say you're studying... tsk tsk."

Guinaifen gave a sarcastic look. "You read this kind of book?"