The Mutated Hilichurl King

Next, Ganyu got a proper taste of Bai Ye's combat prowess.

He pulled a whole pile of Handheld Crossbows from his sleeves and used Anemo elemental power to fire arrow after arrow.

Every one of those Treasure Hoarder members was pinned to the ground by Bai Ye.

"Boss, we were wrong."

"We won't do it again..."

"I've got an eighty-year-old mother above me and a child under five feet three below me..."

The last one received another beating from Bai Ye.

How dare you bring up five feet three.

What makes you think you're worthy of telling me your kid is also five feet three?

After finishing the beating, Bai Ye felt utterly refreshed.

He then tied all of them up.

"Go back to Liyue Harbor yourselves and turn yourselves over to the Millelith. Remember, Bai Ye was the one who caught you. Tell the Ministry of Civil Affairs to leave my bounty for me."

Although he now had a steady income, extra cash was always welcome.

"Get moving!"

Bai Ye viciously kicked the leader in the backside with his booted foot, while also loading his Handheld Crossbow.

Seeing this, how could the Treasure Hoarders dare delay? One after another, they ran toward Liyue Harbor.

The place Bai Ye had emerged from was not too far away. As far as his eyes could see, he could send those people right back to Liyue Harbor.

As for whether they would run away after leaving the Handheld Crossbow's range—

Don't forget that Ganyu was beside Bai Ye right now.

After watching them get taken away by the Millelith, Bai Ye continued onward with Ganyu.

After walking a good distance, Ganyu chatted with Bai Ye about what had just happened.

"There really are so many Treasure Hoarders. Even if you cleared them all out around Liyue, Treasure Hoarders from other places would still come over. There's simply no way to eradicate them completely."

"Who said there isn't a way?"

Bai Ye pointed at the Guili Plains ahead of them, still covered in ruins.

"If all this land were put to use, whether it became farmland or a new city was built here, once every inch of it was developed, where would the Treasure Hoarders have left to survive?"

Treasure Hoarders were people who could not stand in the light. As long as all of Liyue was built up, they would have no room to survive.

Moreover, many Treasure Hoarder members were young people who could not find work in Liyue Harbor and had stumbled into crime in a moment of poor judgment. Once new construction began, there would naturally be new jobs. Would they still become Treasure Hoarders then?

"Develop the entire Guili Plains?"

Ganyu was stunned by Bai Ye's ambition.

"Developing the Guili Plains alone can't fully guarantee that Liyue will be free of monsters and Treasure Hoarders. We should build up all of Liyue."

"Accomplishing that is still far too distant. Let's focus on what's in front of us first. Next, we should investigate the area beside the roads in the Guili Plains."

Ganyu spoke to Bai Ye.

"Mm-hmm."

Bai Ye nodded.

The two continued onward.

After walking a little farther, Ganyu said to Bai Ye, "I also want to see the day when you develop all of Liyue."

"Well, I can't do it alone. I'll need all of your help."

"For that, we may need the Geo Archon's instruction."

After thinking for a moment, Ganyu said this to Bai Ye.

Liyue was still in an era of divine rule. Its development primarily had to follow Rex Lapis's will.

Bai Ye said nothing.

Anyway, based on his calculations, after this year's Rite of Descension, Liyue would undergo a major change.

They followed the road north.

Bai Ye inspected the road conditions, while Ganyu checked whether there would be any dangers if a road were built there.

Ganyu's side was fine. She found no dangers.

Bai Ye's side was not so good.

Liyue's roads could at best be considered compacted dirt roads. Once heavy rain hit, they would become horribly muddy. If vehicles drove over them afterward, the result would be disastrous.

Bai Ye wondered whether he should first develop construction materials before developing vehicles.

He walked while thinking of a solution.

The two walked from day into night.

At night,

It was no longer convenient to inspect the roads, so Bai Ye and Ganyu prepared to rest by the roadside first.

As for things like a campfire and campsite, those were easy enough to deal with.

There were quite a few Hilichurls in the Guili Plains.

Bai Ye and Ganyu found a Hilichurl camp, and Bai Ye held a friendly exchange of opinions with the Hilichurls.

The Hilichurls gave Bai Ye and Ganyu's request to stay the night an incredibly warm welcome, generously giving up their home.

"Come back tomorrow morning. Bye-bye."

Bai Ye removed the Handheld Crossbow from above the Hilichurls' heads, signaling for them to leave quickly.

It was unknown whether the Hilichurls understood Bai Ye's words, but after he lowered the Handheld Crossbow, they promptly fled deeper into the Guili Plains.

Bai Ye and Ganyu sat around the campfire.

"Here, have a taste. I packed this food from Wanmin Restaurant."

Bai Ye said to Ganyu.

However, when Ganyu saw the boxed meal Bai Ye handed her, she looked as though she had seen some terrifying monster.

"I don't need that. I don't want it at all."

Ganyu said to Bai Ye while swallowing hard.

"Why? It's delicious."

Bai Ye was somewhat baffled.

The food Xiangling had made was only ordinary stir-fried dishes. It was not snail noodles or stinky tofu. It should not have been that powerful, right?

Bai Ye could not figure it out.

And you obviously swallowed, didn't you? You were clearly looking forward to it, so why were you so afraid?

Bai Ye was puzzled.

Ganyu was still backing away.

At that moment, Bai Ye's expression abruptly changed.

"Watch out behind you!"

Bai Ye immediately shouted.

At the same time, he raised his Handheld Crossbow and fired behind Ganyu.

Ganyu also felt a foul gust of wind coming from behind her.

She quickly stopped and rolled toward Bai Ye.

As she rolled to Bai Ye's side, Ganyu stretched out her hand.

Bai Ye reached out and pulled Ganyu to her feet.

In an extremely short span of time, the two of them helped Ganyu escape the trap.

A figure several meters tall landed on the ground, smashing a huge crater into it.

Only then did Bai Ye and Ganyu see it clearly.

It was a Hilichurl King.

"Those Hilichurls are really petty. It was just one night in the cold. Did they really have to call someone over for revenge?"

Bai Ye thought to himself, then raised his Handheld Crossbow again and fired at the Hilichurl King.

But not only did the Hilichurl King fail to retreat, it instead stepped forward several paces.

It took the attack head-on.

"Something's wrong."

Bai Ye said quietly.

By the firelight, he and Ganyu could see obvious black energy emerging from its body.

"It's been affected by something."

Ganyu said to Bai Ye.

Seeing this, Bai Ye also set the Handheld Crossbow aside.

Now was the time for him to show off his Art of Automata.

Although he had only just mastered the Art of Automata, Bai Ye believed that in his hands, it would be no less formidable.