Liyue Trojan Horse

The Fatui Debt Collector, Viktor, took off his hood and carefully adjusted the headband he wore.

He rubbed his head, feeling an intense headache.

"I wonder when The Doctor's experiment will yield results," Viktor murmured to himself.

He was one of the Debt Collectors under the Fatui's Second Executive, The Doctor.

Not long ago, Fatui members had secretly discovered this Adeptal abode.

The Doctor then brought them here and established an experimental base.

The Doctor discovered it was an abode left by an Adeptus who studied souls, so he began his own research here.

The Fatui Debt Collectors who followed him became the test subjects.

Soon, The Doctor created an experimental device.

After these elite Debt Collectors put on the device, their speed and strength would continuously increase, making them stronger.

However, this came with side effects.

Even for Debt Collectors like them, they suffered splitting headaches after each use.

The Doctor had previously experimented on ordinary people, who went completely insane in a short period.

Only they, the elite Fatui, could endure it.

As Viktor was thinking, his dorm room door opened, and another Debt Collector walked in.

"Let's go, we're starting our patrol. The Doctor received a message from Snezhnaya today stating that the results here will be used for Childe's mission in Liyue. Childe will be arriving soon, so we need to patrol more often. The last time Liyue adventurers appeared near the base, it angered the higher-ups. We must prevent such a thing from happening again."

The second Debt Collector said to Viktor.

"Understood, for Her Majesty the Tsaritsa."

Viktor nodded, then put the headband back on his head, changed his clothes, and prepared to resume his patrol.

The two Debt Collectors went out and joined other Fatui Debt Collectors.

They formed a team and began patrolling the base.

The patrol wasn't difficult.

There were only two entrances.

One was concealed, so they just needed to ensure it wasn't opened.

They primarily patrolled the larger entrance.

Viktor patrolled back and forth as usual.

Since someone had entered yesterday, they needed to patrol more frequently.

However, while patrolling, Viktor felt as if someone was watching him.

He immediately scanned his surroundings several times but found nothing.

Was it just a hallucination from yesterday's incident?

Never mind, The defenses here would surely be improved once Childe took over.

Viktor continued his patrol with peace of mind.

"These guys really are Debt Collectors. But, these fellows always feel much stronger than ordinary Debt Collectors."

Bai Ye hadn't expected to encounter the Fatui again.

Upon arriving at the entrance of this Adeptal abode, he immediately began constructing the automaton he had used to escape the maze diagram last time. This time, he only needed to make one, and he put extra care into it.

After finishing, he installed a camera on it and then commanded the robot to depart.

Once the robot set off, Bai Ye began watching the video feed on the black crystal screen.

Ganyu and Hu Tao crowded beside him, observing from either side.

With pressure on one side and none on the other, Bai Ye felt his arm was quite awkward.

After carefully inspecting the entrance, Bai Ye quickly put away the screen.

"It's clear now, our enemy is still the Fatui. However, we have no idea what's going on with these Debt Collectors, nor how they're getting stronger. If we attack directly, even if we defeat them, the research within might be destroyed.

If we don't understand the secrets, they might develop more such things next time. Furthermore, the entire Adeptal abode could be thrown into chaos by them."

Defeating the Fatui wasn't difficult; the challenge was to thoroughly investigate.

Even more difficult was protecting the Adeptal abode.

Bai Ye attached great importance to this.

On a small scale, the Adeptal treasures could be exchanged for a lot of Mora; on a larger scale, what if the Adeptus who studied souls had a method to help his teacher recover?

"So, we need to go in stealthily first and take control of the research base?" Hu Tao asked Bai Ye. But then, she shook her head. "This base is guarded by Fatui Debt Collectors. They're professional infiltrators, so it'll be quite difficult to sneak past them!"

"I don't have any great ideas," Ganyu said, looking down.

She felt increasingly useless.

She would soon be surpassed by her junior disciple brother.

When she got back, she absolutely had to find a way to prove herself.

"This is indeed tricky. It's a shame I'm not Yelan; I don't have such good infiltration skills." Bai Ye couldn't think of a way to infiltrate for the moment. He didn't have Yelan's abilities.

Hu Tao rested her chin on her hands. "Yeah, none of us three have infiltration skills, so we can only force our way in. It's a pity we can't be as small as that automaton and go unnoticed."

It was truly regrettable that the base materials were destroyed.

Hearing Hu Tao's words, Bai Ye silently took out the maze diagram he was holding.

"It seems like we actually can." He said to Hu Tao and Ganyu.

"This is also an Adeptal artifact. If it's found inside this Adeptal abode, wouldn't that be perfectly normal?" Anyway, Ganyu still suspected he was Cloud Retainer's disciple, so he might as well use her artifact.

Looking at the maze diagram, Ganyu recognized it at a glance. It was a mechanism her teacher was very fond of. One time, her teacher had mentioned losing it after going out. And now it appeared here. Teacher, are you secretly arranging things for Junior Disciple Brother and keeping it from us? We know you treat him well, we won't be jealous. Ganyu glanced somewhat resentfully in the direction of Mt. Aocang.

Mt. Aocang.

Cloud Retainer couldn't help but shiver. She looked around. Who is slandering this immortal?

"Next, Hu Tao and I will enter the maze diagram. Miss Ganyu, you'll stay outside to guard. Then I'll use the mechanism to send this maze diagram in. If any more Fatui arrive, you can hold them off." Bai Ye began to divide the tasks for the next steps. Someone had to stay outside.

"Okay." Ganyu nodded.

Then, Bai Ye and Hu Tao entered the mechanism diagram. Ganyu began looking for an opportunity to send it into the Adeptal abode. Bai Ye's automaton had already marked the launch position for her. Once it was fired, the Adeptal abode would explode. Then, an Adeptal treasure would 'coincidentally' appear within it.