Venti was utterly disappointed that he hadn't managed to prank Zhongli.
"No way, old man, was my acting really that bad?"
Zhongli gave a slight nod.
"Yes."
Venti took out a pair of chopsticks and handed them to Zhongli.
"Old man, have some of these snacks with your drink too."
Zhongli accepted the chopsticks, picked up a slice of Spicy Pig Ear Salad, and put it into his mouth.
The fresh, fragrant taste of chili complemented the crisp, tender texture of the pig ear perfectly.
"Mmm~ These drinking snacks taste quite good."
The two drank and chatted over the snacks.
What they did not know was that the aroma of the food drifted on the wind and into a nearby adeptal abode.
Inside the abode, Cloud Retainer, who had been tinkering with mechanisms using her tools, suddenly raised her head and took a deep sniff of the fragrance in the air.
"What is that smell? Why is it so fragrant?"
Following the direction from which the scent drifted, Cloud Retainer discovered that it was coming from outside the abode.
Thus, Cloud Retainer opened the door and stepped outside.
The moment she emerged from the cave concealing the abode's entrance, Cloud Retainer spotted Venti and Zhongli drinking in the distance.
"Barbatos? Rex Lapis?"
With a beat of her wings, Cloud Retainer flew over to the two of them.
"Rex Lapis, Venti."
In earlier years, Venti had often come to Liyue to visit and was well acquainted with the various adepti.
Coupled with Venti's easygoing personality, most of Liyue's adepti directly called this incarnation of his by name, except for Xiao, who had received Venti's grace.
"Cloud Retainer, it's you. Long time no see!" Venti waved at her.
Zhongli also gave Cloud Retainer a slight nod.
Cloud Retainer glanced at the wine and food on the table.
"Venti, after all these years, you still love drinking as much as ever."
Venti gave an "Ehe."
"Of course. Cloud Retainer, want to try some? I brought all of this from Another World."
Cloud Retainer looked at Venti in surprise.
"Another World?"
Venti smiled.
"That's right. If you don't believe me, ask the old man."
Cloud Retainer looked toward Zhongli with a questioning gaze.
Zhongli said,
"None of this food or wine is a product of Teyvat."
Cloud Retainer looked at Venti in disbelief.
"Venti, how did you travel to Another World?"
Venti took a sip of wine and told Cloud Retainer about Ye Yun.
After hearing everything, especially that Venti would take Zhongli to Another World tomorrow, Cloud Retainer immediately insisted that she would go along tomorrow.
Zhongli said,
"There is no need to rush this matter. Barbatos and I will go first tomorrow. Once we have confirmed things, we will bring the rest of you adepti over."
Since Zhongli had spoken, Cloud Retainer dejectedly agreed.
Seeing this, Venti handed Cloud Retainer a pair of chopsticks.
"Ah, don't think so much about it. Come, have some with us."
Cloud Retainer looked at the drinking snacks on the table. They certainly smelled delicious.
So, Cloud Retainer accepted the chopsticks and began eating.
Belobog Underworld.
Dan Heng brought Welt to the scene.
The instant Welt saw Stelle, he froze on the spot.
More precisely, he had seen the Divine Key: Judgment of Shamash in Stelle's hand.
"Stelle, where did you get that weapon?"
Stelle waved the Divine Key: Judgment of Shamash in her hand.
"Uncle Yang, you mean this? I won it in a lottery from Ye Yun. What do you think? Cool, right? Hehe."
Welt wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Cool. Can you let me take a look?"
Stelle handed the Divine Key: Judgment of Shamash to Welt.
"Here, Uncle Yang. Be careful. Using this weapon consumes stamina."
Welt took the Divine Key: Judgment of Shamash and examined it. He had already determined that it was practically identical to the one he knew.
The only difference was that the one he knew unleashed extremely intense heat when used, while this one merely consumed stamina.
Welt could not help thinking that if the Divine Key: Judgment of Shamash in his world only consumed stamina too...
Hiss!!!
Welt sharply drew in a breath.
Seeing him like this, Stelle asked with concern,
"Uncle Yang, what's wrong?"
Welt came back to his senses and shook his head.
"It's nothing. Here, take it back."
Stelle took back the Divine Key: Judgment of Shamash, transformed it into Dual Pistol Form, and holstered it at her waist.
Welt looked at Svarog nearby.
"Is this the automaton?"
Dan Heng nodded slightly.
"Yes."
March 7th chimed in as well.
"Uncle Yang, hurry and fix him for us. Svarog is very important family to Clara."
Upon hearing that Svarog was connected to Clara, Welt immediately thought of the robot Clara had mentioned that taught her mechanical knowledge.
"Alright, let me take a look first."
After inspecting him for a while, Welt said,
"The problem isn't serious. A few connection points were burned out. I just need to replace them."
More than ten minutes later, Welt had repaired Svarog, and Svarog stood up.
"Thank you, unfamiliar human."
Welt shook his head slightly.
"No need to thank me. If there is nothing else, I'll head back first."
With that, Welt bid farewell to Stelle, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Svarog before returning to the train.
Stelle patted Svarog's thigh.
"Svarog, what happened earlier? Why did you attack us without a word?"
Svarog said,
"The Stellaron. Forbidden. Contact must not be permitted."
Only then did the three understand. So they had touched forbidden information within Svarog's programming. No wonder Svarog had suddenly gone berserk.
After staying for a while, Svarog led the automatons back to the Robot Settlement.
Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng headed for Boulder Town.
The three entered Boulder Town and immediately saw Natasha, Seele, and Bronya in the distance, discussing something with worried expressions.
Stelle waved.
"Natasha, Seele, Bronya, what are you talking about?"
Natasha turned around.
"It's you. Have you finished your business?"
March 7th nodded.
"We're done. Svarog has been repaired and already took his automatons back. What about you? What are you discussing here?"
Before Natasha could answer, Seele cut in.
"We're discussing whether to make a trip to Rivets Town. A lot of people were injured after this battle, and we're running out of medical supplies."
Upon hearing that, Stelle patted her chest.
"Then let's go. We'll come with you."
Natasha shook her head and refused.
"No need. Seele and Bronya are enough. You just helped us with a major problem, so get some rest first."
March 7th said,
"It's fine. Let's go together."
Stelle added from the side,
"Exactly. I'm the righteous Galaxy Bat Hero. How could I ignore people who need help?"
Seeing this, Natasha could not bring herself to refuse.
"Then be careful. If things cannot be done, do not act recklessly."
Stelle and the others agreed.
Soon, the five of them headed to Rivets Town together.
The moment they arrived in Rivets Town, they were attacked by a group of Fragmentum Monsters.
Fortunately, Bronya noticed them in time and swiftly drew her gun.
"Watch out!"
Bronya fired a shot, killing a thunderbird that had been trying to ambush them.
The others hurriedly drew their weapons and entered combat stance.
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