When Paimon finally saw what Zhong Baiye was holding...
She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, then looked at Zhong Baiye with admiration, giving him a mental thumbs-up.
"Good job! You actually dared to do something like this. That's my archrival for you!"
What Zhong Baiye held wasn't Paimon's treasure, but a pair of blue panties with lace trim and a little bear design.
As Lumine's companion, Paimon knew at a glance that these couldn't belong to her.
They couldn't belong to Paimon or Zhong Baiye either. With those three ruled out, it was obvious whose panties they were.
Paimon studied the panties carefully, then delivered her appraisal in imitation of an expert.
"Oh my! Who would've thought the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing would wear something both cute and sexy? So young and daring!"
At Paimon's appraisal, Keqing's face grew even redder.
Lumine, meanwhile, muttered regretfully, "Big brother, I wouldn't mind even if you were a pervert. If you really wanted to do this, why didn't you do it to me?"
Zhong Baiye finally came to his senses. He looked at the panties in his hand, then at Keqing, whose face was as red as red ink, and a surge of hot blood burst forth.
Two streams of blood ran from Zhong Baiye's nose, but he had no time to worry about that.
"Hey, Keqing, I think these really suit you."
After saying that to Keqing, he tossed the panties back to her, then took off at full speed in the opposite direction.
"Ah!"
Though Keqing was one of the Liyue Qixing, she was still a young woman at heart. How could she ever have encountered anything like this? She caught the panties in a daze and let out a scream.
Then, moving too fast for anyone else to see, she slashed them into shreds.
"Zhong Baiye, stop right there! I'm really going to cut you down this time!"
With the Lion's Roar in hand, Keqing chased after Zhong Baiye at incredible speed.
Though Zhong Baiye had the support of a Vision, not everyone's physical capabilities were the same, and Keqing was in a state of extreme fury.
"Go, Keqing! Hurry up and cut down that hateful jerk!"
Watching them, Paimon laughed as she fanned the flames and cheered Keqing on.
Lumine, meanwhile, seemed to have made up her mind about something and shouted at the fleeing Zhong Baiye.
"Big brother, I wouldn't mind even if you were a pervert!"
Zhong Baiye felt terribly wronged. All he'd wanted to do was retrieve his Sigil of Permission from Paimon.
Who could have imagined that this stealing skill would be so amazing... no, so evil that it would steal that particular item from Keqing?
Zhong Baiye wanted to tell Keqing that he was a victim of this lousy skill too, but then he glanced back at her.
Yeah, Keqing isn't going to listen to my explanation. If I stop, she'll probably cut me down.
Keqing's eyes were practically blazing, and purple lightning danced across the Lion's Roar. Anyone could tell she was serious.
"Since you won't stop chasing me, Keqing, I'll have to use my ultimate move! Get ready!"
Zhong Baiye suddenly stopped and shouted at Keqing with a deadly serious expression.
Though furious, Keqing still retained a shred of reason. Seeing Zhong Baiye stop as though preparing a powerful move, she immediately took a defensive stance.
Seeing how serious Zhong Baiye looked, Lumine and Paimon sensed something was wrong and wanted to rush over to stop the two from fighting.
But what happened next left everyone dumbfounded.
Zhong Baiye actually dropped into a full prostration before Keqing, pressing his forehead firmly against the ground. Anyone could see how sincere he was.
Not only did he prostrate himself, he also shouted, "Keqing, I'm sorry! I was wrong! You can do whatever you want to me, as long as you forgive me!"
At the sight, Lumine and Paimon promptly put their hands to their foreheads, though they also breathed sighs of relief.
Seeing Zhong Baiye placing himself entirely at her mercy, Keqing found it rather comical, and the fury in her heart vanished without a trace.
But punishment was still necessary. Keqing firmly pressed the Lion's Roar against Zhong Baiye's body.
Just as Zhong Baiye thought Keqing was merely putting on a show, a tingling sensation spread from the spot on his back where the Lion's Roar touched him.
Bzzzt...
A flash of electricity passed through him, leaving Zhong Baiye's hair standing in a wild afro.
"Urp..."
His face was completely blackened, and he even spat out a ring of black smoke.
"I'll let you off this time. But if you ever do something like that to me or anyone else again, I certainly won't let you off lightly."
Though Keqing's tone was stern as she said this, her expression showed a hint of sympathy for Zhong Baiye.
Seeing Zhong Baiye in that state, Paimon immediately burst out laughing.
"That's what you get for picking on me every day! Serves you right!"
Worried that Keqing had gone too far, Lumine hurried over to help Zhong Baiye up.
Though he was blackened all over, Zhong Baiye was still full of energy and sprang up without Lumine's help.
He glanced at Keqing and Lumine with a sheepish look, discovering that although they seemed a little worried, there was also a hint in their eyes that suggested they were looking at a pervert.
Not wanting either of them to misunderstand him, he hurried to explain what had actually happened.
"So you're saying you didn't mean to do this, and your ability acted entirely on its own?"
Keqing looked at Zhong Baiye as though he were both a pervert and an idiot.
"Big brother, I wouldn't mind even if you were a pervert, but lying is wrong."
Lumine also sounded somewhat reproachful.
"How could an ability that perverted even exist?"
Paimon didn't believe a word of it either.
Zhong Baiye had just explained to them that he'd gained a special ability that could randomly steal an item nearby, but judging by their reactions, not one of them believed it was random.
He really had been wronged. He'd only wanted to try it on Paimon to see whether it worked, yet he'd ended up stealing that particular item from Keqing.
Seeing that no one believed him, Zhong Baiye decided to try the ability again to demonstrate it.
But as soon as he voiced the idea, Keqing's expression changed. She glared viciously at him, as though the moment he dared use that skill, he would be sliced into chunks of meat.
Zhong Baiye could only abandon the idea, thinking in resignation.
Fine, let them call me a pervert. It's better than being chopped into chunks of meat.
Besides, Zhong Baiye knew that he really had done that to Keqing. Whatever the skill was like, he was the one who had used it.
He'd even imagined doing something like that yesterday, so calling him a pervert wasn't exactly wrong.
It had to be said that Zhong Baiye was remarkably resilient. Even with everyone treating him as a pervert, he didn't feel the slightest discomfort.
Before you continue