The Art of W Corp.'s Cleanup

Deep in his consciousness, Wei Zhenzu summoned the system panel.

Looking at the 130 Lunacy he had accumulated along the way and from containing Scorched Girl, he decisively pressed the [Single Extraction] button.

Golden light erupted in the dim corridor of the Mirror Dungeon.

"Ryoshu. Yoro-shiku. Pfft."

A languid voice, one that pursued the "art of killing" to an extreme, echoed in Wei Zhenzu's mind.

Then a hint of dangerous displeasure entered the voice:

"Absurd. Making me a b.g."

[Identity Extraction successful: Ryoshu - W Corp. Level 3 Cleanup Agent]

As the identity overwrote his own, Wei Zhenzu's red Dante coat dissolved into a stream of data. A sleek, form-fitting blue W Corp. uniform with a highly futuristic look took its place.

A high-frequency odachi materialized in his hand, glowing with dark blue plasma.

Influenced by Ryoshu's aggressive personality and penchant for abbreviations, Wei Zhenzu's formerly mild demeanor instantly turned cold. A chilling artistic obsession shone in his eyes.

He instinctively raised two fingers, intending to fish out a cigarette and put it in his mouth for inspiration, but came up empty.

"G.m.s.t.b." Without looking back, Wei Zhenzu held out a hand to Paimon behind him, his voice as cold as a cutting machine.

"Huh? S-something to bite?"

The murderous aura warning people to keep their distance made Paimon shudder. She hurriedly rummaged through her pockets and finally pulled out a Calla Lily-flavored lollipop she had been saving for a late-night snack. She carefully placed it in Wei Zhenzu's black tactical-gloved palm.

Expressionless, Wei Zhenzu tore off the wrapper and put the lollipop in his mouth.

The dark blue light of the blade reflected in his razor-sharp eyes. He slowly lowered his center of gravity, tightened his grip on the hilt, and fixed his gaze on the group of Level 1 Lust and Gluttony Peccatula on the outer edge of the encirclement.

The fluorescent stripes on the W Corp. uniform flickered as if breathing. The high-frequency odachi's hum rose from a low rumble to a shriek sharp enough to tear eardrums.

"C.T." (Cleanup time.)

Biting down on the lollipop's plastic stick, Wei Zhenzu spoke through a muffled but cocky voice.

He lowered his head slightly, the loose strands of hair over his forehead concealing the fiercely fanatical scarlet in his eyes.

"I.e.m.w.y.e." (I will engrave my work in your eyes.)

The next second.

Sonic boom

Wei Zhenzu vanished.

His whole body became a bolt of dark blue lightning as he drew his blade and charged straight into their ranks.

There were no lengthy incantations, no flashy elemental reactions from Teyvat. In the eyes of a W Corp. Level 3 Cleanup Agent, there was only pure physical speed and the absolutely lethal law of spatial cutting.

The odachi sliced through the air, leaving a blue dimensional rift that lingered for a long time.

A massive Gluttony Peccatulum covered in pustules roared and tried to charge with a headbutt.

It had not even finished leaping when the blade flashed.

Its massive body abruptly slid apart along a smooth diagonal cut, the two halves shifting out of alignment.

With every slash and every tricky thrust from Wei Zhenzu, the plasma light building up on the odachi grew more dazzling.

[Charge +2]

[Charge +4]

This was [Charge], the core combat mechanic of the W Corp. identity.

As the vast amount of energy accumulated, even the gravitational field around him seemed to go haywire.

The rubble on the ground rose into the air in defiance of reason, only to be reduced to ash the instant it touched the blade's light.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

Using their companions' corpses as cover, two cunning Lust Peccatula lunged from Wei Zhenzu's blind spot. Their revolting mouthparts gaped wide and were already closing in on the back of his neck.

"Watch your back!" Eula's heart clenched, and she cried out instinctively, a layer of cold sweat instantly breaking out on her palms.

But Wei Zhenzu did not even turn his head.

"Too slow. Too dull. N.o.s.o.b."

Click.

He casually reversed his grip on the blade and, without looking, sharply drew a glowing "#" behind him.

The Peccatula froze in midair, even their screams locked tight in their throats.

The next second, they fell apart with a clatter, becoming dozens of cubes of flesh with perfectly equal edges that landed neatly on the ground.

The monsters that had left the Knights of Favonius and the Abyss Mages helpless were like blocks of soft tofu before him, cut apart at will.

"Th-this is the power he spoke of? The power to defy common sense?" Eula's fingers trembled slightly around her greatsword.

Her throat felt dry. The scene before her had completely overturned the Lawrence Clan's understanding of "swordsmanship," built over centuries.

That extreme violence, which ignored resistance and cut through space, gave her goosebumps here in the cold ruins.

The three Abyss Mages were utterly dumbfounded.

They huddled tightly together in a corner, every hair on their bodies standing on end as they trembled.

Watching the man with a lollipop in his mouth dice the terrifying monsters into uniform geometric cubes, they were too terrified to breathe loudly.

They were afraid that if they breathed too loudly and spoiled the "artist's" enjoyment, he would casually slice them into Abyss sashimi.

Hummm!

The light on the odachi was too bright to look at directly, and its high-frequency vibrations made everyone's hearts resonate uneasily.

One last dazzling streak of blue light refracted into a sharp angle in midair, and the last Lust Peccatulum fell apart in midair.

Wei Zhenzu slowly straightened and elegantly flicked his wrist. The dark blue odachi left an afterimage in the air as he cleanly shook the nonexistent residue from its blade.

Crunch.

He gently bit through the remaining candy in his mouth, and with that crisp sound, the scarlet in his eyes slowly faded.

"Final stroke."

The battle ended quickly.

The lollipop in Wei Zhenzu's mouth had melted halfway, while the odachi in his hand, having accumulated a vast amount of Charge, emitted a dangerous high-frequency hum that even made the surrounding space warp slightly.

Wei Zhenzu glanced at the pieces scattered across the ground and gave a mocking sneer.

"A splendid exhibition. Ha, should I tell them I'm eternally grateful?"

He turned around, and a holographic map automatically appeared on his retina.

The broad corridor ahead came to an end, and the route split:

On the left was a dense stretch of ordinary [Combat Nodes] joined together, while on the right, a solitary [Abnormality Event Node] glowed with an eerie red light.

Influenced by Ryoshu's identity, he now kept his words as brief as possible and went straight to the point.

"Jean. S.u." Biting the candy stick, Wei Zhenzu pointed at the map.

"Left side. You, Eula, take Klee. Search and rescue. With her nuclear cannon there, those ordinary monsters can't stop you."

"What about you?" Jean looked at the humming plasma odachi by his wrist, a trace of concern flashing in her eyes.

"Right side. Tough nut. Mine."

Wei Zhenzu said no more.

He had to meet the dangerous special Abnormality while the vast amount of Charge had yet to dissipate.

He grabbed the back of the collar of Paimon, who was still floating in a daze, and carried the tactical accessory in his hand as he stepped without looking back into the Abnormality node, which gave off an eerie red glow and an aura of distortion.

"Waaah, Traveler, put me down! I can fly by myself~"