Lumine and Paimon began to teach Scarlett that before protecting others, she must first protect herself, which also subtly highlighted the issues with Scarlett’s current approach.
Scarlett fell silent for a long while after listening.
Paimon wanted to comfort her, but Lumine told her to let Scarlett be alone for a bit.
Fortunately, Scarlett’s emotions came and went quickly.
After walking for a while, she was back to chatting and laughing with Lumine and Paimon, though the previous topic was not brought up again.
If Scarlett didn’t mention it, Lumine and Paimon wouldn’t either.
Looking at Scarlett’s current state, Lumine shook her head; she always felt that Scarlett hadn’t truly taken in what she and Paimon had said.
This kind of thing couldn’t be rushed; it was best to take it slowly, believing that as her experience grew, Scarlett’s thoughts would change accordingly.
Perhaps it was Scarlett’s illusion, but after getting familiar with Lumine, the latter seemed much more enthusiastic; sometimes, after looking at her for a long time, Scarlett would even feel shy.
…
In the player’s live stream, the live chat was full of people expressing their opinions.
[Chat] Aww, truly an angel, but compared to others, her own safety is the most important, darling!
[Chat] Scarlett’s ideas are still too naive; she hasn’t met those vicious people yet~ [Chat] My wife is too well protected by her brother-in-law; she doesn’t know the dangers of society.
[Chat] She’s too sweet!
…
Scarlett led Lumine and Paimon to the mining spot she remembered.
Indeed, it hadn’t been discovered, and the mineral resources were very rich.
Lumine pulled out a Claymore and quickly gathered a pile of materials.
Lumine using a Claymore was a rare sight.
Scarlett helped collect, while Paimon cheered them on from the side.
“This should be enough; we’ll sell the excess!” Even with a large sum of Mora on her, Paimon didn’t miss a chance to earn more, diligently working with Lumine to put the ore into her self-contained spatial backpack.
“Scarlett, look, this one is so beautiful, Ro…” Little Paimon couldn’t find Scarlett and looked around, spotting her on a stone.
“Scarlett, what are you looking at?” Paimon followed Scarlett’s gaze and saw a tall, towering snow-capped mountain, its peak hidden in the clouds, its body pure white.
Paimon’s small mouth was slightly agape, very surprised: “Eh~ Is that Dragonspine?!” Lumine also came to Scarlett’s side and likewise saw Dragonspine.
Scarlett glanced at Lumine, noticed her eyes gleaming, and immediately understood her thoughts.
This wouldn’t do; she was still playing the game yesterday, and Dragonspine wasn’t open yet.
If it were just Scarlett herself, she might be able to go, but with Lumine, it was a no-go.
Paimon was still nearby, and she didn’t want to hear that famous line: “How about we explore the area ahead of us later!” Besides, Scarlett wasn’t even looking at Dragonspine right now…
“Lumine, did you see it?” Scarlett lowered her voice, sounding mysterious.
Lumine also lowered her voice: “What?” Scarlett pointed with her finger: “Over there, by that small stream, it’s the Fatui!” The Fatui?!
Lumine immediately became alert; after the previous events, she had no goodwill towards the Fatui.
Paimon also saw them: “There are so many of them, I wonder what they’re doing.
Hmph, it must be some conspiracy.
How about we quietly go and take a look?!” Paimon’s suggestion was approved by Scarlett and Lumine, and the three of them quietly left, slowly creeping towards where the Fatui were gathered.
Scarlett was a bit excited now; besides this being her first time engaging in such a thrilling stealth operation, a bigger reason was: The highest leader among the Fatui over there was none other than her Snezhnaya alias, Bianca!
Bianca was one of Kyomi’s highest combat power aliases, a born warrior; for one thing, her older brother, Ajax, couldn’t beat her.
Because she had lost a duel against The Captain and was subsequently saved by him, she—being someone who honored her bets and had a strong personality—followed him from then on, becoming his adjutant.
The three of them secretly arrived behind a fallen tree trunk, quietly peeking out with their three little heads in a row.
Paimon: “How strange, they seem to be moving something.” Scarlett immediately spotted Bianca, surrounded by many Fatui; she gently nudged Lumine with her arm: “Lumine, look, over there, by the tree near the bonfire, that person seems to be their leader!” After Scarlett’s reminder, Lumine immediately looked, and upon seeing Bianca, Lumine’s pupils contracted, and the hand on Scarlett’s shoulder suddenly tightened.
Under the distant tree, Bianca stood facing the wind, clad in silver-white armor, wearing a full-face mask and a white hooded cape, looking heroic, elegant, and ethereal.
From this angle, her armor gleamed so brightly it was almost blinding.
Scarlett also thought it was so cool; Bianca’s figure with this outfit was simply perfect!
From the player’s perspective, Zoey’s live stream went completely crazy.
[Chat] Ahhh, who is this?!
[Chat] Holy cow, this armor is so cool!
[Chat] Signora and her, are the villain characters all this good-looking?!
[Chat] Which Harbinger is this?!
[Chat] So cool, both fierce and handsome, I love it, I love it!
…
Zoey reacted even more strongly; a girl who usually looked quiet, gentle, and beautiful was now going wild.
“Holy cow, did you guys see that?
She is so cool, so cool, so cool, so cool!
A female knight?
Or a female general?
She must be entering the gacha pool, right?!
She must be entering the gacha pool, right?!” The live stream screen remained on Bianca; Zoey simply couldn’t bear to look away.
“Hype it up, hype it up, everyone!
No wonder Allogene topped all charts just two days after its release; the game company is so generous!
The character models are one cooler and better-looking than the last.
Can you really play this without spending money?!” Zoey’s words received unanimous agreement in the live stream.
She really loved emphasizing that this was a free game, but she wondered if she would still say that when it came to pulling characters later.
After admiring Bianca for a long time and taking several screenshots, Zoey finally entered the next part of the story.
…
Mondstadt.
Scarlett looked at Lumine in surprise.
Her reaction, was it excitement?!
Scarlett didn’t recall Bianca having any contact with Lumine?
“Lumine, what’s wrong?” “Ahem, nothing, nothing at all.” “What are they doing?” Paimon was very puzzled; after watching for a long time, the Fatui were just quietly working, not saying a word.
Scarlett knew, and she was even the one who facilitated it, but how could she possibly say anything?
Looking at Lumine and Paimon, Scarlett said: “How about we go back first and tell Acting Grand Master Jean about these things!” “Mhm, mhm, no matter what the Fatui are doing, we must let Acting Grand Master Jean be prepared.” Paimon said so, and Lumine also nodded.
The three of them quietly snuck back the same way they came.
The perspective shifted to the Fatui.
After the three little ones left, Bianca looked towards the tree trunk where they had been hiding.
“Commander, they’ve left, should we…” Bianca put a finger to her lips, making a ‘shush’ gesture, looking like a mastermind villain with everything under control.
And all of this was seen by the players outside the game.