Inazuma.
On a small island beneath Yashiori Island.
Amid the constant, unrelenting storms, a small tent had been set up.
Surrounding it were crew members of the Alcor. While they appeared to be resting, in truth, their eyes were sharp and alert, vigilantly watching everything around them.
Inside the tent, a rather unbelievable meeting was taking place.
Within were Beidou, Kokomi, and Kamisato Ayaka.
The three of them sat facing each other.
If Kujou Sara were to witness this, she would undoubtedly fly into a rage.
Not only were the Shogunate's Lady Kamisato Ayaka and the leader of the Sangonomiya Resistance Kokomi peacefully sitting together, but this location was deep behind Narukami Island. How on earth had Kokomi managed to get here?
Of course, if Kujou Sara were to ask, Beidou wouldn't mind laughing it off and giving an explanation:
The Alcor roamed the seas, and naturally had its own tricks.
With a bit of cooperation from the Yashiro Commission...
Escorting Kokomi all the way into Inazuma City would've been no problem at all.
However, at this moment, the three women clearly weren't in high spirits.
Beidou was somewhat gloomy, taking large swigs of alcohol.
Kamisato Ayaka and Kokomi looked on, visibly concerned.
"Miss Beidou, how are things? Over in Liyue…" Ayaka couldn't hold back any longer. While she could already tell from Beidou's expression that things hadn't gone well, she still clung to a sliver of hope.
Beidou slammed the bottle down on the table and said in a deep voice:
"Ningguang refused."
"She refused?!" Ayaka exclaimed in shock.
"Miss Beidou, I understand that we currently don't have much leverage to negotiate with Liyue, but we have ley line materials. Can't we use those to make an exchange?"
"Even if Liyue raises the price, we can still accept it!"
Kokomi seemed to have thought of something and let out a quiet sigh, lowering her eyes without speaking.
Beidou rubbed her temples, clearly irritated.
"It's not about the price…"
"Ningguang won't allow Liyue to openly interfere in the internal affairs of another nation."
"And alchemical potions... they won't be sold."
Ayaka wanted to argue further.
Liyue's supplies were far too important for the resistance.
Their last major victory had pushed the frontlines forward by a hundred kilometers—the resistance's outlook was very promising. But now, Liyue was backing out?
Not to mention, if it weren't for Beidou's continuous smuggling of food and resources, and the Yashiro Commission quietly supporting the civilian population…
The people of Inazuma would be suffering even more.
"Miss Beidou, could you try negotiating again? Inazuma really needs these things... If the Vision Hunt Decree continues, the entire nation will be doomed!"
Before Beidou could respond, Kokomi gently interjected:
"Ayaka, there's no need to say more…"
She sighed softly and murmured:
"If I'm not mistaken, the reason the Tianquan Ningguang refuses to act... is because it's the Geo Archon's will, right?"
Beidou slowly nodded. Kokomi gave a bitter smile.
"I figured… For the Geo Archon, who strictly adheres to contracts, interfering in another nation's domestic affairs is absolutely forbidden."
"In any case, we are still deeply grateful for your help, Miss Beidou. Without you, we really wouldn't have been able to hold out…"
Kokomi bowed slightly and said no more.
Seeing this, Beidou couldn't help but recall the civilians still suffering under war's torment. She clenched her fist.
"Ningguang keeps a tight hold on alchemical potions and treasures—I really can't help you there."
"But when it comes to iron ore and food, she's willing to turn a blind eye."
"So don't worry. The trade of those materials is proceeding normally."
"The prices are the same as before. They won't go up."
To be honest, doing business in Inazuma didn't make Beidou much money.
She only earned a bit in shipping costs—just enough to give her Alcor crew a fair report.
At the end of the day, Beidou simply couldn't bear to watch innocent people suffer.
They reminded her of her own childhood...
"This much is enough," Kokomi said, adjusting her mood.
"It's just that the resistance doesn't have much Mora. We'll have to pay you in raw materials…"
"That's fine," Beidou shook her head, unwilling to say more.
Suddenly, she recalled the group she had seen the other day—Jean and the others.
Something sparked in her mind, and she said:
"Before I left, I saw Acting Grand Master Jean from Mondstadt's Knights of Favonius. It seems Ningguang had invited her to the Jade Chamber for a deal…"
"If you all…"
Mid-sentence, Beidou paused. She had thought of Inazuma's situation, shook her head, and said no more.
She could move freely in Inazuma's waters only because the Alcor was powerful enough, and the divine power of the Geo Archon lingered on her ship.
Even the Raiden Shogun, as a puppet operating by a set program, had to give face to the Geo Archon.
But for Kokomi and Ayaka… that wasn't the case.
Even bringing them aboard the Alcor wouldn't be enough.
The divine barrier left by the Raiden Shogun wasn't so easily bypassed.
"Forget it. Let's drink."
Beidou sighed lightly and said:
"Go check the supplies in a bit and take them back with you. As for the Mora, I'll handle that before I leave. No rush."
"Also, I specially brought a good amount of lapis resources this time. It's a mineral that resonates with elemental energy."
"Study it. You might be able to forge new weapons."
Ayaka and Kokomi let go of their earlier worries and began chatting with Beidou.
Listening to her describe the changes in Liyue, the two felt as if they were hearing of a whole new world.
That Inazuma, battered by war and hardship, now looked across the sea to see a thriving Liyue.
Liyue had become so powerful. Its people could live such prosperous and joyful lives.
Undeniably, this was one of Kokomi's greatest motivations to keep fighting.
She too wanted to restore Inazuma to what it once was—
Peaceful, prosperous, and happy, like Liyue.
The banquet at the Jade Chamber had ended.
Or rather, it had already ended the moment they witnessed the TNT duplicator.
Jean and the others were left speechless in shock. Naturally, the banquet couldn't continue after that.
After telling Jean and the rest that the courtyard on that side would be completed in a few days, Ningguang had someone escort them back to their temporary residence.
However, unlike Ningguang and her group who simply went to bed, Jean and the others ended up gathering in the conference room without saying a word.
An awkward silence filled the room — no one knew what to say.
After a while, Lisa finally spoke with a soft sigh.
"I originally thought that TNT was nothing more than dropping barrels of gunpowder from the sky… but I never expected this..."
The power of TNT had far exceeded Lisa's imagination.
Just a single cubic meter of TNT had an explosion radius spanning over a hundred meters.
Even within a 40-meter radius, it was considered the epicenter. Any living being caught within it would die instantly.
The juvenile Geovishap, a high-level monster that was only slightly weaker than the Rock Shieldwall Mitachurl, had been blown to pieces effortlessly.
This was something gunpowder barrels could never achieve.
What's more…
The amount of TNT was far beyond what Lisa could have imagined.
"Yeah..."
Diluc sighed, gazing out the window toward the Jade Chamber.
His eyes burned with longing and passion.
"As long as you place the lever and press it, you can launch TNT endlessly."
"There's practically no difficulty in operating it. Doesn't that mean such a war fortress could be easily controlled by just a dozen people?"
"Even ordinary people with no experience could use it at any time..."
"Redstone technology... just as Ningguang and the others said, it's terrifying."
"If only we had such a war fortress too..."
Diluc's blood boiled at the thought of piloting a war fortress and bombing a Fatui base from the sky.
The legendary feat of Alice blowing up Stormterror's Lair — perhaps it could be recreated today?
"Klee would definitely love the Jade Chamber."
Lumine joked with a cheerful grin.
As absurd as the Jade Chamber was, Lumine somehow found herself oddly accepting of it.
Although much of her memory was unclear, she had a vague sense that she had seen something like this before...
In another world…
There were also machines capable of aerial bombing.
Just… none as ridiculous as the Jade Chamber.
"I wonder how much floating stones cost... and how long it would take to build one..."
Jean shook her head and sighed helplessly.
There was no point thinking about alchemical potions or weapon enchantments to increase base strength anymore.
Give Mondstadt a Jade Chamber, and they could drive the Fatui out of Mond territory altogether.
But obviously, this wasn't something that could be built so easily.
At the end of the day, Liyue had deep foundations — they could absorb these things much more easily.
And with their already immense power, they had the luxury of time to master even more strength.
They didn't need to worry about as many things as Mondstadt did.
"Let's put the Jade Chamber aside for now. In the short term, neither Redstone technology nor the Jade Chamber are things we can control."
Recalling what Ningguang had said to her earlier, Jean calmed her thoughts and prepared to take things step by step.
"What's urgent now is that we need to quickly familiarize ourselves with the special traits of this world and acquire enough knowledge."
"Only then can we bring in the Knights of Favonius to take residence… Tonight, I'll copy Keqing's notebook."
Lisa, who was flipping through the notebook nearby, nodded in agreement with a sigh.
"We really do need to take this notebook seriously. It contains synthesis methods for many tools — even the recipe for TNT."
"In addition, it has annotations on some basic technologies. Once we master what's in this notebook, our progress will speed up significantly."
"Looks like I'll be busy conducting some experiments tomorrow."
With that, Lisa closed the notebook and handed it to Jean with a playful smile.
"So then, Captain Jean — what's your plan?"
Jean's eyes flickered briefly before she softly replied:
"Of course, we proceed step by step. First, we master this knowledge. Then, we bring in Klee to open the lucky blocks, assemble the Knights, and resolve Mondstadt's civilian issues."
"After that, we expand. Liyue has already provided us with a feasible path — all we need to do is follow it."
Her well-organized plan made Lisa and the others nod in approval.
But…
That wasn't the answer Lisa was looking for.
In fact, it wasn't even close to the heart of her question — Jean was deliberately avoiding a certain topic.
Lisa waved her hand, then looked toward Venti and asked softly:
"Lord Barbatos, what do you think? Was that the answer you were hoping to hear?"
Venti blinked and smiled slyly.
"Ehe! Well actually…"
Before he could finish, a sudden gust of ominous wind blew in from outside the window.
Xiao floated silently outside, gave the group a small nod, then fixed his eyes on Venti.
"Lord Barbatos, the Geo Archon has summoned you."
Venti's face froze.
Crap.
Looks like that petty old dragon Zhongli wants to have a chat about that whole "slap your ancestors" comment from earlier.
Tch!
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have laughed so hard!
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