Everyone had seen Xiao's strength firsthand.
With him joining the team, Keqing and the Traveler felt even more confident about this investigation.
Keqing said seriously, "No time to waste—let's head out now."
The Traveler nodded. "Agreed. I'm curious too—what kinds of places exist beyond the Seven Nations of Teyvat?"
However...
Ningguang shook her head again. "Hold on. One of your companions hasn't arrived yet."
Another companion?
But Xiao was already here.
Paimon looked at Ningguang in confusion. "Just how many teammates did you find for us? Who else is coming? Don't tell me it's that woman?"
If it was her...
The investigation would definitely go more smoothly. After all, she was powerful—and fast.
But Ningguang simply smiled and shook her head. "Not her. It's—"
Before she could finish, she caught sight of someone approaching from down the street. "She's here."
At her words, everyone turned to look where she was facing.
Sure enough, a familiar figure was making her way down the street—Hu Tao, the current head of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Seeing her, Paimon waved eagerly. "Hu Tao! Hu Tao! Over here! Are you coming with us too?"
Hu Tao jogged over. "Exploring unknown territory and looking for Zhongli? How could I not be part of that?"
Ever since Zhongli's mysterious disappearance, Hu Tao had scoured all of Liyue—she even went as far as Mondstadt—but still found no trace of him. It made her incredibly anxious.
Could the rumors really be true? That Zhongli had been killed by Hilichurls or Slimes?
No way—that was impossible.
Zhongli was too clever to die to something like that.
Still, Hu Tao was at a loss.
When she heard that Keqing, the Traveler, and the others were heading to investigate the unknown region, she wanted to go too—just in case Zhongli had accidentally entered it and never returned.
With Hu Tao joining, the team was now complete.
Keqing, the Traveler, Xiao, and Hu Tao formed a four-person investigation squad.
After a brief round of preparations, and with Ningguang accompanying them, they arrived at the Statue of The Seven on Tianheng Mountain, ready to teleport into the unknown.
Before they left, Ningguang gave them one final reminder.
"Keqing, Traveler, Xiao, Hu Tao—above all, stay safe. I'll be waiting for your return in Liyue."
Keqing nodded. "Don't worry. I'll get to the bottom of the Geo Archon statues."
As she finished speaking, she stepped forward toward the statue, extending one hand and gently placing it on its surface.
In an instant, a vast map unfolded before her eyes, displaying every Statue of The Seven across the continent of Teyvat.
Keqing selected the Geo Archon statue located in the unknown region and initiated teleportation.
The Traveler, Paimon, Xiao, and Hu Tao followed suit, each repeating the same motion.
Moments later—
A golden light flashed, and the group vanished from the spot.
Only Ningguang remained in front of the statue.
Staring silently at it, she murmured, "Lord Rex Lapis... did you really go to that unknown land? Are those two statues of The Seven also your creation?"
She paused in contemplation for a moment.
Then slowly turned and walked back toward Liyue Harbor.
...
At the same time—
Far away, in another universe entirely.
In the northern district of New Eridu City, inside a Hollow designated B47, the Hollow Special Operations Unit 6 had just arrived.
Hoshimi Miyabi, the unit chief, was joined by deputy chief Tsukishiro Yanagi, as well as agents Soukaku and Asaba Harumasa. The moment they entered the Hollow, they immediately noticed something strange.
Tsukishiro Yanagi studied the observation device in her hand and said seriously, "Just as expected. Ether concentration and activity are far above normal. This Hollow has officially entered an active phase."
They had been dispatched to the B47 Hollow specifically to respond to this sudden anomaly.
Originally, B47 had gone dormant years ago. The government had installed Ether resource extraction units throughout the area—and even built a railway system inside.
But recently, those devices began to malfunction one after another. Combined with the Ether readings, it strongly suggested the Hollow was reactivating. That's when Unit 6 was called in.
Handling situations like this was part of their job, so they arrived fully equipped and ready to respond.
Asaba Harumasa glanced at the data and said with a deadpan tone, "Let's just hope this isn't another C31. The commander made that sound like a disaster too, but we didn't even see a single big guy…"
Tsukishiro Yanagi laughed softly. "That one was an exception. I heard C31 really did go active, but a few Universal Affairs agents cleaned it up before we got there. Saved us a lot of work."
"This time, Hollow access is strictly controlled. No unauthorized agents are getting in," she added confidently. "That won't happen again."
As she spoke, she packed away the Ether scanner and pulled a folded map of the B47 Hollow from her jacket. Several trouble spots were clearly marked.
Then she turned to Hoshimi Miyabi beside her.
"There's no doubt we'll encounter high-ranking Ethereals this time, Chief. Let's begin."
Hoshimi Miyabi gave a calm nod. "Understood. Eyes sharp, everyone."
No sooner had she finished than the unit, led by Hoshimi, began advancing into the depths of the Hollow to deal with the emerging threat.
...
Meanwhile, deep within the B47 Hollow.
The surrounding space was highly unstable, warping and shifting with every passing second.
Suddenly, a golden flash lit up the air.
A rift in space opened midair—and a figure came tumbling out.
Then another.
And another.
A third, fourth, and fifth…
It was Keqing and the others—teleported from Liyue.
By all rights, they should've arrived near the local Statue of The Seven.
But it seemed the connection between the two statues was unstable. In the middle of teleportation, the space distorted, and they ended up here instead.
As Keqing fell, she immediately scanned her surroundings.
Towering structures... ruined landscapes…
Everything in sight was rubble and debris.
She twisted midair and landed cleanly on her feet.
Right behind her, the Traveler, Hu Tao, and Xiao each adjusted their posture midair and landed one by one beside her.