Mondstadt City, once peaceful and serene, was now steeped in noise and chaos.
The participants in the protests and demonstrations grew day by day, their momentum swelling, but their nature was quietly changing.
Many joined simply out of leisure and boredom, and some even held placards supporting Mondstadt's idol, Barbara, turning this serious event into a farce.
In the early stages of the activity, the Knights of Favonius would maintain order on site. But as some people started attacking them covertly, their attitude towards maintaining order became increasingly passive, and eventually, they simply stopped.
Under such circumstances, what was originally just a peaceful assembly for citizens to express their demands gradually and inevitably escalated into an uncontrollable riot.
Many thugs and ruffians, secretly incited and supported by the Fatui, began openly engaging in destructive activities.
They wantonly assaulted, smashed, looted, and burned, disregarding law and order, constantly creating various forms of chaos on the streets of Mondstadt City.
As for the demonstrating citizens, perhaps fooled, perhaps incited, they not only failed to stop these atrocities but instead stood by, applauding and cheering, providing support for the actions of these thugs and ruffians.
In this atmosphere, the sense of wicked pleasure deep within the human heart seemed to be unleashed, and many people started following suit, joining this disorderly frenzy.
Upon learning of this situation, Acting Grand Master Jean, without the slightest hesitation or delay, decisively personally led the elite forces of the Knights of Favonius to the scene of the riot to quell it.
Jean's appearance was like a steadying hand. Her authority and decisiveness quickly calmed the people's hearts.
Under her command, the Knights of Favonius acted swiftly, effectively controlling the situation and quelling the riot that was about to spiral out of control.
But this riot had already brought considerable losses to Mondstadt City.
Dozens of innocent citizens were injured in the chaos, and many shops were looted empty, some even set ablaze and burned down, turning into ruins.
In front of a shop already burned to ruins by the fierce fire, Acting Grand Master Jean, with a face full of weariness, gazed at the desolate scene before her, an uncontrollable rage burning in her eyes.
She knew very well that this riot must have been orchestrated by someone in secret.
If the truth could not be quickly exposed and measures taken, similar unrest would likely occur frequently.
Now, even the Knights of Favonius, the only ones she could rely on, were not trustworthy, which made her feel like she was fighting alone.
Just then, Kaedehara Kazuha, with steady steps, walked up to her and said, "Acting Grand Master Jean, hello, I am Kaedehara Kazuha from the West Factory."
"The Fatui were behind this riot; it had nothing to do with our West Factory."
"If you don't believe me, we can bring the true culprits behind the scenes before you."
Jean did not doubt his statement; the West Factory's goal was to control Mondstadt's economy, not to destroy it.
However, the West Factory surely played an unsavory role in this affair as well.
Jean did not give Kaedehara Kazuha a pleasant look. She said coldly, "I believe this riot had nothing to do with you. However, you need not trouble yourselves with investigating the true culprits behind the scenes."
"Even if the Knights of Favonius are currently struggling, they are still more than sufficient to deal with a few Fatui."
Having said that, she turned and left without hesitation.
Kaedehara Kazuha watched her resolute figure walk away, and gently shook his head.
Thunderclap walked over and said with a face full of disdain, "I really don't know why she is so stubborn?"
"If she chose to join our West Factory, wouldn't all problems be easily solved?"
Kaedehara Kazuha responded calmly, "There are always some people who will firmly uphold their beliefs, even when facing incredibly powerful enemies."
Hearing this, Thunderclap chuckled, "Perhaps one day, history will record her as a sinner whose crimes are too numerous to be written."
Kaedehara Kazuha showed a look of contempt, "If that were truly the case, then the one recording history would surely be an ignorant and foolish person."
…
Half a month passed quickly.
During this time, the protests and demonstrations were still in full swing, but the previous riots no longer occurred.
This wasn't because the Fatui had ceased their activities, but because the West Factory had taken action.
They not only deployed personnel to maintain order but also actively targeted the Fatui members who were covertly inciting the riots, and even voluntarily compensated the shops that had suffered losses due to the riots.
For a time, the West Factory's reputation in Mondstadt City directly rivaled that of the Knights of Favonius.
This situation caused Jean great worry, but she was utterly helpless. The Knights of Favonius couldn't possibly expel the West Factory just because of this.
What made her feel even more powerless was that after the Knights of Favonius learned that the West Factory was targeting the Fatui, they immediately abandoned the tasks Jean had assigned them.
Some Knights even directly claimed the West Factory's achievements as their own.
Facing all this, Jean felt an unprecedented sense of confusion.
She couldn't understand why the Knights of Favonius had fallen to such a state of corruption and degeneracy?
Just as she was sitting at her desk, lost in thought, the door was gently pushed open, and a blond-haired young man entered with a slightly nervous expression.
One of the characters with the lowest presence.
He said softly, "Acting Grand Master Jean, Grand Master Varka, after receiving the letter, immediately had me bring a reply."
An uneasy premonition instantly surged in Jean's heart. She anxiously asked, "Mika, did Grand Master Varka not return? What about Bishop Seamus?"
Mika slowly shook his head. "Neither of them has returned. They only had me bring this letter back to you."
Saying this, he carefully took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Jean, whose face was solemn.
Jean eagerly tore open the letter, but the content of the letter made everything go dark before her eyes.
There was only a short sentence in the letter: "Keep going! I believe you can solve all problems."
This sentence was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely crushing Jean's last shred of hope.