Inside the RV, Lu Chen was surprised by the look in Xiao's eyes.
It was a kind of unwavering determination—something he rarely saw.
"But the karma you carry..." Lu Chen frowned as he looked at him. "If it were just normal monsters, it'd be fine. But these are corrupted by remnants of the Archons. Fighting them will only make your condition worse."
Lu Chen had already helped Xiao recuperate for quite some time. During this period, he hadn't taken part in any battles. Every day he listened to Venti's music to soothe his soul, and when he wasn't doing that, he would spend time tending plants with the Archon Geo, cultivating his spirit. You could say he had completely embraced the art of slacking off.
And it had paid off. Not once had Xiao suffered a flare-up of his karma during this time.
If he got involved again and faced the Archon remnants head-on, wouldn't all of Lu Chen's efforts go to waste?
But Xiao's golden eyes remained firm—tinged now with a trace of pleading.
"Handling the Archon remnants is my duty. Besides..."
"Besides what?" Lu Chen asked.
Xiao hesitated, then said, "Yesterday, at the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of the other world. I couldn't make out the architecture, but I'm certain—it was Liyue."
"Liyue?"
Xiao nodded.
"Also, I'm highly attuned to the aura of the remnants. Please—take me with you."
Lu Chen fell into a dilemma. He couldn't stand being begged—especially by the people of Teyvat.
If this weren't his own home, and if Xiao weren't relying on him for this matter, he would've turned and left without a word. He rarely showed this kind of expression.
It was entirely because the spread of the Archon remnants involved Liyue. And protecting Liyue was Xiao's duty—a contract he had honored for thousands of years.
Looking at him now, Lu Chen even considered calling in the old man to talk him out of it. After all, Xiao respected the Lord of Geo the most.
But just then, Miko laughed.
"I think letting Xiao come along might actually be a great chance to help him cleanse his karma."
Everyone turned to Yae Miko, who wore a subtle smile.
"Miko, do you have an idea?" Lu Chen asked.
Miko glanced off into the distance, as if recalling yesterday's events.
"Those strange devices the Abyss Order was using... they seemed designed to stimulate and manipulate the Archon remnants. If we can find and use them, maybe we can help Xiao too."
It was a bold idea, but Lu Chen found himself falling into deep thought the moment she said it.
"Using the Abyss Order's equipment... Miko, leave it to you to think of something like that..."
Lu Chen felt like a light had switched on in his brain. Suddenly, he didn't feel so bad about feeding her all that fried tofu—protein well spent. Her brain really worked when it mattered.
Of course, he still deserved the credit. He raised this clever fox himself.
"But..." Ei hesitated. "I fought those monsters yesterday. The aura of the remnants is growing stronger, and the monsters are becoming increasingly frenzied. That kind of equipment seems dangerous... and it's hard to say if it would even work on Xiao."
"Destruction breeds creation," Miko said, arms crossed. "Remember that time we all had nightmares? Manifestations of obsessions. If Xiao's karma can be drawn out and made manifest, it could be destroyed directly. Of course, that's just a theory. The Abyss Order might not be capable of such things."
"Alright, I've decided!" Lu Chen cut the discussion short.
He looked into Xiao's eyes. "You'll come with me—but I want you to hold back from rushing into action."
"Understood," Xiao replied simply.
With the companions decided, there was no time to waste. Lu Chen opened the system panel.
[World Quest]
[Investigate the Abyss Order's Conspiracy]
[Gate of Teyvat temporarily opening. Party: 3 companions. Remaining time: 46h 35m 42s...]
[Proceed to Teyvat Continent?]
The moment he selected "Yes," Lu Chen felt the space around him begin to distort, like rippling water. His consciousness shifted into a strange, surreal state.
He had felt this sensation once before—when he first arrived in this world. He hadn't expected to experience it again so soon.
In the next second, right in front of Barbara and Qiqi, Lu Chen, Ei, Miko, and Xiao vanished from the RV.
Qiqi's dull eyes widened, forgetting even her coconut milk.
"Even seeing it again... it still feels a little unreal," Barbara murmured.
...
Somewhere underground in Teyvat—
Lu Chen blinked, and the world around him had changed drastically.
He had gone from his cozy RV to a pitch-black space where he couldn't even see his hand in front of him. It was so dark, he thought he'd gone blind.
He wanted to use Pyro to light the way, but the thick, murky air around him made him feel uneasy. Instead, he pulled out his phone.
He switched on the flashlight, and the surroundings immediately brightened. Everyone was there.
"This is so surreal... using a smartphone in Genshin Impact."
Lu Chen glanced at the screen. It worked—but of course, there was no signal.
"Lu Chen, what did you just say?" Ei's voice came from beside him.
"Nothing."
"Is this really Liyue?" Miko leaned closer to his back, the surrounding darkness making her a little nervous.
Then she bumped into him.
Lu Chen turned and saw her face, illuminated by the flashlight. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.
Squinting, she tried to adjust to the darkness. "Does Liyue really have a place this strange?"
There was no wind, no external light. Lu Chen swept his flashlight around, revealing jagged stone walls and a narrow cave entrance.
The only faint light came from weakly glowing minerals—this was clearly an underground mine.
"This is The Chasm," Lu Chen said.
"Exactly," Xiao added, frowning. "Two years ago, an unexplained incident occurred here. The Liyue Qixing deemed the situation serious and sealed this place with talismans. We should be somewhere deeper within the mining zone."
Lu Chen thought to himself, the system must've teleported them directly to the lowest depths of The Chasm, bypassing the Qixing's seal entirely.
"Can you sense the remnants?" Lu Chen asked Xiao.
Xiao closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened them.
"Follow me."
Under his lead, the group moved swiftly through the pitch-black mine until they arrived at a ruined chamber.
It was the same underground ruin they had seen before—the hiding place of the Abyss Order, where they continued to weave their dark conspiracies from the shadows.