"W–Wow… th-this… is this really a place I'm allowed to be in?"
Hu Tao looked around with eyes full of excitement as she reached out and touched the structures inside the space station.
Those buildings, brimming with futuristic aesthetics, were so dazzling that she practically started drooling.
What kind of extraterrestrial meteor iron is this?!
You could sell this stuff for a fortune just by grabbing a chunk at random, right?!
Keqing was equally stunned as she took everything in.
She had finally made it up here.
A place that was countless times more advanced than the Jade Chamber— something she had previously only heard about through Ningguang's secretary.
Now that she was actually standing here, she could only say one thing:
It truly lived up to its reputation.
This was technology far beyond Liyue.
"No wonder Ningguang was so confident…"
"This is just insane, isn't it?"
Building something like this so far away from Teyvat— Liyue wouldn't catch up even if it chased with all its might.
"And what's up with this puppet?"
Hu Tao wandered over to a nearby doll and poked it.
It had some texture, but not much.
Was it just decoration?
"You'd better not touch her," Raiden Makoto warned calmly.
"For the sake of communicating with Su Ran, a certain genius uses this body here."
"B–Body?" Hu Tao blinked.
"This looks… pretty ordinary though? A genius?"
Keqing frowned in confusion.
Wasn't "Genius" just Su Ran's codename among the Fatui?
Was there more than one genius?
Was Fatui really that ridiculous?
"She's a member of the Genius Society," Makoto explained, "an existence of the same standing as Su Ran."
Seeing Hu Tao go as far as pinching the doll's cheek, Makoto quickly added,
"She's someone who could easily overpower Morax. If you offend her, she might come after you."
Hu Tao immediately withdrew her hand.
She hadn't understood much of the explanation, but she definitely heard the part about crushing the Geo Archon.
That strong?!
Even the Geo Archon wouldn't be a match?
"I—I won't touch her again!"
"Too late," the doll suddenly spoke.
"Your actions have already been recorded. Once Lady Herta comes online, she will decide how to deal with this."
The Herta puppet turned its gaze toward Hu Tao.
What everyone else had assumed was an inanimate object— had just spoken.
Aside from Raiden Makoto, who had expected this, both Hu Tao and Keqing were startled badly.
"T-The doll talked?!"
"Hello. I'm currently busy and won't be contacting you for the time being."
After saying that, the puppet fell silent again.
Keqing swallowed and turned to Makoto with concern.
"She… she won't retaliate against us, right?"
Someone stronger than the Geo Archon should have the dignity of a powerhouse.
She wouldn't go after ordinary people… right?
Raiden Makoto thought for a moment, then smiled and shook her head.
Just as the two of them relaxed—
Her next sentence sent them right back into panic.
"The Herta I know is someone who always takes revenge, no matter how small the grievance.
Aside from Su Ran, she never shows mercy."
"..."
Wasn't that a bit much?!
What kind of powerhouse was that petty?!
Hu Tao immediately ducked behind Keqing.
"Is it… is it too late to apologize now?"
Being targeted by someone stronger than the Geo Archon— how was she supposed to survive?!
Wasn't she basically dead already?!
"It's too late," Makoto replied calmly.
"She usually settles scores on the spot. But after some time, she might forget about it."
"T–That's… good…"
Hu Tao patted her completely flat chest armor and let out a long sigh of relief.
At least her life was still intact.
After that incident, both Hu Tao and Keqing behaved much more cautiously.
They no longer dared to touch things at random.
"This place is enormous… How much would it cost to build something like this?"
After walking only a short distance, Keqing was already overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the space station.
Even the Jade Chamber couldn't compare to a tiny section of this place.
Su Ran had built such a colossal structure, with technology this advanced—
Just how much money had gone into it?
That question, however, even Raiden Makoto couldn't answer.
All she knew was that it wasn't something anyone from Teyvat could afford.
Before long, they spotted Ningguang in the distance.
Hu Tao ran over first, with Keqing close behind.
"Hm?"
Hearing the hurried footsteps, Ningguang turned her head in confusion—only to see Keqing and Hu Tao jogging toward her.
"..."
Since when was the space station open to these two?
Why didn't she, the station master, know about this?
She glanced at Raiden Makoto behind them and immediately understood.
"So, Ningguang, look— I came up here even without your permission!"
Keqing looked extremely proud.
Seeing this kind of privilege no longer belonging solely to Ningguang made her oddly happy.
At least she had caught up.
"Mm, but…" Ningguang asked calmly, "who gave the permission?"
Su Ran hadn't mentioned anything.
Could it have been Raiden Makoto?
But did the Raiden Shogun even have that authority?
And she didn't seem like the type to manage these details.
"Of course it was Her Excellency the Shogun!"
Keqing pointed at Raiden Makoto.
Since she was someone close to Su Ran, Keqing assumed her status had to be higher than Ningguang's.
"Isn't this just letting them get familiar with the work environment ahead of time?" Makoto said gently.
She knew Keqing had approached Su Ran
and that she had resigned from Qixing for the sake of coming here.
Since it was already settled, letting her see things early seemed reasonable.
"The two of them?" Ningguang said slowly.
"I understand Keqing… but what about Hall Master Hu?"
Keqing's presence wasn't surprising.
Only the speed at which she arrived was.
But Hu Tao?
She wasn't an employee.
And she didn't look like someone who could bring Su Ran any profit.
There was no reason for her to be here.
"Isn't she?" Makoto asked, puzzled, turning to Keqing.
"She… isn't," Keqing replied, shaking her head.
The three of them fell into silence.
Then, in perfect unison, they all turned to look at Hu Tao.
It was like a husky had somehow wandered into a pack of wolves.
"…Am I… not supposed to be here?"
Feeling the weight of their gazes, Hu Tao finally realized something was wrong.
This place was probably far more serious than the Jade Chamber.
She instinctively shrank back a little.
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