Snezhnaya's prosperity cannot be compared to Liyue's.
Therefore, most areas of Snezhnaya City at night, like Mondstadt, were plunged into darkness, with only a few scattered lights.
However, the area outside the Tsaritsa's Palace, located in the center of Snezhnaya City, was clearly not like this — because this was the Fatui headquarters, the heart of Teyvat's largest military organization.
No matter what happened in Snezhnaya, this place would never stop operating.
In addition to a large number of soldiers stationed here, most of the Harbingers remaining in Snezhnaya also had their own residences here.
Lights illuminated every corner of the area, and numerous watchtowers and omnipresent patrolling soldiers surveyed the entire district.
From a distance, the chilling atmosphere was enough to deter anyone.
However, none of this prevented the infiltration of the Black Blades.
Without special methods, trying to discover their traces would be a pipe dream.
Although the Fatui barracks were densely packed around the Tsaritsa's Palace, there were still many unique buildings that stood in stark contrast to the unremarkable barracks.
A large portion of these were public buildings, while a smaller portion served as residences for high-ranking Fatui members.
And as the strongest and most powerful eleven in the Fatui, the Harbingers naturally had their own luxurious mansions at the headquarters.
The Black Blades moved through the labyrinthine base as if the unique buildings guided them, or perhaps they already had their own routes in mind.
Soon, after bypassing numerous checkpoints and patrolling soldiers, the Black Blades arrived in front of a resplendent villa.
It was hard to imagine such a stern base containing a building so utterly different from its chilling atmosphere.
However, no one had any objections.
Because this was one of the residences of Pantalone, the Ninth Harbinger of the Fatui, the Regrator.
His identity and status were enough to support his eccentricities.
Of course, the Harbingers all had more or less peculiar behaviors.
In comparison, the Regrator's small quirk was not surprising.
"Target found!" Eleven figures hidden in the shadows surrounded the entire mansion; they could already see the Regrator still working in a bedroom… "This is a bit troublesome." Inside the brightly lit bedroom, the Regrator looked at the intelligence in front of him, and his heart began to feel uneasy.
This feeling had only occurred before he became a Harbinger, but now it had returned to him.
His pawns in Mondstadt, Liyue, and Inazuma had not reported back to him for a long time.
Moreover, according to reports from various outposts, many of their supplies were now insufficient.
This was true for both normal and abnormal goods.
All these clues pointed to a conclusion he had never even considered — all his trade routes had been destroyed by someone else.
Whether they were legitimate trade routes or the secret routes hidden in the dark used to transport illicit goods.
As long as they bore the name "Pantalone," without exception, they had all been erased by some entity.
"Northern Continent Underground Intelligence Network?" The Regrator first thought of that organization, hidden in the dark, constantly opposing the Fatui.
But he quickly dismissed his own speculation, "No, it can't be them."
The Regrator's brows furrowed.
Although the Northern Continent Underground Intelligence Network constantly opposed the Fatui, their strength alone could not have destroyed all his trade routes.
And even if they did have such strength, there would be no need to destroy all his trade routes — some of them were legitimate.
Destroying them would gain nothing but leave vulnerabilities.
At most, it would only delay the circulation of Fatui supplies.
"Did I offend someone?" The Regrator's brows were tightly furrowed.
Who had such immense power, enough to destroy everything he had painstakingly built?
Even other Harbingers couldn't do that!
Suddenly, a figure flashed through the Regrator's mind.
A guy who had caused him great losses, was elusive, and whose strength was unfathomable.
"You guessed correctly, but there's no reward." A female voice suddenly sounded in the Regrator's ear, making his heart clench.
"Who?!" The Regrator's aura instantly surged.
The moment he heard the female voice, he fully activated his Delusion.
A biting Frost instantly enveloped the entire villa.
Extreme cold descended upon the vast building, and the constantly Burning fireplace in the center of the living room now seemed so ethereal; it could no longer dispel any cold.
However, none of this gave the Regrator any peace of mind; he found nothing where his power reached!
"We can talk." The Regrator suppressed the shock in his heart and spoke unhurriedly.
As he spoke, he moved towards the window.
Now that he didn't even know the enemy's position, the only way to find a glimmer of hope was probably to escape outside.
This was the Fatui headquarters, concealing all the organization's foundations.
Once this massive machine started running, the Regrator was confident that he could make those guys hidden in the dark stay here forever!
However, it was clear that the Black Blades were not as amenable to discussion as Yu Jin.
Two Black Blades suddenly appeared behind the Regrator, twisting his arms tightly behind his back.
"Click! Click! Click!" The alarming sound of bones breaking rang out; the Black Blades struck with extreme ruthlessness, instantly crippling the Regrator's arms.
"Ugh!" The Regrator grunted, enduring such intense pain, yet his face remained as calm as ever.
Only the cold sweat beading on his forehead and the involuntary twitching at the corner of his eye indicated that the pain of having his arms twisted off had truly befallen him.
"Actually… I… I quite admire guys like you who can't be bargained with.
It's a pity… you can't be used by me."
The Regrator panted, looking at the Black Blade holding him up from behind, wearing silver-white armor, large in stature, not like a human.
As strange as that guy.
"Then… I hope you can survive the encirclement." The Regrator's face turned incredibly pale, and then this body of his suddenly shattered.
A bone-chilling cold instantly permeated the entire bedroom.
"Click! Click!" Crisp cracking sounds rang out.
Where the cold permeated, all items were subjected to incredibly extreme cold.
Walls cracked, flowers froze.
All items became incredibly fragile in this extreme cold; with just a gentle touch, they would shatter into pieces.
"Heh heh, quite tasteful.
These flowers can only bloom in the south." The Eighth walked to the table and took a Frost-covered flower from the vase.
Then she crushed it into pieces.
"You can't escape." The Eighth looked into the night, seeing the Regrator who would never escape… "Hoo—, hoo—" Large plumes of white Frost exhaled from the Regrator's mouth; his face was as pale as the white mist he exhaled.
As the only Harbinger without a Vision, the Delusion he wore was the most advanced among the Fatui.
However, even so, fully activating the Delusion was enough to put a strain on him, an ordinary person.
At this moment, a trace of white had already appeared in the Regrator's temples.
He felt his body had aged significantly, and he couldn't help but let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Those favored by the gods were stronger than ordinary people in every way, even in the use of Delusions.
Other Harbingers using Delusions at most experienced minor issues like dizziness.
Unlike himself, fully activating it for such a short time, just creating an ice clone, had cost him a considerable amount of lifespan.
But none of that mattered now; he needed to escape as quickly as possible.
To let others know that someone had invaded the headquarters!
The Regrator ran for a long time along the path; the light ahead grew dimmer and dimmer, until he finally ran into a place without light.
Even the darkest corners of Snezhnaya City had never seen such a dark place.
The Regrator stopped; he knew he couldn't escape.
"Heh heh heh, I never thought I'd fall here.
Outside the Tsaritsa's Palace, Fatui headquarters." The Regrator let out a few tragic laughs; his grand ambitions, it seemed, would end here.
"You talk too much." The cold female voice sounded again, followed by the sound of flesh being cut.
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