Lumine and Paimon began to teach Ruola that before protecting others, she must first protect herself, which also subtly highlighted the issues with Ruola's current approach.
Ruola fell silent for a long while after listening.
Paimon wanted to comfort her, but Lumine told her to let Ruola be alone for a bit.
Fortunately, Ruola's emotions came and went quickly.
After walking for a while, she was back to chatting and laughing with Lumine and her, though the previous topic was not brought up again.
If Ruola didn't mention it, Lumine and Paimon wouldn't either.
Looking at Ruola's current state, Lumine shook her head; she always felt that Ruola hadn't truly taken in what she and Paimon had said.
This kind of thing couldn't be rushed; it was best to take it slowly, believing that as her experience grew, Ruola's thoughts would change accordingly.
Perhaps it was Ruola's illusion, but after getting familiar with Lumine, the other party seemed much more enthusiastic; sometimes, after looking at her for a long time, Ruola would even feel shy.
...
In the player's live stream, the bullet comments were all expressing their opinions.
"Wuwuwu, truly an angel, but compared to others, her own safety is the most important, darling!"
"Ruola's ideas are still too naive; she hasn't met those vicious people yet~"
"My wife is too well protected by her brother-in-law; she doesn't know the dangers of society."
"She's so good!"
...
Ruola led Lumine and Paimon to the mining spot she remembered.
Indeed, it hadn't been discovered, and the mineral resources were very rich.
Lumine pulled out a Claymore and quickly gathered a pile of materials.
Lumine using a Claymore was a rare sight.
Ruola helped collect, while Paimon cheered them on from the side.
"This should be enough; we'll sell the excess!"
Paimon, clutching a large sum of money, didn't forget to earn more, diligently working with Lumine to put the ore into her self-contained spatial backpack.
"Ruola, look, this one is so beautiful, Ro..."
Little Paimon couldn't find Ruola and looked around, spotting her on a stone.
"Ruola, what are you looking at?"
Paimon followed Ruola's gaze and saw a tall, towering snow-capped mountain, its peak hidden in the clouds, its body pure white.
Paimon's small mouth was slightly agape, very surprised: "Eh~ Is that a snow mountain?!"
Lumine also came to Ruola's side and likewise saw the snow mountain.
Ruola glanced at Lumine, noticed her eyes gleaming, and immediately understood her thoughts.
This wouldn't do; she was still playing the game yesterday, and the snow mountain wasn't open yet.
If it were just Ruola herself, she might be able to go, but with Lumine, it was a no-go.
Paimon was still nearby, and she didn't want to hear that famous line: "The area ahead, we can explore it later!"
Besides, Ruola wasn't even looking at the snow mountain right now...
"Lumine, did you see it?"
Ruola lowered her voice, sounding mysterious.
Lumine also lowered her voice: "What?"
Ruola pointed with her finger: "Over there, by that small stream, it's the Fatui!"
The Fatui?!
Lumine immediately became alert; after the previous events, she had no goodwill towards the Fatui.
Paimon also saw them: "There are so many of them, I wonder what they're doing. Hmph, it must be some conspiracy. How about we quietly go and take a look?!"
Paimon's suggestion was approved by Ruola and Lumine, and the three of them quietly left, slowly creeping towards where the Fatui were gathered.
Ruola was a bit excited now; besides this being her first time engaging in such a thrilling stealth operation, a bigger reason was:
The highest leader among the Fatui over there was none other than her Snezhnaya alias, Ann!
Ann was one of Jiang Mumu's highest combat power aliases, a born warrior; putting everything else aside, her older brother, Ajax, couldn't beat her.
Because she failed a challenge against the Captain and was then saved by the Captain, she, being someone who honored her bets and had a strong personality, followed the Captain from then on, becoming her adjutant.
The three of them, Ruola, secretly arrived behind a fallen tree trunk, quietly peeking out with their three little heads in a row.
Paimon: "How strange, they seem to be moving something."
Ruola immediately spotted Ann, surrounded by many Fatui; she gently nudged Lumine with her arm: "Lumine, look, over there, by the tree near the bonfire, that person seems to be their leader!"
After Ruola's reminder, Lumine immediately looked, and upon seeing Ann, Lumine's pupils contracted, and the hand on Ruola's shoulder suddenly tightened.
Under the distant tree, Ann stood facing the wind, clad in silver-white armor, wearing a full-face mask and a white hooded cape, looking heroic, elegant, and ethereal.
From this angle, her armor gleamed, dazzling people so much they couldn't open their eyes.
Ruola also thought it was so cool; Ann's figure with this outfit was simply perfect!
From the player's perspective, Guo Zi's live stream went completely crazy.
"Ahhh, who is this?!"
"Holy cow, this armor is so cool!"
"The Lady and her, are the villain characters all this good-looking?!"
"Which Harbinger is this?!"
"So cool, both fierce and handsome, I love it, I love it!"
"..."
Guo Zi, Chen Xiyao, reacted even more strongly; a girl who usually looked quiet, gentle, and beautiful was now going wild.
"Holy cow, did you guys see that? This big sister is so cool, so cool, so cool, so cool! A female knight? Or a female general? She must be entering the gacha pool, right?! She must be entering the gacha pool, right?!"
The live stream screen remained on Ann , Guo Zi simply couldn't bear to click away.
"Hype it up, hype it up, everyone! No wonder Genshin Impact topped all charts just two days after its release; the game company truly has a conscience! The character models are one cooler and better-looking than the last. Can you really play this without spending money?!"
Guo Zi's words received unanimous agreement in the live stream.
She really loved emphasizing that this was a free game, but she wondered if she would still say that when it came to pulling characters later.
After admiring Ann for a long time and taking several screenshots, Guo Zi finally entered the next part of the story.
...
Mondstadt.
Ruola looked at Lumine in surprise.
Her reaction, was it excitement?!
Ruola didn't recall Ann having any contact with Lumine?
"Lumine, what's wrong?"
"Ahem, nothing, nothing at all."
"What are they doing?" Paimon was very puzzled; after watching for a long time, the Fatui were just quietly working, not saying a word.
Ruola knew, and she was even the one who facilitated it, but how could she possibly say anything?
Looking at Lumine and Paimon, Ruola said: "How about we go back first and tell Acting Grand Master Jean about these things!"
"Mhm, mhm, no matter what the Fatui are doing, we must let Acting Grand Master Jean be prepared."
Paimon said so, and Lumine also nodded.
The three of them quietly snuck back the same way they came.
The perspective shifted to the Fatui.
After the three little ones left, Ann looked towards the tree trunk where they had been hiding.
"Commander, they've left, should we..."
Ann put a finger to her lips, making a 'shush' gesture, looking like a mastermind villain with everything under control.
And all of this was seen by the players outside the game.