Liyue Harbor, Yuhai Pavilion
Zhongli held a freshly brewed cup of Biluochun, standing by the window, his gaze distant as he looked towards Cihua Rock.
He had just witnessed Shenhe, holding the life-weary Yelan by one hand—like carrying an exquisite birdcage—steadfastly disappear into the crowd.
He sighed silently.
The elimination of the Lone Star Destiny was naturally a great thing, allowing Shenhe to integrate better into the human world.
But the cost seemed to be... Liyue's most excellent, most mysterious intelligence expert, who should have been hidden in the dark, was likely to become "famous throughout Liyue" in an utterly absurd manner.
"Fortunately, though,"
Zhongli took a sip of tea, comforting himself.
"Those deeply entrenched criminal organizations and strongholds have been almost completely cleared out by those four 'Honorary Knights' from another world, using various... hmm, 'efficient' and 'thorough' methods."
He recalled the popular rumors he had overheard a few days ago—things like "Hilichurl justice Execution," "The Electro Lawachurl Descends to Wipe Out a Treasure Hoarder Den," and "Sea King Elliot Floods the Treasure Hoarders."
Yelan's workload would certainly be drastically reduced; theoretically, she should be able to take a very long vacation.
"However..."
Zhongli's gaze fell back to the direction where Yelan had last disappeared, his voice laced with complex sympathy.
"Judging by her expression just now—the one that said 'I'd rather mine at Guyun Stone Forest for ten years'—she probably wants to work now more than anything."
At the same time, inside the Yuhai Pavilion conference room.
"So... Yelan might not be able to do intelligence work anymore?"
The hand of the Tianshu Star Uncle Tian, holding his pipe, trembled slightly, and the wrinkles on his face deepened due to the shock.
He had just finished listening to Ningguang's brief report on Yelan's "current situation."
"It's not that she absolutely can't do it."
Ningguang rubbed her temples, trying to remain calm.
"Yelan's Disguise Technique is peerless; theoretically, she can still execute missions under a different identity."
"But the problem is..."
Ningguang's voice carried a sense of helplessness as she pointed out the window.
"That adeptal disciple, Shenhe, according to reliable sources (primarily Yanfei running over in terror to report), seems to have fixated on Yelan. She will likely 'take' Yelan with her on future operations, perhaps even 'taking' her on trips abroad, to 'visit' Inazuma, Sumeru, or even Snezhnaya."
Ningguang could almost imagine the scene: Yelan, disguised as some noblewoman, executing a secret mission in Snezhnaya, when Shenhe suddenly descends from the sky and scoops her up: "I found you. We need to go to Fontaine now."
Missions? Secrecy? Non-existent.
Uncle Tian: "..."
Keqing: "..."
The conference room fell into a deathly silence.
Clap!
Keqing slammed the table, nearly sending the documents flying. Her purple twin tails seemed to stick up even higher with agitation: "What exactly is going on?! How did Yelan suddenly get involved with an adeptal disciple?! And 'taking' her?! What kind of decency is this! How is she supposed to work after this!"
Ningguang looked up, speaking with the weary, expressionless tone of someone who had seen through the world's vicissitudes: "According to the fragmented information Yelan managed to send back using her Yūqí Wristband... it was done by those four 'Honorary Hilichurl Knights.'"
Keqing's surging anger and confusion instantly stalled. Her expression shifted from fury to astonishment, then to an understanding of "Oh, it's them. Well, that's not surprising," before finally settling into deep helplessness.
"Oh... it's them, huh..."
Keqing's momentum instantly deflated. She quietly and carefully picked up the documents she had nearly knocked off, tidied them, placed them neatly back on the table, and even smoothed out the creases with her hand.
"Then... then never mind."
After all, trying to reason with the guys who could beat up the Raiden Shogun of Inazuma, resurrect the dead, and build giant mechas was purely a waste of time.
"Right, there's one more thing that might be even more 'headache-inducing' for us."
Ningguang took a deep breath and picked up a thick document beside her, one almost usable as a brick.
"What is it?"
Uncle Tian and Keqing looked at her suspiciously, a sense of foreboding rising in their hearts.
Ningguang's mouth twitched as she pushed the document toward them. The cover prominently displayed several large characters—Request Report Regarding the Overloaded Operation and Emergency Expansion of Liyue's Prisons at All Levels.
"Liyue's prisons,"
Ningguang enunciated slowly, her tone heavy with grief.
"Are about to run out of space."
Uncle Tian & Keqing: "Huh???"
Liyue General Affairs Department Prison, Entrance
"This... how many batches is this now..."
Warden Old Wang watched another squad of Millelith push over a dozen flatcarts loaded with a group of bruised, tightly bound, groaning Treasure Hoarder members. He felt another handful of hair fall out.
Every one of these criminals had dark circles under their eyes, as if they had undergone some extremely terrifying mental torture.
Deputy Xiao Zhang walked over with the register, his face expressionless, reporting in a monotone voice: "Report, Warden, this is the twenty-fourth batch received today."
"Cumulatively this week, the number of criminals directly escorted or captured based on concrete evidence provided by the five 'Honorary Knights' and their associated helpers (including but not limited to a White Wolf-Man and a Mysterious Sprite) has reached one hundred and thirty-seven batches."
He flipped through the book, continuing in the tone of reading a eulogy: "Seventy percent of them are leaders or core members of various criminal organizations. According to their confessions, most were eating hotpot and singing songs in their own strongholds when they were suddenly... uh, 'justice from Above'd."
"Some were knocked unconscious by wind, some were waterlogged, some were electrocuted, and some were directly scooped out of their houses by a giant hand... They were so shocked and mentally broken that they confessed to a large number of accomplices and hidden strongholds."
Xiao Zhang turned another page, his voice still steady: "Furthermore, the Honorary Knights 'conveniently' submitted three tons of various criminal evidence, including but not limited to tax evasion ledgers, illegal artifact trading lists, human trafficking records, and ironclad evidence for several cold-case murder files."
"After preliminary calculation, the total number of suspects apprehended directly or indirectly by the five Honorary Knights and their associates is now approaching ten thousand. The current prison capacity can only hold three thousand people, which is severely Overloaded."
Just as he finished speaking, another Millelith soldier ran over, saluted, his face showing numb exhaustion: "Report! Honorary Knight Elliot has delivered another batch. He says he just wiped out a Pirate den in the Guyun Stone Forest sea area. Here are the list of captives and the inventory of spoils."
The soldier pointed to the several flatcarts piled high like small mountains behind him. Besides Pirates trussed up like zongzi, there was also a heap of salted fish and kelp.
Warden Old Wang looked at the endless line of flatcarts and remained silent for a very long time.
Finally, he let out a world-weary sigh: "Tsk..."
He resignedly stood up and patted his equally poker-faced deputy, Xiao Zhang, on the shoulder: "Let's go. Overtime. Take the plan that was meant to expand the miner dormitories at The Chasm and modify it. We'll use it to expand the prison first."
Deputy Xiao Zhang nodded blankly, pulling out a pre-prepared Liyue Prison Emergency Expansion Plan (Draft) from his pocket, reporting without inflection: "Oh, the plan is ready. Please review it."
"Also, Lady Ningguang sent word, asking if we could temporarily requisition the open space at the old ruins site... to set up tents."
Warden Old Wang stumbled, nearly falling into the pile of newly delivered criminals.
Liyue is currently undergoing an unprecedented "Rule of Law in Progress" brought about by four Hilichurls—a sweet... ah, no, a crowded predicament!