"Look into this person."
Watching Lin Ze's figure disappear into the crowd, Yelan didn't move to follow him. She merely gave the order in passing, then returned to her work as if nothing had happened.
Once Yelan left, her subordinates naturally sprang into action.
They were all professionally trained.
If Yelan said to investigate, then they investigated—no questions asked.
No inquiries about the reason. No concern for the process.
Only the result mattered.
Of course, there was one absolute prerequisite:
The target could not become aware of it.
Meanwhile, Yelan herself continued searching for other traces that might point to Lin Ze.
To her, this was nothing more than placing a casual piece on the board—someone who happened to fit the criteria for suspicion.
Now that her personal intelligence network was running at full capacity, if Lin Ze couldn't be found within Liyue, then expanding the search to other nations would be the next step.
As for Lin Ze—
He had absolutely no idea that he was already under investigation.
At the moment, all he wanted was to find an inn, stay there temporarily, and earn enough Mora as quickly as possible to own a house in Liyue Harbor.
Everything had to be done discreetly.
He reminded himself of this repeatedly.
Lin Ze was aware of Yelan's existence, but for now, he believed he was still in a classic blind spot beneath the lamplight. He had no intention of exposing his plans so soon.
At the very least—
He needed enough Mora first.
At the very least—
He needed a place to live.
"Looks like there won't be any diary updates today."
Night had fallen. Having just finished another round of overtime, Keqing returned to her residence. Her gaze lingered on the diary copy as she murmured softly.
After a full day of searching, she had identified several diary-copy holders.
So far, one thing was clear:
Everyone who possessed a diary copy was female.
At least, that was true within Liyue.
Moreover, having a Vision did not guarantee possession of a diary copy—
But those without a Vision definitely did not have one.
Keqing felt as though she had uncovered something important…
and yet also felt as though she hadn't uncovered anything at all.
After all, in an entire day, she had only searched Liyue Harbor. She hadn't even begun investigating the other regions of Liyue.
At the same time, Lin Ze finally claimed the system reward.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on completing a diary entry.]
[Reward obtained: Cola Recipe · Teyvat Edition!]
"…Tch."
Seeing the reward, Lin Ze clicked his tongue reflexively.
This system really was unreliable.
He'd thought the second day might bring something worthwhile—yet it turned out to be something this mediocre.
A Teyvat-version cola recipe?
Did he really need the system for that?
With the Black Flag's power, what couldn't he make himself?
That settles it.
I'm done relying on this damn system.
Having made up his mind, Lin Ze got to work.
First things first—
He needed to make money.
Using the materials and techniques he already had, he began crafting exquisite clothing. Selling those would bring in a decent income.
As Lin Ze worked, manipulating the leaves stored in the system's space and turning them into finely tailored garments, he had no idea that—
Not far away, Yelan's subordinates were recording every single movement.
Leaves appearing out of thin air.
Unfathomable craftsmanship.
Several ordinary leaves transformed into an elegant set of clothing.
Who had ever seen anything like this?
By the time Lin Ze felt satisfied with his work and drifted off to sleep, Yelan's people still hadn't withdrawn. They simply forwarded the gathered intelligence back to her.
That very night, Yelan—having searched across Liyue herself—received the report.
She froze.
"…A bit clever," she murmured softly as she read.
"But not that clever."
In just a moment, she fully grasped Lin Ze's intentions.
He wanted to hide in plain sight.
But—
Wasn't he underestimating intelligence operatives like them just a little too much?
No concealment at all.
"Still, as long as he's in Liyue Harbor, that's fine," Yelan said calmly.
"Looks like the Geo Archon truly favors me. In a single day, I've stumbled upon quite the big fish."
Setting the report aside, she sent out an order to temporarily halt operations, then lay down to rest.
Since he was in Liyue and clearly intended to earn Mora, he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
There was no need to rush.
It wasn't until the next day that Lin Ze realized—
He'd planned to hide in plain sight… but had completely forgotten about the possibility of surveillance.
Though he found it hard to believe that coincidences like this could really happen, caution never hurt.
So, to be safe, Lin Ze used the Black Flag's power to acquire a set of counter-surveillance skills.
And then—
He discovered the people hiding outside his room, monitoring him.
[So coincidences like this really do exist.]
Upon discovering the surveillance, Lin Ze didn't panic.
Since he'd already been exposed, he might as well accept it.
After all, the power to be invincible beneath the heavens—
He'd already acquired that long before arriving in Liyue.
[Judging by their attire, they should be Yelan's subordinates.]
[Discovered on my very first day in Liyue Harbor? Liyue's intelligence network really is impressive.]
[By now, my information is probably already sitting in the Jade Chamber before Ningguang, the Tianquan.]
[But whatever. I'm already invincible.]
[Getting found out was just one slip-up among many careful plans.]
[I wanted to hide in plain sight, yet forgot to grab perception-based counter-detection skills.]
[All I can say is—I'm clever… just not that clever.]
[At least I'm self-aware.]
After jotting all this down in his diary, Lin Ze began moving again—this time, for survival and growth.
At the same time—
"So he's in Liyue Harbor. Found in just one day."
Jean sighed softly in admiration.
"Liyue's intelligence work really is formidable."
She immediately issued an order to cancel further action, then dispatched a fast courier to Liyue with a formal request for a diplomatic visit.
She also instructed several diary-copy holders to head for Liyue ahead of time—under the guise of travel.
Mondstadt and Liyue were close allies, but the Black Flag's power was simply too tempting.
Some initiative had to be taken.
"Ah… why isn't he in Inazuma?"
Yae Miko sighed as well, issuing her own orders before settling into patient waiting.
Beidou's Crux Fleet would arrive in Inazuma in three days.
Perhaps she could take that opportunity to head to Liyue and try her luck.
"Liyue…"
"I hope Lin Ze still has the heart of a child… enough to see the Aranara."
Trapped within her confinement device, Nahida sighed quietly.
Since he wasn't in Sumeru, she could only send the Aranara to Liyue instead.
The Black Flag. A conceptual power.
Perhaps it could teach her how to become a truly qualified god.
Meanwhile, atop Tenshukaku, Ningguang and the others wore grave expressions.
"Yelan," Ningguang said calmly,
"your people have been discovered."
"You need to move quickly. At the very least, persuade him—willingly—to stay in Liyue Harbor a while longer. We need time."
"I'll handle it," Yelan replied without hesitation.
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