Lu Qiuyun's spirit body floated in mid-air within the Wyrmrest Valley cave, a faint, translucent halo shimmering around her.
She looked down at the battle below, her brow furrowing tighter and tighter. Albedo Jr. was being relentlessly driven back by Albedo, his black mist body shattered again and again by the Cinnabar Spindle. He could barely even stand.
"Tch, this Albedo Jr. I created is utterly useless," Lu Qiuyun muttered, her lip twitching. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that "Albedo Jr." was her own creation.
"He can't even withstand three of Albedo's attacks. And I spent tens of thousands of Emotion Points on him! What a waste!" she grumbled, poking Albedo Jr.'s collapsed form with a pout.
[Host, it's easy for you to talk. If you're so capable, why don't you do it yourself?]
The System's voice suddenly rang out, dripping with undisguised mockery. It was like a bucket of ice water poured directly over Lu Qiuyun's head.
"Oh, you've really set off my temper now! Fine, I'll do it myself!" Provoked, Lu Qiuyun huffed defiantly.
She then dove straight toward Albedo Jr.'s body.
The moment her consciousness pierced the black mist and her spirit body merged with the form, a violent surge of Abyss energy erupted through her limbs. The black mist swirled around her in a vortex, and the temperature in the cave plummeted several more degrees.
"This power... is incredible!" Lu Qiuyun flexed Albedo Jr.'s wrist, feeling the explosive energy practically overflowing within her. She couldn't help but grin.
Even swiping her fingertips through the air left trails of black energy. If she landed a punch with this, wouldn't Albedo be completely crippled?
Without a second thought, she raised her fist, tightly wrapped in black mist, and swung it violently at Albedo's back.
But the "One-Punch Man" scene she'd envisioned never happened.
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Albedo instantly conjured a sturdy shield of pale gold Geo energy behind him.
Clang!
A sharp ringing sound echoed through the cave. Lu Qiuyun felt a numbing sensation shoot through the web of her thumb, and the impact sent her staggering back three steps. A crack even appeared in her black mist fist.
"What's going on?" Lu Qiuyun froze, staring at her hand in confusion. "Why isn't this power obeying me? It felt so strong!"
Albedo didn't give her time to dwell on it.
Seizing the opening, he tapped his foot lightly on the ground and shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, circling behind her. The Cinnabar Spindle aimed straight for her heart.
Damn it! Lu Qiuyun's heart lurched in panic.
She tried to dodge, but her body reacted half a beat too slow.
In her past life, she'd barely even witnessed a fistfight, let alone a life-or-death battle like this. What did she know about combat techniques?
The blade grazed her arm, instantly tearing open a wound so deep the bone was visible. Black blood dripped from the gash, sizzling and corroding the ground where it landed.
The rest of the fight became a completely one-sided slaughter.
Lu Qiuyun swung her fists wildly, relying on brute force, but each punch only brushed against the hem of Albedo's clothes, missing its mark.
She tried to control the black mist to entangle Albedo's ankles, but he easily dispelled it with his Geo element. Instead, Albedo seized the opening and kicked her squarely in the knee, the pain nearly forcing her to her knees.
Seeing his chance, Albedo thrust the Cinnabar Spindle, glowing with pale gold light, precisely through Albedo Jr.'s heart.
Geo energy surged from the sword's tip, coiling around the Abyss energy within like vines. The mark of the Solar Isotoma instantly spread across the entire body, then exploded, tearing it to shreds.
"Ugh..." Excruciating pain erupted from her chest. Lu Qiuyun felt her consciousness being churned through a meat grinder, and her vision began to blur.
"System," she managed, "I think... I'm a little dead again. Gah~"
The next second, her consciousness was abruptly ripped from Albedo Jr.'s body, reverting to her spirit form and hovering in the air.
Albedo Jr.'s corpse slumped softly to the ground and was quickly devoured by the black mist, leaving not even a trace behind.
[Host, giving up already? Weren't you acting all high and mighty just now?] The System's voice dripped with schadenfreude.
"This is called a tactical retreat!" Lu Qiuyun retorted righteously, raising a hand to rub her ethereal temples.
Though her spirit form felt no pain, the near-death experience had been terrifyingly real, and her heart still pounded with lingering fear.
"Who knew Albedo would be this strong? Besides, this body's combat instincts are terrible—I couldn't even use its full power. If I were in my own body, I'd definitely win!"
She paused, her gaze fixed on the fluctuating Emotion Points on the System panel. Gritting her teeth, she declared, "Revive Albedo Jr. again! This time, strengthen him until he's on par with Albedo. I refuse to believe I can't win!"
[Consuming 50,000 Emotion Points to revive and strengthen Albedo Jr.... Strengthening complete!]
As the System's notification faded, the black mist in the center of the cave began to churn violently. A figure, radiating an even more oppressive aura than before, slowly rose to its feet.
The new Albedo Jr. was shrouded in an Abyss black mist so dense it was impossible to disperse, almost completely obscuring his facial features. Only the black glow in his eyes burned like two flames. In his hand, he materialized a longsword forged from pure Abyss energy.
It was a counterfeit Cinnabar Spindle!
Dark purple patterns flowed across the blade, and just being near it sent a bone-chilling cold through the air.
His aura had surged to three times its previous strength, compressing the surrounding air until it visibly distorted.
"This should be enough, right?" Lu Qiuyun stared down nervously, her spirit form's fingers clenched into tight fists.
If this failed too, she wouldn't have enough Emotion Points left for another strengthening—she needed to save them for her later plans.
As expected, the strengthened Albedo Jr. did not disappoint.
He brandished the counterfeit Cinnabar Spindle with ruthless precision, unleashing slashes of black sword energy that carved deep gouges into the ground.
Astonished by Albedo Jr.'s "second resurrection," Albedo no longer dared to hold back. He summoned even stronger Geo energy, and his sword clashed violently with the black mist, erupting in a blinding flash of light that filled the cave.
The two exchanged blows, the crisp clang of their blades echoing incessantly. Shards of pale gold and black energy scattered like a meteor shower, locking them in a temporary stalemate.
"Perfect!" Lu Qiuyun sighed in relief, the tension finally easing from her heart. Her spirit form even swayed slightly.
Her purpose in creating Albedo Jr. was never to defeat Albedo, but to tie up one of Mondstadt's main combatants.
As long as Albedo was bogged down on Dragonspine and unable to return to Mondstadt to provide support, her subsequent plans could proceed smoothly.
As for why she killed the real Albedo Jr.?
A cold glint flashed in Lu Qiuyun's eyes.
People are inherently selfish.
The real Albedo Jr. had his own consciousness and a stubborn temperament. Who knew if he might break free from her control at a critical moment, or even turn against her to help Albedo?
It was far better to use Emotion Points to create a "puppet" completely under her control—one that was obedient and could be strengthened on demand. So much less trouble.
She turned her gaze toward Mondstadt, a cunning smile playing on her spirit form's lips. "The real show is finally about to begin."
Her fingertips swiped across the System Space, and rows upon rows of Abyss monster phantoms instantly filled her vision. Besides common low-level monsters like Hilichurls and slimes, there were even high-level creatures like Hilichurl Frostarm Lawachurls. The mere sight of them was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Nearby, the Abyss space rift continued to expand, dark purple energy spilling from it and endlessly spawning monsters.
"Hiss..." Lu Qiuyun gasped, her heart aching as she watched the numbers on her System panel plummet.
Just creating these monsters and the rift had already consumed half the Emotion Points she had recently accumulated.
She patted her chest, trying to console herself. "The more Emotion Points I spend, the more intense the players' reactions will be. The Emotion Points I'll earn back from them will be even greater. It's equivalent exchange... Yes, equivalent exchange!"
Taking a deep breath, she fixed her gaze on Durin's heart, which hovered in the depths of the cave.
The heart still beat slowly, its dark purple, vein-like patterns pulsing with surging energy, holding the world-destroying power of a slumbering behemoth.
Lu Qiuyun's eyes instantly blazed with fervor as her spirit form drifted toward the heart. "Now, it's this behemoth's turn."
The moment she gently touched the heart, black Abyss energy rapidly spread along its vein-like patterns, intertwining and fusing with the active Durin cells.
Lu Qiuyun could clearly feel the heart's beat quicken as the power within awakened.
With just a little modification, she thought, this heart could become the "ultimate weapon" to destroy Mondstadt. When that happens, the players' Emotion Points will surely surge in like a tidal wave!
"Durin, oh Durin," Lu Qiuyun's laughter echoed through the cave. "You've slumbered long enough. It's time to wake up and give Mondstadt's little ones some fun."
Behind her, two skeletons were gradually corrupted by the Abyss. The sounds of their twisting bodies mingled with the accelerating beat of Durin's heart, creating an eerie and frenzied symphony.
"But before that," Lu Qiuyun chuckled, "I should give the players some more compensation. If you're going to do something, you might as well see it through to the end."
-
Meanwhile, in Mondstadt, Lumine and Paimon stared at the large chest Lydia had presented, nearly drooling.
"You mean... if we help you gather the materials on this list, we can take all ten thousand of these Primogems? You're not joking, are you?!"
Lydia tilted her head, tapping her chin with a fingertip. "Is that too little? I have more."
With that, she pulled out another chest from behind her.
A full twenty thousand Primogems!
"I heard from Katheryne that you two seem to be collecting these strange stones," Lydia explained. "I thought they might be very useful to you. Coincidentally, I've been collecting them since I was a child. Was I mistaken?"
"No, no! We love them!" Lumine and Paimon's eyes practically glowed with golden light.
They swore that Lydia was their savior, their second mother!
They would climb a mountain of knives and descend into a sea of fire for her—nothing was too much to ask