December Double Drop!
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Gu Sanqiu smiled. "Miss Barbara, I understand your desire to help everyone, but for a healer, staying back at the base would be far more valuable.""With a powerful healer as our safety net, those fighting on the front lines will feel much more at ease."
Barbara wanted to follow the group—not just out of worry for her sister, but also because she yearned for a bit of experience, hoping to grow closer to the ideal she saw in her nearly perfect sister.
But this wasn't a game, and Barbara's path had always been as a healer, not a warrior. Unlike in some game where a single ultimate could fully heal a team and a single heavy attack could deal hundreds of thousands of damage, such techniques weren't possible here.
To get to that level, Barbara would probably have to gain the physique of a warrior, her cleric's robe stretched tight over slabs of muscle. She'd look like a true juggernaut healer.
"I-is that so? I understand now!"
Barbara clenched her Vision, accepting her role without further protest.
"Well now, this charming young man from Liyue really knows what to say."
Lisa gave Barbara's head a gentle pat. "And he's absolutely right~ A healer is indeed best used as a steadfast pillar of support~"
Jean gave Gu Sanqiu a grateful look, and after Albedo finished detailing the proper setup for portable synthesis stations, she announced it was time for the teams to split and set off.
They had barely walked ten minutes when Gu Sanqiu stopped in his tracks, glancing down at the map he'd been given.
According to the layout, there should have been a corner about ten meters ahead, followed by a narrow gap that could be crossed with a grappling hook. On the other side was supposed to be a monster's camp, maybe even some valuable materials if luck was on his side.
But instead, what stretched out before him was an endless corridor, so unnervingly straight it seemed built from the distilled essence of a thousand souls who hadn't known a single twist or turn in their lives.
"As expected, there's a change… but that's not unexpected."
Rather than putting away the map, Gu Sanqiu flipped it over and began drawing the new route from scratch, using the map's original scale for accuracy and eliminating any potential issues with estimating distance.
Other teams soon ran into similar issues. Both Childe and Kaeya examined the condensed resin they'd been given, but it didn't show any signs that teammates were approaching their vicinity.
Unlike the other groups, who proceeded with caution, Albedo took the opportunity to study the altered structures, scanning for hidden passages or shortcuts that might fast-track him through the domain.
Swish—
Zzt—
An arrow charged with electricity struck a large Hydro Slime in the distance, triggering a chain reaction that wiped out all the monsters in the camp in a puff of black smoke.
Liyue Treasury Department, Military Division—standard-issue replica, Thunder Arrow.
"Hmm, decent power."
Gu Sanqiu flicked the residual sparks off his fingers.
"Too bad the replication didn't retain its full technique. Needing a break after every shot isn't ideal for wide-scale use."
Besides, from the lingering elemental energy in that arrow, he knew that if such arrows were widely used to capture criminals, they'd likely end up being the last thing those criminals ever saw.
He hooked the grappling line securely in place, careful not to tempt fate by swinging across with any unnecessary "oh-oh-oh-oh" Tarzan roars.
Just before landing, he reached out a hand, calling Geo energy to create a small platform beneath him.
A thin, bluish mist flowed slowly across the ground below.
"Strange… if that was Anemo, my arrow should've whipped up a small electrical storm."
Gu Sanqiu furrowed his brow, then tossed a small blue dish to the ground.
Whoosh, whoosh—
A light breeze whistled past, confirming the presence of Anemo energy—but it only deepened Gu Sanqiu's frown.
Anyone who knew even a bit about elemental properties knew that Anemo reactions spread.
It could turn a campfire into an inferno, transform a spark into a lightning storm—Anemo's core trait was amplification and enhancement.
For instance, if a deity unleashed an elemental attack, no rookie could simply amplify it with their Vision. Even the tiniest sliver of such a power would be beyond their reach.
The disposable elemental detector he'd just used was another treasure from Liyue's Treasury, modified from a resonance mass spectrometer.
"No one's ever reported an error with these detectors before."
Expression shifting, Gu Sanqiu pulled out a peculiar club made of bone.
Item: Giant Fang Club
Origin: Abyss Realm
Note: The name sounds impressive, but it's just the discarded tooth of some oversized Abyssal beast, complete with the centuries-old stink of unbrushed breath.
He used the same method as before, letting the club sit on the ground for ten minutes before picking it up.
Whoom!
He gave it a swing, the bone club cutting through the air with a heavy swish, layer upon layer of wind energy entwined around it until the pale club seemed to change color.
"Judging by the power I put into that swing—barely enough for 'low-level debt collector intimidation'—the sound this made confirms this must be the same energy that's strengthening the monsters out here."
He tossed the club aside. He had no intention of carrying around something contaminated with strange energy. Who knew what kind of weird trigger might be waiting in there?
While his life wouldn't necessarily be at risk, he'd almost certainly face a "catastrophic bankruptcy."
"Anemo energy, condensed, potent… but without any natural dispersal…"
The more Gu Sanqiu thought about it, the darker his expression grew. "I didn't just stumble onto the source of this anomaly right out of the gate, did I? Can't this freakishly unlikely kind of 'luck' hit me at a different time? Like when I'm drawing cards, confessing, taking exams, competing—any time but now!"
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
This was ridiculous. Why was he only "lucky" when it came to facing trouble? Couldn't that stroke of luck hit when he was buying property or something?
Simply put, if his guess was correct, pushing forward on this path would only make the "Danger" sign hovering over his head glow brighter, until it inevitably turned into one large, red "Death" sign.
Glancing at the time, he saw there was still plenty left before the one-hour mark they'd set for reconvening.
"Well then, shall we take a look?"
A grin spread across Gu Sanqiu's face.
A chance for an adventure this rare was hard to come by, and he'd regret it if he didn't see it through. After all, opportunities to explore such complex domains didn't come along every day.
Plus, back in Liyue, the Grand Old Man didn't exactly allow encounters with non-friendly adeptal or demonic auras, and most incidents were just remnants or low-tier spirits that kept Xiao constantly busy.
And then…
Gu Sanqiu cast a glance around. As serious as this situation was, he doubted the broke Anemo god wouldn't be aware of it. If anything, it was likely he was somewhere nearby, watching them.
If he ran into trouble in the domain, it'd probably increase his chances of meeting him.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Enjoy my Triple D's!
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