Bonus Chapter!
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Luo Qing spent some time lingering on the cliff.
As midnight arrived, he slowly got to his feet and glanced in the direction of the Delusion Factory. He then put on the translucent Mimic Mask he had brought with him.
The Mimic Mask allowed him to imitate the aura and appearance of any template he had stored. So even if he were discovered, no one would trace it back to him.
[Ding! Please select a template to simulate:]
[Available templates: Tartaglia, Zhongli, Ganyu, Keqing... Thoma, Beelzebul, Yae Miko...]
"..."
Luo Qing stared at the list of names in confusion.
He could understand having female options... but how could he even simulate the fox?
"Well then, I'll choose this one..."
With a thought, he selected Yae Miko as the template and carefully put on the Mimic Mask.
The moment the mask touched his face, a faint glow enveloped his body. In just a few seconds, his appearance morphed into Yae Miko's.
Luo Qing moved to a small pool nearby and looked at his reflection.
Soft pink fox ears and a rather impressive chest.
Hiss... Ah...
So this was what cross-dressing felt like?!
No, he had to use this thing sparingly.
Otherwise, Luo Qing feared it might mess with his psyche.
"Let's see something..."
Curious, he patted his pants.
Ah.
Still there.
...
With the Mimic Mask in place and the Invisibility Cloak draped over him, Luo Qing headed toward the Delusion Factory.
There was only one entrance—a cave opening. He'd have to either use Time Zero to rush inside or rely on invisibility to sneak in.
Both Ei and the Raiden Shogun could sense Luo Qing's use of Time Zero, so Kunikuzushi likely had similar abilities.
Thus, he opted for the cautious approach, using both the Mimic Mask and the Invisibility Cloak.
By now, the night was deep. The Fatui soldiers responsible for producing Delusions had retired for rest, leaving only the stationed guards behind. The factory was nearly deserted.
Relying on his memory from his previous visit, Luo Qing navigated through the factory, his invisibility and Time Zero rendering him undetectable to the guards.
Soon, he spotted Kunikuzushi in the core section of the factory.
Kunikuzushi sat alone in the heart of the Delusion production room, eyes closed, seemingly resting.
"Tch, what a diligent little workhorse, sleeping right next to the core," Luo Qing mused.
Only those who had been abandoned sought to constantly prove their worth to others, yearning to feel needed.
The Doctor and the Jester must have understood this about him, which was why they had recruited him into the Fatui.
Luo Qing's predecessor had heard stories of Kunikuzushi's prowess in the Abyss.
As a tool, he was even more dedicated than the Lady and Childe.
"Time to feel the warmth of motherly love."
With a quiet sigh, Luo Qing set Time Zero's speed to maximum and approached Kunikuzushi. He slipped the first letter from Ei into Kunikuzushi's lap.
Just as he set the letter down, Kunikuzushi's eyes opened. Even at two hundred times Time Zero, he sensed Luo Qing's presence.
But as the first experimental prototype, his physical capabilities weren't on par with the Raiden Shogun's. He could sense Luo Qing's presence but couldn't keep up with his speed.
In the blink of an eye, Luo Qing vanished from sight.
...
Kunikuzushi's eyes slowly opened, staring down at the letter in his lap.
He was puzzled.
For a brief moment, he'd felt someone pass by him.
But whoever it was, they had moved too quickly for him to react, dropping something before vanishing.
"Hmph, for me, is it?"
Kunikuzushi frowned, turning the letter over in his hands.
There was a faintly familiar aura about it.
With a wary glance at the entrance, he slowly opened the letter and began to read.
The first line alone made his brows furrow tightly.
"Prototype of Eternity..."
Skimming the contents, a surge of anger flared within him. A powerful burst of energy shredded the letter into fragments as fury spread across his face.
"It's from her..."
Kunikuzushi glanced toward the direction where the intruder had disappeared.
No wonder he'd sensed a familiar presence—it had to have been that accursed fox...
The words on the letter played over and over in his mind.
Unsettled and unable to find an outlet for his anger, he used his willpower to piece the shredded letter back together, glaring at it as if trying to see through the paper and into the depths of the Plane of Euthymia.
...
At the same time...
Having delivered the letter to Kunikuzushi, Luo Qing returned to the cliff he had chosen as his resting spot.
Not long after he arrived, his system log began displaying notifications.
[+10 Frustration Value from Kunikuzushi]
...
[+10 Frustration Value from Kunikuzushi]
...
Just as Luo Qing expected, Kunikuzushi's emotions were volatile—an excellent source of Frustration Value.
Every now and then, a notification popped up in his system log, continuing until the late hours of the night.
Just from that single letter, Luo Qing had accrued 560 points of Frustration Value—equivalent to five draws.
"Kunikuzushi's resentment is certainly strong... Alright, tomorrow, I'll send another one."
Luo Qing nodded with satisfaction as he reviewed the accumulated Frustration Value.
He still had around ten letters left.
Delivering one letter a day to Kunikuzushi would hopefully yield enough Frustration Value for dozens of pulls by the time he left with the Lady.
Of course, that assumed Kunikuzushi's reactions stayed as intense as they were today.
A few lines were enough to push him over the edge.
...
The next day.
Rosalyne left to stir up trouble at the front lines between the Shogunate and the Resistance.
Meanwhile, Kunikuzushi remained at his post, overseeing the Delusion Factory as usual.
By the end of the day, Kunikuzushi's anger from the previous night's letter had finally subsided, and his resolve had only strengthened.
One day, he would return to Inazuma and take revenge on the deity who had abandoned him.
As night fell, Kunikuzushi resumed his vigil in the core section of the Delusion Factory, meditating alone.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the cave entrance.
Sensing something amiss, Kunikuzushi leapt to his feet, eyes fixed warily on the entrance.
But even then, he was a step too slow.
By the time he stood, another letter with purple edges lay on the ground in front of him.
"Is this never going to end...?"
Kunikuzushi cursed under his breath.
Though he resented the letters...
A small part of him couldn't resist the urge to open them.
...
Later that night.
Luo Qing's system log:
[+10 Frustration Value from Kunikuzushi]
...
[+10 Frustration Value from Kunikuzushi]
...
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