On Yashiori Island, at the Delusion Factory:
Due to the significant value of the "Lady," the group ultimately decided to temporarily detain her in the "Wonderland" space.
Regardless of whether the Fatui would attempt to ransom her or outright rescue her, the information stored in the "Lady's" mind about the Fatui needed to be extracted.
Nolan didn't particularly mind this decision, but for Mondstadt and Liyue, the intelligence could prove quite important. In fact, gaining such information might even boost his favorability with Ningguang.
As for Jean, there was no need—her feelings toward him were already maxed out.
After settling on a plan, Lisa took out several elental materials and spent so ti refining them into liquid form.
She then painted purple rose marks on the "Lady's" limbs and forehead.
These marks served as the nodes of an elental suppression barrier. They acted like faucets, continuously draining the elental energy from the "Lady's" body while preventing her from absorbing ambient elental energy.
Unless she could generate elental power from thin air, she wouldn't be able to use her abilities anymore.
Moreover, the "Wonderland" was a personal space exclusive to Nolan, different from Teyvat, where elental energy naturally circulated.
The elental energy in the "Wonderland" only existed due to residual power from their abilities or the slow seepage from stored elental materials.
In general, the concentration of elental energy in the "Wonderland" was quite low.
As long as the group periodically absorbed the excess energy to maintain minimal levels, even if the "Lady" wanted to draw on it, there wouldn't be much available.
After confirming that detaining the "Lady" in the "Wonderland" would not pose any risks, Nolan hoisted her onto his shoulder, opened the door to the space, and entered with Lisa and Lumine.
Inside the "Wonderland," the first thing they saw was Paimon anxiously waiting on the couch in the central living room, with Mona and Jean casually sipping tea.
Noticing their return, Paimon exclaid excitedly, "You're back! How did the battle go?"
"Look here—one captured Fatui Harbinger," Nolan replied with a smile, setting the unconscious "Lady" down unceremoniously.
"Whoa!" Paimon recoiled at the sight of the "Lady," instinctively recalling her nacing deanor. She quickly hid behind Lumine before realizing the "Lady" seed unconscious. Letting out a small sigh of relief, she said, "Phew, you scared Paimon! Paimon thought she had barged in or sothing."
"Haha, as if I'd let that happen," Nolan said confidently.
Recalling Nolan's formidable strength, Paimon begrudgingly acknowledged his skills, though she wouldn't admit it outright:
"Hmph, it's obvious Lumine did most of the work capturing this Harbinger. And let's not forget, the most critical factor was cheering you on from behind the scenes!"
"…"
Lumine thought Paimon was about to complint her, only to find the credit redirected back to herself.
"Alright, let's focus on securing her first," Lumine said, turning her gaze to the "Lady" with a slightly exasperated tone.
"Agreed," Nolan nodded.
The "Wonderland" was a semi-spherical space. Its floor area was determined by the combined levels of Nolan and Sucrose, currently spanning 128 square ters.
As the space expanded, its height would increase proportionally, making it feasible to add a second floor in the future if needed.
Currently, the right side had three rooms partitioned off using sturdy Geo-elent panels overlaid with wood. These rooms were designated for Nolan, Lumine, and the shared quarters for Paimon and Fischl.
On the left, Mona's laboratory had been organized to prevent her equipnt and books from cluttering the area. Damaging one of her books—each worth tens of thousands of Mora—was a risk Nolan couldn't afford.
Behind the laboratory was a small library equipped with desks and chairs, perfect for quiet study or research.
Other sections included a kitchen, a bathroom, and a central living room. A warehouse for storing various materials was also critical.
In summary, the "Wonderland" had beco a proper residence.
However, detaining the "Lady" here ant constructing a confinent or interrogation room to prevent her from wandering freely.
This task fell to Lumine. Building a room with Geo-elents wouldn't take much ti.
Before long, a small room was constructed near the library. Made entirely of reinforced and thickened Geo-elents, it was further secured with magic arrays set up by Lisa.
With everything ready, Nolan threw the "Lady" into the new room, where she would remain until she woke up for interrogation.
"Alright, now that's settled, don't forget your promise to , little adventurer~"
Lisa, dressed in black tights instead of her usual lace stockings, suddenly leaned close to Nolan, wrapping an arm around his and brushing her soft lips against his cheek.
[Lisa Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 230 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (180/900).]
"Ahem." Under the subtly jealous gazes of Jean and Lumine, Nolan dared not act out of line. Scratching his head awkwardly, he said, "Don't worry. I'll help you with your constellation issue in a couple of days."
"That's a promise, then~" Lisa smiled and gave him another kiss.
"Yes, yes."
Being this close to a girl left Nolan feeling a mix of excitent and novelty.
"Lisa, it's already past 1 a.m. You said you wouldn't stay up late for the sake of your skin. Go take a bath and get so rest!"
Jean, rising from the couch, pulled Lisa along by the arm.
"Haha, Jean, you're quite adorable like this," Lisa teased, letting herself be led away. A mont later, she was teleported—likely to Amber, Eula, or Sucrose's side.
Watching them leave, Nolan brushed his arm to savor the lingering warmth. Turning to Mona, he said, "Mona, keep an eye on the 'Lady.' Let us know when she wakes up. Lumine, Paimon, and I will go clean up the battlefield outside."
"Got it. It's late, so be quick," Mona replied, stretching and yawning before leaning back on the sofa to rest.
She felt a bit uneasy about being alone with a Fatui Harbinger.
"No problem," Nolan reassured her, nodding. Cleaning up the battlefield wouldn't take much ti.
"Wow, the ground is scorched black—it's terrifying!" Paimon exclaid as she stepped out of the "Wonderland" behind Lumine, surveying the battlefield outside.
"That was all the 'Lady's' doing—she was setting everything on fire earlier!" Nolan conveniently placed all the bla on the "Lady," which, to be fair, was true.
"The collapse of the Delusion Factory secret realm didn't just eject us; the items within, like processed Crystal Marrow and completed Delusions, were also expelled and scattered around the area," Lumine noted thoughtfully.
"Especially the Delusions—these are incredibly dangerous. We must gather them quickly before any passersby pick them up," she added.
"I'll take care of collecting the Delusions. You and Paimon can grab anything valuable you co across," Nolan suggested, nodding slightly before extending his spiritual sense to start the search.
"Hehe, leave it to us!" Paimon declared enthusiastically, patting her chest with confidence.
The group then set about cleaning up the battlefield.
For Nolan, this task wasn't particularly challenging. With a sweep of his spiritual sense, he pinpointed the Delusions' locations and used ntal threads to retrieve them.
About twenty minutes later, Nolan and Lumine had gathered most of the valuable items in the area.
They found 53 intact Delusions that had survived the "Lady's" flas, along with a pile of charred, unusable ones. Even the intact ones weren't of much use, given the toll they took on the user's lifespan.
Collecting them was rely a precaution to prevent others from stumbling upon them and misusing them, potentially harming both themselves and others.
In addition to the Delusions, Nolan gathered a substantial amount of Crystal Marrow.
Compared to the Delusions, the Crystal Marrow was far more useful. If he rembered correctly, these materials originated from the remains of the serpent god Raiden Shogun had slain on Yashiori Island.
The Crystal Marrow contained residual godly power from that serpent. It could be used as a supplentary material for forging weapons or as ascension materials.
The Fatui had also figured out how to use it in Delusion manufacturing.
No wonder they had chosen Yashiori Island for their Delusion Factory—it was the place with the largest concentration of Crystal Marrow in all of Inazuma, owing to the serpent god's demise here.
Between gathering it himself and collaborating with the Kanjou Commission, the Fatui had managed to stockpile a significant amount of Crystal Marrow in the factory.
Even accounting for the losses from the battle, Nolan estimated he had collected around seven or eight tons.
If he didn't use it himself, selling it would bring in a small fortune—a lucrative windfall.
Nolan stored the Crystal Marrow and Delusions in the "Wonderland" warehouse. Soon, Lumine and Paimon returned as well. They hadn't found anything particularly valuable, only a broken, massive elental energy furnace—the one that powered the Delusion Factory.
The furnace wasn't of much use to them, but handing it over to the Knights of Favonius might yield so insights into Snezhnayan technology. After so thought, Nolan decided to store it in the warehouse as well.
Fortunately, the elental energy furnace wasn't too large, and the warehouse could just barely accommodate it.
"Phew, that's done! Let's head back and rest," Paimon said, wiping her brow as though she'd done heavy lifting, even though all she had done was float around Lumine, pointing out items of interest.
Nolan nodded. Just as he was about to open a portal back to the "Wonderland," he sensed sothing and turned to look to his right.
Using his spiritual sense, he detected a group of about twenty people quickly approaching their location.
Following his gaze, Lumine and Paimon also spotted flickering lights in the distance. With their sharp vision, they could make out the torches swaying in the dark.
"It seems soone's coming. Could the commotion from the earlier battle have alerted nearby residents?" Lumine speculated, pressing a pale finger to her lips.
"Huh? But the sky over this island is always dark and stormy, like a perpetual thunderstorm zone. Are there really people living here?" Paimon asked in surprise.
She wasn't entirely wrong.
When they first arrived on Yashiori Island, it was obvious that the weather was abnormal. While it wasn't as severe as the offshore thunderstorm zones with endless lightning and rain, there were no clear skies either.
It didn't seem like a place suitable for habitation.
"Well, we haven't explored the entire island, so we can't be sure if anyone lives here. But now that soone has shown up, we might as well check out who they are since we're curious," Nolan said with a smile.
Lumine and Paimon nodded in agreent. While they spoke, the group of more than twenty people carrying torches had arrived.
Leading them was a young man with fluffy ears on his head and a tail resembling a dog's wagging behind him.
Nolan recognized him imdiately. He looked exactly like Gorou from the ga, so there was no mistaking his identity.
Gorou was a general of the Inazuman resistance—or more formally, the leader of the Watatsumi Army from Watatsumi Island. The soldiers in uniform behind him were clearly his troops.
So, it was the resistance who had arrived. It made sense, considering Yashiori Island wasn't far from Watatsumi Island, the resistance's base. Deploying troops nearby was logical.
"What… what happened here?"
"Who are those people?"
The soldiers of the Watatsumi Army whispered among themselves as they surveyed the chaotic battlefield and the suspicious group standing there in the middle of the night.
"Silence!" Gorou barked at his troops. Once they quieted down, he turned his sharp gaze toward Nolan and his companions.
His beastly instincts warned him that these individuals were extrely dangerous—so much so that even raising his voice at them might bring disaster.
Adopting a more cordial tone, he asked, "Greetings. We're soldiers from Watatsumi Island. We noticed the commotion here and ca from a nearby camp to investigate. May I ask what happened here?"
"Watatsumi Island's soldiers? Aren't you part of the Shogunate Army? I thought Inazuma only had one military force," Paimon asked in confusion.
Gorou glanced at the trio's unusual hair colors and suddenly understood. "Oh, so you're foreigners! No wonder you don't know," he said with a nod.
After a brief pause, he explained, "While Watatsumi Island is part of Inazuma, for certain reasons, we have our own military force. But because you seem a bit suspicious, I'm not at liberty to disclose too much right now.
"If it's alright, could you first explain what happened here?
"If we can confirm that you aren't dangerous individuals, you'd be welco to visit Watatsumi Island as our guests. At that point, you could ask Lady Kokomi anything you'd like."
Despite the oddity of these strangers appearing in the wilderness in the middle of the night—seemingly after a battle—Gorou's instincts and his first impression of them suggested they weren't bad people.
He thought that if he could understand the situation and invite them to Watatsumi Island, perhaps Lady Kokomi might even persuade these powerful individuals to assist the resistance.
Their help could greatly improve the resistance's odds against the Shogunate Army.
Of course, all of this depended on verifying that these people weren't suspicious or affiliated with the Shogunate.
(End of Chapter)
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