Hu Tao Is Monetizing My Existence. [214]

“I’m not doing it!”

Paimon, draped in the rag, zipped straight to the back of the group.

Expecting her, of all people—who had zero combat ability—to scout ahead? Aether was just too mean!

Aether muttered, “Come on, emergency food, do something useful for once.”

“I’m your guide! That’s extremely important work!”

Paimon stomped her feet in midair, but with the rag covering her, all anyone could see was a scrap of cloth bobbing up and down.

“I’ll scout ahead. The rest of you, follow behind me,” Diluc said, putting on a mask for a simple disguise before striding boldly into the cave, the others trailing after.

From the outside, the cave was well-hidden, but as Jiang Bai entered, he realized just how vast it was within. He couldn’t tell if it was naturally formed or carved out by hand, but the Fatui had built fortifications inside, turning the cave into a secret base.

Plenty of Fatui agents were posted inside, but with everyone in disguise, there was no point sneaking around—they just went straight in, fighting their way through.

Along the way, Jiang Bai finally got to witness the Acting Grand Master’s true strength.

Jean didn’t even need her Vision—just pure skill and training were enough for her to breeze through the cave, barely even drawing her sword against the Fatui.

No wonder the Knights seemed so confident about handling Stormterror.

And this was just Jean fighting without her Vision—if she actually used elemental power, she might truly be a match for Stormterror.

“Captain Jean really is incredible…” Jiang Bai, walking at the back, couldn’t help but sigh.

“That’s why Klee is scared of Captain Jean.” Klee rested her chin on top of Jiang Bai’s head, sounding listless.

She really wanted to throw some bombs and teach the bad guys a lesson, but if someone got hurt, she’d be in big trouble.

Especially with Captain Jean right here—if anything happened, there’d be no way to explain herself, with eyewitnesses and all.

Venti nodded sagely, recounting Jean’s legendary feats. “Yes, as the Dandelion Knight, Captain Jean once sliced five Ruin Guards into pieces in one go. She even worried afterward about damaging antiques, so she said she’d try taking down the next batch barehanded.”

Jiang Bai remembered how tough it had been fighting four Ruin Guards at once back at Guyun Stone Forest. Now, picturing Jean chopping up five at once… He shivered.

Terrifying. Seriously terrifying.

Are all Mondstadt’s people this strong?

Diluc took out Abyss Mages in just two moves. Jean soloed five Ruin Guards.

And these were just the two who’d actually shown off what they could do. Most of Mondstadt’s top fighters were out on expedition…

But even with all this strength, Mondstadt still needed to be wary of the Fatui.

So just how powerful is Snezhnaya, to command a force like this?

For some reason, Jiang Bai felt uneasy.

He even had the faint sense that something was watching them, but no matter how he looked, he couldn’t find the source.

As they went deeper, with two powerhouses leading and the Honorary Knight fighting seriously, Jiang Bai, Klee, Venti, and Paimon were basically relegated to background roles.

Though to be fair, Jiang Bai still managed to throw up a geo shield for everyone.

But the Fatui here were so weak, he couldn’t tell if they were just playing along or really that unskilled—the shield was hardly needed.

To be honest, the whole thing felt off, so much so that Jiang Bai couldn’t help but suspect a setup.

If the Fatui were truly a force even the Knights feared, then their showing in this cave was just too underwhelming.

Some of the agents even broke ranks and ran. A few were so scared they lost control of their bladders.

Really not living up to the Fatui’s reputation…

Jiang Bai looked over at Diluc and Jean—both of them had clearly noticed something was off, too.

Diluc stroked his chin, frowning. “Strange. We’ve barely met any real resistance.”

Jean knocked out a nearby Fatui agent with a clean chop to the neck. “Whatever their reason, the most important thing is to retrieve the Holy Lyre.”

Whether the Fatui had set a trap or had some deeper scheme, they needed to get the Lyre first and figure out the rest later.

“Agreed.”

Diluc nodded. He was confident enough in his and Jean’s strength that no trap here could hold them.

Jiang Bai didn’t say anything. With this team—and an incognito god among them—it was hard to imagine any trap that could really threaten them.

They made it all the way to the deepest part of the cave without issue, and quickly found the Holy Lyre. Aside from two halfway competent Fatui agents who tried to block them at the very end, it was almost absurdly smooth.

“Klee’s big adventure is so boring…” Klee yawned from Jiang Bai’s shoulders, starting to nod off.

She’d thought exploring the cave would be a real adventure, but all she could do was watch Captain Jean flatten the bad guys with barely any effort. It was actually kind of dull.

“Take a nap. If anything fun happens, I’ll wake you up.”

“Don’t forget to call me!”

She hugged his neck, using his head as a pillow, and sleepily closed her eyes.

Jean glanced around, then spoke in a low voice, “We’ve got what we came for—let’s get out of here. The Fatui just now said their Harbinger will be back soon. If we run into them, things could get difficult.”

Aether nodded and stashed the Holy Lyre away.

As the group left, two shadows emerged in the now-empty cave.

“You’re just going to stand by and let them walk out with the Holy Lyre?” The speaker, who looked like a youth, wore a wide-brimmed hat with curtains hanging from its rim, arms folded as he watched the scene unfold.

He didn’t know how long he’d been observing.

“It was the plan all along.” Beside him, La Signora gave a soft laugh. “If they didn’t take the Holy Lyre, how else would our dear Anemo Archon save their companion?”

Her eyes narrowed, looking down at the youth. “But as for you, dear Scaramouche—why are you here?”

Scaramouche shrugged, the curtains on his hat swaying gently. “Just passing through, checking up on your progress. Seeing if you need any help.”

He let out a mocking chuckle. “Seems Lady La Signora has everything under control. I guess I was worrying for nothing.”

La Signora’s voice was edged with annoyance. “If you know you’re not needed, then get lost.”

She hated having people meddle in her work.

Scaramouche didn’t care, turning to leave the cave. His parting words, dripping with sarcasm, echoed off the stone.

“Heh. Don’t get tripped up in the shadows.”

—

This is a fan translation of 胡桃拿我冲业绩 by 余溯. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!