Chapter 4

Bai Luo's luck was quite good.

The dagger he had casually thrown earlier had actually triggered a critical hit.

And with the critical hit, his passive ability was naturally activated.

Passive Skill: Electric Shock

When normal attacks or daggers (Skill: Hei) crit, they inflict an electric shock, immobilizing the target for 0.5 seconds (can trigger once every 5 seconds).

Beidou, who had been immobilized in mid-air, instantly lost all her strength and elemental energy.

This created the illusion that she had been effortlessly pushed back.

But if they were to really fight now... Bai Luo might not necessarily be Beidou's match.

It wasn't that he was weak.

First, he was very clear about his role.

With his stealth abilities, he excelled at assassination and burst damage.

If they were on land, Beidou would definitely not be his opponent.

But this was the sea, Beidou's most familiar battlefield.

Bai Luo, on the other hand, had far less experience in naval combat.

In a direct confrontation, he wouldn't have the upper hand.

What he could do was use his reputation to intimidate the other side and force them to retreat.

When Beidou mentioned Childe, Bai Luo's reaction was entirely due to his headache regarding Childe.

Right now, everyone in Snezhnaya knew that the Eleventh Harbinger, Childe, wanted to fight the Twelfth Harbinger.

Bai Luo wasn't afraid of anything else—he was just afraid of Childe coming to challenge him.

After all, with the other Harbingers, there was still room for negotiation.

But with Childe?

Fight first, talk later. Everything could be discussed after the fight.

In truth, when Beidou said it was a misunderstanding, Bai Luo had already considered leaving.

However, for another reason, he pretended to be angry and continued to stall.

Of course, it wasn't about something as trivial as honor.

Although he had just become the Twelfth Harbinger, everyone in Snezhnaya knew that he was the most shameless and least concerned with honor.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have trained so many Pyro Agents.

This was also one of the reasons why people were surprised he had become a Harbinger.

The reason he was stalling was related to another one of his skills.

Skill: Silver

Passive Effect: Activates perception, granting vision of Vision holders in a severely injured state within a 3-kilometer radius. Permanently increases defense penetration by 15% + 5 points.

Active Effect: Marks a target, allowing the user to gain vision of the target's surroundings for a certain period. During the marking period, the user cannot move, attack, or use skills, and will automatically exit stealth mode.

Bai Luo was currently using this skill on Beidou.

The so-called "gaining vision of the target" meant he could sense their location, effectively allowing him to track them.

It was a godly skill for assassination.

However, the progress bar had only reached 70%. Completing it before a fight broke out would be difficult.

So, he had to think of another way to both give himself time to fill the progress bar and prevent his subordinates from rashly attacking.

"You're from Liyue, right?"

Just as tensions were reaching a boiling point, Bai Luo suddenly spoke.

And he spoke in perfect Liyue dialect, with a slight southern accent from the Liyue countryside.

"Huh?"

Even Beidou hadn't expected this move.

After all, who would have thought that a Fatui Harbinger from Snezhnaya could speak such authentic Liyue dialect?

"Yes... I am. Are you also from Liyue?"

Judging from the exposed skin on his neck, he was indeed a genuine Liyue native.

But when had Liyue produced such a person? And how had he ended up becoming a Harbinger in Snezhnaya?

"How's Qiqi from Bubu Pharmacy been lately?"

"???"

Beidou was even more confused.

Qiqi, the herb-gathering child from Bubu Pharmacy, was a figure only Liyue locals would know about.

Even if foreigners noticed her, they would at most comment on her clothing and appearance, never paying much attention to her.

How did he...

"She's... doing fine. Living a pretty good life."

While digesting this information, Beidou responded.

Bai Luo glanced at the progress bar above Beidou's head and whispered a few words to the braided Fatui member beside him.

Although puzzled, the man obediently returned to the cabin and soon brought out a wooden box.

Inside the box, the sound of clinking bottles could be heard, though it was unclear what they contained.

Under Bai Luo's orders, the Mirror Maiden used a wave to carefully deliver the box to Beidou's ship.

"What's this?"

Beidou looked at the box in front of her and asked.

"A gift for Qiqi. When you see her, tell her it's from... Little Bai."

"Little Bai?"

For some reason, Beidou's mind conjured an image of Baizhu from Bubu Pharmacy.

Was this guy related to Baizhu?

But no, his hair was black, clearly different from Baizhu's.

"For the sake of Childe and Qiqi, let's consider this matter settled today. Don't let me catch you next time."

Grabbing the barrel of Dandelion Wine from the deck, Bai Luo delivered some final words before returning to the cabin.

And with that, this minor skirmish was resolved.

Both ships raised their sails and headed in different directions.

Bai Luo had done this because the progress bar had finally reached 100%.

In his perception, the leader of the Crux Fleet had become crystal clear.

Even if they were in Inazuma, as long as she appeared within a certain range, Bai Luo would immediately sense her.

But... did he actually know Qiqi?

Yes, he did.

But Qiqi didn't know him.

The reason he had brought up Qiqi's name in front of Beidou was because of her unique identity.

Qiqi was a zombie. Even if Beidou or Ningguang asked her about it, she would never remember who "Little Bai" was.

After all, her poor memory was well-known.

But if Beidou delivered the gift to Qiqi, Qiqi would definitely remember "Little Bai."

At the very least, she would jot down the name "Little Bai" in her notebook.

Because that gift was...

"Coconut milk?"

On the Alcor.

After changing course, Beidou wasn't entirely comfortable with the box Bai Luo had sent.

So, she and the ship's alchemist opened it together.

After some analysis, the alchemist determined that the milky-white liquid inside was just ordinary coconut milk.

Although Beidou knew Qiqi, she wasn't aware of Qiqi's love for coconut milk.

She found it strange why the Fatui Harbinger, who called himself the Instructor, would send Qiqi a box of coconut milk.

"Then... Captain, are we still heading to Inazuma?"

The one-eyed sailor watched as Beidou resealed the box of coconut milk and tentatively asked.

"Not for now. Change course! We're returning to Liyue immediately. This Twelfth Harbinger is full of mysteries. We need to deliver this information as soon as possible."

Glancing at the envelope with the Sangonomiya crest pressed under a paperweight, Beidou gave her orders.

Inazuma could wait, but this intelligence had to be brought back to Liyue immediately.

Once the course was set, Beidou climbed onto the lookout platform and squinted at the Fatui ship disappearing into the storm.

"Little Bai, huh?"