Chapter 86: Dotorre — Prime Segment

Pantalone wore his trademark smile. "Adventurine, long time no see. Back from Liyue and already stealing my guards, are we~?"

Shajin shrugged. "Come on, Pantalone. You're not exactly short on guards, are you~?"

Pantalone gave no clear reply, simply clapping his hands.

A waiting attendant stepped forward and poured each of them a cup of tea.

Shajin let out a quiet sigh. "Everyone hates capitalists. Everyone wants to become one." He lifted the teacup and took a slow sip.

Then he set the cup down and cut straight to the point. "Enough with the small talk. The Prime Dottore segment—he should still be in Snezhnaya, right?"

"I want to know exactly where he is~"

His gaze bore into Pantalone like a blade, as if trying to peel away every layer.

Pantalone shook his head.

"How would I possibly know his whereabouts?"

Shajin's expression didn't change.

"One hundred million Mora."

"I truly don't know."

"Five Liyue Harbor properties."

"This isn't a matter of money."

"And a factory in Fontaine."

"Deal~"

Pantalone tapped the table. A hidden compartment popped open, revealing a stack of classified documents from across the nations.

He pulled out a map and handed it to Shajin.

"This is the location of the prime Dottore Segment. There may be other segments nearby, so do be careful~"

Without hesitation, Shajin turned and left.

"Oh, right. Have your men finalize the transaction at Guixie Pavilion."

He spoke without looking back.

"I'll see to it."

Pantalone watched his retreating figure in silence, thoughts flickering behind his calm gaze.

"…Oh, no." He murmured suddenly, as if recalling something.

Then he smiled slyly and shook his head.

"The one who should be careful… is Dottore~" he whispered to himself.

...

Across a vast icy plain in Snezhnaya, blizzards howled and raged, swallowing the world in a blinding white.

Shajin stood alone in the storm. He stomped down, and the ice beneath his feet cracked with a sharp snap, the entire sheet trembling under the weight of his power.

His every move radiated pressure like a mountain descending—silent, immovable, crushing.

He stood tall against the cold, a beacon of contrast in the white void.

With a final shattering crack, the ice broke open, revealing a massive steel-grey gate beneath.

Its cold, forbidding presence stirred an instinctive fear—as if it warned intruders to flee before it was too late.

The moment the gate creaked open, hundreds of steel needles launched from every direction, all targeting Shajin's face.

They moved with terrifying speed, mere blinks from striking.

Yet Shajin remained completely calm.

With the flick of a hand, a Geo shield materialized before him—Jade Barrier.

The needles struck the barrier with crisp metallic clangs, but failed to penetrate.

"What a warm welcome, Dottore~" Shajin smirked, voice tinged with amusement.

He knew the traps were Dottore's work—but they were no threat to him.

"Hehehe… What wind blew you here?"

The cold voice came from ahead.

Shajin looked toward the sound. A man in a white lab coat approached slowly, eyes sharp and heavy with thought, cradling a thick book as he muttered calculations.

At a glance, the man looked to be in his fifties.

Shajin simply shrugged.

"I'm here for the prime Dottore Segment. I need him for something."

Middle-aged Dottore narrowed his eyes. A flicker of wariness flashed within.

He knew the strength of the man before him—the infamous Gambler. The tales of him crushing three Archon-level entities alone in Liyue had reached even here.

In truth, this lab was built for researching the strange force known as Imaginary Energy, the very power Shajin wielded.

As one of the researchers involved, he understood its magnitude. Even The Abyss paled in comparison.

After a pause, he nodded.

He led Shajin through a long corridor into a secure chamber.

"He's in there. I have other matters to attend to."

Shajin stroked his chin but let the man go.

He stepped forward and pressed against the heavy vault door.

With a groan of metal, the door opened, releasing a pungent chemical odor that made the air feel thick and dizzying.

Rows upon rows of tubes filled the room, some tall as pillars, others thin as a finger. They contained liquids in strange colors—unsettling purples, pitch blacks, and glowing hues that pulsed with soft light.

It was an eerie, chaotic beauty.

At the center stood a massive machine, gleaming with polished metal, laced with wires and covered in intricate dials and meters.

Beside it was a man.

The prime Dottore Segment.

His figure, under the dim glow of the lab, seemed twisted by shadows.

Suspended above the machine was the orb Shajin had entrusted to the younger Dottore earlier—Imaginary Energy, glowing with uncanny brilliance.

The segment gripped the control levers tightly, face alight with madness, muttering with feverish joy.

"Marvelous! Simply… marvelous!!!"

His manic voice echoed through the chamber like a hymn of lunacy.

Shajin frowned.

He thought he understood the madness of the Dottores.

He had underestimated them.

"Hey. How's the research going?"

The prime segment finally paused and turned.

"Hahaha, Adventurine! This Imaginary Energy… it's beautiful. A force that devours all, like a natural law of elimination! It's perfection!"

He clicked his tongue with regret.

"But alas… I lack the conditions to continue."

"Soon, I may have to return to that little project of defying the gods~"

He turned, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"So then, Adventurine… What business brings you to me, via The Wealthy One?"

Shajin pulled up a chair and sat down lazily.

"Remember the promise you made me?"

Dottore went silent for a moment.

Then scoffed and crossed his arms.

"That little thing? It should've been retrieved long ago."

"Fine. What do you need me to do?"

Shajin's lips curled into a knowing grin.

"You should be thanking me, actually."

"Because I'm about to let you go back to your god-defiling fun~"

He snapped his fingers.

With a flash of power, a massive dragon corpse materialized beside them.

The Geo Archon's "corpse"—the Exuvia.

_

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