In the system's vast, empty small space, Jiang Mumu's consciousness manifested.
It had been a long time since she had been to this space; ever since her seven clones descended upon Teyvat, Jiang Mumu had not returned.
Her consciousness rotated among the seven clones; if the system hadn't strengthened her consciousness, she would have long lost her sense of self.
She had a purpose for coming this time as well.
She had accumulated some emotional feedback, enough to proceed with her next phase of the plan.
She needed a villain, a thorough and complete villain.
One to kill her clones.
She wanted her seven clones to die gloriously, and it was best if the villain was also under her control.
With a plan in mind, creating a clone was quick.
Because this clone didn't need her careful embellishment; it didn't need to be good-looking, as it was only for attracting hatred anyway.
After only a quarter of an hour, a malicious clone, two and a half meters tall, entirely black, and exuding an ominous Abyss aura, emerged.
When creating this clone, Jiang Mumu fully referenced the Abyss Herald, incorporating some horror elements to make this clone exert immense pressure just by its appearance.
In short, it was the kind of guy that was extremely unpleasant to look at, making people want to flee.
As for the Abyss...
Actually, Jiang Mumu had previously considered the malicious clone coming from outside the world, considered it being a God, or even the Fatui, or related to the five Sinners...
But in the end, she still chose the Abyss.
As the most traditional villain on the continent of Teyvat, the Abyss was undoubtedly the best choice.
It was not surprising for any kind of monster to appear in the Abyss, and the sudden appearance of such a thing would not attract too much attention.
It's just... she had to apologize to Aether first here.
As one of the twins, it shouldn't be too difficult for him to prove that these things weren't his doing, right?
Probably...
As a super villain who would run through Lumine's entire journey, the malicious avatar's strength naturally couldn't be weak.
Otherwise, it would be a huge loss if Venti instantly annihilated him upon meeting.
It's just... wanting to raise the strength of the malicious avatar to the level of the Seven Archons...
That would undoubtedly be a fantasy; if that were the case, Lumine would have no fun at all, getting instantly killed upon meeting, might as well just stick out her neck and wait for death.
So, this avatar must be strong, strong enough to escape from the hands of the Seven Archons, but not too strong, otherwise there would be no game to play.
This seemed like a very contradictory requirement.
In fact, it was not; Jiang Mumu spent a lot more emotional feedback to add many buffs to the malicious avatar.
Besides that, for the malicious avatar to reach the level Jiang Mumu expected, it also needed a catalyst.
And that catalyst was in Mondstadt.
Everything returned to where the dream began; only after this matter succeeded would the malicious avatar truly be complete.
His strength wouldn't be very high, but his escape ability was absolutely first-class, and he was very difficult to kill; Jiang Mumu could already imagine how frantic they would be in Teyvat when facing the malicious avatar.
"Alright, prepare for deployment."
---
Liyue.
Mu Qingge recuperated in Bubu Pharmacy for three days, then left despite Baizhu's objections.
She hadn't gone far when she encountered Zhongli, who was standing in the middle of the road, seemingly waiting for her.
"Lord—... Mr. Zhongli."
Zhongli nodded slightly and walked towards the nearby lotus pond.
Mu Qingge followed behind him, like a primary school student caught by a teacher for doing something wrong.
"Why did you not listen to medical advice?"
"Liyue has suffered a great disaster, and the news of the Geo Archkn's 'demise' has spread among the people; many are discussing it privately, and many petty criminals are taking advantage of the situation to commit crimes. The Millelith have a heavy task; although Fengyan is capable, he is inevitably overwhelmed by so many matters. I am worried."
"Alas~"
Zhongli sighed softly:
"I know you are responsible, but your body is the foundation of everything. Your primary duty now is to take good care of your body and not let your family and friends worry."
"As for what you are worried about, it is not only the Millelith and you, Keqing, who are busy with this matter. Ningguang, Yelan, and others are all closely monitoring this, and I have also asked the Traveler for help. You don't need to trouble yourself anymore."
"That Traveler from a foreign land is very capable, and you know her. You can rest assured leaving things to her."
With the words already said, Mu Qingge didn't know what else to say.
Seeing Mu Qingge remain silent, Zhongli extended his right hand.
Meeting Mu Qingge's puzzled gaze, Zhongli opened his right hand; in his palm was an exquisite jade talisman. He explained:
"This item is called the Xuanji Shield. I commissioned Madam Ping to forge this defensive catalyst. It will automatically activate when it senses a threat. Take it with you."
Mu Qingge was flustered:
"This, this is too precious. I..."
Zhongli didn't speak, his hand still extended.
Mu Qingge fell silent, then slowly reached out and took the jade talisman into her hand, clutching it tightly:
"Thank you for the Lord's gift!"
Zhongli then nodded in satisfaction: "Go back. At least three more days."
Mu Qingge agreed and returned the way she came.
Watching Mu Qingge disappear from his sight, Zhongli suddenly remembered the task the Director had given him and shook his head with a wry smile.
These children, they really don't make things easy...
---
In the following days, Lumine and Paimon came to visit Mu Qingge, and Paimon even brought her favorite food.
It was hard to imagine how this little guy managed not to eat it all along the way.
Five more days passed, and Mu Qingge finally "checked out" of the hospital. This time, the Geo Archon wasn't lurking along the way to intercept her.
Mu Qingge first went home to check, and to her relief, her parents and sister did not know about her injury.
She really had to thank Keqing and the others for that.
Returning to the Millelith, Mu Qingge took over Fengyan's work.
Just as Zhongli had said, even though she hadn't managed things for many days, the Millelith's management and external missions were surprisingly well-handled, with no problems arising from her absence.
Although Ningguang and the others helped, Fengyan's capability was still not to be overlooked.
It seemed he had been trained well; she could rest assured when she stepped down later.
---
One day, Paimon and Lumine found Mu Qingge.
"You just said you're going back to Mondstadt?"
"Yes, Mondstadt said there's a blond man who seems to fit Lumine's description of her brother. Without further ado, we plan to set off immediately."
Paimon said excitedly, and Lumine next to him also seemed very eager.
"We came to ask if you need us to bring anything back to Ruola, Qingge?"
Mu Qingge shook her head: "Thank you, but you don't need to trouble yourselves. A few days later, after these matters are settled, I will personally make a trip to Mondstadt. It's both official and personal business. I will personally go find Ruola then."
"Oh, okay, then we'll be going now. Goodbye, Qingge!"
Lumine: "Goodbye, Qingge!"
Mu Qingge: "Goodbye, I hope Lumine finds her brother, and I hope you two reunite soon!"
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