Chapter 218: The Doctor's Reaction
Tssss—
Scalding hot steam hissed out from the dense, intricate network of pipes.
A Fatui researcher clutching a notebook swallowed nervously and quickened his pace.
He knew very well that if he got lost in this ruin, his master absolutely wouldn't come looking for him.
After all, the Doctor's time was more valuable than anything else.
Currently, they were deep within a ruin in Liyue.
While the Doctor had a reputation for short-lived interests, anything he set his eyes on would inevitably be thoroughly dismantled and repurposed.
This ruin was no exception.
The moment he detected connections between this site and the Ruin Guards, he transformed it into his personal "playroom lab."
The researcher couldn't help but shudder again as he passed a massive steam claw gripping a dismantled war machine.
The Doctor probably wasn't fazed by Ruin Guards, but he was just a regular researcher. He could handle dissecting a few "test subjects," sure… but this? No thanks.
Clearing his throat, he began his status report.
"Subject K423 is showing instability again, but we've done our best to manage it."
"Hmm."
"Progress in Sumeru is... not going smoothly. It seems someone is intentionally working against us."
"Hmm."
"As for Watatsumi Island, we've reached a mutual agreement. Her Majesty is already preparing to send in advance units to establish presence there."
"Hmm... h—huh?!"
The Doctor, who had been responding with disinterest, suddenly froze in his tracks.
The footsteps behind him halted abruptly; one assistant nearly bumped into his back.
"What did you just say?"
The Doctor turned sharply, his brows furrowed in a way that screamed "bad mood."
The researcher's heart practically stopped.
"I– I said— Sumeru—"
"I'm not asking about Sumeru! I asked about Watatsumi Island!"
Watatsumi Island reached an agreement with the Fatui?
Impossible. Weren't they practically enemies?
Could it be... that Raiden Shogun herself finally lost patience and intervened?
"W-Well— Lord Ausbilder led the operation. In a single night, he captured the Divine Priestess and swiftly negotiated terms. Watatsumi Island has now accepted Her Majesty's protection."
The specific details of how Bai Luo accomplished this? Unknown.
The one who reported back was Bai Luo himself—so the entire story could've been made up however he liked.
"Bai Luo, huh? …Sounds like something he'd do."
The Doctor's tense expression gradually relaxed.
But the researcher beside him didn't dare breathe too loudly.
Everyone knew the Doctor's moods could turn on a dime. One wrong word, and you might find yourself transformed into a mindless abomination.
Why hadn't the Fatui taken Watatsumi sooner?
Was it really like the Regrator claimed, that there was nothing of value there?
Or had it been used merely to distract the Shogunate's forces while the Fatui made a move on Inazuma City?
Actually… it was neither.
The very fact that the incompetent Igor had been stationed there this whole time should have been a clue:
The Fatui hadn't ignored Watatsumi Island at all.
They had simply viewed it as an experimental field, a zone without divine protection, ripe for testing.
If Watatsumi resisted the Fatui?
Then destroying it would be entirely justified.
But now that it had submitted, now that it had chosen to align with them…
The Doctor could no longer target it.
Even pre-approved plans might have to be scrapped.
After all, if those untested Delusions were distributed carelessly in a region now aligned with them, other allied nations might seize the opportunity to break away from Fatui control.
This outcome was not what the Doctor had intended—nor was it something Her Majesty the Tsaritsa would have wanted to see.
Which was precisely why his reaction had been so intense.
Had it been Scaramouche or Tartaglia who pulled this off, the Doctor would've definitely made a trip to confront them personally.
Because if those two had done it, it would have been nothing but recklessness—stirring up unnecessary trouble.
Especially Tartaglia.
Everyone knew he was a battle maniac. Maybe he simply saw the Divine Priestess's fame as too tempting, decided to pick a fight, and accidentally ended up taking over Watatsumi Island.
But if it was Bai Luo who did it...
Then the Doctor needed to consider other possibilities.
He hadn't forgotten what happened in Mondstadt—after all, he'd lost two of his subordinates there.
They were nobodies, sure—but still suitable experimental subjects.
However, once he finished reading the report passed up from his staff, all his initial displeasure... vanished.
Even more shocking to his subordinates—the Doctor had personally opened a bottle of fire-water, pouring himself a cupful and sipping it with genuine satisfaction.
And this was the Doctor, who never drank while working.
Everyone else only saw Bai Luo as someone who had messed up the Tsaritsa's plans, reducing the Fatui's influence in Mondstadt.
But only the Doctor noticed two key details:
First: The Girl Tainted by the Residue of a God.
To most people, Bai Luo was simply over-indulgent toward some mysterious girl.
But to the Doctor, it was clear that Bai Luo was conducting an experiment. All that "indulgence" was just a means to maintain close observation and keep a detailed log of her behavior.
Second: The Vision.
According to the report, when Bai Luo first encountered the girl, she had no Vision. Aside from the residual power of the god fragment, she had no other supernatural abilities.
Yet later, after Bai Luo sent her to Sumeru, she was found to possess a Dendro Vision.
This meant one thing:
Bai Luo had never given up on his research into Visions.
And not only that—he had possibly exceeded expectations and found a method to grant someone a Vision.
With these two points in mind, the matter of Bai Luo seizing Watatsumi Island took on an entirely new dimension.
Had he discovered something else?
Or had he made a new breakthrough in his Vision research?
If it weren't for the risk of disrupting Bai Luo's work—and the difficulty of getting into Inazuma lately—the Doctor would have personally traveled to Watatsumi Island at once, just to have an in-depth conversation about the relationship between Visions and Delusions.
"Any other updates from Watatsumi Island recently?"
Having now grasped the full picture, the Doctor turned to ask the researcher behind him.
"Uhh... Well, the main difficulties lie in funding and supplies. Because of the war between the Shogunate and Watatsumi Island, they've had to purchase weapons, equipment, and provisions from the International Trade Association and rely on support from Liyue."
The researcher wiped the sweat from his brow as he summarized the current situation.
"Use my name to authorize a fund transfer from the Northland Bank. Send it along with the newly acquired research instruments. Also... pause all recruitment plans on Watatsumi Island. Until I give the order, no one is to touch any of the individuals listed."
. . . . .
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