Watching as "Lisa's" face suddenly twisted and her body radiated that eerie power, Su Yuan couldn't understand—he had clearly followed the library's borrowing rules, bought a new book as compensation, so why was "Lisa" still corrupted and controlled by the eerie force?
Even more importantly, hadn't they tested this method yesterday?
It worked then, so why didn't it work today?
Before Su Yuan could make sense of it, "Lisa" raised her hand, unleashing lightning mixed with eerie power straight at him!
His entire body convulsed with numbness and pain before he collapsed to the ground…
Struggling, Su Yuan lifted his head and looked at "Lisa," who was walking toward him step by step, and spoke with disbelief:
"Lisa… why… why is this happening? I clearly… clearly bought a new book… according to the library rules…"
"Yes, Su Yuan, you did indeed compensate with a new book…"
"Lisa" fixed her icy gaze on him and said slowly:
"But tell me—what did you mean by trying to fool me with a Counterfeit book???"
"Look at this shoddy cover, look at this crude printing. Do you really think this is the same as the one the library lent out???"
"So… so that's it…"
Hearing "Lisa's" words, Su Yuan finally understood…
He had accounted for everything, yet he never imagined that Teyvat also had people selling Counterfeit books!
That Airi guy—no wonder he said he needed a day to get the book.
He must have been secretly rushing out counterfeit prints overnight!
And to think, he had the audacity to sell a Counterfeit book for 1000 Mora…
As Su Yuan realized this, "Lisa" had already reached him.
She lifted her foot high, the sharp heel of her high-heeled shoe aimed straight at him, and said coldly:
"Su Yuan, since you chose to take Timaeus's place, then pay with your life for violating the library's borrowing rules!"
As her words fell, she stomped down hard—the pointed heel of her shoe pierced straight through Su Yuan's temple!
"I just hope today's rewind count… isn't zero…"
That was Su Yuan's final thought at the end of his life.
Su Yuan snapped his eyes open—it was that same all-too-familiar and chilling sensation again…
Feeling the sting in his left palm, he knew he had died once more.
He lifted his left hand and looked at his palm:
[Unfortunately, this was your first death today…]
[The Alchemical Guide that Airi prepared for you may indeed be a "new" book, but it is a pirated copy…]
[If you hand this Alchemical Guide to Lisa, it will likewise trigger her corruption into the eerie state. Please proceed with caution…]
Su Yuan furrowed his brows as he read the prompt on his palm.
To think he had already triggered a death rewind this quickly?
At least, since he was alive again, it meant today's rewind count wasn't zero…
But that Airi—so full of confidence yesterday—and in the end, he was just a shameless fraud peddling c books?
Beside him, Aether noticed the strange shift in Su Yuan's expression and asked, "Su Yuan, what happened? You look… off."
"Aether, that Airi—what he sold us was actually a pirated book," Su Yuan replied directly.
"If we hand that to Lisa, it'll still trigger her eerie state."
"What? A pirated book—and he even sold it for more than an original copy?" Aether exclaimed, clearly shocked.
"Damn it, that kind of swindler nearly ruined everything for us!"
"Come on, let's drag him straight to the Knights of Favonius," Su Yuan said angrily.
Soon after, the two of them arrived at the designated meeting spot.
The moment Airi saw them, he greeted them cheerfully:
"Ah, my esteemed customers, you've come! The book you wanted is ready. Have you brought the rest of the payment?"
But Aether and Su Yuan didn't waste a single word—acting with lightning speed, they seized Airi on the spot!
Airi stared blankly at Aether and Su Yuan, completely confused.
"Esteemed customers, what's the meaning of this? If you don't want the book, then don't take it—why resort to violence?" he said in protest.
"How dare you sell us a pirated book, Airi!" Paimon snapped from the side.
"Now hold on, sirs," Airi said quickly, "when I came to you yesterday, you never said you wanted an original edition. You only said you needed a brand-new Alchemical Guide. Isn't that exactly what I provided?"
Su Yuan and Aether thought carefully.
It was true—they hadn't specifically said "original edition" yesterday.
But when buying books, wasn't it obvious that one should prioritize legitimate copies?
Who would willingly pay a high price for a pirated one?
"Still trying to make excuses?" Su Yuan said angrily.
"No matter how you put it, selling pirated books is an infringement on other people's intellectual property and hard work!"
"Enough talk. You're coming with us to the Knights of Favonius!"
With that, Aether and Su Yuan dragged Airi off to the Knights of Favonius, handing him over so the knights could deal with his illegal activities.
Back at headquarters, the two happened to run into Albedo.
Since returning to Mondstadt, Albedo had been completely absorbed in his alchemical research, rarely interacting with anyone.
"Oh? You're looking for the Alchemical Guide?" Albedo said with surprise.
"Why didn't you say so earlier…"
After learning what Su Yuan and Aether had been going through, Albedo returned to his laboratory and brought out a pristine, unopened copy of the Alchemical Guide, placing it in their hands.
"Albedo, how do you have this book—and brand new at that?" Aether asked in surprise.
"Because there are several compilers of this book," Albedo explained.
"I happen to be one of them. So when the publisher printed the first batch, they sent me a copy."
"As for Timaeus borrowing it from the library, I suppose he must have seen the one on my bookshelf first."
Su Yuan and Aether exchanged glances, speechless.
If only they had known Albedo already had one, they wouldn't have gone through so much trouble.
Clearly, communication among teammates was more important than they had realized.
"This is my fault," Albedo admitted with some embarrassment.
"As soon as I returned to my lab, I became completely engrossed in experiments and neglected everything else."
"It's fine, really. As long as we can resolve the risk of Lisa's Eerie state, that's what matters," Aether reassured him.
"So, Albedo, do you think we should continue searching the snowy mountain for Albetwo today, or head to Windrise's great tree to seek traces of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon?"
------------
Exclusive access : 500+ch on paetron
Join now : patreon*com/DeCakraWnloverz