[In the illusion, although Azhuo could change its form, it was still easily dealt with by Stelle.]
[At this point, it had no choice but to accept reality: it must temporarily part with Bailu. No matter how long the playtime, it would always come to an end one day.]
[It transformed into a wisp of ghostly flame and drilled into the Moon-Gazing Gourd. As the Suiyang vanished, Bailu's half-open, half-closed eyes gradually regained clarity. She felt her memories were a bit fuzzy, as if she had just had a strange dream.]
[Bailu felt guilty that everyone had been running around looking for her—she was so sensible it made one's heart ache. She was just about to apologize when Guinaifen spoke up first: "Being controlled, being confined—doesn't that make you want to escape? Isn't that just natural? The problem lies with those adults who always want to correct your behavior, those who think they know what you should do."]
[Guinaifen's own childhood had followed a similar path to Bailu's—forced by her family to do this and that—so she had rebelled and run away, eventually settling on the Xianzhou. She also believed Bailu would have the strength to leave her current life and move on to the next one.]
[After this dose of heartfelt encouragement, Bailu broke into a smile through her tears and left the illusion together with the group.]
[Not long after, little Guinaifen came across another post saying that everyone in the Divination Commission was acting weird and had scared the poster out of wanting to play cards. Upon seeing the message, Stelle quickly notified Qingque, telling her to act as the "sect leader" of the Divination Commission for now and not let anyone from the division out. Meanwhile, the ghost-hunting team set off for Fyxestroll Garden to beat up Cirrus first, ask questions, and figure out the situation.]
[Cirrus in Fyxestroll Garden was still as arrogant as ever, but unfortunately its strength wasn't even half as tough as its mouth. It was once again successfully subdued by Stelle. A bet's a bet—this time, combining Huohuo's intelligence, it deduced that the Suiyang possessing the Divination Commission was Rhinofire.]
[Rhinofire, like Fu Xuan, possessed the ability to discern the past and know the future, to predict fate—possessing Fu Xuan was quite a professional match.]
——
Marvel Universe.
The New York night sky was lit by countless neon lights. On the rooftop terrace of Stark Tower, Tony leaned against the railing, holding a glass of amber whiskey. He stared down at the ice cubes in his cup refracting countless tiny halos under the lights, his gaze somewhat distant.
"Doctor, since that Suiyang can predict fate just like Fu Xuan, it must have foreseen the doomed fate of Blaze Origin. In other words, Blaze Origin knew it was fighting a battle with zero chance of victory."
"Is there a possibility that Rhinofire could predict a method to defeat the General with 100% certainty? …Of course, the probability might be very low, but it definitely isn't zero. If it runs enough calculations, it can absolutely find a way to beat the General."
Strange behind him gently shook his head, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes hiding thousands of experiences Tony couldn't decipher: "Time can't be summed up with mere numbers, Tony. It's more like… an infinitely extending web, where every node connects to countless possibilities."
"Oh come on, Doctor, don't pull out your time theory again." Tony rolled his eyes and took a sip of whiskey. "I'm asking about practical application. If you can foresee the future, why not just find the sure-win method directly?"
"Because there is no absolute sure-win method at all." Strange looked up at the night sky; under the glow of the light screen, the stars above appeared dim and insignificant. "Every choice comes with a cost. The greatest irony of foreseeing the future is—the more you know, the more you understand you can't force a perfect ending."
"Even if it found a method to defeat the General… win against General Tengxiao, and then what? Is the future over? When facing the next General Jing Yuan, what would Blaze Origin do?"
The night wind swept across the terrace, carrying the distant clamor of the city. Tony was silent for a moment, then suddenly picked up the bottle and poured a glass for Strange as well.
"You know, Doctor, sometimes I think you wizards are even more rational than we are." He handed over the glass. "But that brings up another question—if the future Rhinofire predicts is absolutely going to happen, then what about free will? Isn't it just a joke?"
Strange took the glass but didn't drink immediately. The golden liquid swirled inside, reflecting their distorted shadows.
"The Eye of Agamotto lets me see the future, but it doesn't decide the future." He said softly, "Believe in fate, but there's no need to resign to it… Tony."
——
[The group arrived at the Divination Commission. Qingque, who was in charge of "sect leading," immediately ran over to ask about the situation in the Commission.]
[Sushang saw no reason to hide anything and told her everything straightforwardly. After listening, Qingque not only didn't panic but even volunteered to lead the way for the group.]
[Inside the Matrix of Prescience Ultima, they saw seven or eight diviners gathered around the Master Diviner, murmuring things like "There is forever only one path," "Divination is meaningless," "Divination studies no longer exist," and so on.]
[The Master Diviner was also muttering to herself, but it didn't seem like she was divining routes. Seeing her abnormal state, Huohuo took out her bell and gently shook it, attempting to intrude into the illusion between the Master Diviner and the Suiyang.]
[Unexpectedly, the Master Diviner turned around directly and scolded: "Silence! No disturbances allowed in the Divination Commission!"]
[Fu Xuan strode toward the group with imposing momentum, completely unconcerned that Huohuo had publicly exposed her as Rhinofire right in front of everyone. She put one hand on her hip and sneered at their arrival: "What you call me doesn't matter—whether Fu Xuan or Rhinofire, I am the sole master of this Divination Commission."]
["Right now, the divination work is at a critical juncture and cannot tolerate interference from others. Not even the judges of the Ten-Lords Commission or guests of the Astral Express may act recklessly here!"]
[With that, Fu Xuan's gaze sharpened, glaring fiercely at the dumbfounded Qingque.]
["Hmph, Qingque! It's you again. Did you bring these outsiders into the division? Have you treated all the rules I set as mere wind past your ears?"]
[Fu Xuan grew angrier as she spoke, gritting her silver teeth, and finally declared on the spot:]
["Qingque, you're fired!"]
[The Master Diviner's resounding and impassioned speech caused everyone to cast sympathetic looks at Qingque.]
[Qingque herself couldn't snap out of her shock for a long time: "Me…? Th-This is…"]
["Damn it! We just lost a member in one go!" Sushang was still fuming on Qingque's behalf, but the next second, she saw Qingque's face flush with excitement, head thrown back, her upturned mouth harder to suppress than an AK.]
["…This is way too awesome!!"]
——
Teyvat, Liyue.
"Wait… why does she have that expression?" Keqing was stunned. In her impression, a job in the Divination Commission was an iron rice bowl—the kind that, once obtained, meant lifelong security.
That job was equivalent to Liyue's General Affairs Department—countless people fought tooth and nail to get in every year. Although the pay was average, there were all kinds of subsidies during festivals and holidays, and it was extremely stable. Compared to business ventures full of risks, this path was regarded by many as the top choice.
"Maybe there's a severance package? I remember the General Affairs Department also has one for resignations…" Yanfei still remembered handling a few similar cases before, all about labor terminations—whether in Liyue or Fontaine, there was always a substantial compensation.
"Getting that compensation money—worth getting this happy? But the job's gone?"
Keqing still couldn't understand. She had personally seen General Affairs Department employees who were forced to resign for slacking off and refusing to change—their faces looked like they had heard a funeral bell. If not for the handrails on the stairs at the department entrance, they probably couldn't even walk down.
"Compensation is often tied to years of service—the longer you work, the more you get."
Yanfei pressed her index finger to her chin in thought: "I'm not sure if the Xianzhou has similar labor contracts, but if they do, with Xianzhou people's work tenures measured in centuries… Miss Qingque getting that payout wouldn't exactly mean financial freedom, but she'd probably never have to worry about food and drink again."