Felix: "..."
His eyelid twitched. "Director Hu, eating something this heavy so early in the morning? Don't you find it a bit... greasy?"
Fried chicken and spicy wings were delicious, sure, but as a breakfast? It was a cholesterol bomb.
"Not at all!"
Hu Tao giggled, swinging her legs as she sat on the table, clutching her Charmeleon. "Especially that 'crispy skin chicken' you make. This Director finds it absolutely divine!"
"Fine."
Since she was so insistent, Felix nodded. It was just a verbal command anyway.
He turned to the Gourmet Tablecloth. "Fried chicken bucket. Spicy wings. Cola."
In an instant, a feast materialized. The golden-brown crusts glistened, and a wave of savory, mouth-watering aroma exploded outward, drifting out the open door.
"It smells so good... I already ate breakfast, but smelling this makes me hungry again."
"It's that familiar scent. What on earth do the Shopkeeper and Director Hu eat every day?"
Outside, Doyle and Wenqi (the Fatui guards) sniffed the air, their expressions filled with longing.
Every time they came on duty, they had already eaten. Yet every morning, this demonic aroma would waft out, testing their loyalty and their waistlines.
"I've decided," Wenqi whispered. "Tomorrow, I'm coming on an empty stomach."
"I'll shamelessly ask for a bite if I have to."
"Hss."
Doyle took a deep breath of the fried chicken scent. "Get one for me too."
Wenqi: "..."
They swallowed their saliva and stood rigidly at attention, fighting the urge to drool.
Fontaine, The Court of Fontaine Harbor.
Zhang Xuepeng stepped off a sleek vessel, his face flushed with excitement.
Looking at the familiar steampunk architecture of his homeland, he felt a surge of relief. He was finally back.
"Thank you so much, brother!"
Zhang Xuepeng grabbed the hand of the man next to him, shaking it vigorously. "If not for your ship, I'd still be drifting on the ocean for another two weeks!"
His journey back from Liyue would have taken ten to fifteen days under normal circumstances—assuming good weather. Bad weather could have meant a watery grave.
But luck had smiled on him. He had encountered a fellow Fontainian at sea—a Hydro Vision bearer.
"Don't mention it," the man laughed. "We Fontainians have to stick together. When I saw you out there, how could I not help?"
Using a Hydro Vision at sea was essentially a cheat code. The man had manipulated the currents to push the ship forward at incredible speeds, cutting the travel time drastically after hearing Zhang Xuepeng had an urgent report for the Research Institute.
"Go handle your business," the Hydro user said with a friendly wave. "I have some private matters to attend to. Once I'm done, I'll find you for a drink."
"Yes, definitely!"
Zhang Xuepeng bowed in gratitude one last time before sprinting toward the Fontaine Research Institute's Shipyard Division.
The intelligence he gathered in Liyue was too critical. He hadn't dared to mail the photographs, fearing they would be lost or intercepted. He had only sent a preliminary sketch and a letter via the Steambird courier service.
He wondered how his boss, the Director of the Shipyard, had reacted to his initial report.
"Eh? Zhang Xuepeng?"
"Holy... you're back already?"
"Damn, you're fast! Do you know the Director laughed until he cried when he got your letter?"
"So, how was life in Liyue? Was it comfortable? Give us the details!"
As Zhang Xuepeng rushed into the shipyard complex, his colleagues spotted him. Their shock was palpable.
He had returned way too quickly. Liyue was far.
"Zhang Xuepeng, you rascal! Look at you, you've gained weight! Liyue's food must be good!"
"You traitor, running off without me! I've always wanted to see Liyue Harbor!"
"Yeah, you just vanished to live the good life. But seriously, what was with that letter? A ship made entirely of steel? We've seen Liyue's junks. They're wood. Don't tell us you started writing fiction?"
"Exactly. A steel ship is physically impossible. Even if you could build it, it would sink like a rock. No steam engine could push that weight."
"Did the Liyue wine give you 'innovative ideas'? Drawing a steel ship is a nice fantasy, though."
The engineers and shipwrights crowded around him, teasing him mercilessly. They treated his "steel ship" report as a joke—a byproduct of too much vacation and too much Liyue wine.
"Where is the Director?" Zhang Xuepeng ignored their mockery, panting heavily. "I need to see the Director. I brought the data."
He didn't bother arguing. The photographs would do the talking.
"Uh."
Seeing his serious expression, the teasing stopped.
"He's in the main office, having breakfast," one colleague said, pointing. "But... are you serious?"
"Nonsense!" Zhang Xuepeng snapped. "Why would I sprint all the way here to lie to you?"
He shoved past them and ran toward the administrative building.
The colleagues exchanged glances.
"Is he for real?"
"Impossible. A steel ship floating on the ocean? Even Fontaine hasn't cracked that technology."
"Well, don't just stand there! Let's go see what he brought!"
Curiosity piqued, the group of engineers followed him.
Director's Office, Fontaine Shipyard.
The Director was enjoying his morning tea and a croissant when the door burst open.
"Director!"
"Gah!"
The Director nearly spilled his tea. He looked up to see a disheveled Zhang Xuepeng standing there.
"You? How are you back so soon?"
The Director was stunned. Based on the logistics, Zhang Xuepeng shouldn't have been back for weeks.
"Holy crap, it really is Zhang Xuepeng."
"You teleported or something?"
"So, about that drawing... Liyue has steel ships? Seriously?"
The office wasn't empty. Several senior engineers and department heads worked in this shared space (the Director preferred a collaborative environment). They all looked at the returnee with skepticism.
"I met a Hydro Vision user," Zhang Xuepeng explained between gasps for air. "He boosted my ship's speed all the way back. I have to thank him later."
"Ah, that explains it."
"Lucky bastard."
The room nodded in collective understanding. Hydro Vision users were the kings of maritime travel.
"But Director," Zhang Xuepeng cut to the chase, slapping a thick envelope onto the desk. "The letter I sent was not a joke. And it wasn't a concept art."
"Liyue... they have achieved it."
"They have built a ship entirely of steel. It floats. It runs on steam. And it carries weapons that can destroy an island."
The room fell silent.
The Director put down his tea cup, his expression hardening. "Zhang. You are a senior engineer. You know the laws of buoyancy. Steel sinks."
"Open the envelope," Zhang Xuepeng challenged. "I took photographs."
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