The power of the Mangekyō Sharingan was simply too great.
Keqing took a deep breath and decisively reached out to touch it.
She would wear it.
After all, the shop's jars might contain a way to resolve the aftereffects.
"She accepted it just like that?!" Xiangling sucked in a breath.
The moment Keqing's fingers made contact, the pair of eyes melted away as if turning into liquid light. Keqing closed her eyes, and Xiangling couldn't help blurting out, "Using that Mangekyō… it can make you go blind."
"It's too strong," Yoimiya said seriously. "That kind of side effect can be ignored. As long as you don't use it frequently, you won't go blind. The benefits are definitely greater than the drawbacks."
If people in Inazuma knew an eye like this existed, even if the side effects were ten times worse, plenty would still choose it.
Power was never free.
And what this eye offered wasn't just raw power.
Felix raised his brow.
Keqing's decisiveness was even greater than he expected.
While Keqing kept her eyes shut, sensing the changes, Ningguang turned to Yoimiya with a smile. "Yoimiya, are you opening jars later?"
"Yes," Yoimiya nodded. "This afternoon I went to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, got the fireworks payment, and even rented a place to stay in Liyue. After Lady Keqing finishes opening, I'll buy jars too."
"You can buy them now," Felix said calmly. "Keqing opening jars doesn't stop you from purchasing."
"I'll wait until Lady Keqing finishes," Yoimiya replied with a grin, patting the infinite-ammo sniper rifle strapped behind her. To her, this rifle was the biggest reward from coming to Liyue.
Keqing opened her eyes.
They were filled with disbelief.
"How is it?" Ningguang asked, surprised. Keqing's eyes still looked purple as usual. "They didn't turn black and red."
Keqing nodded. "I didn't activate them. If I do, the pattern will appear. And after fusing, I feel like a lot of knowledge was stuffed into my mind—more than the abilities the Shopkeeper described."
She looked at Felix.
He had only mentioned three abilities, but Keqing sensed there were two more… and they were terrifying.
"There are more?!" Yanfei and the others widened their eyes.
Felix nodded. "There are."
"What are they?" Hu Tao asked curiously.
"Abilities that can make the eyes permanently blind," Keqing said with a faint smile—then she smashed the third jar.
With a crack, a palm-sized tool with a blue tube dropped out. Keqing blinked. "Why does this look like a section of water pipe?"
Felix explained, "It's a water purifier—equipment for treating polluted river or lake water, turning it back into clean water."
Keqing's eyes brightened. "This is good."
She'd been discussing water issues with Ganyu; if Ganyu learned about this, she would definitely be pleased.
Keqing smashed the fourth jar. A blue flower fell out—Glaze Lily. She put it away and opened the fifth jar.
A red plant dropped out: a Flaming Flower.
"Roar!" The Charmeleon beside Hu Tao lit up, tugging her clothes, pointing at the flower, then at its own mouth.
"Wait until Keqing finishes opening," Hu Tao said with a black line on her forehead. This dragon wanted to eat anything it saw.
Keqing casually tossed the Flaming Flower to Charmeleon.
"Roar!" Charmeleon swallowed it in one bite, then stared at Keqing with pure delight, as if she were the best person in the world.
Hu Tao fell silent.
Keqing opened the sixth jar.
A blue orb of light appeared.
Hu Tao's eyes flashed. "Blue! This Director is seeing one for the first time."
"It's not an experience orb," Ningguang corrected. She remembered Baixiao once pulled a blue orb that was mental energy.
Felix confirmed, "It's a spiritual-energy mass. Touch it to fuse and your mental strength increases."
Keqing nodded and reached out.
The blue light melted into her body, flowing through her limbs like warm water. She couldn't help letting out a very soft, involuntary murmur.
Felix, standing closest, raised his eyebrow slightly.
Keqing's quiet sound… was unexpectedly pleasant.
Keqing seemed to notice his gaze. Her ears turned faintly red, but she forced her voice back into its usual cool steadiness. "It feels comfortable. Like my mind is soaking in water."
Felix nodded. "It's mental strength. You can't see it, but you can feel it."
Keqing opened the seventh jar.
A glass bottle filled with black liquid fell out. Keqing hesitated. "Is this a drink?"
"It's not," Felix said, shaking his head. "It's Shadow Oil."
He explained: drip it onto someone's shadow, and whatever pain you inflict on the shadow will be felt by the person. Step on the shadow, they feel it; stab the shadow, they feel as if they were stabbed.
Hu Tao's eyes sparkled. "That's so interesting."
Keqing, however, looked doubtful, studying the bottle. "It feels… kind of useless. Like a prank item."
You'd have to drip it onto someone's shadow first, which was easy to notice. And once you started 'attacking' the shadow, the target would definitely realize something was wrong.
"No, no, no—this is super useful," Hu Tao shook her head vigorously. "If you don't want it, sell it to me. This is fun."
Then Hu Tao's brain leapt somewhere nobody expected.
"For example," she said cheerfully, "if I run into that Northland Bank Harbinger, I casually drip this onto his shadow, then use Yoimiya's sniper rifle to shoot the shadow from far away. He'll feel horrible pain, but won't understand why."
"Because if you aim at the person, they might sense it," Hu Tao continued. "But if you aim at the shadow on the ground, they won't notice. The bullet 'hurts' the shadow, the pain transfers to the owner, and they suffer intensely for no reason."
Keqing: "???"
Yoimiya: "???"
Ningguang: "???"
Felix: "..."
Keqing coughed lightly. "I'll keep it—I won't sell it. But I can split it with Director Hu. Half for you."
"Yes!" Hu Tao grinned.
Felix watched Hu Tao's triumphant face and found himself completely out of words.
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