According to theory, there should only be one exit here.
In truth, the ruins themselves weren't very large. Fontaine had plenty of buildings that had been submerged by seawater like this. Before long, the trembling thugs led Xia Yu and the group of girls to the exit.
Unfortunately, the exit was underwater.
"Lady Furina, we really don't have enough diving suits," the leader of the thugs said nervously as he approached, his face full of worry. "And these… uh, young ladies."
He glanced at the dozen girls behind Xia Yu who were supporting one another. "Their physical condition doesn't seem very suitable for diving either. What do you think…?"
It wasn't that he was being considerate. He was genuinely afraid that if something went wrong while the girls were ascending, Lady Furina would settle the score with them.
It wasn't like he had never seen the Hydro Archon before. But the Hydro Archon of the past had always been kind and magnanimous.
Today's Furina, however, wore a dark expression. Every now and then her gaze would sweep across their necks, and combined with what the first two thugs had said earlier, he knew she was truly furious. She had even considered killing all of them back in the prison area.
If it weren't for those girls, they would probably already be dead.
Those words made the leader feel a chill run down his spine.
Unlike the ignorant street thugs, he was at least somewhat literate. He had read a few miscellaneous books before. One of them described how the Hydro Archon dealt with scheming nobles when she first ascended to the divine throne.
The methods recorded there were unbelievably cruel.
Looking at Furina's gloomy face now, the thug leader felt like he could drop dead at any moment.
As long as I can get back to land…
As long as I can see the Special Patrol…
As long as Lord Neuvillette takes over this case, I'll be safe.
Going to the Fortress of Meropide was fine. At least he would still have his life.
So he stood there trembling, staring at the Hydro Archon in front of him as he waited for her orders.
Xia Yu frowned.
Even though she had already expected something like this, she still sighed inwardly. This ruin, used as an experimental site, wasn't very large. There were only around twenty criminals stationed here normally, and most of them were currently gathered around her.
Naturally, there wouldn't be many diving suits.
But only six…
Seeing Xia Yu frown, the thug leader immediately explained, "Some of the guys went out today, so they took four diving suits with them. I'm really not hiding anything, everyone here knows about it…"
The thugs around him quickly nodded in agreement.
Six suits it is then.
Xia Yu let out a quiet sigh. At least it was better than having none.
"I'm sorry," she said as she turned to look at the girls around her. "I cannot allow the masterminds behind this to escape from here. I must use divine power to seal this hideout."
"Besides, I only came out today to clear my mind. I only discovered the crimes here by chance."
"So I need someone to go outside and notify the Special Patrol."
At that point, Xia Yu glanced at the trembling thugs. "But if I let them go… I can't trust them."
"I'll go!"
Hearing this, Aurelie immediately raised her hand.
"Lady Furina, let me go," she said firmly. "I'll definitely bring the Special Patrol back!"
No one questioned why the Hydro Archon didn't simply use divine power to part the sea and bring them to the surface.
After all, Furina had long since explained this matter.
Divine power couldn't be abused, the consequences would be severe, and various exaggerated explanations had been repeated for five hundred years to cover up the fact that she actually possessed no such power.
The people of Fontaine had long grown used to it.
Now, facing Xia Yu's explanation, these girls naturally followed that same line of thinking and didn't notice anything strange.
After all, she had just rescued them. Why would they suspect her?
As for the thugs, most of them simply didn't have the brains to question it. Otherwise they wouldn't have ended up as hired muscle here in the first place.
And they certainly didn't have the courage to doubt her.
The slightly educated thug leader was still busy thinking about how to survive by getting sent to the Fortress of Meropide. How could he possibly think of something like that?
Most of the real higher-ups behind the Sinthe trafficking organization were outside the ruins. The rest were currently deep inside the ruins assisting their leader with an experiment, completely unaware of what had happened here.
"I'll leave it to you, Aurelie," Xia Yu nodded to her.
"But you don't need to come back. Just report what happened here to the Special Patrol, then go to the hospital and get some rest."
"The rest can be handled by the Special Patrol and the Maison Gardiennage."
She didn't really have a choice. Among the girls here, Aurelie was the one in the best physical condition.
"I won't disappoint you, Lady Furina!"
With the help of the girls who could still move, Aurelie put on a diving suit and jumped into the water, swimming out of the ruins.
"Alright, that leaves us," Xia Yu said after watching her figure gradually disappear underwater.
She turned back and looked at the uneasy thugs around her. "Go find some food and medicine. They need to recover their strength."
After saying that, she used the Vision to summon that unknown healing flower.
Gentle blue ripples spread across the battered girls.
"Thank you, Lady Furina," one girl who seemed to be in slightly better condition said as she looked at Xia Yu with admiration.
Xia Yu's expression stiffened slightly, but she still nodded to her.
The thugs had already scattered to look for supplies.
Now, only Xia Yu and the girls behind her remained near the exit.
Finally, she had time to examine herself.
Xia Yu lowered her head and looked at the gorgeous clothes she was wearing.
I'm not Furina, she reminded herself.
Yes. I'm not Furina.
I'm just an outsider who somehow ended up like this, appearing in this criminal hideout.
Everything I've done so far has just been bluffing under a borrowed banner, relying on a face that doesn't belong to me.
But one day the truth will inevitably be exposed.
For example, the Special Patrol that Aurelie went to find.
A case involving a long-unsolved crime and the Hydro Archon personally intervening—how could they possibly not report it to the Palais Mermonia?
When that happened, Neuvillette would certainly learn about it as well.
★ ★ ★
And besides, the real Furina was still out there somewhere!!!
Not to mention that Xia Yu had no intention of living under someone else's name for the rest of her life.
Back when she read novels, the thing she always wanted to complain about most was why transmigrators would instantly accept their situation after crossing worlds and call the original body's parents "Mom and Dad" without the slightest psychological burden.
Disguising yourself to survive was understandable.
Wasn't she doing the same thing right now by pretending to be Furina?
But having absolutely no inner resistance to it—that was something Xia Yu simply couldn't do.
Actually, if she were a little more selfish, she could ignore these girls and escape alone.
She could even leave Fontaine entirely and live in some distant nation.
It would be difficult, but not impossible.
After all, if she stayed here, how would Fontaine view someone who looked exactly like the Hydro Archon?
What about Neuvillette?
What about Furina herself?
And even… Focalors?
What would they think of her?
How would they treat her?
All of those were unknowns.
Yet Xia Yu still chose to save these girls.
'At the very least, I have to live with my conscience.'
As for what would happen next…
Heh. What else could happen? Would Furina kill her?
Probably not.
Would Neuvillette make a move?
Unlikely.
The most unpredictable one was Focalors' reaction, but it probably wouldn't amount to much.
Thinking of this, Xia Yu sighed and decided to stop worrying about it.
She wasn't some genius strategist anyway.
Before this, she had just been an ordinary office worker who liked playing games. Her skills were decent, but she wasn't good at socializing, so she had never even managed to become a team leader.
Being able to come this far and save these people was already enough for her.
As for the rest, Fontaine could deal with it however it wanted. It's not like they would actually kill her. Furina was a kind person, after all.
Come to think of it, why did I even transmigrate in the first place?
There was no warning at all.
Even if a truck had sent her on her way, Xia Yu felt like she could at least comfort herself with that.
But instead, it happened just like this.
She went to sleep normally, closed her eyes, opened them again—and suddenly she had gone from a tiny rented apartment to Teyvat.
What the hell kind of nonsense is that?
Teyvat was a mess. While it didn't hand out tragedy as much as Honkai Impact, between Celestia, the Abyss, the Dragon Sovereigns, the Seven Archons, and Khaenri'ah, the situation was unbelievably complicated.
On the surface everything seemed peaceful, but beneath it the currents were already surging.
The remnants of Khaenri'ah were unwilling to fade away.
The Abyss Order was plotting something big.
The Tsaritsa was collecting the seven Gnoses with great ambition.
And the other gods were tacitly allowing her actions.
Not to mention Fontaine itself.
There was still the prophecy crisis looming over it.
But what could she do about any of that?
Since she was already here, she could only deal with it.
"Lady Furina… are you troubled?"
At that moment, a weak voice interrupted her thoughts.
A girl looked at her and said softly, "Those people… leave them to the Oratrice for judgment."
"The Chief Justice will make sure they receive the punishment they deserve."
"You don't need to worry about us, Lady Furina."
She had assumed Xia Yu looked troubled because she felt guilty for not killing those thugs.
"I understand," Xia Yu said after a moment, her gaze complicated.
"You—and all the victims—will receive justice."
"I promise."
"What are you two doing?"
Faro glared at the sneaky thugs in front of him and scolded them.
"Have you lost your minds? Isn't the money we give you enough? Now you're stealing food?"
Honestly, he couldn't understand it.
These thugs might occasionally steal things, but at least steal something valuable.
What kind of nonsense was stealing food?
The organization's meals had never been lacking.
"Sir, sir," one thug said quickly, bowing repeatedly. "This idiot kept saying he was hungry. I couldn't do anything about it."
The tall thug beside him rubbed his stomach pitifully, playing along.
"Hungry? Don't you usually get enough to eat?" Faro frowned.
"No, it's just how he is. Please forgive us this once, sir," the two thugs begged.
"Hmph. Get lost," Faro said after examining their expressions carefully.
"Just this once."
"Thank you! Thank you, sir!"
Once out of earshot, one of them sneered. Acting all high and mighty. Just wait until the Marechaussee Hunters get here and drag you all away!
Their boss had told them: Lady Furina is clearly pissed off. To appease her, the higher-ups must be caught. If they don't die (or get locked up), how can her anger subside? And if her anger doesn't subside, how do we get to Meropide alive?
For the sake of their own lives, the "Masters" inside would have to suffer. They couldn't let them know what was happening.
The thugs knew their bosses' characters—they didn't know if there were secret escape routes, but the bosses definitely did. They couldn't let the higher-ups realize the situation and bolt.
When it came to self-preservation, they were very practical. They wouldn't be this cooperative with the Special Patrol, but this was the Hydro Archon herself.
'Something's not right.'
Faro squinted as he watched the thugs' retreating backs. Their clumsy excuses didn't convince him. He stood in thought for a moment, then turned and headed deeper into the ruins.
"Chairman Marcel… something might have happened outside."
At the same time, Aurelie finally burst out of the water in her diving suit.
On the shore, a girl looked at her in surprise. "Huh? Are you here to release fish fry too? I don't remember anyone else coming... Oh, right! My name is Linorea. Who are you?"
Panting heavily, Aurelie removed her helmet and looked at the curious girl in front of her. "The Special Patrol… hurry… notify the Special Patrol…"
"Lady Furina… she…"