Under Ningguang's orders, all aspects of Liyue began to mobilize. The first to receive the news was Yelan. As the head of Liyue's intelligence network, she was immediately summoned by Ningguang. When she arrived at the Jade Chamber, Ningguang directly handed her the Taiwei Compass.
Seeing this item, Yelan was shocked.
"How did this end up in your hands?"
She immediately recognized it as the artifact recorded in her family's history—the very thing she had been searching for.
"Jiang Chen found it."
"Apparently, it's a family heirloom of yours."
"The Yakshas gave it to him after retrieving it from the depths of the Chasm."
"If you want to know the details, go ask Jiang Chen."
"But right now, I have a more important task for you."
As she spoke, Ningguang explained the situation with the Fatui. After hearing Ningguang's explanation, Yelan's expression turned serious.
"Those guys have been searching the mountains for something recently."
"It seems this is the reason, right?"
"I understand."
"I'll keep a close eye on them from now on!!"
After silently noting Jiang Chen's assistance, Yelan immediately began to take action. The Fatui wouldn't be allowed to cause trouble in Liyue!
Childe, of course, was the first to notice this. They were being watched by Liyue. However, considering their recent activities in Liyue, Childe wasn't surprised. It would be strange if they weren't being watched. Although he knew they were being monitored, Childe remained calm. He continued to direct the Fatui in their search. During this time, they even stumbled upon some adepti's abodes. Fortunately, most of the adepti were not in their abodes at the moment. Otherwise, a fight would have broken out. Currently, the adepti were busy searching for the relics of their deceased companions. They planned to collect them all and have Jiang Chen resurrect them. So, they didn't have time to pay attention to the Fatui. Moreover, since the Geo Archon had already given them a heads-up, even if they knew, they probably wouldn't bother. The Geo Archon had his own plans, so they didn't need to interfere.
Behind the scenes, Liyue was becoming increasingly busy. Yelan's team and the Fatui began to clash repeatedly. Yelan's team was no stranger to dealing with the Fatui. They had been keeping an eye on the Fatui for some time now. No, it would be more accurate to say that the Fatui had been under surveillance since they arrived in Liyue. However, without orders from above, they had left the Fatui alone. Now that the orders had been given, everyone sprang into action. Without hesitation, they began to closely monitor the Fatui. If the Fatui did anything to harm Liyue, they would be dealt with immediately. The covert conflict had officially begun. The question was, how long would Childe tolerate this before releasing Osial?
In addition, the Maritime Affairs Bureau issued a notice advising all fishermen and merchants to avoid Guyun Stone Forest if possible. It was best not to go near that area recently. Even some people on Guyun Stone Forest were called back by Ningguang. Many were confused and didn't know what was happening. But now, Ningguang's orders had to be obeyed.
When Childe learned of this, he was also puzzled. What was going on? Did the Liyue authorities know about the Sigils of Permission? That didn't seem right. If they knew, why weren't they stopping it? Instead, they were just withdrawing people. For a moment, Childe was left scratching his head, unsure of what was happening. Was this some kind of entrapment? Thinking about it, Childe felt like he was losing hair.
"I'm really not good at using my brain!"
"Forget it."
"Too lazy to think. Since the people there have withdrawn, I can rest easy."
"I was worried about harming innocent people."
"Now I don't have to worry about that."
Childe narrowed his eyes, gradually forming a plan.
"Pass down the order."
"Three days. I'll give you three days."
"If you can't find Morax, then prepare for an attack!"
If they couldn't find Morax, they would have to create chaos to force him out. He hadn't planned to use this method, but now he had no choice. Over in Mondstadt, La Signora still hadn't made any progress. She hadn't found any trace of Barbatos. The plan to seize the Gnosis hadn't made any headway from the start. This was incredibly frustrating. So, Childe was eager to break the deadlock.
With Childe's orders, the entire Fatui began to mobilize. Everyone sped up their search. Undercurrents were surging throughout Liyue.
Meanwhile, in Mondstadt, La Signora was in a rage. She stared at the green chess piece on the table, her face twisted with anger.
"Barbatos, are you mocking me??"
"Bastard!!"
She had woken up to find the Gnosis on her desk. Seeing this Gnosis, she wasn't happy—she felt humiliated. This was charity!! She hadn't even seen the person, yet she had obtained the Gnosis. How could this satisfy her? La Signora was furious!! She would rather have fought Barbatos herself than have him toss the Gnosis to her like trash!!
Venti, who had been keeping an eye on La Signora, blinked in confusion.
"Women's thoughts are hard to guess."
"I already gave you the Gnosis. What more do you want?" Seeing La Signora's outburst, Venti was speechless. Muttering to himself, he decided not to say anything more. After all, he had already handed over the Gnosis. Whether she accepted it or not was her problem. With this in mind, Venti quickly made his escape. Next, he would head to Liyue!! The wind had told him that something was about to happen there. So, he needed to hurry over!! Hopefully, La Signora would leave after obtaining the Gnosis. Otherwise, he might have to throw hands.
...
The first Gnosis had been obtained, but La Signora wasn't happy. She had been completely thrown off by Venti's move. If given the chance in the future, she would probably go and punch Venti. A few slaps wouldn't be enough to vent her anger!
However, these matters had little to do with Jiang Chen for now. Everything had been arranged. Once the Osial situation was over, everything could begin. After all, after a disaster, there would be a need to create a large number of job opportunities for the people. Moreover, if they started construction now, it would inevitably be affected when Osial emerged. So, why start now? It was better to prepare the groundwork first. Raw materials were being stockpiled like crazy. At the same time, mechanical vehicles were being continuously produced. Once the Osial situation was resolved, Liyue would go all out. For now, they were only building factories to produce raw materials and repairing some damaged roads.