Genshin Impact, I'm Slime

When Tok poked his head out from the reeds, the thin ice left by the Ice Gun Heavy Guards on the shallows was slowly dissipating.

Tartaglia turned his back to the crowd and hid the emblem of the Fatui in the folds of his cloak. The water blade turned into an ultramarine ribbon and wrapped around his wrist.

"elder brother!"

The clear cries of the children startled several egrets. Tartaglia turned around in surprise. Before the ripples caused by the hem of his cloak brushing across the shallows had dissipated, Tok had already thrown himself into his arms, his little leather shoes covered with grass leaving muddy prints on his brother's shiny military boots:
"Oh? Toke, you're here too! I thought the travelers took you to Wangshu Inn!"

Paimon looked at the executive officer's instantly softened eyebrows and pretended to be surprised, and couldn't help whispering to Ying: "This guy changes his face faster than Liyue's magic tricks!"

Tartaglia knelt on one knee to brush off the grass seeds on her brother's trouser legs. The child's excited red cheeks were reflected in her dull blue eyes:

"Brother is so awesome! Just now those uncles were listening to him talking about the secrets of toy sales."

"Hahaha, of course, because I'm the best toy salesman in Winter."

Tartaglia nodded in agreement with Tok's words, then looked up and greeted Famas, Wendy, and the Traveler.

But after looking around, the young executive suddenly noticed something strange.

The only person missing from the crowd was Zhongli.

Thinking of Tok's bad habit of always touching things randomly, Tartaglia immediately asked, "Why didn't Mr. Zhongli come over? Did he run into any trouble?"

Famas was about to answer when the blonde girl interrupted him: "Yes, Mr. Zhongli ran into a little trouble and needs to be dealt with in the Hall of Rebirth first."

Yingmei tugged at the corner of Famas's clothes. She didn't want the boy to say anything shocking again.

Fortunately, Tok intervened in time to save the traveler. The boy stood on tiptoe to reach the tassel on his brother's chest and suddenly took out the crooked one-eyed Xiaobao doll from his toy bag:

"Tok also wants to learn how to make One-Eyed Little Bao grow glowing eyes!"

Famas blinked, then burst into laughter.

As a former ally of Kanreya, Famas believed that no one knew more about mechanical manufacturing than him, but just as he was about to say something, Wendy blocked his mouth with a bitten apple.

Tartaglia didn't care about the little episode between the few people. His attention was all on the little Tok in front of him.

The orange-haired young man tapped the core of the Xiaobao doll with his fingertips, and the water elemental force immediately condensed into a sapphire with flowing starlight.

"First, you need to blend your wish into the elemental force, and then gently do it like this..." He glanced at his brother's confused eyes, smiled and ruffled the furry winter hat, "When we get to the toy factory, I'll give you a big surprise, okay?"

When the executioner stood up, the lingering bloody smell on his body was crushed by the wind into the mist.

He raised an eyebrow at the traveler, and the golden sunlight cut the tall figure into two images. When it faced the child, it was a spring stream dotted with dandelions, and when it turned to the Fatui sentinels who had not yet dispersed in the deep forest, it was the solid winter ice that froze a thousand miles.

"Yeah! It's a toy factory!"

Tok excitedly raised his hands and jumped up and down in place, cheering, but the traveler frowned when he heard the word "toy factory".

These days she was not just waiting for events to happen. After sending Tok back to the Yermak, the traveler took the time to go to the Adventurer's Association to verify the commission information. Only then did she learn that the toy factory mentioned by Tartaglia was actually the source of those wandering ruins guards.

Is it really safe to take Tok to a place like this?
But looking at Tartaglia's confident look, maybe he has already cleared it out in advance?

FAMAS knew the situation in that factory very well. The tilling machines requisitioned from the previous Liyue Harbor War had already drained the factory of its remaining resources. If Tartaglia went to investigate alone, he would probably only see an abandoned factory full of scrapped parts.

Apparently, even though they were both executives of the Fatui, there was still an intelligence barrier between them.

For example, Pantalone did not know that the Doctor's factory in Liyue was almost empty and there were only a few tilling machines left, but he still issued a pass under the Doctor's pseudonym, luring Tok to go to the dangerous place alone.

Tartaglia also had no idea of ​​the real situation of the factory, so he went to investigate alone based on his guesses and recklessness.

The fact was just as Famas thought. When Tartaglia entered the Ruins Guard Factory, all he could see were the stopped assembly lines, scattered parts, several completely scrapped Ruins Hunters, and the ashes left by the blast furnace. Those were the ashes left by the Fatui soldiers when they burned the bodies of their colleagues.

However, since all the Fatui soldiers who participated in the war have been resurrected, there is no need to clean up these ashes.

"You guys can go together."

Tartaglia raised her hand to invite everyone, her blue eyes swept across the Sky Harp on Wendy's waist inconspicuously, and lingered for a moment on the dark pattern on Famas' arm.

"Of course, that's why we brought Tok here."

Paimon crossed his arms and muttered, and Wendy promptly raised his hand to echo him, and quietly patted Famas's lower back. At this time, Tok was already pulling at Ying's cloak's golden thread, eager to try:

"Great! Good sister, this time it's Toke's turn to show you around the toy factory!"

Of course, the traveler could only nod in agreement.

When Tok cheered and rushed towards Tartaglia, the executor knelt on one knee and caught his brother steadily. His cobalt blue eyes curved into a crescent. He lifted the boy's waist and put him on his shoulder. He smiled and tapped Tok's small leather boots with his knuckles:

"Hold on tight, Director Tok!"

The crowd followed the path of Qingxupu towards the factory path in the shade of Tianheng Mountain.

The mist on the northern foot of the mountain range was indigo-colored, the winding stone steps were shining with dew, and the mossy wooden signposts pointed deep into the valley.

Tok swung his legs and hummed a winter nursery rhyme. The badge on Tartaglia's shoulder trembled slightly with her steps, reflecting a faint light in the thickening fog.

Until everyone crossed the dense bushes and came to a well-hidden bronze door.

Tartaglia turned the bolt regularly, and the rust from the hinges drifted into the pool. He looked up at the Thousand Rocks emblem on the lintel, and his sneer turned into white mist and dissipated in the cold wind:

“Welcome to the most fun toy house in Liyue!”

Tok had already stepped down from Tartaglia's shoulders, his small leather boots clacking on the stone steps, and the pendant around his neck drew a silver arc as he jumped:

"Yeah, I can already hear the sound of the machines inside, so cool!"

The door opened, and Paimon grabbed the traveler's cloak and floated back half a foot. Broken parts were scattered among the moss grown in the factory, and the rumbling sound of machinery was faintly vibrating along the earth veins.

The little mascot stared at the cold indigo light seeping out of the crack in the door, and couldn't help but whisper to Tartaglia:

"A place like this... Could it be that you, the Fatui, have been planning to invade Liyue for a long time?"

The young executor's cape brushed across the rusty hub of the mechanism, and his fingertips casually fiddled with the hanging bronze chain:
"Ha, how is that possible? I just found out that this should be the "Doctor's" "Toy Research Institute."

"Oh, the Doctor is another executive of the Fatui, the guy has a penchant for tinkering with old stuff."

Tartaglia spread his hands helplessly, tilted his head and chuckled, "For example, let the ruins guards do tap dance or something, but unfortunately the test subjects often don't cooperate, so this place has been abandoned."

"Eh? Were the Ruins Guardians created by you Fatui?"

Paimon was confused by Tartaglia's explanation.

Fortunately, the young executive didn't mind explaining more and shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't notice anything.

"No, that thing is more closely related to the Abyss, and strictly speaking, it is also our enemy. The Fatui are probably just doing research, and I am not interested in these academic matters."

"But I heard that the doctor once sliced ​​himself at different ages and made prosthetic bodies to perform different tasks. I can't help it. My colleagues are probably not normal people."

It was rare to see a look of disdain on Tartaglia's face. Thinking of the rich man's reputation, Paimon couldn't help but quietly complain to the traveler:
"Alas, it seems like this is another executive with a bad temper!" (End of this chapter)