Genshin Impact: Starting Guide - End of the World Qi Bao

"Ahem... I'm surprised too. So you're the ones investigating here. I just returned from the front lines after delivering supplies and wanted to clear out any threats in the area. Ahem..."

Paimon inquired with concern.

"Are you alright, Teppei? You look a little strange."

Zheping waved his hand, indicating that it wasn't a big problem.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I guess I caught a cold from being out at sea the other day. It happens all the time, no need to worry about it. When I passed by here, I heard that someone had recently landed on the island to investigate, so I thought I'd come and see if there was any danger. Maybe I could be a hero. But it's a bit of a pity that I ran into you guys. It seems like I came for nothing. No, no. It's good that it's you guys. This way, it saves other people from getting hurt."

Paimon, the traveler, and Teppei talked a lot and learned that the "Musou Blade Gorge" was actually created by Thor with a single slash.

Zheping became more and more excited as he spoke.

"Orobas destroyed civilization, and it was the general who stood up to stop it. Now that the general has issued the Eye Hunt Decree, depriving the people of their desires, someone must stand up to stop the general... cough cough..."

Ying looked at Zheping, and the more she looked, the more something seemed off. His hair seemed... a little whiter? Was it just her imagination?

"Zheping, take care of yourself."

"Cough cough... Don't worry, I will. I'm going back first. I just dealt with the elite samurai of the Shogunate army, so I'm going back to rest for a bit. I have other things to do later. You should all go back early too. There might still be some lingering ghostly aura here; staying here for too long isn't good for your health. Cough cough... cough..."

"Don't worry, Teppei, you take good care of yourself too."

"Don't worry, I'm in good health."

......

When the traveler returned to the Coral Palace, he saw Shinkai and Goro looking worried and talking about something.

"Approximately how many people are experiencing this unusual situation?"

"We haven't had time to fully compile the statistics yet."

Paimon went up and asked.

"Did something happen?"

Goro turned around and explained to the two of them.

“Ying, Paimon. Recently, some soldiers in the resistance have shown strange signs of aging. I summoned them for questioning and discovered that they had secretly obtained some ‘secret weapons’ from their sponsors…”

Paimon listened intently to Goro's explanation, while Ying felt a sense of unease deep down. 'Aging'... Yes, Teppei's hair... He had this too.

When Goro pulled out his "secret weapon," Ying finally realized what was happening. Seeing Ying's pale face, Shinkai guessed what had happened.

"Ying, do you know what this is?"

"This is... the evil eye of the Fatui..."

After a brief moment of deliberation, Xin Hai issued the military order.

"Inform the troops below to immediately cease using the Evil Eye, and immediately treat any soldiers who have recently shown abnormal behavior."

At that moment, Paimon also realized something.

"Wait, Traveler. Speaking of the soldiers who seemed amiss..."

"Tepei..."

Paimon was somewhat incredulous.

"Probably not."

Yingye and Paimon immediately went to the military camp to find Zheping...

"Zheping!"

Teppei was leaning against the wall, sitting on the ground. His hair had turned white... and his face had aged, but he still greeted the Traveler and Paimon happily.

"Ah...it's you guys. Luminous, Paimon. You've come? Wait, let me stand up."

It was clear that Teppei really wanted to stand up, but he failed... He gave an awkward laugh, seemingly embarrassed that his "good brother" had seen this embarrassing scene.

"Hehe, something's been weird lately, I always feel like I don't have much energy..."

Ying looked concerned, even though she had only recently met Zheping.

"Tepei..."

"Ah? Oh, I haven't had a chance to tell you the details yet. Recently, I've accomplished several feats. Fighting the Shogunate army at sea, single-handedly repelling Shogunate samurai, rescuing my besieged comrades—these things... I never even dared to dream of before. Cough...cough...If only I were a little stronger. A little stronger, I could do even more, save even more people..."

At this point, Zheping touched his waist.

"Strange, where is my 'secret weapon'?"

Although Ying was reluctant, she still told the truth.

"That thing is an evil eye... When did you use it...?"

"An evil...eye? That doesn't sound like a good thing..."

Zheping asked, still somewhat unwilling to give up.

"Is it any different from the Eye of God?"

"It will drain the user's life force."

"what?"

Zheping remained silent for a while, then seemed somewhat relieved.

"Is that so? Indeed... It's normal for things of unknown origin to be risky. These past few days, I've been increasingly exhausted, and I've had a vague sense of unease. Before, I was just more tired after battles, but these past few days, I've suddenly discovered... I can't see clearly anymore. What a pity, I thought I was about to catch up with you... Haha... I guess I'm not being watched by the gods after all..."

Ying was feeling conflicted and didn't know what to say.

Zheping seemed to suddenly remember something.

"By the way, Ying, Paimon. Can I ask you two a favor? When our team uniforms are finished, could you... cough cough... help me retrieve mine too... so we can wear them together..."

"Tepei..."

Zheping forced a smile; he knew perfectly well what he was doing...

"Hey, what's with that look on your face, buddy? Don't worry, let me rest for a bit... just a bit... maybe, maybe everything'll be alright..."

After saying that, Zheping closed his eyes.

Paimon looked at Zheping with some sadness.

"Tepei..."

Ying's eyes grew sharper; she was truly angry now.

"Fools..."

After muttering those three words to herself, Ying ran off, with Paimon chasing after her.

"Hey! Ying, where are you going? Hey! Wait for me!"

...

Xin Hai noticed that Ying looked like she had a deep-seated bitterness and resentment.

"Ying, what about Teppei's condition..."

"The situation suddenly worsened... We had just seen each other this morning, if only I had..."

Xin Hai sighed.

"Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault. I've already ordered the confiscation of all Evil Eyes from the military. Most people have shown signs of life force loss, but their condition isn't serious. However... there are a few."

Ying also clearly understood which group Teppei belonged to...

"Don't worry, Ying. Although the few people were in serious condition, they were sent to the sanatorium in Aponia in time. Hopefully, they made it in time. Ying, what are your plans?"

Ying didn't even think about it.

"I'm going to stop the Fools' plan."

Ying couldn't hear anything right now; all she knew was that Xin Hai had said a lot, and the content was...

"Aba aba aba aba aba... The factory is most likely located on the coastal cliffs in the southwest of Bayun Island. Aba aba... Aba aba..."

Ying walked away without saying a word after hearing the story.

Paimon followed behind Ying, asking cautiously.

"Huh? Going to that Evil Eye Factory? Really? Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"

"..."

Paimon eventually followed after them, of course.

"Ok."

...

Meanwhile, inside the Evil Eye Factory, Jue Xi looked at the photos sent by Aponia. The patients in the photos were suffering from a loss of life force, something she was powerless to help. However, through her special ability, she saw that the "threads" connecting the patients seemed to be faintly visible, suggesting that they weren't entirely beyond saving. She immediately thought of Jue Xi. Jue Xi saw a familiar face and knew that Ying was coming soon.

"Sakura, if nothing unexpected happens, you can still go home for dinner tonight."

"come yet?"

"immediately."

"By the way, Sakura. Just wait here. I have something to attend to and I'm heading to Aponia first. Be careful, Yae no Miko might be here soon. Remember, we can't release them without giving them the Heart of God."

Sakura was somewhat speechless. She had clearly come to Teyvat. According to the novel she had read, she felt like the villain no matter where she was. Oh well, she'd just teach him a lesson and then knock him out; she wouldn't kill him.

"understood."

On her way to the Aponia Sanatorium, Jue Xi pondered as she walked. It wasn't that she was heartless; she was just worried about affecting the plot. Besides, the Heart of God was useless anyway, so what difference did it make who she gave it to? Honestly, it didn't matter who she gave it to. By the way, she wondered what Qi Bao was doing at home.

...

At this moment, Kiana, dominating the theater, had a lollipop in her mouth and held the controller with a serious expression. Her opponent was Kevin, who had a blank expression (but was actually very serious), with a cup of instant noodles next to him. The little rabbit watched the two noobs pecking at each other like it was a show...

"Huh?! How come it was so close! Let's do it again, let's do it again!"

Kevin tossed the handle aside and picked up the instant noodles.

"Boring. (Thank goodness I won, it was so close. If I had lost, it would have been so embarrassing. I'm not playing anymore.)"

"Let's play one more game, Kevin! My internet connection was lagging!"

Before Kevin could refuse, Mei came to Kiana's side.

"Kiana, you've been playing for so long, isn't it time to study?"