"Have New Eridu join Liyue?"

When they heard Keqing's request, several high-ranking officials of New Eridu froze, thinking she must be joking.

They acknowledged Keqing's strength—and Xiao's was even more frightening—but in their view, both cities were facing the same apocalyptic threat. Separated by such great distance, they didn't believe New Eridu was much weaker than Liyue.

From their perspective, this cooperation against Hollow Zero should be an equal partnership, with both sides on the same footing.

But now, Keqing was saying New Eridu should become part of Liyue.

To them, that demand was outrageous—no different from the ambitions of rebel forces looking to swallow the entire city.

After a brief silence, the director of the Public Security Bureau gave an awkward laugh.

"Miss Keqing, this is an official negotiation—please don't make jokes like that..."

The president of the Hollow Investigation Association cleared his throat.

"Miss Keqing, Mr. Xiao, that kind of joke isn't amusing. Let's get back to proper talks..."

But contrary to their assumption, Keqing wasn't joking in the slightest.

In the eyes of New Eridu's leadership, Liyue was just another city struggling under the apocalypse.

But in Keqing's eyes, Liyue was taking an enormous risk—committing more than half its fighting strength to save New Eridu—and deserved far more in return.

More importantly, the Adeptus of Liyue had neither the duty nor the obligation to rescue New Eridu.

Only if New Eridu joined Liyue could Keqing even ask the Adeptus to leave their seclusion to protect Liyue's people and territory.

She had no intention of backing down.

Sitting upright, Keqing looked seriously at the officials opposite her.

"I'm not joking. I'm completely serious. If you want to suppress Hollow Zero and save New Eridu, this is the only way."

Her words made the officials fall silent again. Frowns deepened, hands tightened around the documents they held.

This was nothing like the discussion they had expected.

They had never intended to join Liyue—only to borrow its strength to hold back Hollow Zero's spread as much as possible.

As for actually suppressing it and forcing it into decline... even they thought that was wishful thinking.

No one knew how many high-level Ethereals lurked within Hollow Zero—or if there were things even worse.

They'd seen Xiao's power test results and knew he was strong enough to rival the first generation of Void Hunters. But suppressing Hollow Zero? That was another matter entirely.

Their fear was that after cooperating with Liyue, they would lose their sovereignty and still fail to stop Hollow Zero's advance.

At that moment, the president of the Ether Technology Development Association stood up.

"Miss Keqing, we can offer technology exchanges, Ether resources, or enough Dennies to satisfy you—but making New Eridu part of your city? Forget it."

He was about to continue when the Public Security Bureau director pressed him back into his seat.

"President Karl, calm down."

The head of H.A.N.D. looked grim, taking a deep breath.

"Miss Keqing, I hope you'll reconsider..."

Keqing met his gaze.

"I hope you will reconsider. Xiao and I have been inside Hollow Zero—we know what it's like in there. With New Eridu's strength alone, you cannot stand against the advanced Ethereals deep within. Only by becoming part of Liyue and having the Adeptus intervene will you have a chance of winning."

She truly did want to help New Eridu—not out of blind compassion, but because its Hollow crisis reminded her of the black calamity five hundred years ago.

If left unchecked, she feared it could one day spread to the continent of Teyvat, bringing another catastrophe.

But there was no other way.

Only the most powerful Adeptus could fight Hollow Zero.

Because the two sides had such different information, New Eridu's leadership refused to accept becoming a vassal state, and Keqing could see no other solution.

The talks stalled, dragging on for hours with no result.

Finally, the Public Security Bureau director stood.

"Miss Keqing, Mr. Xiao—please wait here. We need to discuss your proposal further."

Keqing nodded.

"Alright. I hope you'll give it real thought."

"We will," the director replied.

They still wanted Liyue's help, but her condition was too steep. Without knowing the full extent of Liyue's strength, they couldn't bring themselves to trust her completely—let alone hand over New Eridu for nothing.

...

Half an hour later, after Keqing had finished her second cup of tea, the officials returned.

The Hollow Investigation Association president spoke first.

"Miss Keqing, Mr. Xiao—if you can truly suppress Hollow Zero, then New Eridu is willing to join Liyue. Our condition is: suppress it first, then we join."

Keqing didn't hesitate for even a second. She shook her head firmly.

"No. You must join Liyue first before I can bring the Adeptus here."

Everything else could be discussed—except this.

Though she was one of the Liyue Qixing, she had no authority to command the Adeptus, let alone order them to travel to New Eridu and suppress Hollow Zero.

There was only one way to get them involved—make New Eridu part of Liyue.

If the Geo Archon were still alive, perhaps he could order them. But he had passed three years ago.

Her uncompromising stance left the officials looking grim.

They were veterans, used to dealing with all manner of people, and had thought negotiating with a young woman like Keqing would be simple.

They hadn't expected her to be this difficult.

The deadlock deepened.

Xiao muttered under his breath, "So stubborn. Just like those from two thousand years ago—only heading toward their own destruction."

Back during the Archon War, some forces had negotiated with Liyue in exactly the same way—stubborn to the end.

In the end, Liyue never even had to make a move. Other gods destroyed them first.

If New Eridu continued on this path, it might be years—or only decades—before the expanding Hollow Zero consumed them entirely.