Sam Li is the Archon...

Sam Li is the Archon...

That single thought consumed Keqing's mind as she hurried toward him.

Since His Majesty wished to keep his identity hidden, she wouldn't foolishly expose him in front of others. Instead, she simply bowed respectfully.

"Keqing of the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing, pays her respects to... Mr. Sam Li..."

"Miss Keqing, there's no need for such formality..."

Sam Li knew his earlier strike had already revealed his identity. But from the start, he'd never intended to conceal it—he had simply gone along with circumstances.

Now that it was exposed, it didn't matter. Sooner or later, Keqing and the others would know anyway.

What's more... Sam Li had faintly realized something: aside from himself, there seemed to be no other Geo Archon in existence.

Still, he hadn't figured out the full truth. Perhaps once his role-playing progress reached 100%, the answer would be revealed.

...

Nearby, Belle, Hoshimi Miyabi, Tsukishiro Yanagi, Asaba Harumasa, and Soukaku all saw Keqing bow to Sam Li. Their suspicions were confirmed—they were certain now of his Adepti identity.

They came forward one after another.

Belle peered at Sam Li curiously. "No wonder you're so strong. So you're also an Adeptus of Liyue, just like Cloud Retainer..."

Hoshimi Miyabi bowed earnestly. "Hoshimi Miyabi, Section Chief of Hollow Special Operations Unit 6, greets Adeptus Sam Li. Thank you for shielding me from the Ethereal earlier..."

Tsukishiro Yanagi, Asaba Harumasa, and Soukaku followed her example, offering respectful salutes.

At this moment, all of them regarded Sam Li as an Adeptus of Liyue, no different from Cloud Retainer or Moon Carver.

None of them knew his true identity—Liyue's Geo Archon, believed to have passed away four years ago.

...

After the battle ended, the group rested briefly.

As they recalled the sudden clash, both Keqing and Hoshimi Miyabi concluded that the three Ethereal must have been lying in ambush from the start.

Belle frowned in thought. "No wonder it felt strange the moment we entered Hollow Zero. We only saw ordinary Ethereal, not a single high-tier one. It must've been because the aura of those three Destruction-class Ethereal was too strong, driving all the high-tier ones away... I should've realized sooner. Careless of me..."

But Belle couldn't really be blamed. She rarely dealt with missions related to Hollow Zero and knew little about Destruction-class Ethereal. Such entities were far beyond the scope of her usual commissions.

And truthfully... it wasn't just her. Even Hoshimi Miyabi, Keqing, and Cloud Retainer hadn't considered the possibility of Ethereal lying in wait.

Still, the situation was strange.

How had these Destruction-class Ethereal known they would enter the Hollow today for the first stage of operations?

How had they known the exact route they would take?

Hoshimi Miyabi had led Hollow Special Operations Unit 6 on countless missions inside Hollow Zero, but had never once encountered a Destruction-class ambush. Nor had any other personnel ever reported such an event.

The whole thing made no sense.

...

Suddenly, Belle's eyes widened. "Unless..."

Hoshimi Miyabi and Keqing spoke in unison. "Unless what?"

Belle hesitated, her voice lacking confidence. "Unless... there's a mole within New Eridu's official departments, someone who leaked the details of our operation to the Ethereal..."

At this, Hoshimi Miyabi, Keqing, Tsukishiro Yanagi, and the others all frowned deeply.

If true, it explained the ambush—but the thought was outrageous.

Soukaku blurted out, astonished, "Huh? How could humans even communicate with the Ethereal?"

Keqing's brows knitted tighter as she turned to Belle. "Is such a thing even possible?"

Belle answered immediately. "In theory, no. Ordinary Ethereal have no real consciousness left, only the attack instinct left by Ether corruption. Communication with them is impossible.

"But research shows that Notoriety-level Ethereal do have distinct awareness. Scientists even built devices to try communicating with them, though none of those attempts succeeded...

"As for higher-level Ethereal... the fact they laid an ambush proves they have a certain degree of intelligence. It's very possible they also possess the ability to communicate."

...

The group absorbed this revelation, their understanding of Ethereal shifting once more.

Hoshimi Miyabi nodded gravely. "It's true. Ethereal beyond the Destruction tier have intelligence and communication abilities. For example, that Exaltist Order Bishop..."

She referred to the Destruction-class Ethereal slain by the third head of the Hoshimi family—her grandmother.

Of course, Hoshimi Miyabi had only heard of it. She had never personally seen an Ethereal communicate, nor spoken with one herself.

The records on such beings were sparse. Humanity still knew far too little about them.

...

Armed with this knowledge, Keqing grew more convinced.

There must be infiltrators within New Eridu's official departments.

Of course, the infiltrators might not be Ethereal. They could also be humans—remnants of the Exaltist Order.

Officially, there had never been any recorded case of an Ethereal leaving the Hollow and taking human form.

But online, rumors of such things abounded.

...

After a moment of silence, Belle glanced nervously at Keqing. "Miss Keqing... what should we do? Do we keep going forward?"

To her, knowing the plan had been leaked and that more ambushes might be waiting ahead...

The logical choice was to stop the operation now, withdraw to New Eridu while there were still no casualties, and regroup.

Keqing hesitated.

She had always believed in the strength of the Adepti. Now that she knew Sam Li was the Geo Archon, she trusted even more that they could suppress Hollow Zero.

But, as Belle said, knowingly walking into an ambush was hardly a sound choice.

She looked at the Adepti—Cloud Retainer and the others—then turned to Sam Li.

"Mr. Sam Li... what do you think we should do next?"

Sam Li replied slowly. "By reason, as the overall commander of this collaboration between Liyue and New Eridu, the decision should be yours. I can only offer advice."

Keqing answered quickly. "Then please, Mr. Sam Li—your advice."

Sam Li's tone was calm and steady. "Since we already stand before the mist, why not step inside and see?"

With the Geo Archon's words spoken, Keqing naturally complied.

"Very well. We continue forward, as planned."