The planet Baihuang Star — an uninhabited world, yet teeming with colossal beasts as large as mountains. These creatures fed on rock and soil, and their… excretions — or rather, secretions — formed dense black mineral deposits.
These minerals, when alloyed with other materials through simple processing, could already meet the standards for the hulls of interstellar vessels. Their performance was excellent too, making them a prized material among ship manufacturers across the cosmos.
The first to discover this planet had been the Xianzhou Alliance. The Alliance was composed of six massive, planet-sized flagships. Some of them were destroyed long ago in wars against the Denizens of Abundance, but others had survived and continued to exist to this day.
Baihuang Star was discovered over fifty years ago by one of those six flagships — the Xianzhou Yaoqing.
The minerals found here were a valuable resource for the Alliance, both for self-use and for trade. Thus, the Yaoqing had established a base on this planet, with personnel stationed there to mine and refine the ore.
However, only a few days ago, the planet had come under heavy siege by the Denizens of Abundance. The assault was large in scale, forcing the stationed garrison to focus all efforts on defending the planet.
The Yaoqing itself wasn't nearby, and the closest flagship — the Xianzhou Luofu — was more than two hundred light-years away.
Even for a planet-class vessel, a jump of that distance would take at least a week. As such, the garrison on Baihuang Star had no choice but to send out an emergency request for reinforcements.
After learning about the situation, Nolan noticed that many others had already accepted the mission and were leaving comments under the commission listing:
> [Youming-9A] : "Saw the alert on the 'Patrol Rangers' mutual aid forum. Don't worry, brothers of the Yaoqing — I'm nearby on Carwash Star, heading your way right now!"
> [Aiko-208] : "Caught you, big bro 9A! I'm on my way too. (sparkly-eyes.jpg)"
> [Invincible Boteo] : "Hahaha, my revolver's been itching for action!"
These comments were all posted just seconds ago, and scrolling further revealed many more — all from people heading there to assist.
Nolan tapped the mission entry and prepared to accept it. The commission offered a base reward of one million credits just for showing up and helping.
If one made a significant contribution, there would be even greater rewards. Of course, Nolan's real goal wasn't the credits — he wanted to see if there was a chance to earn some Adventure EXP.
[Front camera activation required for identity verification. Do you allow this?]
When the prompt appeared, Nolan paused for a moment, then quickly understood the reason.
This was a dangerous mission type. Without sufficient strength, not only would one be unable to help, but they might even become a liability.
And for someone with an unverified identity to join — it would be hard to tell if they were an ally or an infiltrator.
After a brief thought, Nolan clicked "Allow."
[Locating terminal… verifying identity… Unable to detect valid ID information. Please upload relevant credentials.]
Seeing the message on the screen, Nolan wasn't surprised.
After all, his personal information existed only within the Herta Space Station's internal network — the Interastral Peace Network had no record of him.
Naturally, that meant the system couldn't identify him.
He wasn't in a rush, though. When in doubt, he could always ask the Interastral Peace Encyclopedia.
So he searched how to register for Xianzhou Alliance commissions — and soon, a detailed answer popped up.
First, anyone wanting to take on commissions — regardless of which organization — had to register a dedicated account on the Interastral Peace Network and complete real-name authentication.
Guest accounts like the one Nolan currently used couldn't be used for that.
After verifying one's identity, the next step was to fill in a personal résumé — previous affiliations, notable achievements, combat records, and so on.
And these credentials had to be backed up with official documentation — not just words. It all sounded a bit troublesome.
Nolan pondered for a moment. Actually, he did have some achievements worth mentioning.
For instance, he served as a Security Consultant for the Herta Space Station — a fairly impressive credential in itself.
And there was the time he single-handedly cleared an entire planet's insect swarm. That incident had likely been recorded by the White Star-class Battleship commanded by Screwllum.
If he asked Asta to help him retrieve that footage and upload it as part of his profile, it would make for a solid record.
The Interastral Peace Network evaluated such information to determine an individual's power rating.
Then, when accepting missions, the system would automatically filter out anyone whose rating was insufficient for that task.
Only those strong enough would be approved to join.
It was no wonder the Xianzhou Alliance's mission offered a base reward of one million credits — anyone qualified to take it clearly wasn't weak.
Just showing up was worth that price.
For individuals, the process was strict — but for organizations, it was much simpler.
As long as the organization's identity was verified, there was no need to vet every individual member.
For example, if the Herta Space Station itself took on a mission, no one would need to check Nolan's identity — he could simply accompany them.
But Nolan knew that the Space Station's defensive forces weren't particularly strong. They could protect themselves, sure, but deploying troops to aid others might be a stretch.
So, he opened his phone's camera, photographed his Herta Space Station Security Consultant ID, and uploaded it to his profile.
When the system reviewed his credentials, it would directly verify them with the Space Station — meaning fake IDs wouldn't pass.
Afterward, he messaged Asta to ask if there was any recorded footage of him clearing the insect swarm.
> Asta: "I'll check for you."
Before long, Asta replied again, saying she'd reach out to confirm — probably through internal channels.
That would take some time, so Nolan lay back on his bed, idly browsing the Interastral Peace Network.
He scrolled through galactic news and recent events — reports of new diplomatic relations between civilizations under IPC mediation, Antimatter Legion raids on various worlds, and sightings of a rising evil organization called the Stellaron Hunters wreaking havoc across multiple systems.
Time slipped by unnoticed as he browsed. Roughly half an hour later, a new message notification popped up from Asta.
It was the very same video of Nolan exterminating the planetary insect swarm some time ago.
He replied to Asta with a "Thanks" and a bowing emoji, then uploaded the video to his personal profile as part of his credentials.
After that, he submitted his application for verification.
Since the system had to cross-check the authenticity of all the provided information, it displayed a notice saying the review would take one to two business days.
Asta had mentioned that the Xianzhou trade fleet would arrive the day after tomorrow—so, the timing worked out perfectly.
Two days passed quickly.
Nolan didn't idle around in the meantime.
Using his free time, he logged onto the Interastral Peace Network to study various scientific databases—especially foundational theories—and scanned the data into his "Akasha Terminal."
Then he uploaded those files into the Wonderland Space's "Akasha System," letting everyone there study the materials together.
Of course, he didn't make them publicly available on the Akasha Interconnected Network.
Dumping that much new knowledge all at once would've caused quite a shock among Teyvat's scholars.
So instead, he let researchers like Nahida, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, Cloud Retainer, Lisa, and Mona study the data first.
Once they determined which topics were safe to publish, those would be released to the public gradually—allowing scholars time to adapt before new material appeared.
During these two days of "cultivation practice" with Lumine, Nolan also learned that something had happened back in Fontaine.
On the day of Lyney and Lynette's magic performance, during their final act—the "human substitution trick"—an unexpected accident occurred.
The suspended water tank used for their escape act suddenly fell, smashing into the magician's prop box below. Inside that box was a volunteer selected from the audience—a young woman named Halsey.
Seeing the disaster unfold, Chief Justice Neuvillette immediately halted the performance and ordered the guards to secure the area.
But upon opening the magician's box, they found only the lifeless body of a stage assistant named Cowell—Halsey herself had vanished without a trace.
The case's peculiarities mirrored the unresolved Serial Disappearance of Young Women that had remained unsolved for twenty years.
Right there at the scene, the ever-impulsive Focalors wanted to accuse Lyney and his troupe of being the true culprits.
After all, the missing woman had disappeared inside a box prepared by Lyney's team—suspicion naturally fell on them.
However, Lumine and Paimon firmly believed the siblings were innocent.
That serial disappearance case began twenty years ago—before either of them had even been born.
It was impossible for them to be the murderers.
They quickly contacted Focalors through a "waymark" communication and explained why the Serial Disappearance Case likely had nothing to do with Lyney and Lynette.
Focalors, realizing the inconsistency, refrained from pressing charges for the moment.
Even so, Cowell's death and Halsey's disappearance both occurred within Lyney's magic box.
That fact alone was undeniable, and the audience's growing suspicion meant that public opinion had already turned against them.
No matter what, they would have to prove their innocence.
As the God of Justice, Focalors ultimately still had to act as the one bringing the formal accusation.
Thus, Lumine and Paimon stepped in as the siblings' advocates to help prove them innocent.
Chief Justice Neuvillette scheduled the trial for the next day, giving Lumine's group a single day to find conclusive evidence.
Since the case likely connected to the old Serial Disappearance incident, Navia—who had also been present at the performance—offered her help.
Her own father's death had ties to that very case, and she was determined to uncover the truth behind it.
So the three joined forces to investigate.
They first asked Lyney and Lynette to explain in detail how the trick worked, then inspected the scene themselves.
There, they discovered traces of Primordial Sea Water—a liquid capable of dissolving Fontaine's citizens.
Eventually, Lumine, Navia, and her two attendants found the missing woman, Halsey.
Her true identity was that of a Mondstadt thief.
After the accident, fearing exposure of her criminal past, she went into hiding rather than having truly disappeared.
As for Cowell—he had apparently tried to attack her inside the box and poured some water over her, though his motives were unclear.
Realizing she was in danger and unwilling to be arrested, Halsey fought back, overpowering Cowell and trapping him inside the box.
None of them could have predicted that the water tank above would fall and crush him to death.
Once Lumine's group pieced everything together, they presented their findings during the trial the following day.
Their conclusion: Cowell himself had been the true culprit.
He had attempted to kill Halsey using Primordial Sea Water—but as a Mondstadt native and a nimble thief, she turned the tables on him instead.
This suggested that Cowell was very likely one of the perpetrators behind the Serial Disappearance Case, using the deadly properties of Primordial Sea Water to dissolve his victims.
Lumine's deductions, along with the physical evidence they presented, convinced both the audience and Chief Justice Neuvillette.
After being submitted to the Oratrice Mécanique d'Analyse Cardinale for final arbitration, the verdict was clear—not guilty.
Thus, Lyney and Lynette's innocence was restored.
However, Cowell's accomplice, a man named Vaughn, attempted to falsify testimony but was exposed.
Before he could reveal the name of the true mastermind, he was dissolved into water on the spot.
That proved the incident was far from over.
Cowell's failed actions had merely caused the long-buried Serial Disappearance Case to resurface unexpectedly.
Now Lumine and Paimon, together with Navia, had resumed their investigation.
It was clear the culprit's method involved the use of Primordial Sea Water.
And Lumine and Paimon knew well that those dissolved by it weren't truly gone—
Their consciousness lingered, transformed into pure water spirits.
They realized that the Water Sprite they'd once encountered in the Fountain of Lucine—the one endlessly murmuring the name "Vasche"—was very likely one such victim.
Lumine shared this theory with Navia, planning to investigate further along the trail of the Primordial Sea Water.
But that very night, they were ambushed by a large number of clockwork guards.
Fortunately, Lumine's strength made short work of them all.
The meaning was clear — the mastermind didn't want them digging any deeper.
Naturally, Lumine's group refused to back down.
They began tracing the origins of the numerous clockwork guards instead, reasoning that only someone wealthy and powerful enough to purchase so many could be behind the attacks.
Coincidentally, Lumine, Nolan, and Paimon had attended a recent opera trial that revolved around a commercial dispute between two clockwork-guard manufacturers.
Both men were merchants dealing in security automatons — and tomorrow, they planned to question them to see who might have recently purchased guards in such massive quantities.
Whoever that was… would likely be their prime suspect.
(End of Chapter)
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