Undercover in Snezhnaya, My Teyvat Spy Life [47]

…

Staring at the black chain he’d just thrown out, Artem Vetrovski blinked.

What on earth…?

Black fire, black chains—no doubt about it, he was wielding the godly power from the [Delusion].

But… hadn’t he already shattered the [Delusion]?

And now, the black fire and black chains were almost… too clean.

He distinctly remembered that when he’d used the [Delusion] before, the black chains had radiated a dense, foul aura.

But what he was summoning now—these black chains had none of that ominous taint, yet their power wasn’t diminished at all.

The change made Artem silently ponder.

Maybe I’ve underestimated my own constitution…

Judging from the transformation in this godly power, his body’s abilities were clearly more than just immune to backlash.

Very likely—he could purify it.

And the target of that purification was precisely the filth and malice embedded in the resentment of gods.

And maybe… even devour it.

That Blackflame Serpent, formed from a god’s hatred—it had been completely absorbed, its power now his to command.

Artem closed his eyes, quietly feeling out the tremendous changes in his body, and then broke into a delighted grin.

No wonder it’s godly power—the effects are incredible.

This single [Delusion] had boosted him more than all his elemental strengthening in Snezhnaya put together.

His body felt far lighter than before.

With the slightest push of his legs, he could leap ten meters in a single bound.

He was even faster than when he used his Debt Collector skills.

And that was without tapping into elemental energy.

He gave it a try—wrapped his arms around a large tree, and, just as he’d suspected, uprooted it with no effort at all.

The improvement made Artem laugh out loud, pure joy bubbling up inside him.

What a pleasant surprise!

He’d only meant to practice using the [Delusion]—who could have guessed he’d discover a new facet of his own powers in the process?

After testing his new strength and speed, Artem gleefully summoned elemental power. Seven elements, mixed with godly might, exploded together—he was having the time of his life.

It didn’t take long before he’d completely blasted a lush, green cliff bare.

By the time dawn broke, he’d figured out the basics.

His strength and speed were both up by about twofold.

That might not sound like much, but considering his baseline was already monstrous, it was honestly outrageous.

And that was just his raw physique. Once he added elemental power, his destructive force was ten times what it used to be.

Even better, thanks to his improved body, he could now channel elemental power more strongly, and for much longer than before.

If he faced the Eclipse Triber again, he figured he wouldn’t even need ten minutes to wipe out the lot of them—along with those three Geo Lawachurls.

Shame.

There’s only one of these [Delusions]. If I had a few more, I might be able to tear Dottore apart with my bare hands…

He shook his head with a hint of regret.

For Artem, the only real threats in the Fatui—besides his precarious identity—were all thanks to The Doctor and his constant desire to dissect him.

So boosting his self-preservation was a top priority.

But then, an idea struck.

Blackflame Serpents. Blackflame Beasts…

Tch. If I recall, Dottore’s labs in Sumeru are full of the stuff.

Once I get back to Snezhnaya, I’ll have to find an excuse to transfer to Sumeru—blow up a couple of his labs for fun.

Having made up his mind, Artem stood, gathered up every shard of the shattered [Delusion], and strode off toward Mondstadt, covering ten meters with each step.

...

In the days that followed, Mondstadt stayed as peaceful as ever.

The only thing souring the mood was the sudden, conspicuous reappearance of the Lawrence family.

Unlike Eula, who only talked about vengeance and never acted, the Lawrences were more brazen than ever.

Everywhere they went, they swaggered around demanding people kneel, loudly proclaiming the Lawrences were about to retake Mondstadt and would make the commoners pay for their insolence.

Naturally, this “big talk” got them beaten up more than a few times.

But even then, the Lawrences refused to change.

They turned up in every corner of the city, using their appallingly foul mouths to drive Mondstadters away wherever they went.

Eventually, even scolding them lost its appeal.

People saw a Lawrence and simply turned away—out of sight, out of mind.

When Artem heard about this, his jaw nearly hit the floor.

This… is this really the same pigheaded Lawrence family I knew?

Did they actually come up with this on their own?

If it were anyone else in the Fatui hearing about this, they’d probably think the Lawrences were good for nothing but screwing things up—purely sabotaging the plan.

But Artem could smell something off.

These Lawrences… they were making good use of a simple fact:

No matter what they said, the people of Mondstadt would never believe them.

Even if they announced that the Fatui and the Lawrences were about to attack the city together, not a soul would take it seriously.

So they went all-in on their greatest “talent”—using their mouths to drive everyone away.

That way, they could draw up city defense maps as brazenly as they liked.

Credit where it’s due—no wonder they once ruled Mondstadt. Even on the brink of starvation, they’ve still got tricks up their sleeves…

Artem couldn’t help but be impressed.

The Lawrences’ methods had truly caught him off guard.

Back at their estate, he’d only needed to utter a few old noble platitudes for them to shower him with trust.

At first, Artem had assumed they were just old-fashioned idiots.

But now, he saw another possibility.

Maybe, because the people of Mondstadt had so thoroughly rejected all things aristocratic, the Lawrences had doubled down, making sure every family member was raised on ancient noble customs, ingraining the old ways deep into their bones.

It was how they drew the line between friend and foe.

Anyone willing to engage with them in the old noble manner must genuinely want to cooperate.

Anyone who didn’t was an enemy.

It wasn’t a flawless system—after all, Artem had just tricked them with a few empty words.

But for the people of Mondstadt, who despised all things Lawrence and all things aristocratic, it worked like magic.

What’s more, ancient noble etiquette was a relic of the past, even in Teyvat—nobody from any other nation would tolerate it, either.

So by using such an outdated, ridiculous method, the Lawrences might actually find trustworthy allies.

Who would’ve thought?

To take something so obsolete and use it this way…

Once again, Artem marveled.

The Knights of Favonius were right to worry.

No matter how hard generations of Grand Masters had tried to suppress the Lawrences, the family hadn’t rotted away.

This strange public performance, Artem now suspected, was all part of the plan.

Driven out, knowing they couldn’t fight the Knights head-on, the Lawrences had gone to ground, putting on a face of decayed old nobility, waiting for their chance.

A chance to step back into the spotlight. To become Mondstadt’s rulers once again.

As expected...

There are no simple answers on the real continent of Teyvat.

---

This is a fan translation of 提瓦特之我在至冬做臥底 by 曉風殘月聽荷 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!