Genshin Impact is a big stage, come if you dare

“Oh wow—” Sue looked at the thick iron chain on Leosley’s office door, “Someone thoughtfully took extra precautions to protect you.”

Leosley reached down and took the "invitation" clipped to the chain, flipping through it and sighing.

"This is troublesome. My weapons, which I don't carry with me, are in there because they need maintenance."

Paimon muttered, "I feel like everything that happened was exactly as you predicted."

Leosley modestly replied, "Ninety percent, I guess."

He went out of his way to make things easy for his opponent, hoping it would be an interesting match.

When asked to share intelligence, Leosley briefly explained the current situation.

Merleau-Petersburg did not allow prisoners to form gangs, but it did not prohibit people from forming associations based on shared interests or goals.

The Brim Hat Society is one of the more well-known societies among the many in Melo Petersburg, and it is also the opponent in this operation.

Paimon remembered, "We were also recruited by the Brimmed Hat Society when we first came here! But Sue thought the hat was too ugly and rejected us outright."

Sue had no recollection of it at all. "The hat was probably ugly, but not so ugly as to be memorable."

Don't waste her brainpower on things that aren't special or important.

Sora also remembered, "That club seemed to have a lot of members, and they were mostly young men and women."

Leosley: "Those young men and women are just recruiters sent out by Duguirre, the president of the Bridle Hat Society. There are many more members hidden in the background. The number of members in the Bridle Hat Society has long exceeded the prescribed standard."

Duguirre controls a large number of members, through whom he constantly acquires money and resources from the outside world, accumulating the power to control Melo Petersburg.

Leosley glanced again at the chains on the office door and the "invitation" in his hand. "It seems he believes he has amassed enough power, and with this rare opportunity, he wants to launch a full-scale attack."

The tumor has grown too large; it's time to remove it completely.

Kong felt the most crucial point was—"How did Duguirre control his members to work for him?"

“We haven’t figured this out yet, but it doesn’t seem to be a case of violence or coercion,” Leosley said. “The patrols didn’t find any external injuries on the Hatbrias members who were out and about.”

He also arranged surprise inspections, but they yielded no useful clues.

The Brim Hat Society appears to be a harmonious and loving family, and no member has ever expressed any dissatisfaction with the president.

“It’s impossible for a club to be completely without conflict. Too much harmony is actually quite abnormal.” Kong frowned and guessed, “Mind control, or brainwashing?”

"Oh, whatever, just beat that belly button up badly, and they'll find out everything. Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Su urged.

“It’s Dugiye… Su, your ability to come up with nicknames is now even better than Paimon’s.” Sora noticed the girl’s eagerness and nodded to Leosley.

Leosley: "Then, let's go."

——*——*——

The invitation to the hat party was sent to a production area on the outskirts of Melo Petersburg.

All the noise and activity from daily production activities have disappeared, leaving a tense silence.

Paimon was scared for two seconds, but seeing Leosley's leading figure and her reliable friends, she quickly relaxed.

She's not bragging, but she believes that even if the sky were to fall, her friends would be able to put it back on! They just have that talent!

While Paimon was distracted, Leosley led the Travelers' team to the "reception room" mentioned on the invitation.

With a "rumble," the steel fence behind them fell down, but neither the Traveler's team nor Leosley looked back.

Sue, sitting on Leosley's right arm, looked up and saw a figure a little higher up.

"Just one person?" Su was greatly disappointed.

How could one person possibly be enough for her to fight?

And that guy looks really weak, I hope she doesn't kill him with just three punches.

The president of the Hat Association, Dujiye, was an ordinary-looking, seemingly kind middle-aged man.

Seeing Leosley appear carrying the girl, Duguirre's tension eased considerably.

"I never thought that a duke would be so fond of a beauty and neglect his duties."

Dujiye adopted the demeanor of a gentle elder and advised, "You should know that the land of gentle pleasures is the graveyard of heroes."

Traveler's Squad: ...

Paimon looked at Duguirre with a complicated expression. "You...don't you know us?"

A hero's grave is one thing, but a haven of gentle pleasures? Absolutely not!

Leosley chuckled twice. "It seems that even after enjoying a few days of rare freedom, Chairman Dugier is still as clueless as a rat in the gutter."

Su: "He's probably focused on doing bad things. Alright, stop wasting your breath on him and just take care of him."

Lately, I don't know what's wrong with me, I'm just very restless, and I really want to hit someone or destroy something.

Dugier didn't want to waste any more words. With a clap of his hand, he released dozens of wind-up mechanisms that he had secretly produced after taking control of the production line.

"Go! Take them out!"

He had dozens of wind-up mechanisms with their safety restrictions lifted, while Leosley, who wasn't equipped, even had two and a half burdens with him.

The advantage is in my hands... Holy crap!

Watching the clockwork mechanism rapidly turn into a pile of scrap metal, Duguirre, fearing he would be the next target for dismantling, quickly activated his backup plan.

"Stop!" Dugiye grabbed the two young men and women who were being brought up by the elevator and used them as shields in front of him. "Or I'll kill them!"

Paimon, who was the first to discover it, was horrified and quickly shouted for everyone to stop, "He has innocent hostages in his hands!"

“Come here,” Sue said to the two hostages. “I guarantee the gun he has won’t kill you.”

However, the two people who were used as shields by Duguirre were completely numb and showed almost no reaction.

Kong looked at the two hostages, whose condition was clearly abnormal, and asked, "What did you do to them?"

"What did I do to them?" Duguirre smiled smugly. "I controlled their fear."

Upon hearing the word "fear," the two hostages trembled violently, uttering indistinct pleas for mercy.

"No, no! I was wrong! I won't do it again! Please let me go! I beg you, Lord Dujiye!"

Dugier, whose physical abilities were average, almost couldn't hold back the two kneeling hostages. He cursed and kicked them forcefully.

"Idiot! Stop moving! If you don't stop, I'll let you taste the flavor of black ice!"

The two hostages were like wind-up toys that had been suddenly put on pause, forcibly frozen in a strange pose.

Sora: "The thing you used to control them, is it Black Ice...?"

Leosley bent down and picked up a piece of paper, which had just fallen from the man who had been kicked.