Genshin Impact: The Road to Reversal

"Why?" Karen was stunned. She really didn't expect the other party to refuse so bluntly.

"Because I can't leave my guardian certificate with me." Li Xueyan replied.

"What's going on?" Mo Yan asked.

Li Xueyan hesitated for a moment and said, "On the way, you must have heard those barbarians talk about me, right?"

"Things? Could it be..." Kailin and Mo Yan looked at each other.

Zhao Heng, sitting opposite him, nodded. "We did hear some rumors. They said you were..."

"A puppet...right?" Li Xueyan's fingertips gently brushed the edge of the teacup. Her voice suddenly became soft, as if she were telling a story that had nothing to do with her. "They were right. In the past, I was indeed a puppet born for war. Those people saw us as cheap tools of war, disposable after use."

According to legend, a thousand years ago there was a Santana tribe who mastered the most advanced technology at that time.

They discovered a mineral and used elemental power to break it down and mass-produce it into combat-specific dolls.

However, their technology was not perfect. As batch after batch of fighting puppets came together, one puppet gradually gained a will of its own.

"Once, that puppet longed to communicate with others, longed to live like a human. But it still couldn't escape the shackles of fate, and ultimately became a discarded pawn on the battlefield."

"Why……"

"Why... must I have such a fate..."

"Ah... I really want to... live..."

"Even if... I can't... be... human..."

The doll prayed like this, but all it received in return was cold rain.

The broken body gradually shattered under the rain, and the puppet gradually lost consciousness until a burst of thunder sounded in its ears.

"You're a puppet born for war, yet you possess human emotions... So, live on with this 'heart'."

When the rain stopped and the sky cleared, the puppet opened its eyes again, and the scene before it had become completely different.

"This is!"

She stretched out her hands, which were made of delicate, fleshy skin, not cold mechanical joints.

Yes, she became human.

Although she didn't know what happened, she firmly believed that this must be a gift from God.

When he tried to stand up, he found a simple piece of clothing at hand.

She put on the dress excitedly, and the feel of the fabric rubbing against her skin made her experience the reality of being "alive" for the first time. But when she saw the abandoned dolls around her again, her smile froze.

Their broken bodies soaked in muddy water, their metal joints exposed, their hollow eye sockets gazing at the half-gray sky. Like themselves, they were once "tools" made, yet now, they alone had been given a new lease of life.

"When I crossed the sea of ​​corpses and arrived at the first city-state, walking among strangers, everything seemed so new. Because of the war, I was regarded as an exile, so they took good care of me."

"Eat slowly, poor child. You must have suffered a lot these days."

The cafeteria lady smiled and stuffed the hot bread into her hands. It was her first taste, the scalding aroma of wheat exploding on her tongue, burning her to the point of tears, but she couldn't bear to spit it out.

"Is this bread? It's delicious!"

She ate voraciously and finished most of it in no time.

"Oh, it's really hard for you. You must have been hungry for a long time. I don't know when the war will end."

As soon as he finished speaking, a noisy voice was heard in the distance.

"Good news, good news! Just now, Santana's rebels have been completely wiped out by Lord Flame. From now on, we don't have to worry anymore!"

"Really? That's great!"

After the joy, the cafeteria lady soon showed some sadness.

"Alas, what a pity! Even if the war ends, the 'wound' will not heal."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

The girl ate the remaining half of the bun and sobbed.

"Nothing, kid, do you have somewhere to go in the future? If you're willing, come to our house."

The girl looked up, bread crumbs still clinging to the corners of her mouth. The warm smile from the cafeteria lady made her chest feel warm, but she didn't know what that feeling was.

"May I?"

"Of course, from today on, we are your family..."

From then on, the girl settled down in the city-state.

During this time, her adoptive mother taught her a lot, from etiquette to self-cultivation, from common sense to social skills. She eagerly learned everything, as if to make up for the experience she missed as a doll.

In order to supplement the family income, the girl picked up the spear again and recalled her combat experience as a puppet. It was then that she suddenly discovered that she actually had the ability to control the elemental power of thunder and lightning.

After that, she joined the Mercenary Association as a mercenary, and her misfortune began from then on.

"One day, I came to the association as usual. Just as I was hesitating about which mission to choose, a team of four people approached me privately." Li Xueyan frowned suddenly. "They invited me to join the team, claiming they had received a commission to explore ancient ruins. At that time, I was naive and agreed. But when I met their so-called archaeological team and entered the ancient ruins with them, I realized that they were just tomb robbers under the guise of archaeology!"

Everyone held their breath, as if transported into the ancient ruins that had changed Li Xueyan's fate. Thunderclouds rolled restlessly outside the window, illuminating her profile, which flickered in and out.

"At the time, I had no idea what tomb robbing or archaeology was. I listened to their conversation out of curiosity, until they accidentally touched the mechanism of the ancient ruins."

She will never forget that day.

Tomb robbers, known as the Archaeological Team, were endlessly searching for treasures in the ruins. Suddenly, they touched a secret compartment in the wall, and the entire ruins began to shake.

"Oh no, there's a trap, everyone run!"

The girl followed closely behind and broke all the mechanisms that were lowered for everyone, but she accidentally fell while saving people.

She clutched the broken steps with one hand, her fingertips scratching bloody marks on the rough stone wall. Below was a bottomless darkness, echoing with the roar of the machinery.

"Save me..."

She looked up at the so-called "archaeologists", but they showed strange smiles.

"So dolls can also be afraid?"

"Stop talking, it's important to take the treasure and leave quickly."

The tomb robbers turned and ran, and the last one even deliberately stepped on the stairs she was climbing.

"Goodbye, doll!"

"No!"

With tears of fear and regret in her eyes, she fell into the bottomless darkness. She stretched out her left hand, trying to grasp something, but only grasped at nothing.

In the darkness, all she could see were the hideous smiles of the tomb robbers before she fell.

It turns out that humans are more cruel than war.

Her consciousness gradually faded as she fell, and the tears of fear and hatred were torn apart by the strong wind as she fell, turning into tiny points of light that dissipated in the darkness.