Genshin Impact : Joining the Genius Club

Chapter 9: The Master and the Servant's Terror

When the Ice Queen announced a new executive joining the Fatui, Alechino's thoughts weren't overly complicated. As long as her Hearth House wasn't harmed, she didn't care about new members. However, when she learned that Su Ran was a scientist, much like Dottore, her attitude shifted to one of caution.

Dottore's experiments often required test subjects, and there had been a time when he tried to use the children from the Hearth House. It was then that Alechino seriously considered killing Dottore. The only thing stopping her was the fact that he had too many clones, and his power was indispensable to the Ice Queen. Not to mention, the power gap between her and Dottore was significant.

Because of this, Alechino had grown wary of anyone obsessed with dangerous research. The puppet, Sandrone, was an exception, as her focus was purely on machinery. But with Su Ran, Alechino wasn't sure what to expect. Was he another dangerous life researcher like Dottore, or someone more like Sandrone, only interested in machines? The answer to that question would determine how she treated him.

What Alechino didn't expect was to meet Su Ran again so soon. As she looked at the eight floating cannons hovering beside him, she unconsciously took a small step back.

"Did you create all of this, Mr. Genius?" she asked, eyeing the enormous crater in front of them with a hint of unease.

"Uh... I'm just doing some data analysis on my new invention. Overall, it's pretty good," Su Ran replied casually.

"Pretty good?" Alechino thought to herself. Not even the Ice Queen would feel comfortable with this level of destructive power. This newcomer's abilities were terrifying.

"It's nice that Mr. Genius has a new invention, but couldn't you have picked a better time and place for the experiment?"

If Su Ran had conducted the experiment during the day, she wouldn't have had to rush over in the middle of the night, thinking they were under attack.

"Huh? Is there some kind of rule here in Winter City, like a curfew?" Su Ran asked, touching his chin thoughtfully. If there was, surely executives would be exempt from it, right? If not, what kind of executive would he be?

"Not exactly, but it's late, and the children at Hearth House were all asleep. Your experiment woke them up," Alechino replied, sounding slightly exasperated.

Some of the children at Hearth House were toddlers, and the caregivers had just managed to get them to sleep. Now, thanks to the noise, the whole house was in chaos.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Su Ran bit his nails. In this case, he was definitely at fault. "Alright, I'll bring gifts tomorrow and apologize to the children."

Su Ran understood how important Hearth House was to Alechino. Despite being referred to as "Father," Alechino was gentler than some real parents. Even children who betrayed Hearth House weren't killed. At worst, their memories were erased. Naturally, Su Ran had no intention of touching her "reverse scale."

"Then, I'll thank Mr. Genius on behalf of the children," Alechino replied. Whether she truly meant it or not, at least for now, Su Ran hadn't shown any interest in the children, which was a relief to her. After all, it's not just about thieves stealing—it's about thieves thinking about it.

If Su Ran really had no interest in the children, that would be a blessing. His strength was clearly superior, and in critical moments, even her protection might not be enough to ensure the children's safety.

Suddenly, Tartaglia arrived on the scene, running up to them. "What happened here?" he asked, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps as more Fatui soldiers quickly gathered.

"It's just a small experiment, nothing to worry about," Su Ran said nonchalantly.

"Nothing to worry about?" Tartaglia stared at the massive crater behind Su Ran. Burn marks were scattered across the ground, and even from where he stood, he could feel the lingering heat. Was this really just a small experiment? Why had it been conducted so close to Winter City? Shouldn't Su Ran have chosen a more distant location?

"Mr. Su Ran, what kind of invention is this? It's insanely powerful!" Tartaglia asked.

"Here, let me show you," Su Ran said, as eight floating cannons immediately surrounded Tartaglia, their muzzles aimed directly at him.

Alechino instinctively took a step back, putting distance between herself and Tartaglia. That crater behind Su Ran was proof enough—the power of these cannons was comparable to that of some demon gods at full strength.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's not good to point such dangerous weapons at your colleagues, right?" Tartaglia said nervously. If those cannons fired, he would be in serious danger, possibly even wiped out completely.

"Consider it a greeting," Su Ran said with a wave of his hand. The cannons retracted and hovered beside him. "I heard martial arts fanatics like to make friends through fighting, so I thought you'd appreciate me greeting you with weapons."

Tartaglia was momentarily speechless. He couldn't argue with that—he was indeed a battle enthusiast, and fighting was the best way to bond with others. Normally, blades or hand-to-hand combat would suffice, but these... weapons were something else entirely.

"Well, to be honest, I prefer fighting with fists and feet. If Mr. Su Ran thinks I'm worthy of fighting you, please use blades next time," Tartaglia said with a grin. Though he knew he had no chance of winning against Su Ran, he couldn't resist the thrill of battle. Fighting the strong was exhilarating, even if he stood no chance.

By now, the Fatui soldiers had arrived, but Tartaglia waved them off. "It's fine, just a misunderstanding. You can go back."

Once the soldiers left, Tartaglia turned back to Su Ran, eyeing his hand still holding Columbia's.

"I get the whole experiment thing, but... are you two planning on holding hands forever?" he asked, pointing at the interlocked hands between Su Ran and Columbia.