After Allison fell down again, silence descended upon the trash can.
In the quiet, Diluc broke the silence.
Although Diluc disliked noise and wasn't good at chatting, his heart was filled with many doubts at this moment, so he took the initiative to ask:
"It's so late, and you're still running around Mondstadt dressed so strangely. What is your purpose?"
Arkz was surprised by Diluc's directness and thought, "Could it be that the power of the Vision is so great that Diluc isn't worried that I am a villain full of lies?"
In reality, it was not so. To Diluc, who had personally discarded his own Vision, the so-called approval of the gods was insignificant. When traveling across the Seven Nations, he had also seen wicked people who possessed Visions but caused harm to the populace.
Diluc's trust in Arkz came from his intuition. This intuition, honed through life-and-death situations, had saved his life multiple times in danger. This time, his intuition told him that Arkz was a trustworthy person.
The garbage in the trash can emitted a foul odor, and the soup from leftover food could easily spill all over one's body. A normal person would absolutely not want to come near this place, so the two's private conversation was temporarily undisturbed.
After thinking for a moment, Arkz decided to tell the truth. He thought, "Diluc's family is wealthy, owning Dawn Winery, earning millions of Mora daily. He wouldn't fight me over a trash can, would he?"
Arkz said, "I was just rummaging through the trash can, and I'm dressed like this because I didn't want to be recognized."
"Rummaging through the trash can?!", Diluc wondered if he had misheard. He had considered Arkz being a Fatui spy, a secret agent from another nation, or even someone cultivated by a certain faction in Mondstadt, but Arkz coming to rummage through trash was completely beyond his expectations.
Arkz nodded, his eyes filled with sincerity.
As if worried that Diluc wouldn't believe him, he took out the treasures he had dug up from the trash can that evening from his backpack.
"A rusty short sword, a dirty two-star artifact, a bouquet of fresh flowers perfectly packaged, a bottle of unlabeled potion, a cute jumpy dumpty bomb..."
Wait—!!!
Diluc grabbed Arkz's hand and asked, "Where did you get this bomb?"
"An ordinary person might think it's just a regular toy, but as a Vision holder, you must be able to deduce that it's a bomb from its violent Pyro Element fluctuations."
"Speak quickly!!!"
Diluc's eyes turned icy. Had his intuition deceived him?
Seeing Diluc looking as if he might draw his greatsword at any moment to cleave him in two, Arkz quickly explained:
"Don't misunderstand, I picked this up from the trash can at the Knights of Favonius Headquarters."
"The knights at the Knights of Favonius Headquarters gate can testify for me. When I went inside to receive the Three-Good Citizen Award tonight, I found the Knights of Favonius trash can was full, so I planned to help dispose of it on my way, and then I found this bomb inside."
"Those two knights can testify for me."
Diluc nodded; he believed him.
He trusted that Arkz wouldn't lie to him with such an easily disprovable falsehood, and most importantly, he trusted his own intuition.
Diluc recalled the large-scale search the Knights of Favonius conducted throughout Mondstadt tonight. After integrating all the information, he roughly guessed the entire process of tonight's farce.
...
"What!!!"
"You mean the Knights of Favonius are currently searching everywhere for me!"
Arkz pointed to his nose in shock, hoping he had misheard, but Diluc's nod delivered a fatal blow.
Diluc picked up the jumpy dumpty bomb next to Arkz and observed it carefully before saying seriously, "This should be a new model of bomb developed by the Spark Knight. Its power is enough to destroy a street. No wonder the Knights of Favonius are taking it so seriously."
"Although this bomb can only be detonated by the Pyro Element, the flame potion brewed by the Treasure Hoarders' alchemist can achieve the same effect."
Arkz asked with a distressed face, "What should I do? If I turn myself in with this bomb now, will I get a shorter sentence in prison?"
Although hiding in the trash can, Diluc still maintained the demeanor of a refined gentleman. He elegantly adjusted his gloves and said, "This farce was caused by the Knights of Favonius's lax security. Why should you bear the responsibility?"
"Even a three-year-old child knows that trash cans are for trash."
Although he knew Diluc was speaking up for him, Arkz still whispered, "There's more than just trash in the trash can, there's treasure too!"
"For Adventurers with a pioneering spirit, every trash can might hide rare treasures before it's opened!"
Diluc opened his mouth helplessly, finally giving up trying to persuade Arkz.
Diluc stated his solution: "If you trust me, hand the bomb over to me, and I will give it to the Knights of Favonius to bring this farce to an early end."
Arkz was immediately overjoyed: "Then what are we waiting for? It's all up to you, good brother!"
Arkz's undisguised trust stunned Diluc on the spot. He couldn't help but ask, "You trust me that much?"
"What I mean is, aren't you worried that I'll take the bomb and cause destruction in Mondstadt? Now the Knights of Favonius think the bomb is in your hands, so you'll end up taking the blame."
The swill from the bottom of the trash can flowed out onto the ground of the alley, forming a multicolored puddle of foul water. Flies and rats moved in and out of the trash can, searching for their food.
Arkz waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Good brother, from the moment I first saw you, I knew you were a trustworthy person!"
Diluc thought in shock, "You have intuition too!!!"
Under this subtle misunderstanding, the bond between Arkz and Diluc rapidly warmed. Although this was the first time they had met, the two had already become close friends who could talk about anything.
Of course, most of the time, Arkz was the one talking, and Diluc listened carefully by the side.
Just as the two were chatting in the trash can, forgetting the time, voices drifted in from outside the trash can.
"Did you find anything on your end?"
"No."
"I didn't find anything on my end either. Let's search over here."
"I really don't know where that guy named Arkz ran off to. He didn't perhaps leave Mondstadt with the bomb, did he?"
"Stop complaining. Maybe Mr. Arkz just dropped the trash in the trash can and went home."
"There are still several trash cans in this container to check. Let's go check them out."
"This trash can stinks. If someone were hiding in such a dirty trash can, they'd definitely be a tough character."
"Heh heh, you wouldn't believe it, but we actually had an unexpected catch tonight. A Treasure Hoarders guy hid some stolen goods in a trash can. We caught him red-handed while he was rummaging through the trash can."
"What were the stolen goods?"
"It seemed to be a two-star artifact."
...
Inside the trash can in front of these knights, three tough characters were squeezed together.
Allison was still sleeping soundly, showing no signs of waking up.
Arkz looked through the gap in the trash can at the approaching Knights of Favonius members and anxiously asked, "They're going to search the trash cans, what do we do?"
"Should we just force our way out?"
Diluc looked at Arkz in surprise and said in a low voice, "Are you kidding me?"
"The knights in front of us are just a small portion; escaping in front of them isn't difficult. But the crucial problem is that there are many other knights around. If we get held up by them, and then the Knights of Favonius reinforcements arrive, escaping will become difficult."
Arkz fell silent for a moment, then looked at the teleport waypoint in his backpack. He decided that even if he were caught by the Knights of Favonius, he couldn't use it. If he used it and couldn't find a way back, it would be over.
He closed his eyes, spread his hands, and directly gave up, indicating he had no plan.
This gave Diluc a dark expression.
Diluc said, "Come on, man, at least struggle a bit."
"Did you find anything on your end?"
"No."
"Then go check the trash can over there."
As the footsteps of the Knights of Favonius grew nearer, the atmosphere inside the trash can became heavier, suffocating them.
Diluc, usually steadfast and reliable in his actions, also became inexplicably tense.
Diluc thought, "Compared to being caught by the Knights of Favonius, I'd rather stay in this trash can for a lifetime."
The thought that rumors about him being found in a trash can would spread throughout Mondstadt, and that the Cavalry Captain in the Knights of Favonius would take the opportunity to mock him, made blood rush to Diluc's head.
Damn it! I can't let this happen!
Arkz saw Diluc's eyes turning red with rage and quickly grabbed his clothes and sleeves, pushing him down inside the trash can.
Arkz said, "Brother, calm down, don't be impulsive!"
"The Knights of Favonius have superior numbers; we can't confront them directly!"
Veins bulged on Diluc's face. Arkz kept pressing his head down, preventing him from standing up. The sour smell from the mixed garbage inside the trash can almost made him vomit, and even his usually aloof expression couldn't be maintained.
Diluc roared, "Damn it, let go of me!"
Arkz sheepishly withdrew his hand, repeatedly emphasizing, "W-well, brother, I was just afraid you'd be exposed. You absolutely must not act rashly."
"Mmm~ Where is this? Why does it stink so much?"
"I'll hit him!"
Bang—!
Allison, who had just woken up, experienced his third fall and was knocked unconscious again.
Looking at the convulsing Allison on the ground before him, a sharp glint flashed in Diluc's eyes, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly.
Arkz was greatly surprised, "Holy crap, the Smirking God of War!"
"Brother, you thought of a plan!"
Diluc's expression immediately darkened, and the slight curve on his lips instantly dropped. Although he didn't know who the Smirking God of War was, he could guess it wasn't a compliment.
Diluc said coldly, "Shut up and watch my move."
Diluc grabbed the just-elbowed Allison, wrapped the jumpy dumpty bomb around his body with a strip of cloth, then timed it perfectly and stabbed a dart into Allison's backside.
"Ouch—!!!" (Thanks to Tom Cat's voice acting)
Allison, who had been sleeping soundly, felt a piercing pain in his rear, instantly opened his eyes, wailed, clutched his backside, and jumped out of the trash can. After spinning two and a half times in the air, he landed in a graceful parabola in front of a line of Knights of Favonius.
Allison clutched his butt and cursed fiercely, "Who the hell sold me out?!"
However, when he looked at the row of muscular, battle-ready knights before him, his chrysanthemum immediately shrunk. He forgot about his bleeding backside and immediately threw a smoke bomb, intending to flee.
Arkz and Diluc also took advantage of the moment the Knights of Favonius were distracted by Allison. Under the cover of the mist, they successfully escaped from the trash can filled with memories.
-------------------------------
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