Inside the main conference hall of the Serenitea Pot for the Qixing Emergency State Committee, a suspended holographic projection displayed a phantom of Snezhnaya's wind and snow, yet the room was enveloped in a dead silence more piercing than frozen soil. Zhongli's voice came through the encrypted channel of the Golden Grain Communication Network, every word sounding as though it had been chiseled from millennia-old bedrock, carrying an unquestionable solemnity:
"Members of the Qixing Emergency State Committee, all compatriots within the Serenitea Pot:
It is with a heavy heart that I announce: the supreme ruler of Snezhnaya, the deity who wields the authority of frost, bearing the revered name of Tsaritsa, was unfortunately assassinated in her bedchamber in the Snezhnaya Capital last night..."
The words of the obituary fell like ice crystals onto the ground, echoing hollowly in the stillness. Inside the conference hall, Ganyu's hand holding her pen trembled slightly, causing a drop of ink to bloom into a dark smudge upon the documents.
Chapter 191