As the three candidates present themselves one after another, some force seems to be stirring the seemingly calm waters...
Now, even the greatest of chess-masters may play false, and thus set the game. Yet there are already precious few worthy players in the first place, and many more still are those who do not even comprehend that they are on the board.
Calculated Gambit is the first act of Yelan's Story Quest, the Umbrabilis Orchis Chapter. In order to unlock this quest line, the player needs a Story Key, must have completed Interlude Chapter: Act II - Perilous Trail, Ganyu's Story Quest, Sinae Unicornis Chapter: Act I - Sea of Clouds, Sea of People, and reached Adventure Rank 40.
During the Story Quest, the Traveler works with Yelan to investigate Uncle Tian's potential successors.
List of Quests[]
Summary[]
- Seven-Star Selection
Arriving at Liyue Harbor, the Traveler and Paimon run into Huixin, Tian's daughter. She tells them that her father is considering stepping down from his position as Tianshu. They head to Yanshang Teahouse and find Uncle Tian there, where he reveals how the succession policy works with the Tianshu. He also introduces Yelan, who's helping him as an assessment official for the monumental task. Yelan, stating that her work is similar to his, also expresses an intent to be the next Tianshu, which Tian agrees to if the candidates aren't able to prove themselves.
Tian's candidates consist of Qianwei, Mingbo and Zhiyi. Qianwei is intelligent, albeit arrogant, Mingbo is highly nervous, and Zhiyi appears to be the perfect candidate for the job. Paimon believes he should be the next Tianshu, but Yelan states that Tian never gave them a time limit for the task. After the initial interview, they return to Tian and talk to him over Zhiyi, who admits that all three were personally tutored by him. Tian remarks about Zhiyi's kindness after getting a fish soup recipe from him that was made better with seasonings he brought.
While they may all be highly talented, Yelan states that they still need to check their backgrounds and connections before making the final decision. She calls Wenyuan and Shanghua over, tasking the latter on Qianwei and the latter on Mingbo. As the other informant, Wupei, is nowhere around, Yelan decides to investigate Zhiyi alongside the Traveler and Paimon. She decides to head to the docks and stop by Bolai for information.
- Candidature Analysis
Arriving at the north wharf, they find Bolai finishing a sale with Qiping. Bolai tells them about what he heard about Zhiyi, stating that his parents died when he was young and treated cruelly, yet when one of those who disliked him fell into hard times, he supported their family. Bolai spots Zhiyi while they talk and Yelan tasks the Traveler with trailing him to make sure the information was as truthful as possible. They trail him to Linlang, where they witness him buy a wineware set. They then follow him to the south wharf and talk to Uncle Sun and Uncle Gao, where they learn that he isn't a noteworthy fisherman and that he has no Mora to his name. Finally, they visit Dugu Shuo who tells them that he had only heard nasty rumors about Zhiyi, only for that to change into a positive note a few months ago.
With enough information gathered, Yelan finds the information suspicious and believes that someone may be trying to exert influence in the Liyue Qixing. At the same time, Wenyuan and Shanghua return from their tasks, confirming that both Qianwei and Mingbo have some issues but are genuinely caring individuals. Yelan then notes that Zhiyi's manifesto remark about Qingxu Pool and recalls a story about some ruins where treasure was supposedly held, gaining the attention of many people in Liyue. As the Blackcliff Forge would have first say in any projects, they decide to head there and find a manifesto remarking about some newcomers. They speak to Iron Shoulder, who remarks on how skilled they are but they always refuse to let the other workers drink with them after work.
The area suddenly rains, allowing Yelan to track the newcomers' footprints to an abandoned camp site near the outskirts of Liyue Harbor where they find nothing of interest as all the useful evidence had since been destroyed. Taking a whiff of the air, she smells a cold, floral aftersmell that the Traveler also notices and immediately recognizes as Snezhnayan (and therefore the Fatui) just as Wupei arrives. He tells her that no one had interacted with Zhiyi and he had fallen overboard when trying to get back to her. Yelan then remarks about a fish soup, much to his surprise as he had not known of it. This gives Yelan enough information to suspect ulterior motives and thus decides to falsely claim him as the winner to lower his guard.
- Foregone Conclusion
The next day, Yelan announces Zhiyi as the winner, much to Qianwei's and Mingbo's surprise. Zhiyi humbly accepts the position before heading off to apparently make celebratory plans. Yelan sends her subordinates out to track him, but he manages to elude them. Nonetheless, they learn that he bought some strong liquor from Xinyue Kiosk and confirm the wineware purchase at Xigu Antiques. Yelan then sends them to investigate Fatui officials and Zhiyi's places of interest.
The following night, Wenyuan informs Yelan that an ambassador named Yusupov left alone towards Qingxu Pool. They trail him to the location, using an emergency exit route to witness them celebrating the plot's success. Yusupov then collapses, having ingested poison that Zhiyi had put inside. The ambassador claims that the Fatui would chase and kill him for the deception, but Zhiyi states that his subordinate Theofan had been eyeing his position for a while and was already aware of the Fatui plot to steal the treasure in the ruins. With enough evidence collected, Yelan confronts Zhiyi alongside her subordinates and the Millelith. Zhiyi claims that he had gone undercover, but Yelan is unconvinced, since he had just admitted to the crime. Zhiyi admits poisoning Tian but promises to use his status to protect them, but when she and the Traveler point out that he had betrayed Tian's trust, he gives up and is taken into custody.
Tian is left shocked by Zhiyi's betrayal and is given medication by Baizhu to deal with the poison. Yelan expresses disappointment that she couldn't get what she wanted - Theofan, who had been taken away along with all the information they needed as Harbinger Regrator had gotten involved. Tian offers his position to Yelan, who admits that she was joking as she wouldn't be able to enjoy the thrill she had in her current job. Both Mingbo and Qianwei are left devastated by Zhiyi's betrayal, but agree to continue working hard.
Characters[]
23 Characters appear in this Story Quest:
- Baizhu
- Bolai
- Changsheng
- Dugu Shuo
- Heli
- Huixin
- Iron Shoulder
- Li'an
- Linlang
- Mingbo
- Paimon
- Qianwei
- Qiping
- Shanghua
- Traveler
- Uncle Gao
- Uncle Sun
- Uncle Tian
- Wenyuan
- Wupei
- Yelan
- Yusupov
- Zhiyi
Soundtracks[]
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | Calculated Gambit | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 棋生断处 Qíshēng-duànchù | Chess is Created at the Breaking Point[• 1] |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 棋生斷處 Qíshēng-duànchù | |
| Japanese | 先の布石 Sen no Fuseki[!][!] | Opening Move of the Groundwork[• 2] |
| Korean | 계산된 수 Gyesandoen Su | Calculated Move |
| Spanish | Una apuesta calculada | A Calculated Bet |
| French | Pari calculé | Calculated Bet |
| Russian | Расчётливый гамбит Raschyotlivyy gambit | Calculating Gambit |
| Thai | ทลายแผนชิงรุกฆาต Thalai Phaen Ching Rukkhat | |
| Vietnamese | Nước Cờ Gặp Khó | |
| German | Chance im Schachmatt | Chance in Checkmate |
| Indonesian | Umpan Terstruktur | Structured Bait |
| Portuguese | Aposta Calculada | Calculated Bet |
| Turkish | Hesaplı Risk | |
| Italian | Mossa strategica |
- ↑ Chinese: This is a paraphrase of the longer saying 棋从断处生 qí cóng duànchù shēng, "chess is given life at the breaking point", used in the strategy board game Go (Chinese: 围棋 Wéiqí) to describe how a player must cut off their opponent's advancement in order to have an opportunity to win.
- ↑ Japanese: 先 when read as sen specifically can mean "the first move in the game of go or shogi." 布石 Fuseki can mean both "groundwork, preparation" but it is also the whole board opening in the game of go. See Fuseki.