Early the next morning.
Mu Yang slipped out of the city bright and early.
Thanks to his lightfoot technique, no one noticed he had already left.
System: "Host, you're way too eager, heading out this early to greet the Traveler!"
System: "Never thought I'd meet such a responsible host—truly moving. What more could this system ask for?"
Chattering away first thing in the morning.
Mu Yang was thoroughly annoyed by this thing.
"Stupid system, shut up!"
Mu Yang had woken up early.
And yes, it was related to Lumine.
To make her and the players believe he was truly here to slay a dragon, he needed them to notice him wandering outside the city.
That way, as the story progressed—
Plus Mu Yang's well-timed intervention—
They would piece together his actions based on the clues.
After that, Mu Yang wouldn't need to prove anything else.
People only believe what they see with their own eyes.
Using his lightfoot technique, Mu Yang flew to the top of a large tree near Starfell Lake and began waiting for Lumine's arrival.
Why Lumine and not Aether?
Well, that was up to the system.
In this world, it was Lumine.
She had woken up two months ago.
System: "Forgot to ask earlier—when are you planning to enter the gacha pool?"
Mu Yang: "Look at you, always in such a hurry."
"Even if the backstory were ready, we can't just rush it out like that."
"Only after spending time together, after emotions are stirred—that's when the knife cuts deepest. Understand or not?"
System: "Fine, it's up to you."
Earth.
7:00 AM.
The earliest Guinaifen had ever gotten up for a stream.
After breakfast, she opened her livestream.
[Little Gui, morning!]
[Damn, Master actually woke up this early?]
[The power of Genshin, praise the Genshin gate!]
[Shouldn't it be the Mu gate?]
[Mu gate!]
Guinaifen: "Mu gate already? But the servers shouldn't be open yet, right?"
She bantered with the chat.
[Heard it might open early—I'm already waiting at the door.]
[Yeah right, miHoYo opening early? Do you even know miHoYo?]
[You know jack sh*t!]
[If it opens early, I'll gift a Supreme Guardian—take the bet?]
[Bet. Forced PK.]
Guinaifen just laughed. She was still a small-time streamer.
A Supreme Guardian? She hadn't even seen a Guardian before.
Chat was all talk.
Back in her wilder days, she'd gotten big gifts—
Like breaking stones on her chest, eating noodles upside down, or biting lighters.
Then her account got banned, the lighter was gone, and she lost over 700 bucks.
Now, bouncing around on Bilibili as a gaming streamer, she had to rely on her looks and figure to scrape by.
Starving out here.
The end of an era for wild stunts.
A summer that would never return.
Truly lamentable.
She clicked on Genshin's login screen.
The gate wasn't open yet.
Just as she was wondering what to stream before launch—
Her phone buzzed nonstop with messages.
From Sushang:
"Little Gui! Genshin's opening early! Quick, quick, grab a front-row UID!"
Sent over and over.
Guinaifen snapped to attention and immediately clicked into the game, entering the gate.
A flash of white light later—
Genshin Impact! LAUNCH!
[It actually opened?!?!]
[Holy crap, miHoYo really launched early?!]
[Trying to avoid server crashes from everyone logging in at 10 AM?]
[This is a backstab! I was gonna snipe a front-row UID to sell!]
[Scalpers can shove it.]
['ImArrogantWhatCanYouDo: If it opens early, I'll gift a Supreme Guardian—take the bet?']
['ImArrogantWhatCanYouDo: If it opens early, I'll gift a Supreme Guardian—take the bet?']
['ImArrogantWhatCanYouDo: If it opens early, I'll gift a Supreme Guardian—take the bet?']
...
Guinaifen laughed.
"Haha, family, how about that Supreme Guardian?"
After loading finished, the game screen appeared.
Two shooting stars were drawn on the beach.
Paimon's high-pitched voice chimed in:
"So… you two came from another world, drifting here?"
Then the cutscene played.
A white-haired woman appeared.
"Outlanders, your journey ends here."
[Kiana, is that you?]
[Herrscher of the Void]
[Isn't that our Herrscher of the Void? Remember to pay the appearance fee.]
[Pufferfish Sirin (confirmed)]
[Wow, bound feet… drooling.]
[Sweat emoji) What's up with the guy above me? Your drool's dripping on my head.]
After a short battle—
"Choose one of the twins."
Guinaifen didn't hesitate—she picked Lumine.
"She's so cute—how could I not pick the little sister?"
The livestream's announcement played:
"Thank you to Mu Yang for gifting a Supreme Guardian!"
"Thank you to Mu Yang for the highlighted message!"
"Good taste—I like the little sister too."
Guinaifen was stunned.
Just picking the sister got her a Supreme Guardian?
Excited, she shouted:
"Thank you, boss! Wishing you good health, all the best, and eternal life!"
"Thank you, thank you!"
[Damn, an actual Supreme Guardian!]
[Boss, you're making bad choices!]
[Old man splashing cash!]
[Buddy, I'm jealous of your ID.]
[Nice, using my husband's ID to gift my wife a Supreme Guardian—am I part of your play?]
[Rich bro, v50 show me your power—I'm starving.]
[Where's ImArrogantWhatCanYouDo? Show us your power too, Little Gui!]
Teyvat.
Mu Yang leaned against a tree, watching the stream.
He was the one who gifted the Supreme Guardian.
Not just Guinaifen's stream—he'd also showered Silver Wolf, Sparkle, and others with gifts.
This was all part of the marketing.
Boost their popularity a bit.
So when he made his appearance later, he'd gain more Popularity Points.
A small investment for the returns.
With the system, it was pocket change.
On the beach, Lumine was telling Paimon a story.
"And just like that, the unknown god took my brother away."
"I was sealed by the god, losing my original power."
"We who once traveled across countless worlds… are now trapped here…"
The story was illustrated with stick figures drawn on the sand.
Admittedly, they were a bit abstract.
"How long ago was that? I don't know…"
"But I'll find a way to figure it out."
"After waking up, I wandered alone… until two months ago, when I met you…"
Paimon smiled.
"Mhm! If it weren't for you, Paimon probably would've drowned…"
[Treasure this chatty blonde while you can.]
[How do you drown while flying? Impressive.]
[Haha, emergency food.]
[Paimon's voice is so squeaky—tiny squeaky Paimon.]
Guinaifen mimicked it:
"This streamer just turned eighteen~"
"Can someone tell me what a squeaky voice is~?"
[I'm gonna lose it—goosebumps everywhere!]
[Squeak all you want! This is the good stuff—anything else and I'll cough!]
[Thanks, I'm on the subway with this on speaker—already socially dead.]
[You're watching Little Gui on the subway and worried about that?]
As Paimon finished speaking, she began leading Lumine toward Starfell Lake.
When Lumine reached the hillside, she gazed at the Statue of the Seven in the distance.
Just as Paimon was about to explain—
A black figure suddenly flashed past Lumine.
He moved swiftly, the wind gusting as he passed by.
Lumine shielded her eyes.
Once the wind settled, she looked toward where the figure had gone.
He hadn't gone far—just stopped on a nearby slope.
A man in black with white hair.
Holding a green sword.
He was examining marks on a tree trunk.
Lumine knew—this was how hunters tracked prey.
Was that man… hunting something?