The person who flew past Lumine was none other than Mu Yang.
At the moment, he was putting on an act by rubbing against a tree.
He was imitating the behavior of those survival show hosts.
Searching for traces of his prey—the Stormterror.
Who knew if his movements were accurate or not.
But they probably looked convincing enough.
If you asked Bear Grylls, he'd probably say, "The hell? I've never hunted a dragon before, why ask me?"
Earth Livestream.
In the game's cutscene,
when Lumine stood atop the hill gazing at the Statue of the Seven,
it was a clear, wide-angle shot.
But this peaceful scene was abruptly disrupted by Mu Yang's sudden intrusion.
He barged into the frame,
his lightfoot technique incredibly swift,
leaving behind only a glimpse of his back.
Within seconds, he had already dashed out of view.
By the time the camera returned to Lumine,
the audience followed her line of sight
and spotted Mu Yang rubbing against the tree.
[What the heck was that?]
[Holy crap, this isn't like the beta storyline!]
[Did they change the plot? There wasn't anyone here in the beta!]
Guinaifen felt that this figure seemed somewhat familiar.
"Hey chat, doesn't this silhouette look kinda familiar?"
"Black clothes, white hair, and holding a sword—isn't this Mu Yang?"
[Damn! It's really him!]
[What are you doing, ahhh—are you nuts?]
[MiHoYo's really got guts, dropping a new character out of nowhere AND changing the plot]
[What's wrong with adding him early? Isn't it better if Mu Yang appears sooner?]
[Does this mean we'll be able to pull for Mu Yang soon?]
[MiHoYo, shut up and take my money!]
[But the sword's different, right? I remember his sword had a white sheath.]
"Maybe it's related to the story? Isn't his title 'Oath of the Sunken Blade'?"
[Since when could Little Gui analyze the plot? Unbelievable.]
[Is this what I'm here for?]
[You're not the real Little Gui—who are you?]
[Damn, streamer actually connected the dots. Gotta follow now.]
Guinaifen noticed Paimon frozen in place.
"Haha, it's not just us—even the protagonist and Paimon are stunned."
After selecting the "..." dialogue option,
Paimon finally snapped out of it.
She asked Lumine, "What's that guy doing?"
Lumine answered honestly.
"Seems like he's tracking prey. I've seen hunters from other worlds do the same thing."
Paimon: "Hunters?"
Lumine nodded.
Soon after, Mu Yang seemed to have found a trail.
He used his lightfoot technique again and vanished.
Lumine remarked,
"His movement technique is incredible. What kind of prey could possibly escape him?"
Paimon suddenly gasped.
"I remember now! That guy's outfit—he's from Liyue!"
"Y'know, in Liyue, there are beings known as 'Adeptus'! With his level of skill, he's probably one of them!"
Lumine frowned slightly. "Liyue… has Adeptus?"
Paimon: "Let's not worry about that for now. We're still in Mondstadt, after all."
With that, she began explaining the Statue of the Seven to the Traveler.
Guinaifen's Livestream.
[Mu Yang's an Adeptus?]
[What's the lore behind Adeptus? The name alone sounds OP.]
[Bro, that lightfoot technique alone proves he's not weak.]
"Liyue is based on China's ancient culture, right?"
Guinaifen had done some research beforehand.
"No wonder Mu Yang's outfit is pure wuxia-style. Of course he'd know lightfoot technique."
[Earthlings and their obsession with martial arts, smh.]
[White hair, swordsman, wuxia vibes—so many Earthling tropes. All he's missing is red eyes.]
Mu Yang had already left the area by then.
But he didn't return to Mondstadt City.
There was still an aerial battle against Stormterror using a glider later.
Without Venti's help,
Mu Yang wasn't sure he could even fly that high himself.
Returning to the city now might expose him.
So, he headed to a currently unexplored region of Mondstadt.
This was to prevent rebellious players who ignored the storyline from finding him.
If he stayed in a locked area,
Paimon would naturally stop them from going further.
Mu Yang decided to wait for Lumine's progress.
For now, he'd check the livestream.
In the livestream—
Lumine's innate Anemo energy disturbed Dvalin.
Venti turned around sharply. "Who's there?!"
But he didn't linger.
He immediately fled the scene.
Dvalin roared several times before soaring into the sky and disappearing.
[Barbatos, lol!]
[Venti's mad, hahaha!]
[The way he's angry is so cute~]
Paimon clutched her chest.
"That was close… I almost got blown away!"
"Good thing I held onto your hair. Thanks!"
Lumine shot her a look.
"Good thing my hair didn't get pulled out."
Paimon scratched her head sheepishly.
But she had no choice—what else could she have grabbed onto?
She couldn't just yank Lumine's clothes, right?
That'd be way too awkward if they came off.
Still shaken, Paimon muttered, "I really thought we were gonna get eaten…"
Lumine, however, was more surprised by something else.
"This world has dragons? And people who can talk to them? Is that normal?"
Paimon shook her head. "Of course not!"
Afterward, the two picked up a crimson crystal
from where Dvalin had flown off
and continued toward Mondstadt City.
But before they could take more than a few steps,
someone suddenly called out from behind.
"Hey—you! Wait up!"
A fiery-red girl rushed up to them,
landing in a picture-perfect stance.
"May the Anemo Archon protect you, stranger!"
"I'm Amber, Outrider of the Knights of Favonius!"
"Now, state your identity!"
Paimon frantically waved her hands. "H-hold on! We're not suspicious!"
Amber crossed her arms. "That's exactly what suspicious people would say."
Lumine gave her name.
"Hmm… doesn't sound like a local name."
Amber continued her interrogation.
"And this… mascot? What's the deal with it?"
Lumine blurted out, "Emergency food."
[LMAO EMERGENCY FOOD]
[Who even picks the first option?]
[Streamer's got fast fingers, damn.]
Of course, Guinaifen picked the second option.
When playing games, you had to pick the funniest dialogue choices.
Paimon stomped her feet in frustration.
"That's even worse than being called a mascot!!"
Amber seemed satisfied.
"Alright, so you're travelers, right?"
"Not some… dragon-slaying mercenaries, are you?"
Lumine was confused. "Dragon-slaying mercenaries?"
Paimon quickly clarified.
"Nope! She's just looking for her brother!"
Afterward, under Amber's escort,
they cleared out a Hilichurl camp
and entered Mondstadt City.
While using the glider,
Mondstadt was suddenly attacked by Stormterror.
Lumine got swept into the sky,
but Venti intervened to help.
She managed to drive the dragon back mid-air
before landing safely.
Then, Kaeya approached, swaying his hips as he clapped.
"And so, another individual capable of battling a dragon appears."
"Are you a new ally… or a new storm?"
Back on Earth—
Chats across all livestreams exploded.
First, Mu Yang's sudden appearance.
Then, both Amber and Kaeya's lines had been altered
from the beta version.
And their words seemed to hint at the same person—
the same event.
That Mu Yang possessed the power to fight dragons.
And possibly even surpassed Stormterror.
Because he had come to Mondstadt…
to slay a dragon.
[Isn't this change way too bold?]
[All I can say is… PRAISE MU YANG.]
[A newly introduced character with such high stakes—can they even handle the power scaling later?]
[Who cares? Just tell me—will you pull for him when he's released?]
Meanwhile, Mu Yang watched as a black hurricane engulfed Mondstadt.
Before long, the storm began to disperse.
"Looks like Dvalin's been driven off."