This camp, though not heavily populated with Hilichurls nor boasting any structures, contained the most lavish food stores Victor Wang had seen in the past three days.
The crate he opened held clearly human-prepared and packaged items: grilled steak, dry-braised fragrant fish, and Northern smoked chicken. Other crates contained manor-style roasted muffins, Mondstadt potato cakes, and golden shrimp balls—pre-cooked and clearly made for easy storage and transport.
Of course, there were also crates filled with semi-finished ingredients: a whole box of smoked poultry, ham, and sausages.
The final crate contained glass bottles filled with a clear liquid. Victor Wang picked one up, pulled the stopper, and immediately the scent of the water of life wafted out. He quickly re-corked it.
If his guess was correct, these must have been Tsarevich's goods. Good grief, such valuable cargo—retrieved with great effort—and he only offered 5,000 Mora, along with a ton of conditions.
Victor Wang didn't hold back. He grabbed a steak and golden shrimp balls and began stuffing his face.
Delicious!
After three days, this was the first time he'd eaten anything seasoned. The flavor was so good he nearly swallowed his tongue out of joy.
The golden shrimp balls were especially fantastic. No wonder Keqing loves them so much.
Only when his stomach bulged did he finally stop, satisfied, and found a spot to sleep.
The next morning brought another round of gluttony. After eating his fill, Victor Wang trekked for a while before finally exiting the canyon.
At the canyon's mouth stood a portly man in Snezhnayan merchant garb and three ordinary Fatui members.
The fat man was currently in a daze, muttering, "What kind of efficiency does the Knights of Favonius even have?"
Opposite them stood a young man with sharp features, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a brown outfit. He was the first to spot Victor Wang.
"You… you actually came out of that canyon? Are you The Manly One?"
A brief mental recall brought up the name: Jack the Manly—though in truth, he was quite timid.
"No, I'm just a passerby."
Tsarevich and the three Fatui also noticed Victor Wang.
Tsarevich asked excitedly, "Did you take down all the Hilichurls in there?"
"I told you, I'm just an ordinary person. I couldn't possibly beat them."
Tsarevich looked a little disappointed. "If you made it out of that canyon, that means you're capable. I lost some cargo in there. Take care of the Hilichurls inside, and I'll give you this."
He held up one hand.
"Fifty thousand Mora?"
"What are you dreaming about? Five thousand at most."
"Then I suggest you find someone else. Or go try it yourself?"
Tsarevich's expression darkened. "Hmph! If you won't do it, someone else will."
A Fatui member gave him a glance, to which he subtly shook his head. Despite his displeasure, he truly didn't dare touch Victor Wang.
"Well then, I'll be on my way. Bye-bye."
Victor Wang knew he didn't have the strength to handle that task. No matter the price, he would've refused. He'd only baited Tsarevich out of spite.
Beyond the canyon lay the outskirts of Mondstadt. These areas were usually patrolled by the Knights, but due to the current dragon crisis, responsibility had shifted to the Adventurers' Guild.
Along the way, Victor Wang began to spot the occasional adventurer teams—rarely just three people, often five or more—busy clearing monsters along the roadsides.
Occasionally, he would greet them to test the cloak's effectiveness. Overall, no one questioned his appearance.
As night fell again, Victor Wang could already see the lights on Mondstadt's city walls. He stopped, looking for a place to rest.
He didn't plan on entering the city at night. Without any Mora, he'd have no choice but to sleep in the streets.
After a good night's rest, Victor Wang stepped toward the now-expanded city of Mondstadt.
From afar, the city walls didn't seem much taller. As he got closer, he noted that Mondstadt's bridge hadn't been awkwardly scaled up by 60 or 100 times. Comparing it against his height, he estimated it was about 40 meters wide. Considering Mondstadt sat on a lake island, this bridge being the only land connection, it didn't feel overly wide.
While admiring the city, now beyond anything the game could have shown him, he stepped onto the bridge.
At dawn, as usual, Timmie stood on Mondstadt's front bridge feeding pigeons. A man walked by, startling the birds into flight.
"You—what are you doing?!"
"Me?"
Drawn by the voice near his ear, Victor Wang snapped out of thought and turned to look at Timmie.
"Who else? It's obviously you! You scared off the pigeons!"
Victor Wang knew better than to take this kid lightly—he who imagined Ruin Guards as imaginary friends. He had to reason with him.
"I couldn't help it."
"Hmph! How can you say you couldn't help it?!"
"Little guy, that's not quite right. Look at this bridge—wasn't it built for people to cross?"
"Of course it was!"
"Then tell me, can I cross it or not? Or are you saying I should swim underneath?"
"Of course you can cross it on foot!"
"Then did I try to scare the pigeons? No, I was just walking across like anyone else."
"This bridge is super wide—did you have to walk from this side?!"
Victor Wang paused for a second. In the game, Timmie always monopolized the bridge for his pigeons, but this time it was true he'd been lost in thought. Still, the kid's argument wasn't entirely valid either.
"That's just the surface of the issue."
Timmie blinked, confused.
"You have to look past the surface to see the truth. You saw me alone and thought the path was wide enough that I should leave a space for the pigeons. But what if twenty carriages tried to cross side-by-side? Would there still be room for the pigeons? You can't—and shouldn't—hog the bridge just to accommodate them."
"I didn't!" Timmie cried. "Mama says, as long as you love this world, no animal will be afraid of you! Otherwise, why don't the pigeons fly away when I feed them?"
"That's where you're wrong again. Your mom's a good person—she told you that to help you grow. But imagine someone who looks scary. If he doesn't try to frighten anyone, but people are still scared, should we blame him?"
"..."
"We shouldn't blame him—we should understand him. It's those who mock his appearance who are truly in the wrong. Just like me and the pigeons: maybe they flew away because of me, but I only wanted to cross the bridge—I wasn't trying to scare them."
Tears welled up in Timmie's eyes.
Victor Wang knew Timmie's background. He didn't dislike the kid, but the constant pigeon scare dialogue had always been annoying in-game. Now that he could finally face it head-on, he had to settle the debate once and for all.
He comforted gently, "It's not your fault. Don't be sad. They'll come back."
"Usually… yeah. But what if… what if one day, they don't come back? Just like—"
"Hold it. Let me tell you a story."
"Once upon a time, there was a little boy who fed a pigeon so often that they became friends.
The pigeon said: 'You've tamed me. I didn't understand humans before, but because of you, they've become something special—and you're the most special of them all. You're unique to me.'
The boy said: 'You say I tamed you, but you tamed me too. Now, when I see other pigeons, I think of you. When I see ducks, I think of you. When I see wheat, I think of you. You're unique to me as well.'
'Will you leave?' the boy asked.
'I'll leave before you, because you'll live longer. But don't worry—I've already tamed you. Even when I'm gone, when you see other pigeons, ducks, or wheat, you'll remember me. I'll still live on in your heart. Just promise me you won't forget.'"
"Pigeons will come back—just like your dad."
Timmie raised his arm to hide the tears in his eyes. Victor Wang gently patted his head.
"There, there. Don't cry."
The Mondstadt bridge, which had taken only seconds to cross in-game, took Victor Wang ten whole minutes. But compared to the jarring 100x scaling of the wilderness, the bridge's enlargement was tastefully done.
As he stepped through the city gates, the two guards merely glanced at him.
Mondstadt... your long-lost traveler has returned! Victor Wang shouted inwardly.
"Fresh fruit at Quinn's Fruit Stand!"
"Can you go a bit cheaper?"
"Pick it yourself! I'm Wagner—my craftsmanship doesn't produce defective goods!"
"Everything you need—Blanche General Store!"
"Want to buy some flowers? Hehe~"
"No-edge swords, 3,000 for one—13,000 for three in a special bundle!"
The sounds of hawking, haggling, and chatter filled Victor Wang's ears.
Yes, this is it. This is the life I dreamed of when I reincarnated!