Jean's chest rose and fell slightly. The sense of immersion from the previous scene had been far too intense; it was as if she had personally experienced it all.
Just then, Lin Yu walked over with a glass of warm water and placed it on the table.
"Wait, Shopkeeper!"
Lin Yu turned to face her.
"Yes?"
"I need to know, what time period is this game set in? Why does Stormterror appear? And who was that person who could speak with the dragon!?"
Lin Yu offered a faint smile, gesturing for Grand Master Jean to calm herself and take a sip of water to steady her nerves.
Then, he spoke slowly.
"The setting of this game is, of course, the present. As for the appearance of Stormterror and the person who can communicate with it, I'm afraid I can't tell you directly."
"All of that is part of the game's content. To avoid spoiling the player's experience, I cannot reveal any spoilers."
A complex look entered Jean's eyes as she gazed at Lin Yu. She took another sip of water, managing to calm her racing heart.
Indeed, just as the shopkeeper said, she could probably find the answers to these questions in the game's upcoming story.
And those answers could hold immense significance for dealing with the real Stormterror's rampage.
She refocused her attention on the game.
"Hey—you! Stop right there!"
A familiar voice rang out.
The screen focused on a headband with a pair of red bunny ears.
An agile figure leaped down from a high ledge, gliding through the air.
After a forward tumble, she barely managed to stop her momentum.
No way...
Could it be...?
An expression of disbelief crossed Jean's face.
"May the Anemo Archon protect you, stranger!"
The young woman's figure appeared front and center on the screen.
It really was her!
Outrider Knight, Amber.
Jean was stunned. It was one thing to see a familiar Mondstadt in the game, but now even Amber had made an appearance!
Moreover, her mannerisms and appearance were a perfect match for the real Amber.
It was a flawless re-creation.
She wondered how Amber would feel if she ever played this game and saw this scene.
"Hello, I'm Jean."
"That doesn't sound like a local name."
"And what's the deal with this... mascot?"
At this point, two dialogue options appeared.
[1. She's a friend.]
[2. She's Emergency Food.]
Seeing the second option, Jean couldn't help but chuckle. 'Emergency Food' was just too mean. Being the honest person she was, she chose the 'She's a friend' option.
"Right then. To sum it up, you're travelers, correct?"
"There's been a huge dragon sighted around Mondstadt recently, so it's best you get inside the city as soon as possible."
"We're not far from Mondstadt. As a Knight of Favonius, I'll escort you."
Just like the real Amber, she was warm and friendly.
Jean now had a strange feeling, as if she had truly taken on a new identity and was arriving at Mondstadt for the first time as a traveler.
Just as the conversation with Amber concluded, a notification appeared on the screen.
[Character Obtained: Amber]
"You can actually play as Amber..."
The game had already surpassed Jean's wildest expectations.
Did this mean she might run into Kaeya and Lisa once she entered the city?
Following the text prompts on the screen, Jean got a rough idea of Amber's combat style.
"This is incredible. They actually made Amber into a playable character..."
"She uses a bow and has a Pyro Vision. Without a doubt, this is Amber..."
Amber had come out of the city on a mission.
However, she explained that escorting the travelers into the city didn't conflict with her duties.
As they continued toward Mondstadt, a wandering Hilichurl caught her attention.
"Lately, these monsters of the wilds have been getting closer to the city. My mission this time is to clear out their camps," Amber said.
Following the path of the wandering Hilichurl, they soon found a camp it had established nearby.
This scene gave Jean a strange sense of déjà vu, as if she were a third-person observer.
She had, in fact, issued this very type of mission before, authorizing Amber, as an Outrider, to clear Hilichurl camps outside the city as she saw fit.
It was as if she was now witnessing one of Amber's missions from a new perspective.
Clear the camp, open the chest.
Jean was already getting the hang of it.
Paimon asked, "Hilichurls don't normally set up camps this close to the city, do they?"
"Exactly. They're supposed to stick to the wilderness. But with Stormterror appearing so often lately, the orchards have been destroyed, and trade routes have been affected. People are also getting injured when the storms hit, so the Knights' forces are spread thin focusing on defense," Amber replied.
Jean's expression grew solemn.
Through Amber's words, the game simply and accurately portrayed the consequences of the "Dragon Disaster."
As the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, Jean had been wrestling with these exact problems.
It seemed this game was truly built upon the foundation of reality.
If that was the case, then if a method to eliminate the 'Dragon Disaster' could be found within this game, it was highly likely the same method could be used to solve the crisis in the real world!
And she had more than enough capital to try out every possibility in the game. After all, failure here just meant starting over, until she found the optimal solution.
At this thought, Jean's eyes lit up.
She never imagined that this chance encounter, this accidental visit to a magical mobile game hall, might give her the opportunity to find a complete solution to the Dragon Disaster.
This was a problem that had plagued her for countless days and nights. Beyond her responsibility to the Knights of Favonius and the people of Mondstadt, there was also the diplomatic pressure the crisis had created.
The combined weight of it all had left Jean feeling truly overwhelmed.
Now, with a new path forward, she was naturally thrilled.
The next step was to officially enter Mondstadt.
She wondered, just how much of the real Mondstadt had been recreated in this mobile game?
And as a traveler, what kind of experiences awaited her within the city walls?