[Reincarnation has ended. A new life awaits ahead. Please explore on your own.]
Teyvat Continent.
Mondstadt, Windrise.
Staring at the line of text visible only to himself, Gu Chen was overjoyed.
"Awesome! Finally grinded it all out!"
Gu Chen wasn't a native of Teyvat—he was a transmigrator.
In Teyvat's terms, he was a Descender, or an outlander.
He still remembered it clearly: back then, he'd grinded away all night on Genshin Impact in his dorm, only to drop dead from exhaustion and transmigrate to Teyvat.
No sooner had he arrived than he bound the Reincarnation System, with cycle after cycle of reincarnation missions laid out before him.
Gu Chen hadn't wanted to grind them at first—he didn't want to repeat his mistakes—but the system offered way too many rewards, so he dove headfirst into the grind and never looked back.
Now, every system mission was complete, and a terrifying power coursed through his body, filling him with immense satisfaction.
"This should be enough to protect myself in Teyvat, right?"
Feeling the power surging within him, Gu Chen was in high spirits.
He had no real idea just how strong he was now. In one of his past lives, he'd clashed with the Heavenly Principles, and his impression had been—they weren't all that impressive.
With all those accumulated powers stacked together now, he felt even more secure.
"Feels great!!"
"Hey, bro, how great exactly? Spill the details!"
A voice suddenly approached from afar.
Gu Chen turned in surprise, then froze for a moment.
The newcomer was a young boy, and Gu Chen's first glance caught the white stockings peeking out from under his Baroque-style clothes.
The boy wore a green hooded cape, with a Cecilia flower pinned to the green brim of his hat. His black hair had two small gradient-green braids dangling from the sides.
The newcomer was none other than Mondstadt's Anemo Archon, Barbatos!
"Venti?"
Running into Venti at Windrise—was that a surprise, or to be expected?
"Yo, bro, looks like you've heard of me~"
Seeing Gu Chen recognize him at a glance, Venti paused, then grinned. "I'm Mondstadt's best bard! Want an autograph? You could sell it for a fortune in Mora! Just three thousand Mora for my signature!"
"You're serious?"
An autograph from a deadbeat bard could actually sell?
Gu Chen looked at him oddly. "If your identity as Barbatos got exposed, sure, your signature might fetch a price. But until then, forget it!"
Venti's smile faded, his expression turning serious as he scrutinized Gu Chen. "Who exactly are you?"
He had no memory of this guy—his identity shouldn't have been leaked!
"Ehe!"
"What the heck does 'ehe' mean?!"
Venti's eyes widened.
For some reason, those two syllables were seriously annoying!
And yet, he did the exact same thing himself—Venti suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Just as Venti was about to say something else—
Boom!
A deafening roar echoed from the sky.
Gu Chen and Venti instinctively looked up and froze.
[Exposure System has arrived!]
[This system will expose many secrets to all beings of Teyvat!]
[Note: The system updates exposure videos every seven days. The first video will play in ten minutes!]
[Group chat establishing—Current group chats divided into: Ordinary Group and Extraordinary Group!]
Huge gilded text appeared in the sky, followed by a light screen materializing before Gu Chen and Venti.
[Extraordinary Group Chat]
[Hu Tao]: Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? Can we really chat here?
[Klee]: So magical! Even easier than the one Mama gave Klee~
[Kaeya]: Looks like real-time communication. The Ordinary Group's already chatting up a storm next door. Getting all seven nations' people into a real-time chat—who could be behind this?
[Jean]: Could it be Lord Barbatos? No, probably not...
[Zhongli]: By general rationality, it's unlikely the Seven Archons possess such power.
[Mona]: Ah... so hungry...
[Klee]: Mona-sis, what's wrong? Klee's coming to see you right now!
[Venti]: Friends, allow me to grandly introduce myself—the three-time consecutive winner of Mondstadt's Favorite Bard award—Venti!
[Zhongli]: ...
[Paimon]: Wow, so many familiar faces! Even the busker's here!
[Lumine]: There are a lot of people here. Give him some face.
[Paimon]: Oh oh, the best bard in Mondstadt is here too!!
[Venti]: ...
[Zhongli]: ...
[Hu Tao]: Alright alright alright, allow me to grandly introduce myself too—the 77th Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, master of the Alleyway Dark Poetry style—yours truly!
Windrise.
Even as he bantered in the group chat, Venti's face was grave.
A power that connected all beings like this—he couldn't imagine what kind of existence wielded it.
The Heavenly Principles?
Venti glanced at the floating island high in the sky and dismissed the thought.
The Heavenly Principles had no reason to do this, and it wouldn't benefit them anyway.
...
Liyue, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Zhongli, about to head out, stared at the light screen in contemplation.
"Such power is beyond the Heavenly Principles... Then what existence has descended upon Teyvat?"
Zhongli frowned slightly, a faint worry stirring in his heart.
...
Inazuma, Tenshukaku.
The Raiden Shogun gazed indifferently at it all.
"Only eternity approaches the Heavenly Principles most closely. This is not their doing—power surpassing the Heavenly Principles. We must not make an enemy of it."
That was her judgment.
In the Plane of Euthymia, Raiden Ei stirred from her meditation, staring blankly at the light screen.
...
Sumeru, Palace of Purity.
"Something that lets me communicate with the outside... It feels a bit like the Void Terminal left by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata..."
"Could it help me?"
"At the very least, I can peek at the outside world through this chat... without worrying about being discovered..."
Nahida's white cross pupils glimmered with faint hope, despite her imprisonment.
...
Fontaine, Opéra Épiécles.
Furina, the Hydro Archon, sat in the VIP box high above, enjoying a trial—until the anomaly appeared, filling her with surprise and excitement.
...
Stone Gate.
The border between Mondstadt and Liyue.
The Traveler Lumine and Paimon had arrived here; Liyue lay just ahead.
"Lumine, what do you think this is? We're almost in Liyue, and now we can chat in real-time with Jean and the others—and even saw the busker!" Paimon said in astonishment.
"Looks familiar, but I can't place it." Lumine shook her head.
She had no idea who was behind this, but so far, the group chat seemed pretty convenient.
At least communication was a breeze!
"There's a countdown in the sky too. Wonder what secrets this Exposure System will reveal? I'm so curious—how about we find a spot to rest and watch before heading on?"
Paimon looked up at the countdown visible to everyone, equal parts excited and impatient, tugging at Lumine's hand coquettishly.
"Sure!"
Lumine readily agreed.
She was curious too about what the Exposure System would reveal.
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