After dinner,everyone dispersed.
Jing Yuan, Zhongli, Welt, and Huaiyan planned to take a walk around New Liyue Port to help digest their food.
Just then—
Qiqi came running over with Klee, Bailu, and Tribbie to the four men.
Qiqi pointed at Jing Yuan, looking completely innocent.
"He's the one who poured me the alcohol!"
Upon hearing this, Bailu crossed her arms angrily.
"General! How could you give alcohol to a child? You villain!"
Klee, Diona, and the other little ones joined in the scolding.
"Bad guy!"
"Bad guy!"
"Bad guy!"
Jing Yuan was stunned and immediately felt wronged.
"Hey, don't blame me! It was Qiqi who wanted to try it, and I only gave her the tiniest sip."
Bailu turned to Qiqi upon hearing that.
"Qiqi, was it you who asked to drink?"
Qiqi nodded.
"Yes."
Cold sweat instantly formed on the foreheads of Bailu, Klee, and the others.
Ah, well... this is awkward...
Qiqi had been dazed since drinking, and when Bailu checked on her, she discovered Qiqi had actually consumed alcohol!
Naturally, Bailu had assumed it was one of the four adults who gave it to her, since they were the only ones drinking at dinner.
She hadn't expected that Qiqi had asked for it herself.
Now it was just awkward.
Bailu gave a cold huff and stammered, "Well... still! Qiqi doesn't know better, but you should! In the end, you still let her drink! Big bad guy!"
Klee and Tribbie immediately backed her up.
"Yeah, yeah! Big bad guy!"
"Bad guy! Bad guy!"
Just then, Ye Yun walked over.
"Alright, alright, little ones—time to wash up and get ready for bed~"
With Ye Yun's call, the ten little ones all followed him out of the shop.
Jing Yuan, Zhongli, Welt, and Huaiyan looked at one another, sharing a helpless smile and shrugging.
What a mess this turned out to be.
Meanwhile, Stelle, Hutao, and the others ran off to keep grinding Genshin Impact.
Himeko and Kafka followed Aglaea to Amphoreus's fashion boutique to have clothes made.
In Rimuru's world—
Rimuru was patrolling the territory. Even at night, the streets of the Monster Federation's towns were lively with magical creatures strolling about.
Rimuru had brought back a wealth of entertainment equipment from the Honkai: Star Rail world, and had created an unprecedented entertainment and gourmet street in this fantasy world.
KTVs, internet cafés, restaurants, hotels, game parlors, supermarkets—you name it.
At that moment—
Rimuru was drinking in a small tavern with the Dwarf King and his adjutant.
This tavern was opened by the dryad Treyni. The brewing skills of the tree spirits were something special.
Rimuru had only handed over the black beer recipe to them a few days ago, and they had already produced a finished batch.
Why so fast? This is a magical world—they have plenty of ways to accelerate the brewing process.
Treyni brought over two large mugs of beer and set them down in front of Rimuru and the Dwarf King.
"Lord Rimuru, Lord Hero King, please enjoy."
The "Hero King" referred to the Dwarf King—not only the ruler of the dwarves, but also the bearer of the Hero King title.
After thanking the dryad, Rimuru introduced the drink to the Dwarf King.
"Senior brother, I guarantee you've never had a black beer like this."
The Hero King picked up the mug and examined it closely.
"This brew is as dark as ink and has a rich aroma. Rimuru, how did you make this?"
Rimuru smiled and explained,
"It's called black beer. Miss Treyni brewed it—I just gave her the recipe. I don't know the exact method myself.
Come, let's have a drink and taste it."
The Hero King raised his mug, clinked it with Rimuru's, and then downed the drink in one go.
The rich flavor burst in his mouth, electrifying his taste buds.
His eyes widened.
"This...! Why is this beer so delicious?!"
The Hero King was in disbelief. That something could taste this good?
Among dwarves, drinking is practically a national pastime. In the Dwarven Kingdom, you'd find a tavern every few steps, and they were always packed.
Naturally, the Hero King was no exception—he often drank.
After composing himself, the Hero King looked at Treyni.
"Miss Treyni, would you be willing to share the brewing process with the Dwarven Kingdom?"
Treyni smiled and shook her head.
"I'm honored the Hero King likes my beer, but I just want to run this tavern with my sisters."
Hearing this, the Hero King realized he'd been politely rejected.
So he switched strategies and turned to Rimuru.
"Rimuru, let's add this black beer to the trade agreement between our two nations."
Rimuru nodded.
"No problem, senior brother. Come, another drink."
The Hero King raised his mug and clinked it with Rimuru's again.
Just then, the ground trembled, and a commotion broke out outside.
Rimuru and the Hero King rushed out to see—
A bald giant man in white robes was clashing with the leader of the Oni tribe. Both were brute-force fighters, trading punch after punch in a fierce, bone-shaking brawl.
Rimuru, seeing the situation, instantly moved between the two and forcibly separated them.
After being knocked away, the bald brute stabilized himself mid-air, then looked at Rimuru angrily and shouted:
"Slime! Where did you hide my Lord!? Hand her over now!"
Rimuru was totally confused.
"Um, the 'Lord' you're talking about… who exactly is that?"
The bald man spoke slowly.
"Of course, I mean the great Demon Lord Milim!
Her last known whereabouts were here with you."
Upon hearing this, a drop of cold sweat slid down Rimuru's forehead. He felt speechless.
Ah, so this guy was here looking for Milim?
Rimuru figured Milim had just gotten too caught up in playing around. To be honest, he hadn't seen her return to this world for a long time.
She had been staying in the Honkai: Star Rail world for quite a while.
The train was just too fun, so Milim probably lost track of time.
Rimuru held up a hand to calm him.
"Wait a moment, I'll go call Milim out."
Hearing that, the bald man stood down and temporarily stopped attacking.
A short while later, Milim was brought out by Rimuru.
Milim looked annoyed — she had been happily gaming with Silver Wolf!
Seeing the bald man, she rushed forward and punched him flat.
"What are you doing here? I'm fine! Just go back and manage things like I told you!"
Seeing that Milim was safe and sound, the bald brute breathed a sigh of relief.
"As long as you're okay, Milim-sama. But it's been days without word from you — we were really worried."
Milim waved her hand.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen to me. Go back now and stop killing my vibe."
The bald man nodded in agreement.
After apologizing to Rimuru and promising to send compensation later, he left the city of the Jura Tempest Federation.
With the matter resolved, Milim rushed back through the portal, eager to resume gaming with Silver Wolf.
The next day — on the train.
Zhongli sat in his seat, looking utterly speechless.
Stelle, Amber, and Firefly were reenacting the "Rite of Parting" scene from Genshin Impact.
Amber lay on the ground pretending to be a dragon corpse. Stelle raised her hand dramatically:
"The Archon has been assassinated! Fire up the pan!"
The next second, the little evil god carried a huge wok from the kitchen and set it in the middle.
"Wok's ready!"
Sparkle, Eula, and others played the Millelith soldiers, rummaging through boxes on the couch area.
Ye Yun glanced at the constipated-looking Zhongli and couldn't help but tease:
"How do you feel? I think their acting is pretty spot-on."
Zhongli took a deep breath to calm himself.
"The acting is too exaggerated. Negative review."
Ye Yun laughed out loud at that comment.
"Tut tut, really? I thought it was pretty entertaining.
Stelle! One more time!"
He slapped down a massive 100-star coin tip on the table.
In a flash, the black shadow of the little evil god darted by — the 100 coins vanished from the table.
In the nearby lounge, the little evil god happily stashed the money away.
"Stelle, let's perform one more time and split this 100!"
Stelle agreed readily, leading Firefly and the others to reenact the scene once more.
This time it was even more exaggerated, leaving Zhongli increasingly speechless.
Welt, curious, asked:
"Zhongli, I've always wondered — why did you agree to support the Cryo Archon's plan to defy Celestia?
As someone involved, what were you thinking at the time?"
Zhongli paused to think, then replied:
"The gods of Teyvat care deeply for their people. I must've supported her for the sake of Liyue's future.
Like Paimon asked in the story — what could be worth a Gnosis?
I think it was a promise. A promise from the Cryo Archon to protect Liyue if she succeeded.
Back then, my erosion had already progressed quite far. I wasn't sure how much longer I could continue to protect Liyue."
Welt looked at Zhongli with admiration.
The gods of Teyvat truly cared about humanity.
Unlike his own world's so-called "gods" — all of them were out to destroy humanity.
Thinking about it made him envious. If the Herrschers in his world were like Zhongli…
That world would've been a much better place.
After Stelle and the others finished their exaggerated performance, the little evil god rubbed her hands and came up to Ye Yun:
"Boss~ Want to see another round?"
She even wiggled her eyebrows enthusiastically.
Ye Yun shook his head.
"Nope, I've seen enough."
The little evil god tried to persuade him:
"Aw~ Our performance is great!
Tell you what, special discount — just 80 star coins for another show!"
Ye Yun simply shook his head again.
"No thanks. Shoo."
He continued chatting with Welt and the others, ignoring the little evil god.
Seeing this, she gave up and went back to the kitchen to resume knitting her sweater.
Stelle, Amber, and the others also quieted down, each grabbing a drink and sitting nearby.
Jing Yuan looked at Stelle with curiosity.
"How's your Liyue exploration progress in the Genshin Impact instance?"
Stelle grinned.
"100% everywhere! But there are still tons of areas not unlocked yet."
Then she turned to Ye Yun.
"Ye Yun, when will the new areas open? And what about the upcoming event banners?"
Ye Yun replied:
"Very soon. Tonight the new banners go live, along with a new map — Dragonspine."
Stelle was intrigued.
"Who's the featured 5-star character in the first phase?"
Ye Yun didn't keep her in suspense.
"First phase banner: Venti. Four-star rate-ups: Kaeya, Lisa, and Ningguang.
Second phase: Klee. Four-star rate-ups: Barbara, Chongyun, and Xingqiu.
There's also a new story quest, with big rewards."
Stelle looked dumbfounded.
"Huh? Klee's a five-star?!"
Ye Yun nodded.
"Yep. High damage multipliers, and she throws bombs."
Over on the side, Klee, who had been playing with Lego, heard her name and looked around in confusion.
"Who's calling Klee~?"
Himeko patted her head.
"No one, sweetie. Go on and play."
Klee nodded and went back to building blocks.
Hutao was a little disappointed that she wasn't in the banner, but she quickly got over it. She already knew her turn wouldn't come until the next version.
Zhongli glanced at Venti.
"Barbatos, how much Mora do you have in-game?"
Venti put down his wine glass.
"Not much. Why, old man?"
Zhongli said:
"Your banner is coming. Aren't you planning to pull some constellations to boost your power?"
Venti shook his head.
"Nah, I'm happy with my current lifestyle. I've got plenty of wine and Mondstadt is thriving."
Zhongli said no more. That was just how Venti was.
Not long after, Honkai Star Rail's Bronya arrived at Ye Yun's shop.
Stelle was surprised.
"Bronya? You're a busy person. What brings you here?"
Bronya smiled.
"I came to buy some supplies. A lot of children at the orphanage have the flu. I'm heading to Herta Space Station to get medicine."
Firefly was confused.
"Why not just order through the company app? Isn't that easier?"
Bronya sighed.
"It is, but the express shipping fee is expensive.
So I figured I'd just go myself. It's about the same."
Stelle offered help.
"Then we'll go with you, Bronya. We're free anyway."
Bailu, upon hearing that many kids at the orphanage were sick, became concerned.
She was a member of the Moles now — the orphanage kids were like her little siblings!
The last time Klee, Bailu, and others visited, they all joined Hook's Moles gang.
Hook was the boss. Bailu was No. 2, Klee No. 3, Yaoyao No. 4, Diona No. 5, Sayu No. 6, Qiqi No. 7.
Tribbie, Trianne, and Trinnon hadn't joined yet.
Bronya looked at them gratefully.
And so—
The group first went to Herta Space Station to buy medicine.
Right after exiting the portal, they were greeted by what looked like a warzone — the lab was a complete mess, not a single part intact.
Arceus, Herta, Screwllum, and Ruan Mei stood on the rubble.
Arceus clapped his hands in dissatisfaction.
"Your Simulated Universe sure is fragile, huh? You said it'd satisfy me — I just started playing, and it already blew up."
***
Herta hurriedly spoke up.
"This time was an accident! Give me another chance! Once I fix the Simulated Universe, I'll invite you over again!"
Upon hearing this, Arceus glanced at Herta suspiciously, then nodded in agreement.
"Alright then~ Call me when it's fixed. I'm going to warm up with the white-haired guy."
With that, Arceus vanished in a flash of light.
Herta, Ruan Mei, and Screwllum exchanged glances, each seeing the joy in the others' eyes.
Herta took out a small chip, looking quite pleased with herself.
"Good thing I acted quickly and saved the data. With this, our Simulated Universe project has taken a huge step forward!"
Screwllum nodded.
"Indeed, but right now, the priority is repairing the Simulated Universe quickly so we can invite Lord Arceus again."
Ruan Mei added, "Then let's get started."
Herta nodded and glanced toward Ye Yun and the others.
"If you want to create a vibe, go do it elsewhere. Don't disturb us—we're busy."
Ye Yun smiled helplessly and took Bronya to find Asta.
After buying medicine from Asta, the group headed straight for the Belobog Orphanage.
At the Belobog Orphanage:
Cocolia was busy helping the staff take care of sick children.
This flu outbreak had struck suddenly. Not only the orphanage, but much of Belobog was affected.
"Lady Cocolia! A few children have fainted!"
Cocolia remained calm.
"Don't panic! Move those children to a separate room immediately. Make sure the room is warm—they must not catch a chill! Bronya has gone to get medicine and should be back soon."
The staff member ran out quickly.
Speak of the devil—just as they left, Bronya arrived with Ye Yun, Stelle, and the others, walking into Cocolia's office.
The seven little ones followed too, each wearing a mask to prevent infection.
"Mother, I'm back. How's the situation?"
Cocolia sighed.
"Not optimistic. A few children are in serious condition."
Bronya quickly took out the medicine.
"This is a special remedy. Mother, give it to the children."
Seeing the boxes of medicine, Cocolia felt a surge of relief. She called the orphanage doctors to distribute the medicine.
Bronya, Stelle, and Firefly helped out. The medicine was in capsule form and easy to administer.
Hook tugged on Ye Yun's sleeve, and he understood, rubbing her little head.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Come on, I'll take you to see Julian and the others."
Ye Yun led the seven little ones to the dormitory area, where all the sick children were quarantined.
They went upstairs and found Julian's dorm.
Hook pushed the door open and immediately saw Julian lying on the bed, looking miserable.
"Julian! Are you okay?"
Julian opened his eyes upon hearing Hook's voice.
"B-Boss, I'm alright."
Bailu came over and felt Julian's forehead.
"He's got a fever, but it's not too high. Here, take this."
She fed Julian a capsule of the special medicine.
Klee and the other little ones gathered around, chatting with Julian for a bit.
As they talked, the medicine began to take effect, and Julian fell asleep from drowsiness.
Seeing this, Bailu and the little ones left the room with Ye Yun to check on the other children.
After the medicine was distributed, the outbreak was finally under control. All the children at the orphanage were now out of danger.
However, full recovery would still take time—at least a day or two of rest.
Ye Yun and the little ones stayed at the orphanage for a day and returned to the train in the evening.
On the train:
Tonight, Xiangling, for once, didn't go into the kitchen. Tonight, she could finally enter the Genshin dungeon to roll for her own character!
Last time she spent money and still didn't get herself. But this time, she refused to believe she'd fail again! She was in the rate-up banner! It was impossible not to get herself!
At 6 PM sharp, Xiangling dashed into the Genshin dungeon.
Inside, she checked the event and saw she could trial the character too!
Of course she tried it—her character was indeed strong. Pairing with Xingqiu for hydro off-field damage, the synergy was great.
After the trial, Xiangling was even more determined to get herself.
She had 300 pulls. There was no way she wouldn't get herself!
Ten minutes later—Ye Yun's shop:
Xiangling was hugging Little Evil God and sobbing like crazy.
"I can't get her! I just can't! I used 300 pulls and got a full constellation Venti, but not a single me! Waaaah!"
Stelle didn't even know what to say.
Lucky? Xiangling didn't pull a single copy of herself in 300 wishes.
Unlucky? Venti got full constellation in 300 wishes.
All you could say was—fate is fate. Xiangling really couldn't get herself.
Venti also did some pulls. Every time, he hit the 180-pity hard cap to get his own character.
With help from Jean and Diluc, Venti managed to get himself a full constellation.
He brought all six constellations out of the dungeon into the real world.
With the boost from his constellations, Venti's strength increased significantly.
The new Archon Quest update also showed people Venti being serious for once.
Barbara, after seeing the new story, regained a bit of faith in him.
"Lord Barbatos does handle serious matters too."
She even pulled a full constellation Venti herself.
Say what you will—Venti's world exploration ability was still solid. He could create wind currents.
Pretty much everyone had at least his base character for exploration.
Lumine looked at Venti, then at Calestia, who was lying on the couch playing a mobile game, and leaned over to her.
"Calestia, don't you have any thoughts about this?"
Calestia looked up.
"Thoughts about what?"
Lumine was shocked.
"You're asking me?! Venti's such a traitor! Don't you feel like beating him up?
Just look at him—he's clearly planning to rebel behind your back!"
Calestia replied calmly with a simple "Oh."
"Oh~ It's fine. That's all in the past. As long as each nation develops well and doesn't mess things up, I don't care."
With that, she went back to her game.
Lumine immediately felt bored. She was hoping to set Venti up and have Calestia discipline him.
But Calestia didn't care at all. Lame. So lame.
Stelle, Lumine, Hutao, and the others hung out at the shop for a while before heading off to grind more Genshin content.
Not long after they left, Aventurine arrived at the train.
Looking around, he saw Ye Yun and waved.
"Good evening, Ye Yun."
Ye Yun was surprised to see it was Aventurine—he rarely came to the shop.
He was usually buried in his own projects.
"Aventurine, what brings a busy guy like you to my place?"
Aventurine sat next to Ye Yun.
"I've finished most of my work. Development on the Joyful Little Planet is basically done.
The first Spirit Tournament has concluded. The second one won't be held for another nine months, so things are calmer now.
So, I came by to check out the shop.
I heard from Topaz and the others that there's a new enhancement machine here?"
Ye Yun pointed to the enhancement machine placed in the corner.
"That's right, that one over there. It can enhance any item, but it requires enhancement stones, and there's a chance of failure."
Upon hearing there was a failure rate, Aventurine didn't mind at all.
"No big deal. Nothing in this world is absolute. If success were guaranteed, the price would definitely skyrocket.
Right now, at least I can afford it."
Aventurine stood up and walked to the enhancement machine, unhesitatingly placing his Stoneheart on it.
He glanced at the display and noticed something odd.
"Ye Yun, is this machine malfunctioning? The name of my Stoneheart is wrong, and it already has an enhancement level."
Ye Yun came over to take a look.
[Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment +3]
Ye Yun consulted the system, and the system explained that Aventurine had previously used an Equipment Enhancement Scroll.
The enhancement level from the scroll and the machine are shared.
And as for the name, there was no mistake—when Aventurine used the scroll, the target was a fragment of the Stoneheart.
Though it now appeared as a whole stone, before being enhanced, it was merely a fragment.
"That's correct. The enhancement level from the scroll is shared with the machine.
The only difference is, the scroll can only go up to +5."
Aventurine nodded in understanding.
Then, he bought enough enhancement stones for ten attempts.
Jashin-chan, seeing the fun, ran over—she'd been so bored lately she even started knitting.
Curious, she tapped the enhancement machine.
"What's this thing?"
Noelle pulled her aside and whispered an explanation of the enhancement machine.
After listening, Jashin-chan understood, then ran into the kitchen, cut open a watermelon, grabbed half, stuck a spoon in it, and sat beside the machine to watch, becoming a true spectator.
Paimon saw the other half and shared it with Milim—each taking a portion.
Soon, Aventurine began the enhancement.
He tossed the Aventurine Stone into the machine, added enough enhancement stones, and activated it.
A few seconds later, the machine stopped, and a voice chimed:
[Enhancement Successful! Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment +3 → Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment +4!]
Pleased with the success, Aventurine didn't retrieve the stone. Instead, he chose to continue.
Since he had already bought so many stones, he might as well use them all in one go.
All or nothing!
Aventurine threw in more stones, and the machine activated again.
[Enhancement Successful! Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment +4 → Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment +5!]
[Enhancement Successful! Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment +5 → Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment +6!]
[Enhancement Successful!...]
The voice continued for ten times in a row.
Astonishingly, all ten attempts were successful!
The Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment had reached +13!
Just two more, and it would be +15!
Ye Yun couldn't help but admire Aventurine's luck. In his past life's game, this would definitely have gotten someone cursed as a "lucky bastard."
Aventurine thought for a moment and decided to take the stone out.
At that moment, Jashin-chan leaned over.
"Aventurine~ If I were you, I'd go two more times! Look, your luck's this good, why not strike while the iron's hot?
Who knows, you might hit +15!"
Aventurine agreed it made sense, bought more enhancement stones, and restarted the machine.
[Enhancement Successful! Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment +13 → Shajin Stone Fragment +14!]
[Enhancement Successful! Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment +14 → Shajin Stone Fragment +15!]
As the voice fell, the machine suddenly burst into golden light.
A Aventurine Stoneheart wrapped in a rainbow glow appeared before everyone.
Jashin-chan was stunned.
This wasn't right! In her gacha games, the last pulls always tanked!
What's going on? Something's off!
"How is this possible?! Why didn't you fail even once?!" she shouted in disbelief.
Aventurine pondered for a second.
"Maybe... I'm just lucky?"
That single line completely broke Jashin-chan.
"So you're saying I'm unlucky?! Listen up! I'm the unbeatable, super-raging little demon! My luck is top-tier!
There must be another reason! It can't be my luck!"
Aventurine smiled.
"Probably."
Just then, the enhancement machine spoke again:
**[Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment has reached +15 and can now be ignited further. Upon further enhancement, its quality will undergo a qualitative leap!
However, there is a high chance of failure. On failure, the item will be destroyed.]**
Aventurine looked down at the stone in his hand. The energy it emitted was nearly at an Emanator level.
Alas, it was still one step short.
But as a gambler—once he's come this far, there's no turning back!
Only by abandoning reason can one bet everything!
Aventurine spent one million star coins to buy more enhancement stones and tossed them into the machine.
The enhancement machine activated again. Jashin-chan stood beside it, muttering constantly:
"Fail~ fail~ fail~"
Ye Yun, seeing this, pulled out two band-aids and stuck them over Jashin-chan's mouth, earning her tiny fists of fury.
How should one describe her strength? Ye Yun felt like it was a massage.
"A bit more to the left~ yep, right there."
Jashin-chan was instantly livid.
"You jerk, Ye Yun! Who said I was giving you a massage?!"
Ye Yun pulled out a 100-yuan bill, and Jashin-chan instantly changed her face, smiling as she pounded his back.
"How's the pressure, boss?"
Ye Yun nodded in satisfaction.
"Mm, not bad. Keep it up."
This time, the enhancement machine ran for over ten minutes before stopping.
**[Congratulations! Enhancement GREAT SUCCESS!!
Aventurine Stoneheart Fragment +15 → Preservation Emanator Keystone!
Detected: One lucky god-tier player! Congratulations—you are now on the enhancement machine blacklist!]**
As the voice ended, a piece of amber-colored stone was spat out, complete with a spit sound effect.
After spitting out the Preservation Emanator Keystone, the enhancement machine slammed shut and stopped operating completely.
Ye Yun's mouth twitched.
Great, the system blacklisted another one.