Mu Yang watched a few more fan creations.
He had to admit—
The players' creative passion was absolutely explosive.
Seeing the soaring popularity, miHoYo (at Mu Yang's behest, via the system) directly set up a video incentive program.
No matter what kind of Genshin Impact content you made.
As long as it was related to the game.
Whether it was guides, team comps, treasure chest hunting in the main story, or puzzle-solving in quests—
Or even fan creations like the ones he'd just seen, hand-drawn animations—
Even cosplay could get a share of the rewards.
Of course, low-effort clickbait didn't count.
What they wanted was the players' genuine love for a character.
The moment this announcement dropped.
The comment sections erupted with plans to "milk the stingy miHoYo for all they're worth."
However, these creative incentives did have view-count requirements.
So it wasn't like you could just upload anything and get paid.
The players weren't stupid.
All they needed was views, right?
Then they just had to focus on the most popular characters.
And who was the most popular character during Genshin Impact's launch period?
Without a doubt—Mu Yang!
Even before the game's release, his stunning character design had already sparked heated discussions.
Then, thanks to his in-story performance.
His overwhelming strength, his decisiveness in battle, his affection for the Traveler (i.e., the player).
And even his subtle contradictions.
All of it successfully made Mu Yang explode in popularity.
In short, as long as you made Mu Yang-related content.
You'd get views.
You'd make money off miHoYo.
So, all the talented players began their creative endeavors.
At this moment, in the livestream of streamer Sparkle.
Sparkle had already done most of the available in-game content.
Her progress was level-gated now.
All she could do was wait for dailies to level up.
And hunting for treasure chests was getting a bit boring.
So she asked her fan audience, the Little Jokesters.
"Hey guys, anything fun we could do?"
"I've got nothing left to grind."
Paid Message (100 yuan):
[Why are you wearing my lunchbox on your feet?]: "Streamer, why aren't you doing puzzles? Is it because you can't?"
Sparkle was long immune to such cheap taunts.
"The puzzles only give a few Primogems, you know. With the money you just spent on this superchat—"
"I could've skipped opening a bunch of chests."
[LOL, we told you guys the streamer's loaded, why are you still donating?]
[Donators get a one-year ban.]
Sparkle noticed a new viewer entering with a "Governor" badge—
And a username matching an in-game character.
This was the whale who had gifted her the Governorship on Genshin Impact's very first day.
"Welcome, Governor Mu Yang, to the stream! Long time no see, big spender~"
"Did you find another girl to simp for?"
Paid Message (20,000 yuan):
[Mu Yang]: "Why not try doing a cosplay?"
This was the real Mu Yang.
He had just finished watching some insane fan creations.
Now, he wanted to see what the players were up to.
After clicking through a few streams, he noticed most were just farming materials or hunting chests.
When he entered Sparkle's stream, he saw her looking for something to do—
So he sent this superchat.
[MU YANG'S HERE!]
[Cosplay sounds fun! With miHoYo's new video incentives, it'd probably blow up.]
[LMAO, Sparkle's flat as a board—what else can she do besides cosplay? Guides? Yeah right.]
Sparkle considered the chat's suggestions.
It didn't sound bad.
She'd always loved cosplay.
If she could ride the hype of Genshin Impact's launch and the video incentives—
And blow up by cosplaying a character—
That'd be pretty sweet!
"Alright, alright. Since our dear Mu Yang suggested it, I'll indulge you."
"Who do you wanna see me cosplay?"
[Mu Yang.]
[Mu Yang +1.]
[Mu Yang +10086.]
...
Sparkle stared at the flood of Mu Yang spam.
Typical chat—nothing but little rebels.
"Oh, so that's how you wanna play? Fine, I'll cosplay Mu Yang."
"Let me check if I've got anything suitable…"
"I think I had a traditional-style set somewhere…"
Sparkle left the room to dig through her wardrobe.
After a while—
A white-haired young man in black robes stepped into frame.
"Well? What do you think, guys?"
[???]
[Wait, don't talk—I'm almost there.]
[HOLY SH—]
[A female streamer effortlessly cosplaying a male character… I don't know whether to laugh or cry.]
[How is it this accurate?!]
[It looks like him, but something's missing… can't put my finger on it.]
[Yeah, same. Probably the eyes—Mu Yang's eyes express so much.]
[Now that you mention it, you're right.]
Sparkle read the comments and tried mimicking Mu Yang's gaze.
"How about now?"
[Still not quite there.]
[Give up, Sparkle. Mu Yang's one of a kind—you can't replicate him.]
[For a female streamer to even get the silhouette this close is already insane.]
[Mu Yang really is unique. Just saw a guy cosplay his bridge scene—zero impact.]
[Maybe it's because of Mu Yang's backstory? Cosplayers don't know his lore yet, so they can only copy the look, not the soul.]
[I bet even after knowing his story, no one could mimic him.]
[Agreed. Impossible to replicate. He's just him.]
[Yep. Our Mu Yang is one of a kind.]
The more Sparkle looked at herself, the more she realized it wasn't working.
"Alright, I'm ending the stream for now."
"Gonna tweak the outfit and think more about how to capture his essence."
"Wait for the video, okay?"
After Sparkle logged off—
Mu Yang closed the panel and went to do other things.
There wasn't much to do while waiting for the Popularity Points to accumulate.
He could only wander around Wangshu Inn for a bit—
Until the system notified him:
The cosplay section was now in fierce competition.
So he returned to his room to keep watching.
The so-called "fierce competition" was a voting event the system had set up specifically for cosplayers.
The winner wouldn't just get miHoYo's creative incentives—
They'd also receive a custom Mu Yang figurine!
Global exclusive—never to be re-released!
Mu Yang: "Did you even ask me before offering this?"
System: "Excuse me for trying to help. Ungrateful much?"
"The Popularity Points are skyrocketing. Once the voting ends—"
"And the champion is decided, you can start the simulation!"
Mu Yang hadn't expected it to happen this fast.
Originally, it was supposed to take five days.
Seems he'd misjudged the system.
"Damn, love you, System."
System: "Hmph! ╭(╯^╰)╮"
Mu Yang opened the cosplay section's videos.
The system clearly hadn't given them much prep time.
The male cosplayers were, unsurprisingly, all doing Mu Yang.
But none of them had high vote counts.
The comments were brutally honest:
They didn't have that vibe.
Mu Yang's gaze, his demeanor, his contradictions.
All of it was unique.
Truly impossible to imitate.
On the female side, Lumine cosplays were the most common.
Since she was the game's protagonist.
And many female streamers had prepared Lumine outfits and wigs in advance to attract viewers at launch.
After browsing through them.
Mu Yang found the two highest-voted contestants:
Lumine cosplayer "Lumine_CC".
And Mu Yang cosplayer "Sparkle".
Who would've thought?
Sparkle's research had actually paid off.
Though she still couldn't replicate Mu Yang's aura.
She'd somehow learned a sword dance routine.
And she performed it with surprising flair.
Combined with Mu Yang's sheer popularity—
Her sword dance pushed her past Lumine_CC, securing her the top spot.
And the one-of-a-kind Mu Yang figurine.
The moment Mu Yang finished watching, he immediately exited.
He had something far more important to do now.
"System, the Popularity Points are enough, right?"
"Confirmed. Proceed with setting completion and initiate simulation?"
"Yes!"