Chapter 48: New Member Joins the Group
[Dragon King Spits Water]: Looks like Rimuru logged off.
[Photo Princess]: By the way, doesn't the group leader now have the invite permission? Can we start inviting new members?
[Dragon King Spits Water]: Oh right, I almost forgot I have that invite permission.
Gu Ruoli shifted her focus from the chat window and turned to the information panel the group had presented.
She quickly navigated to the group leader privileges section. There, alongside the mute function, a new permission had appeared—invite members.
With a single tap of intent, the full details of the invite function opened before her.
[Permission: Invite
Details: Cancels the fixed one-person-per-month limit. Group leader can now issue five invitations each month, sent across the myriad worlds. If accepted, the invited being will join the chat group.
Limitations: Once per month, five invitations each time. The invitee has the right to refuse.]
Looking at the info, Gu Ruoli felt a bit helpless. While the number of people she could invite had increased, there was no guarantee any would accept.
If she sent all five and none agreed to join, it would be a complete waste.
Thinking this, Gu Ruoli took a screenshot of the invite function and posted it in the group chat.
[Dragon King Spits Water]: What do you all think? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
[Seeker Of Dao]: Probably a good thing—it just depends on your luck.
[Passerby]: Might as well give it a try. Let's see what the odds are.
Kado saw the group leader's message, frowned briefly, and then spoke up.
[Dragon King Spits Water]: Makes sense. Should I use it now?
[Photo Princess]: Use it! I'm excited to see who the new member will be.
[Skybase King]: Count me in on the hype.
[Unshaken Bilian]: Hype +1.
...
After that, Gu Ruoli didn't bother reading the repeated comments. After all, she'd long realized that humans are essentially repeaters—something she'd deeply understood in her past life.
With a thought, she opened the invite panel.
"Chat group, use invite permission."
As her words fell, five invitation cards appeared before her.
Each card was the size of a playing card, completely black, made of some strange material—not metal, not stone, not jade. The surface was matte and felt incredibly smooth to the touch.
One side bore the chat group's emblem—a white ring surrounded by absolute blackness, symbolizing the infinite void.
Inside the ring was a dark-blue starry sky, like a cosmic curtain sprinkled with starlight, symbolizing the interconnected worlds of the chat group.
The reverse side was completely blank, without any text.
Gu Ruoli picked up a card, inspected it briefly, then casually tossed it.
As soon as it left her hand, the black card vanished into the air, piercing through the world's boundaries.
Like a streak of black lightning, it darted into the void, drifting freely through endless emptiness.
Once it located a world, it would dive in and search for a person of great destiny—inviting them into the chat group.
Moments later, three of the cards, moving faster than thought, found new worlds.
The remaining two were devoured by the void and disintegrated.
...
Worldview: Tree-Sea Multiverse
Teyvat Continent.
Liyue.
The retired Geo Archon, now living under the name Zhongli, was sipping tea in a teahouse, listening to a storyteller.
"At that time in Liyue, great sea demons stirred…"
Whoosh—
A black card suddenly appeared on the table in front of Zhongli.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the black card, Zhongli's pupils contracted. A powerful aura almost burst forth from his body, but fortunately, he reacted quickly and reined it in.
"An object not from Teyvat... Could it have come from beyond the false heavens?"
Zhongli gazed at the card, sensing the aura that clearly did not belong to this world, and began speculating about its origin.
Feeling a strong pull from the card, he cautiously reached out and placed his hand on it, preparing to pick it up.
As one of the Seven Archons of the mortal world, and one of the oldest gods, Zhongli had absolute confidence that even if danger arose, he could handle it.
But just as his hand touched the card, words suddenly appeared on its surface, and an ethereal voice echoed in his mind:
[Respected bearer of great destiny, do you wish to save your broken world? Do you wish to revive lost loved ones? Do you wish to gain the power to protect everything you cherish…? Join us, and all shall be possible — Dimensional Chat Group.]
"Just an invitation? How intriguing… So they want to invite me into their organization?"
After hearing the voice and sensing the images transmitted by the card, as well as the clear option to refuse, Zhongli began weighing the pros and cons.
The visions displayed showed a battlefield where a woman radiating holy light casually waved her hand—and fallen warriors immediately rose again, charging once more into battle.
In the starry void, a colossal stone spirit resembling a celestial body sat solemnly in the cosmos, wielding a golden shield to block an outer-world invasion.
In a shattered world, people screamed and fled across ruined lands, yet could not escape the slaughter of mechanical calamities…
Just as despair settled in, a golden-haired boy in armor stepped forward. With unwavering faith to save the world, he unleashed a world-shattering attack at the cost of his own life. And thus, the world was saved.
As he watched each vision, and felt the immense power they conveyed, Zhongli no longer doubted whether the invitation could deliver on its promises.
Instead, he began to ponder: "As expected of a variable. If I join... will it be good or bad for Liyue?"
He had to admit, the temptation of the invitation stirred his heart. Yet his responsibility toward Liyue made him hesitate.
"Emperor~!"
A sob broke his train of thought. Snapping back to reality, Zhongli heard that the storyteller had just reached the part about the Archon's battles.
Some Liyue citizens, reminded of the Archon's death and feeling like orphans without their guardian, were overcome with sorrow and cried out.
Witnessing this, a flicker of nostalgia and warmth passed through Zhongli's eyes—like a parent watching their children grow up.
"So be it. Since I've already let go, let me live once for myself."
Thinking of his fallen friends and his own worn-out body, Zhongli finally yielded to temptation and decided to join the chat group.
"Besides… maybe it'll lead to something better."
Recalling the Heavenly Principles' schemes, Zhongli couldn't help but form a new idea in his mind.
As he confirmed, the black card instantly dissolved into a ball of light.
Before he could react, the light orb darted into his forehead and vanished.
...
[Ding~ Congratulations! New member "Wandering in the Mortal World" has joined the chat group. Everyone, give him a warm welcome!]
[Ding~ Congratulations! New member "Crimson Plume Immortal" has joined the chat group. Everyone, give her a warm welcome!]
[Ding~ Invitation failed. "Abandoned Heaven Emperor" has declined the chat group's invitation.]
With the three announcements, the once-busy group chat fell silent for a brief second.
Then, within moments, messages began flooding in like a storm.
(End of Chapter)