"I'm just here to stream, not to be the nation's father-in-law."
Ken was speechless.
A game preview, and the entire internet calls me father-in-law? Not a scenario he'd planned for.
Others become the nation's boyfriend; he's become the nation's father-in-law? He was only in his twenties and suddenly had so many "good sons"?
These players sure knew how to play.
Still, seeing the viewer count climb, Ken relaxed. Genshin's heat was strong and player stickiness high; otherwise there wouldn't be so many waiting on the dot.
As online viewers broke a million, Ken thought of Hu Tao.
Good thing that wild girl wasn't on Blue Star tonight—if she saw this many viewers, she'd start shouting Wangsheng Funeral Parlor slogans.
When the chat calmed a bit, Ken introduced himself.
"Good evening, Travelers. Let me introduce myself. I'm Ken, founder of Star Dome and creator of Genshin. It's my first time meeting you tonight, and I..."
Following the prepared script, he spoke leisurely.
Before he could finish, the chat flooded again.
["You need no intro. Ever since you had your arms around my Barbara and Klee, I dug up eight generations of your family tree."]
["Even if you turned to ash, I'd recognize you. My Jean—sob sob."]
["Hey! Watch how you talk to my esteemed father-in-law, you curs! Father-in-law, I'm different—I just finished my master's. Can I work at your company? Wives aren't important—what matters is I love to work."]
["Hurry up! Where's my Venti? My Barbatos! Bring him out!"]
"..."
To players, Ken was the most familiar stranger. They'd known his name since the first promotion of Genshin.
And he'd been on camera often after that, so no intro needed.
But... reading the chat, Ken's face darkened.
These jellyfish had dug up his whole background? Then again, that was normal—public info was on wikis, and a bit of effort got you more. A public figure's file wasn't a secret.
Thinking that, he felt better. Still, looking at the rowdy chat, he felt a naughty urge: "You have thirty seconds to say some nice things to make me stay. Otherwise, don't expect to see Barbatos tonight."
Viewers: "..."
They were roaring with excitement, and suddenly they were grinding their teeth.
Mr. Ken, you troll!
Threatening players with the Anemo Archon?
Is that appropriate for a game company boss?!
They seethed, but their bodies were honest. Soon, the chat flipped back to "father-in-law."
"..."
Ken sighed. These brats were truly cheeky. It seemed the "national father-in-law" title wasn't going away soon.
But whatever.
The cockier they were now, the more they'd hurt later.
Venti was on the way.
"Alright, on to business. Tonight's preview focuses on new content next version. First, the banner."
"The current banner is Klee. Next banner is Venti—Barbatos, the Anemo Archon. I'll demo his basic gameplay."
Ken logged into an internal account and took Venti to a Hilichurl camp.
"Don't get blown away~"
With the boy's gentle voice, Anemo surged and vacuumed the mobs together.
Viewers widened their eyes to watch.
Teasing Ken was fun, but new content was better.
["Interesting—Anemo Archon grouping enemies? Looks like a support."]
["Eh hey? He can hover? Mountain climbing just got easier."]
["Venti, my Venti... my Lord Barbatos... must pull!"]
["I'm Barbatos's dog! Father-in-law, give me Venti!"]
["Bro, you're a real perv... this is the internet, not the wilderness."]
"..."
As Ken showcased Venti's skills, many were hooked.
Of course, it wasn't just the gameplay—it was the Archon's identity and Venti's own charm.
"For Venti, we made a twenty-minute PV. I'll share it soon. Now the second new feature: a new roaming boss at the Mondstadt–Liyue border..."
As he spoke, the screen showed the new boss.
This "roaming boss" appeared entirely by chance. It spawned near the border of Mondstadt and Liyue; with luck, you might see it out and about around midnight.
Killing it dropped a random haul of Primogems and a five-star artifact—solid rewards.
But as Ken read the description, something felt off.
Why did this boss sound a bit like him?
He knew staff had brainstormed to add a new boss. Since it didn't affect the main story, he hadn't objected.
Adding a roaming boss besides chests was fresh for players and a nice touch for Genshin's faithful adaptation.
But the description looked too familiar. He pulled up the boss model, and his face grew darker.
The new boss wore Liyue-style attire, tall and graceful. The face was breathtakingly handsome, like a noble scion from a mysterious land—but wasn't that face and build a bit too much like him?
Even the boss's name was similar.
"KEN".
Ken's mouth twitched. He shot a chilly look at the employees nearby.
No wonder before the stream, when he wanted more details, they kept deflecting, calling it a surprise for him and hoping he'd witness it with the players.
The designer in charge had even sworn this boss would boost daily active users, asking Ken to just read the script.
It was just a mini-boss, and with that assurance, Ken hadn't looked closely.
Turns out... they were waiting to ambush him?
You call this a surprise? Making your own boss show up in-game with a health bar?
As Ken's face darkened, the viewers got more excited.
To them, this was a huge surprise—instantly detonating the atmosphere.
["Hahahaha holy crap! Star Dome, you really know how to play. Mr. Ken's got a health bar in-game?"]
["Ten billion HP? And two phases? So twenty billion total? I'll say it now—even two hundred billion—if Mr. Ken shows a health bar, I'll scrape him to death with a butterknife!"]
["Not gonna lie... Mr. Ken is stupidly handsome. As a man I'm swooning. Once the patch drops, I'm hunting this boss on sight!"]
["This is the biggest surprise of the preview. Mr. Ken's health bar, hahaha... Watch me poke you to death with a rusty sword!"]
["Brothers, settle your scores! Mr. Ken, face my blade!"]
["From now on, Star Dome is my god. They put their own boss into the game—and the look on Mr. Ken says he had no clue... Nice. Don't get fired tomorrow for stepping into the office with your left foot first!"]
"..."
If Genshin players were most jealous of anyone, it wasn't the whales—it was Ken.
Every time they saw him palling around with top-tier cosplayers, they ground their teeth.
Especially with the female cosers—their hearts bled.
Those cosplays were too perfect—shattering the barrier between worlds.
So whenever Ken hung out with them, it felt like he was "defiling their wives," and they wanted to smash his windows.
Now that Ken had a health bar in-game, this was more exciting than a new banner.
Players were itching to rush the patch and poke him to death with their little iron swords.
No matter the HP, they'd butter-knife him to death.
Reading the chat, Ken's gaze toward his staff grew colder.
They hunched, not daring to look back, yet felt an icy chill on their backs. Cough-cough—spooky.
Still, though the look was cold, Ken wasn't truly angry.
He'd planned to do this eventually.
Putting himself in the game would absolutely boost engagement.
He just hadn't expected his thoughtful staff to beat him to it.
At least they had some conscience and made him look great. Not as handsome as in real life, but a solid seventy percent likeness.
Still, seeing the delighted chat, Ken felt a little petty. He smiled kindly: "Mm... the roaming boss is simple—pure luck."
"If you're lucky, you'll meet him at midnight. If not, you might never see him."
"Next is the main event—the Venti PV we carefully prepared. I hope after watching it, you'll all sleep well."
He switched the stream to Venti's PV.
Though everyone was still riding the high of Ken's health bar reveal, they settled in to watch the PV.
With a gentle intro, music rose.
Along with it: a lush green tree, a blue sky, and a boy playing beneath the branches.
["The wind among the trees is nice. It carries a scent I like."]
["The birds, the poems, and the city-states of Teyvat all represent the will of freedom and songs of joy."]
["In Teyvat, there's no poem I can't sing."]
Venti's voice in the video was light and bright—like the happiest winds of the world condensed, distant and soulful.
But as that airy voice fell,
the blue sky vanished, replaced by dim snowstorms and a city swallowed by gales. The wind howled through ice, the city trapped by walls of wind—like a lifeless flower—utterly unlike today's free, singing Mondstadt.
Seeing this, viewers sensed something wrong.
The beginning was so lively, but why did the succeeding images feel so mournful... like Old Mondstadt from the story.
["About 2,600 years ago, the world had not yet been divided among the Seven, and I was but a wisp among a thousand winds—no godhood, no human form."]
["This form, actually—I borrowed it from a friend."]
["I've walked this world in his likeness for 2,600 years."]
The video continued. As the snow peeled back the veil of Old Mondstadt, Venti's youthful yet soothing voice flowed from the screen.
That gentle tone seemed to carry everyone across millennia back to a land buried in ice and wind.
The windborne sprite, the boy singing in the city-state—all came whirling back.
Even the densest viewers sensed what was coming.
["Star Dome, can you be human? This is a preview—where are the cheerful bits? Why are you stabbing us?"]
["Lord Barbatos is always so gentle... I know it's a knife, but sorry, I still can't look away!"]
["You guys... I've finished Mondstadt's story, and just these lines make me want to cry... are you serious?"]
["Viewers hit two million... Two million people watching you stab us—twenty minutes long. I'd like to punch you."]
"..."
Though they complained about the knife, no one left.
And what followed brought many to tears.
...