After ending the stream, Ken didn't immediately check the online reaction. With how exaggerated the hype was tonight, the new banner's revenue couldn't possibly be bad.
Sure, Zhongli's image took a hit tonight, but Genshin players can handle that.
Their own fanworks are way more deranged.
Besides, if the official doesn't hurry up and create fan-content that emotionally kills the players, it'll be the players' fan-content killing the official later. Ken knew Genshin players' talent far too well.
Even though this was Blue Star, not the riotously creative previous life, plenty of excellent fanworks had already appeared.
The official had to walk the fanwork path, so the players would have no paths left. Both fanwork and cursed remixes had to be grabbed with both hands.
"How did the stream feel?"
Leaving with Zhongli and Azhdaha, Ken asked on the way.
Zhongli had clearly been enjoying himself while dancing, so the experience should've been pretty good.
"It feels rather miraculous. All in all, not bad."
Zhongli looked out at the high-rises, golden eyes faintly glimmering.
Compared to how uncomfortable Azhdaha felt, Zhongli thought he adapted very well to Blue Star.
The rhythm of life here might be completely different from Liyue's, but it had its own charm.
Plus, with Ken's authorization, whenever the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor needed him for important business, he could go back directly from Ken's villa.
Running back and forth between both sides didn't tire him at all; if anything, he found it more and more pleasant.
"You certainly seemed to be enjoying yourself while dancing."
Thinking of Zhongli twisting away on stream, Azhdaha's head still buzzed.
He really couldn't imagine what Morax had gone through these thousand years.
Was this erosion?
Azhdaha couldn't figure it out. In the past, Zhongli's methods were decisive, even somewhat wild and arrogant, but not THIS kind of wild.
"Looks like Azhdaha won't be getting over this hurdle anytime soon."
Ken also felt amused. Instead of driving straight home, he turned off to a nearby night market so Zhongli and Azhdaha could really experience Blue Star's nighttime food stalls.
And grab some snacks to go with alcohol later.
Azhdaha, who had just been grumbling inside, found his attention drawn away by the rows of street food.
Whether it tasted good was secondary. It was the bustling atmosphere and characteristic long streets of Rabbit Country that piqued his curiosity.
While the three of them strolled, photos of them had already been snapped by passers-by and posted online.
...
Given how perfectly the Genshin PV stream had wrapped up, the whole net exploded again.
Twitter's trending page was basically carpet-bombed.
#ZhongliUp#
#A Leisurely Journey Through the Mortal World#
#GenshinPreviewEvent#
#FuneralRockCoffinDance#
#The Geo Archon's Retired Life#
The trending list was obviously dominated.
And they hit the hot search with pinpoint speed and force, making all sorts of traffic idols frown.
They were used to fighting rival fandoms for the trending list, but now they also had to fight a game?
And still lose?
Is a 2D game really this popular?
Do players really prefer fantasizing about fictional characters over looking at real-life people?
The traffic stars tormented by Genshin couldn't sleep, even in the middle of the night.
Meanwhile, the Twitter comments were full of people joyfully playing with memes. In the middle of all that, a new wave of posts suddenly shot up.
[Ran into Mr. Ken and Zhongli at a night market, they're so, so handsome… The cosplayer looks EXACTLY like Zhongli. My skin was too thin, I didn't dare ask for his Number, so here's a sneaky photo to feed you all a little candy. (image)]
[What the—Which night market is this? I'm going there right now. Who's the guy next to him? He looks pretty handsome too.]
[Probably staff. I'm legit jealous crying.]
[You sure this isn't Zhongli walking out of the game? It's literally identical!]
[Say no more! I'm heading to that night market immediately!]
[...]
Because Azhdaha's human form hadn't been made in-game, everyone assumed the guy beside them was just staff and didn't think too much about it.
Quite a few people recognized the night market's location and eagerly ran over.
Unfortunately, they didn't find who they wanted.
…
By then, Ken, Zhongli, and Azhdaha were already back at the villa. The night market trip had only been to casually sample some Blue Star snacks, so they were never going to linger long.
And with a bunch of fangirls constantly taking pictures, the three of them could all feel it; better to pack up some food and buy better side dishes to bring home and celebrate.
While the online discussion was burning like wildfire, Ken and Zhongli were drinking.
Maybe because of the stream, Zhongli was in a very reflective mood. Ken drank while listening to Zhongli and Azhdaha reminisce about the past.
Today's video had stirred up a lot of memories for Zhongli.
The old friends of long ago seemed to become vivid again in his mind. Those days of fighting side by side flashed past like a lantern show, impossible to brush away.
"That magic tool I gave you that day originally belonged to the Dust God, Guizhong."
Zhongli held his cup, golden eyes tinged with loneliness.
He remembered that once-lively and bright god and couldn't help but feel regret.
A woman that brilliant and beautiful had still vanished in the brutality of the Archon War. This had always been a knot in Madame Ping and Cloud Retainer's hearts—only they expressed it differently.
And all the adepti who fell during the war had once been his comrades in arms, and in the end all vanished into the rolling sands of time.
Even gods have many regrets when they live in the mortal world. A long lifespan means watching friend after friend leave, and being completely powerless to stop it.
Seeing Zhongli's slightly melancholic expression, Ken didn't interrupt.
Having lived so long, whenever Zhongli faced the people he was either the majestic, solemn Geo Archon protecting Liyue, or the calm, steady consultant at Wangsheng. He might occasionally express a bit of emotion, but he rarely grew this wistful.
"Back then, war was everywhere. The Vortex God and the Ocean God were constantly fighting. In order to seize the position of Archon, their war dragged countless mortals into it."
"To protect at least a corner of this world, I, too, chose to compete for the divine throne. The adepti followed me, marching east and west, nearly traversing all of Liyue."
"It was in that war that Guili Plains was ravaged. Guizhong could not defeat the enemy. By the time the adepti arrived, Guili Plains had already been consumed by the flames, and only her corpse remained."
Zhongli's voice was calm, but his eyes held endless regret.
He'd always known how cruel the Archon War was and how large the sacrifices would be, but knowing it didn't mean he could accept his closest friends falling.
Even now, when he thought of their faces and their laughter, he couldn't help but feel sorrow.
Living in the mortal world too long, he could only recall them in his memories.
"Do you know about the Book of Life?"
Seeing Zhongli so lost in thought, Ken suddenly asked.
Whether it was the Dust God Guizhong or the fallen adepti—if they had the Book of Life, there'd be a chance to revive them and snap Mihoyo's knives in half.
"The Book of Life?" Zhongli thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Never heard of it."
Azhdaha added, "I have never heard of it either."
Erosion might blur parts of their memories, but Zhongli would remember anything truly crucial.
Right now, the erosion hadn't reached an irreparable point.
"Then never mind."
Ken took another drink, inwardly pondering.
If even Zhongli didn't know of it, does it really exist in Teyvat? Or is it something that only exists in the system's lottery?
Or maybe it was related to Celestia?
But Celestia's ruler was currently asleep. Otherwise Ken really would be afraid the system might invite it over.
...
At the same time.
Jade Chamber.
The ink-black night sky wrapped around the floating palace in the heavens.
Ningguang slowly woke from her sleep. She sat up, eyes still a little hazy, the soft quilt sliding down her body.
It was a long while before she fully came to herself.
The drowsiness faded, and the sharp, capable light returned to her red eyes. She looked around, then lowered her head to check herself, and her fine brows furrowed slightly.
"Creak—"
Barefoot, Ningguang walked to the door and opened the gates of the Jade Chamber.
Outside, the stars were bright and the moon hung high. The cool night wind stirred her hair and left her instantly wide awake.
"You two still haven't gone to rest?"
Seeing her two trusted aides standing outside, Ningguang asked in surprise.
Their work was hard, but usually they had a fixed time off.
She couldn't work them to death.
Baishi smiled and said:
"When Mr. Ken left, he told us to guard the place well and not let anyone disturb you, so of course we had to keep watch."
Seeing Ningguang's radiant look, the two secretaries felt genuinely happy for her.
But Ningguang herself was a bit annoyed.
She had been like that, and Ken had just left with no reaction at all?
Does that guy not like mature onee-san types like her?
"When did he leave?" Ningguang asked expressionlessly.
Baiwen smiled:
"At dusk."
Ningguang: "..."
If she remembered correctly, she'd fallen asleep around dusk.
Because of that immortal wine, she'd been a bit tipsy, and somewhere in the conversation she just drifted off.
Which meant that after she fell asleep, Ken put her on the bed and then simply left.
Ningguang suddenly felt a little heart-struck.
Was her charm really that lacking?
He just LEFT?
Then again, if Ken had really taken advantage while she was drunk, she wouldn't have been happy either, given her personality.
Who doesn't like a gentleman?
But if he's too much of a gentleman, it also feels weird.
In the end, Ningguang glanced at her two trusted aides and said helplessly:
"You two go rest."
After the two secretaries left, Ningguang stood there staring at the brilliant night over Liyue Harbor, feeling frustrated for the first time.
Men's thoughts are really hard to read.
Who knows what that guy is doing now.
...
The rain doesn't know spring has passed; with a single sleep one finds that summer is deep.
Seven days slipped by in a flash.
Ken slowly opened his eyes from drunken sleep. The white curtains rippled with the breeze, and outside the bright floor-to-ceiling windows were lush green plum trees.
The immortal wine's aftertaste really was rich enough.
After drinking with Zhongli and Azhdaha, he'd actually been drunk for another seven days.
Rubbing his temples to drive away the remaining drowsiness, Ken washed up, took his breakfast, and sat down in front of the computer.
The new Genshin version had already gone live.
Dragonspine was out, and Zhongli's banner had officially launched.
Checking the finalized revenue numbers for Barbatos's banner, Ken was a bit surprised: it had outperformed Klee's banner by a full 40%.
Of course, that was also because when Barbatos's banner launched, Genshin's popularity had reached an unprecedented peak and there were far more players than at launch.
But even taking that into account, the combined domestic and overseas revenue beating it by that much was still a bit unexpected.
He went through all the work reports.
He saw that in the past few days, Inazuma's map had been completed and was now in testing. Once the tests were fine, they'd start a small internal test in a few days, then wait for the official release.
After checking the summaries, Ken headed out to the warehouse in the suburbs to take a bunch of goods, restocked the specialty shops in Mondstadt and Liyue Harbor, and then returned to Blue Star.
"Maybe I should try a new invitation…"
Since Inazuma's map was done, his summons might start pulling in guests from Inazuma.
And Ken was very interested in Inazuma's many characters.
Though the first one he invited… hopefully wouldn't be Raiden Ei.
Given how reclusive she was, if he suddenly summoned her here, there was an 80% chance she'd draw her sword.
Ken wasn't worried about being hurt himself; he was worried the commotion would be too big and cause other trouble.
As his thought stirred, a vortex-shaped door quietly bloomed into existence.
...