The mobile game hall Lin Yu had opened was, in fact, quite spacious.
The main hall, where customers experienced the games, only took up about a third of the total area.
The first floor also had two lounges, and the second floor held another four rooms.
One of these rooms was the office Lin Yu had designed for himself.
Its window was half-open, looking out directly onto Cider Lake.
Lin Yu planned to use the System's development function to design something akin to an internet cafe's membership login system. Relying solely on manual timekeeping would inevitably lead to errors.
He could already foresee an explosive surge in customers, to the point where the fifty machines in the hall would likely not be enough.
Therefore, this member account system needed to be designed and implemented as soon as possible.
The system wasn't particularly complex. Lin Yu spent just over an hour creating it. After a quick test confirmed there were no issues, he planned to install it tonight so it could be put into use.
---o---
After heading downstairs, he happened to see Lisa greeting Eula.
"It seems Acting Grand Master Jean was a bit too harsh with you."
"But this might be a good thing," Lisa mused. "This place, this owner, and this mobile game… they all hide some incredible secrets. Perhaps you might have some unexpected gains during your time here."
Lin Yu approached with a smile.
"Miss Lisa, did I just hear you talking about me behind my back?"
"You must have misheard, Mr. Lin," Lisa replied with a charming smile.
She then quickly went to her seat to log into the game.
Ever since she had sensed his unfathomable power two days ago, Lisa felt an indescribable pressure whenever she faced Lin Yu.
This pressure also motivated her to push further ahead with her exploration progress in the game.
She was determined to clear the game's story as soon as possible and uncover the secrets surrounding its owner.
---o---
A new prologue was about to begin.
After completing a series of quests, her Adventure Rank had reached ten, unlocking the next Archon Quest.
Lisa maneuvered her character back to the city of Mondstadt.
On the way to the Knights of Favonius headquarters, she happened upon a scene where Jean was speaking with a Fatui diplomat.
"So, that is our position."
"If you cannot immediately eliminate the rampaging beast, then perhaps you should hand over Mondstadt's defenses to the Fatui."
"Mondstadt's Dragon Disaster can be dealt with, as long as you let us handle that beast…"
The Fatui diplomat's tone was incredibly aggressive.
"'Beast'?"
Jean was clearly angered by those two words.
"I hope your nation's diplomat can adopt a more professional attitude."
"You wish to 'handle' one of Mondstadt's Four Winds? I don't want to hear such madness spoken in front of a Knight of Favonius."
Faced with Jean's fury, the Fatui diplomat showed no intention of backing down, instead letting out a series of mocking laughs.
"Heh… hehehe… It's not as mad as you make it out to be."
"Very well. This concludes today's negotiations."
"I will… record this faithfully."
So, the Fatui were pressuring Jean.
In the real world, the beginnings of a similar situation were already emerging, though the Fatui had not yet become so brazen.
Lisa figured that in the game's storyline, Mondstadt had already suffered an attack from Stormterror, which was why these people had become so arrogant.
If the real Jean were to see this scene, she would certainly empathize deeply.
After a brief conversation with Jean, who simply explained the Fatui's origins, a notification for the true start of the new storyline appeared on the screen.
[Prologue, Act II: For a Tomorrow Without Tears, has begun.]
Upon returning to the Knights of Favonius headquarters, the Traveler took out a dark red crystal.
This was a peculiar substance she had found on the ground after her encounter with Stormterror.
Inside the headquarters office, Lisa's in-game character was also present.
The primary objective now was to determine if there was any possibility of saving Stormterror.
Facing pressure from all sides, Jean had to make a decision quickly.
Even if that decision was to subjugate Stormterror.
Of course, this was the outcome the Knights least wanted to see.
Perhaps this crystal could provide some clues.
However, Lisa (the character) couldn't immediately identify its origin. She only discovered upon touching it that it contained a corrupting power that repelled, entangled, and annihilated elemental energy.
Ultimately, it was decided that the Traveler should hold onto the crystal.
Watching the plot unfold to this point, perhaps it was a case of "the bystander sees more than the player." With her god-like perspective, the real Lisa had already formed a hypothesis in her mind.
"So, Stormterror became so violent because it was infected by this corrupting power…"
It seemed she was beginning to see a glimpse of the truth behind Stormterror's betrayal of Mondstadt.
And then, the plot took a new turn.
After leaving the Knights' headquarters, the Traveler and Paimon spotted a green figure running through the street in front of them.
Upon closer inspection, they confirmed that this "green fellow" was the very same person who was speaking with Stormterror in the Whispering Woods that day!
Immediately, they began to give chase.
They pursued him all the way from the headquarters to the Cathedral plaza.
The green figure finally stopped running. He stood beneath the statue of the Anemo Archon, took out a lyre, and began to play, accompanying the music with a poem.
On the phone's screen, as his poem was recited, a series of images appeared, like pages from a graphic novel.
"The story I have to tell begins in ancient times, when the gods still walked the earth…"
"The Dragon of the Sky sought an answer… and heeded a call…"
"A battle to the death with an evil dragon… a clash… swallowing its poisoned blood, falling into a deep slumber… only to awaken many years later, unrecognized by all…"
The poem wasn't long, but it revealed a great deal of important information.
An ordinary person might have simply appreciated it as a common poem, but to Lisa, it was something extraordinary!
She was the most erudite librarian of the Academia, a person who had thoroughly read the Book of Dragons.
Her understanding of history was far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Therefore, Lisa keenly perceived the truth.
This was no mere poem fabricated by a bard. It was a true narrative epic!