"Bro, this is way too real!"
Entering Liyue Harbor, the streets teemed with an astonishing number of pedestrians, each engrossed in their own affairs. The stalls overflowed with a dazzling array of goods, creating a scene so vivid it felt impossible to be any more authentic.
"Damn, Genshin Impact keeps blowing my mind! They're really throwing money at this. These NPCs are even more insane than the ones in anime. They must be losing a fortune with this level of investment!"
Controlling Lumine, Guojia approached an NPC, scrutinizing their character model and expressions. After careful observation, she concluded:
Mihoyo is truly burning money!
As they continued through Liyue Harbor, the screen suddenly went dark, and a short animated cutscene played.
It showed Lumine and Paimon strolling and chatting. Paimon flitted between Lumine's left and right sides, occasionally performing mid-air somersaults.
Suddenly, Paimon's eyes lit up, her attention caught by a nearby stall. Only Lumine continued walking and talking to the empty air.
It took Lumine a while to realize Paimon was gone. Her expression immediately shifted, and she stalked over to the stall to find Paimon happily buying grilled fish.
This little episode, set against the familiar backdrop of Teyvat's architecture and cultural style, had the live stream audience in stitches.
[Paimon is still Paimon—she can't resist food for even a moment.]
[I'm growing to love this little one more and more. She's just too adorable!]
[Ever since Paimon got that 100 million Mora from Rola, she hasn't saved a single Mora. In so many quest scenes, Paimon has been secretly snacking when Lumine wasn't looking.]
[Wait, weren't we supposed to split that 100 million Mora with Paimon? How come my Mora count hasn't increased at all?]
[Ahem, that Mora was for Paimon and Lumine to eat better and improve their lives, not for us to enhance our Artifacts or level up.]
[Sob I miss my Rola waifu! She didn't even make it into the gacha pool! After the main quest, she just vanished without a trace...]
[Sigh Another day spent pining for our little rich girl. Game devs, Mihoyo, right? You guys are terrible at making money! Just throw Rola into any gacha pool—I don't care which one—and if the revenue isn't sky-high, I'll change my name to Mihoyo!]
Guojia glanced at the audience, who had veered off-topic mid-conversation, and her thoughts drifted to Rola, the spirited young girl she had grown quite fond of.
The one-handed sword Rola had gifted her now served as the protagonist's signature weapon, transforming the once-mechanic-less hero into a formidable DPS powerhouse.
The elemental sword slashes tearing into monsters felt truly satisfying!
It was a pity that even in the game, characters only appeared during quests.
Mihoyo really dropped the ball on that.
Ahem, I'm getting off track.
Refocusing on the main quest, Guojia saw that Lumine and Paimon were already enjoying their meal.
Amidst the in-game bustle, a new cutscene began.
On a vibrant, bustling street, a valiant female general strode past Lumine and Paimon, her footsteps swift yet unhurried. Several imposing soldiers, radiating power and authority, followed closely behind.
The moment Guojia saw the general, her heartstrings tugged sharply, her pulse suddenly racing.
What was this feeling...?
Hmm... it must be like a modern, traditionally-minded girl encountering a legendary general—a figure of ultimate beauty and martial prowess, akin to Hua Mulan or Mu Guiying!
"Hah~ She's so cool! Folks, I'm genuinely smitten this time—it's absolutely real!!"
Unlike seeing Angie at the foot of Dragonspine, this woman's appearance perfectly matched Guojia's ideal image of a female general: her appearance, her bearing—everything!
She looked like a reliable powerhouse at first glance!
Many female viewers in the live stream shared Guojia's excitement, thrilled to see such a female general.
The male viewers, however, were a different story. The chat flooded with "Wife!" comments, making Guojia slightly embarrassed.
[Ahhh! Perfect XP fodder! Who is this character?!]
[This is exactly how I imagined a female general would look—stunningly beautiful and fiercely authoritative!]
[I declare—another addition to the harem!]
[Have to admit, Mihoyo has skill—their character modelers are top-tier!]
(Jiang Mumu: Ahem After all the time we spent modeling her, what else did you expect?)
[But why white hair? If they were basing her on Chinese culture, wouldn't black hair have been more fitting? Still, the white hair looks amazing!]
[White hair and anime are a classic pairing. In fact, too much black hair in anime can actually look a bit off. It makes sense, and I personally think white hair is gorgeous! It always leaves me completely mesmerized!]
Even after the animation ended, Guojia still looked like she wanted more.
"So that's Mu Qingge! She oversees the Millelith? Holy crap, Family, Qingge must hold a really high position!"
[Hehe, Liyue's names just sound so familiar to me. Mu Qingge—what a beautiful name! Surname Mu... hehe...]
[I remember the top power structure in Liyue is the Qixing. 'Mu Wife' is one of the Qixing, specifically Kaiyang, the one in charge of military affairs—the kind with real authority. Tsk tsk...]
[I disagree with calling her 'Mu Wife,' but I agree with everything else. We still have Rola's letter to deliver, remember? If the streamer progresses the story quickly, we'll meet Mu Qingge soon.]
Guojia thought the same. She sped through the storyline, eager to meet the female general she had just seen.
-
Liyue.
Yujing Terrace.
The Rite of Descension was about to begin. The Qixing were all in attendance, and the entire venue was packed shoulder to shoulder, everyone holding their breath in anticipation.
Ningguang stepped up to the ceremonial table and began casting her spell.
Her Geo Elemental Power surged forth, as if announcing to the Geo Archon:
We are prepared! We humbly welcome your descent!
Dark clouds blanketed the sky, and thunder roared. Ningguang's expression grew grave—this was unlike any Rite of Descension she had ever witnessed!
Before she could react, a Giant Dragon plummeted from the black clouds, crashing to the ground with a deafening thud right before everyone's eyes.
In the original game, the dragon body crafted by the Geo Archon had been relatively small, lacking the same overwhelming presence. But here, both in the real world and in the System-enhanced version of the game, the dragon body was colossal!
Despite the vast crowd gathered on Yujing Terrace, a large open space had been left in the center. The dragon body, upon landing, nearly filled this entire space.
Ningguang and her three Secretaries narrowly avoided being crushed.
The crowd erupted in chaos as they witnessed the scene firsthand. Many Liyue citizens were overcome with emotion, and the area descended into pandemonium.
"Millelith, secure the area!"
Mu Qingge's voice, amplified by Elemental Power, carried across the crowd, and the Millelith soldiers immediately sprang into action.
Having issued her command, Mu Qingge raced to the Geo Archon's dragon form at her absolute limit.
With a swift wave of her hand, Ningguang declared her now-famous words: "The Geo Archon has been assassinated! Seal off the entire area!"
Mu Qingge's pupils trembled, and her hands shook violently.
"The... the Geo Archon?!"
It was unimaginable. Mu Qingge had never even considered such a scenario possible!
This was genuine emotion.
Ever since these "personas" had appeared on the Teyvat Continent, they had been relentlessly following their predetermined fates.
One could say they were acting, but until their deaths, they would continue the performance!
For only by fully immersing themselves in their roles could they deceive the Gods.
To fail to embody their characters with genuine emotion was to fail as actors. Even if they knew the truth, at least for now, these "personas" remained oblivious.
And since they were oblivious, according to their established personas, they were bound to react this way.