"Ehhhh..."
Ling Ke was currently a bit dazed.
After entering the Dimensional Chat Group, he was surprised to find that, aside from himself, there wasn't a single soul in the group. He was the very first member.
To be honest, this result was a bit of a letdown. He had been looking forward to seeing which familiar faces would pop up, and finding an empty room felt like a bit of an anticlimax.
However, that disappointment vanished into thin air the moment the Dimensional Chat Group automatically designated him, the sole member, as the Group Leader.
Yes, that string of persistent beeps from earlier had been the system notifying him of his promotion to the top spot.
There was no denying the massive gap in status between a regular member and the Group Leader. No matter how good the interpersonal relationships were, the hierarchy was real. Otherwise, internet culture wouldn't have coined the term Permission Dog to half-joke and half-complain about moderators.
Right now...
"Umu, umu... so that's how it works."
Having become the Group Leader the moment he joined, Ling Ke used his new authority to grasp the basic functions of this Dimensional Chat Group.
First, the group currently only had three functions unlocked: Member List, Group Announcement, and Group Live Stream.
The Member List function came with sub-options to invite new members and manage existing ones. The invitation feature had two modes: Cross-World Random Invite and Face-to-Face Invite.
The latter could be used by the Group Leader without limit, while the former could only be used once every seven days.
As for the Announcement and Live Stream functions... they were exactly what they sounded like.
And finally...
"...More functions will unlock as the activity index of the group members increases."
Ling Ke nodded to himself. This was pretty much identical to the traditional Chat Group cheats. Very easy to understand.
"Well then..."
Since he had already finished tinkering with the Abstract Ability System for the day, it was time to start managing his Dimensional Chat Group.
Without hesitation, Ling Ke opened the member function and activated the Cross-World Random Invite. Might as well get the cooldown started as soon as possible.
Before long...
[Beep! Congratulations to the newcomer, Herrscher of Rice, for joining the group.]
Seeing this notification pop up on the virtual interface that only he could see...
"Hoh~ a familiar face indeed."
Ling Ke pondered. He just don't know if this so-called Herrscher of Rice was from Honkai Impact 2nd, or the third installment where the plot retcons itself every other chapter.
Herrscher of Rice... honestly, the random IDs in this Dimensional Chat Group were quite the riot. If this chat group and his Abstract Ability System both had assistant spirits, those two would probably be best buddies.
That was a tangent. In any case, there were only a handful of people in the multiverse who could be linked to the title Herrscher of Rice. And most of them were famous actresses from the MiHoYo universe.
Under that premise...
"I just hope it's not the version I dislike the most," Ling Ke muttered to himself.
Since the Dimensional Chat Group could pull people from across the heavens, there was always a chance he'd run into someone he didn't click with.
Ling Ke considered himself a fairly easygoing person... well, actually, after being locked in the Shackling Prison for weeks due to a misunderstanding, he had become a bit irritable.
Essentially, Ling Ke hoped that the members he invited wouldn't be the type to clash with him.
Thus, Ling Ke got to work. He first used the Group Announcement function to list a series of basic rules meant to promote friendly exchange, while also providing a brief explanation of what this Dimensional Chat Group actually was.
Once that was done, he sent his first message.
[Group Leader]: Hello! Welcome, newcomer.
If you have never encountered supernatural events before, please do not panic. Stay calm.
If there is anything you don't understand, you can check the Group Announcement for a preliminary understanding of our situation.
Looking forward to your reply. @Herrscher of Rice
After typing that out, Ling Ke stopped speaking. He didn't know which version of Raiden Mei this was, nor did he know where she was in her timeline.
Under these circumstances, it was better to establish a baseline of trust before digging for intel.
To be honest, if this had been the old Ling Ke—or even the version of him that had just transmigrated—he would have been ecstatic at the chance to interact with a character he once loved. He would have felt like the luckiest guy alive.
But now, even if his imprisonment was a mistake, the reality of living in a dark, oppressive cell for weeks was very real. You only realize how much a little black room can change a person once you've experienced it yourself.
"I'm actually starting to admire guys like Hoolay, Phantylia, or even Belial," a sudden thought flashed through Ling Ke's mind.
Just then...
[Beep beep beep~]
A notification chime rang out from the chat group. Ling Ke, who had been waiting patiently, immediately looked at the screen.
[Herrscher of Rice]: Hello! Honorable Group Leader.
I have already read through the information regarding the Dimensional Chat Group.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Raiden Mei. Before today, I indeed had never encountered anything supernatural.
I am just a very ordinary high school student.
After reading this...
"Oh? An ordinary high school student?"
Ling Ke narrowed his eyes. While there were slice-of-life versions of the Honkai series, he suspected this might be one of the three legendary identities: the Far East High Schooler.
He paused for a moment. He recalled Raiden Mei always had a bit of a hidden chuunibyou streak, so...
He knew how to test her further.
[Group Leader]: Welcome to the group, Miss Raiden Mei.
This group was just founded with the goal of connecting people from different worlds to help one another.
In the future, you will see more interesting faces here.
As for now... as I mentioned, the theme is mutual aid. If there is anything you wish to do or need help with on your end, you can explain it to me in the group.
If you have no such needs, then simply chatting to pass the time is perfectly fine as well.
Clearly, Ling Ke didn't plan on immediately jumping into the trope of claiming he knew her future. Information was far too valuable to throw away like that.
And besides... he still didn't know which version of Raiden Mei this was. If he messed up and embarrassed himself, his credibility would take a massive hit. Credibility wasn't just about being a good or bad person—it was about whether or not people thought you were a competent ally or a liability.
Therefore, Ling Ke decided to take things slow.
In any case, as a prisoner, the one thing he had plenty of was time. Both the Abstract Ability System and the Dimensional Chat Group were passive machines that needed time to reach their full potential.
And during this waiting process...
"Having someone to talk to is much better than just sitting here in this dark cell staring at the walls," Ling Ke thought.