Passing through the portal, Menogias's incessant nagging finally vanished.
Lumine let out a long breath of relief.
The afternoon sunlight in the MC world was gentle, the scenery beautiful. Lumine stretched lazily, feeling utterly at ease.
"Seriously, that guy Menogias is always like that," she muttered.
"If Xiao hears him saying he's still growing, he's definitely going to lose his temper."
Alhaitham surveyed his surroundings with a complicated expression, then focused inward, sensing the power surging through his body.
His elemental energy was suppressed.
Yet in its place was a kind of pure, raw strength, something he had never experienced before.
He had a strange, irrational confidence that he could now punch a god-level attendant to death with his bare hands.
Everything around them was blocky and angular. They were standing outside an exquisitely constructed villa.
From time to time, groups of soldiers passed by, dropping off supplies before slinging arms over each other's shoulders and leaving together.
The majority were Millelith soldiers. After that came troops from Mondstadt.
There were even people from Inazuma and Snezhnaya.
So this was it…
Mondstadt's army was stationed here.
Realization dawned on Alhaitham.
He had previously wondered how Liyue could possibly accommodate over three thousand Mondstadt soldiers all at once.
The answer was simple.
They weren't in Teyvat at all.
"Amazing world, isn't it?" Lumine said with a grin, glancing at him.
"I get it, I was just as shocked the first time I came here. But now's not the time to be stunned."
"We need to find the others first."
Alhaitham still hadn't fully processed everything, mechanically following Lumine forward.
They entered Ryen's villa, more accurately, an entire manor complex.
Not far ahead stood a colossal tree reaching into the sky.
Its interior had been hollowed out, forming two rooms: one at ground level, another above, connected by a ladder.
The structure felt strangely harmonious with the surroundings.
"That's Zhongli and Xiao's place," Lumine explained patiently.
"They're neighbors. Zhongli is Morax, by the way."
"That guy absolutely insisted on staying next to Ryen's villa.
He just had to be Ryen's neighbor."
"Over there is a grassland. Nahida's Sanctuary of Surasthana was built there.
No one's inside right now, if you're interested, you can take a look later."
"Perfect timing, actually. You can draw up a layout map yourself."
Alhaitham had just nodded when the cry of a crane echoed through the air.
Moments later, a black-and-gold-feathered adeptus crane descended gracefully, transforming into human form upon landing.
After giving Alhaitham a brief glance, Cloud Retainer's peer, Mountain Shaper, said nothing further.
Since Lumine had brought him here, and Menogias had allowed passage, that meant he was an ally.
"You're back already, Lumine?" Mountain Shaper asked calmly.
"Cloud Retainer will surely be pleased."
"Is Sumeru's situation resolved?"
Lumine shook her head helplessly.
"Not yet. I just came back to check in, and to borrow some manpower.
By the way, why are you on guard duty this time? Where's Moon Carver?"
Mountain Shaper sighed.
"I lost at rock–paper–scissors. Moon Carver went to the Twilight Forest instead."
Lumine stared at him with a strange expression.
"…You didn't play rock–paper–scissors in crane form, did you?"
"Is there a problem with that?" Mountain Shaper asked sincerely.
Lumine's mouth twitched.
"They all chose scissors, didn't they?"
"No. They all chose fists."
Mountain Shaper sighed again, visibly dejected.
"Then how did you still lose?!"
Lumine looked at him in disbelief, briefly questioning his intelligence.
This guy…
Had he seriously been tricked?
Mountain Shaper scratched his head awkwardly.
"I… I used my leg."
"..."
Lumine suddenly understood everything.
She imagined the scene for a moment, then gave him a deeply sympathetic look, the kind reserved for someone hopeless.
"In any case…" Mountain Shaper coughed lightly, clearly embarrassed.
"You're here to find Ryen and the others, right? They're still in the Twilight Forest. You can head straight there."
Lumine nodded and waved.
"Got it. I'm heading out. You enjoy yourself!"
As Lumine headed straight for the Twilight Forest portal without hesitation, Mountain Shaper protested indignantly:
"What do you mean enjoy myself?! I've been diligently guarding the place this whole time!
Don't go spreading rumors to the Geo Archon and the others, this damages my reputation!"
Unfortunately, Lumine and Alhaitham had already stepped into the portal.
Whether she heard him or not was anyone's guess.
Mountain Shaper sighed in frustration.
Not far away, a Millelith soldier called out:
"Mountain Shaper! The parkour competition is about to start, everyone's waiting! Are you joining or not?"
"I'm coming! This adeptus is on the way!"
With that, the crane soared into the air, quickly following the soldiers.
As Venti would say,
Work–life balance.
The intense sensation of spatial displacement faded.
Alhaitham turned his head to examine the surroundings.
Just moments ago, it had been a sunny afternoon.
Now, in the blink of an eye, they stood enveloped in silent, endless night.
"A world… within a world?" Alhaitham said, stunned.
Lumine nodded with a smile.
"In Ryen's words, this is a dimensional world."
"It's dangerous here. There are many powerful monsters, stronger than Archons, even.
But don't worry. We don't need to deal with them."
As Lumine spoke, Alhaitham nodded, preparing to respond,
Then he turned his head.
And froze on the spot.
At this moment, Lumine looked completely different, as if she had transformed into another person.
She was clad head to toe in enchanted diamond armor, shimmering with violet light.
In her left hand was a dazzling magic staff, while her right hand held a bizarre-looking machine gun.
An RPG launcher was slung across her back, her waist wrapped with Totems of Undying and grenades.
If not for the extra staff, she would have looked exactly like the protagonist who rushes out to claim First Blood in a shooter game.
Alhaitham's gaze grew complicated.
"Hehe, better safe than sorry!"
Lumine puffed out her chest proudly and casually tossed him a diamond sword.
"Keep your Totem of Undying on you. This place is dangerous. Also, don't deliberately try to use elemental power,
in this world, even divine power doesn't mean much."
"If we run into enemies, just watch me go wild!"
Alhaitham looked at the weapons wrapped all over Lumine, each one screaming lethal danger,
then glanced down at the lonely diamond sword in his own hand.
After a moment of silence, he nodded with mixed emotions.
"…Alright."
After another pause, he asked,
"So where do we find Ryen and the others?"
Lumine pointed at a signpost ahead and grinned.
"Didn't they already write it down?"
Following her finger, Alhaitham saw bold, clear letters on the sign:
Current Progress: Snow Guardian, Proceed West
Alhaitham never expected that such a mysterious, bizarre world would rely on something so traditional and plain for navigation.
He shook his head, dispelling his helplessness, and subconsciously raised his head to check the moon to determine direction,
Then froze again.
"Don't bother," Lumine said smugly.
"In the Twilight Forest, without a map, you have zero sense of direction.
That signboard is basically useless."
She looked at Alhaitham with satisfaction.
Successfully confusing a genius made her feel like her IQ had skyrocketed.
"So… that signboard…" Alhaitham said slowly.
Lumine shrugged.
"Probably Ryen saw Venti being idle again and made him do something."
"Wait a second."
With that, Lumine remotely contacted Ryen.
The connection went through almost immediately.
What came through the line was deafening gunfire, mixed with Guizhong's loud cheers.
"Hey, Lumine, you're back? And you brought someone in, right? Who is it?"
"You've met him before. Alhaitham."
Lumine replied casually, then added,
"We're at the Twilight Forest portal entrance. There's a signboard you set up straight ahead. We go that way?"
"If you're facing the signboard, go straight left," Ryen replied.
"Walk fast, about ten minutes. On the way, watch for torches arranged in heart shapes."
Lumine frowned.
"Heart shapes?! That's disgusting, Ryen!"
"Hey!" Ryen sounded helpless.
"That was Guizhong's idea! What does it have to do with me?! Anyway, hurry up, we're wrapping up here and heading to the next location."
The call ended abruptly.
Lumine clicked her tongue, glanced once more at the signboard, and led Alhaitham straight left.
Inside the Snow Guardian's cave, after ending the call with Lumine, Ryen didn't immediately resume attacking.
The boss wasn't especially strong,
it was just disgusting how it kept summoning minions.
Fortunately, they had superior numbers and terrain. A brief hail of gunfire later, the snow monster was wiped out.
With the leader down, only treasure chests and wreckage remained.
Ganyu moved skillfully to open the chest.
What was inside hardly mattered anymore, this run had already yielded plenty.
Ningguang walked over to Ryen, curious.
"Lumine's back?"
Ryen nodded.
"Yes. She's in the Twilight Forest, and she brought Alhaitham with her."
"That scribe?"
Ningguang commented lightly, not thinking too much of it.
"Then let everyone rest in place and wait for her?"
Ryen nodded, and Ningguang went to make arrangements.
The cave was messy, but no one minded.
They simply built another temporary room, sat down, and started eating and chatting.
Ryen stepped outside the cave and waited.
He guessed Lumine had come to borrow people again.
Sumeru's situation must be nearing resolution.
When things settled, he'd bring Nahida back for her birthday.
Then take a trip to Inazuma.
After circling through everything, testing the new mod a bit, the Lantern Rite event would begin.
After the New Year…
That would be the start of true large-scale construction.
With five nations united, Ryen was confident that within a year, cities would bloom everywhere.
Then the MC world would finally feel lively.
A world that stayed too quiet for too long was bound to become unbearably dull.
As he was thinking, his vision suddenly went dark.
"Guess who I am~?"
Ryen rolled his eyes.
"Is this fun? You do this eight hundred times a day, how are you not bored?"
"Guess! Or I won't let go!"
Ryen sighed and replied lazily,
"It's my dear little Ganyu, right?"
"..."
Guizhong fell silent.
After a moment, she suddenly let go, stepped in front of Ryen, rose onto her toes, and clung to him.
Her sky-colored eyes shimmered with emotions she could no longer suppress.
"You guessed right! Reward time!"
Before Ryen could react, Guizhong leaned in and sealed his lips with hers.
He froze.
He had always treated Guizhong like a close companion,
And now she was making a move on him?
Unfortunately, Ryen did not possess particularly lofty moral defenses.
Living by the principle of neither refusing nor initiating, he instinctively wrapped an arm around Guizhong's waist and began to respond.
After a brief burst of boldness, Guizhong felt the practiced movements and the wandering hand, panic flashing across her face.
She opened her eyes, caught the teasing glint in Ryen's gaze, and, slightly flustered, hugged him tighter, no longer caring what he did.
Today, Guizhong was going to prove it to him.
She was very brave.
But it didn't last long.
Footsteps sounded nearby.
Guizhong hurriedly let go.
The next moment, Lumine's voice rang out,
"Heh heh! I made it! I'm fast, right?"