Lumine looked at Rosalyne expectantly, hoping she could offer some constructive advice to help her defeat Doctor.
However, after a brief silence, Rosalyne cleared her throat and said rather awkwardly,
"That's… all."
"???"
Lumine stared at Rosalyne in disbelief.
"That's all? What do you mean that's all?"
Rosalyne looked a little guilty as she replied,
"There's really nothing else we can do. Doctor himself is extremely mysterious and rarely shows his face. The information I gave you is already hard-won."
"At the very least, it's far more than what we know about The Jester. As for him, we only know his background and his strength, everything else is a complete blank."
Lumine fell silent for a moment, then looked toward the Cryo Archon, whose gaze had begun to wander.
"So… were your recruitment standards really that lax back then?"
The Cryo Archon sighed softly.
"At the time, we were in a hurry… my apologies."
"Forget it, forget it!"
Lumine waved her hand dismissively.
"Even if we don't know much, we can still deal with him! And if it really comes down to it, just call Ryen!"
Ryen smiled without saying anything. After a moment, he asked calmly,
"When are you planning to leave?"
Hearing this, Dehya and Nilou also looked at Lumine with anticipation. Lumine thought for a bit, then shook her head.
"How many days are left until the Sabzeruz Festival?"
"The end of this month," Dehya replied.
Lumine clapped her hands together and grinned.
"Then there's still time! Let's head out around mid-month. Let me rest a bit more first!"
"I just finished dealing with Inazuma. You have to give me some downtime!"
Dehya and Nilou exchanged glances and nodded helplessly in agreement.
Seeing that matters here were mostly settled, Ryen was already thinking about bringing Guizhong and the others to familiarize themselves with the Overworld.
As for Dehya and Nilou…
Ryen didn't oppose them joining later, but they had only just arrived. It made no sense to drag them straight into the MC world right after discussing plans.
After some thought, Ryen gave Ningguang a subtle look.
She immediately understood and smiled gently.
"Since Dehya and Nilou have already come to Liyue, why not take some time to relax and experience Liyue's culture?"
"For you two, this kind of opportunity doesn't come often, does it?"
"You must be tired after all this traveling. Go back and rest first, this afternoon, I'll have Baiwen and the others show you around Liyue."
Dehya and Nilou instantly understood.
The hosts were about to get down to serious business.
After all, a thousand Inazuman soldiers were still stationed outside. Clearly, something major was planned today. The fact that they had been given this much time to talk was already generous.
Though they were extremely curious about what kind of matter could require so many gods and adepti to work together, they knew better than to pry.
They stood up at once and took their leave.
Watching as the two were escorted away by the Millelith, their figures gradually disappearing from view, Ningguang and the others let out quiet sighs.
"Sumeru…"
"It looks calm on the surface, but beneath it lies a vortex even more dangerous than Inazuma's."
Noticing the worry in Nahida's expression, Ryen gently reassured her,
"Don't worry. Sumeru's affairs will be handled properly."
"You just need to stay here peacefully and wait until Sumeru stabilizes."
"When the time comes, I'll personally send you back. Then, Nahida, you can truly become a qualified god."
Nahida pressed her lips together, looking conflicted.
"But… if I don't take part in this, isn't that a bit–"
"This is a debt Sumeru owes you," Ryen said patiently.
"It must be settled by Sumeru's people themselves."
With that, Ryen lifted Nahida into his arms and said no more.
Understanding that she couldn't change his mind, Nahida buried her face against his chest and quietly sank into thought.
Ryen then stood up and led Ei and the others to where the new Inazuman army was stationed.
They had been left waiting for over half an hour while he spoke with Dehya and Nilou.
Still, there was no sign of unrest, their formation and discipline remained intact.
Clearly, Kujou Sara had made prior arrangements.
Ryen said nothing more. He had already grown tired of giving motivational speeches after doing it once.
He simply opened the dual-world gate.
After waiting for it to fully stabilize, he gestured for everyone to enter.
Even though the Inazuman soldiers had undergone training, witnessing inter-world travel firsthand still caused a moment of panic.
Kujou Sara barked a sharp command, and order was quickly restored.
Ryen glanced at Xiao and said softly,
"Xiao, please take them to Base One. Follow the usual training procedures."
Xiao nodded, then led Kujou Sara and the soldiers away.
Before long, the area around the manor villa returned to quiet.
Ryen stretched lazily and looked at Guizhong and Ei beside him.
"Although Guizhong was revived here, and Ei has been to this world before…"
"Strictly speaking, neither of you has stayed for very long."
"We don't have any major plans today. I'll take you around later so you can get a proper understanding."
"After that, you'll be free to act on your own."
Lisa asked curiously,
"If I remember correctly, clearing the Twilight Forest one more time should unlock a new mod, right?"
"No rush," Ryen waved his hand calmly.
"You've already seen the monsters in the Twilight Forest. You know how to deal with them."
"Going again would only take seven or eight days at most."
"What's more important is what comes after."
As he spoke, Ryen led everyone to sit in the garden.
After several expansions, the garden had become even more refined.
Not only were there all kinds of flowers from the MC world, but also many unique plants native to Teyvat.
Guizhong gazed lovingly at the lush Glass Lilies growing nearby.
She hadn't seen Glass Lilies thriving to this extent in a very long time.
Meanwhile, Nahida and Klee had dragged Paimon off to play on the swings.
The Overworld might be full of plans for the adults, but to them, it was simply a place for fun.
Guizhong glanced at Nahida, her eyes filled with sympathy.
"That child… she's truly suffered so much."
Ryen nodded silently and sighed.
"Born without even understanding who she was, yet immediately burdened with the duty of the Dendro Archon."
"She tried so hard to be a worthy god…"
"But her own people believed she could never compare to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, and so they imprisoned her for five hundred years."
"The entirety of Sumeru owes Nahida a debt…"
"She could have become a great god like Greater Lord Rukkhadevata."
A trace of sympathy flickered in Guizhong's eyes, but Ryen had no intention of lingering on this topic.
There was nothing more to say about Sumeru.
Either Alhaitham and the others would handle things properly and present Ryen with a satisfactory answer,
Or Ryen would personally make a trip there and wipe out the Akademiya from top to bottom, eradicating anyone who refused to acknowledge Nahida.
In Ryen's heart, the entire nation of Sumeru combined did not amount to even one ten-thousandth of Nahida's importance.
He had no interest in wasting brainpower.
If Sumeru insisted on obstinacy, then he would simply help Nahida choose new people worthy of her.
"Let's talk business."
Ryen lightly tapped the table and smiled.
"For now, we'll put the Twilight Forest clear on hold."
"Over this period of time, everyone has seen the development of my world. This was the result of everyone working together, and in this regard, I want to thank all of you."
It was the first time everyone had seen Ryen speak so seriously, and for a moment, no one quite knew how to respond.
Zhongli was the first to react, folding his arms and smiling lightly.
"It is rare for you to say such words, but… between friends, there is no need for this."
"Moreover, our contract itself is mutually beneficial. We do what we should do and obtain the resources we deserve, this is fair and requires no thanks."
Ryen shrugged.
"That's how formal summary meetings usually go. I'm just borrowing the template."
"Tch… I knew it. That kind of speech was never something you'd say seriously."
Lumine curled her lips, looking at Ryen with absolute certainty.
Ryen chuckled softly and took out a blueprint he had not touched in a long time.
"Five months ago, I showed this diagram to Ningguang and the others."
A hint of nostalgia surfaced in Ningguang's eyes as she nodded.
"At the time, none of us could have imagined that in just five months, things would develop to this extent."
"Even now, despite being familiar with it, I still want to say, this truly is a miraculous world."
Ryen slowly spread out the blueprint and spoke calmly.
"Phase One objective: establish the manor villa base, mobilize a thousand people to develop the world, and ultimately ensure that basic resources are no longer scarce."
"Now, we possess all kinds of technologies. Basic resources are no longer a concern."
"Phase Two objective: expand personnel, disperse bases, bloom everywhere, complete and mature development of the Nether and the End."
"Phase Three objective: large-scale utilization of mods, mastery of the world's unique features, personnel exceeding ten thousand, and bases covering the entire current continent."
He pushed the scroll toward everyone, his gaze gentle, so much so that Guizhong found herself momentarily stunned.
Back in Teyvat, Ryen's personality had felt much like her own.
At that time, Guizhong had thought he was lively, mischievous, and full of playful energy,
A perfect companion.
But why, the moment he stepped into this world…
Had Ryen become so reliable and composed, giving everyone an overwhelming sense of reassurance?
As if, with him present, any problem could be solved.
Guizhong pressed her lips together, carefully observing Ryen from the corner of her eye.
If she didn't know just how strong he truly was, she might have suspected he had a split personality.
"This represents our current three-phase progress. Up to now, we've completely realized it, and this is everyone's achievement."
Hearing this, Venti blinked cheerfully.
"Ehe~ This is a truly epoch-making achievement! You'd better keep this scroll safe, I'll be borrowing it someday when I compose this epic!"
Ryen gently held Ningguang's hand and said softly,
"This scroll is not only a record of everything we've done during this time."
"It is also the beginning of my ultimate plan."
"Now… the Nether, the End, and this continent itself, are all under our control."
"We've taken the most crucial step."
"Next, what we must do… is plan something even grander!"
As Ryen spoke, excitement stirred among the group. Their eyes shone brightly as Jean spoke earnestly,
"So in your view, everything we've done so far is merely the most basic stage of development?"
Ryen smiled and nodded.
"That's right. The Nether, the End, mods, alchemy, enchantments…"
"In your eyes, these are already unimaginably vast opportunities."
"But in truth, this is merely the most basic way to play this world."
"And also the prerequisite for truly understanding and mastering it."
"Only by grasping these fundamentals can we shed the identity of beginners…"
"And become mature world developers!"
No one yet understood exactly what Ryen intended to do.
But somehow, an inexplicable sense of fervor surged through everyone's hearts.
It felt as though a plan that would shake the ages was slowly being unveiled.
Zhongli frowned slightly, sensing that what Ryen was about to say far exceeded even his expectations.
"What is it that you intend to do?"
Ryen curved his lips into a faint smile. His gaze was deep, his tone decisive.
"To let a world… become a true world."
~~----------------------
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