Upon hearing that the future headquarters of the Cunning Hares would be named Hare Hole, Nicole was of course displeased and immediately refused.
Beside her, even Paimon couldn't help voicing her opinion. "Calling it a Hare Hole? You might as well name it Cunning Hares Tower instead…"
The group continued forward.
Caesar pointed toward a tall building under construction ahead. "This one is being built for Miss Keqing—Calydon City's own Yujing Terrace…"
Although Calydon Town had long been under Caesar's control, the moment Hollow Zero collapsed, every region within and around New Eridu was bound by the pre-signed treaty to join Liyue. That treaty had been signed by New Eridu's upper administration.
In theory, if Caesar wished not to acknowledge it, she could have refused.
But she didn't.
After all, it was Liyue's god, Sam Li, who saved this world, and it was Keqing whose investment allowed Calydon City to be built at all…
Emotionally and logically, Caesar had no reason to refuse joining Liyue.
And just a few days prior, Caesar had spoken with Keqing directly—Keqing personally assured her that Calydon City would be granted full autonomy.
Following Caesar's gaze, the others looked ahead and indeed found a vast construction site.
The buildings were still far from complete, but judging by the massive foundations, it was clear the structure would be enormous—taller even than the future Cunning Hares headquarters they had seen earlier.
On the site, Sam Li spotted several familiar faces: Ben, Koleda, Anton, and Grace…
Ever since Hollow Zero was suppressed, Belobog Heavy Industries had deployed most of its construction machinery straight to Calydon City, dedicating every resource to building it.
Speaking of Belobog Heavy Industries, Caesar was extremely satisfied. "Professional work really must be left to professionals. With Belobog joining in, construction is advancing at incredible speed. At this rate, in half a year Calydon City will look completely transformed… Mr. Sam Li, you must attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony when the time comes."
Half a year?
Sam Li couldn't wait that long.
He saw the Cunning Hares, the train crew, the Sons of Calydon, as well as Hu Tao, Keqing, Ganyu, the Traveler, Paimon, and the others approaching.
Koleda stood atop a piece of construction machinery and waved from afar. "Hey! Mr. Sam Li, Miss Keqing, Miss Traveler… I'm over here!"
Soon, everyone gathered before her.
Meeting again after several days, Koleda was visibly delighted and immediately brought up their battle. "Traveler, last time in the Hollow I taught you how to operate an excavator. Want to try another piece of machinery today?"
The Traveler quickly declined. "No need…"
Paimon spread her hands helplessly. "The Traveler just isn't made for this sort of thing."
As they chatted, Anton, Ben, and Grace also approached.
The moment Grace saw Paimon, she rushed over eagerly and scooped her into her arms.
"Little one, we meet again—"
"Wah! Traveler, help! I can't breathe…"
"…"
Afterward, Caesar led everyone on a full tour of Calydon City.
Compared to the former Calydon Town, the new Calydon City was far larger and much more vibrant. Still, in terms of scale, it wasn't even one-fifth the size of New Eridu's Janus District, let alone comparable to New Eridu itself.
Calydon City still needed significant time before it could become the ideal city envisioned by Nicole, Caesar, and Lucy.
After their tour, Lucy brought everyone to a café and updated them on the changes within New Eridu and the Outer Ring's current situation.
"With Hollow Zero suppressed, the Outer Ring's environment will gradually improve. Even the Inner City conglomerates have sensed opportunity—many have formed partnerships with Outer Ring factions and launched large investments…"
These included financial giants, food conglomerates, and major tech corporations within New Eridu.
Naturally, Belobog Heavy Industries had also invested heavily in the Outer Ring, funneling most of their resources into Calydon City.
Even Koleda, that young company president, held high hopes for Calydon's future.
In short, with Hollow Zero contained, the entire world was undergoing tremendous change.
At that moment, Piper suddenly spoke up. "Oh, right—there's also Mr. Azhdaha. He seems uncomfortable living in New Eridu's urban district, so he took a whole group of Bangboos back to Bangboo Town. He even said he wants to rebuild it… We wanted Belobog Heavy Industries to help, but Mr. Azhdaha refused. He said he can build it himself…"
Piper couldn't understand it at all.
With no construction equipment and no building materials, how was Mr. Azhdaha going to build anything?
Sam Li smiled lightly. "Azhdaha's control over Geo is no weaker than mine. If he wishes, he can construct an entire town of stone at any time."
…
After leaving Calydon City, Sam Li personally traveled to Bangboo Town over the next few days to visit Azhdaha and the Bangboos.
Azhdaha seemed to truly love the place, treating the Bangboos as companions—family. He showed no intention of returning to Liyue Harbor.
In Azhdaha's own words: "Since this world has joined Liyue now, staying here means I can protect Liyue… and protect my Bangboo companions as well."
Sam Li respected his decision.
As for the Adepti, they had temporarily used the Statue of The Seven to return to Liyue Harbor. Ganyu and Shenhe went with Cloud Retainer.
For a while, only Keqing remained stationed in New Eridu.
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for the Astral Express to depart.
Sam Li arrived at the Janus District subway station as agreed, where Himeko, Trailblazer, March 7th, Dan Heng, and the others were already waiting.
Seeing Sam Li arrive alone, March 7th tilted her head. "Where's the other guy? You know, that… 'ehe-ehe' bard."
Just as she finished speaking—
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind her.
"Aye-hey, Miss March 7th, were you looking for me?"
March 7th spun around. Sure enough, Venti was walking over from the other end of the station, cradling his little lyre. As he walked, he played a gentle, soothing melody.
Just listening to it made everyone feel instantly lighter.
March 7th suddenly realized that bringing this bard along wasn't pointless after all—at the very least, when there was nothing else to do, she could enjoy some music to soothe the soul.
Seeing that everyone had gathered, she beamed. "Time's up—let's go!"
Himeko nodded. "Let's go—"
Pom-Pom called out, "The train is about to depart. Please board promptly."