Clearly, the Hydra in the swampy forest west of Chenyu Vale was the one afraid of fire.
"Afraid of fire?"
Tighnari murmured softly.
He pondered whether there were any people with fire-element god's eye among the Forest Rangers.
However, after some thought, he couldn't find a single person.
"What, you can't field a character that uses fire element attacks?"
"That's right. After all, those who come to Chenyu Vale are either Forest Rangers or researchers. The latter have no combat power, and the former, due to the nature of their work, generally don't use fire-related abilities."
"I get it, setting fires in the mountains means rotting in jail."
Tighnari awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
This familiar cold joke feeling, could Traveler have been influenced by Cyno?
"Phew~ Traveler, how about this? Our Forest Rangers will submit a commission to the Adventurers' Guild to investigate the Hydra monster in the forest swamp. How does that sound?"
"No need for a commission. I've thought of another way that can both solve the Hydra problem and do some promotion."
"Uh… hmm? Promote what?"
A question mark appeared above Tighnari's head.
"Oh right, I forgot to tell you about this."
Jack hit his fist into his palm, making a comical thudding sound.
Then he took out two new Void Terminals from his backpack.
"Is this a Void Terminal?"
Collei looked curiously at the familiar object in Jack's hand, calling out its original name.
"To be precise, it's a New Void Terminal. The original one used the Grass God's Heart as a server, but now it uses my Heart of Creation. Actually, as long as the network is well-established and the server has enough computing power, there isn't much difference between a god's eye or a Heart of Creation."
"So amazing! But… what does 'server' mean?"
Collei saw Tighnari nod and thought she was the only one who didn't understand, so she immediately felt a bit shy.
"It's a bit troublesome to explain. Collei, come here for a moment."
"Oh."
Collei obediently walked in front of Jack.
Jack hugged her and kissed her directly.
Instantly, a large amount of unknown and complex knowledge was transmitted through the magic of saliva exchange.
"Do you understand now?"
"Mm~"
Collei replied with a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
They were acting so intimately even though other people were present.
It was truly mortifying!
Tighnari kept his eyes down, pretending not to see anything.
"You interrupted me so much that we haven't even started talking about the main business."
Collei glared at Jack.
Who was it that was doing strange things to waste time?!
"Ahem, this New Void Terminal is a device Nahida and I created. It will be re-released in the Sumeru region and gradually spread to the other six nations."
"Question!"
"Collei, please speak."
"Isn't the Void Terminal only usable in Sumeru? How can it be used in the other six nations?"
"It's too troublesome to explain, I'll just…"
Collei quickly covered her mouth and stood in the corner as if to escape.
"..."
Little Collei, do you know that those few steps back of yours hurt the heart of a young Creator God?
Jack stared at Collei with a resentful look.
Collei seemed to notice Jack's slightly hurt expression and quickly comforted him in their private couple's channel.
[Collei: Ah! That… I'm sorry, Jack, I just felt that it wasn't good for my master to see such a scene. After all, my master is so old and still single, so I just…]
[Jack: I don't care, I'm hurt, I need comfort!]
[Collei: Wuwu, I really didn't mean it. How about… how about Jack, you make a request, and Collei will fulfill it for you?]
[Jack: Good! It's a deal!]
He didn't expect such a pleasant surprise.
Jack's lips curled into a slight smile. He would make Collei regret making that promise.
Young maiden, prepare to be disciplined by the God of Sadism!
Suppressing the evil thoughts in his heart, Jack continued.
"The New Void Terminal, as a carrier, has more perfected functions than before, with new additions like long-distance communication and virtual reality world games."
"The most important of these is the virtual reality world game. The game contains an incredibly vast world, inhabited by ordinary Villagers, animals, undead monsters, giant spiders, magical creatures, and more. Players can freely adventure and live in that world, truly a second life outside of Teyvat!"
Tighnari didn't understand the parts about servers and networks.
But he generally understood the latter part.
"So, the promotion is about the game you loaded into the Void Terminal, Traveler, right? To get more people to play it?"
"Exactly. Since this type of game is also appearing for the first time, if there's some eye-catching promotion with local characteristics, it should be easier to adapt to Sumeru's environment."
"I see. Then let's do as you say, Traveler. Do you need any assistance from my side?"
"No, just a camerawoman to follow and film."
"Camerawoman… who is that?"
Collei asked innocently.
Then she noticed that Jack and Tighnari's gazes were both focused on her.
"Eh? Me?!"
Collei pointed to herself, then quickly waved her hands, saying with great lack of confidence.
"I can't do it! I… Jack, you know, my Eleazar just healed, and my hands are still shaking badly…"
"I can cure it!"
"Wuwu, I'm a novice, and I'm not very good at using the Kamera…"
"I can teach you!"
"I…"
"Only Collei can do this! Please!"
Jack said, solemnly holding Collei's hand.
This kind of definitive affirmation filled Collei's heart with energy.
For the first time, she felt emotions like "I can be needed too" and "I am useful too."
Her small head nodded like a pounding garlic.
"I, I understand! Collei will work hard!"
Jack gently stroked Collei's head.
"En, Collei is the most hardworking! You can do it!"
Watching their intimate interaction.
Tighnari smiled like an aunt on the side.
This child, Collei, is finally showing a genuine smile. It's truly comforting… Wait, why am I thinking this way? Am I really getting old, as Cyno said?
Tighnari fell into self-doubt.
...
The Hydra subjugation squad was assembled.
Actually, to say 'assembled'...
But there were only two members in the squad.
Main DPS Jack, who could apply Pyro, Dendro, Electro, Anemo, and Geo attributes himself. Even without attacking based on the Hydra's weakness to Pyro, he could still kill it.
However, for the purpose of the promotional video, he would pick up a Pyro-infused bow and a Pyro-enchanted sword to perform a textbook-style commoner's guide to defeating the Hydra.
And responsible for recording all of this was the camerawoman, little sister Collei.
"Good, you got the Pyro enchantment on the arrows in just two tries. We can officially depart now. Collei, are you ready?"
"I'm not ready at all!!!"
Behind Jack, Collei let out a voice filled with shame and indignation, as if she could die.
A graceful figure slowly emerged from behind the screen.
She was wearing over-the-knee stirrup socks, gold-adorned leg rings, an ultra-short skirt that reached her upper thighs, and a bandeau top made of bandages on her upper body.
"This is not what a photographer going on an adventure should wear!"
"Don't worry, you won't be in the shot, so no one will see you."
"Is this a matter of being seen or not? What kind of photographer dresses like this?!"
"Anyway, don't worry, I'll set up a cognitive impediment. No one will see you except me!"
Jack assured Collei.
Collei's breath hitched, and she rolled her eyes.
She finally understood that Jack's reasons for saying 'photographers dress like this' were all fake!
He just wanted to see her embarrassed expression and take the opportunity to feast his eyes!
"Hmph! Jack is a bad gege!"
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