With the new game's rules announced, the players of every faction gathered once again.
Inside the Knights of Favonius headquarters…
"Everyone," Lisa said, taking over the meeting in Jean's place. "Who feels confident about this one?"
Jean had been hiding away in embarrassment lately.
After several days of being afflicted by the Contrarian punishment, the things she'd said were nothing short of humiliating.
She couldn't bring herself to face everyone.
"Do we even need to ask?"
Every pair of eyes immediately turned toward Albedo and Sucrose.
Since this game revolved around evolving living creatures, those two clearly had the greatest advantage.
"Us?"
Albedo pondered for a moment before looking at Sucrose.
"There's only one participation slot."
"You should go."
"…Me?"
Sucrose looked surprised.
She had assumed Albedo would naturally participate himself.
She hadn't expected him to hand the opportunity to her.
Still…
She truly loved researching living organisms.
Without hesitation, she nodded.
"Understood, Mr. Albedo."
"I didn't expect that."
"Albedo's actually a pretty nice guy."
"Giving such a valuable opportunity to Sucrose."
Only Kaeya rolled his eyes as he looked at the excited Sucrose.
"He totally fooled you."
"And you're actually grateful?"
Kaeya was convinced Albedo had sent Sucrose in as the sacrificial lamb.
Sure, Sucrose was indeed an expert in biology.
Calling her a specialist wouldn't be an exaggeration.
But…
That depended on who she was being compared against.
Penacony had probably already decided its representative.
What was there left to compete over?
…
Inside Tenshukaku…
Raiden Makoto looked around at everyone gathered.
At last…
She had finally met all of Inazuma's players.
"So…"
"Who feels confident?"
Now that both Yae Miko and Raiden Ei had already used their participation opportunities…
And Makoto herself wasn't familiar with this game…
She could only place her hopes on everyone else.
"…"
Silence filled the room.
None of them understood biological evolution.
It was probably better not to volunteer.
Raiden Ei immediately frowned.
My sister has finally returned…
And this is the attitude you're showing?
What if she thinks the team I led is incompetent?
Without waiting any longer, she simply appointed someone.
"Sara."
"You'll participate."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Kujou Sara accepted the order without the slightest hesitation.
Whether she was suited for it didn't matter.
"Sara?"
Makoto had become fairly familiar with Sara over the past few days.
Honestly…
She didn't think Sara's chances of winning were particularly high.
Still, since Ei had personally selected her, and Sara herself had willingly accepted…
Makoto chose not to object.
Who knew?
Perhaps Sara possessed some hidden talent.
Ei had spent far longer with her, after all.
Thus…
Inazuma's representative was decided.
The remaining factions also finalized their choices after lengthy discussions.
[Representatives confirmed. Commencing teleportation.]
On a small island…
Valerius looked at the players standing before him and couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth.
Mondstadt: Sucrose.
Liyue: Qiqi.
Inazuma: Kujou Sara.
Sumeru–Fontaine Alliance: Tighnari.
Belobog: Hook.
Xianzhou Alliance: Sushang.
Penacony: Ruan Mei.
New Eridu: Soukaku.
How are they even supposed to compete?
They might as well just declare the winner already.
Honestly…
More than half the participants were obviously here just to fill seats.
Qiqi.
Hook.
Sushang.
Soukaku.
Anyone with eyes could tell what had happened.
Their factions simply believed victory was impossible this round, so they'd sent someone to take the loss.
"You can come over now and draw your starting creature."
"Of course…"
"It depends on how many points you're willing to spend."
Since the participants had already been chosen, Valerius proceeded according to the rules.
"Mr. Valerius."
Ruan Mei stepped forward.
"Must everyone spend their starting points to draw a creature?"
She wanted to know whether spending points was mandatory.
"So this game is guaranteed to consume points?"
"Not necessarily."
Valerius shook his head.
"If you don't spend points…"
"You'll receive a completely random creature."
"And it'll definitely be the weakest possible option."
A mischievous gleam flashed through his eyes.
This…
Was a trap.
Whether the other players could challenge Ruan Mei depended entirely on how they handled this decision.
If their starting creature was too weak…
It wouldn't even be capable of defeating other organisms.
Without victories…
There would be no genetic samples.
Without genetic samples…
There would be no evolution.
"I understand."
Ruan Mei asked nothing further and quietly stepped aside.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Then Tighnari spoke.
"Can you explain how evolution actually works?"
"And…"
"How exactly do we obtain these genetic fragments?"
Valerius wasn't surprised by the question.
He casually produced two small creatures.
"This…"
"is a pony."
Then he picked up a puppy and placed it inside a special container.
Immediately, several notifications appeared.
[Genetic Fragment Collected: Bite Force.]
[Genetic Fragment Collected: Starch Digestion.]
[Genetic Fragment Collected: Digitigrade Locomotion.]
Valerius extracted the Digitigrade Locomotion fragment.
As he did…
The puppy dissolved into particles of light.
"See?"
"That's how genetic fragments are obtained."
He then tossed the spiral-shaped fragment toward the pony.
The fragment fused instantly.
The pony's hooves immediately began changing.
Moments later…
They transformed into digitigrade feet.
"This is fusion."
"As long as a genetic fragment is successfully fused…"
"The creature immediately evolves."
"For example…"
"This pony has now become a digitigrade animal."
"It gains far greater short-distance explosive speed."
"But at the same time…"
"It sacrifices endurance and long-distance running ability."
"I see."
Tighnari finally understood.
He couldn't help finding the game fascinating.
Creating entirely new lifeforms through genetic fusion…
That sounded incredibly interesting.
"Alright."
"I've explained everything."
"Come draw your starting creatures."
Once again…
Nobody moved.
Everyone else was watching.
If they revealed their starting creatures now…
Wouldn't that put them at a disadvantage?
"Heh."
"There's no need to worry."
"Your creatures won't be revealed until everyone has finished drawing."
"In that case…"
"I'll go first."
Since they wouldn't be revealed immediately, Kujou Sara stepped forward without hesitation.
"How do I draw?"
"That depends on how many points you're spending."
After a brief moment of thought, Sara decided to spend 4 points.
She remembered that the Raiden Shogun seemed especially fond of resurrection items.
If she won…
She wanted to keep 6 points in reserve.
"Very well."
Valerius laid several cards face down on the table.
"Choose one."
Every card looked identical.
Sara picked one at random.
Next came Tighnari.
He also chose a 4-point creature.
After that, the remaining players stepped forward one after another.
Sucrose: 4 points.
Hook: 8 points.
Sushang: 8 points.
Soukaku: 6 points.
"Little Qiqi."
"Aren't you going to draw?"
Everyone else had already moved.
Only Qiqi stood there as though nothing was happening.
Ruan Mei kindly reminded her.
"…Huh?"
"Draw… what?"
"Qiqi doesn't understand."
"Valerius…"
"Is she… alright?"
That really was a problem.
Qiqi's memory was so poor that she'd apparently forgotten why she'd come here in the first place.
With no other option…
Valerius instructed the system to temporarily strengthen her memory.
The system activated.
Qiqi's entire body trembled slightly.
She remembered.
She was here to participate in a game.
Immediately, she pulled out her notebook.
"Mr. Baizhu said…"
"Qiqi should choose…"
"…the 10-point one."
Without the slightest hesitation…
Qiqi spent all ten of her starting points.
She chose the highest-tier starting creature available.
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