Lydia stood beneath the great tree at Windrise, clutching the note Venti had left behind and stomping her foot in frustration. Her snow-white hair floated around her, stirred by her intense emotions.
The chibi-style drawing of a face sticking its tongue out on the note now looked like a punchable, taunting expression in her eyes.
"Oh, sure, sure," Lydia muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she tried to suppress her fury. "It's good for young people to be busy." The corner of her mouth twitched uncontrollably with rage.
Lately, Venti had been standing her up more and more often.
Every time she excitedly slipped away from the cathedral and went to all the trouble of reaching their meeting spot, nine times out of ten, she'd find a note from him waiting for her.
The message was always the same, right down to the unchanging expression on the chibi drawing.
Lydia seriously suspected Venti had hundreds of identical little notes stashed away somewhere.
Once or twice was fine; the naive Lydia wouldn't have minded.
But standing her up for seven consecutive days in a single week? That was unacceptable!
Did he have any idea how difficult it was to sneak past all those nuns and the citizens who came to pray?!
"Aaaargh! I can't take it anymore—I'm so mad!"
Lydia crumpled the note into a ball, shoved it into her pocket, and planted her hands on her hips, scanning her surroundings.
Since Venti wasn't here, she'd just go pick Sunsettias in the Whispering Woods herself
The Sunsettias in that forest were big and sweet. She had originally planned to take Venti with her.
Now it looks like I'll have to enjoy the delicious treat all by myself, she thought.
Besides, the Whispering Woods was so lush and leafy, it was perfect for hiding from the nuns if they tried to catch her. It was killing two birds with one stone!
Lydia nodded, mentally patting herself on the back for her brilliance.
"Hmph, stupid Venti. I'm ignoring you now," she muttered with a pout.
Clutching the two Visions at her waist, she broke into a light run toward the Whispering Woods.
She hadn't gone far when a faint, metallic scent drifted toward her on the wind.
She instinctively wrinkled her nose—That smell... it's the stench of monsters.
Lydia slowed her pace, crouching low behind a thick tree trunk.
Peeking out, she saw three Hilichurls hopping and dancing around a bonfire in a clearing not far away. A Mitachurl sat cross-legged nearby, tossing a discarded adventurer's backpack in its hand.
Lydia's pupils constricted. After scanning the area and finding no bloodstains near the Hilichurl camp, she let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. Looks like they dropped the backpack and ran.
But they still dared to attack a human. They need to be taught a lesson.
She quietly picked up a few smooth stones from the ground and took aim at the torch in the center of the Hilichurls' bonfire.
With a flick of her wrist, the stone struck the torch with perfect accuracy, instantly extinguishing the flames.
The Hilichurls froze for a moment, then began frantically searching for the enemy.
Lydia seized the opportunity to circle behind them and nimbly leaped onto a nearby rock.
Using the wooden stick she'd picked up, she gave each of the three Hilichurls a sharp whack on the head.
The Hilichurls staggered forward a few steps before whirling around to roar furiously at Lydia.
The Mitachurl dropped the backpack it had been fiddling with and pulled out a great axe from its side.
It grabbed a Pyro Slime and slammed it onto the axe blade.
[Congratulations on acquiring the weapon: Pyro-Enchanted Hilichurl Great Axe!]
Lydia twisted and dodged, evading the three Hilichurls' coordinated attack.
When she glanced over and saw the Mitachurl charging at her with the flaming axe, her expression visibly froze.
"Wait, seriously, dude?"
Her skills were better than an ordinary person's, and she regularly trained with Noelle and Amber. Dealing with low-level monsters like Hilichurls was child's play for her.
But that didn't mean she could take on a Mitachurl as easily as a Vision holder!
Lydia made an instant decision, backflipping onto a distant boulder.
She tossed the wooden stick down, hitting the Mitachurl squarely in the face as it stared up at her, roaring in helpless fury.
Before leaving, she didn't forget to stick her tongue out at the Hilichurls. "Stupid monsters, can't catch me!"
With that, she leaped a few times, using tree trunks as footholds, and sprinted deeper into the forest.
She left four Hilichurls spinning in place, howling in frustration.
Before she'd gone far, Lydia heard a splish-splash sound coming from ahead.
She quickly stopped and peered through the bushes—it was a small slime!
The Hydro Slime was sitting in a small puddle, staring blankly up at a tree laden with Sunsettias.
From the way its big eyes blinked... was it trying to figure out how to get the fruit down?
"Hey! Those are my Sunsettias!" Lydia whispered loudly.
The slime flinched in fright. When it turned and saw a human girl, it started bouncing toward her, ready to attack.
But Lydia wasn't worried at all.
She was an expert at dealing with slimes. These monsters moved slowly and had long attack cooldowns. All she had to do was dodge at the right moment.
Sure enough, the slime didn't watch its step as it charged.
Lydia stuck out a foot, tripping it. The slime tumbled head over heels, rolling until it slammed into a tree with a thud. It dissolved into a puddle of goo with a soft pop.
(Spy-how do u trip a slime? Ah well)
"Done!" Lydia clapped her hands and climbed the tree.
She reached out, plucked the largest Sunsettia, and took a huge bite.
The sweet juice burst in her mouth, instantly soothing half her frustration.
She ate as she walked toward Whispering Woods, constantly dodging the monsters' gazes along the way.
The road, once bustling with merchants, was now dotted with Hilichurl camps of all sizes. Not only that, but the number of slimes had also increased significantly.
Lydia crouched down, picked up a leaf with scorch marks, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Such a strong monster presence... This must have happened recently. Was it Stormterror?"
Before she could finish her thought, she froze.
Dvalin became Stormterror because of the Corrupted Dragon Blood in his system, right?
She suddenly remembered Venti's note: "Something more important came up today, so I have to cancel~"
Venti wasn't the type to break a promise casually, especially not with her.
On the surface, Lydia might not know anything.
But Lu Qiuyun knew—Venti was the Anemo Archon!
For the "daughter" he had practically watched grow up, what "more important matter" in Mondstadt could possibly outweigh his promise to her?
Could it be... he went to help Dvalin purify the Corrupted Dragon Blood?
The thought made Lydia's eyes light up.
With a sharp clap of her hands, she suddenly remembered what the nuns had been saying:
Recently, Stormterror had been appearing more and more frequently in Mondstadt.
Although it hadn't caused major casualties, its frequent attacks on merchants and adventurers were a constant headache.
Isn't this a sign that the Corrupted Dragon Blood's influence is deepening?
The more she thought about it, the more certain she became, and her pace quickened involuntarily.
If Venti was truly helping Dvalin, then according to the "legends" she'd heard...
Combined with the trail of Stormterror's destruction on the road to the Whispering Woods, and Venti's sudden cancellation...
Lydia was so excited she nearly dropped the Sunsettia in her hand. "The Whispering Woods..."
Doesn't this mean...
Lydia abruptly stopped, her heart pounding.
Doesn't this mean the Traveler and Paimon are about to arrive in Mondstadt?!
Which means Venti is about to meet the Traveler!
"No, I have to go see!"
She stuffed the remaining Sunsettia into her pocket, dusted herself off, and hurried deeper into the woods.
The legendary Traveler... what do they look like?
Is it Aether?
Or Lumine!
The wind rustled through the trees, carrying the sweet scent of Sunsettias.
Lydia's skirt fluttered in the wind. The anger on her face had long vanished, replaced by nothing but curiosity and excitement.
She was already starting to plan how she would make her grand entrance before the Traveler.
The first impression has to be perfect—it needs to be carefully designed!
-
Meanwhile, on Earth.
On Mihoyo's official website, the countdown timer for Genshin Impact's open beta was ticking down rapidly, each second holding tens of millions of players in suspense.
Across all major social media platforms, trending topics were dominated by:
#GenshinImpactOpenBeta #GenshinUIDSnipingGuide #GenshinLaunchGachaRituals
These hashtags had long since taken over the top spots, with view counts soaring past a hundred million. The comment sections were flooded with players' excitement and banter.
"Family! I've set ten alarms! No one's stopping me from sniping a good UID today!"
"I've been waiting since the second closed beta! I have 800 guide images saved on my phone, ready to fully explore Mondstadt on day one!"
"Noelle~ Amber~ Hehe... I'm gonna whale my entire year-end bonus on this!"
On major streaming platforms, countless gaming streamers had already set up their equipment.
Their desks were piled high with snacks and drinks, and the chat scrolled so fast it was impossible to read:
"Bro, stop talking about your lame love life! Refresh the page! The server opens in five minutes!"
"Anyone got tips on which character to build at launch?"
"HELP! My internet is dying! Everyone in class is updating their Genshin data packs!"
"HOLY SHIT! Mihoyo's playing dirty—they opened the servers early!"
Just before 8:00 AM, with a soft ding, Genshin Impact officially launched
Many skeptical netizens, seeing that chat message, tapped their screens doubtfully.
And then... the gate opened!
The servers instantly crashed, leaving countless players stuck at the login screen.
"I'm in! This graphics! These effects! Is this game even possible with today's technology?"
"Damn it, we gave Mihoyo too much credit! Whose bright idea was it to launch early?!"
"It's crashed! It's crashed! The official website just posted an emergency notice: dozens of new servers are being added to ensure smooth gameplay!"
"What took them so long? I was stuck for ten minutes before I got in. At least my UID is still pretty low."
"..."
Lu Nanqing was an outdoor streamer who had amassed a huge following thanks to her stunning looks and sweet voice.
The moment the Genshin Impact countdown hit zero, she turned on her camera and started her stream right on time.
"First!"
"Qingbao, you're so early today! Didn't you sleep in?"
"Make sure you get enough rest. We can wait until you're feeling better to stream."
Many viewers echoed this sentiment.
Lu Nanqing just smiled wryly.
A month ago, her closest sister had died in a car accident.
Her personality had changed drastically that day, and realizing something was wrong, she had decisively taken a break from streaming.
Everyone knew about her situation. Even her sponsors had made a special exception, allowing her to wait until she felt better before resuming her streams.
However, when Lu Nanqing remembered how her late sister had constantly talked about the Genshin Impact launch, a spark returned to her dull eyes.
"Thank you all for your concern," she said, addressing the chat. "To answer everyone's questions, I haven't gone anywhere these past few days. I've just been staying home."
"As for why I'm back today... well..."
She linked her stream to her computer, shrinking her camera feed to the bottom-left corner.
The moment fans saw the distinctive Genshin Impact logo appear, the chat exploded.
"Holy shit! Is Qingbao switching to game streaming?"
"I was just torn between playing Genshin and watching Qingbao. Now I can have both!"
"That's our Qingbao! She knows exactly what we want."
"Quick, quick! Start the game! I'm waiting to see whether Qingbao picks the brother or the sister before I choose!"
"..."
The viewer count in the live stream skyrocketed.
In an instant, she shot to the top of the trending charts, with gift effects flooding the screen.
"Alright! Enough talk. Let's start the game!"
With a click of her mouse, Lu Nanqing entered the game.
-
Spy-Curious... MC clearly knows Genshin, but here it has not come out yet and this is her sister(?). Some Timey Whimey stuff here