[Yae Miko: There are newcomers joining too?!]
[Xingqiu: How interesting. On behalf of Liyue, welcome, everyone.]
[Aventurine: On behalf of the Interastral Peace Corporation, welcome.]
[Sparkle: Hehe~ More people? I wonder if they'll be fun~]
[Sampo: Welcome, welcome! If you don't understand anything, just ask me! Old Sampo is always happy to help.]
On the Zenless Zone Zero side, chaos erupted.
[Belle: What is this? Game Arena?]
[Nicole: You scared me! What even is this thing?!]
[Billy: Whoa~ Boss Nicole, I think my system glitched! I'm hearing things!]
[Anby: It's not a glitch. This is definitely one of those movie-style encounters. Dun-dun-dun~ dun-dun-dun-dun-dun~]
[Nicole: Stop thinking about your BGM! Hurry and check if this thing is worth any Dennies! How much can we sell it for?]
[Wise: I don't think we can sell it… Also, didn't you read? It connects different worlds.]
[Nicole: Different worlds? That means it's even MORE valuable!]
[Burnice: Woohoo~ We're the newcomers~ Anyone want a cup of Nitro-Fuel Drink?]
[Piper: Calm down… kid.]
[Zhu Yuan: Hmm… what exactly is this? It just appeared out of nowhere.]
[Qingyi: Don't panic when things happen… have a cup of tea first.]
[Qingque: Why do I feel like I really vibe with this Qingyi?]
[valerius: You? Please. She actually does her job.]
valerius laughed.
Qingyi might be laid-back, but she wasn't a slacker.
Unlike someone.
[valerius: Welcome, new players. I'm the organizer of the Game Arena. If you don't understand anything, ask me.]
Immediately, someone stepped up with sharp questions.
[Jane: Question one: Are you truly in other worlds?
Question two: Do winners really receive rewards?
Question three: How do we participate? What's the cost?]
Straight to the point.
[valerius:
Yes, we are in different worlds. If you don't believe it, I can bring you over to experience it yourself.Yes, rewards are real. Everyone here can testify.Games start when I feel like it. As for the cost—losers receive punishment.]
[Miyabi: Punishment? What kind of punishment?]
Before valerius could answer—
[Yae Miko: Simple. Lose the game and you just die.]
[Sparkle: Not that scary~ At most you get cooked and eaten.]
The ZZZ side instantly exploded.
[Nekomata: I—I'm not participating! I'm leaving!]
[Zhu Yuan: This is a criminal operation!]
[Caesar: Situation escalated. Grab weapons.]
[Notice: Yae Miko and Sparkle muted for 1 hour.]
[valerius: Ignore those two. Punishments are random, but they will never threaten your life. You won't even be injured.]
[Jane: And how do we verify that?]
[Kaeya: Easy. I'll prove it.]
[Kaeya: Diluc~ I heard your maid say you were hopping around the house humming songs. Is that true?]
[Diluc: GIRIGIRI AIIIIIIII—]
Silence.
[Jane: …That's the punishment? That's light.]
[Ningguang: …Light?]
Light?
She hadn't dared leave her room for days.
[Jing Yuan: There is no threat to life. That much is certain.]
[Fu Xuan: Correct. valerius may be… questionable, but he does not toy with lives.]
[Bronya: Yes. valerius is a good person. He would never do bad things. Belobog was revived thanks to him.]
[Jingliu: A good person?]
Jingliu couldn't help herself.
Have you forgotten how he toyed with you in-game?
[Keqing: Exactly. valerius is absolutely shameless.]
[valerius: Keqing, that's unfair. I didn't do anything to you. Love you, mwah.]
[Keqing: Y-You—!]
[Venti: valerius Baby.jpg]
[Sampo: Love you mwah.jpg]
[Keqing: You even took screenshots?!]
[Silver Wolf: Obviously.]
Keqing was on the verge of imploding.
After observing the conversation, the ZZZ side gradually relaxed.
[Qingyi: It does not appear malicious.]
[Jane: We'll observe for now.]
[Ellen: Tch… there goes my rest time.]
The newcomers had more or less understood the atmosphere.
Strange?
Yes.
Dangerous?
Probably not.
Now they simply waited for the next game.
Meanwhile, in Belobog
valerius had finally settled down.
Thanks to Bronya, he now had a proper residence—a small two-story house next to Serval's workshop.
He and Jingliu were living comfortably.
Bronya visited often.
Their relationship was quietly growing warmer.
At the very least, valerius could now openly walk through town with her.
Across the street, Serval leaned against the wall, watching the two figures walk away.
Natasha stood beside her.
"I'm getting anxious just watching," Serval sighed.
Now that she knew Bronya liked valerius, she felt obligated—as Cocolia's former best friend—to keep an eye on things.
Natasha nodded deeply.
"Bronya understands governance instantly. But when it comes to this… she's so slow."
They both had the same premonition.
If Bronya didn't act soon…
Jingliu might act first.
And then what?
The two women leaned closer, whispering conspiratorially.
Plans were forming.
Game Day
Peace never lasted long.
The livestream chat had been begging nonstop.
So today—
valerius was finally starting the next game.
"What's the game this time?" Jingliu asked.
"I don't know yet. I'll go in and see."
"You don't know? You're the organizer."
"It's random," valerius replied without turning around.
"If everything were fixed in advance, what would be the fun?"
Jingliu studied him.
"That way of thinking aligns closely with the Aeon of Mystery."
"Me? Like Mythus?"
valerius shook his head.
"At least I don't rewrite history or interfere excessively."
Players using rewards to interfere?
That didn't count.
Jingliu nodded.
That much was true.
Even when facing Phantylia—one of the Lord Ravagers, leader of the Antimatter Legion—valerius hadn't interfered beyond the scope of the game.
As long as no one obstructed the game itself—
He let things run their course.
"In that case," Jingliu said quietly,
"Go."
valerius smiled.
"Time to open the next round."
A beam of light descended.
And he stepped into the Game Space once more.
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