Inside the System Space, Lu Qiuyun removed the virtual reality gaming helmet, a thin layer of sweat trickling down her temple.
She had specifically purchased this helmet for a more immersive gaming experience.
Setting the helmet on the control panel, she rose, her silhouette revealing smooth shoulder and neck lines. Her collarbones gleamed faintly under the cold light of the gaming pod.
She casually grabbed a tissue to wipe her face, then leaned back in her seat with a long sigh.
"Good thing I had a backup plan. I finally managed to tie up the loose ends in the Abyss's lore," Lu Qiuyun said, a slight smirk playing on her lips.
The dark figure from the Abyss was a wisp of Abyss energy she had deliberately left in Durin's heart—a "bait" she had planted.
If Venti and Albedo hadn't noticed this anomaly, she would have needed to devise even more elaborate plotlines to set the stage for the Seven Cycles.
Why "seven"? you might ask.
Lu Qiuyun opened her mental notes, the screen instantly displaying a dense web of inspirations: Genshin Impact's seven elements and Seven Nations, the myth of Nüwa creating humanity on the seventh day.
Even childhood favorites like Calabash Brothers, Snow White, and Dragon Ball, along with the mundane weekly cycle of seven days and cyclical recurrence, were meticulously listed.
"What a perfect number! It fits the world's lore perfectly and evokes a sense of familiarity in the players."
Even more serendipitously, when she first transmigrated to this world, the seven personas she deployed across the Seven Nations aligned perfectly with the Seven Cycles of Reincarnation—a match made in heaven!
Suddenly, a notification popped up on her System panel. The Emotion Points counter surged visibly, skyrocketing before her eyes.
Lu Qiuyun's eyes lit up as she activated the real-time data stream connecting her to the player world.
In the next instant, the entire screen flooded with a dense barrage of comments and reviews, nearly all of them denouncing Mihoyo's villainy.
Players had even launched a "Crusade Against Mihoyo" campaign, which skyrocketed to the top of Earth's trending topics within half an hour, followed by a bright red "爆" (Exploding!) tag.
"Hahaha!" Lu Qiuyun laughed uproariously, her lips stretching almost to her ears, her shoulders trembling with mirth.
She swiped through the screen, scrolling through the players' reactions—a mix of grief and fury—and even clicked on a few fan-made videos about Lydia.
One animated recreation depicted her reunion with her parents, set to Venti's "Poem of the Wind," the comment section overflowing with messages lamenting the "unresolved grief."
"The Emotion Points are surging even faster than I anticipated!" Lu Qiuyun's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
But her joy was short-lived. A gentle tap landed on the back of her head.
The force was light, yet it carried a clear note of reproach, like the playful squabbles she used to have with her desk partner as a child.
Lu Qiuyun turned to see Lydia standing behind her, her snow-white hair swaying without wind, its tips still faintly glowing with a pale green light.
With hands on her hips, her eyes brimming with displeasure, even the tip of her nose flushed slightly red. "Lu Qiuyun! You've gone too far!"
"Huh?" Lu Qiuyun blinked, her earlier smile instantly replaced by an ingratiating expression. She leaned forward slightly, her voice softening. "What's wrong, my little darling?"
"Who else could it be? It's you!" Lydia stepped closer, Lu Qiuyun could even see the lingering hurt in her eyes. "Cutting me down with your blade—fine! But severing the soul connection too?!"
"Do you have any idea how terrified I was when I saw the Poison Dragon Knight emerge and Durin revive? If I hadn't improvised on the spot, do you think your Emotion Points would have skyrocketed like this?"
Lu Qiuyun immediately sidled up to her. "My bad, my bad! I didn't think it through. I promise I won't sever the connection again."
She burrowed into Lydia's embrace, seeking forgiveness.
So fragrant, so soft~ she thought inwardly.
Is this why boys like to snuggle with girls?
Lydia, well aware of her true nature, watched Lu Qiuyun's flustered state, the anger in her eyes gradually dissipating.
She approached the System panel, her voice growing serious. "Right now, only Venti and Albedo know about the reincarnation setting. The players only know that 'Lydia sacrificed herself.' To keep the Emotion Points rising, we need to get the Traveler involved."
Lu Qiuyun understood her meaning and pulled up a high-definition map of Liyue. "You mean, use Venti or Albedo to pass the clue about the 'Seven Cycles' to Lumine?"
"Exactly," Lydia nodded.
"Plus, we still have that Liyue persona waiting to make its debut! We can use the Rite of Descension as an opportunity to introduce her to the Traveler, setting the stage for the subsequent cycles."
The two women huddled together, heads touching, deep in discussion.
A bizarre conversation about "how to make my death even more tragic" continued to unfold.
To prevent premature exposure, Lu Qiuyun once again severed the connection between herself and her Liyue persona.
This time, however, the severance was timed—a much better arrangement than Lydia had received.
-
The scene shifted to Liyue, where morning mist draped the mountains like a sheer veil, and dewdrops pattered softly onto bamboo leaves, their delicate drip-drip echoing through the silent mountain valleys.
It should have been Yunqin's time for cultivation, but she was instead squatting in the most secluded corner of the cave, poking listlessly at the moss growing in the stone crevices.
First, she furtively glanced at the cave entrance.
Cloud Retainer had transformed into a crane and soared into the distance.
When the sound of the crane's wings had completely faded into the horizon, confirming her master's departure, Yunqin's eyes lit up like stars.
She brushed the dirt from her hands and stood up, stretching languidly as she rose—her slender waist arching into a graceful curve with the movement. Though her exposed ankles were lightly beaded with morning dew, it only enhanced her beauty.
"Perfect! The Adeptus is gone, which means I can do whatever I want!" Yunqin declared, planting her hands on her hips and tilting her head back to shout softly at the sky.
No sooner had she finished speaking than her nose began to itch.
"Achoo—!"
After sneezing, she rubbed her nose and grumbled, "Who's cursing me this early in the morning?"
Despite her words, her feet kept moving.
Gazing at the clear blue sky and the warm, gentle sunlight, Yunqin's dimples deepened. "No, no, no! Wasting such perfect weather reading storybooks in the cave is unacceptable!"
Yunqin activated the Geo Vision at her waist.
Pale golden Geo energy spread from her palm. With a gentle tap of her fingertips on the ground, fine sand surged from the cracks in the rocks, coalescing before her into a smooth, flat Geo platform.
Around the edge of the platform, a low Geo ridge thoughtfully curved in a semicircle, creating a cozy, sun-lounger-like enclosure.
"Working smart, not hard—that's not laziness," Yunqin hummed smugly.
This was her catchphrase whenever the Adeptus caught her slacking off.
Yunqin nimbly hopped onto the Geo platform, adjusted herself into a comfortable reclining position, and conjured a small "sunshade" to block the harsh glare. Then, she propelled the platform toward Liyue.
She closed her eyes, the crisp fragrance of morning mist lingering in her nostrils, and the occasional distant birdsong reaching her ears.
Drifting into a hazy half-sleep, she recalled Zhongli bringing her to Mt. Aocang as an infant.
According to Cloud Retainer, she had been washed ashore on the reefs near Liyue Harbor, where Zhongli happened to find her.
But Zhongli, claiming he "wasn't good with children," promptly sent her to Mt. Aocang. He visited two or three times a year, each time bringing Liyue delicacies and listening to her animated tales of cultivation adventures.
"When I see Mr. Zhongli later, I'm definitely going to make him take me to eat something delicious..." Yunqin murmured softly, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
The rocky platform gently swayed, as if lulling her to sleep.
Soon, Yunqin's breathing evened out, a faint smile playing on her lips as she drifted into slumber.
Sunlight filtered through the cracks in the rocks, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow across her face. The Geo Vision at her waist glowed faintly, and a wisp of Geo Elemental Power drifted from it, carried by the breeze toward Liyue Harbor.
In Liyue Harbor, Zhongli's trigeminal nerve twitched violently as he listened to a storyteller.
An ominous premonition struck him... his Mora would soon vanish.