"Mm-hm~!"
"...That was an option too."
Too cute to refuse...
Serenitea Pot Thatched Cottage.
Ding—!
Guinaifen's groggy voice came from behind the screen next door.
"Mm... Boss Liu, you're still awake...?"
"Sorry, I haven't figured out how to mute this wristband yet. Did I wake you?"
"Zzzzz..."
"..."
Apparently not. This girl really slept like a rock...
Just now, Gray Serpent had sent the compiled map of World City's faction distribution and the history of the various factions to his wristband.
First was World City itself. The concept of nations had vanished, and the world had been completely connected and integrated by countless railways and bridges into "World City"... Well, it was a true "global village."
It was nothing much as a fictional setting for a game mod, but after becoming reality... It was really exaggerated.
Then came the faction distribution.
The entire world—or rather, all of World City—was currently divided into three types of regions.
One was under Schicksal's jurisdiction, one was under Anti-Entropy's jurisdiction, and the last was a free commercial zone.
As for what that meant, the names said it all.
Celestial Vault City was currently a free commercial zone.
Schicksal's boss was Otto. No question there.
Anti-Entropy's boss was, likewise without question, Joyce...
Wait! What was this Welt Joyce supposed to be?
Fine, a Herrscher was a Herrscher. It didn't matter anyway; he wasn't someone Liu Bai could come into contact with at his current level.
Liu Bai glanced over the other independent factions.
Mm, aside from World Serpent, they were all more or less what he remembered.
For now, the strategy remained the same: increase their combat strength.
Actually, with how quickly they were making money right now, improving their strength wasn't a problem.
The real problem was...
Mm, the "Stellaron Crisis."
A storyline originally set to occur a year after the game began had been moved up to half a year later because Liu Bai had carelessly fiddled with the settings.
It was a high-difficulty event specifically marked as carrying the risk of ruining a save file.
Mm, high difficulty... half a year...
He really wanted to beat his pre-transmigration self to death...
Although Liu Bai didn't know the exact plot of the Stellaron Crisis, he could already guess most of it from the name.
It was probably just Stellarons, Fragmentum, the Destruction Legion, and that sort of thing.
Why not just rename Earth "Jarilo-VI" while we're at it...?
Sob.
Chapter 13: A Textbook Reception
"How did you sleep last night, little white rat?"
After breakfast in the Serenitea Pot, Liu Bai was brought by Gray Serpent to see Mobius.
Mobius was the same as yesterday, smiling at Liu Bai with a remarkably gentle attitude.
"Not very well," Liu Bai answered honestly.
"That's understandable. You've come to a new environment, unfamiliar with the people and place. You'll need time to adjust."
Mobius comforted Liu Bai, then pulled a bank card from her pocket.
"Your payment for yesterday. There are also various identity documents for World City. Your companion has a set too—as long as you don't enter the areas under Schicksal or Anti-Entropy's jurisdiction, your identities won't be exposed."
"Thank you."
Taking the bank card, Liu Bai felt much more at ease. Though it was only a thin card, it somehow carried the weight of money.
"Don't thank me just yet."
Mobius took a vial of medicine from her pocket and watched Liu Bai with a dangerous smile.
"Come on, drink this."
Unidentified Potion (Medicine)
I'm a valuable little white rat. I'm a valuable little white rat. I'm a valuable little white rat...
Liu Bai knew he had no option to refuse, so he could only keep hypnotizing himself inwardly.
Gulp...
It felt cool and slightly viscous going down, but it was more or less tasteless.
Honkai Energy Resistance +1% (Lasts ten minutes) Successfully identified potion—Honkai Sensitivity Test Potion Identification experience increased.
"Mm... It seems aliens have a certain degree of resistance to Honkai as well."
Mobius nodded at Liu Bai's unchanged complexion, then reached out and patted his head.
"Such a good boy, such a good boy~ I'm getting more and more fond of you, little white rat."
Mobius Favorability: 1516 World Serpent Favorability: 1516
Being patted on the head by a beautiful older woman like Mobius... didn't feel bad?
But on his second day as a little white rat, he was already starting drug trials...
"Come on, this is a reward for my well-behaved little white rat~"
Mobius handed Liu Bai a USB drive.
"What's this?"
"This is a USB drive for the combat simulation room, Mr. Liu Bai. If you have time, you may go conduct combat training. After all, you have already come into contact with the dangerous elements of this world." Gray Serpent explained for Mobius, then made a gesture to see him out.
Mobius no longer paid Liu Bai any attention. She stood and headed toward the room behind the hall.
Liu Bai couldn't have been happier to be sent away by Gray Serpent. He didn't even need Gray Serpent to lead him; he decisively made his escape.
Having an attractive older woman around was a good thing, but being used by that attractive older woman for drug testing did not feel nearly so good.
"Oh, oh, Boss Liu, you're back."
Guinaifen, who had been waiting outside for Liu Bai, looked utterly idle.
"How was it? That doctor didn't give you a hard time, did she?"
Come to think of it... wasn't she a "little white rat" too?
Why was I the only one who had to go in?!
Liu Bai suddenly felt that being too handsome was also a sin.
"Ah... Boss Liu, why do you suddenly have such a narcissistic expression?"
"Just reflecting on life."
"...That really makes me curious what you're reflecting on."
Guinaifen couldn't help but tease him.
"So, what are we doing today?"
"A major shopping trip."
Liu Bai headed straight out, and Guinaifen dutifully followed behind him.
"Now that we have money, the first thing we need to do is improve our living conditions. Besides, Firefly has some health problems."
"Ah... Miss Firefly does look very frail."
Guinaifen nodded in understanding.
Frail...?
Liu Bai's expression turned slightly strange.
"Mm... That's why we need to take good care of her."
If what Uncle had revealed before Liu Bai's transmigration was true, Firefly could probably chop a hundred Guinaifens into filling without even breaking a sweat...
Of course, no one knew whether that was true or not. Since Firefly had not brought it up herself, there was no need for Liu Bai to ask—and given their current situation, there was no need for Firefly to show herself in public.
Speaking of which, the simplest way to fight the future Stellaron and Legion was to call for reinforcements—summon more powerful Astral Express characters.
Everyone came from mods in the same modpack. Who was more important than anyone else? If this storyline could appear, that meant there had to be a way through it.
If they made it to the late game, who knew whose stats had more zeroes stuffed into them!
Just don't let me find out that one of my mods had something with zeroes mindlessly piled on!
Liu Bai and Guinaifen left the building and boarded a bus outside Shencheng Pharmaceuticals. With all their identification documents, Liu Bai no longer needed to worry about anything.
"Our destination is...?" Guinaifen curiously looked around. Such primitive transportation was rare even on the Xianzhou where she lived, let alone riding in it herself.
"The Sky Dome Zone branch of the Liyue Merchant Guild."
Liu Bai glanced at the sign inside the bus.
"It's not far. We'll be there after three stops."
If Liu Bai had to put it simply, this world was generally split into two sides: the Honkai Impact 3rd side, which served as the Main Quest factions, and the Genshin side, which served as side-story factions.
The Honkai: Star Rail side was actually exclusive to the player.
"The Interstellar Peace Corporation?" Guinaifen tilted her head, searching her memories for an organization she could match it to.
"Completely different."
"Close enough." Guinaifen looked at the scenery outside. "By the way, some of the architecture here looks quite similar to the Luofu Xianzhou."
"Yeah. What a coincidence."
"Hey, hey, Boss Liu, what's with that flat delivery?!"
"W-welcome to the Liyue..."
"Is 'Welcome to the Liyue Merchant Guild' really that hard to say, Miss Kiana?"
When Liu Bai arrived, a blue-haired beauty draped in a coat was patiently instructing the young receptionist at the entrance.
"Hey, see that handsome guy over there? Come on, say it again properly."
Just then, the blue-haired beauty in the coat at the entrance—Yelan—noticed Liu Bai as well.
"..." Liu Bai, who had been casually pointed at, felt a little strange.
He could understand Yelan, since she was a character affiliated with Liyue.
But the one at the entrance...
Before you continue