But before that, he still needed to make some preparations.
Liu Bai took a stack of Gacha Machine tokens out of the box.
Ten of them—the so-called beginner's ten-pull.
Holding the ten Gacha Machine tokens, Liu Bai walked over to the Gacha Machine.
Equipment pool, character pool.
The equipment pool's current rate-up items were: Time-Stop Pocket Watch, Hypnosis Ring, Cursed Armor, Heavenly Fire Greatsword...
The character pool allowed designated rate-up characters: Black Swan, Sparkle, Ruan Mei, Kafka...
It was a long list of names. After a brief moment of thought, Liu Bai decisively chose the character pool.
—He definitely couldn't count on getting anything good from a ten-pull. He could only try to maximize his returns.
For him, most powerful items were unusable. Even if someone gave him something like the Heavenly Fire Greatsword, he wouldn't be able to lift it—though watches and rings of that improper sort were another matter.
As for a ten-pull from the character pool, while there was no guaranteed character mechanic, what if he got a "four-star"?
They were both mixed garbage pools, but betting on a "four-star character" was far more reliable than betting on a "four-star item."
Besides, companions came with an innate affinity bonus, and getting them to share a common enemy wouldn't be a problem either...
Right, what was Firefly's affinity toward him now?
Curious, Liu Bai opened the companion tab and took a look.
Companion: Firefly (Affinity 81)
Games and Reality Are Different
81... With affinity that high, they could already be boyfriend and girlfriend, right?
In games, he probably could have made a move already...
"Um... Mr. Liu Bai, is there something on my face?"
Perhaps sensing that Liu Bai's gaze had remained on her, Firefly, who had already closed her eyes, shyly opened them and looked at him.
"No, it's nothing. There's nothing."
Seeing Firefly's innocent expression, Liu Bai silently reflected on himself.
Liu Bai, Liu Bai, how could you be so filthy?
—But would anyone who wasn't filthy play mods like "Time Stop," "Hypnosis Ring," and "Cursed Armor"?
Fine. Face reality. He was already a filthy adult.
There was nothing shameful about liking lewd things.
As long as he didn't corrupt anyone else.
While consoling himself internally, Liu Bai fed the ten Gacha Machine tokens into the Gacha Machine.
As for the rate-up... he should pick someone relatively capable in a fight. If he got insanely lucky, he'd hit the jackpot.
Jingliu... or Acheron?
Mm, Acheron it was.
There was stat balancing anyway, so the gap between five-star characters wouldn't be too large.
Characters who had appeared but hadn't been implemented yet always had an extra bit of appeal.
After choosing the pool, Liu Bai silently pressed the ten-pull button.
Ding-a-ling-dong-dong~~
Accompanied by a burst of noisy, over-the-top music, ten capsules rolled out of the Gacha Machine's slot.
Liyue Merchant Guild 50% Off Discount Coupon
Charm Garland
Killer Rabbit Plush Costume
USP45
Combat Skill Copy Card
Still-Warm Pure White Lingerie
Ripped Black Stockings
...What the hell was all this?
He had opened seven capsules. The first five were passable enough, but the last two...
"Mr. Liu Bai? Y-you..." Firefly had somehow climbed out of bed again. Her face flushed red as she stared at the clothes in Liu Bai's hands. "I'm sorry! I didn't see anything!"
Firefly immediately pulled the blanket over her head.
"Those are way too cliché for misunderstanding lines! These came out of the Gacha Machine! They have nothing to do with me!"
"I'm sorry! I completely understand! A-after all, Mr. Liu Bai is an adult too!"
Firefly had absolutely no intention of coming out from under the blanket.
"You're not listening at all!"
After complaining, Liu Bai couldn't help rubbing his forehead.
Fine, he couldn't blame anyone else. He had installed all these mods himself. Even if it was the mess he made, he had to accept it with tears in his eyes.
Three more. He might as well keep opening them.
Salted fish
Light Cone: Abyssal
Companion Doll: Guinaifen
"Um... can that be eaten?"
Firefly cautiously poked her head out from beneath the blanket and looked at the salted fish in Liu Bai's hand.
"Uh... how should I put this?" Liu Bai gripped the fish's tail and waved it twice. "This thing... looks like a salted fish and smells like a salted fish, but it's actually a... katana."
"Huh?"
Firefly looked completely unable to understand, but she still tried her best to process it.
"This is... uh... a prank by the Aeon of Elation?"
What kind of sword was made to look like a salted fish?!
"How about you lick it a couple times to satisfy your craving?" After thinking about it, Liu Bai handed the Salted Fish Blade to Firefly and decided to let her have a taste.
Some things were easier to accept after experiencing them firsthand.
"Huh? I-I'm really going to lick it?"
The moment she took it, Firefly realized from its feel that the salted fish really did seem to be a sword.
But emotionally... she simply couldn't accept it.
Firefly raised the salted fish to her mouth and slowly stuck out her little tongue, licking the blade.
"...It's salty."
It really was a sword.
Firefly felt rather conflicted.
Light Cone: Abyssal Once per day, increases the chance of inflicting abnormal statuses by 20%. Maximum player equipment slots: 10. Maximum companion equipment slots: 1.
This thing... Liu Bai's first reaction, embarrassingly enough, was to equip it before using hypnosis items...
But he didn't have anything like that on hand yet.
At that moment, Liu Bai looked at the final Gacha item, Companion Doll: Guinaifen.
Companion Doll: Guinaifen Pull the thread from the doll's back to obtain companion: Guinaifen.
He had actually pulled something good...
Liu Bai turned the palm-sized doll of a girl over and, sure enough, found a loose thread sticking out from its back.
Pull.
Liu Bai didn't hesitate for long before tugging the thread.
With a pop, the doll instantly turned into a red-haired girl with a ponytail, about a head shorter than Liu Bai.
"Hi, hi! My name is Guinaifen! Gui means—"
"Skip—cough, it's nothing." Liu Bai's bad habits as a player were rather serious. "My name is Liu Bai. Nice to meet you."
"Big Boss, let me finish my introduction! Gui means fine wood, nai means 'is,' and fen means fragrance. You can call me Little Gui. Although this is my first time taking bodyguard work, I'll do my best—so what planet is this?"
Guinaifen wore a lively smile, acting as though she had known them forever.
Companion: Guinaifen Encyclopedia Unlocked
Guinaifen's Starting Affinity: 40
"This..." Firefly was already dumbfounded.
She had just... seen a doll turn into a lively, breathing girl?
"M-Mr. Liu Bai, could this... could this be some kind of Curio from the universe? Or a new invention from the Genius Society?"
She had never known such a thing existed in the universe!
"Big Boss, is this your little sister or your girlfriend?" Guinaifen tilted her head toward Firefly.
"For now, we're just friends—none of that is important."
Liu Bai reached out and pressed a hand on Guinaifen's shoulder.
"You called me Big Boss?"
"Yeah. Didn't you pay a huge sum to hire me? Though I really didn't expect teleportation to just go whoosh and bring me here. What incredible technology." Guinaifen clicked her tongue in amazement.
It seemed this was how the game rationalized the gacha background—after all, characters pulled in a game normally wouldn't have self-awareness.
Since that was the case, he would need her help later. There was even a chance they might have to fight.
"Huh? Fight? Me? O-okay, I guess fighting is unavoidable in bodyguard work... though I'm better at eating noodles upside down..."
Honestly, although Liu Bai was a veteran player, he really... didn't know much about Raven's specific fighting style.
Come on, who would believe he had installed an unspeakable mod together with a Honkai modpack to experience combat?!
Combat was merely an extra, an appetizer.
It kept the game from becoming too dull without using nonviolent cheats, and it could trigger certain special events.
Normally, the opening would be to work for money, exchange it for Gacha Machine tokens, gamble for hypnosis items, unlock hypnosis skills, and then exploit a bug to practice stealth.
Then he would sneak into wherever he wanted to go and start hypnotizing people. If he failed, he would immediately use stealth, repeating the process and leveling his skills until the hypnosis succeeded.
...Anyway, Liu Bai didn't understand why, in games, crouching right in front of someone made them instantly unable to see you.
Liu Bai Becomes a Lab Rat
"Hmm... Is this thing really worth several thousand?"
Raven, who had just changed into casual clothes, sat on the bed and examined the teapot in her hands.
"I can indeed feel that it has a unique texture and beauty... Forget it, this should count as an artwork, right? Anyway, I'm not the one paying the idiot tax."
Raven chose to trust Gray Serpent's judgment. If that guy said it was worth several thousand, then it was definitely worth several thousand.
That guy's breadth of knowledge was so vast that even the Serpent Lord would have to feel inferior.
Before you continue