This had also become his only refuge, the one place where he could relax and rest.
Otherwise, Yin Kong could never have held on until now.
After all, before being transported here, he had only been an ordinary person.
But for Paimon, being separated from Yin Kong was clearly an agonizing thing:
"Traveler, can't you make an exception? Don't worry, my acting is really good. I definitely, definitely won't give us away."
Yet faced with Paimon's plea, Yin Kong shook his head without hesitation.
"No means no. Unless we're confident we can deal with those monsters, there's no room for negotiation."
He did not want a moment of softheartedness to leave him with lifelong regrets.
Dawn Sword
Teleport Waypoints were a lost technology of Teyvat Continent, rooted in the Ley Line system from the game.
Naturally, after being transported into this world, Yin Kong had found neither Statues of the Seven nor Teleport Waypoints here.
The waypoint in his apartment had actually been a reward he received after completing the initial tutorial.
Perhaps because it lacked the support of Ley Lines, Yin Kong could still use it to teleport in emergencies, but after every teleportation, the waypoint seemed to need to "recharge," becoming temporarily inactive for about a day.
During that time, not only could he not teleport, but its original effect of driving away monsters would also disappear.
For that reason, Yin Kong would not use this ability rashly.
"But Paimon, don't be too discouraged. With our strength, we'll grow bigger and stronger sooner or later and achieve greatness again.
When that time comes, we can naturally continue adventuring together."
"Mm, I believe you, Traveler."
Paimon nodded firmly. She had never doubted that.
Suddenly, she seemed to think of something. She grabbed Yin Kong and flew over to the computer, proudly introducing it to him.
"Oh, Traveler, look! I found lots of commissions that meet your requirements..."
To keep Paimon from becoming too bored on her own, Yin Kong had spent quite some time teaching her how to use the internet.
That way, while Paimon learned some common knowledge about this world, she could also help him keep an eye out for suitable commissions.
Although the internet of this era was still far less widespread than it would be in the future, several fairly specialized platforms had already been established.
Even if the commissions on those platforms were a mixed bag and required careful screening, it was still much more reliable than being like a certain middle-aged man and lying at home all day waiting for commissions to come knocking.
"Unfortunately, most of the clients rejected us outright when they heard we were newly established.
But I followed what you taught me and promised them that we wouldn't charge anything at all if we failed the commission. In the end, quite a few people were willing to give us a try..."
"As expected of Paimon. You really are capable."
Seeing Paimon plant her hands on her hips with an eager, proud expression that practically begged him to praise her, Yin Kong generously gave her a thumbs-up.
While the little one giggled foolishly, he also briefly looked through the information on those commissions.
As expected, most of them were trivial jobs involving catching cheating spouses in the act or finding lost pets.
The rewards ranged only from several thousand to several tens of thousands of yen.
However, Yin Kong urgently needed money as startup capital for Cunning Rabbit House. So after excluding commissions that skirted the edge of the law, such as affairs, he first picked out several of the highest-paying ones.
Then he discovered that one commission offered a reward far beyond the rest.
It was not some small job involving cats or dogs. The client said she suspected someone had been following her recently.
If he could help her catch the possible stalker or clear away her suspicions, she was willing to pay one million yen, or even more.
"This is the one."
What slightly surprised Yin Kong was that the client was actually online right then. His message received a reply almost immediately.
After a brief exchange, they quickly arranged to meet the next day.
After leaving messages for two seemingly easier commissions as backups, Yin Kong let go of the keyboard.
Seeing that, Paimon immediately looked at him expectantly.
"Traveler, is it training time again?"
Yin Kong nodded lightly and took Paimon into another empty room.
Then, a silver-white one-handed sword appeared in his hand out of thin air.
"This is a treasured sword that once shone like the morning sun. Those who wield it receive the power of Feeling Good. The glowing material on the blade has faded away."
Although Feeling Good in the weapon description looked suspiciously like a mockery, its actual effect was completely real.
In the game, because it could provide both valuable Crit Rate and Crit DMG, this Dawn Sword had once been affectionately called a "Three-Star Artifact" by players.
After two months of experimentation and exploration, Yin Kong had basically concluded that critical hits in reality probably felt like those sudden flashes of inspiration.
The level of Crit DMG determined whether that flash was true inspiration or merely a foolish person's momentary bright idea.
Although the weapon's enhancements were only temporary and vanished after he unequipped it, the results of his training during that time would not disappear.
In fact, if he could become familiar with or even master that inspiration, perhaps his base Crit Rate might improve as well?
That was precisely why Yin Kong had deliberately chosen to train with this weapon equipped.
It was worth mentioning that he had also discovered that, unlike the Traveler in the game, he was not limited to equipping one-handed swords.
Other than catalysts, which he had yet to pull, Yin Kong could equip and use one-handed swords, claymores, bows, and polearms normally, though his proficiency with all of them was rather hard to describe.
He did not know whether this was a change caused by the game becoming reality or simply because he was some special exception.
"Mm, I think this swing needs to be a little higher..."
"No, you need to put more force into this part!"
"When you block, make sure to pay attention to your wrist position—"
Paimon flew beside Yin Kong, proudly pointing out flaws in his movements.
Paimon found it surprising that the Traveler had suddenly become completely clueless about combat and needed her guidance to train, but she did not find it strange.
"Anyway, you probably got caught up in some strange accident again and had your powers and memories sealed, right? Don't worry, I'm already used to this sort of thing. I won't laugh at you."
Even so, Paimon was especially excited that she could one day turn the tables and guide the Traveler's training instead.
Of course, she truly was qualified to do so.
Although her own combat strength was not even one-fifth that of a wild boar, after experiencing so many earth-shaking events, little Paimon's knowledge and perspective were already extraordinary.
Not only was she qualified to take courses at the Sumeru Akademiya, she had also mastered many impressive moves, such as Swift Shadow Like a Sword.
Although those techniques were too scattered and lacked any coherent system, making them useful only as simple references at best, they were still far superior to the Yin Kong of old, who knew nothing about combat.
Unfortunately, Paimon was not a professional teacher.
So most of the time, she could only vaguely sense that there was something wrong with Yin Kong's movements.
As for exactly what was wrong and how he should improve, she found it hard to explain.
And she often got carried away, blurting out bizarre new ideas.
"Hey, Traveler, I suddenly came up with a great idea. First, hold up one leg and stand on one foot inside a circle. Then I'll throw game pieces at you from outside, and as long as you don't get hit all night, you pass..."
"You just want to throw things at me, don't you?" Yin Kong said helplessly. "And don't think I've forgotten everything. Isn't that how they tested the Dainichi Mikoshi officials in Enkanomiya?"
"What do you mean, 'ehe'?!"
Even so, whenever he had time, Yin Kong would still train with Paimon like this.
Naturally, that effort had paid off.
When he had first arrived in this world, Yin Kong had not even known how to hold a sword, and he had not even unlocked the combat talent Normal Attack.
But now, without consuming any Mora or materials, his one-handed sword Normal Attack talent had risen to Lv. 2, which naturally thrilled him.
Unfortunately, after reaching Lv. 2, Yin Kong had clearly felt that training alone was gradually becoming less effective.
What he needed now was more professional, systematic guidance, or—
Real combat!
Ono Yoko
Early the next morning, Yin Kong entered this city of demons once more, carrying Paimon's blessings with him.
Of course, for the sake of his mental and physical health, he had arranged to meet the client at a café very close to his apartment.
No ghosts haunted this café. Although demons and monsters still inevitably wandered through it, it was already a sufficiently friendly establishment for Yin Kong.
When he arrived, he found a man and a woman already waiting at the agreed-upon table. Judging from their expressions and movements, they had clearly been waiting for quite some time.
"Sorry to keep you both waiting." Seeing this, Yin Kong immediately walked over and introduced himself. "I'm Yin Kong from Cunning Rabbit House, and I'll be handling your commission."
"Mr. Yin Kong, you're too polite. We only just arrived ourselves."
The one who spoke was the middle-aged man, dressed like a typical corporate drone who looked as though he had long since given up on dreams.
He first sized Yin Kong up, and when he discovered how young he was, disappointment inevitably appeared in his eyes.
However, he quickly put on a polite smile and introduced himself.
"My name is Yamagishi Ei. It's an honor to meet you."
As for the young woman beside him, she wore a very classic pair of black sunglasses and a large face mask, making her features impossible to see clearly.
"Ono Yoko?"
Yin Kong remembered her. She was an extremely popular idol right now, so it was no wonder she had concealed herself so thoroughly.
However, the blue text floating above her head rendered all her disguises useless.
Ono Yoko had clearly not expected that result and asked in surprise:
"Mr. Yin Kong, you know me?"
Yin Kong flattered her.
"Miss Yoko is far too famous. I doubt there are more than a few customers in this café who wouldn't recognize you."
Ono Yoko humbly replied:
"You flatter me. I still have many areas where I need to work harder."
As for Yamagishi Ei, he was naturally her manager.
Seeing that her identity had already been exposed, he softly reminded Yin Kong:
"Since Mr. Yin Kong has recognized Miss Yoko, you should understand our difficulties. We ask that you keep this commission as confidential as possible."
Yin Kong nodded lightly.
"Of course. Please rest assured, Cunning Rabbit House is professional."
Ono Yoko earnestly said:
"Then we'll be relying on you."
Her disguise could not exactly be called flawless, but Yin Kong had seen through it at a glance. At the very least, that showed his powers of observation were quite impressive.
After briefly introducing themselves, Yin Kong stopped wasting words and began asking about the specific situation.
"So, Miss Yoko, you discovered that someone has been following you?"
At this point, he had vaguely recalled something.
Like Sato and Takagi, Miss Yoko was not part of the main cast of Detective Conan, but she was still a fairly important supporting character.
She would also become involved in many cases in the future. Naturally, this seemed to be one of them.
But because too much time had passed, Yin Kong could no longer remember the exact details very clearly.
He only vaguely remembered that this stalker case seemed to involve this popular idol's ex-boyfriend going to her apartment and committing suicide for some reason?
Of course, since Kudo Shinichi had not yet become Conan, that murder case should not have happened yet.
But what truly concerned Yin Kong was the current state of Ono Yoko and Yamagishi Ei.
Before you continue