Zhongli

Back in the truck, Hu Tao was still dwelling on what they had learned earlier.

She muttered regretfully, "It's a shame Mondstadt is just too far away from us. And there's no telling when Dvalin's rampage will end and when we'd be able to return. It'd be bad if it delayed our business."

"Yeah. Otherwise, I'd like to see what's going on over there too."

What Bai Ye cared about was time.

Dvalin had begun causing trouble in Mondstadt, which meant that Traveler should be in Mondstadt by now.

The plot of Genshin Impact was about to begin.

Next would be Liyue's Rite of Descension.

Hmm...

Once the Rite of Descension was over, it would be time for the Adepti of Liyue to relinquish their position as Liyue's rulers.

By then, he would be much safer.

Bai Ye was rather pleased.

But then, he thought of something unpleasant.

After the Rite of Descension, wouldn't Osial attack Liyue, leading to the Jade Chamber's fall?

What a loss!

It felt thrilling when Bai Ye experienced it in the game, but seeing it happen in person only made it feel like an utterly ruinous deal.

He glanced at the drivers and knew they had rested enough.

Then he called out to everyone,

They were ready to set off again.

"Come on, buckle up and let's get hyped! In a moment, I'll show you a truck drift!"

Bai Ye declared confidently.

"A drift?"

Hu Tao looked at Bai Ye curiously.

The truck had only just been invented. Why did he seem to understand it so well?

Bai Ye said nothing. He simply slammed down on the accelerator and pushed the truck to top speed.

Then, as they passed a bend, he oversteered and pulled off an exceptionally beautiful truck drift.

As the truck suddenly swung around the turn, Hu Tao nearly thought she was about to be flung out.

The novel experience gave her an intense thrill.

"Thrilling! That was absolutely thrilling!"

Hu Tao said with a laugh.

But then,

As she carefully savored the sensation, she asked Bai Ye hesitantly,

"Did you hit something?"

"I don't know. Probably not. There's no one out in the wilderness anyway."

Bai Ye said indifferently.

If it had been a person, he would have noticed long ago.

After Bai Ye and the others left, several Hilichurls stood up from the grass.

"Yayika!"

Watching the trucks speed away, the Hilichurls could only keep cursing.

Unfortunately, those steel monstrosities looked almost as terrifying as Ruin Guards, so they only dared curse after the trucks had gone.

The vehicles continued onward, heading toward Sumeru's border.

After several days of travel, Bai Ye led everyone to the border of Sumeru.

Ahead lay Sumeru's rainforest,

So Bai Ye and the others unloaded the goods.

During the unloading process, he could visibly see Dori's little face turning dark as night.

She looked as though someone were about to take hundreds of millions of Mora from her.

Oh, it wasn't just as though.

Bai Ye settled the freight charges and the cost of various supplies with Dori.

After calculating everything, Bai Ye found that aside from wasting time, Dori had suffered quite a loss.

Making a shady merchant pay the price.

Bai Ye thought to himself.

The contract was airtight. Dori had wanted to pull some tricks, but Bai Ye maintained an attitude of taking the money without doing anything extra, leaving Dori with no choice but to obediently pay the bill.

Once everything was finished,

Bai Ye drove away in the truck with the Mora.

Dori watched Bai Ye leave and silently etched the matter into her heart.

This time, she had taken a loss. It was the first time she had ever lost money in business.

The key was that it had not been through commercial tactics, but because he had suppressed her through actual technology.

She would definitely win back her honor from Bai Ye.

Dori thought to herself.

After venting his frustration, Bai Ye did not think much more about Dori.

On the slow journey back, Bai Ye basically let Hu Tao do all the driving.

They had already agreed that once they returned to Liyue Harbor, the truck would belong to her.

The other trucks were mass-produced by Bai Ye's workers using molds, while this one, the truck he and Hu Tao drove, had been assembled by Bai Ye himself. Rather than give it to members of those merchant guilds, he might as well give it to Hu Tao.

This stretch of road was the perfect chance to let Hu Tao properly practice her driving skills.

No matter what, he had to make Hu Tao Liyue's greatest driver, right?

Meanwhile, Bai Ye was modifying the truck as well.

It wasn't as if he had never seen a Spirit Vehicle before. He just needed to finish the modifications.

He was turning a truck directly into a van.

Only Bai Ye could pull off something like that.

And,

Bai Ye had also caught an Ice Slime for possible future corpse preservation.

With its natural cold air, it offered considerable benefits for preserving bodies.

After several more days of arduous travel,

Bai Ye and Hu Tao finally returned to Liyue Harbor.

After being jolted around on that long trip, Bai Ye was utterly exhausted.

He had driven, ridden in the truck, and modified it along the way.

No one could endure that.

He stretched his body, tilted his head toward Hu Tao, who was driving beside him, and said, "I'm heading out first. I'm going back to sleep."

"Okay." Hu Tao nodded, then asked Bai Ye, "How much does this truck cost? I'll pay you later."

"Sure."

Bai Ye nodded.

The Genshin Eye at his waist lit up, and he calmly opened the door and slipped away.

Watching Bai Ye's movements, Hu Tao could not help but remark,

"Heh, he sure ran off fast."

After complaining, Hu Tao looked over the interior, which had now been integrated with the rear compartment. An Ice Slime in the back was keeping it cool, and she smiled in satisfaction.

She pressed down on the accelerator again and drove toward the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

"When the sun comes out, I bask in the sun; when the moon comes out, I bask in the moon..."

Hu Tao hummed as she drove onward.

Before reaching the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao spotted Zhongli shopping in Liyue Harbor.

The instant she saw Zhongli, Hu Tao's expression stiffened.

Was this guy about to buy something again?

Hu Tao thought of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's bills and instantly felt she absolutely had to stop Zhongli.

If he kept buying things, how many people would need to die in Liyue Harbor before the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor stopped losing money?

She hurriedly drove over.

When she pulled up in front of Zhongli, she immediately stopped.

"Come on, Zhongli. Get in."

Hu Tao rolled down the window and called to Zhongli.

Zhongli silently looked at the iron vehicle that had stopped before him.

Then he nodded.

"Very well."

He was rather curious about the ingenuity and mechanisms behind this vehicle.

This was the kind of idea the Adepti found difficult to conceive.

"Only humans possess infinite possibilities."

Zhongli thought to himself.

This only strengthened his determination to hand Liyue over to humanity.

He had once protected humanity alongside his close friend. After his friend passed away, he and the Adepti had continued protecting them. Now that Liyue's people had grown, it was time for them to walk their own path.