In any case, the first video had finished playing, and the Anemo Archon's wine bottle had fallen into the hands of the person best suited to it.
Whatever private agendas the screen's viewers might have had, they had gained some confidence in its authenticity and begun considering taking part themselves.
After the first video ended, there was an intermission before the second began. Perhaps the screen had arranged it deliberately to give the viewers time to process things.
After a round of chaotic discussion, almost every viewer had developed considerable interest in the second video.
[System: Now playing the second video-Cyno, the true Cryo Archon.] [System: Notice: This video is a fan work. Viewers are advised to exercise caution regarding its contents.]
The system's warning came a little too late. The second video's title had already sent everyone in Teyvat into an uproar.
Everyone had already figured out that the strange screen had created the first video to test the waters and familiarize its viewers with how things worked, while also proving that its earlier promises of rewards were no joke.
With the rewards confirmed to be real, all the viewers eligible to participate in this quiz with prizes were rubbing their hands in anticipation of the next video.
As for whether the screen had ill intentions?
Well, if the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up.
The leaders of every nation, and even the gods, had been forcibly dragged into this screen and made into some sort of starred users, yet none of them seemed to object. What did ordinary people like them have to fear?
Hadn't Furina, who might be the Hydro Archon herself, and Nahida, who was suspected of being the current Dendro Archon, been chatting happily on the screen as though nothing were wrong?
Since even the gods were actively participating, what could they possibly fear?
Teyvat was a world truly ruled by gods, where people walked alongside them. Its people were accustomed to being led by gods, making them very different from modern people on Earth who questioned everything.
Besides, even on Earth, if a giant screen suddenly appeared, broadcasting worldwide and actually handing out rewards, most people would probably participate too.
Amid this increasingly lively atmosphere-
The second video's title landed like a grenade tossed into a pressure cooker, blasting their capacity to cope into pieces.
[Tartaglia: Interesting. Is this an open provocation against Snezhnaya? Who exactly is this Cyno? Come out and fight me!]
[Pantalone: Although I normally detest your battle-crazed personality, I will give you my full support this time, Childe. My intelligence network tells me that this Cyno is very likely Sumeru's Great General Mahamatra.]
[Dottore: Ah, "I" happen to be in Sumeru as well. I would also very much like to see what the true Cryo Archon looks like, Mr. Cyno.]
Seeing signs that all eleven Fatui Harbingers intended to speak up in turn and make trouble for Cyno, his friend Tighnari couldn't help growing anxious.
[Tighnari: Hey, you can't just look at part of the information! Didn't you see that notice about this being some sort of fan work afterward?]
[Tighnari: Although I don't know exactly what "fan work" means, judging by the description afterward, the footage about to play shouldn't consist entirely of true information.]
[Arlecchino: You have something of a point. However, the dignity of our beloved Tsaritsa must not be challenged. We Fatui shall determine the substance and level of our diplomatic representations to Sumeru based on the contents of the upcoming video.]
As The Knave finished speaking, the video finished buffering and officially began its broadcast.
Although the Fatui Harbingers' collective attack on Cyno had created an atmosphere in which even someone as recklessly bold as Arataki Itto or as unaware of such matters as Klee hadn't dared interrupt, everyone was actually quite curious about the video.
With the previous video setting a high standard by revealing a tremendous amount of information and even seemingly exposing the Anemo Archon Barbatos's secret identity, everyone had high expectations for the second video too.
Could some tremendous upheaval have occurred in Teyvat afterward, with the current Cryo Archon suddenly dying and this Cyno, apparently Sumeru's Great General Mahamatra, becoming the new Cryo Archon?
Honestly, the Fatui Harbingers, who knew what plan their leader was currently pursuing, might well have harbored such concerns.
They truly feared seeing their beloved Tsaritsa fail in her plan and get crushed to death by a single finger of the Heavenly Principles, who would then casually toss the Heart of the Cryo Archon to Sumeru's Cyno in mockery, making him the Cryo Archon.
As for viewers outside Sumeru, and even some within it, their guesses were more ordinary. Quite a few hadn't even grasped the situation and thought Cyno really was the Cryo Archon's title.
After all, one couldn't expect everyone in Teyvat to be a keyboard warrior, intimately familiar with the gods and leaders of the Seven Nations and able to discuss every aspect of the political situation knowledgeably. Most people concerned themselves only with everyday necessities and didn't even know that gods had been replaced.
In their eyes, wasn't the existence of gods simply a matter of course? How could gods possibly die, let alone be replaced?
Only some people in Sumeru who interacted frequently with Cyno had a vague inkling of the truth, and that truth made them want to cover their faces.
As the black screen faded, a place with a distinctly Sumeru feel, seemingly somewhere to eat, appeared in the footage.
"That's Lambad's Tavern. I eat there often. There's no mistaking it."
"The one standing in the middle-isn't that Cyno?"
"Did Cyno become the Cryo Archon at Lambad's Tavern?"
"I bet his dry jokes chilled Celestia itself, turning him into the 'Cryo' Archon."
Several of Sumeru's Matra who happened to be together exchanged glances, realizing that this was genuinely possible.
Sure enough, Nilou, Sumeru City's famous dancer, walked through the tavern carrying a sculpture. As she moved forward, the camera pulled back, revealing a sign reading "joke party" hanging from a pillar. At the same time, Cyno's voice rang out.
"There was a traveler who was terribly thirsty in the desert, so he prayed that he would encounter a Hydro Slime."
Although none of them actually knew English, the screen directly fed the meaning of those two words into every viewer's mind.
In reality, Tighnari had already covered his face with both hands, wearing a mask of anguish.
The camera shifted. Nilou looked curiously toward the center of the tavern, where a dark figure gradually emerged. Against the pitch-black little figure, a pair of golden eyes and a mouth full of gleaming white teeth stood out.
"Little did he know that a hungry Hydro Slime was also praying to encounter a lone traveler."
Cyno's true appearance gradually emerged. Nilou stared blankly at him, and the sculpture in her hands fell to the floor and shattered.
The aria sounded so sacred. A sudden indoor blizzard froze the entire Baland's Tavern, until even the dumbstruck Nilou was frozen solid.
Finally, after the entirety of Sumeru's sacred tree had also frozen solid, a chess piece bearing the Cryo symbol fell from Celestia into Cyno's hand as his aura erupted and golden light flashed around him.
Holding the frozen Nilou, Aether stared blankly at Cyno, who had already become the Cryo Archon, and let out an anguished cry. In the end, he too was completely frozen by the powerful Cryo energy.
The video ended.
Silence.
Teyvat was now a silent Teyvat. Only after a long while did Tighnari post in the discussion area in despair.
[Tighnari: Damn it, is the image of us Sumeru people completely ruined now?]
[Tartaglia: Uh, let's put your people's image aside for now. Can someone tell me what that video actually meant? Why did the Heart of the Cryo Archon suddenly fall into that young man's hands?]
[Nahida: I think it meant that Cyno's dry jokes were so cold that nobody understood him, and then they froze all of Sumeru, so the Heavenly Principles awarded him the Heart of the Cryo Archon?]
[Lumine: It's a fan work. I expected as much-but can someone tell me why my big brother was there? Is that red-haired girl my sister-in-law?]
[Nilou: Huh? Huuuh?? No, I don't know that gentleman in the video!]
[Lumine: Got it. She's my new wife, then!]
[Nilou: ???]
There had to be something seriously wrong with this Lumine.
Lumine and Nilou's exchange was only a minor interlude. As the viewers processed the video, their discussion grew increasingly heated.
Most of it, however, centered on how incomprehensible the video was. The Fatui in particular were furious.
[Lisa: It seems the one running things behind the screen chose the wrong video~.]
[Yae Miko: Exactly. The greatest taboo for a creator is failing to let viewers or readers get what they're going for.]
[Lumine: This video is a fan work. I'm guessing that in another world, Teyvat is a fictional work, and someone made this video using elements from something called "Genshin Impact," whether that's a game or an anime. Probably only people from that world can get the references, while those of us still inside Teyvat can't understand what it's trying to express.]
[Tighnari: No (weakly), I did get it, but I wish I hadn't.]
Perhaps their discussion had made the being behind the screen lash out in embarrassment. This time, he didn't wait for them to continue discussing and simply threw out the question.
[Question: What is Cyno's job title?] [A. Great General Maha-machine] [B. Great General Mahamatra] [C. Great General Maha-rank] [D. Lord of dry jokes] [This question is a giveaway. Once the countdown ends, all users, including spectator users, may buzz in. Correct answers will be rewarded, and incorrect answers will be punished. Please choose carefully.]
"Hey, hey, hey, that fourth option is completely different in style."
"Exactly! That's so unfriendly to people with OCD!"
Listening to the complaints around him, Zhongli calmly drank his tea, his thoughts going further.
From the looks of things, this screen that had appeared so suddenly clearly had a being behind it directing everything.
And this being could make mistakes too.
The first video had been quite cleverly chosen. It revealed just the right amount of information, leaving the true identity of that drunken bard Barbatos in a delicate state that was enough to spark curiosity and make people eager to delve deeper.
But the second video-hmm, according to the discussion area, it was called a fan work. He more or less understood what that meant.
The choice of this video was somewhat subtly unsuited to the current circumstances.
"Still in the familiarization stage, learning how to play videos and which videos are more appropriate?"
Watching the countdown on the screen, Zhongli arrived at this conjecture.
[Begin.]
[Cyno: Great General Mahamatra!]
[Kaeya: Damn, he's allowed to answer a question about himself?]
[Kaveh: Rigged! This is rigged!]
[Dori: Tch, just a little too slow! Aah, my Mora! My Mora has left me!]
[Klee: Hm? Will this question reward Mora?]
[Dori: No idea, but whatever it rewards can definitely be sold for Mora.]
The first question had rewarded a bottle containing the Anemo Archon's breath. Dori had heard that a rich person in Mondstadt had engaged in a splendidly straightforward contest with a rival over an item connected to the Anemo Archon-
He had bought every fake and genuine article on the market.
Thinking of this, Dori nearly bit her handkerchief in frustration. If it had been her, she would certainly have devised a better sales method to squeeze out every last Mora!
Aaaah, why hadn't she, Dori, managed to seize this opportunity?
[System: Correct answer. Congratulations to Mr. Cyno on receiving one Mora personally handled by the Geo Archon.]
Watching a Mora indistinguishable from any other descend into the hand of Cyno, who was escorting several scholars who had committed offenses through the desert, Zhongli fell silent.
That Mora couldn't be...
With that thought, he called out, "Waiter, the bill. Put it-"
"On the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's tab?"
He was already a regular, and the waiter was quite familiar with Mr. Zhongli's habits.
Zhongli nodded, then quickly left.
He returned to his bedroom at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor as fast as he could.
Sure enough, the Mora he had absentmindedly fiddled with on his desk the previous evening while considering his retirement plans had vanished without a trace.
"Heh, interesting."
Zhongli calmly closed his bedroom door and went to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's main hall.
There, Director Hu Tao was scratching her head as she drew and wrote on a sheet of paper.
"Director, what are you doing?"
"I'm thinking up more memorable advertising slogans. You come too, Consultant. Hurry and help me think of some, then post them on this screen."
Hu Tao raised her head, her plum-blossom eyes sparkling.
"Let me tell you, Consultant, we have a real advantage. Look how few people are eligible to speak, and our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor has two! We can't let that advantage go to waste!"
"Very well, Director. As you wish."
Finding the screen increasingly interesting, Zhongli felt a rare flicker of curiosity and also planned to take a more active role going forward, to properly test this screen.
[Ningguang: Mr. Cyno, would you be interested in selling that Mora? I am willing to purchase it for a substantial sum.]
[Keqing: +1]
[Xingqiu: +2]
[Beidou: +3]
[Dori: Hehehe, this is where being from Sumeru gives me the advantage.]
[Dori: Cyno, trade that Mora to me. I have an out-of-print Genius Invokation TCG card.]
[Cyno: Deal!]