Lu Ze woke up early due to version updates, replacing the screens in the shop with the latest content, ready to welcome the first customer of the morning.
With two stores already established, and another one underway, the workload had increased. Fortunately, with many hands helping, they were working at a brisk pace.
As the in-game updates were minor, there weren't many customers. Most were old players. Wendy was among the first, as she still needed to follow the upcoming storyline.
However, one notable thing was a mysterious countdown that had appeared on the screen at some point. No one knew what it was for, the system hadn't explained, and it couldn't be turned off, which was quite annoying.
"Anyone here? Opening shop this early? Lu Ze, you're quite diligent."
Lu Ze, who was just about to start creating a new PV, looked up in confusion. Who would be here so early? Although having a customer was a good thing, it was just too early.
He had planned to create a Valkyrie's Meal, a seemingly simple cooking anime, but it secretly harbored knives, stabbing you unexpectedly like a hidden assailant, always waiting.
"Introduce me to them? These look like new gadgets, I don't understand them at all."
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a blonde-haired individual – the Traveler! But where was the emergency food, Paimon? He hadn't seen her. Perhaps she could be paired with the cabbage-head.
Speaking of cabbage-head, he hadn't seen her for the past couple of days. She'd been hiding in her room, tinkering with something. It was strange.
"Where's that floating object? Did she not come with you?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a white floating object appeared, hands akimbo, with an arrogant expression. It said with extreme displeasure:
"Who are you calling a floating object? That's so mean! You're even bullying the cute Paimon. I'm going to give you a nasty nickname!"
But she seemed to remember something and quickly covered her mouth, looking at Lu Ze with a hint of embarrassment, afraid he might suddenly lash out and 'take her out'.
After all, the Harbinger had said yesterday that this person was an incredibly powerful expert. Such a person should never be provoked. Paimon would immediately add him to her blacklist. Those on the blacklist couldn't be provoked unless the Traveler's power surpassed theirs.
"What did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly, say it again!"
At some point, Lu Ze had silently picked up a towel and was wiping his dual pistols, occasionally revealing a glint of sharpness, as if showcasing it to someone.
"Ahhh, you heard wrong! You definitely heard wrong. Paimon didn't say anything bad about you. You were just hallucinating!"
It seemed this person's survival instinct was incredibly high.
"Alright, stop teasing Paimon. We don't have much time. We just want to quickly experience your Honkai Impact 3rd, which is why we came so early. If it's not possible, we'll leave now."
After all, this was a rare customer, and a new one who could provide lottery tickets. They had to keep him, otherwise, it would be a huge loss.
As for that old man, he was being pestered by a street performer, so he probably wouldn't be able to come anytime soon.
"There are spots, definitely spots! Come over, I'll teach you how to use it."
After some explanation, Lumine successfully entered Honkai Impact 3rd. What would happen if she encountered Elysia?
Just as he was about to go back to continue creating, Paimon couldn't resist the urge to try it out herself. Of course, he wouldn't refuse an offered lottery ticket.
After a quick arrangement, he prepared to create the PV. After all, there weren't enough heartbreaking moments! His storyline was almost at Chapter 9, which meant the next version update would bring the biggest emotional blow… he wondered if players could handle it?
Meanwhile, in Liyue Harbor, the ruler of the Abyss, the master of the Abyss, Aether! was happily observing the objects before him. Their current goal was to subvert the Seven Nations and overthrow the Heavenly Principles!
A grand goal naturally began from the smallest steps. He chose Liyue as the first nation. Why? Because this place had the most Archons, and the most survivors.
Not only was there Osial, the Vortex Archon, but also the Archon Chiyue, the God of Dust Guizhong, and the Earth Dragon Azhdaha, and others…
These were more than enough for them to subvert this nation. After all, he had just received news that Liyue's God… was dead! Wasn't this a perfect opportunity? He could already see himself sweeping through Liyue, unifying the Seven Nations, and drawing the final sword of battle against the Heavenly Principles.
"Your Highness, everything is ready. We just need to wait for the Fatui to activate the seal. With their intelligence, they'll probably think they opened the seal themselves and won't know about our existence."
Aether nodded, a flicker of madness in his eyes. Looking at the various items before him, a plan to create a god… slowly germinated and grew in his heart. Their Khaenri'ah had no gods? Then they would create one themselves.
"Well done. Give the order! For now, Abyss Mages should not appear in this area. It's too suspicious. We must not expose ourselves unless absolutely necessary. Return and gather the soldiers. We aim to take it in one fell swoop!"
Meanwhile, Lu Ze sneezed inexplicably. Could his luck be bad today? If he couldn't get anything good from both lottery tickets, what was the point of playing? He would never touch this machine again.
"Let's see how my luck is today. Please, give me a character! Definitely not a weapon!"
As the lottery ticket was crushed and the results appeared, Lu Ze became incredibly tense. Whether he could revive the key person depended on whether the system was happy. If not, it might be a bit precarious.
As expected, this time there was no weapon, nor a character. It was just a set of ordinary stigmata. But even ordinary ones were very powerful.
After all, it was Welt's Herrscher of Reason. How could it not be strong?
He secretly used Crystal Head to modify the attributes, successfully equipping the third set of stigmata. It seemed… he would need to hoard more crystals in the future, otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to afford slots.
Following that, he invested the second ticket. This time, it directly yielded a character. Seeing the character appear, Lu Ze was more excited than anyone. Himeko or Anna, choose one! If he didn't get them, he would have to beat up this damn system.
As if hearing the threat, a red light flickered, then transformed into a loli. The Vodka Girls were all gathered. Now Rosaria had also arrived… well, two sisters were good too.
After some explanation and Lilya's persuasion, Rosaria successfully moved in. She already had a high impression of the Captain, so changing worlds was no big deal!