In the second phase of Keqing's battle, the main addition was [Assistance from the Half-Adeptus Qilin].
One effect was to slowly regenerate Keqing's HP.
The other was that Ganyu would mark targets from atop a distant building.
She would not mark the same person as Keqing simultaneously.
Ganyu's mark came with a countdown prompt—once the timer ended, she would fire a charged shot at the target.
The attack dealt AoE Cryo damage centered on the marked target.
Because of this, players couldn't cluster together, and they also had to avoid being affected by Hydro, as it would trigger Frozen.
However, Silver Wolf had already studied this.
As an NPC, Ganyu's Cryo arrows were incredibly powerful and could freeze water surfaces for an extended period.
Thus, in the strategy, Ganyu's arrows could actually be exploited—by forcing the marked player to stand in water and deliberately take the hit, triggering Frozen.
This would freeze the water surface, expanding the available movement area.
[Holy shit, so that's how you're supposed to play it!]
[Ganyu: I'm the traitor now?]
That said, executing it was still a bit different in practice.
The party still wiped twice.
Only after they started getting familiar with each other's playstyles did they finally reach the third boss—Qiqi.
A prompt appeared on the interface:
「Record the current four-player team composition?」
「Next challenge can resume from this point.」
Guinaifen looked at the prompt and sighed. "Finally, a bit of mercy."
[I've realized this event requires friends, but I don't have any.]
[As everyone knows, random teams are harder than solo play because the pressure never comes from the boss—it's always from your teammates.]
[I agree. If I were controlling all four characters myself, I'd have cleared it by now.]
The difficulty spike with Qiqi was much more significant.
This was precisely why Mu Yang had specifically invited her to join.
After the party finished their dialogue with Qiqi, the battle began.
Qiqi immediately activated her talismans, summoning four 「Frozen Malady Spirits」.
These were such a "wonderful" addition—one for each player.
The 「Frozen Malady Spirits」 would attach themselves to the players, applying a debuff that continuously accumulated 「Frigid Cold Value」.
The closer the characters were to each other, the faster the accumulation speed.
Once 「Frigid Cold Value」 maxed out, it would bypass shields and directly drain HP.
This was also why bringing a Pyro character was mandatory for this event.
Mu Yang had placed several heat sources around the arena that required Pyro to ignite.
Standing near these heat sources would dispel the Frigid Cold.
This was Qiqi's first skill mechanic.
The second was 「Salvation Through Mercy」.
Qiqi would stomp the ground, causing ice spikes to generate from her position and spread outward.
Players could dodge them by jumping or dashing, and the skill also had a red-circle indicator.
This skill had a synergy with 「Frigid Cold Value」—the higher the accumulated value, the more damage the ice spikes would deal upon contact.
Additionally, 「Frigid Cold Value」 also affected movement speed, disrupting the players' evasion rhythm.
This was evident from Guinaifen, who had already lost half her HP.
When she first read the guide, she thought Qiqi's first phase would be simple since the arena was so large—unlike the narrow bridge earlier.
But she was wrong. Now, not only did she have to focus on dealing damage, but she also had to manage lighting the heat sources, leaving her a bit flustered.
Since they weren't used to the Frigid Cold's effects yet, the party didn't brute-force DPS and instead focused on getting familiar with the rhythm.
[Holy shit, why does it feel like the difficulty just jumped another tier?]
[Has the streamer not cleared it yet? I just followed their guide to beat Xingqiu and Keqing—waiting for the next strategy.]
[Qiqi is way too OP.]
[This DPS rotation is exhausting—dealing damage while also managing the heat sources.]
[Is Jean not that good here? Getting close just increases Frigid Cold Value. Feels like Diona might be better.]
Guinaifen glanced at the chat. "Little Wolf, they're asking why you picked Jean."
Silver Wolf: "Don't question it—just learn."
Once the party struggled through the first phase and reached the second, they were greeted by Yaoyao and her Yuegui assisting Qiqi.
The second phase required fighting both Qiqi and Yaoyao.
Yuegui would indiscriminately toss 「Radish Bombs」 around the arena.
Stepping on them would trigger explosions, dealing significant damage.
Combined with Qiqi's ice spikes, the players' movement space was already severely restricted.
On top of that, they still had to light heat sources to prevent 「Frigid Cold Value」 from maxing out and draining their HP.
[Who's this character? Yaoyao? She's so cute!]
[Cute? The streamer clearly doesn't think so—look at Little Gui's face, it's practically green from getting bombed.]
[Qiqi, Diona, Klee—the final piece of my waifu team is here! Yaoyao!]
[This guy always comes up with the wildest takes.]
[Uncle Policeman: Do you like these shiny silver bracelets?]
[Look at the green damage numbers from the bombs—must be Dendro. No way they'd add it this fast.]
After getting bombed a few times, Silver Wolf started directing Sparkle.
Only then did the party understand why Jean had been chosen.
Sparkle controlled Jean, using her Elemental Skill to gather Yuegui's Radish Bombs in one place.
Then, she lifted them into the air—this didn't trigger the explosion mechanic.
Meanwhile, the two players handling aggro pulled Qiqi and Yaoyao over.
Once they quickly dashed away, Sparkle dropped the gathered Radish Bombs onto the two bosses' heads.
The bombs exploded, dealing massive damage.
[How does the damage from the gathered bombs count as Jean's?]
[Is that how the mechanics work?]
[You're actually a genius.]
This was, of course, one of Mu Yang's little tricks—he had left small exploits in almost every stage.
Similarly, Venti's Burst could also gather the bombs, but Venti had no healing.
Plus, Jean could hold the bombs indefinitely—even if the aggro players failed, it didn't matter.
——————
Silver Wolf spoke up in voice chat.
"Little Gui, ask your chat—do they still have any doubts?"
Guinaifen immediately leaned into the bit. "Well? Chat, say something!"
[Is the performance urge kicking in again, Little Gui?]
[The chat hasn't even seen Qiqi's face yet—they really think they have any right to criticize?]
[That said, the fight isn't over yet—don't celebrate too soon.]
[Silver Wolf's pretty good, but… what's the cost of such power?]
Using this method, the party managed to deplete Qiqi and Yaoyao's HP simultaneously.
The three thought they had cleared the stage.
Guinaifen and Sparkle had already taken their hands off the keyboard, starting to mock the chat.
"You two, hold on—it's not over yet."
Silver Wolf warned.
"Huh?"
As Qiqi collapsed, she triggered 「Revival from Death's Hold」.
Both Qiqi and Yaoyao revived at half HP.
Moreover, after witnessing Yaoyao get defeated, Qiqi entered a frenzied state.
She froze all the heat sources on the field, leaving only one active at a time.
The active heat source's position would reset.
With 「Frigid Cold Value」 accelerating under these conditions, the party wiped.
Restart. Wipe.
[Why isn't the streamer laughing anymore? Is it just not in their nature?]
[Hahaha, laughter never disappears—it just transfers to my face.]
[This is exactly what I came to see!]
[Wow, Kafka's blushing—that's new. I'm sold.]
[Whoever's bad is the one who should feel awkward. Steel Plate, you awkward?]
[Shouldn't our Little Gui be the most awkward one here?]
...
After two grueling hours, the party finally defeated Qiqi.
The chat, meanwhile, had long since lost it—watching others suffer was pure entertainment.
Small Group Chat:
[Sparkle]: I take back what I said earlier—this popularity isn't so easy to milk after all.
[Kafka]: Can't be helped. When you take gifts, you owe favors—especially when Mu Yang drops 100k like it's nothing.
[Guinaifen]: At this point, I don't even know if the hype is for him or for us. My head's spinning…
[Silver Wolf]: Let's take a break before continuing. Let's at least go in and save our progress.
The other three agreed with Silver Wolf's suggestion.
They stepped onto the final challenge platform.
Aside from Silver Wolf, most of the live audience had never seen this last battle.
At the center of the platform, just like in the story cutscene, was a sword—「Withering Glory」.
But now, the sword was surrounded by three guardian statues—
A white serpent, a golden koi, and a lion-like beast...