Keqing poked the pufferfish's belly, and it instantly puffed up like a balloon.
"So cute~"
Stars seemed to twinkle in Keqing's bright eyes.
"Ah Qu, let's not eat this one. Can we keep it at home instead?"
"Don't worry. Even if you hadn't said that, I wasn't planning to eat it. A pufferfish's organs contain neurotoxins that can't be neutralized by heat like protein-based ones. Only chefs familiar with its anatomy can safely prepare it. I'd say we're not blessed with the right skillset."
"Hm? I don't get it."
Keqing blinked innocently, her dazed look brimming with charm.
"Ahem. Anyway, let's keep fishing. I have a feeling this lake has more than just pufferfish!"
Gong Qu put on a serious face, though his heart was racing wildly.
This woman… is criminally sweet!
Time flies when you're fishing. In the blink of an eye, several hours had passed, and dusk had arrived.
Gong Qu's expression, however, darkened faster than the setting sun.
Yes, he had caught things besides pufferfish.
Like seaweed, a broken bow, a cracked fishing rod, a tattered leather cap… but not a single other edible fish.
Keqing had already reeled in her line and packed up.
Her haul looked far more normal, besides some of the junk mentioned above, she'd managed to catch over a dozen salmon and cod.
Plop!
The bobber sank again.
Gong Qu held his breath and struck with textbook precision, reeling in fast.
But when the catch broke the surface...
A broken bow gleaming faintly with a purple glow came into view.
"Another enchanted bow. Useless trash."
He had already fished up a dozen of these and had long since stopped caring.
"Wait, 'Infinity'? Isn't that the first time this enchantment's shown up?"
Keqing picked up the discarded bow with curiosity.
"Infinity?!"
Gong Qu immediately retrieved his fishing rod and pulled up the item interface.
[Item: Bow]
[Durability: 10]
[Enchantment: Infinity]
"Tch! It really is! Okay, I didn't catch any edible fish, but getting an Infinity bow? I'll take it."
"From that look on your face, I guess a bow that can fire arrows endlessly is pretty rare?"
"It's not just rare, it's powerful. If I can stack Power V on top of this, I could one-shot every skeleton archer out there."
"Hmm... sounds about right. Ganyu and Yelan can one-shot hilichurls or even a chieftain with a single arrow too. For skilled Vision holders who use bows, isn't infinite arrows kind of standard?"
Keqing fired off a sarcastic jab with perfect accuracy. Gong Qu was left completely defenseless.
She was totally calling him out for being fishless all afternoon!
Gong Qu was not okay with this.
Then again, can Vision-powered elemental energy really count as "infinite"? And can a Minecraft Infinity bow generate iron arrows out of thin air? Can Genshin do that?
The air was suddenly filled with a lively, teasing energy.
Nightfall.
Tonight's dinner was prepared by Keqing, the famed grilled fish master of Liyue.
At the table, Gong Qu tore into the fish like it owed him money. He didn't even spit out the bones, just crunched them down and swallowed.
"Take your time. I caught plenty today, there's still more in the pool."
She had no idea how cruel those words were to a man who had spent the whole day fishing.
With a dramatic sob, Gong Qu dove into her embrace, seeking solace.
Keqing was still new to this kind of physical closeness. Flustered as she was, she gently hugged him back, doing her best to comfort the wounded pride of the empty-handed fisherman.
A few days later...
Just past midnight.
[Weekly Random Shop successfully refreshed. This week's items:]
Recycler Bin: 100 World Coins
Night Vision Potion (20 min) x12: 100 World Coins
Water Breathing Potion (20 min) x12: 100 World Coins
Countryside Ranch (Blueprint): 500 World Coins
Hot Spring (Blueprint): 500 World Coins
Teleportation Anchor (Unbound): 1000 World Coins
Mega Lottery (11 pulls): 1000 World Coins
Mega Lottery (120 pulls): 10000 World Coins
[World Coin Balance: 900]
Teleportation anchor?! Wait, no, Recycler Bin?!
Gong Qu jolted upright in bed.
"Ah Qu? What's wrong?"
It was just past midnight, not too late for Gong Qu, but a little over Keqing's usual bedtime.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."
Keqing shook her head. She didn't mind.
Noticing the system screen open before him, she scooted closer and leaned against his shoulder to take a look.
The silky softness of her bare skin brushed against him, and Gong Qu silently praised the beauty of sleeping nude.
"A teleportation anchor already? Too bad we're a bit short, we can't afford it," Keqing murmured with a tinge of regret.
It had been a week since their arrival in this world.
But their exploration was still limited. Even after crafting full iron gear and completing a few achievements, they'd only managed to save up 900 World Coins.
This Minecraft-like world was far more realistic and expansive than the original game.
So distance had become their biggest obstacle in exploration.
And they weren't about to abandon their luxury villa just to go hunt for a village, temple, or dungeon.
"Also, just buying one anchor isn't enough. We need at least two to actually make use of it, to open up new areas."
"So if we can't hit 1100 World Coins this week, there's no telling when we'll see another anchor?"
"Exactly."
"But that's so tough. Didn't you say we can only earn World Coins by completing achievements? Should we speed things up and head down to explore under the lava you mentioned?"
Gong Qu waved her off and shifted his gaze to the first item: the Recycler Bin. He explained:
"We've only scratched the surface of this world, but the level of realism here is no joke. Lava's not as shallow as it is in the game, and we have no idea how dangerous it is."
Take Earth for example:
Magma usually exists dozens of kilometers underground, beneath the Earth's crust. Even in volcanic regions, where the crust is thinner, you'd still need to dig down at least ten kilometers to hit magma.
More importantly, Gong Qu was fixated on something else, the Recycler Bin was in the same slot, and at the same price, as the Starter Pack.
[Purchase Successful]
[Remaining Balance: 800 World Coins]
[Item: Recycler Bin]
[Description: Insert crops, rare ores, livestock products, and other valuable materials. Converts to World Coins the following day at 6:00 AM.]
Just as he thought, like the Starter Pack, this was clearly a core item designed for players!
Looks like the early "random" shop refreshes weren't so random after all.
The first refresh gave the Starter Pack, ensuring survival right after transmigration.
The second gave the Recycler Bin, enabling players to generate basic currency.
So what's the third going to be?
Having hoarded his World Coins until now, Gong Qu finally tapped the "Refresh" button.
[Spent 100 World Coins – Refresh successful]
Aside from the ever-present lottery pulls, a bunch of useless items popped up.
But the first slot changed to a third special item:
[General Store: 100 World Coins]
Gong Qu bought it right away, bringing their balance down to 600.
[General Store]
[Description: Purchase basic supplies using World Coins.]
He'd been right.
The Random Shop did have a built-in newbie welfare system. But when Gong Qu refreshed again, the 100-coin special items stopped appearing.
"Only the first three, huh? Well, that's still plenty." He sighed, a little regretful. "Ah Qing, get dressed, we're going downstairs to test these out."
Keqing, who had been watching everything unfold from start to finish, was now wide awake. Curiosity about the two new items had her completely alert.