Dawn broke, and the rosy sunrise pierced through the clouds.
On the soft big bed, Ganyu slowly opened her sleepy eyes.
"Mm..."
After a few seconds of daze, Ganyu gradually came to, hugged the blanket, and rolled around, savoring this sweet night.
She hadn't slept until naturally waking for a long time.
Though during sleep, she had a strange dream.
In the dream, she turned back into her Qilin form, freely roaming in a sea of Sweet Flowers. As she joyfully rolled in the flower sea, a faint Qilin essence gathered around her.
This essence condensed around her and finally gathered at her chest.
That was when she turned back into human form, with the breast swelling slightly, and the pure Qilin ice essence released through the breast, staining her clothes.
"What a strange dream..."
Ganyu's jade hand lightly stroked her chest, confirming there was no wet feeling, before determining it was just a dream.
But the dream felt too real; she could clearly remember even the uncomfortable swelling sensation.
She suddenly thought that humans produce essence to nurture offspring during reproduction. Though she had human blood, she had never borne children, so logically, this shouldn't happen.
"Never mind... Maybe it's because I've worked too long and my body is uncomfortable. Don't overthink it, Ganyu; time to go to work."
Ganyu hugged the blanket in a daze for a while, finally convincing herself not to think about it anymore.
Since she couldn't figure it out, better to forget it completely.
The sky had brightened, with brilliant golden sunlight streaming through the curtains. The spacious and elegant room was quiet; the door was half-open from the night wind, and there was no one else besides her.
Looking at the dim room, Ganyu didn't feel the usual loneliness.
Clearly, she still didn't fit in with humans, but her heart felt unusually warm.
"Is it because this is Blue Star?"
Ganyu thoughtfully got out of bed, looking at her serene self in the mirror, a hint of relaxation in her brows: "Live earnestly each day, Ganyu... Time to adjust and throw yourself into work."
She gently opened the half-closed door and walked out with light steps.
In the spacious and bright living room, several exquisite dishes were placed on the table. Ken and Qiqi were already seated.
"Have something to eat before you go."
Cooking had gradually become an enjoyment for Ken after gaining cooking skills.
Of course, this enjoyment wasn't just because of the top-tier cooking skills.
The bigger reason was... If there are no worries on your mind, then it's the best time in the world.
"Such fresh Sweet Flowers and Radish Veggie Soup; Mr. Ken has put in effort."
Though there were grilled eel and golden crab—meaty dishes that weren't her choice—there were also some dishes she usually liked.
Ganyu swallowed slightly, feeling a bit curious about this great prophet.
He seemed to know her food preferences inside out.
"Don't be polite; eat."
Ken invited Ganyu to sit, but in his mind, he was calculating the time.
Last night, Ningguang and Keqing should have placed Zhongli's Exuvia in the Golden House. Today, they would surely follow Zhongli's prior signal to raid the Fatui factory. After eating, he would go and see if he could pick up some leaks.
...
After eating.
Ganyu and Qiqi returned to Liyue Harbor together. Qiqi, with some memory restored, though not as flexible as a normal person, could maintain daily life.
After returning to Liyue Harbor, she headed to Bubu Pharmacy based on her memory.
"Qiqi? You're back?"
The expressionless little zombie had just returned when Herbalist Gui from Bubu Pharmacy asked Qiqi: "Did you get lost again last night? That's why you didn't come back on time?"
As a zombie, Qiqi getting lost was common.
Sometimes she wouldn't return for seven or eight days.
But if Hu Tao wasn't causing trouble, everyone didn't need to worry about Qiqi. Don't be fooled by her small size; her strength was not to be underestimated.
"Qiqi went to Blue Star."
Faced with Herbalist Gui's question, Qiqi didn't take out her notebook to think as usual but answered him quickly.
Herbalist Gui said in surprise: "Went to Blue Star?"
"Blue Star... coconut sheep... Mr. Ken... Qiqi likes it very much." Qiqi scratched her head, trying hard to make an expression. Though still stiff, it was clearly a happy look.
Herbalist Gui was stunned and shouted inside: "Mr. Baizhu! Mr. Baizhu, come quick! Qiqi actually... actually smiled!"
Having been with Qiqi for so long, Herbalist Gui was used to the fact that Qiqi couldn't make expressions.
So seeing Qiqi try to smile now left him completely dumbfounded.
What the hell... The little zombie can smile!
"Hm?"
Baizhu came out from the inner courtyard, looking down at the cute clumsy little zombie, surprise in his brown eyes: "How did Qiqi suddenly smile? Where did you go?"
As Liyue Harbor's renowned doctor, Baizhu had always pursued the art of longevity. He took in Qiqi because seeing her eternally preserved gave him hope; he wanted to find a breakthrough for longevity from her.
But life and death in the world are orderly. Despite Baizhu's exhaustive research, he hadn't achieved much yet.
As for Qiqi...
He had treated her before, trying to improve her memory... make her body more flexible, at least not affecting daily life.
But ultimately, it failed.
Seeing Qiqi's change now, no one was more surprised than Baizhu.
"Blue Star... Mr. Ken... tapped Qiqi's forehead... very comfortable, Qiqi... seems more flexible..."
Qiqi said, trying hard to smile, wanting Baizhu to see Ken's results.
Little did she know.
These words landing in Baizhu's ears instantly stirred up a storm.
Being able to easily dissolve Qiqi's stiff body and even improve her memory... such ability made Baizhu suddenly want to meet that Mr. Ken.
If...
If that Mr. Ken also understood medicine, colliding his knowledge with Blue Star's medical insights... might yield new ideas.
"Cough cough..."
Thinking of this, Baizhu was very excited and couldn't help coughing twice.
"Mr. Baizhu..." Herbalist Gui called worriedly. Though Baizhu's medical skills were brilliant, he himself was very frail, fitting the old saying... Doctors can't heal themselves.
Baizhu waved his hand: "I'm fine; I'll be okay after some rest."
Though he said that, Baizhu's face grew paler.
Feeling the various pains in his body, he slowly exhaled. It seemed that once he felt better, he needed to meet that great prophet.
...
In Blue Star.
Ken edited the video of Qiqi doing the exercise routine, and uploaded it to Star Dome's official account.
This kind of fan creation wasn't particularly standout, but the focus this time was the new character's appearance.
Qiqi had never appeared on Facebook before.
But before posting, Ken carefully reviewed the video, ensuring nothing was amiss, and then uploaded it.
After all.
Making these videos was just to interact with players and promote Genshin Impact. Videos could be funny or meme-like, but definitely no edge content—even if there was, it was only for him to see.
Others wanting to see? No way.
[Little Zombie Qiqi Does Exercise, New Business at Bubu Pharmacy?]
After titling it, Ken decisively uploaded it to Facebook.
Once the video was successfully uploaded, Ken got up, turned off the computer, and prepared to go to Liyue. If he remembered correctly, the Fatui factory was in the Sea of Clouds area.
Though this might be a bit unfair to his wallet buddy, freeloading Fatui resources—and maybe even more Treasure Hoarders—how could that be a loss?
...
But as soon as Ken's video went out, netizens from all sides arrived on time.
Though it's normal for players to follow a game's official account, Star Dome's attention level clearly surpassed many games, even hotter than top celebrities.
If they didn't know it was a game company, they would want to sign Ken as a streamer.
This guy was too good at generating buzz.
Others used models to promote games; Ken used "game characters" directly to promote Genshin.
Looking at the newly uploaded video, netizens started feeling like sharpening knives.
·
["Ken dog, how bold of you to make Liyue's Ice God dance Compendium of Materia Medica, huh?"]
["Hehe, my Klee is out, and it's a zombie!"]
["Ken dog, you're a real beast, not even sparing lolis, huh?"]
["Old dog doesn't update the game all day, just indulges in beauty every day? One brick for 500 bucks, first come first served, latecomers queue up."]
["Am I the only one envious of Ken dog's villa? It looks really damn luxurious... Promise me, wives... your mouths are only for urging Genshin updates, okay?"]
"..."
Looking at Ken's video and the background, many netizens were envious.
Not only handsome and rich, but also hanging out with top Cosplayers, occasionally playing Genshin character plays—it was enviable.
Especially thinking their 2D wives might all be in Ken's villa, everyone felt heartbroken.
They just hoped at night, their 2D wives' mouths were for urging game updates.
But even if their hearts were sour, their bodies were honest, pushing Ken's video to hot search again, infuriating some fresh meat celebrities who jumped in their companies.
Now, for celebrities to get on hot search, they had to check Ken's mood.
Because who knows when Ken might whimsically post a video, and one video could spawn several entries, dominating the top hot searches, making the fresh meats furious.
Before, they ate by looking at sponsors' faces; now they had to look at Ken's face.
...
Liyue Harbor.
Ken used the Vortex Gate to teleport himself to the back of Northland Bank, released all ten Treasure Hoarders inside, and then opened the Vortex Gate to Sea of Clouds.
Following the approximate route from memory, Ken soon arrived at the Fatui factory replicating the Sigil of Permission. But as soon as he landed, he saw a purple cat head peeking from behind a huge rock.
Ken concealed his presence, shifted position to look, and saw hidden behind the rock, that perky butt wiggling occasionally, exceptionally eye-catching.
"Keqing is here after all..."
Ken inwardly muttered; his judgment was spot on.
That day, though Zhongli backstabbed Tartaglia, the Rite of Descension had just had an incident, and the Qixing had no time for other matters; at most, they sent people outside the city to scout the Fatui factory.
Only after things settled a bit would the Qixing turn their attention to the Fatui factory producing Sigils of Permission.
Looking at that cat-ear-like head and the constantly swaying perky hips, Ken quietly approached Keqing from behind, bent down, and lightly patted her shoulder.
"Who?"
Keqing exclaimed, almost instantly drawing her Lion's Roar, turning to stab behind her.
But seeing Ken's flawlessly handsome face, Keqing was surprised and hurriedly retracted her sword. However, her posture was already awkward, and with the fast sword draw, suddenly retracting it made her body unstable.
About to fall on her butt, Ken reached out and pulled her up.
"Mm..."
Due to inertia, Keqing was caught off guard and pulled into his arms, her perky nose bumping into Ken's solid chest.
"So hard..." Keqing softly exclaimed, her fair face flushing with red. She quickly steadied herself and broke free from Ken's embrace: "You... how did you suddenly appear here? Without any sound?"
Keqing rubbed her nose and subconsciously touched her butt.
If she wasn't mistaken, when Ken pulled her, his hand happened to land on her perky spot.
Now, it seemed to still retain the warmth of Ken's palm.
The straightforward Yuheng wanted to curse "pervert," but thinking Ken was just helping her, she swallowed the words "pervert" and looked at Ken with shy fury on her jade face.
"You were too engrossed, Miss Yuheng; it's not my fault."
Ken stood with hands behind his back, looking like a gentleman.
Keqing snorted coldly: "If not distracted by the Fatui and Treasure Hoarders, I would have noticed you."
Fatui and Treasure Hoarders?
Ken subconsciously looked up, his expression turning complex.
Ah, this...
This works too?
...