Today marks the launch of Genshin Impact's Version 2.0.
Guinaifen always becomes especially diligent on the day of a new update.
She started her livestream extra early.
"The gates are open, the gates are open!"
A white flash—"Genshin Impact! Boot up!"
[Hurry up and serve it already]
[Can't wait any longer]
[Streamer, are you pulling for Ayaka?]
[My advice is don't stream your pulls—you'll lose followers the moment you do]
[Five 5-stars in a 10-pull? If I didn't love watching Little Gui lose her mind, I'd have blocked you ages ago]
[Streamer's a damn plant]
"Uh, well, I'll finish the story first before pulling, okay?"
'Thank you to Mu Yang for sending a paid message': Fast-forward to getting wanted the moment you set foot in Inazuma (10,000).
Guinaifen stared at the familiar ID.
Mu Yang, the big spender, had been renewing his Governor status but hadn't visited her stream in a long time.
"Big spender, welcome back! It's been a while—have you been busy lately?"
[Probably because Mu Yang didn't appear last patch, so the big spender wasn't interested]
[Damn, an insider? Does that mean today's the day?!]
[Ohoho, now that you mention it, I'm fully hyped]
Guinaifen pieced it together from the chat.
That did seem to be the case.
Even during the Lantern Rite patch, Mu Yang hadn't shown up in any streams.
So it was because there was no story content featuring the character "Mu Yang"!
That made perfect sense.
It really felt like an insider from HoYoverse was here to drum up hype.
Guinaifen rubbed her hands together. "This Inazuma storyline—I'm hyped too, okay?"
Meanwhile, in Teyvat...
Lumine was, as usual, doing commissions in Liyue.
A few days prior, she had just passed Beidou's trial.
Beidou told her that once the fleet's resupply was complete,
she could take her to Inazuma.
Counting the days, it should be about time.
Sure enough, shortly after arriving at the Adventurers' Guild and chatting with Katheryne,
a sailor approached her and said,
"Finally found you! You're the traveler the Captain took a liking to, right?"
"We've been waiting for you!" Lumine was exhilarated—she could finally embark on a new journey.
Seeing her excitement, the sailor burst out laughing.
"Is that so? Haha, what an honor."
"Our fleet's resupply is pretty much done. We're just doing a headcount now."
"The Captain sent me to fetch you. Said we'd set sail the moment you arrived."
Paimon nodded beside her. "Beidou really is a woman of her word."
The sailor puffed up with pride at the mention of his captain.
"Of course! There are plenty of reasons why people would follow the Captain to the ends of the earth. You'll see for yourself once we set sail."
Katheryne, from behind the counter, spoke up.
"So you two are leaving now? Congratulations."
"Whether the road ahead leads to the stars or the abyss, taking that next step forward is always worth celebrating."
She waved goodbye to Lumine and Paimon.
"Then, until we meet again. May the wind guide you~!"
The mood suddenly turned bittersweet.
the person she'd seen the most in this world was actually Miss Katheryne!
Whether in Mondstadt or Liyue...
"Miss Katheryne... we'll miss you."
Paimon also grew sentimental. "Yeah, it's kinda sad. We see you almost every day, after all."
Katheryne, however, just smiled.
"Hehe, in that case, hurry up and find me when you get to Inazuma."
"I'll be waiting for you on Narukami Island."
Lumine's face scrunched up like a disgruntled cat as she planted her hands on her hips.
Paimon copied her pose.
"So there's a Katheryne in Inazuma too?! Then why make such a big deal out of saying goodbye?!"
[LMAO, Lumine's expression]
[Why does Katheryne have a keyhole on her back?]
[You didn't know? If you stand next to her without moving, you can hear mechanical sounds like "Retry" and "Error"]
[No way, I had no idea. Gotta try this now]
After bidding farewell to Katheryne, the two arrived at Guyun Stone Forest.
The Crux Fleet's flagship, the Alcor, was docked there.
The moment they boarded, Beidou came over to greet them.
"Hey, you're finally here."
"Not even storms can delay the Crux Fleet, but this time, I've waited just for you."
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Captain." Though Lumine wasn't particularly close to Beidou yet,
she mimicked the sailors' way of addressing her to seem more familiar.
Beidou laughed heartily. "Just kidding. You came at the perfect time—we're all set to sail."
Of course, she was just teasing.
She knew of Lumine's exploits.
But Ningguang had been swamped with work,
so she hadn't had a proper chat with Lumine yet.
"Now that everyone's here, it's time to—"
"Set sail for the land of eternity, shrouded in thunder and storms!"
"Woohoo!" Paimon cheered enthusiastically.
Lumine did the exact same thing Mu Yang had done back then—
she wandered around the ship, inspecting everything.
This ship was truly magnificent.
And here—these were clearly marks from battles with sea monsters!
Just how thrilling had those encounters been?
Lumine and Paimon explored from the stern all the way to the bow.
Leaning against the bow, Beidou patted the ship and asked, "So, what do you think of her?"
"Super impressive!" Paimon exclaimed.
Lumine added, "It's majestic. Feels ship has seen countless battles."
Beidou grinned. "Haha, this old girl's been with me through thick and thin."
Lumine gazed at the imposing dragon figurehead at the bow.
Suddenly, an inexplicable urge came over her.
"Captain, can I sit on that dragon figurehead?"
Beidou blinked in surprise, then said,
"Sure, but don't fall off."
With the protection of Anemo, she wouldn't fall so easily.
Standing atop the dragon's head felt incredibly refreshing.
She admired the view for a long time before returning to the deck.
Beidou chuckled. "You two really are cut from the same cloth. Even the things you do are identical, haha."
Lumine frowned. "Captain, what do you mean?"
"Mu Yang, of course. Last time he was on the ship, he did the same thing—explored from stern to bow, then jumped onto the figurehead."
Paimon gasped. "Beidou, you know Mu Yang?!" Googlᴇ search 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥
Lumine: "Mu Yang also took a ship to Inazuma?"
Now it was Beidou's turn to be confused. "Huh? Xiangling didn't tell you?"
Lumine shook her head. "We haven't seen Xiangling in ages. Chef Mao said she went off to train."
After that, Beidou told them all about Mu Yang...
Back in Guinaifen's livestream...
The moment that name was mentioned, the heart rate monitor in the bottom-right corner of the screen spiked.
It was originally meant for gacha pulls and horror game reactions.
"Husband! I heard my husband's name!"
[Streamer, tone it down a little]
[Last patch without Mu Yang almost cured Little Gui's theatrics]
[Mu Yang really went to Inazuma? Damn]
[Is Governor Mu Yang spoiling things? Ban him for 365 days]
'User Five Seconds is Already Amazing has been muted for 1 minute.'
Guinaifen smirked arrogantly.
"Big spenders doing hype-building doesn't count as spoilers. Watch your mouth next time."
[This stream runs on double standards!]