The next day arrived.
At the entrance of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao was out on the street with her staff, loudly advertising.
"Come take a look, everyone! Wangsheng Internet Café is officially open! Here, you'll experience something you've never encountered before!"
Hu Tao was enthusiastically shouting on the street, and even Zhongli was standing there spinning a rattle-drum.
Zhongli had been dragged over by Hu Tao early in the morning; he originally planned to visit Ye Yun.
Hu Tao made such a big scene that all the passersby were drawn to it.
"Internet café? What's that?"
"I think it's probably a new funeral package Hu Tao came up with. What do you guys think?"
"I don't think so—probably some kind of new store. Otherwise, she wouldn't say it's 'open for business.'"
"What's the use of all this guessing? Why don't we go in and take a look ourselves?"
Soon, driven by curiosity, some people stepped into the Wangsheng Internet Café.
Seeing a customer enter, Hu Tao quickly followed to greet them.
"Welcome, dear customer! We charge by the hour—only 998 mora per hour! What do you think?"
After the customer topped up some money at the front desk with the help of the receptionist, Hu Tao led them to turn on a computer.
The people of Liyue Harbor had never seen anything like this before, so of course, Hu Tao had to spend time helping and guiding in the beginning.
Wangsheng's location was on Yujing Terrace—a prime spot with heavy foot traffic.
Soon, the internet café was packed.
Some customers had already started playing games.
Games like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Mario, and Angry Birds—simple and easy to pick up.
Nearly every computer was surrounded by onlookers. While the players were gaming, the spectators were watching and discussing.
"Wow! This general is strong—he wiped out a group of soldiers with one skill!"
"Try launching the bird this way—yeah, like that! That should do it!"
"Jump faster! You got hit by the turtle again, didn't you?"
"Your reflexes are way off—couldn't even get that one next to you. See? Gotta start over with Snake again."
The internet café was buzzing with excitement, and Hu Tao sat at the front desk happily counting money.
With 10 computers, she could make 9980 mora an hour.
These computers didn't need much supervision and could run 24/7. She was making bank!
Soon, Xiangling, Xingqiu, and Chongyun also arrived at Hu Tao's internet café.
Xiangling looked at the packed house.
"Wow, Hu Tao, your business is booming!"
Hu Tao stood proudly, hands on her hips, head held high.
"Of course! Want to give it a try later? I'll save you a machine."
The three nodded in agreement.
Their friend's new shop—they had to show some support.
Hu Tao handed off the front desk to Zhongli and brought the trio inside to watch people play.
Xiangling stopped in her tracks next to one computer.
Because the guest was playing a realistic cooking simulation, Xiangling's eyes lit up. She stared at the kitchen game on the screen, utterly captivated.
Xingqiu wandered over to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms game, watching generals decimate enemies. He felt the itch to try it himself.
Chongyun just looked for a cooler spot to sit. Hu Tao had placed a big fan in the room to keep things from overheating.
Word of this spread fast—soon, everyone in Liyue Harbor knew that the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had launched a new business.
It was fun, and there were magical devices inside that let people play games.
In the Northland Bank.
Childe, who had just recovered, heard the news and immediately headed to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor with money in hand.
This time, he just wanted to join the fun.
He didn't want a greatsword against his neck again—there was a difference between liking battle and liking pain.
Elsewhere,
The Astral Express crew had gathered in Ye Yun's shop, preparing for their next destination—Penacony.
Just as they were about to depart, the train's lights flickered, and Kafka's hologram appeared in the shop.
"Good morning, everyone~ Long time no see."
Himeko frowned at the sight of Kafka.
Kafka was nothing like Silver Wolf. She was dangerous, and her Spirit whisper was terrifying—it could control people's thoughts and actions.
"What are you doing on the Express again?"
Kafka smiled.
"No need to get nervous—I'm just here to ask if you'll consider changing your destination."
March 7th snorted.
"Why would we listen to you? You're not part of our team. I'm not changing a thing!"
Kafka wasn't surprised.
"No need to be so hasty. Let me share some news.
Not long ago, a Stellaron erupted on the Xianzhou Luofu. I'd like to ask you to change course and head there instead.
You might not know, but the Luofu is very close to your current location."
Hearing the word "Stellaron," Welt's expression turned serious.
"Stellaron?"
Kafka nodded with a smile.
"Yes. A Stellaron.
And if you don't go, at least half of Luofu's population may perish in this crisis."
Himeko crossed her arms.
"Cut to the chase. Don't waste our time—everyone's busy."
Kafka stared at Himeko for a few seconds before smiling again.
"Alright."
Kafka's projection flickered, transforming into a sinister-looking man.
Her voice followed.
"His name is Blade, my comrade. He was captured by the Cloud Knights of Luofu.
They're trying to pin the blame of the Stellaron eruption on us—on the Stellaron Hunters.
I need your help to rescue him.
That's all. See you in a few days."
With that, Kafka's image disappeared, and the train's lights returned to normal.
The crew began discussing whether they should follow Kafka's suggestion.
In truth, Welt and Himeko had already made up their minds. They couldn't just ignore a Stellaron incident.
Kafka had made it sound dire—if they didn't intervene, at least half of Luofu's people would die.
They already knew from Silver Wolf that their actions were part of a "script."
Elio, the so-called "Destiny's Slave," had foreseen a certain future, and the Stellaron Hunters were now working toward it.
But no matter how they asked, Silver Wolf refused to reveal what the script actually said.
In the end, the crew decided to head to Luofu.
As March 7th put it, they couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
After confirming Luofu as the next stop, Pom-Pom activated the train.
"Attention passengers: the train is preparing to warp. Please remain seated and hold on tight. No running in the aisles."
Ye Yun, hearing the announcement, quickly gathered the three little ones and found a booth to sit in.
The three cuddled close together, watching the scenery blur past outside the window with excitement.
"The train's moving!" Klee raised her hands and cheered.
Hook looked out at the shrinking Yalilo-VI.
"Wow! Hook's hometown is getting smaller!"
Diona explained, "It's not getting smaller—we're just moving farther away, so it looks smaller."
Soon, the train hit warp speed.
A flash of white light filled the three girls' vision, not blinding but immersive.
A few minutes later—
Their vision returned, and what appeared before them was a massive "ark" sailing through the sea of stars.
It was called an "ark" for a reason—it was huge, nearly the size of a planet.
And this was the Xianzhou Luofu.
The train began to slow down, approaching Luofu's landing area.
Himeko pulled out a device to request docking.
"This is the Astral Express, requesting permission to dock at Luofu."
After she spoke, there was silence for a long while.
Himeko frowned and tried again.
"Hello? Can you hear me? This is the Astral Express, requesting docking."
Ye Yun looked over at Silver Wolf's treasure chest—the lights inside were flashing, which meant she was still gaming.
He walked over and opened the door.
There she was—
Silver Wolf, hugging her controller, fully absorbed in her game.
Her body even mimicked the in-game character—leaning left, right, stretching her neck, crouching.
Ye Yun was speechless. He took off her headphones.
"Stop playing—it's time for serious business."
Silver Wolf was instantly mad.
"Why'd you do that?! You broke my rhythm again! See?! I lost!"
Ye Yun rolled his eyes.
"Come on, do your job. We're at Luofu—they're waiting for you to open the gate."
Only then did Silver Wolf remember—right, she had a part in this segment.
She quickly typed away, hacking into Luofu's network and unlocking the Luofu Gate.
Soon after, Himeko received a response.
"Docking request approved. Welcome to the Xianzhou Luofu."
Pom-Pom moved the train into the Luofu Gate.
Due to the train's unique structure, it couldn't stop at the tourist port.
So they had to dock at the cargo port instead.
Once docked, Dan Heng and Himeko stayed behind on the train. Welt, Stelle, and March 7th would explore.
In Huixing Port,
Welt, Stelle, and March 7th walked along the main road.
They didn't see a single person.
But they did find several treasure chests.
Stelle was overjoyed. She charged forward with her Heavenly Fire Greatsword, cracking them open.
She played with the Stellar Jade in her hand, finally recovering some of the Star Coins she had burned through earlier.
Stellar Jade was great—1 Jade could be exchanged for 100 Star Coins.
Primogems, on the other hand, only gave 10 per piece.
Stelle had asked Ye Yun about it before. He said it was due to different world levels.
The higher the world's level, the higher the energy, and thus the better the exchange rate for items like Stellar Jade and Primogems.
Soon, the three heard a scream from near the exit of the container area.
"Ahhh!"
***
Welt, Stelle, and March 7th quickly drew their weapons and rushed forward.
Turning the corner, the trio saw several vine-covered Mara-struck soldiers surrounding a Cloud Knight.
The three immediately stepped in to help.
Stelle drew the Judgment of Shamash and, in a flash, appeared before the Mara-struck soldiers, slashing with her weapon.
In an instant, all the soldiers were slain without any resistance.
The Cloud Knight breathed a sigh of relief now that the danger had passed.
Welt stepped forward and looked at the fallen Cloud Knights and Mara-struck soldiers around him.
"What happened here?"
The Cloud Knight took a moment to catch his breath and replied:
"These are people from the Alchemy Commission. They orchestrated an attack on the Starport.
Thank you for saving me. Judging from your clothing, you're not from the Xianzhou, are you?"
Welt nodded.
"We're members of the Astral Express."
Upon hearing that Welt was from the Astral Express, the Cloud Knight relaxed a bit.
The reputation of the Nameless echoes throughout the universe—this Cloud Knight had naturally heard of them.
"So you're the Nameless. Welcome to the Xianzhou Luofu.
Unfortunately, you've arrived at a rather chaotic time. If you came for sightseeing, you might've picked the wrong moment."
March 7th shook her head.
"We heard there's a Stellaron outbreak here. We came to help."
The Cloud Knight was touched by this and said,
"As expected of the Nameless—just as the rumors say, always willing to lend a hand.
Our main forces are stationed just ahead. Let's head to a safer place."
Welt and the others nodded in agreement and followed the Cloud Knight to the base.
Along the way,
they encountered more Mara-struck soldiers, but all were swiftly taken out by Stelle's sword.
When they reached the base, they were shocked by what they saw.
The base had already been breached, and the ground was littered with the corpses of Cloud Knights and Mara-struck soldiers. The scene was gruesome and bloody.
Just then,
a cry of alarm came from deeper within the base.
The four quickly rushed over.
Arriving at the scene,
they saw a group of Mara-struck soldiers surrounding several Cloud Knights. In the center of the group stood a foxian woman being protected.
Seeing Stelle and the others arrive, the foxian woman immediately cried out for help:
"Please stop standing around and help us out~!"
Hearing this, Stelle and the others jumped into action.
After swiftly eliminating the Mara-struck soldiers,
the foxian woman bowed slightly in gratitude.
"I'm Tingyun. Thank you, kind heroes, for coming to our aid. May I ask your names?"
March 7th smiled.
"Hello, I'm March 7th."
Just as she was about to introduce Stelle and Welt,
Stelle suddenly interjected.
"I'm the Galactic Baseballer Hero."
March 7th was speechless—was Stelle acting up again? Once this whole situation was over, March 7th wondered if she should take Stelle to Herta for a proper checkup.
Tingyun giggled and covered her mouth.
"You're quite the jokester, hero. This place is dangerous—please follow me. I'll take you somewhere safer."
Soon after,
Stelle, March 7th, and Welt followed Tingyun aboard a Starskiff headed deeper into the Luofu.
Meanwhile, aboard the Astral Express—
Jean and Lisa once again arrived at Ye Yun's shop to shop.
Recently, thanks to the efforts of the Knights of Favonius, they had managed to collect 2,000 Primogems.
These 2,000 Primogems could be exchanged for 20,000 Star Coins.
This time, Jean intended to purchase items that could help improve Mondstadt's economy.
The Wind Spirit Technique had already been successfully practiced by nearly 100 carefully selected knights.
However, progress was slow—they could only manipulate small amounts of wind elemental energy.
Therefore, after some discussion with Lisa, Jean decided not to rush into buying new cultivation techniques. The Wind Spirit Technique hadn't been fully digested yet, so getting new ones now would be pointless.
Jean and Lisa sat on high stools beside the bar.
Lisa took a sip of her red tea and smiled at Ye Yun.
"Ye Yun, we'd like to buy something that could help develop Mondstadt's economy. Any recommendations?"
Ye Yun responded,
"Isn't Mondstadt known for its wine? Why not buy a few brewing recipes?"
Jean thought it over and felt it was a good idea.
But brewing wasn't just about recipes—the ingredients were also a problem.
Many ingredients in the recipes probably didn't exist in Teyvat.
They would have to cultivate the raw materials themselves.
For example, Mondstadt's Apple Brew used apples unique to Mondstadt.
Only apples grown in Mondstadt could produce that distinct flavor—fruits from other regions just didn't taste the same.
Jean pondered and asked,
"Ye Yun, do you have any ingredients that are easy to grow and suitable for brewing?"
Ye Yun began searching the shop's inventory.
After a moment, he found something that fit Jean's requirements:
[Item: Spirit Wheat Seeds] Description: Wheat seeds from a xianxia world, imbued with faint spiritual energy. Can increase the surrounding spiritual energy density. Price: 1 Star Coin / pack
[Item: Spirit Beer Recipe] Description: A beer recipe using Spirit Wheat as the main ingredient, with a touch of fruit. Long-term consumption may improve one's physique. Price: 1,000 Star Coins
Ye Yun displayed the items for Jean and Lisa to see.
Both felt these items were perfect.
Jean decisively purchased 5,000 packs of seeds.
Each pack could plant one acre's worth, meaning 5,000 acres total.
She planned to develop a farming estate in Windrise and assign Knights to guard it.
After sending the seeds and recipe back to her office—
where Kaeya and a squad of knights were on standby to handle logistics—
Jean returned to the bar to continue shopping.
She still had 14,000 Star Coins left.
Ye Yun asked,
"So, what else are you looking to buy?"
Jean considered this.
The Spirit Beer project was already set in motion and would require a lot of manpower.
Currently, Mondstadt didn't have enough hands—most of the Knights were away on expeditions.
"We'll just browse for now—we're not sure what to get yet."
Ye Yun suggested,
"How about buying a spirit?"
Jean and Lisa were intrigued.
"A spirit?"
Ye Yun pointed at Rios, who was playing with a child nearby.
"Like him—Rios is a kind of spirit.
spirits have intelligence equal to humans, and are extremely loyal. They grow and evolve through combat.
I think it would be perfect for you. What do you think?"
Jean and Lisa were surprised—they had heard of Rios's strength, but didn't expect him to be a Spirit.
The two exchanged a glance and decided—let's buy a Spirit!
Seeing their decision, Ye Yun explained:
"Spirits need to be hatched using a 'Spirit Core.' I have three levels of cores available:
Basic: 1,000 Star Coins
Intermediate: 10,000 Star Coins
Advanced: 100,000 Star Coins
The higher the grade, the stronger the spirit's potential and abilities. Which one would you like?"