[First Obsidian Acquired]
[Achievement Unlocked: Ice Bucket Challenge]
[Reward: 300 World Coins]
[All base minerals of the Main World obtained. Game version updated from Beta 0.9 to Official Release 1.0]
[A New Adventure Begins & New Challenges Await?]
[Easy, Normal, and Hard Modes Unlocked]
[Current setting: Peaceful Mode. Player may modify settings; changes take effect at midnight (Day 2).]
Did I just wake up to a full-on system update?
Gong Qu slid the obsidian into his backpack, rubbing his eyes.
But the scene before him wasn't just some half-asleep hallucination.
"Qing! Come here for a sec!"
Keqing, who was waving a diamond sword around like she was reenacting a wuxia flick, rushed over.
"What is it?"
"I think I can adjust the world's difficulty level now."
Gong Qu brought up the system interface and showed it to Keqing.
"Adjust the difficulty...? So you mean we can actually fight those monsters now?"
"Yep. But honestly, Peaceful Mode isn't a bad way to develop. Once we get the mods loaded, we can just waltz into the dungeons and scoop up the loot. Isn't that the dream?"
He closed the system notification, then opened the mods and integration pack panel.
After some thought, he loaded the Dragon Adventure Modpack.
Better to rip off the bandage than drag it out. With a near-unlimited supply of diamonds now, he had a bit of confidence. Hanging back any longer wouldn't help much with the Nether—might as well power up within the modpack.
[Modpack loading. Changes will take effect at midnight (Day 2).]
"Phew. Qing, let's head home and stock up on diamonds first!"
Outside the General Store
Gong Qu was reviewing their current wealth.
It had been three weeks since they tilled the farmland. Between harvesting veggies and miscellaneous side income, they'd pulled in a total of 36,000 World Coins.
He'd already spent:
10,000 on the Eye of God,
4,000 on two teleport anchors,
Leaving them with 22,000 coins.
Diamonds were sold individually at the general store—50 coins apiece.
He and Keqing had gone mining earlier that morning and dug up five diamonds.
Three were used to make a diamond pickaxe for mining obsidian.
The other two became a pair of diamond swords—gotta keep the wife happy.
But if they each wanted a full diamond set, they'd need:
2 full armor sets
1 pickaxe
1 extra sword
That totaled 51 diamonds.
"Let's just buy 80 to be safe and keep a reserve."
He deducted 4,000 coins, leaving him with 18,300.
[Achievement Unlocked: Diamond Armor Mastery]
[Reward: 500 World Coins]
"Nice. Got a bit of that back."
Next up, he opened the Daily Random Shop.
[Bottle o' Enchanting: 1 Coin]
[Enchanted Book: Protection IV – 50 Coins]
[Enchanted Book: Bane of Arthropods IV – 50 Coins]
[Enchanted Book: Smite IV – 50 Coins]
[Enchanted Book: Sharpness IV – 50 Coins]
[Lottery (1 pull): 100 Coins]
[Lottery (11 pulls): 1,000 Coins]
[Lottery (120 pulls): 10,000 Coins]
Today was clearly Enchanted Book Day.
Protection and Sharpness were general-purpose. Bane of Arthropods worked on spiders and insect-types. Smite, on the other hand, was deadly against undead—zombies, skeletons, wither mobs. Unfortunately, specialized enchantments couldn't stack.
As the saying goes: "Counters beat everything. Specialization trumps even gods."
Since they'd soon be diving into modded territory and likely getting swarmed by undead, Gong Qu decided it was worth splurging.
He bought three of each enchantment book, burning through 600 coins.
"Diamonds are free anyway, so let's just craft three weapons. Use Sharpness for everyday stuff, and switch to the others when facing specific mobs."
Then he scanned the shop again, left and right.
His finger "slipped" and bought 11 Lottery pulls.
A white flash later, and he was holding 11 lottery tickets.
"How does this work... Just tear them open?"
Following the instructions on the back, he ripped all 11.
The tickets dissolved into shimmering light and reformed in front of him as glowing orbs in various colors.
The animation was slick... though the blue skies and fluffy clouds were kind of a slap in the face.
8 white, 2 green, 1 blue.
[Congratulations, you have received...]
World Coins × 20
World Coins × 20
World Coins × 20
World Coins × 50
World Coins × 80
Flying Grandmaster Sword ×1
World Coins × 80
World Coins × 20
Enchanted Book: Sharpness V ×1
World Coins × 50
Cute Maid Outfit ×1
"Seriously? The only blue-tier pull is a damn costume?!"
Gong Qu could barely accept it.
I mean, he'd already pulled off a reality-defying isekai—surely his luck couldn't still be this bad?
"Well, let's see just how 'cute' this rare maid outfit really is."
Back at the Villa
He stepped into the kitchen.
Keqing was humming the tune he'd taught her, cheerfully prepping lunch.
"You're back! All stocked up?"
"Not much to prep really, just... uh…"
Words caught in his throat.
How was he supposed to explain that he blew their hard-earned cash on a gacha roll, got a maid costume, and now wanted her to try it on so he could judge if it was worth the price?
Yeah. No.
If he said that, Keqing might just whip out her Mistcutter and give him a little "buff."
Don't be fooled by her usual sweet and docile demeanor—when she switches into "household budget manager" mode, she's scary.
"Hm? What is it? You keep staring—do I have something on my face?"
Looking at her pure, delicate features, Gong Qu grit his teeth and pulled out the maid outfit.
"There was... uh, a new item in today's shop. I thought it looked cute, so I got it for you! Ta-da!"
Pop!
A gift box tied with a butterfly ribbon materialized in his hands.
Keqing blinked.
Her scrutinizing gaze darted between the box and Gong Qu.
Then, like she'd figured something out, she gave a little snort and tucked the gift into the storage space linked to her Vision.
"Hmph. Alright, then you make lunch. I'll go try it on upstairs."
Gong Qu took over the wok, stir-frying absentmindedly.
What he didn't see was the small smile curling on Keqing's lips as she turned away.
This fool...
In truth, she didn't care how much money Gong Qu spent.
Whether he saved or splurged wasn't the point.
What mattered was the game they were playing—the dynamic they shared.
She played the stern housekeeper; he played the reckless spender.
In other words—romantic tension.
About Ten Minutes Later
Lunch was ready—two meat dishes and one veggie.
Just as Gong Qu untied his apron, he heard light footsteps behind him.
He turned—and there stood Keqing in the new outfit.
The black-and-white maid dress wasn't the conservative European type, but a more ornate Lolita-inspired design.
Off-the-shoulder sleeves adorned with rose-patterned lace highlighted her fair skin.
The skirt was short—just brushing her thighs—offering a tantalizing glimpse between white stockings and porcelain-smooth legs.
Below, a pair of dainty leather shoes completed the look, the monochrome palette stylishly balanced.
Under Gong Qu's smoldering gaze, Keqing twirled a pigtail around her finger, cheeks flushed pink.
"S-So? How do I look?"
"Like drifting clouds veiling the moon, like wind-blown snow spiraling through the sky... Even the goddess Luo described by Cao Zhi can't hold a candle to my Qing."
Keqing had never heard of Cao Zhi, nor the goddess Luo.
But growing up in Liyue—so much like ancient China—her literary instincts were sharp enough to catch the elegance of the words.
Basking in her lover's poetic praise, she beamed.
And Gong Qu, perfectly in sync, gave her cat-eared head a gentle pat.
What could he say? That 1,000 World Coins—totally worth it for both of them.