At this moment, inside the Jade Chamber.
Ningguang was hiding alone in her room, not daring to step outside at all.
"Lady Ningguang, are you inside?"
Outside the door, Baizhi's voice sounded.
"What is it?"
Ningguang forcibly suppressed the anger in her chest, doing her best to keep her tone calm.
"Lady Yuheng and Lady Ganyu are here to visit."
"I'M SO ANGRY, O'NEIL~~~~ I CAME TO HEBEI PROVINCE… STALIN~~~~"
"…Ah? What province?"
Baizhi was completely confused.
Why did Lady Ningguang sound so strange today?
And since when did Liyue have a place called Hebei?
"That's enough. You may leave."
Keqing stopped Baizhi, motioning for her to withdraw, while she and Ganyu pushed the door open themselves.
Not long after, Ningguang's furious shout echoed from inside the room.
"Ningguang… calm down—pfft—don't get angry… hehe… really, don't get angry…"
"GET OUT! ALL OF YOU GET OUT! I'M SO ANGRY, O'NEIL!!!!!"
At the same time, in Mondstadt.
Angel's Share was closed for business—but Venti was standing at the entrance, collecting admission fees.
"One thousand Mora per person! No sneaking in!"
"B—Barb— ahem, Lord Venti… this doesn't seem appropriate."
Jean's eye twitched.
Was he treating Diluc like an ATM now?
"Ehe~"
Venti showed not a shred of embarrassment. Today, he was going to make a fortune.
If they didn't pay, he'd block the door and let no one in.
"…Sigh."
Jean sighed, then handed over ten thousand Mora.
"This is the Knights of Favonius' group ticket."
Such a rare scene—how could they not watch?
Senior Diluc making a fool of himself didn't happen every day.
Not long after they entered—
"GET LOST! ALL OF YOU GET LOST!"
"I CAME TO HEBEI PROVINCE~~~~ SISTER-IN-LAW~~~ TRASH~!"
Surrounded by people taking screenshots and recording videos, Diluc completely broke down.
This was inhuman.
Absolutely inhuman.
And the worst part?
Jean had led the charge.
Live Chat
[Kaeya]: Angry_O'Neil.avi
[Sparkle]: Incredible… record more!
[Seele]: Wait… so every time he gets angry, he has to say that?
[Bronya]: Th—this is terrifying…
[Zhongli]: Hmm… headache-inducing.
Looking at the uploaded images, even Zhongli felt chills.
If he got hit with this punishment, would he survive it?
[Yae Miko]: What a pity—no Inazumans got caught in this.
Such a shame she couldn't experience it firsthand.
[Valerius]: You people are seriously heartless.
[Herta]: Didn't you cause this?
[Valerius]: Go ask Aha.
[Aha]: Not me, not me—ask Mutual Destruction.
[Yae Miko]: That deflection though…
By the way, this game was short. Let's do another one?
[Raiden Ei]: Yes. Pick me this time.
[Valerius]: You saw the punishment and you're still eager?
[Kafka]: I don't want to run into punishment… does that mean I'm afraid?
[Herta]: Only you know the answer to that.
[Kafka]: I don't. I don't feel fear.
[Ruan Mei]: How fascinating…
She didn't feel fear at all?
That was worth studying.
[Furina]: Come on~ start another game~ This isn't enough to watch.
[Valerius]: What if you get picked?
[Furina]: Then I'll just win again.
Wow. Zero self-awareness.
[Valerius]: What about the others?
[Jingliu]: Start it.
[Boothill]: Let's go.
[Luocha]: Open it.
[Stelle]: Again!
This round really had been short, and many people wanted another go.
[Valerius]: Fine. One more round it is.
[Yunli]: Remember to pick me—my greatsword is invincible.
Seeing everyone's enthusiasm—and since even Valerius himself hadn't felt fully involved last time—he decided to go for it.
"System, start a new game."
[Acknowledged.]
Light descended, and Valerius appeared once more—this time inside a castle in the outskirts.
"Oh? Not bad."
He glanced around, then broke into a grin.
"You like games, huh?
Alright—this time, I'll give you something serious."
After reviewing the rules, Valerius was genuinely pleased.
This time, he could participate from start to finish.
Even if he was just the villainous boss—so what?
What if the players turned the tables on him?
"System, draw the players."
[Arena game initiated.]
[Selecting players…]
[Yae Miko]: It's starting! Pick me!
[Raiden Ei]: This time it's definitely me—
[Sushang]: I want to join… but I never get picked.
[Yanqing]: Me too.
[Selected players: Keqing, Clorinde, Arataki Itto, Lumine, Firefly, Jingliu, Bronya, Luocha.]
Some rejoiced. Others were disappointed.
[Transporting players.]
Eight beams of light descended.
As they materialized, they found themselves in yet another castle—larger than the last.
All eyes turned toward Valerius.
"…Don't tell me it's Night Falls, Everyone Close Your Eyes again?"
"No."
Valerius shook his head.
"This game is called—And Then There Were None."
Everyone's faces darkened.
That somehow sounded even worse.
"Listen carefully to the rules."
"Rules for And Then There Were None:"
"1. You are university students on a trip, trapped in this castle by a blizzard.
You have no inherent combat ability—though any abilities gained within the game may be used."
The moment he said that, all eyes turned toward the Genshin side.
They had magic.
Didn't that break the game?
"2. You start with zero base points.
Points are hidden throughout the castle.
However many you find—that's how many rewards you can draw."
"Wait."
Luocha raised his hand.
"What if I find more than ten points?"
"They're all yours."
—HISS!
That changed everything.
If you won, the rewards would be insane.
"3. The castle contains Skill Cards.
Using a skill costs one point per use.
The same applies to elemental abilities."
"4. I will play the role of the castle's killer, active at night.
If I catch you—you're eliminated."
"Can skills damage you?"
That was the key concern.
If they could hurt him, they'd just gang up on Valerius.
"I can't be killed.
But skills can hinder me."
"5. This is a cooperative survival game.
If all of you are eliminated—I win.
If at least one of you survives for seven days, you all win, and everyone gets to draw rewards."
"But—"
"The first three eliminated players will receive punishment."
At that, everyone's eyes lit up.
As long as one person survived, everyone won.
Glances were exchanged.
Only one message passed between them—
Work together.
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