Asta was extrely frustrated. Just now, she had ford a team with Arlan and several Space Station staff mbers.
In terms of strength, Asta's team was among the top in this chaotic battle.
There's a saying: "It's lonely at the top." Asta's team was ganged up on by three other teams and eliminated.
After the match, everyone returned to the train.
Ye Yun, Zhongli, Welt, Jing Yuan, and Huaiyan were drinking tea together in the lounge—a very refined gathering.
Just then, the lounge doors were pushed open. Stelle, Hutao, and others walked in carrying a few tables.
Hutao and Amber placed a table next to where Zhongli and the others were seated.
Zhongli took one look and recognized the table—it was the special kind used for playing Empire Jade.
"Hall Master, what's this?"
Hutao patted the table.
"Oh, this? We're planning to play Empire Jade tonight. Guest Consultant, mind switching spots? We might get a bit noisy."
Stelle put down her table and ca over to chi in.
"That's right! We're pulling an all-nighter tonight. You guys might want to find another spot to chat and sip tea."
Ye Yun was speechless.
"Have you ever thought about the fact that this place is my shop?"
Stelle nodded.
"Yeah, we know. So what? Is there a problem?"
Ye Yun was dumbfounded by her matter-of-fact response.
"Stelle, do you believe I won't change the script for the Sprite Tournant right now? Your final boss storyline? I can throw that out anyti."
The mont Stelle heard this, she shrank like a kitten grabbed by the scruff of its neck—completely caught.
"No! Absolutely not! Don't do that! We'll leave right away!"
She quickly called to Firefly, Qingque, and the others to change locations.
"I just rembered a better spot! Let's go play in the treehouse. That way, when we're tired, we can sleep in right away in the morning!"
Hutao, Amber, and the others didn't even want to comnt.
Stelle, you're such a fickle woman!
Just monts ago, you insisted on playing in the lounge so you could eat breakfast in the shop and sleep right after!
In the end, Stelle and her crew still moved.
They carried a few Empire Jade tables and headed to the treehouse.
Welt and the others didn't chat for much longer before taking their leave—he had plans to see Otto's performance at the Joy Theater with Cecilia and Kiana.
The show was supposed to debut yesterday, but due to Sparkle and Aha focusing entirely on sprite training, the event had been delayed.
If Welt hadn't asked about it, Sparkle would've forgotten altogether.
She promised the show would go on as planned today.
Welt soon arrived at the entrance of the Joy Theater.
As he approached, he heard soone shout:
"Mr. Welt! Over here!"
He looked in the direction of the voice.
There stood Kiana, i, Bronya (Honkai 3rd), Fuhua, Hiko (Honkai 3rd), Cecilia, Durandal, Rita, and Theresa, all gathered at the front entrance.
Welt walked over, slightly surprised.
"Theresa, Bronya—you two ca as well?"
Theresa replied,
"Yeah, we heard Grandpa was performing today. Things are quiet on our end, so we figured we'd drop by and watch."
Welt nodded.
"I see. Let's head in. Good thing Huohuo reserved a private box for us—there's plenty of room."
He led the group inside the Joy Theater.
In the box, the audience seats below were already full.
After a lively intro by Aha as the host, Otto stepped onto the stage.
He instantly spotted Theresa and the others seated in the central upper box facing the stage.
But then, his gaze locked—his expression changed sharply.
Cecilia! How can it be her?! She actually ca back to life!?
If Cecilia could be revived, then surely she could be, too?
Otto was overco with urgency. He wanted to rush offstage and ask Cecilia how she had co back.
However, from backstage, Sparkle imdiately noticed Otto's abnormal behavior.
She activated her authority as the Joy Theater's master and forcibly restricted Otto's actions, making him continue the show as scripted.
Sparkle leaned back in her chair.
"Little Blondie's getting disobedient again~ Aha, have a chat with him later.
You know —I hate forcing people. But I trust that our actors love performing from the bottom of their hearts."
Aha replied cheerfully.
"Leave it to , Lady Sparkle~ I'll go have a heartfelt talk with Blondie."
The show went on as normal.
Compared to the first version that Stelle and the others had seen, this version was much tar.
Now, the actors were only made to perform in a ridiculously exaggerated fashion—often acting out roles they would never want to play.
For example, Hoolay, who had always been proud and assertive, was repeatedly cast as a servant or slave.
Scaramouche, who constantly shouted about revenge, often played bullied characters who didn't even dare to speak up.
Still, Kiana, Cecilia, and Welt all found the performance delightful—fun, lighthearted, and refreshingly entertaining.
New Wanmin Hall, Liyue Harbor
Unlike the old hall, the new Wanmin Hall was five tis bigger and sat right by the sea, with beautiful views.
Xiangling had just returned and was seated at a table, mulling over the nu.
It was the nu for her birthday banquet tomorrow.
In the past, she and her father would cook together for her birthday.
Then they'd invite Hutao, Xingqiu, Xinyan, Chongyun, and the others to join the feast.
This year was no different—except the guest list had grown. Confird guests were over 40 people, aning at least four banquet tables.
This wasn't the sa as hosting regular custors—a proper banquet required much more effort.
Even with just four tables, many dishes had to be prepared starting tonight.
After an hour of planning, Xiangling began working on complex dishes that took a long ti to make.
By now it was late at night, and she was still hard at work in the kitchen.
Suddenly, the kitchen curtain lifted, and Xiangling looked up to see Little Evil God walk in, her tail swaying.
"Good evening, Xiangling-chan~So this is your new shop's kitchen? It's way bigger than the old one~" she said, looking around in awe.
Xiangling was surprised to see her.
"Jammy-chan? You're still up this late? Did you need sothing?"
Little Evil God looked back at her.
"Oh right—I ca to help. I figured you'd be working on ingredients tonight.
So, what's on the list? I'll help!"
***
Xiangling shook her head with a smile.
"No need to help, Jammy-chan, I can handle it myself."
Jashin-chan crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"No way~ You're the birthday girl, you're not supposed to cook today! Well, you're a chef, so I guess you're an exception.
Still, it doesn't feel right to let you do all the work alone~ It's late anyway, and I can't sleep. Let help.
We're good friends, aren't we?Let check the nu—hmm, this boiled cabbage requires a good broth, I'll get started on that."
As she spoke, Jashin-chan put on an apron and started working.
"Guoba, help prep a few chickens."
Guoba responded and ran to the backyard.
Soon, the backyard echoed with the cries of chickens.
Ti passed as Xiangling, Jashin-chan, and Guoba processed the ingredients.
Around 2 a.m., Jashin-chan forced Xiangling to go to bed, staying in the kitchen to continue working alone.
The next day.
Today was the final round of the elimination matches. By the end, the top 16 would be selected.
Tomorrow would be the group matches to determine the top 4.
The day after tomorrow would be the semifinals.
And the final day would be the grand finals—choosing the top contestant to challenge Stelle.
Aboard the Astral Express.
Stelle and the others had already gone to the "Delight Mini World."Ye Yun stayed in the shop, playing with Klee and the others.
They had been visiting the Delight Mini World for the past few days, so today he let them have fun on the train.
Tribbie, Trianne, and Trinnon didn't co today; Aglaea and the others were participating in the tournant, and Tian's team needed to remain stationed at Ochema.
Ye Yun sat on the sofa, communicating with the system in his mind.
[Notification: Host, the task "Complete 10 Instances" is just one instance away from completion. Please complete it soon.
Completion will unlock access to a large-scale instance.]
Hearing the system prompt, Ye Yun got up and walked to the instance portal.
He looked at today's instance details:
[Today's Instance: Cat and Mouse]Description: A 5-round ga with up to 50 participants.
Each round, 8 players are randomly selected as "Cats."
Cat Victory Condition: Catch all the mice.Mouse Victory Condition: At least one mouse survives until the end of each 30-minute round.
Special Features:
• Random items will drop on the field; both cats and mice can pick them up.
• Mice can evolve into "Cat-Eating Mice" by stealing and consuming cheese, gaining the power to defeat cats.
• Caught mice can be rescued by other mice through "Jailbreak."
Rewards:
• Cat victory: 1,000 Star Coins per player.
• Mouse victory: 500 Star Coins per player.
Ye Yun took a photo of the instance info and sent it to the group chat with a ssage.
Ye Yun: "Today's instance looks fun. Anyone interested can co try it out after the tournant."
Galaxy Fire Hero: "Looks interesting. I'm just stuck backstage with nothing to do. I'll head back first."
I Shall Ignite the Star Sea: "Stelle, wait for . I'll finish up quickly and go with you."
77th Head of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor: "Yeah, no rush. Let's go together."
Mondstadt's Strongest Outrider: "Yeah yeah!"
After chatting in the group for a bit, Ye Yun turned off his phone and continued playing with Klee and the others.
Not long after—
Bronya from Honkai: Star Rail ca through the portal into Ye Yun's shop.
Ye Yun greeted her.
"Bronya, didn't you say you were inspecting the Frost Deer Ranch today? How co you have ti to stop by?"
Bronya replied calmly.
"Yes, I've mostly completed the inspection.
After today, I realized that relying solely on Frost Deer as our only product in Belobog is too limiting.
I ca to see if your shop had any special crop seeds or unique livestock I could bring back."
Hearing this, Ye Yun took Bronya to the small bar.
"I saw sothing a few days ago and thought of you. I was busy then and forgot to tell you."
As he spoke, Ye Yun pulled up an item listing.
[Item: Ice Ocean Fish Fry ga Pack]
Description:Contains 12 types of delicious, fast-growing fish species ideal for breeding in cold waters.
Price: 10,000 Star Coins
While Bronya read the item info, Ye Yun explained:
"There are 1,000 fry of each of the 12 types in this pack.
With Belobog's environnt, they should grow well."
Bronya nodded.
"Yes. Since the Stellaron was dealt with, and with that sword Stelle slashed during the founding of New Belobog, we now have many ice lakes.
This is a perfect opportunity to use them."
Bronya paid 10,000 Star Coins and bought the pack.
Afterward, she returned to Belobog.
Back in Belobog—
Bronya found Cocolia waiting for her in the office.
Cocolia had recently been focused on running the orphanage she founded.
Under her care, the children at the orphanage lived much better than before.
At least, they weren't hungry or cold anymore.They could eat, dress warmly, and even go to school.
"Bronya, you're back."
Bronya smiled upon seeing Cocolia.
"Mother, how's the orphanage doing lately?"
Cocolia smiled.
"Very well. With the supplies you've been sending, the children are living happily."
Bronya nodded.
"That's good. Did you co to see for sothing?"
Cocolia said:
"Nothing urgent. I just wanted to see you.Silverwolf said you've seed troubled lately—always frowning."
Bronya smiled.
"Yes, sothing ca up, but it's settled now.
I realized Belobog can't rely solely on Frost Deer. We need other inco sources.
I went to Ye Yun's shop and bought a batch of fish fry.
If we can raise them properly, they'll provide a steady stream of inco."
Cocolia replied:
"Aquaculture again?"
Bronya nodded.
"Yes. We'll take it step by step.Just like Topaz suggested, start with a few profitable projects to build our financial foundation.
Once that's stable, we can expand."
Cocolia nodded.
"Why not let the orphanage handle the fish fry?It'll give those energetic kids sothing to do."
Bronya responded:
"That's doable. Mother, I brought back 12 types of fry—1,000 of each.
How about I give the orphanage 3 of the types? What do you think?"
Cocolia agreed.
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