Pekora instantly swallowed hard at Paimon's words.
Looking at the chicken wing that Paimon handed over, Pekora was torn.
White Pekora: No, no! The Lord said, we can't gain without working for it!
Black Pekora: Why not? It's not like you asked for it—it was given to you.
White Pekora: Still no! You're an angel!
Black Pekora: I think it's fine. Worst case, we treat them to something once we've earned money.
In the end, Pekora still accepted the chicken wing from Paimon.
"Thank you!"
Pekora took the chicken wing with both hands as if it were a treasure.
She admired it like a piece of art, reluctant to eat it.
Just smelling it made her feel like she could eat a whole bag of toast crusts.
The aroma was irresistible!
Soon after, Jashin-chan finished cooking and dragged Pekora over.
Jashin-chan wiped her hands with a napkin.
"You useless angel, eat up. I'll take you back after you're done."
Pekora nodded and began eating after a quick prayer.
Evening arrived.
On the lawn near the Rose Castle lyrics area in the pocket dimension, Stelle, Lumine, Hutao, and others had set up a table outside the RV.
Lumine opened the side of the RV, revealing the kitchen inside.
The RV temporarily turned into a food truck, and Xiangling was slicing Amanita phalloides mushrooms at the counter.
Lumine had invited everyone for hot pot that night. To prepare, she'd gone all the way to Joylight Little Planet to buy 10 jin of wild mushrooms from a hot pot restaurant.
Everyone was sitting at the table discussing the plot of the Genshin Impact game version.
Hutao took a bite of mushroom and looked over at Paimon.
"Paimon, go jump in the pot—you're emergency food, after all."
Paimon stomped the air in fury.
"Darn you, Hutao! I am NOT emergency food!"
Hutao smirked mischievously.
"Hey, I didn't come up with it! That was Amber and Lumine, hehe~"
Paimon turned to glare at Lumine and Amber.
"You two are too much! Giving me a nickname like that!"
Lumine shrugged innocently.
"I didn't say it, the game version of me did.
And honestly, I think it's a great nickname.
When I fished you out, I was originally fishing for dinner.
Just happened to catch you instead, so... yeah, emergency food fits."
Paimon fumed.
"Unbelievable! Lumine! I'm so mad—I'm gonna eat all your mushrooms!"
Lumine waved dismissively.
"Go ahead, eat all you want. They're cheap, just cost a few credit points."
After teasing Paimon, the group continued chatting about the story.
Eula was progressing fastest—she was following the main storyline closely.
"I didn't expect Venti to wake up so early. He was already helping when Lumine fought Dvalin."
Amber nodded.
"Yeah, and he already seemed to be healing Dvalin in Whispering Woods earlier, but Lumine interrupted him."
Hu Tao raised a question.
"If Lumine hadn't interrupted, would Dvalin have been cured?"
Amber shook her head.
"No. Hutao, you don't know the situation.
Only Lumine could purify the Abyssal taint on Dvalin.
So yeah, it had to be her."
Hutao nodded in understanding.
"I see~ So Lumine, you really are special.
Still, your brother seriously deserves a beating.
He's the dignified Abyss Prince, and he just left you to wander around?
Either he wanted to see you suffer, or he didn't care enough to notice your seal was broken.
Tsk tsk~ Now I get what Ye Yun meant when he said 'siblings are the ultimate natural enemies.'"
Lumine was immediately annoyed.
"Exactly! So, do I have your support in giving him a good beating?"
Stelle chuckled.
"Then you should thank me. I helped you catch him with one swing of my sword."
Lumine raised her cup without hesitation.
"Cheers to that! Thank you! I couldn't have caught him alone back then."
Calestia, who'd been pulled over to eat by Hutao, chimed in.
"Lumine, your brother really is a scumbag. Now you understand why I went after you two back then?"
Lumine nodded.
"Yeah, if I were you, I would've done the same.
That guy just runs off after causing trouble. No responsibility at all—ugh! Trash man!"
Calestia added more fuel to the fire.
"Exactly! Trash man!He's living it up now, opening milk tea shops all over New Liyue Harbor.
Let's go smash them!"
Lumine slammed her fist on the table, fired up.
"Smash them! Smash them!"
Hutao broke into a cold sweat watching the fired-up Lumine and Calestia.
Aether, don't blame the Hall Master—I was just joking. Who knew Lumine and Calestia would react like that?
After dinner, the group dived into the Genshin Impact dungeon.
Genshin Dungeon – Hu Tao's world.
Hutao appeared at the gates of the Knights of Favonius.
She was controlling Lisa—don't ask why. Her reason? "Lisa's OP."
After stretching a bit and marveling at the new sensations, Hutao spotted Paimon waiting by a flowerbed with a golden icon over her head.
"Oh ho~ Emergency food."
Hutao approached and hit the dialogue button.
Her body stopped responding—normal, just part of the cutscene.
After finishing the scene, she began following Venti.
At the cathedral plaza, Venti told the tale of Dvalin.
Hu Tao listened eagerly—Venti really was a great storyteller. No wonder Lumine and Paimon called him "Master Deceiver Venti."
Then she followed Venti into the cathedral and witnessed the iconic scene.
Venti openly admitted to being Barbatos, but the nun didn't believe him at all.
Hutao burst out laughing.
"LMAO! The Wind God of Mondstadt and his own nun doesn't recognize him! Hahahaha!
No way! I gotta see this again."
She quickly logged out and back in to replay the scene—this time recording it to post later.
Venti failed to borrow the lyre and told her to come steal it at night.
That evening, Hutao easily infiltrated the cathedral's basement.
She glanced back at the room full of Knights and was baffled.
Seriously? They can't see me? Just like that, I'm in?
Hutao was amazed. "Wow, this Knights of Favonius group sure is... something else."
As she went to take the Holy Lyre, she suddenly felt something off—an unfamiliar elemental energy.
Before she could act, she lost control of her body.
She could only watch helplessly as a Fatui agent snatched the lyre.
Fine, steal it if you must—but you've got attitude too!? "Shhh" yourself, you big-headed freak!
If the Hall Master could move, she'd show you real power!
At that moment, the Knights NPCs rushed in.
"Who's there?! Surrender now!"
Hutao's vision shifted—she was already outside the cathedral where Venti waited.
Paimon shouted, "We've been found!" and Venti summoned a wind current to escape with Lumine.
Riding the wind, they reached Angel's Share where they met Diluc.
Diluc calmly talked nonsense to mislead the pursuing Knights.
Hutao was once again impressed.
"Wow, not only are the Knights weak, they don't even get along with each other."
Elsewhere, Jean had reached the same part of the story.
She didn't think it was ridiculous—on the contrary, it felt realistic.
Before the recent reform, many Knights really were like that—weak, lazy, and coasting under the name of freedom.
Jean sighed. Fortunately, the Knights had now transformed.
The slackers from the story had been purged. Though their numbers had halved, their efficiency had improved significantly.
Hutao and the others played the Genshin dungeon for an hour or two, then logged out.
With a tournament tomorrow, they needed rest.
On the train, in the observation car.
Himeko, Welt, Sunday, Dan Heng, Stelle, Pom-Pom, and Mika gathered for a meeting.
Stelle crossed her arms.
"Himeko, what did you call us here for?"
Himeko smiled and pulled out two voucher cards.
"These are claim vouchers that Sunday and I got earlier. After discussing, we've decided to use them as train group public funds.
I needed to inform all of you."
Stelle's eyes lit up.
"Ohoho~ Can I use some to open golden trash cans? slurp~"
Himeko shook her head.
"Nope. This fund is for medical needs, equipment, daily train expenses, and repairs."
Stelle instantly deflated.
"Ah? Oh... okay then."
Himeko chuckled.
"With the Genshin dungeon, do you even need credits to open trash cans? Just grind more."
Stelle nodded.
"True. I made over 30,000 star credits today~"
Welt commented.
"You're always the most motivated when credits are involved."
Stelle raised a hand grandly.
"No! It's not just about star credits—I'm all in for anything fun! Okay~ hehe~"
Himeko continued.
"For the first expenditure, we'll allocate 200,000 credits. The landing cabin we used on Enfaro was damaged last time.
I plan to buy a replacement from Ye Yun."
Welt and Dan Heng had no objections.
With everyone's agreement, Himeko took out 1.5 million credits and headed to Ye Yun's store.
Back at the observation car.
Stelle nudged Sunday with her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, nice one—just donated 500,000 credits like it's nothing. Respect!"
Sunday smiled.
"I'm a member of the train crew now. Of course I'll contribute."
Stelle gave a thumbs-up.
"Gotta hand it to you. The man who once took on three generals, the Emanator Nihility, the Stellaron Hunters, AND Zhongli, Venti, the five Archons, AND me—all by himself!"
Sunday instantly regretted his life choices. Why'd you have to bring THAT up?
Just thinking about it made him cringe. He'd really overestimated himself back then.
Thankfully, Dan Heng called him away.
"Sunday, let's go check the field. The plants we sowed last week need watering and fertilizing."
Sunday agreed and followed Dan Heng away.
Stelle pouted. Boring.
Ever since Sunday boarded the train, he'd been glued to Dan Heng.
If they weren't in the library, they were in the field.
Stelle looked around the now-empty observation car and turned to leave.
Just then, a voice called out:
"Please wait, friend."
Stelle stopped and looked around, spotting a girl in front of a mirror.
Strangely, the girl had no face.
Stelle asked:
"You talking to me?"
The girl nodded.
"Yes. I'm a Memokeeper from the Garden of Recollection. I'd like to make a trade with you."
A trade?
"Oh? What kind of trade?"
The Memokeeper replied:
"May I view your memories? Don't worry—I'll compensate you handsomely."
Stelle shook her head.
"Compensation? Do you have Stellar Jade? I don't want credit points—I've got way too many already."
The Memokeeper smiled and waved her hand.
"I do. I want to read your memories, and then I will..."
***
Stelle cheerfully accepted the 4,000 Stellar Jades and patted the Memokeeper's shoulder.
"Very good, you've got potential. I believe in you.
Keep it up, work hard, and spend more time refining the level you just created."
After encouraging the Memokeeper, Stelle happily left the observation car to go back to sleep.
Once Stelle left, the Memokeeper also dove back into the mirror.
Back inside, she took out a golden-yellow memory essence.
Memory essence is the physical manifestation of memories, which Memokeeper can use to read others' memories.
The memory essence she held was the one she had just extracted from Stelle's mind.
She had never seen such a color before—golden-yellow memory essence? It was hard to believe such a thing even existed.
Reaching out, she began reading it. Her consciousness was transported into a starry sky.
She curiously looked around and saw Stelle's silhouette ahead.
Just as she was about to walk forward for a closer look, a powerful energy suddenly surged at her, forcibly ejecting her from the memory essence.
Back in reality, she spat out a large mouthful of blood.
"Impossible! What kind of terrifying thing is hiding in her memory?!"
Panicked, the Memokeeper quickly distanced herself from the golden essence, afraid she might die there.
Inside the treehouse.
Stelle pushed the door open and walked in. Right away, she saw Silver Wolf, Calestia, and Milim huddled on the couch playing games.
Milim now spent most of her time here—hanging out with Paimon when she was hungry, and playing with Silver Wolf when she wanted fun.
Calestia had also moved in, even setting up a room. She would stay here sometimes and return to the Afterlife Hall internet café other times.
Silver Wolf glanced at Stelle.
"Why are you only coming back now? Where did you run off to?"
Stelle, seeing Silver Wolf, pulled out a thick stack of Stellar Coins. She licked her finger and began counting them dramatically in front of her.
Seeing the crisp new Stellar Coins, Silver Wolf asked suspiciously,
"Where'd you get those? Off doing shady stuff again?"
Stelle rolled her eyes.
"Shady stuff? I earned these fair and square with my skills, alright?"
Silver Wolf chuckled.
"Hah, and you think I'd believe that? Come on, where'd you find a treasure chest this time? Or did you smuggle them out of a Genshin dungeon?"
Stelle grinned.
"Hehe, neither. You'll never guess."
Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow.
"Then where did they come from?"
Stelle smugly wiggled her eyebrows.
"I'm not telling. It's a secret~"
With that, she walked back to her room, counting coins as she went.
Silver Wolf, now even more curious, stared after her.
At that moment, Milim scooted closer.
"Silver Wolf, what are you doing? Playing or not? Your character hasn't moved at all."
Silver Wolf replied, "Nothing, just got shown up."
Milim thought for a second.
"Are those Stellar Coins useful?"
Silver Wolf nodded.
"Of course. You can buy anything you want with them.
By the way, I heard your world has a kind of ore that can be exchanged for Stellar Coins. Know what it is?"
Milim shook her head.
"Nope~ What kind of ore? I'll send my minions to find some. I'll bring you a bunch!"
Silver Wolf thought aloud.
"Maybe ask Rimuru. I think he's spent some at Ye Yun's store before."
Milim nodded.
"Okay! I'll ask him tomorrow. Let's play for now! Hurry up—we're almost at the next level!"
Silver Wolf picked up her controller and resumed gaming.
The next morning.
Milim rushed back to ask Rimuru about the ore that could be exchanged for Stellar Coins.
She arrived at the Monster Federation and immediately saw Rimuru and the others busy with farming.
Rimuru had bought a lot of vegetable seeds from Topaz and was working in the fields with Benimaru, Shuna, and the others.
Milim landed beside Rimuru.
"What are you all doing?"
Rimuru answered, "We're farming."
Milim looked around at the busy fields.
"Farming? Why?"
Rimuru pointed toward a nearby chili field.
"Farming lets us grow delicious ingredients. Like your favorite—chilies."
Milim's eyes sparkled.
"Ooh~ Then grow lots so I can eat more yummy stuff~"
Rimuru smiled and asked,
"Milim, what brings you here?"
Milim finally remembered her reason for coming.
"Uh—about that..."
Rimuru pulled out a magic crystal ore and showed it to her.
"This is the only ore in our world that can be exchanged for Stellar Coins. One of these can be traded for 100 Stellar Coins."
Milim's eyes lit up.
"Oh~ So it's this! Got it! I'm off!"
Without another word, she left.
Back at the treehouse, Milim found Silver Wolf.
"Silver Wolf, I know what in my world can be exchanged for Stellar Coins!"
She jumped on the couch and shook the half-asleep Silver Wolf awake.
Silver Wolf groaned.
"Milim, don't bother me—I was up all night."
Just then, Stelle, Firefly, and the others came downstairs.
Firefly asked, "Silver Wolf, today's the Spirit Tournament group stage. Aren't you getting up? Don't be late."
Stelle patted Firefly's shoulder.
"Don't worry about her. She's already been eliminated, hehe~"
Silver Wolf shot awake.
"Excuse me?! I let Bubu Flower win, okay?
She only entered the tournament for March 7th's sake. I respect that. I lost on purpose, got it?"
Stelle waved her hand dismissively.
"Yeah, yeah, sure."
Silver Wolf fumed at Stelle's completely unconvinced and half-hearted response.
"I really let her win, alright?!"
Stelle still wore the same smug look.
"Aha~ yeah, yeah, I believe you~"
Enraged, Silver Wolf roared while Stelle grabbed Firefly and ran for it. No way she was sticking around after showing off—she knew a beating was coming.
Left alone, Silver Wolf stood on the sofa, flailing in frustration.
Once she calmed down, she remembered Milim.
"Milim, what were you saying earlier?"
Milim repeated, "I know what can be traded for Stellar Coins! And I've got tons of it!"
Silver Wolf's eyes lit up.
"Really? Show me!"
Milim pulled her into a portal.
They arrived in Rimuru's world and headed straight to Milim's domain.
Milim ruled over a vast territory, filled with powerful citizens.
Among them, the strongest was the Big Baldy, capable of soloing Demon Lords.
In the original storyline, even a team of top warriors including the Beast Kingdom's tiger girl and Gabiru couldn't take him down.
Back at her palace, a maid greeted Milim with a cart of boiled carrots.
"Lady Milim~ it's mealtime~"
The sound hit Milim like a demon's whisper. She trembled visibly.
The maid placed the cart before her.
Silver Wolf took one and tasted it.
"Milim, these aren't bad. Pretty mild flavor."
Milim forced a smile.
"Hehe~ try eating them for ten thousand years."
Silver Wolf instantly understood her suffering. Eating this every day for eternity? Yeah, no thanks.
Once the maid left, Milim torched the whole cart.
Then she summoned Big Baldy to escort her to the treasury.
As a dragonoid, Milim had a dragon's instinct to hoard shiny treasures.
Magic crystals were sparkly and valuable—a perfect match.
Big Baldy opened the vault. A glittering brilliance spilled out, making Silver Wolf squint.
When she could finally open her eyes, she was stunned.
"Milim, do you really need this much treasure in your vault?"
Milim chuckled proudly.
"Of course! I love these shiny things—I've been collecting for years~
Look at this magic crystal! Isn't it huge?"
She pointed to a chunk the size of a small mountain.
Silver Wolf was dumbfounded. Sis, you're rich rich?!
Milim hefted the massive crystal.
"Let's see how many Stellar Coins this baby's worth~"
Silver Wolf, still stunned, followed her through a portal to Ye Yun's store.
They had to break the crystal into 20 pieces to bring it over.
After exchanging the 20 chunks, Silver Wolf stared at Milim in awe.
Each piece fetched 200,000 Stellar Coins.
In total—4 million Stellar Coins.
Seeing Silver Wolf's envy, Milim waved her hand.
"Let's split it 50/50~"
To Milim, Stellar Coins were nothing compared to her friendship with Silver Wolf.
Silver Wolf was her game buddy. Stellar Coins? Just money.
What's that saying again?
You can't buy a happy dragon with money? Something like that.
Silver Wolf froze.
Wait… did she just say she'd split the 4 million with me?
She did.
Milim handed her half—2 million Stellar Coins.
Silver Wolf confirmed it.
Milim, you're my goddess.
Clutching her prize, she recalled Stelle showing off her coins last night.
Now it was her turn to return the favor.
She pulled Milim into a portal.
Spirit Tournament – Group Stage
It was the final match: Bubu Flower vs. Himeko's Axia.
Spectators didn't have much faith in Bubu Flower.
Axia had steamrolled her way into the group stage, showing overwhelming dominance.
In the last chaotic battle, she cleared an entire field by herself.
Clearly a title contender.
Though Bubuhua was strong, her performance didn't match Axia's.
Plus, Axia's ice-type Spirit had a natural advantage over Bubu Flower's grass-type.
Odds on the black market? 100 to 1 in Axia's favor.
On the stands, Jing Yuan sighed watching Bubu Flower.
He admired her loyalty to March 7th.
She'd joined the tournament just to win and make March 7th smile when she woke up.
Jing Yuan was touched by her determination.
Her master lay unconscious—and all she could do was fight, unable to help directly.
Only Ye Yun secretly bet 1 billion on Bubu Flower winning.
Because Ye Yun knew something no one else did…
[Pokémon: Bubuhua (Undergoing Mega Evolution)]
Type: Grass
Level: 65Description: A very rare Grass-type...