It was a sunny weekend afternoon.
Lu Chen was enjoying his leisure time, doing nothing in particular, holding a cold Coke he had just taken from the fridge.
Maybe the system saw how relaxed he was and decided to give him something to do, because a long-lost challenge mission suddenly popped up.
Lu Chen silently put down the Coke, thinking, "So it's finally here..."
[Challenge Mission: Yae Publishing House Reconstruction Plan]
[Assist Yae Miko in rebuilding the "Yae Publishing House" in the real world and publish a best-selling novel with over 500,000 views.]
[Reward: 3,200 Primogems and 3.2 million real-world currency]
After reading the prompt, Lu Chen frowned and glanced at Raiden Ei on the other side of the sofa.
While he wasn't surprised anymore by characters from Teyvat appearing in the real world, he still couldn't help blurting out:
"Y-Yae Miko?"
Now that was a heavyweight "old friend."
"Miko?" Raiden Ei looked at him, sensing something.
She couldn't see the system interface, but judging by Lu Chen's sudden and serious expression, she understood what had happened.
He called everyone into the living room. Venti yawned, clearly reluctant—he'd probably just woken up from a nap. When Qiqi walked out from her "freezer" of a bedroom, a chill swept through the room.
Venti instantly sobered up from the cold.
Raiden Ei's expression lit up—she had a special bond with Miko, and she hadn't expected to meet her again so soon.
"The first step is to find her," Lu Chen said.
Other than Ei, who came at him with a sword the moment she arrived, it took quite a bit of effort to locate everyone else.
Judging by Venti's case, Miko should descend somewhere near his home. But if she was like Qiqi... it'd be a pain.
Lu Chen looked to Ei. "Can you sense her aura?"
Ei frowned slightly. "Hmm... Electro... a faint trace. Not very close."
"Then let's move out!" declared Lu Chen, the head of the household.
Everyone headed out to look for Yae Miko, except Qiqi, who stayed home to watch the house.
"The shrine maiden from Narukami Grand Shrine?" Venti yawned again. "Don't know her well. Not really interested."
"That's not an option!" Lu Chen said as he dragged the unwilling Venti out the door.
They checked downstairs first. The usual group of old men were still playing chess, and no one had seen a foxy beauty in exotic clothes wandering around.
The three of them started combing the streets. Ei followed the faint Electro trace.
Lu Chen followed close behind, only to realize they were getting closer and closer to the city center.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a convention center.
Lu Chen scanned the crowd for that unmistakable pink hair, but found the place packed with people sporting every hair color imaginable—
Blue, white, purple, green...
Sailor uniforms, maid outfits, mecha suits, Kamen Rider cosplays...
It was a cosplay convention!
Cosplayers dressed as popular anime characters roamed around. Not far off, a girl in a blue-haired maid outfit basked in attention. On a distant stage, an idol group was dancing, with camera flashes going off nonstop.
Lu Chen figured that even if Yae Miko were here with her fox tail showing, she'd blend right in without raising eyebrows.
"How are we supposed to find her?" Venti asked helplessly, spreading his hands.
"Follow me!" Raiden Ei charged ahead, pulling Lu Chen into the crowd.
"Hey, wait for me—!"
"Hey, you're pretty cute! Who are you cosplaying as?" A guy with a camera stopped Venti, curious.
"Huh?"
Venti blinked and looked down at his outfit. It was just plain casual wear.
The woes of being good-looking—even in regular clothes, people at a convention would assume you were cosplaying some obscure slice-of-life anime heroine...
"Wait, who are you calling pretty?!" Venti finally snapped.
...
With Raiden Ei leading the way, Lu Chen made his way through the crowd and eventually stopped in front of a booth.
Despite all the eye-catching cosplay around, Lu Chen spotted Yae Miko instantly.
She was holding a book, reading with complete focus.
Her gorgeous pink hair cascaded like a waterfall, tied at the ends. A pair of fox ears, signifying her white kitsune lineage, peeked out from the strands. Maybe finding the noise annoying, one ear twitched playfully.
Dressed in her signature red and white shrine maiden outfit, with her long pale legs on full display, she stood there drawing attention effortlessly. Two guys with cameras shyly approached, hoping to take photos.
"Oh?"
Her voice had a magnetic charm. She glanced up slightly, her eyes sweeping across the two young men, making them blush immediately.
"Photos? A camera from Fontaine?"
The two were still mesmerized by her gaze, nodding like fools without processing her words.
"Sure~"
Lu Chen and Raiden Ei exchanged helpless looks.
Miko was clearly having fun at the convention.
Once she agreed, more people gathered around. It started to feel like her own fan event. The flashes were so bright, Lu Chen nearly went blind.
"Wow, this is the most accurate cosplay I've ever seen!"
"Yeah, but I have no idea who she's supposed to be..."
"Same here. Anyone know?"
...
With the crowd swelling around her, Lu Chen couldn't even get close to talk. He had no choice but to squeeze in and start shooing away eager fans.
"Miko," Raiden Ei called softly.
The moment Yae Miko turned and saw Ei, a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.
Then she saw Lu Chen, and the surprise deepened.
"Ei?"
"Lu Chen?"
"You... you're here too?"
Raiden Ei smiled warmly. "Yeah, who would've thought we'd meet again here, Miko."
"Ei..." Yae Miko looked over her outfit. "Why are you dressed like that? And..."
She pointed at Lu Chen. "Lu Chen is still alive? I thought he was..."
The shock in her expression broke the image she'd maintained for years. It wasn't like she'd seen a ghost—it was something deeper and harder to define.
Lu Chen snapped, "Of course I'm alive!"
"Interesting... how interesting..."
Yae Miko's radiant face lit up with a smile, like she had just discovered something delightful.
"So fascinating... a new world, the living reunited, the dead resurrected... What other surprises await me here?"
She lived for intrigue and delight, and today had already brought her so much of it that her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Come on, let's go home." Lu Chen glanced around. The crowd had reluctantly begun to disperse.
The booth owner, however, wore a strange expression.
"Um... my light novel... should I..."
Yae Miko smiled seductively. "Oh~ this one's quite fun. Are you giving it to me, boss~?"
That upward inflection on "boss" was almost spellbinding. The man smiled like an idiot. "Take it, take it all..."
Only after the three had walked away did the booth owner snap back to reality.
He paused, realizing he'd just given his books away for free.
Not that he regretted giving them to a beauty, but—
"Why didn't I even ask for her number? I'm such a..."