The night sky was vast and filled with scattered stars.
In Ryen's previous life, such a scene was rare to behold. But whether in Teyvat or the MC world, it was a common sight.
However, one thing remained the same—both starry skies were fake.
In the MC world, unless a special mod was installed, the world was an infinitely extending plane. Even if one flew high into the sky in Creative Mode, it was impossible to reach the stars.
Meanwhile, Teyvat was more straightforward—it simply didn't allow anyone to get close to the stars at all.
Of course, this wasn't something worth worrying about.
At this moment, everyone was gathered around a campfire. Square-shaped shelters were lined up neatly around them, resembling matchboxes. Further out, fences enclosed the area, and torches were placed everywhere to ensure that no monsters could spawn inside. Beyond the fence, however, monsters had already begun to gather in dense numbers.
No one bothered to deal with them. By morning, the creatures would vanish with the rising sun.
Ryen leaned against a wool block, with Ganyu and Nahida nestled in his arms. Nahida's small head bobbed up and down, on the verge of dozing off.
Ganyu found the sight amusing.
The little Dendro Archon, the so-called Lesser Lord Kusanali, was still very much a child. Even her daily habits resembled those of a kid.
It was only a little past eight o'clock, yet she was already nodding off. And that was despite spending the whole day riding horses with Ryen—hardly an exhausting activity.
Ryen gently patted Nahida, coaxing her to sleep as if he were comforting a child.
"Let's talk about today's haul from the Lucky Blocks," he said in a soft voice.
Keqing, sitting nearby, pulled out her notebook and began to report methodically:
"Today, we opened a total of forty-two Lucky Blocks."
"After excluding rotten flesh, various junk items, monsters, and traps…"
"The number of effectively useful Lucky Blocks totaled thirty. Among them, Ganyu opened twenty."
"The effective materials obtained include wool blocks and various food items."
"Additionally, we acquired five sets of Redstone components. As for mineral resources, we obtained twenty-three diamond blocks, twenty-two emerald blocks, forty-seven iron blocks, and several lapis lazuli blocks—"
Before she could finish, Ryen shook his head and interrupted her softly.
"There's no need to list the minerals. Just mention the important materials."
Keqing nodded and flipped to the next page of her notes, while the others listened attentively.
"Important materials include three Elytra sets, five Totems of Undying, a full set of Ender Pearls and Eyes of Ender…"
"Twenty-three golden apples, seven enchanted golden apples."
"Additionally… should I mention the enchanted tools?"
Keqing glanced at Ryen for his decision. He pondered for a moment before replying lightly:
"My plan is to discard the lesser tools—anything below iron tier."
Upon hearing this, Ningguang immediately shook her head.
"There's no need to do that just yet. Even if we don't find them useful, they can still be distributed to the Millelith and the miners."
"It would be a waste to throw them away."
The others also nodded in agreement.
Ryen, however, gave Ningguang a helpless look.
"But we're running out of storage space…"
"No problem," Keqing said softly.
"If we squeeze a little, our backpacks should still hold enough for tomorrow's Lucky Block openings."
"And if we do run out of space, we can always return to Teyvat for a bit and store everything there."
"After all, we have a lot of people counting on us. We're not yet at the point where we can afford to be wasteful with such valuable items."
She then gave Ryen a teasing smile.
"You might be generous, but enchanted tools in Liyue would easily sell for astronomical prices!"
Ryen shrugged.
"Fine, do as you like. If you all want to keep them, we'll keep them. We can distribute them as rewards to the Millelith and hardworking miners."
"Also, we now have enough Totems of Undying for each of us to carry one. Take one for yourselves—they're primarily for survival."
Hearing this, no one objected.
In the past, they would have thought that such a precious item should be left in Ryen's safekeeping.
But after watching Ganyu continuously obtain Totems of Undying throughout the day, they had grown numb to it.
Thinking about it logically, with Lucky Blocks and Ganyu around, Totems of Undying weren't all that rare anymore.
For all they knew, they might get another four or five of them tomorrow.
The results of today's Lucky Block openings had left everyone pleasantly surprised.
At this rate, they had gathered as many resources as a group of miners would from several expeditions.
Ningguang was starting to think it might be a good idea to adjust their strategy—perhaps they should encourage the Millelith to venture out and open more Lucky Blocks instead of relying solely on traditional mining.
"Besides, we obtained another important treasure," Keqing said as she flipped to the final page of her notes.
"Ganyu managed to open a total of nine Lucky Eggs. Should we open them now, or wait until we get back?"
Ryen considered for a moment before shaking his head.
"Let's wait until we're back. If we open more Lucky Eggs along the way, the spectacle will be even more impressive once we open them all at once."
Everyone chuckled and let the matter rest.
Hu Tao withdrew her gaze from the zombies and skeletons outside the fence and asked softly:
"Where are we going tomorrow? Should we continue exploring the plains, or head straight for the snowy mountains?"
This was a more pressing issue than when to open the Lucky Eggs.
Ryen didn't decide for everyone—he turned to hear their thoughts.
Hu Tao murmured, "I'd like to go to the snowy mountains. The plains are nice, but if we stay here too long, it gets a little dull."
"I haven't seen much snow before. I've always heard about Dragonspine in Mondstadt, but never visited. What about you guys?"
As she spoke, she shot Zhongli a knowing look, as if to say, "You understand, right?"
Zhongli found her antics amusing but still gave his answer with a nod.
"I don't mind. If we go to the snowy mountains, that would be a fine choice as well."
With Zhongli voicing his opinion, Xiao naturally followed suit, agreeing to the snowy mountain expedition.
At this point, even those who originally wanted to continue exploring the plains had no reason to split up.
One after another, they nodded in agreement with Hu Tao's suggestion.
Since they were mainly searching for caves and resources, who knew—perhaps the snowy mountains would have even better opportunities.
"Alright then," Ryen said with a chuckle.
"Since everyone agrees, we'll set out for the snowy mountains first thing in the morning."
"If we're lucky, we might even find a snow-covered village. And if the village is big enough, there could be abandoned mineshafts underneath."
"There's bound to be some good stuff there."
The snowy mountains had plenty of valuable resources.
And, of course, they could also build a snow golem.
Not to mention the snowballs…
Which were perfect for…
A snowball fight!
After all, their journey was supposed to be fun above all else.
Ryen couldn't even remember the last time he had a snowball fight.
After chatting for a while longer, around ten in the evening, everyone started feeling sleepy.
Though riding horses wasn't tiring, the excitement of the day had left them somewhat exhausted.
One by one, they bid each other goodnight and returned to their respective rooms.
Ryen gently picked up Nahida and carried her back to his large house, with Ganyu following closely behind.
Even though Nahida was the Dendro Archon and capable of combat, Ryen still saw her as nothing more than a little girl.
Naturally, he felt responsible for taking care of her at all times.
His temporary residence was quite spacious.
Two bedrooms and a living area.
Nahida had her own room.
After laying her down on the bed and tucking her in, Ryen watched as she slept peacefully, curled up like a small kitten.
His expression softened.
He gently tapped Nahida's nose.
The little girl instinctively reached out and covered her face with her hands.
Seeing this, Ryen chuckled and turned to leave, taking Ganyu with him to their own room.
Everyone already knew about their relationship, so there was no need to hide it.
Besides, they were in the middle of their honeymoon phase—there was no way they would be apart.
The two beds had been pushed together.
As soon as Ryen entered, he threw himself onto the bed, patting the space beside him expectantly.
Ganyu naturally understood what he wanted.
She was tempted too, but… Nahida was in the next room.
Not to mention, Ningguang and the others weren't too far away either.
Ganyu wasn't confident she could keep herself composed.
She lay down obediently on one side.
But when Ryen moved closer, she quickly shielded herself and whispered,
"No, Ryen… Nahida and everyone else are still here…"
Ryen froze for a moment, then sighed in resignation.
"If I had known, I would've sent everyone back to rest somewhere else tonight…"
He sighed again, reluctantly wrapping his arms around Ganyu.
She smiled at his disappointment but suddenly hesitated, her face turning slightly red.
As if she had overcome a major inner struggle, she whispered,
"Then… what if we use a method that doesn't make any noise?"
Ryen was momentarily stunned.
But soon, as Ganyu quietly slipped beneath the covers, he understood what she meant.
He couldn't help but feel deeply moved.
For the pure-hearted qilin to do something like this for him…
Gently stroking her head, Ryen murmured,
"Ganyu, you're amazing…"
Ganyu squinted her eyes, smiling but unable to respond aloud.
Instead, her actions became even more gentle.
Though clumsy, her determination to make Ryen happy was unmistakable.
Compared to a relaxing foot soak after a long day, Ryen much preferred ending the night being taken care of by Ganyu.
….
The next morning.
Xiao had already gotten up early to clear out the remaining monsters in the area.
Although zombies and skeletons had started burning in the sunlight, there were still slimes, creepers, and even a few spiders lurking around.
They had to be dealt with—not just because they were in the way, but because their drops were valuable.
Ryen needed spider drops for brewing Fermented Spider Eyes for potion brewing.
Creepers provided gunpowder.
And slimes… well, slimeballs were crucial for Redstone contraptions.
Disgusting as they were, these mobs were actually top-tier material suppliers.
Especially skeletons.
Ever since everyone realized the usefulness of bone meal, bones had become a scarce resource.
Keqing had even mentioned that, after Liyue's land reclamation efforts in the Guili Plains, they were facing a massive shortage of bone meal.
That land held great significance for Zhongli and the Adepti, so they naturally had to pay close attention to its upkeep.
Fortunately, with Xiao fully equipped in enchanted diamond gear and wielding a trident, clearing out the monsters was as easy as taking a walk.
In just a few minutes, the area was completely cleaned up.
By the time he finished, the others had also woken up and gathered for breakfast.
They decided not to dismantle their temporary base.
Instead, they left it standing as a unique landmark.
Who knew? Maybe they'd return here for a vacation someday.
Mounting their horses once more, they set off.
With laughter and chatter, they rode straight toward the snowy mountains.
Now that they had a clear destination, the journey took far less time.
Before long, they reached the border of the plains.
And as they caught sight of the towering, snow-covered peaks in the distance…
They were utterly awestruck by the breathtaking scenery unique to the MC world.
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