Chapter 51: Shameless

Ye looked at Bao'er, crossing his arms and tapping his right index finger on his left arm as he propped up his right leg.

After thinking for about three seconds, he calmly asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm your Bao'er. As long as you give me popularity, I can do anything for you—that's the current setting."

"I thought you were created by her to help me escape."

"Of course not."

"Then were you created by her enemies to stop me from escaping?"

"No, I'm your Bao'er. I only help you. I'd never be your enemy."

Trustworthy.

Intuitively, Ye didn't feel any wariness toward Bao'er, nor did he sense that she was lying.

But if that were truly the case, then he really couldn't figure out Bao'er's origins.

As for Nameless, it was obvious that after 500 years of abstinence, Ye had subconsciously created her to vent his pent-up desires.

But this Bao'er... if she wasn't created by her or her enemies, then where did she come from?

After staring at Bao'er for a while, Ye gave up thinking about it.

Whatever. It didn't matter.

As long as she was a golden finger, it didn't matter where she came from.

Ye wasn't picky. Even if she were sent by an enemy, as long as she was useful, he'd use her.

"The issue with the path doesn't need to be resolved right now. Let's continue creating alternate accounts. Follow the previous design, since this character will appear in the upcoming Lantern Rite storyline."

"Alright, if that's your decision, I'll support it. But..."

Bao'er raised her hand, opening a screen in the air. Looking at the character design Ye had created, her expression turned strange. She hesitated for a moment before softly asking:

"Master, isn't this character... a bit too shameless?"

"Where's the shamelessness?" Ye replied without changing his expression. "Does this world have a game like Blue Archive?"

"Well, no, it doesn't."

"Then what's the problem?"

"...Nothing."

As she answered, Bao'er glanced again at the character Ye had designed.

[Profile]

Longhua

CV: Qingque

Birthday: September 9th

Affiliation: Xuanlong Sect

Vision: Geo

Constellation: Mountain and Sea

The leader of the Xuanlong Sect, a hidden immortal of Liyue. She has secluded herself on an overseas immortal island, hidden by ancient formations, for over 5,000 years.

[image]

—This was a character who could break into the mainstream solely based on her design.

No! Doubt! About! It!

"Shameless or not, using this much popularity for something like this is such a waste."

Bao'er couldn't help but shake her head, but she still began the creation process.

This was undoubtedly the most popularity-consuming alternate account yet. Otherwise, Bao'er wouldn't have said that this amount of popularity could help Ye recover some of his "injuries."

Like Fischl's second personality, this character had no connection to Ye in the story. She was purely an immortal of Liyue.

Her strength went without saying. At this stage, Longhua was far stronger than Astrea and Themis.

Beyond her power, Ye also created an entire island, complete with inhabitants and disciples of the Xuanlong Sect.

Although these characters weren't playable, reducing the popularity cost, the sheer number of them still consumed a significant amount.

Moreover, aside from Longhua, the Xuanlong Sect had other disciples with considerable strength, making the popularity consumption downright voracious.

—But Ye had his reasons.

The Fontaine version was still far off, and even when it arrived, the only alternate account from the Holy Knights that would enter the gacha would be the Fourth Knight, Justitia, who hadn't been created yet.

The timing of each character's appearance and gacha release had to be carefully planned. Releasing them haphazardly would leave a poor impression on players.

For now, before the 2.0 update, having Themis as the sole limited 5-star character from Fontaine was enough. Releasing another Fontaine limited 5-star would overcrowd the gacha.

In Version 1.0, alternate accounts should focus on Liyue and Mondstadt.

As for Version 2.0, that's when Ye himself would enter the gacha. In Version 2.0, the only Fontaine character in the gacha would be the Supreme Bishop.

By Version 3.0, the Fontaine limited 5-star would be Fansetty.

But that's still far off. Version 1.0 is Mondstadt and Liyue's stage, so even if Ye wanted to use alternate accounts to build popularity, it had to focus on characters from these regions.

Mondstadt had Fischl, but her limited 5-star banner wouldn't come until Version 2.8. As for her second personality's banner, that would be in Version 3.0. For now, Ye wasn't planning to create another Mondstadt limited 5-star. One Fischl was enough.

So, Ye turned his attention to Liyue.

Thus, Longhua was born.

Of course, even though she was created and would appear in the Lantern Rite, Ye didn't plan to add her to the gacha right away.

Letting Longhua tease players' curiosity would generate more hype and popularity than releasing her immediately.

What? Is this character too shameless?

Where's the shamelessness?

Huh? Where's the shamelessness?

I don't know what you're talking about. No idea. None at all.

In any case, after the popularity he had painstakingly accumulated was once again depleted, a massive immortal island slowly emerged from the mist off the coast of Liyue Harbor, only to fade back into obscurity.

The island's name: Shan Hai Jing.

Ye, controlling Longhua, slowly opened her eyes on the island.

Holding an umbrella, its handle resting on her delicate shoulder, the petite girl in a black qipao stood on a misty cliff, gazing into the distance. She softly said:

"Xuanqing."

"Here, Sect Master."

A beautiful girl standing behind her stepped forward.

"Prepare a boat."

"Huh?"

Xuanqing's face showed confusion.

The petite girl simply replied in a calm, clear voice:

"It's been 5,000 years since I last stepped into the world. I want to see what it's become."