After slaying the fully formed Notoriety Ethereal,
Soldier 11, Nicole, Anby, Nekomata, and the others collapsed onto the ground, laughing happily as they stared up at the grey sky.
Soldier 11 was celebrating the destruction of the rebel base.
Nicole, Nekomata, and the rest of Hare's House were simply thrilled about completing the mission and soon receiving hundreds of thousands of Dennies in commission.
"Anby, Nekomata, Billy, take a good break. While we have some time, think about what you want to eat tonight. My treat."
"Meow, that's obvious! The Hundred-Fish Buffet, of course! Their mackerel is the best."
"No way, no way. That place is all fish. Let's pick somewhere else..."
"Anby, Billy, you two have any ideas? Oh, and Soldier 11—you must be exhausted from the fight—and Proxy, you must be tired too from playing Phaethon. You both should come celebrate this great victory with us!"
"Nicole, Boss, I suggest we go to the Star Crest Knights' collaboration store. They're having a big sale!"
"Meow, we earned so much Dennies this time, Nicole won't mind a little discount, right?"
"Billy's right! Let's go to the Star Crest Knights' store. And, for the record, it's not because I'm trying to save money."
"..."
Lying on the ground,
everyone started chatting and arguing about what to eat for dinner.
Nearby,
Sam Li wasn't idle either.
He was waiting for the system's reward.
After a short wait, the system's notification finally sounded in his mind:
[Ding! Congratulations, host. Successfully killed Notoriety Ethereal - Composite Beast. Reward: 35,000 system points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, host. Roleplay progress +2%.]
The moment the system's voice fell,
a faint golden shimmer enveloped Sam Li, scattering glittering specks across his body, shining even brighter under the sun.
It looked almost like shimmering dragon scales—dreamlike and surreal.
The warmth of it made him feel completely at peace, as if he were stepping into another realm.
Sam Li could feel it clearly.
His control over the Geo element had improved again.
Now, just a flick of a finger or even a simple thought was enough to command the surrounding Geo elements to shift and reshape.
Thinking about this,
Sam Li raised his hand and extended a finger.
Instantly,
the surrounding Geo elements gathered at his fingertip, condensing into a golden rock sphere.
He flicked it lightly forward.
The golden sphere shot out from his fingertip, flying dozens of meters in the blink of an eye before smashing into a distant wall with a loud bang.
The wall crumbled instantly into rubble.
The sudden noise startled Nicole and the others, who were still lying down.
Nicole snapped impatiently, "Billy, did your gun misfire again?"
Billy, completely innocent, protested, "Nicole, Boss, it wasn't me! I can't even move a finger right now..."
Hearing his explanation,
Nicole grumbled, "Then it must be Nekomata. Bullets aren't cheap! Stop messing with Billy's pistol for no reason."
Nekomata yowled indignantly, "It wasn't me, meow—!"
Belle hesitated, then said, "I think... it was Sam Li."
Although Eous was just as immobile as Billy,
Belle had a much wider view because she was sitting.
She had clearly seen a flash of golden light shoot from Sam Li's side before the explosion happened in the distance.
If Eous's visual sensors weren't broken, she couldn't have been mistaken.
Hearing it was Sam Li who caused the noise,
Nicole immediately softened her tone and turned toward him.
"Sam Li, you should rest too. Once you've recovered a bit, we'll head out."
Sam Li nodded. "Yeah. It's getting late. Time to go back."
After speaking,
he glanced at the ruined wall in the distance, then looked at his own fingertip, quite satisfied with the power he had just demonstrated.
And that was just using a small amount of Geo energy.
If he gathered even more Geo at his fingertips and fired it out like a Spirit Gun from Yu Yu Hakusho, the destructive power could easily be five or six times greater.
It had been a spur-of-the-moment idea,
but it turned out surprisingly effective.
In the future,
he would definitely experiment more and develop a few new ways to use the Geo element.
The next moment,
Sam Li shifted his gaze to the character panel in his mind:
[Host]: Sam Li
[System]: Strongest Roleplay System
[System Points]: 84,000
[Current World]: New Eridu
[Current Role]: Geo Archon - Morax (Zhongli)
[Current Progress]: 22%
[Abilities]: Spearmanship - Rock Rain, Jade Shield, Rock Ridge
[Weapon]: Vortex Vanquisher
[Items]: Teyvat Omelette ×1
[Store]: Statue of the Seven, Jade Chamber, Bathysmal Vishap (Bangboo), Serenitea Pot...
With the 35,000 points he just earned,
his total points had surpassed 80,000—enough to buy a single piece of the Tenacity of the Millelith artifact set.
However,
Sam Li had already realized something.
The power system of this world didn't seem as advanced as Teyvat's.
Ever since he arrived and started playing Morax,
he hadn't encountered any real threats.
Even the Notoriety Ethereals were mostly one-sided beatdowns.
Right now, his strength was already enough to leave him virtually unmatched in New Eridu.
For now,
there was no urgent need for artifacts.
What intrigued him more than artifacts
was the Statue of the Seven.
Wherever the Statue of the Seven stood,
it marked the territory of the Geo Archon.
If he placed a statue in this world,
could it somehow connect New Eridu to Liyue and bring it under Liyue's protection?
This world was suffering from the Hollow disaster.
If New Eridu could be linked to Liyue,
maybe they could draw on Liyue's strength to deal with the Ethereals and end the Hollow crisis.
It sounded far-fetched, sure—
but wasn't his very existence proof that impossible things happened?
After all,
he had already experienced things like world travel, roleplay, and systems.
And there was another possibility.
If the Statue of the Seven were placed here,
maybe even the people of New Eridu could awaken Visions.
It was just a guess for now.
Once he saved up 200,000 system points,
Sam Li planned to give it a real shot.
At that moment,
Nicole, Anby, Soldier 11, Nekomata, and the others had all gotten back on their feet.
Nicole stretched and took a deep breath.
"Everyone rested enough? Let's get moving. Time to go home for dinner—"
Nekomata cheered, "I can almost see the mackerel already!"
Anby replied seriously, "Correction. That's because you're so hungry you're hallucinating."
Seeing everyone ready to leave,
Billy shouted desperately, "Nicole, Boss! Hey, what about me? Anby, Nekomata, Sam Li—don't forget me!"
Hearing Billy's shouting,
Nicole shot him a glare. "Quit yelling, we heard you."
Then,
Nicole rummaged through the nearby ruins,
found two sticks, a rope, and a piece of canvas.
Using the materials,
she quickly fashioned a simple stretcher.
Just like a paramedic,
she got Billy onto the stretcher and had Anby and Nekomata carry him back.
...