In a residential building in China, at two in the morning on Earth, a teenager sat on a stool, covered by a blanket. The mobile phone on the table in front of him emitted a faint glow, illuminating his face.
This person's name was Ling Feng. He was seventeen years old, his height just under 1.7 meters, which was about the average height for a high school student.
His appearance was utterly unremarkable. He had just started his second year of high school.
He was currently hiding under his blankets, playing Genshin Impact, a game that had recently become very popular.
Ling Feng's fingers trembled slightly as he slowly moved them closer to the phone screen, his heart pounding with nervousness. His gaze was fixed intently on the mobile phone screen.
The reason for Ling Feng's intense anxiety was that the phone screen displayed Genshin Impact's "wish" screen, also known as the character gacha pool. In the upper right corner, the Primogem count read: 1600.
The number of Primogems was just enough for a ten-pull. Ling Feng's tension stemmed from this very fact.
To obtain Raiden Shogun, he had painstakingly saved up for a long time. These Primogems were originally intended for Ganyu's rerun banner, but he had spent most of them chasing Raiden Shogun.
Now, only these last 1600 Primogems remained, representing his final chance.
He was still a student and had no pocket money for gacha pulls. He was a completely free-to-play player, obtaining Primogems through quests, opening treasure chests, and other methods. Every time a character he liked appeared, he found himself with a pitifully small amount of Primogems.
He had been playing Genshin Impact since its global release, all the way up to the current version 2.1. Among the characters he liked, many were still missing, especially the five-star female characters. Besides Keqing, the Traveler, and Kamisato Ayaka, he had none.
As of now, his Adventure Rank was 50. He hadn't even managed to collect all the four-star characters, missing Xingqiu, a six-star Hydro character. His five-star collection consisted only of Keqing, the Traveler, and Kamisato Ayaka. Other five-star characters were nowhere to be seen.
And now, the Primogems he had originally saved for Ganyu would all be spent on Raiden Shogun's banner.
There was no other choice! Raiden Shogun's beauty was simply too tempting.
If it weren't for his incredible luck, which had resulted in him pulling one of his favorite waifus, Kamisato Ayaka, in a single ten-pull, allowing him to save a considerable amount of Primogems, he wouldn't have any left to try for Raiden Shogun.
Now, he was approaching sixty pulls without a single five-star drop. These ten Intertwined Fates he had exchanged were his last hope.
"Good luck to me, okay! Washed my face and hands, okay! At the Grand Narukami Shrine, okay! Time adjusted, okay! Give it to me, come out, come out, come out!!!"
Ling Feng roared internally, accompanied by a faint melody of "Hao Yun Lai." Ling Feng's finger touched the phone screen, and instantly, the screen flashed with light!
A golden light emanated!
Ling Feng's eyes lit up. With a racing heart, he slowly tapped the screen. He paid no attention to the blue and purple cards; he only wanted to see Raiden Shogun's silhouette.
When Ling Feng made the final tap, the screen changed to a fiery red background. A figure emerged from the shadow. The person wore black clothing, had fiery red hair, and held a Claymore behind their head with both hands.
It was Diluc, the owner of Dawn Winery, the wealthiest man in Mondstadt, and the Pyro five-star character known by the Mondstadters as the Darknight Hero!
"Damn it! Why! Why! Why you!" Ling Feng was so enraged he smashed his phone against the table, the sound of impact echoing repeatedly.
After a minute, the sound of him smashing his phone finally stopped. Ling Feng took deep breaths to calm himself. He was so close to pity, and then he got a wrong character. He almost died of anger.
But there was nothing he could do; the result was already out. Although he had gained another five-star character, nurturing a new five-star would undoubtedly require a vast amount of time to farm artifacts and other ascension materials. Moreover, what he wanted was Raiden Shogun.
Ling Feng sighed, thinking, "Diluc it is, then."
After plugging his phone back in to charge, he intended to go to bed. Just then, a sudden anomaly occurred!
"Holy cow! What's going on!"
Ling Feng's phone suddenly emitted a brilliant light, so blinding that it hurt his eyes. He could only close them to alleviate the pain.
Then, Ling Feng felt a powerful suction force emanating from the phone. He squinted at his phone and saw his finger actually passing through the screen!
"What the hell! What is happening! Help me! The phone is eating me! Damn it, let go of me..."
Ling Feng, unsure of what was happening, shouted frantically, trying to wake his parents in the next room.
However, no matter how much Ling Feng shouted and yelled, there was no response from the next room, as if his voice wasn't reaching them. At the same time, the suction from the phone grew stronger, and Ling Feng couldn't resist it at all.
"Ah!"
Ling Feng uttered his last word before being completely sucked into the phone. Afterward, the phone vanished into a point of light, and all returned to peace.
...
On the continent of Teyvat, in the Liyue region, a streak of light pierced the sky, heading directly towards Mount Aocang.
Zhongli, who was sitting in the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, drinking tea with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and looked up at the ceiling.
Although Zhongli appeared to be looking at the ceiling, he was actually observing the streak of light streaking across the sky.
However, after only three seconds, Zhongli withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes, continuing to savor his tea.
Despite appearing to be merely an ordinary guest consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Zhongli's true identity was Morax, the Geo Archon, one of the Seven Archons of Teyvat.
Morax, the Geo Archon, was the oldest and most powerful being among the current Seven Archons. His strength was unfathomable. Even among the original Seven Archons, he was an exceptionally formidable existence.
The fact that Morax was known as the God of War was enough to indicate his absolute strength. Among the original Seven Archons, he was either the strongest or very close to it, and he was also the Archon with the highest defense.
He had been observing this streak of light just now. He had also seen Ling Feng within the stream of light.
Although he sensed an aura from beyond this world from Ling Feng, Ling Feng also carried an aura similar to Liyue's.
Zhongli deduced that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this person was likely from an otherworldly nation similar to Liyue.
He also keenly perceived that Ling Feng was not stained by any murderous intent and was very young, indicating that this person was likely not an evil individual.
"A person from another world, resembling Liyue? Observe this person more closely. Perhaps there will be unexpected pleasant surprises."
Zhongli finished his tea, placed the teacup on the table beside him, and then rose to leave the Funeral Parlor. He still had books to listen to today.
"Do not concern yourselves with this person. Cloud Retainer, pay attention to him."
On his way, he telepathically reminded the various Adepti not to bother with Ling Feng, as the commotion had already been observed by them.
Xiao, standing on the rooftop of the Wangshu Inn, received the Divine King's telepathic message. He cast one last glance at the streak of light and then vanished from his spot.
The other Adepti also withdrew their gazes, except for Cloud Retainer, who seemed somewhat troubled.
This was because the final landing spot of the streak of light was, by all indications, her vicinity. However, since the Divine King had spoken, she couldn't simply ignore it and kept her divine sense focused on Ling Feng.
No one else in other locations noticed the streak of light. It was broad daylight, and even if one looked up at the sky, they wouldn't see it.