Lu Chen turned on the light and looked at the shattered floor tiles, the wrecked microwave, the cracked bedroom door, and Ei standing there with an innocent expression...
He fell into deep thought.
As the protagonist and former system holder, had he done something wrong?
Not only had he suffered and bled in his previous life, but even after being sent back, he was still this unlucky.
When he went to flip the circuit breaker in the hallway earlier, the elderly neighbor downstairs finally couldn't take it anymore and came up.
"Little Lu, what's going on in your house? So much banging and clanging?"
"Ah, Mr. Zhang!"
"Young man, don't you know you can't renovate at night? You're disturbing everyone."
Recalling some memories about Mr. Zhang, Lu Chen immediately put on his best act, playing the obedient student and trying to block Mr. Zhang from looking inside the apartment.
But he underestimated the sense of duty of a retired neighborhood committee member.
"If you want to renovate, you have to report to the property management and post a notice at your door. Otherwise, if someone complains—"
"We're not renovating..."
The kind-hearted, nosy Mr. Zhang pushed his way in regardless.
Naturally, he saw the wrecked house—and Ei, who stood motionless, holding a sword and radiating an unapproachable aura.
"Li-Little Lu... this..."
Mr. Zhang stammered, staring at the young woman dressed in luxurious clothing, calm and composed, yet exuding an overwhelming presence.
"This, uh, she's..."
"You, you two..."
"Mr. Zhang, the air conditioner's too strong upstairs! It's bad for your shoulders! Let me walk you back down!"
Lu Chen quickly grabbed Mr. Zhang's hand and dragged him away.
"And that sword?"
"Fake! Fake! It's for cosplay! You can ask your grandson, he'll know!"
"Is she... your girlfriend?"
"If you say so, then yes!"
"Why is she dressed so...?"
"Fun! Just for fun..."
It took a huge effort to finally send Mr. Zhang back downstairs. Thankfully, Musou Isshin hadn't started crackling with electricity—otherwise, Lu Chen would have had a much harder time explaining.
"Goodbye, Mr. Zhang!"
Slamming the door shut, Lu Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Mr. Zhang, looking at his curious wife back home, sighed heavily.
"Young people these days... they don't study properly, they just fool around..."
"Really over the top."
...
Back inside, with only the two of them remaining, Ei finally showed a hint of confusion.
"Who was that man?"
"The neighbor downstairs," Lu Chen said, plopping onto the sofa.
"And where is this?" Ei began to inspect the four-bedroom apartment.
"Uh... you could say it's my home."
After a series of absurd events, the two of them finally had a chance to sit down and discuss the whole "time travel" situation.
Lu Chen turned his head to look at her. Ei tried to imitate him and sit on the sofa, but because it was so soft, her body sank down suddenly, startling her into standing right back up.
Seeing Lu Chen struggling to hold back a laugh, the proud general couldn't let herself lose composure.
After hesitating, she cautiously sat down again—this time, stiffly upright in the middle of the sofa.
Focused on maintaining perfect posture, she ended up sitting even more uncomfortably.
Ei couldn't understand why people in this world would design such a torturous chair.
Meanwhile, Lu Chen was already deep in thought.
Why did the system send him back—and bring Ei along too?
Was this "Reality 110786" actually a parallel world?
He checked his body. The scars from the battlefield were still there, proving he was still his original self, not just a soul transfer.
Which meant the other "Lu Chen" had completely disappeared...
Where had he gone?
Besides, he noticed that this world was subtly different from his original one.
For one thing—there was no such thing as Genshin Impact here.
Now that was interesting.
And the system? Not a word from it. Either it had crashed or it was pretending to be dead.
"Is this your original world?" Ei asked, still looking around curiously.
"Well... yes and no," Lu Chen replied honestly. "But it's very similar to where I came from."
Ei knew Lu Chen was from another world, so there was no need to hide it.
She reached beside her and picked up a remote control, eyeing the black box and its buttons with great curiosity.
"What is this?"
The mighty Electro Archon had turned into a curious kitten.
Lu Chen flipped the remote around properly for her, pointing it toward the TV.
"This is a remote control. It operates the TV... just don't swing your sword if anything surprises you, okay?"
He didn't care much about the TV itself, but he definitely didn't want Mr. Zhang coming back upstairs again.
As the variety show started playing, even Ei, who was mentally prepared, was startled.
But as Raiden Shogun—the supreme leader of Inazuma—she quickly controlled her expression, only raising her eyebrows slightly before returning to calm.
"This is television. You can use it to learn about this world."
Onscreen, men and women were bickering, guests laughing so hard their molars showed, and the audience roaring with laughter.
The undignified chaos made Ei frown slightly.
"Hmm... this kind is just for entertainment. It's not very meaningful," Lu Chen said, immediately changing the channel.
Now a couple was passionately making out on a busy street.
The male lead's hands roamed freely.
"President! You can't... mmh! ... mmh!"
They were kissing so passionately it was almost obscene.
Even with mental preparation, Ei was visibly shaken.
In broad daylight, in front of so many people...
Shameless!
She cleared her throat and quickly averted her gaze.
"In your world, this is considered entertainment?"
Lu Chen quickly switched the channel again.
This time it was a documentary showing the bustling cityscape, cars and pedestrians weaving endlessly.
Finally, some peace.
Then he secretly glanced at Ei.
A soft flush had risen on her flawless cheeks, more brilliant than any sunset.
The noble Electro Archon still had the innocence of a young girl.
A smile tugged at Lu Chen's lips.
Inazuma, after all, was one of the most conservative nations in Teyvat.
Her reaction was only natural.
After fiddling with the remote for a while and flipping through channels, Ei began to form a basic understanding of this world.
Straightening up, the supreme ruler of Inazuma returned.
She looked at Lu Chen thoughtfully.
"This world is indeed unlike anything I had imagined," she said. "But... since you possess the ability to manipulate time and space, let us return. Inazuma needs you. I need you too..."
Lu Chen looked at her quietly.
Ei turned away slightly and added, "I also need someone to help manage many affairs. You are the best choice."
"Tsundere," Lu Chen muttered.
"What?" Ei narrowed her eyes at him.
"Nothing."
Lu Chen shook his head and got serious.
"I don't have the ability to manipulate time and space. I can't take you back."
Seeing Ei's disappointment—and a faint shadow of resentment—Lu Chen quickly explained,
"It's true. It's not that I don't want to go back with you. Honestly, I'm just as confused about all this."
Damn that system... he cursed silently.
"Really?" she asked again.
"Really!" Lu Chen vowed immediately. "This time, I won't leave your sight. If I'm stuck here, then I'll stay stuck here with you."
Ei nodded slightly, but her uneasiness didn't fully fade.
She didn't want to lose him again.
And even if Lu Chen lied, even if he tried to leave...
She would make sure he stayed by her side.
No matter what methods it took.
...
They sat on the sofa, talking for a long while.
By now, night had deepened, and Lu Chen's stomach growled loudly.
This body was just too weak.
"Are you hungry?" Lu Chen asked casually.
"I am not hungry," Ei shook her head. "You know... my body doesn't need food. I—"
But halfway through, her stomach let out a loud growl.
"Even gods get hungry?" Lu Chen raised an eyebrow.
Ei froze, stunned silent.
Lu Chen watched her for a moment, then went to the kitchen.
He was starving himself.
Although he didn't know exactly what was happening with Ei, he decided to prepare something warm for her.
Rummaging through the fridge, he found it packed with junk food—not ideal for Ei.
Finally, he found a large bag of frozen milk buns.
Although gods didn't need food, they could still taste it.
And Ei had always loved sweets, ever since a funny incident back in the day.
Perfect choice.
After steaming the buns for about ten minutes, Lu Chen brought out a steaming plateful.
"You must be starving! Look at my amazing cooking!"
Even though it was just frozen food, he still showed off.
It had been so long since he'd eaten with Ei like this.
Ei gently picked up a soft, white bun.
Although she was clearly interested in the cute-looking food, her mind was elsewhere.
"What's wrong?" Lu Chen asked, seeing her holding the bun without moving.
"My body—the puppet I created—did not come with me," Ei said quietly, her amethyst eyes meeting his.
"This is my original body."
"And..." she added, "my body has become like that of an ordinary human."
"An ordinary human?" Lu Chen asked.
"Yes." Ei's brow furrowed slightly. She took a deep breath. "The elemental energy in this world is extremely faint. It's unsuitable for cultivation. My strength has been severely weakened."
Lu Chen was surprised.
He hadn't expected there to be any elemental energy here at all.
He thought this was a purely material world, with no supernatural forces whatsoever.
"It's okay, it's okay," he reassured her.
"Judging by how you blew up the microwave with a single slash, even without divine power, you're plenty strong enough for this world. Come on, eat!"
Ei remained motionless, lost in thought.
Seeing this, Lu Chen casually grabbed the bun from her hand and, timing it perfectly, stuffed it into her mouth just as she opened it to speak.
With the soft bun wedged between her lips, Ei froze, momentarily stunned by Lu Chen's sudden attack.
Cute, Lu Chen thought.