With late autumn settling in and the days growing colder, Lu Chen's plans were moving along steadily.
Each morning, he braved the early chill to fly out and deal with visible outbreaks of The Withering, checked on the lab's latest progress after returning, and then pressed Sha Lin to keep searching all over city for Cai Haoyu...
He hadn't expected life back home to be this busy.
But he couldn't afford to relax—he was convinced that the instability of the "boundary" was directly tied to the Abyss's corruption. The Abyss Order was definitely brewing some grand scheme in the shadows.
One day, after finishing with a Withering site, Lu Chen had just gotten home and taken a sip of water when he caught a bright flash of blue light from the villa next door.
It was followed by Nahida's excited squeals.
"What's going on?"
Lu Chen and Venti, sprawled on the sofa, exchanged a look.
He'd assumed something had gone wrong in the lab—but if that were the case, why would Nahida sound so thrilled?
Curiosity got the better of him, and he and Venti knocked on the villa's door.
What they saw inside made him stop short—a Gundam was flying through the air.
Blue flames flared from its tail and feet as it darted nimbly around the hall, striking one dramatic pose after another. The thing looked incredible.
"Huh?" Venti tilted his wine bottle and glanced at Lu Chen. "Isn't that the gift you gave Nahida?"
"It is." Lu Chen recognized it instantly. It was the same Gundam toy he'd bought her at the supermarket when she'd first arrived—her first-ever gift, one that had even netted her an achievement.
Of course, this wasn't some full-scale mobile suit—otherwise the villa would already be in pieces. The one zipping around was only about twenty centimeters tall.
Seeing him, Nahida beamed. "Surprised? This awesome robot can actually move now!"
"Didn't see that coming…" Lu Chen turned to Ei.
Ei pulled off her goggles and white lab coat.
"I'd already tested the Primordial Energy Traveler's Handy Sword," she explained. "But I felt limiting Primordial Energy to cold weapons didn't show its full potential. So, I tried an experiment with Nahida's toy."
"And it worked!" Lu Chen said, delighted. "If the Abyss attacks again, we can just send in robots and save me the trouble."
Robotics at this level wasn't Teyvat Industry 2.0—it was a straight leap into the cyber age.
The blue-flamed Gundam landed gently on Ei's workbench. She saw where his thoughts were going and shook her head with a smile.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. I only applied my doll-making techniques to make the toy more agile. It's still not intelligent."
"Oh."
"And," she added, "it doesn't have a combat system yet—just enough for basic flight demonstrations. On the bright side, its Primordial Energy efficiency is incredible, giving it near-unlimited endurance."
"Ei, you're amazing!" Nahida's eyes curved into crescents. "This is already close to the Scarlet King's technology. Once we evolve Primordial Energy weapons from cold steel to thermal arms, we'll have a powerful combat tool."
A vision of mechanical armies sweeping across Teyvat flashed through Lu Chen's mind.
If that came to pass, he'd have more and more trump cards—and the strength to stand against both the heavens and the Abyss.
...
Pleased with the breakthrough, Lu Chen prepared an especially lavish dinner that night—Liyue, Inazuma, and his newly developed Sumeru dishes all on one table, the household lively and warm.
Except for Scaramouche.
Lu Chen frowned and extended his senses toward the man's room.
In stark contrast to the cheerful dining hall, Scaramouche was alone in his quiet room, reading in silence like some withdrawn child.
"I'll go get him," Nahida offered gently.
After she went upstairs, Venti glanced at Ei and Lu Chen. "Do dolls even eat?"
Lu Chen shook his head. "That's not the point. If we keep letting him stay away, it'll seem like we're excluding him."
The group murmured among themselves until Hu Tao piped up, "Our new guest's so quiet—quieter than Diluc! These past days, I can count the times he's spoken on one hand."
Miko chuckled. "And every one of those times, he was bickering with Lu Chen."
Lu Chen gave a helpless smile. In Scaramouche's eyes, he was probably an infuriating villain he couldn't beat—so all he could do was get in verbal jabs.
Eventually, under everyone's expectant gazes, Nahida returned with the silent Scaramouche.
He looked around the table without a word, then slipped into a corner seat at the far end and stayed silent.
His presence cooled the mood immediately.
"Hey, don't be so distant!" Venti said warmly, holding out a bottle. "Have a drink—everyone's friends here~"
"No." The refusal was icy.
Venti kept trying, all smiles, but Scaramouche's expression finally showed irritation. He shot the bard a sidelong glance and said mockingly,
"I knew the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt loved to drink. I thought it was just a curious little godly anecdote. But seeing you for myself—just an unserious drunk—well, no wonder Mondstadt is full of idlers and drunkards. I suppose you set the example."
"If you don't want to drink, fine…" Venti muttered, pulling back his cup and giving Lu Chen a look that clearly said, Your turn.
Lu Chen ignored it and instead told the table about his recent plans.
He explained his idea for a game company. Sha Lin had found several seasoned domestic producers, but none fit—every one of them talked only about traffic and revenue, not the love of building a game.
What he needed was someone who genuinely loved the Teyvat universe.
In another world, before a certain point, the country had almost no standout titles. Cai Haoyu and his friends had, in his view, single-handedly ended that "dark age" and created a worldwide phenomenon—Genshin Impact.
That was why he felt the project needed someone like Cai Haoyu—passionate about both games and the two-dimensional world—to lead it.
The good news was, after spending freely on the search, Sha Lin had actually found a man surnamed Liu who fit his description perfectly.
The bad news? The man had just suffered a failed startup, was penniless, disillusioned with gaming, and was planning to sell sweet potatoes outside a school to get by.
Tragic barely covered it.
"Not even a high salary would sway him?" Miko asked. "Didn't he fail because of game development? With an angel investor now, shouldn't he be thrilled to get back into it?"
"I have no idea what he's been through…" Lu Chen admitted. Maybe this Liu wasn't truly Cai Haoyu? But he'd seen the photo—he was sure it was him, just much younger.
"If soft won't work, go hard!" Hu Tao said matter-of-factly after polishing off her bowl. "If you need him that bad, just kidnap him!"
"Let's not…" Lu Chen said. Even if he wanted to rope Cai Haoyu in, he'd have to lure him first.
Once on board, then he could handle him however he liked. But first, he needed to show sincerity—and if Sha Lin's persuasion failed, he'd visit in person.
The table filled with chatter and ideas. Lu Chen picked up several new thoughts, and the atmosphere warmed again.
Scaramouche, still out of step with the rest, lowered his gaze slightly as he watched their easy camaraderie, hiding whatever was in his eyes.
Nahida noticed, the faintest smile at her lips. She knew that no matter how sharp his tongue or impatient his manner, he longed for that warmth. He was just too proud to show it.
...
When dinner wound down, everyone drifted off—leaving Ei, Lu Chen, and Scaramouche still at the table.
"I'm done, so I'll head back," Scaramouche said coolly.
But before he could stand, a delicate sakura mochi dropped into his bowl.
"Don't tell me you never ate human food when you were in Tatarasuna?"
"Whether I did or not has nothing to do with you—" he started to snap back, but Lu Chen and Ei had already walked off.
"Ei, can your Gundam combine and transform?"
"Hmm? Transform… not a bad idea."
"Quick! Make it happen—I can't wait…"
Scaramouche glanced after them and snorted. "Pointless…"
His eyes returned to the sakura mochi. He'd seen Dan and the others eat this refined Inazuman sweet before. Now, a light cherry blossom fragrance drifted to his nose.
Looking left and right at the empty table, he felt an odd impulse—and slowly picked up his chopsticks.
"Mmm…"
After tasting it, he still smirked in mockery.
"Didn't expect that guy's cooking to be… interesting."