Teyvat, just outside the City of Freedom, Mondstadt.
The early autumn wind carried a hint of chill as it swept up the dust on the road and tugged at Orien's worn-out adventurer's uniform, its original color long since faded. He squatted by the roadside like a statue waiting endlessly, his eyes fixed on the city gates with longing.
The Knights of Favonius guards were, as always, vigilant—thoroughly checking every person entering and leaving. Especially adventurers like him, looking ragged and dirt-stained with a clear "I'm broke" written on their faces. After all, hilichurl activity had been unusually frequent lately, and who knew what strange things might try to sneak in.
"Tch, how am I supposed to live like this…"
Orien sighed and pulled out the last half-piece of black bread from his pocket. It was ridiculously hard—he had to use his back molars with full force just to tear off a tiny strip, then soften it with saliva in his mouth before finally swallowing. The taste? Like chewing on a piece of waterlogged wood, faintly tinged with mold.
Three days had passed since his transmigration.
Three days ago, he had still been at his computer, grinding Genshin Impact while cursing the devs for being inhuman. One blink later, he had opened his eyes in Teyvat as a penniless, nameless adventurer who hadn't even seen the shadow of a Vision.
Aside from the tattered gear on his back and an empty Knights of Favonius satchel, he had nothing left but confusion.
Where was the system? Where was the cheat ability? Where was the transmigrator's starter pack?!
Heaven itself was mocking him! Wasn't this opening difficulty a little too much? Forget fighting Celestia, if he didn't find work tonight, he'd be fighting hilichurls for tree bark in Whispering Forest. And maybe, just maybe, he'd end up in their recipe book: "Foreign hard-boned creature. Taste terrible. Not recommended for consumption."
"Sigh… If only I had a system. Even the most garbage sign-in system would do…" Orien gnawed the black bread, his resentment practically taking physical form.
And then—
As if answering his call, a cold, mechanical, yet disturbingly excited voice suddenly exploded in his mind!
[Ding! Detected strong 'trickster' soul waves. Resentment energy meets threshold. Ultimate binding conditions satisfied…]
[Connecting to the Multiversal Live Broadcast Channel… Connection successful!]
[The Teyvat Breakdown Live Broadcast System is at your service! Greetings, Host. This system is dedicated to delivering 'truth' that shocks and 'breakdowns' that devastate to all living beings of Teyvat!]
"Pfft—!"
Orien almost spat out the bread crumbs in his mouth.
It's here! It really came!
As expected, every transmigrator has their golden finger! Truth confirmed!
His hands trembled with excitement as he shouted inwardly: "System? Is that you? Quick! What can you do? Do I at least get a newbie pack? Maybe a Vision? If not, at least some Mora?!"
[Reply to Host: This system is a high-level cultural broadcast entertainment system. It does not provide low-level currency services.]
[Core Function: The system forcibly links to the visual nerves of all intelligent beings in Teyvat, creating an oversized, fully immersive, unstoppable Truth Broadcast!]
[The Host may select broadcast material from the system database. System support includes multidimensional editing, divine-level soundtracks, universal subtitles, and real-time barrage (visible only to Host).]
[During broadcasts, audience emotional surges such as 'shock,' 'grief,' 'anger,' 'fear,' 'guilt,' or 'collapse of faith' will automatically convert into Breakdown Value!]
[Breakdown Value is the system's sole currency. It can be used for lotteries (from black-iron to mythic pools) or directly exchanged for skills, equipment, templates, elemental power, even fragments of laws.]
[Ding! Newbie Pack has been delivered to the system space. Please check immediately.]
A flood of information rushed into Orien's head, making him dizzy—but also wildly ecstatic!
Forced broadcasts! All of Teyvat as the audience! And Breakdown Value as currency!
This system was insane! Not some cultural thing at all—this was the King of Chaos, the God of Breakdown itself!
And he loved it! It was tailored for him!
He was a man who knew the storylines. He knew exactly which arcs in Teyvat hit the hardest, which characters had the darkest pasts, which scenes crushed hearts the most. He could list them like a shopping catalog!
Wasn't this just asking him to rain knives across Teyvat? And not just knives—these were blades forced into their mouths!
"Open it! Open the Newbie Pack!" Orien urged frantically.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host has received:]
[1. Initial Breakdown Value: 1000 points! (Enough for one black-iron lottery or minor exchange)]
[2. Broadcast Starter Ticket ×1 (used to launch the first full-continent broadcast)]
[3. Skill 'Silver Tongue (Shita ga Mawaru)' (Passive): Slightly increases persuasive power, rhetorical strength, and debating skill, giving you a head start in swindling others!]
[4. Item 'Mask of the Pretender' (White Quality): Slightly alters facial features and aura, preventing easy tracking. (Note: Useless against immortals or divine detection)]
"Nice!"
No direct combat boost, but startup funds and survival tools were there! Especially "Silver Tongue"—a god-tier ability for negotiating among powers in early game!
1000 Breakdown Value didn't seem like much, but the system explained: an ordinary person's emotional collapse gave 0.1–1 point. A Vision holder or powerful monster would give exponentially more. If he could even break down one of the Archons… Heh heh heh—Orien couldn't help but let out a villain's laugh.
For the first broadcast, he had to go big. A grand opening that would make him famous and flood him with Breakdown Value!
"System, show me the list of available 'Legendary Scenes'!" Orien commanded.
A massive virtual screen unfolded before his eyes, visible only to him. Rows of dazzling titles flickered temptingly:
["Ragnarok: The Truth Behind Khaenri'ah's Fall"] (Breakdown Cost: ??? / Risk: World-End)
["Millennium Vigil: Azhdaha and the Pain of Erosion"] (Breakdown Cost: 50,000 / Risk: Extreme)
["Parting of Old Friends: Guizhong and Morax"] (Breakdown Cost: 30,000 / Risk: High)
["Mirage of Flowers: Hanachirusato and the Great Sakura Cleansing"] (Breakdown Cost: 20,000 / Risk: Medium)
["Inhuman Love: The Hydro Spirit and Young Lodya's Tragedy"] (Breakdown Cost: 15,000 / Risk: Medium)
["Tragedy of the Delusion: Teppei and the 100th Vision"] (Breakdown Cost: 12,000 / Risk: Medium)
["The Fallen Star: The Mondstadt Girl, Lies, and the False Sky"] (Breakdown Cost: 8,000 / Risk: Low-Medium)
["The Wolf Boy and the Knight: Razor and His Parents' Death"] (Breakdown Cost: 5,000 / Risk: Low)
…
The higher up, the more terrifying and impossible they were right now.
Orien's eyes swept quickly through, finally resting on ["The Fallen Star: The Mondstadt Girl, Lies, and the False Sky"].
It needed 8,000 Breakdown Value, but he had a Starter Ticket—free entry. Risk was low-medium. Perfect for the start!
This involved Mona, Fischl (Little Amy), and the mysterious concept of the False Sky. Information explosive enough to shock Mondstadt and shake every scholar on the continent, but not yet poking the hornet's nest of "Khaenri'ah" or "Celestia." Relatively safe.
And there was so much he could exploit! Mona's poverty, Fischl's chuuni nature, the truth about the stars—all ripe with emotional knives waiting to stab.
"Then it's decided! System, confirm first broadcast content: 'The Fallen Star: The Mondstadt Girl, Lies, and the False Sky'! Use the Starter Ticket!"
"Broadcast range: all of Teyvat! Let's make it LOUD!"
Orien was filled with anticipation, itching to see the faces of all Teyvat breaking down.
[Command received. Consumed Starter Ticket ×1.]
[Broadcast loading… Editing optimization… Soundtrack embedding…]
[Continental Sky-Signal Towers construction: 10%... 50%... 100%! Complete!]
[Broadcast Countdown: 10, 9, 8…]
Meanwhile, across Teyvat.
Whether it was Acting Grand Master Jean buried in documents at the Knights' headquarters, Venti drinking in Angel's Share, Zhongli listening to storytellers at Liyue Harbor, Ei meditating in the Tenshukaku, the Tsaritsa on her icy throne in Snezhnaya, miners in the Chasm, or adventurers battling monsters in the wild…
Every being, regardless of race or strength, felt something stir deep in their hearts at the same instant. Unconsciously, they all looked up.
And what they saw would never leave their memory.
The once-clear skies—or even cloudy ones—suddenly dimmed into darkness.
A colossal screen, so vast no words could describe it, its edges flowing with glittering galaxies and runes beyond comprehension, swallowed the heavens and filled their vision.
Within the screen, a rotating cosmic expanse stretched endlessly, ancient and overwhelming, radiating a pressure that stirred primal fear.
"Eh? Why… why did the sky go dark?"
"W-what is that?! It's enormous!"
"A miracle! Barbatos has descended!"
"No… no! This feels oppressive… Is it a new calamity?!"
"Look! The sky… something is covering the sky!"
(End of Chapter)
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