Moonlight draped the land in silence. All things slept.
All things—except those still hard at work.
For example—
Liyue Harbor, Feiyun Commerce Guild's General Affairs Office.
Deep into the night, only a single room remained brightly lit.
Two figures sat facing one another across a desk piled high with documents. Pen in one hand, files in the other, they read swiftly—yet every decision they made was precise, efficient, and reasonable.
"There are only two documents left," Keqing said casually. "Ganyu, how about a late-night snack afterward? I'll cook it myself."
She finished the file in her hand. The purple-haired young woman—her hair styled in a way that made it resemble a pair of cat ears—extended the invitation without lifting her gaze, already reaching for the next document.
"Sure, Keqing li— hm?"
Ganyu had also picked up the next file absentmindedly, but midway through her reply, she froze.
The moment her fingers touched the document, it dissolved into a streak of light.
As a half-adeptus, Ganyu should have reacted instantly—but she didn't. By the time she realized something was wrong, the light had already surged forward, slipping straight through her forehead and into her mind.
At the same time, Keqing's movements stiffened.
In the next instant, two more streaks of light flashed.
Both women were already on their feet.
Keqing gripped her sword. Ganyu held her bow. Their eyes swept the surroundings, alert and sharp.
"Who's there?!"
"Who's there?!"
Their voices rang out simultaneously.
And with them—
Two translucent panels appeared before their eyes.
[Lin Ze's Diary — Duplicate Copy]
[Exclusive Access: Keqing / Ganyu]
"This is…"
Ganyu hesitated. She immediately activated her adeptal arts, carefully examining both herself and Keqing.
Keqing, well aware of Ganyu's identity, didn't refuse her assistance.
After a thorough inspection, the situation became clear.
This was some kind of unknown artifact—similar in nature to Sumeru's Akasha Terminal.
The difference was that the Akasha was worn on the ear.
This artifact existed directly within their consciousness.
Akasha content could only be seen by its wearer.
Yet this panel—both of them could see each other's.
No method they tried could remove it. It could not be sealed. It did not respond to adeptal arts in any way.
However… it also appeared harmless.
Once that conclusion was reached, both of them calmly returned their attention to work.
Jokes were jokes. Curiosity was curiosity.
If it wasn't dangerous, then work came first.
Only after they finished their duties and left the General Affairs Office did the two of them finally refocus on the diary panel.
"Since it's a diary copy, and it appeared in our consciousness like this," Keqing said thoughtfully, "it's probably meant for us to read, right?"
As one of the Liyue Qixing—the Yuheng Star—Keqing had seen more than enough strange phenomena. Once she stopped working, her interest shifted entirely to the diary.
"That seems likely," Ganyu replied slowly. "But we can't be certain what will happen after we read further."
Something that appeared without warning, infiltrated their consciousness, ignored adeptal arts entirely—
Ganyu couldn't help but worry about the intentions behind it.
"Then I'll test it first," Keqing said decisively.
"If something happens to me, with your status, you'll be able to deal with it—and rescue me if necessary."
Keqing had always been bold yet meticulous.
If she were affected, Ganyu's connections could resolve the situation.
Worst case scenario… she could even seek an audience with Rex Lapis himself.
After all, in Liyue, there were only Rex Lapis fans and extremely devoted Rex Lapis fans.
The only true critic of Rex Lapis was Rex Lapis.
"This is too dangerous—"
Before Ganyu could finish, Keqing had already turned the page.
Only words appeared.
Nothing else happened.
After waiting patiently and confirming there were no adverse effects, even cautious Keqing finally relaxed.
She shifted her focus to the text itself.
Seeing this, Ganyu also let out a quiet sigh of relief. The adeptal energy she had subconsciously gathered dissipated, and she too turned the page.
For now, it truly seemed harmless.
Which meant the important part… was the diary's contents.
Since it was a diary copy, it must have been written by someone named Lin Ze.
Normally, reading someone else's diary would be inappropriate.
But under such bizarre circumstances… they had no choice but to proceed carefully.
"It feels like I just woke up from an incredibly realistic dream."
"As a Rank-8 newbie in Genshin, a Cloud Captain in Honkai Impact, and a launch-day Trailblazer in Star Rail, ending up in Teyvat after transmigrating kind of makes sense…"
"…The hell it does!"
"Who transmigrates just from sleeping?! If I had to transmigrate, fine—but why like this?! Where are my clothes?! How am I supposed to face people like this?!"
"I really hope this crappy system does something useful. If finishing the first diary entry gets me a set of clothes, then that's literally the only thing it's good for."
"At least after transmigrating, I supposedly have the power of the Black Flag. Knowing rules. Understanding rules. Mastering rules. Standing above rules."
"With the power of the Black Flag, I should be able to live pretty freely—wait…"
"Black Flag… above rules?"
"I get it. Maybe I can just make my own clothes."
"The night's perfect. No hilichurls nearby. There's even a forest close by."
"Screw you, system. I'm going to be self-reliant."
When they finished reading, Keqing and Ganyu exchanged looks.
The diary was short. Vast sections were blank. Clearly, the writer had stopped midway through.
"It's fascinating," Ganyu said softly.
"Even though many of these terms are unfamiliar, I can still understand them—some clearly, some vaguely."
Concepts that should have been alien somehow translated themselves directly into meaning.
This artifact… was extraordinary.
"What interests me more," Keqing replied, nodding slightly,
"is this 'power of the Black Flag' Lin Ze mentioned."
"Does such a power really exist?"
Knowing rules. Understanding rules. Mastering rules. Standing above rules.
If such a power truly existed…
Keqing's fingers tightened slightly.
She wouldn't be polite about it.
She only wondered—where was this Lin Ze now?
"Perhaps," Ganyu said thoughtfully,
"in another world… such a power really does exist."
If true, it would be no small matter.
"Wait," Keqing said suddenly.
"There's new content."
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
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