On the live stream, Lydia's pitiful expression after being caught red-handed sent Lu Nanqing into fits of laughter.
"I just started playing three days ago," a new viewer in the live stream chat asked, clearly a fresh Genshin Impact player. "What's that thing on Lydia's back?"
Before Lu Nanqing could answer, veteran viewers flooded the chat with enthusiastic explanations, their messages overflowing with affection for Lydia.
After the cutscene ended, players were surprised to find a familiar snow-white figure appearing in various corners of the Mondstadt map.
Unlike Venti, Jean, and others who only appeared during story quests, Lydia could be found all over Mondstadt. Sometimes, she'd be sitting under the great tree at Windrise, clutching the Festering Desire and lost in thought.
Other times, she'd be crouching near the Knights of Favonius headquarters. Interacting with her revealed she was plotting with Klee to bomb a fish pond.
She could even be spotted crouching in the bushes near Hilichurl Camps in the wild!
Whenever a player approached her, a light blue hidden quest prompt would pop up on the screen: [Assist Lydia in defeating the Hilichurls].
The quest was absurdly simple: charge in alongside Lydia and clear out the monsters.
After completing the quest, just as players expected to receive a small amount of Mora, the reward that popped up left them utterly stunned.
Completing the quest rewards you with 100 Primogems!
What drove players into a frenzy was that this hidden quest had no completion limit. Some players managed to trigger it multiple times on the same day—in Hilichurl Camps at Dadaupa Gorge, Stormbearer Mountains, and Starfell Lake—raking in so many Primogems their hands went numb!
"I hereby declare Lydia my new mother!" a player shouted in their live stream, holding up their phone to show the 100 Primogems they had just claimed.
"That damn Mihoyo screwed me over on my 50/50 pity! But thanks to farming Lydia's quest, I saved up enough Primogems for one last ten-pull and got a gold!"
Similar praise flooded player communities everywhere.
"Primogem Mommy" became Lydia's new nickname. Some players even created a "Lydia's Hilichurl Camp Spawn Map," marking "Lydia Spawn Points" in each camp, which spread like wildfire among the player base.
Months slipped by in a blur of player banter, quest farming, and eager anticipation for the next update.
Then, one early morning, the official Genshin Impact Twitter account suddenly dropped a version update announcement—the Liyue update was officially live!
The news sent shockwaves through the player community, like a stone tossed into a calm lake. Countless players sat glued to their computers, clutching their phones, fingers relentlessly refreshing the game interface, even forgetting to eat breakfast.
Lu Nanqing started her live stream, smiling as she adjusted her camera and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her voice brimmed with anticipation. "Hello, everyone! I started the stream an hour early today to wait for the Liyue update with all of you!"
"Honestly, as someone who grew up in our homeland, I'm super excited for this update. I heard there will be plants like Glaze Lilies and Qingxin, which are deeply rooted in our traditional culture, plus a bunch of new minerals!"
Since transitioning from an outdoor streamer to a Genshin Impact streamer several months ago, Lu Nanqing had been spending hours in Teyvat every day.
Lydia's hidden quest, in particular, had become a staple of her streams—a segment her fans never missed. They often said, "Watching Nanqing stream Lydia's quest is even more fun than playing it ourselves."
As she chatted, the Liyue update finally finished downloading.
Upon entering the game, Lu Nanqing expertly claimed her daily Monthly Pass Primogems and then checked her mailbox, where she found 3000 Primogems in compensation.
Countless players' jaws dropped.
Did Mihoyo finally see the light? This update's Primogem compensation is ten times the usual amount!
In an instant, many players quietly rushed to various online communities to delete their past, ignorant "anti-Mihoyo" comments.
Just as Lu Nanqing's lips curved into a smile, a new event announcement popped up in the center of her screen, adorned with a red silk ribbon: [The Way Home].
The event's cover art made Lu Nanqing hold her breath. The Traveler stood at the gates of Mondstadt, facing a dense horde of monsters shrouded in black mist.
Behind the Traveler loomed a massive, ethereal projection of Lydia. The girl's snow-white hair was plastered messily to her cheeks, her eyes were bloodshot, and tear tracks still glistened on her face. The Festering Desire, a sword she normally never parted with, was now in the Traveler's hands, its blade glinting coldly in the sunlight as if straining with all its might to protect Mondstadt.
The live stream's chat exploded, a dense wall of text nearly covering the entire screen and causing the stream to stutter slightly.
"Holy shit! Why is Lydia crying?!"
"The Way Home? Isn't Lydia's home in Mondstadt?"
"Have you ever heard of Mihoyo's emotional damage?"
"Damn it, you stupid devs! Is this day finally here? I haven't even pulled Lydia with my saved Primogems yet! I don't want to see her suffer!"
Lu Nanqing froze, her eyes fixed on Lydia's red-rimmed eyes on the screen. A sudden, inexplicable unease welled up inside her.
"This event... it's not what we thought it would be, is it?"
She had assumed the Liyue update would simply involve the Traveler journeying to Liyue to begin a new adventure.
But now... could Lydia be going with them?
No, no, no. Lydia had grown up in Mondstadt. The chances of her traveling with the Traveler were practically zero.
Lu Nanqing stared at the [The Way Home] event cover, her thoughts a tangled mess, like a ball of yarn tossed in a gale.
The Traveler's sword grip, the black mist swirling around the monsters, Lydia's reddened eyes—these fragments collided repeatedly in her mind, causing her to subconsciously hold her breath.
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck her. Her eyes widened, pupils constricting, and her voice grew urgent. "Wait! Look at the black mist on those monsters! That's the Abyss!"
She frantically scrolled the mouse wheel, zooming in on the image threefold.
"And Lydia's projection—her eyes are filled with reluctance, not just simple sadness. It's more like... she's saying goodbye?"
The moment she finished speaking, many viewers caught on.
"I didn't even notice until Qingbao pointed it out! That black mist is the fucking Abyss! It's the same stuff on Albedo!"
"Lydia protecting Mondstadt? Then what kind of 'home' is 'The Way Home' leading to?"
"Connecting it to the previous story! Didn't Lydia say her Vision was left behind by her parents? Is this event finally going to dig into their story?"
Lu Nanqing took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.
She watched the theories flood the chat, her voice tinged with uncertainty, but her eyes couldn't hide the glint of excitement. "Do you guys remember? When Venti was talking to Lydia, he mentioned her parents were members of the Adventurer's Guild. They disappeared on Dragonspine, leaving only her Vision behind."
"Now the event cover is crawling with Abyss monsters. Could these monsters be connected to her parents' disappearance all those years ago? Maybe... these monsters were the 'attackers' in that cold case?"
"That makes perfect sense! 'The Way Home' isn't about Lydia returning to her own home—it's about helping her find her parents' whereabouts and uncovering the truth that was buried back then!"
As Lu Nanqing watched the discussion in the chat, her heart pounded uncontrollably, and even the tips of her ears flushed red.
She clicked on the event announcement with her mouse, scrolling through the text on the screen, searching for more clues. "If this really is about Lydia's parents," she said, "then this Liyue patch event might be far more important than we thought."
"Think about it—Lydia's Vision was stolen by Albedo Jr., the Festering Desire is deeply connected to the Abyss, and now Abyss monsters are appearing in massive numbers..."
"Maybe her parents' disappearance wasn't an accident at all. Maybe they got caught up in a major Abyss conspiracy!"
One viewer followed this line of thought, and suddenly everything seemed to click into place.
"Maybe Lydia's parents disappeared on Dragonspine because they were investigating the Abyss and ended up trapped somewhere by it?"
"So that means Albedo Jr., that bastard, is going to show up again? My sword is already thirsting for blood!"
"Albedo Jr. is on Dragonspine, and Lydia's parents disappeared on Dragonspine... Oh, Albedo Jr., you're so fucked."
"FUCK YOU, ALBEDO JR.! FUCK YOU!" (This user has been muted by the system.)
Watching these speculations, Lu Nanqing's unease gradually gave way to anticipation.
She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at the camera. "No matter what, this event definitely holds a huge secret about Lydia! I'll bet you five cents the first key character will absolutely be Albedo Jr.!"
Taking a deep breath, she watched as Albedo arrived in Mondstadt and met with the Traveler and Venti. The group began their conversation.
The prerequisite quest quickly concluded, and the screen instantly went dark.
Countless viewers, including Lu Nanqing, stared wide-eyed.
The Traveler and Albedo's conversation could be summarized in one sentence: Albedo Jr. had been defeated by Albedo, and his body had recently been discovered near the Skyfrost Nail.