The real world, Earth.
This world was different from the one Si Xuan lived in.
It was a world where the game industry was extremely underdeveloped.
MiHoYo's Genshin Impact actually became
a world-wide phenomenon,
Its unique open-world gameplay,
Elemental reaction mechanics, and
exquisite character models
made Genshin Impact's popularity far exceed the one Si Xuan was familiar with.
Today was the day Genshin Impact's 3.1 Sumeru version was released.
A new map, new elemental reactions, and new characters
gave the 3.0 Sumeru version a lot of attention.
Following the usual pattern, the 3.1 version was a transitional one.
Aside from a very short main storyline, it also only had some limited-time events.
But this version's popularity remained high.
It even had a tendency to surpass 3.0.
Because, in the preview livestream of this new version,
Da Wei Ge suddenly revealed a line,
"Two years have passed, and that man should be appearing now."
He had been foreshadowed since Mondstadt,
but the Fontaine diplomat who never appeared,
was finally going to show up in the new version.
Many players were eager to "launch Genshin" after the maintenance was over.
Of course, there were also players who didn't have the means to launch the game for the time being.
They would choose to go to live streams to watch the subsequent development of the storyline.
This news caused an uproar among the players at the time.
The Fatui's Harbingers were extremely wary of this diplomat.
The Seven Archons and their retainers also had many interactions with this guy.
The TV series "Waiting for Kamisato"
at least allowed us to see pictures of Kamisato Ayaka.
And Kamisato had waited too.
But another TV series "Diplomatic Winds - Teyvat Chapter" had no signs before the Sumeru version update.
And this mysterious Fontaine diplomat,
was finally going to make his appearance today.
So many people would rather get spoiled than watch the livestream to take a good look at this diplomat's true face.
"Ice Sugar Pear Doesn't Taste Good", as the most popular Genshin streamer at the moment,
also started streaming as soon as maintenance ended.
When Si Xuan first appeared,
the entire livestream exploded.
"Wow, this diplomat is so handsome!
No wonder he's the man MiHoYo has hidden for three versions."
Looking at Si Xuan walking out of the shadows,
Ice Sugar immediately covered her face and entered a fangirl state.
Besides her, even the male viewers in the livestream had to admit
【This character's model is really good-looking. You can say it's second only to that old geezer Zhongli.】
【Is another wrench going to appear?】
【That voice, holy shit it's Otto Apocalypse.】
【Sumeru has the World Tree. Hmm... that's creepy.】
【Sure enough, there's a tree, and there's bound to be an Apocalypse.】
【Thankfully, it's just the voice. If his face was the same, I'd probably have PTSD.】
【Is that an automatic pistol on his waist?
Seems like Fontaine's technology is more advanced than I imagined.】
Si Xuan's first appearance earned him a huge wave of popularity.
After all, a character who looks good and is on the side of the protagonists
would be hard to dislike at first.
When they saw Si Xuan completely ignoring the Doctor's words and confronting him head-on,
it sparked a heated discussion among the viewers in the livestream.
【This strong? This is the Fatui's second-in-command.】
This version didn't yet reveal the claim that the top three Harbingers could rival the Archons.
But as the current antagonists,
Snezhnaya was single-handedly taking on the other six nations.
As the highest fighting force of Snezhnaya,
the Harbingers were naturally labeled as powerful by many people.
Just the eighth seat, La Signora,
could suppress Mondstadt's Knights of Favonius.
She even dared to be insolent towards Rex Lapis in Liyue.
Though La Signora had her own personality issues,
no one would deny the strength of this organization.
Let alone the second-in-command, the Doctor.
This made many viewers subconsciously classify Si Xuan as someone on par with the top Harbingers.
Amidst the heated discussion,
Ice Sugar controlled her character to continue the storyline.
Even though she wanted to keep admiring her husband's handsome features,
as a professional streamer, she had to reluctantly control her character to go to the Gandharva Ville.
Sumeru, Gandharva Ville.
Si Xuan brought Lumine, Paimon, and Nahida, who was possessing Katheryne, to the Gandharva Ville.
"Okay, we're temporarily out of sight of those guys now, so ask whatever you want.
Right, I should also introduce myself.
Si Xuan de Fontaine, is the current diplomat of Fontaine.
I'm mainly responsible for Fontaine's diplomatic relations with other nations.
Just call me Si Xuan."
Si Xuan elegantly performed a Fontaine greeting to everyone.
While rushing to the Gandharva Ville,
Paimon couldn't help but want to ask Si Xuan a few times.
But Si Xuan refused to answer, claiming they needed to hurry and make haste.
Now that they had arrived at their destination, Paimon finally had the chance to ask all her questions in one go.
However, after the journey, Paimon suddenly forgot what she wanted to ask.
She rushed too quickly and accidentally left her brains behind.
In the end, it was Nahida who spoke first.
"Mr. Si Xuan, I remember you have a good relationship with the sages of the Akademiya.
Why would you choose to help us?"
Even though she was trapped for five hundred years,
Nahida was not completely unaware of the outside world.
Decades after she was locked up,
the Akademiya hadn't recovered from the grief of losing the Great Tree King.
Both management and the daily operation of Sumeru were a mess.
On top of that, the Liyue merchants' business operations
made Sumeru a frighteningly poor country.
And at this time, Si Xuan appeared.
He brought a large amount of Mora, claiming he wanted to invest in the Akademiya.
The condition was that he needed access to the Akademiya's academic achievements.
Later, Si Xuan reached a partnership with the Akademiya.
This partnership lasted for 400 years.
So, in Nahida's impression,
Si Xuan and the Akademiya had a good relationship.
So good that he shouldn't be helping them.
Nahida's question surprised Paimon.
"Huh? He has a good relationship with the sages? But just now... "
Without any regard for the Doctor's face, he publicly confronted him,
and in the end, they almost came to blows.
The Doctor was a guest of the sages.
Si Xuan's actions made Paimon unable to see any sign of how good his relationship with the Akademiya's sages was.
Si Xuan took a deep breath, folded his arms, and began to explain to Nahida.
"I reduced my financial support to the Akademiya, and the Grand Sage Azhdaha
sent a stupid scholar to Fontaine to demand it.
He didn't even see me, and dared to disturb Lady Furina.
As Fontaine's diplomat, I naturally had to come to Sumeru
to hold Azhdaha accountable for his foolish actions.
And to come to Sumeru to clean up some bad assets."
As soon as "Furina" was uttered, Nahida and Lumine naturally understood.
But Paimon, whose brain had gone missing, subconsciously asked:
"Furina, who is that?"
As soon as Paimon finished speaking, she noticed the three of them staring at her in unison.
"You, you wouldn't have lost your brain, would you?"
Lumine gently stroked her forehead and shook her head slightly,
seemingly troubled by the fact that her guide had asked such an obvious question.
If it were any other time, Paimon would have argued with Lumine.
But she really had lost her brains.
She was still clutching her head.
"Furina is the God of Fontaine, the human form of Focalors, the God of Water, just like Nahida."
"I see, just like Mondstadt's Venti, Liyue's Zhongli, and Inazuma's Ei."
Lumine's mouth slightly opened, her eyes widening.
Wow, in one sentence, she exposed the backgrounds of three Archons.
After a while, Paimon also seemed to realize what she had done.
She frantically waved her hands at Si Xuan.
"I didn't say anything just now. You didn't remember anything."
Just as Paimon was desperately trying to make Si Xuan forget what she said just now,
a sound of hurried footsteps caught their attention.
"They're here, don't let them escape!"
A dozen or so mercenaries, armed with shabby weapons,
surrounded the famous Traveler, the Lesser Lord of the Kusanali, and Fontaine's third most powerful figure.
"You guys, quickly surrender, and come back with me to see the Grand Sage."
The leading mercenary pointed his sword at Si Xuan.
I don't know if it was ignorance is bliss or what,
but Si Xuan didn't see a trace of fear in his eyes.
Instead, he had the joy of someone who was about to complete a task.
He probably had "promotion and salary increase" in his mind, thinking about completing this task.
Lumine drew her sword, the Prototype Amber, and watched the mercenaries surrounding them with vigilance.
With her current strength, dealing with these mercenaries was a piece of cake.
But she couldn't go overboard.
At this moment, Si Xuan stepped forward.
He drew his twin pistols and pointed them at the reckless fools in front of him.
He wore a standard diplomatic smile on his face.
"Leave now, no one will get hurt."
The fool in front of him seemed not to hear Si Xuan's warning.
Maybe he simply didn't recognize Si Xuan, and just thought he was a tourist from Fontaine.
"Brothers, charge!"
Several mercenaries swarmed towards Si Xuan with their weapons raised.
Seeing that these guys were completely incapable of communication,
Si Xuan was forced to use a hard-line diplomatic approach.
The muzzles of his guns quickly locked onto the target.
His index fingers continuously pulled the triggers.
Brass-colored bullets poured out of the muzzles.
In the blink of an eye, the shoulders of the three men in front of him were hit.
Crimson liquid exploded on their shoulders.
The weapons in their hands "clanged" to the ground.
Four or five mercenaries clutched their shoulders and fell to the ground.
Suddenly, a gust of wind brushed past Si Xuan's hair.
Si Xuan, sensing something, slightly turned his body.
"Bang!" The axe smashed into the ground, scattering a large amount of gravel.
A few even almost bounced off Paimon's face.
Si Xuan kicked out, delivering a spinning kick that sent the mercenary attacking from behind flying.
Then, he dodged the attacks of other mercenaries, twisting and turning.
He slightly lowered his body, his legs exploding with power.
He slid forward a short distance.
His index fingers continuously pulled the triggers.
The mercenaries in front of him were hit one after another.
Si Xuan turned around.
"Bang, bang, bang!" The mercenaries behind him were shot and fell to the ground.
Si Xuan stood up and blew on the white smoke that emerged from the gun barrel.
He twirled his guns in a very graceful manner, and then put both pistols back in their holsters at his waist.
"Work's done."