The morning sun rose again.
Liyue Harbor welcomed a brand new day.
However, for the people of Liyue Harbor—and even the merchant caravans stationed there—today wasn't a particularly notable day.
The clearance sale held by the Ministry of Civil Affairs had just ended a few days ago, and today still wasn't a market day.
So, for most people, it was a perfect day to simply enjoy the peaceful daily life of Liyue Harbor.
And with the Rite of Descension approaching, more and more people were flocking to Liyue Harbor.
As a result, the changes happening in Liyue were quickly spreading across all of Teyvat.
However, since all seven nations currently faced internal issues of their own, even if they were curious about Liyue's transformation, they didn't have the capacity to investigate.
That wasn't something Ningguang and the others needed to worry about, anyway.
After having breakfast early in the morning, she gathered Jean and the others and headed to Ryen's small courtyard.
But unlike usual—where Ryen would always be waiting in the courtyard sipping tea—today, only Ganyu and Nahida were there.
The dimensional portal next to them shimmered brightly, but Ryen was nowhere in sight.
Ganyu and Nahida both looked a bit uneasy.
Upon seeing Ningguang and the others arrive, they quickly stood up and came over.
"Finally, you're here, Ningguang. Ryen… seems to have gone to the other world by himself!"
Seeing Ganyu's anxious expression, Ningguang furrowed her brows slightly and asked softly:
"What happened? When did Ryen leave?"
Ganyu pursed her lips and shook her head.
"I'm not sure… I went to bed early last night, so I didn't hear any movement…"
"But when I woke up this morning, he was gone. Just before you came, the dimensional portal activated. I was about to go in and look for him…"
Hearing this, Zhongli exchanged a glance with Venti. The latter nodded in understanding and closed his eyes to sense Ryen's presence with divine power.
A moment later, Venti scratched his head in confusion.
"Ryen's aura seems to have disappeared since last night."
"So he rushed back to that world alone last night and hasn't returned since?"
Keqing paused in thought and said softly:
"Could it be… he discovered some kind of issue and didn't have time to notify us?"
That only made Ganyu even more anxious.
"Don't worry, Ganyu."
Cloud Retainer patiently patted her shoulder.
"Ryen understands that world far better than we do. He won't run into any trouble. If he didn't call us last night, that means he had some personal matters to deal with."
"Besides, he just opened the portal, didn't he? That means he's safe."
"We'll just go in and take a look."
Hearing that, Ganyu finally relaxed a little.
She didn't even bother with breakfast and quickly pulled Nahida with her through the portal.
Ningguang and the others followed right behind.
They returned once again to the Minecraft world.
As everyone opened their eyes, they found themselves inside the mansion estate.
But Ryen was nowhere in sight.
Ganyu immediately became flustered.
"Ryen! We're here! Where are you?!"
She called out for a while, but there was no response.
Everyone began to grow concerned.
Xiao stood up immediately and said seriously:
"I'll go call the Qianyan Army to help search for Mr. Ryen."
Just as he was about to head out—
Suddenly, the wall behind them slowly lowered with the sound of a redstone mechanism activating.
Ryen stepped out, looking slightly tired.
Seeing Ganyu and the others stunned, he chuckled and said:
"You're here this early?"
He snapped his fingers to shut the dimensional portal.
"Ryen!"
Ganyu instantly threw herself into his arms, her voice full of worry:
"Where did you go last night?! Why didn't you say anything to me?!"
The others also looked him over carefully and, seeing no injuries—just some fatigue—they finally relaxed.
"So… you noticed?"
Ryen sighed helplessly.
"It's nothing major. I just came back to make a few things. No need to bother you."
As he spoke, he let out a weary yawn.
With his constitution, honestly, even going a whole month without sleep wouldn't affect him much.
But what he worked on last night was mentally exhausting.
Complex material synthesis, chaotic ore processing—Ryen had kept his mind in a state of intense focus the entire time.
Now that he had completed the first stage of his hot weapon manufacturing plan, it was only natural he felt worn out.
But compared to what he gained, the fatigue was nothing.
Last night, Ryen had been gulping down alchemy potions and clearing out four separate mines on his own.
They were all previously marked as "fully mined."
As he suspected, those old mines had respawned with a large quantity of mineral resources.
All of it was smelted and processed by him, leaving only less than two chests of raw materials.
Considering the materials required for weapons and various types of ammunition, it wasn't enough to craft too much.
Even so, the haul was immense.
He crafted the Desert Eagle, Benelli Super 90, and M249 light machine gun.
As a bonus, he made a few simpler submachine guns from steel plates—like the MP5.
Ammo was also well stocked.
He even made half a set of RPG rockets.
Three stacks of fragmentation grenades, two stacks of Desert Eagle bullets, two stacks of shotgun shells, and five stacks of light machine gun rounds.
Plus three stacks of AK-47 7.62mm rounds and a full set of .50 BMG rounds for Ganyu's Barrett.
Basically, Ryen had spent the entire night either mining or becoming an arms tycoon.
As for other firearm components...
They were just too complicated. He had overworked his brain and didn't have the energy to continue for now.
But Ryen had already completed his small goal:
Fragmentation grenades at his waist, Desert Eagle strapped to his thigh.
Shotgun in his left hand, light machine gun in his right, and an assault rifle slung over his back.
Aside from still wearing a full diamond set, which was a bit unreasonable, he could otherwise be considered a top-tier soldier.
"You don't look too well…"
Ningguang's voice was gentle, her gaze filled with concern as she looked at Ryen.
Ryen gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"Yeah, a little, I guess. What I made last night was mentally exhausting. But it won't stop us from exploring the End today."
"No rush for the End."
Lisa folded her arms and looked at Ryen with a teasing smile.
"You can rest first. Heading out when you're not fully alert could be quite troublesome, you know."
Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing that.
Ryen pursed his lips and said softly:
"Then I'll take a nap later. We'll head out this afternoon. Besides, there are a few things I need you and the others to handle this morning, Ningguang."
He let out a yawn, fatigue growing even stronger.
"Didn't we install a new mod yesterday? The ores in the caves have been refreshed."
"Have the Qianyan Army and miners—Team One pause construction, and from Team Two, pull out half of the manpower."
"Send them back into those caves to collect resources."
Ryen took out a resource map with marked priorities and handed it to Ningguang.
"These are the essential ores for the firearms mod. I wrote detailed collection info on it.
These resources can't be duplicated like an iron farm."
"So our focus from now on should shift towards cave mining..."
"Also, I collected surface-level ores from Caves 1 through 4 last night. The deeper levels haven't been touched yet."
"Send someone to check them out..."
Taking the mineral map and seeing the nine new types of ores marked in detail, Ningguang couldn't help but click her tongue in astonishment.
Just from the ore descriptions alone, it was clear this would be an extremely complex project.
Understanding now, Ningguang pondered aloud:
"So... last night, you were mining those ores to craft firearms?"
Ryen forced a nod and joked,
"Guess you'll have to start calling me the arms tycoon from now on…"
"You still have the energy to joke around…"
Ningguang shook her head, exasperated, and carefully put away the mineral map.
"I'll take care of all this. You go get some rest."
Ryen rubbed his eyes.
"There's still something else... Xiao, this firearms mod introduced a lot of powerful new monsters, many of them even come armed with firearms."
"If you run into unfamiliar monsters, don't attack first. Avoid them. Once I wake up, I'll give you a new bestiary. Study it carefully."
"Be aware: some of these monsters are as powerful as the Wither Storm. Be extremely cautious. And make sure the Qianyan Army stays safe too."
Xiao nodded seriously.
Then, Ryen pulled out a set of Barrett bullets and handed them to Ganyu.
"You're almost out of ammo for your Barrett. I made these last night. From now on, no need to conserve shots."
As he said it, Ryen found it a little funny.
"Most people give their girlfriends flowers or jewelry... and I'm out here giving Ganyu weapons and bullets…"
Ganyu shook her head earnestly.
"Not at all! I love it! As long as it's from you, I'll treasure anything!"
Ryen smiled and patted her horn, stretched, and said,
"Alright, I'm heading up for a nap. You guys go look around and wait for me to wake up. Then we'll head out to find the End."
"Remember: if you encounter unfamiliar monsters, avoid them. Don't rush into battle. Stay safe."
"If you absolutely must fight, don't engage in close combat. Use bows and crossbows from a distance."
With that, Ryen yawned again.
Maybe because Ganyu was holding him, and he felt completely safe, the drowsiness hit him all at once.
Struggling to keep his eyes open, he muttered:
"When I wake up this afternoon, I'll give you guys some good stuff…"
And just like that, Ryen fell asleep while standing.
Seeing Ryen, usually so energetic, now showing rare exhaustion, Ganyu felt a deep ache in her heart.
She gently picked him up and carried him upstairs.
Watching their silhouettes disappear, everyone fell silent, slightly emotional.
The Ryen they were used to was always full of energy and enthusiasm.
Although his lifestyle leaned toward Zhongli's "retired and health-conscious" phase, he had a unique vitality.
Now, just from crafting a new mod, he was this exhausted.
It was easy to imagine…
Letting out a faint sigh, Ningguang shook her head and said:
"Looks like this new mod we installed… is a tough one."
Keqing and the others nodded, helplessly adding:
"We've installed all kinds of mods before, but we've never seen Ryen look this stressed.
Seems like we won't be able to get into the firearms mod anytime soon."
Ningguang pulled out the mineral map and studied it again, her brows furrowing more tightly.
"Nine new ores... and Ryen specifically marked a few of our older resources for mass collection too…"
"Sigh…"
Shaking her head, Ningguang sat down at the table, took out her notebook, and began copying.
"Let's record all this first. Then we'll instruct the Qianyan Army. Judging by Ryen's state, he'll probably sleep until the afternoon."
"This downtime is a good chance to teach Jean and the others about more advanced resource applications."
Jean and the rest were naturally very willing.
However, they still didn't quite understand Ningguang and the others' fascination with firearms.
"Ningguang…"
Lisa pursed her lips, clearly a bit concerned.
"Could you explain to us what exactly these firearms are?"
Ningguang paused, then slowly looked up at Lisa with a complex expression.
"Firearms… are terrifying weapons capable of changing the outcome of large-scale wars with ease."
"To put it simply…"
"Remember the Peace Bomb we mentioned yesterday? It could easily destroy all of Liyue Harbor."
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