Chapter 153
Liyue Harbor.
It was already midnight.
The Internet café buzzed with activity, despite the late hour. The fluorescent lights cast a pale glow over rows of monitors, each displaying vivid game scenes or bustling chat windows. The rhythmic tapping of keyboards and the low murmur of conversations blended with the hum of the machines.
Because it was cheap to stay overnight, the café was always packed after sundown. Students, travelers, and jobless wanderers found solace in the virtual worlds hosted here. It was a place where worries could be forgotten for a few precious hours if they needed it.
At the front desk, Zhongli sat calmly, eyes half-lidded. He was working temporarily as the network administrator, a position he’d accepted with quiet grace after the regular staff called in sick. Despite his status, he adapted easily to this humble role, content with observing the ebb and flow of human activity.
"I still wish I didn’t take this job sometimes..." Zhongli muttered to himself.
Suddenly, Zhongli stiffened. His gaze drifted beyond the walls of the café, past the illuminated streets of Liyue Harbor, toward the distant sea.
The ocean was no longer peaceful.
Far on the horizon, the clouds had turned an ominous shade of violet. Thunder crackled through the sky as winds stirred the waters below. The sea roared—churning as though something massive stirred beneath its surface, something ancient, something wrathful.
Without a word, Zhongli vanished from his seat, reappearing upon a cliff overlooking the boundless ocean. He stood there, cloaked in his black and gold robes, his silhouette outlined by the flickering lightning above.
He was not the only one to sense the disturbance. All across Liyue, others stirred.