Gacha Hell: Furina Edition

Paimon's nature is a bit complicated.

From the very beginning, she didn't want to meet Lu Heng, or even cross paths with him.

For someone like Lu Heng, whose strength is unfathomable, Paimon felt he could see right through her with a single glance.

The best choice was to avoid him!

But avoiding him was impossible.

Lu Heng had already foreseen the future, meaning he had long seen through everything. Pretending in front of him was pointless—what's the point of putting on an act when he can see your every move?

So, Paimon really didn't want to run into Lu Heng.

But she couldn't control Lumine's decisions.

After all, the appearance of the cards was a huge help to Lumine.

How could she just refuse to go?

Now, Lu Heng casually called her an "old friend."

Paimon's worst fears had come true.

Lumine gave Paimon a strange look.

Her reaction wasn't normal!

What kind of sane person would feel guilty upon meeting Lu Heng?

At least when Lumine first met him, she hadn't felt the slightest bit uneasy.

Paimon's hiding something!

"Don't worry," Lu Heng shook his head. "Everyone has secrets, things they can't even share with those closest to them—myself included. That's perfectly normal."

"As long as you don't harm those around you, it's fine."

Hearing this, Paimon nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "Of course I wouldn't hurt anyone!"

Lumine eyed Paimon suspiciously.

She definitely has a secret!

"Lumine, you have to believe me!" Paimon hurriedly said.

Lumine thought for a moment, then nodded. "I trust you for now."

Paimon had no combat ability and usually acted naturally. If this was all an act… then Paimon's acting skills were truly exceptional.

For the time being, at least, Paimon posed no threat to her.

"Thank goodness!" Paimon sighed in relief.

Truth be told, she did have secrets, but they weren't harmful to anyone.

The others were curious but didn't pry.

Even among close friends, digging into secrets someone didn't want to share was rude.

Boundaries were important!

"Let's talk about the gacha first," Lu Heng smoothly changed the subject. "How many pulls are you planning to do?"

Lumine's expression turned slightly awkward, her voice lowering. "I just arrived here and don't have much Mora. Luckily, the Knights of Favonius gave me a bonus—one million Mora!"

She explained her situation with the Knights and their attitude toward her.

Lu Heng was surprised but nodded. "That's good. It solves some of your problems."

"Yeah," Lumine agreed.

This way, she could at least integrate into Mondstadt instead of being a complete outsider. With the city's welcoming atmosphere and free spirit, Lumine thought staying a few days before setting off again was a good idea.

"Shall we start?"

"Sure!"

Lumine converted all one million Mora into pulls—a full 100 draws.

She tapped the 10x pull button.

Very frugal.

Not even a purple glow.

There were two three-star blue cards, though, with decent effects.

Watching a fortune turn into a stack of cards, Lumine felt a little hollow.

But these cards held miraculous power—their value far exceeded one million Mora.

Thinking this, she quickly cheered up.

"I gained a lot. Thank you, Mr. Lu," Lumine said.

"As long as you're satisfied," Lu Heng smiled.

Lumine set the cards aside.

Lu Heng then looked at Xiangling.

Xiangling pulled out a pile of small-denomination Mora.

The amounts were small, but the quantity was massive—almost a small hill!

"I brought 8.08 million Mora, four sets of equipment, and four phones. The rest is all for gacha!" Xiangling declared.

"Four sets?" Lu Heng raised an eyebrow.

Eight million wasn't surprising.

With Wanmin Restaurant's popularity, earning that much was just a matter of time.

Xiangling explained, "One set for my master, one for my junior sister! As for Guoba… well, sometimes he's a bit slow. I'm not sure if he can handle the equipment and phone."

Zhongli pondered.

Marchosius wasn't very intelligent now.

He could understand human speech but often struggled to express himself clearly—and couldn't speak at all.

But seeing how happy he was every day, Zhongli didn't plan to interfere.

Maybe this simple, carefree life was what brought him the most joy?

Like a child, free from worries, while adults had to consider everything, bound by countless constraints.

"Then let's proceed with this arrangement," Lu Heng nodded.

Xiangling's master was Granny Ping, and her junior sister was Yaoyao.

Neither was present in the shop.

Based on that night's conversation, Granny Ping was probably figuring out how to convert treasures into Mora.

She herself had few needs, but Yaoyao—raised like a granddaughter—would need resources in the future. As an elder and mentor, Granny Ping surely had a plan.

Soon, Xiangling received her equipment and phone.

After binding the gear and getting her ID, Hu Tao immediately said, "Quick, Xiangling! Add me as a friend!"

"Yay! I got Xiangling's first friend slot!"

Though a small thing, Hu Tao was thrilled. She then rushed to add Lumine, Paimon, and even the unfamiliar Kaeya.

Lu Heng suspected she'd soon become the person with the most friends.

And possibly a friend-spamming menace!

Posting funeral parlor ads on her social feed? Totally something Hu Tao would do.

Xiangling added everyone and began her pulls.

A 10x pull—nothing.

For an individual, the odds felt abysmal.

What truly excited Xiangling were the otherworldly recipes!

But with so many card types, the chances of getting them were slim.

Still, food-related item cards were appealing.

Even if they were pre-made, Xiangling could likely reverse-engineer them!

Even with ingredients not found in Teyvat, she could find substitutes!

Finally, on the 500th pull—a purple glow!

"Got something?" Hu Tao leaned over.

Big spenders often pulled hundreds of purple cards at once, with four-star cards not being particularly rare.

But four-star cards still held value.

"Let me check."

Lu Heng appraised it: [Seal Technique – Card #8]

[Rank]: 4-Star – Purple

[Type]: Skill Card

[Tags]: Time, Seal

[Description]: A somewhat fragile sealing technique.

"Huh?" Xiangling was surprised. "This… seems powerful?"

"That depends on how you look at it," Lu Heng explained. "It's a crude application of time manipulation. The description even calls it 'fragile.' In combat, it might not be ideal unless the enemy is already incapacitated."

Xiangling listened carefully but was still confused. "Seems useless to me? I don't fight much, and I've never needed to seal anyone…"

"Hey!" Hu Tao patted her shoulder. "Think differently! Like, if you're gathering ingredients in the wild, you could seal them and keep them fresh for days!"

"Ah!"

Xiangling's eyes lit up.

This was useful!

"Amazing!"

Xiangling was delighted.

"Also, could this help Wanmin Restaurant?"

The food would remain perfectly fresh, as if just cooked!

"That's a great idea!" Xiangling nodded eagerly.

After upgrading to a one-star equipment, Xiangling thought for a moment. "Seems like nothing else is useful?"

"Let me."

Kaeya took a piece of paper and set it on fire.

Xiangling immediately activated the card's power.

While a Vision's internal storage had some preservation effects, it couldn't compare to this!

"Is this okay?" Xiangling looked to Lu Heng for confirmation.

Lu Heng smiled. "Of course! As long as you can carry everything."

This was essentially meal prepping.

A huge help for her!

"Want to test it now?" Lu Heng suggested.

Xiangling excused herself and rushed back to Wanmin Restaurant.

Zhongli mused, "Xiangling could prepare dishes in advance, seal them, and serve them when ordered?"

Xiangling equipped the card and tested it on a few low-rank items.

The paper and flame froze in time.

Even when dropped, they remained unchanged.

"Perfect! Even if used hundreds of times a day, there'd be no issue," Lu Heng said.

"This is too good!" Xiangling exclaimed.

With this, she could prep during breaks and avoid exhaustion during peak hours!

"Just be careful in combat," Lu Heng warned. "The time manipulation is too weak."

"I'll remember!" Xiangling nodded seriously.

"Let's continue pulling." Xiangling had 300 pulls left.

But no second purple card appeared.

"Even though I didn't get the recipes I wanted, the sealing technique is a great surprise!" Xiangling was still happy.

"A gain is a gain," Lu Heng chuckled.

"Alright, I should head back. It's still mealtime, and I don't want Dad to struggle alone!"

"Sure, we can chat later—on the phone works too."

Lu Heng opened a portal straight to Wanmin Restaurant.

"Everyone, I'll take my leave first!"

"Busy, busy~" Hu Tao sighed. "Hope she doesn't overwork herself."

"She knows her limits. Unlike some people who push themselves to exhaustion without a word…" Lu Heng glanced meaningfully at Zhongli.

Zhongli raised an eyebrow, immediately understanding the reference.

"There are people like that?!" Hu Tao was shocked.

"Three of them, in fact!" Lu Heng confirmed.

"Why don't I have employees like that?" Hu Tao lamented, shooting Zhongli a look.

Zhongli sighed helplessly.

Lu Heng turned to Lumine. "The Adventurers' Guild also bought equipment and phones. There's even an adventurer website—maybe check it out?"

"I'll take a look later," Lumine nodded.

Hesitating, she asked, "Mr. Lu, since you know my fate… can you tell me if I'll find my brother?"

Lu Heng smiled. "If that's your question, then yes—you will."

Lumine relaxed.

No one online had reached that part of the story yet.

But hearing it from Lu Heng, she could stop worrying about her brother's safety.

At the very least, Lu Heng's tone suggested her brother was fine!

"Thank you so much!"

Just knowing this was enough.

"Play through the main story when you can. There might be… surprises?" Lu Heng's expression turned odd.

"Surprises?" Lumine grew curious.

The more she anticipated, the weirder Lu Heng looked.

Hope she doesn't rage-quit.

As the Traveler, her mental fortitude should be strong enough.

There were rough patches, but also shining moments.

Lu Heng didn't judge. It was up to Lumine to reflect.

Noticing his expression, Lumine felt uneasy but didn't press further.

"Should we head back too?" Lumine asked.

"Sure. Message or call if you need anything," Lu Heng said, then teased, "Paimon can too."

"Ah—uh—" Paimon, who'd been quiet to avoid attention, nervously nodded.

"I'll come back later. The Anemo Archon invited me for drinks," Kaeya waved his phone, showing Venti's message.

"Why didn't he invite us?" Lu Heng joked.

"Too embarrassed to make you pay?" Kaeya smirked.

Zhongli nodded. "At least he's self-aware."

"Later!" The three left.

Hu Tao eyed Zhongli, circling him. "Well, well. Now you're buddies with the Anemo Archon?"

"Cough!" Zhongli coughed, shooting Lu Heng a pleading look.

Lu Heng pretended not to notice, scrolling through his phone.

"Director…" Zhongli was at a loss.

"Fine, fine!" Hu Tao waved it off. "This director isn't that curious about your secrets!"

Hu Tao was sharp.

Zhongli's behavior had always been unusual.

She had suspicions but never dug deeper.

Zhongli didn't relax.

When his identity as Rex Lapis was revealed… he could already imagine Hu Tao's reaction.

Lu Heng browsed his feed:

Collei: Safely back at Gandharva Ville! [3.2 Gandharva Ville photo]Xingqiu: The Pure Yang Sword Immortal's youthful training records! [Chongyun meditating]Tartaglia: Starting Genshin, hoping for clues! (Praying emoji)Arlecchino: A new era, new choices for the children. [Distant stormy sea, lightning flashing]Albedo: Buying otherworldly alchemy items/books. DM me.Beidou: Sailing through the storm—almost at Inazuma's thunderclouds! The new Alcor will soon have infinite energy! Gratitude to the Raiden Shogun! (Thumbs up)

Gratitude to the Raiden Shogun?

Lu Heng couldn't help but laugh.

Big Sis Beidou had a sense of humor.

"Old Lu, what's so funny?" Hu Tao asked.

"Here." Lu Heng showed his phone and explained the Alcor's upgrades.

Hu Tao was amazed.

After chatting, she said, "Old Lu, wanna tour the funeral parlor?"

"Sure," Lu Heng agreed.

Far out at sea, beyond Liyue's shores…

Dark clouds loomed, thunder rumbling within.

On the steel-clad warship, the Crux Fleet crew wasn't afraid—they were excited.

Beidou stood on the deck, wind in her hair, grinning.

The old Alcor could brave the storm, but not effortlessly.

The new Alcor profited just by passing through!

[Energy Refining Device]!

Any lightning strike was converted into power!

"The Raiden Shogun's a real one!" Beidou laughed.

Kaedehara Kazuha stifled a chuckle.

For the new Alcor, Inazuma's storm was a goldmine—free, infinite energy!

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T/N:

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