Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

Next, they went to buy some household items, from bed sheets and duvet covers to pajamas and bathrobes to towels and toothbrushes. Kiana didn't know how to get to the nearby large supermarkets, so she asked Shen Liang if he could take her with him. Normally, a man would readily agree to such an invitation from a woman, but Shen Liang's response was, "Don't you have GPS on your phone? Open it, type 'supermarket,' and select 'walking' as the mode of transportation."

Kiana thought it made a lot of sense, so she turned around and prepared to leave. Lilia couldn't stand it anymore and forcefully pushed Shen Liang out the door, forcing him to go with Kiana.

And so, in short, Kiana finally managed to settle down at Shen Liang's house after much pleading and cajoling.

--------

At six in the morning, Shen Liang filled the bathtub with hot water and added some bath salts he had bought from the supermarket. Wearing only a pair of shorts, he stepped into the bathtub and leisurely lay down against it, letting the warm water soak into his skin, as if all the fatigue from the past few days had dissolved in the water. He let out a long sigh and gazed at the ceiling shrouded in steam.

"Beep beep beep." Someone is knocking on the door.

"Brother, brother, would you like a back scrub? Kiana is asleep." Rosalia's voice rang out.

"What does this have to do with Kiana?" Shen Liang replied, "Come in."

There was no need for him to open the door; Shen Liang's doors were never closed, so there was no need to guard against anyone. Rosalia casually pushed the door open and came in. She had bathed with Shen Liang since she was a child and didn't think she needed to be wary of him in this kind of situation. Rather, it was more accurate to say that Shen Liang had to be wary of her and Lilia when necessary.

Just like how a normal person wouldn't wear pants when taking a bath, Shen Liang was already used to it.

"Why are you wearing a maid outfit?" Shen Liang noticed that Rosalia had changed into a Lolita-style maid apron, the smallest size, paired with white pantyhose and maid leg rings.

"Rosalia is Siberian, and the school uniform for Siberian girls this age is a maid outfit," Rosalia shouted. "Serving the master in the bath is not a wife's job, nor is it a younger sister's job; it's a maid's job, and a maid outfit is required for this!"

What if it gets wet?

Rosalia seemed not to have considered this question, then frowned and clenched her fist tightly in her palm. "Then I'll take a bath with my brother!"

"go out."

"My brother should have been taking baths with us since he was fifteen!" Rosalia protested.

"If you don't go out soon, I'll deduct a month's allowance from your allowance and give it to Lilia."

Rosalia hurriedly lifted the hem of her skirt and ran out.

Shen Liang didn't know when she bought the maid outfit, but he wasn't surprised by what the Arlene sisters bought. Unless Rosalia showed that strange intention of wanting to bathe with him, he generally wouldn't refuse a request to scrub his back or anything like that.

Although bathing together used to be normal, there was a significant age gap between Shen Liang and Rosalia back then. Now that the age gap has narrowed, Shen Liang feels embarrassed. Even though nothing else has changed, humans are such strange creatures.

After taking a shower and changing his clothes, Shen Liang went to Kiana's room and heard a soft snoring sound coming from inside.

Reassured, he went to the living room, where the Arlene sisters were already up and playing Splatoon online. Shen Liang coughed and announced the start of the "Second Teyvat Symposium".

This was a meeting that Shen Liang had considered long ago. It mainly concerned the conquest plan of the Teyvat continent, so the attendees had to be people who knew about the existence of Teyvat.

Today's meeting participants were Shen Liang, Rosalia, Lilia, and Bronya Zaychek, who was participating via video conference. However, in reality, only Shen Liang and Bronya were present; the Arlene sisters didn't even bother to glance at them, engrossed in their games.

Shen Liang switched to QQ. He didn't really like using foreign apps like Line or Instagram, and he felt that these apps weren't as secure as QQ overseas.

A profile picture with the nickname "Metal Gear Solid Wolf Fang" flashed, sending a video call invitation. Shen Liang took a deep breath and clicked "accept".

"Hey, Bronya, you've gotten even more beautiful in just a few days," he said nervously, taking the initiative to greet her.

In the video, a little girl wearing a rabbit hood and with her long silver-gray hair tied in double helixes stared at Shen Liang expressionlessly.

"Don't you have anything to say to Bronya, brother?"

Chapter 10: Are you preparing for an armed invasion of Teyvat?

To be honest, Shen Liang really didn't know what to say. He was very nervous, but he didn't know why he was nervous.

Actually, he gets nervous every time he video chats with Bronya, always feeling like he's letting her down... But every time he asks himself, he realizes that he treated Bronya like a younger sister, and she was his closest relative when they were in the orphanage.

Because Bronya was the oldest in the orphanage besides him, only about six years younger, and precocious, she was like an older sister to Shen Liang, who was like an older brother to him. Among the children, Bronya was the only one Shen Liang could confide in; he treated her as his own daughter, or at least they were a perfectly respectful and loving couple.

I haven't done anything to wrong you.

Seeing Shen Liang's restless appearance, Bronya sighed, "Brother, you should know that the series of things that have happened to you recently are not things that can be told to others. It is dangerous for you to have an outsider in the house."

"How did you know... Bronya, that you installed cameras in your home?" Shen Liang frowned slightly.

"Does Bronya need to do this?" Bronya, chewing on a lollipop, sat cross-legged in the large executive chair, feeling that Shen Liang looked down on her.

Her room was dark, though the lights were off. Besides the chat window with Shen Liang, there were twelve secondary screens on the table in front of her, emitting a soft blue glow. Some showed stock market data, some showed the game she was working on, and some had inexplicable loading bars that seemed to be deciphering something. Multiple servers under the desktop emitted a pleasant hum, and the heat from the numerous computers made Bronya almost oblivious to the winter chill.

If anyone were to see the loading screen on Bronya's computer right now, they would be horrified by the rabbit-ear-shaped progress bars. That's the logo of a notorious European hacker codenamed "City Hacker."

When your server is compromised, what the intruders often leave you with when they're looting data is this grinning rabbit progress bar. The moment the progress bar fills up means you'll lose countless amounts of data.

Most hacking activities are illegal, so freelance hackers like Bronya often work for corporate or government security departments (or check for backdoors and vulnerabilities). Currently, there are virtually no front-ends that Bronya cannot breach, unless her computing power is insufficient, such as against the computers of a national bank.

But that doesn't mean Bronya won't do it. Bronya's motto is that as long as you don't get caught, it's not a crime.

For example, she didn't need to place any backup plans in Shen Liang's house. She simply hacked into the municipal service platform of Bunkyo Ward as usual. The security camera at the foot of the Tsubakiyama apartment building was pointing directly at the elevator entrance. By accessing the property management system and using the elevator camera, she saw Kiana openly walk into Shen Liang's house, even carrying boxes inside without coming out.

Bronya endured it all night, and after realizing that Kiana really hadn't come out again, she finally decided to get serious.

—My dear Shen Liang, what exactly are you trying to do!

"He's just a tenant. The apartment is so big, renting out so many empty rooms isn't a big deal, is it? I probably won't have much contact with him on a regular basis. I'm pretty good at keeping things private." Shen Liang felt a little guilty after saying that.

——Tsk!

—The main reason we wanted so many empty rooms was that all the children in the orphanage would want to live there when they grew up. But how could I tell my brother that? Each of the six children in the orphanage has its own room. We've been together since the beginning and we'll be together for life!

—But how come you found another woman in less than three years? Couldn't you wait a few more years? I thought it was a miracle that you'd become younger, but it turns out you like older women!

“Living under the same roof, we’ll find out sooner or later.” Bronya said coldly. “Brother, letting a strange woman into the house without discussing it with Bronya hurts her feelings.”

I don't think so.

“Although the property deed is in your name, don’t forget that you were able to buy this apartment for over 200 million yen in full, half of which came from Bronya.” A deadly threat appeared on Bronya’s usually expressionless face. “Your brother still owes Bronya 100 million yen, which is notarized. If Bronya makes you pay it back now, the bank will take the house away tomorrow.”

Shen Liang said helplessly, "What use is a house to you? You're not short of money."

“Just because Bronya isn’t short of money doesn’t mean she can tolerate her brother’s reckless spending. Bronya doesn’t want to raise her brother into a useless person,” Bronya sneered. “She just wants to tell her brother that the house also belongs to Bronya, and it’s wrong to rent it out without Bronya’s consent!”

"Alright, alright, I'll add it now. My dear Miss Bronya, your brother Shen Liang wants to rent a bedroom to Miss Kiana Schariac from Germany. Do you agree?"

The little bunny's usually cold and aloof face instantly turned red as if it had evaporated!

My dearest Miss Bronya!

Honey!

My brother called me, called me...

Overjoyed and in a daze, Bronya had no idea what was being said in the video chat. It wasn't until she heard, "Okay, since you agree, then everything's fine, right? Let's get down to business. We've wasted half an hour already," that she realized she had let Shen Liang fool her like that.

But if she got away with it, so be it. In a great mood, Bronya decided to stop thinking about Kiana. Anyway, there were so many girls in the orphanage, she could just treat her like an orphan too!

"So, brother, what information can be released this time?"

Shen Liang pondered for a while, poured himself a cup of homemade liquor, and spoke:

“As I mentioned before, there is a type of superpowered being in Teyvat called the Eye of God Holder. This time, I can be fairly certain that the Eye of God is a device that controls the seven elements: water, fire, ice, lightning, wind, rock, and grass. Holders possess varying degrees of power to manipulate the elements, and the strength of their control is related to their own strength.”

"For example, Hokuto, the leader of the Southern Cross fleet, possesses superhuman strength, capable of fighting sea beasts as large as whales. After acquiring the Lightning God's Eye, she can unleash lightning bolts tens of meters long with her swords—a power that absolutely surpasses human limits. As for Kaedehara Manyo, a skilled but not top-tier ronin, his wind pressure is more of an aid to his swordsmanship. I suspect he might not even be a match for some martial arts masters. In fact, there are indeed quite a few cases where God's Eye holders are no match for ordinary people."

"The humans of Teyvat are mostly stronger than us Earthlings; even children can easily climb cliffs. I think they live in an ancient society and often deal with monsters and beasts, so naturally they have stronger physiques than Earthlings. But that doesn't mean that ordinary people are invulnerable to bullets and blades. At least I can guarantee that bullets can penetrate them."

"For more powerful wielders of the Eye of God, modern firearms may only have the ability to kill on first sight. Once they realize the terror of firearms, they will dodge or defend themselves. Currently, it seems that the airflow of the Wind Eye of God, the rock walls of the Rock Eye of God, the ice layers created by the Ice Eye, and the magnetic field formed by the electric current released by the Lightning Eye can all stop bullets. Although I haven't seen it, I estimate that water with a strong enough impact force can also stop them, and the same applies to Grass Eye. However, Fire Eye may not be so reliable, as it seems that the high temperature of Fire Eye is unlikely to melt the bullet's alloy instantly."

Chapter Eleven: From Siblings to Sisters with Seele

"Brother, could you be more specific? What kind of bullets could it stop?" Bronya asked.

"Teyvat is not without firearms. Winterland is said to have a relatively complete industrial base. Some Winterland merchants were on the Southern Cross fleet. I saw some simple firearms there. The range was at most 100 meters, but it could only hit birds within 50 meters. The actual threat to humans was only about 20 or 30 meters."

"So, Teyvat is in the transitional era between cold weapons and firearms?" Bronya pondered. "But the powerful abilities of those who possess the Eye of God can be applied to cold weapons, and gifted humans can shoot arrows a thousand meters away, which greatly limits the potential for advancement in firearms."

“Yes, even for ordinary people, a musket is only a threat within thirty meters. But if the holder of the Eye of God is strong enough, even with bare hands, their elemental bursts can reach that distance. And those monsters, and powerful non-human races, are far more lethal than that.” Shen Liang leaned back in the soft fabric sofa, put his legs on the coffee table, and watched the Arlene sisters, who were so engrossed in playing the game that their mouths were agape.

Even the Earth's respect for "science" only began in modern times. More than a hundred years ago, when trains were introduced to China, in order to prevent the noise of the trains from "colliding with the imperial tombs," the locomotives had to be removed and the trains pulled by horses. However, the trains were not as fast as horse-drawn carriages, and the whole country regarded this thing as nothing more than a "strange and ingenious trick."

If Earth is already like this, Teyvat, with its even more convenient and powerful elemental forces, makes scientific progress even more difficult. Because the world systems are different, the definition of "science" is also different. If a technology is found to be impractical early in its development, it will be difficult to continue.

“What a world where gold is everywhere,” Bronya said softly.

Yes, precisely because Teyvat's understanding of science is so rudimentary, all technological products are more likely to become "miracles" in that land!

Countless time-travel novels have already given examples: making soap, glass, gunpowder, or at the very least, being fluent in poetry and prose—just copy and you're good to go! The perk of time travelers is the very word "time travel," so what kind of cheat code do they need?

"Put making money aside for now, brother. What we need to do first is figure out how to protect yourself in that world. You can't just travel through time every time something happens. That should be your trump card. If the people there find out you have the ability to travel, think about it, the things you're worried about here will also be things you're worried about there. Isn't Earth a goldmine for Teyvat?" Bronya was very clear-headed. "You can't let your travel ability be exposed."

To avoid being targeted, one must keep their time travel a secret, whether on Earth or Teyvat. In fact, in Teyvat, a world where even gods exist, revealing one's time travel might lead to even more terrifying consequences!

"Self-preservation..."

Shen Liang and Bronya fell into deep thought together.

If they were on Earth, Bronya wouldn't worry about Shen Liang's safety at all. Rosalia and Lilia were people she specifically sent there, partly to make Shen Liang constantly remember that he was from the orphanage, and partly to protect her defenseless brother.

Although Rosalia and Lilia are young, they are children who have been through the hardships of the Eastern European battlefield. The special agent training in the orphanage did not stump them. They are skilled in everything from hand-to-hand combat to guns, rocket launchers and even tank driving. It is not unreasonable to regard them as special forces soldiers.

But you can't take anyone with you when you time travel. Who can Shen Liang, with his physique of less than 100 pounds, possibly handle? He didn't receive any special agent training at the orphanage; at most, he only knows a couple of basic military boxing moves!

“So learning to shoot is the only option.” Bronya and Shen Liang sighed at the same time.

Shen Liang suddenly remembered something, "Perfect timing, my new tenant is a gun expert and has a legal gun license."

Out of the camera's view, Bronya expressionlessly crushed the can of cola she was drinking from; the emotionless loli was extremely irritable at that moment.

—I was just about to suggest that the Arlene sisters teach you, but are you really that hung up on your white hair? It's just shooting practice, you can just go to a shooting range, why do you have to find opportunities to get along with people? I never saw you being this enthusiastic towards everyone at the orphanage!