It must be miHoYo's doing.

The cold moonlight penetrated the thick clouds, casting a bleak silver glow on the pale walls of Mondstadt. Amidst this perpetually frozen land, only the pale spire towering into the clouds shone faintly—the city-state of the solitary king, a prison of ice and snow bought with freedom.

The guards' heavy leather boots clattered on the icy streets, and the clanging of metal armor was particularly harsh in the dead silence of the city. "Hurry up, slaves!" A metal-masked overseer brandished a long whip that gleamed with lightning. "The city wall must be completed today!"

The camera slowly moves down, showing the shocking scene in the city: ragged slaves are carrying huge blocks of ice like zombies, with glowing shackles on their wrists and ankles - this is the "gift" of the lonely king of the tower. Anyone who tries to escape will be instantly frozen into an ice sculpture by these magical shackles.

"Ah!" A thin, blue-haired boy suddenly fell to the ice, the building blocks he was holding in his arms shattering to the ground. The overseer immediately strode over, his whip drawing a dazzling arc of electricity in the air.

Just as the whip was about to fall, a gentle breeze blew past, gently lifting the whip. The overseer looked around in confusion, but saw only a minstrel wearing a green hat leaning against the wall, casually strumming his harp.

"Bad luck!" the overseer cursed as he walked away. The bard—or rather, the wind god Barbatos in human form—watched the boy's back as he scrambled to his feet, a trace of sadness in his emerald eyes that even a thousand years couldn't erase.

"Are you okay?" Wendy walked over to the boy and pulled out an apple from her cloak like a magic trick. "Here, replenish your energy."

The boy accepted the apple with a sense of flattery, taking a cautious bite. "Thank you, thank you... Mr. Bard." He licked his cracked lips. "My name is Wendy, and I'm a stone hauler in District Three."

The current Wind God's hand trembled slightly. He looked at the boy, who had the same short blue hair and emerald green eyes, but a thinner figure. He asked softly, "Do you... like poetry?"

The camera gradually blurred, and Yi Mingni's father hissed and turned into drifting snowflakes, transporting the audience back to that cold winter 2,600 years ago...

………………

(The scene begins to change as Wendy recalls~~)

Thousands of years ago, Mondstadt was completely covered in ice and snow. Only the city built by the demon god, the Tower King, could provide a place for human survival. As a result, countless humans requested to enter the Tower King's city, but in return, they lost their freedom and became his slaves.

As time went on, the oppression became more and more severe. The people in the city suffered terribly, but they had no power to resist.

In a blizzard-ravaged wilderness, a newly born wind spirit floated lightly like a feather. Originally just a tiny wisp among the thousands of winds, it was attracted by a clear song while passing by an abandoned granary.

Inside the granary, a black-haired boy was tracing the shape of a flying bird on the frost on the wall with his fingers. "Bird, fly, bird..." the boy softly chanted a self-composed ballad, "Can you tell me... what the world outside... looks like..."

The wind elf slipped in through a crack in the wall and circled around the boy curiously. The boy's eyes widened in surprise—this was the first time he had ever seen a bioluminescent creature. "Hello... hello."

He held out his hand cautiously. "My name is Wendy, and I'm a...slave." His voice was so soft he could barely hear the last two words.

In the following days, the wind elf came to listen to the boy's singing every day. The boy told it that he had been in this city since he was born and had never seen the scenery outside the city walls.

"I heard that in ancient times, Mondstadt was a land brimming with greenery..." The boy's fingers unconsciously rubbed the shackles around his ankles. "There were singing streams and dancing flowers... But unfortunately, now..."

On a moonlit night, the boy suddenly grabbed the wind elf and said, "Take me... to see the outside world." A faint light flickered in his eyes. "Even... just a glance..."

The escape process was thrilling.

The wind elf exerted all its strength to create a small whirlwind, helping the boy evade the patrolling guards. They crawled along the drainage pipe, nearly being swept away by the flowing icy water. When the boy finally emerged from the city wall and stood on the vast snowy plain, he knelt in the snow and wept silently—tears of joy.

"Is this... what freedom feels like?" The boy opened his arms to welcome the oncoming snowstorm, yet he shivered with cold. The wind spirits circled anxiously around him, then suddenly, with an idea, snuck into the boy's chest. Warm wind elemental power instantly flowed through him.

At this moment, a sharp arrow flew through the air! "Who is it?" A red-haired boy holding a long sword jumped out from behind the rock, followed by a girl carrying a hunting bow.

After a tense standoff between the three, the hunter girl suddenly exclaimed, "Wait! You're wearing slave rags... and shackles... Did you escape from the city?"

In this way, the young Wendy met the red-haired Leggenfind, a descendant of a warrior who was exiled for rebelling against the lonely king of the tower; and the hunter girl, whose parents were hanged on the city wall for poaching to make a living.

Hiding in the cave, the four shared their hard-earned freedom. "It's cold outside..." the young man scooped up the hot water, his breath swirling in the firelight. "But at least... our hearts are warm."

The turning point came during a sudden snowstorm. A hunter girl had gone out to look for food and hadn't returned yet. The three of them were caught in the blizzard while searching. Just as they were about to freeze to death, the wind spirit suddenly unleashed its incredible power, dispelling the surrounding snow.

"Is this... elemental power?" Legenfind looked at the exhausted wind elf in shock. "If... if you could become a demon god..."

"Then we can make the snow in Mondstadt disappear!" the hunter girl suddenly appeared and spoke excitedly. It turned out that she had just gone to contact the resistance group in the city.

Young Wendy was silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up. "It's settled then." His eyes burned with determination. "We must rebel against the Lone King of the Tower, help the Wind Elves attain godhood, and free the people of Mondstadt! Let the land of Mondstadt regain its vitality!"

…………

The ensuing story is both tragic and passionate. Leggenfinder trains the rebels, the hunter girl liaises with resistance groups within the city, and the young Wendy inspires morale with poetry and music. And the wind spirit—it begins to absorb the people's yearning for freedom, its power growing day by day.

The most shocking part is a three-minute long shot: on the night of the uprising, thousands of torches flowed in the city like a river of stars.

The Lone King of the Tower finally showed up. His true form was a hundred-meter-tall ice and snow giant, and every step he took made the earth tremble.

"Ants! I gave you shelter and food!" The towering king's voice echoed like thunder. "And you dare to betray me?! You... are worthy of pursuing freedom?!"

In a fierce street fight, the young Wendy was pierced through the chest by an ice pick while trying to protect a child.

He lay dying in the arms of the wind elf, his blood dyeing the snow red.

"My friend..." The young man smiled and reached out to touch the wind elf. His fingertips began to become transparent. "Please... bring the wind... to Mondstadt..."

His voice grew softer and softer. "I'm going to stop here... Next... please go see the free world outside for me..."

The wind elves roared to the heavens, completing their final transformation amid the prayers of the masses. When Barbatos, the new god of freedom, was born, the blizzard across Mondstadt suddenly ceased. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, marking the first time in thousands of years that the people of Mondstadt had seen the sun.

The moment the tower was torn down, the newly born Wind God transformed into the young Wendy. Standing atop the ruined tower, he struck the first note of his harp—and the warm monsoon began to blow across the frozen land, melting the ice and snow and allowing new sprouts to break through the earth.

"Look! It's dandelions!" The children's surprised shouts resounded throughout the new earth.

The final scene of the animation brought countless viewers to tears - having completed his mission, Barbatos handed over the power of governance to the people of Mondstadt, and walked away with his harp on his back.

Before leaving, he looked back at the newly born Mond, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, exactly the same as the one on the dead boy.

"Now..." Barbatos said softly, "let's go see... this world..."

The screen gradually dimmed and the prelude of the ending theme "Wind and Birds" slowly sounded.

When "Special Thanks: Wendy (Friend)" appeared on the credits, many viewers could no longer control their emotions.

Volume 2 must be done by miHoYo! 乆! :056 The first chapter is finished, and the feedback is overwhelming (1/10)

When the last note of the ending song of the first chapter of "Genshin Impact Animation Mondstadt" dissipated in the air, the entire Dragon Kingdom seemed to be paused.

In the Lan family's villa's audio-visual room, the 100-inch 8K screen still held the final image: Barbatos, transformed into the young Wendy, walking away with his harp strapped to his back. A fine mist of mist formed on Mr. Lan's reading glasses. The weathered veteran involuntarily straightened his back and sighed deeply.

"Grandpa..." Lan Yue sobbed and looked at the old man, the tear marks on her face shining in the light.

"Excellent work." The old man's voice was a little hoarse, his fingers gently stroking the dragon-headed cane. "This is...real art."

Lan Yang stood silently in front of the French window. He knew that miHoYo had adapted the game based on a true story from another world, but did that world have such a legendary story?

Lin Xiaosa was already crying like a baby, burying her face in Lan Yue's shoulder: "I...I will never ask Wendy to sing for money again...Wuwu..."

Meanwhile, in a luxury apartment complex in Shanghai, the reactions of Gu Jingyan and his sister were equally moving. Gu Jingyan, usually known for his calm and objective demeanor, camera in hand, frantically wiped away tears. His sister, Gu Xiaoqing, threw herself into her brother's arms, sobbing breathlessly.

"Brother...that boy...he could obviously..." Gu Xiaoqing's voice was muffled in her brother's shirt.

Gu Jingyan patted his sister's back gently, unable to look away from the screen. "He chose freedom... for everyone..."

The atmosphere in the private screening room at miHoYo headquarters was particularly solemn. Jean's knight gloves were soaked with tears as she stared blankly at Wendy, who sat in the front row. The usually unruly bard was now gazing up at the starry sky, a smile still playing on his lips, but the tears in his eyes betrayed his true emotions.

Diluk's fingers unconsciously stroked the rim of his wine glass. The usually calm and composed winery owner now had a complicated look in his eyes. "So... this is how you always..."

"Hey~" Wendy suddenly turned his head, and the familiar naughty smile returned to his face, "It's all in the past~" But his voice was much softer than usual, like a dandelion blown away by the wind.

Lisa, for once, put away her lazy demeanor, the book in her hands already closed. "No wonder you've been so reluctant to tell your story..."

Kaiya leaned against the wall, his masked smile cracking for the first time. "How about you just forget about the wine money you owed from Angel's Gift..."

"Hey, hey! You can't deny this!" Wendy waved his hands exaggeratedly, but everyone could see that he was trying to change the subject.

Paimon floated in the air, wiping away tears with his hands: "Wow... Traveler... Can we buy more cider for Wendy next time..."

Meanwhile, the entire internet was in an uproar. The top ten trending searches on Weibo were all dominated by related topics:

#Original God animation makes me cry#

#WendyFriends#

#TV station ratings hit a new high#

#The wind of freedom blows across the entire network#

Discussion threads on a well-known forum are being updated at a rate of hundreds per second:

[User A]: This is fucking art! This is cultural output! My mom just finished reading it with me and asked me when the second chapter would be released!

[User B]: 15% viewership ratings... This has already crushed all prime-time TV dramas, right?

[User C]: MiHoYo has really nailed it this time. From the graphics to the music to the narrative, it's all movie-quality.

[User D]: Now I finally understand why Wendy always says "Mondstadt is the capital of freedom"... the weight behind this...

[User E]: I cried like a fool when that boy died, but then I found out that Wendy had been living in his image... I burst into tears again

The official Weibo account of the national television station released rare viewing data: the first episode of "Genshin Impact Animation: Mondstadt" achieved an average national audience rating of 15.2%, peaking at 18.7%, setting a new viewership record for television dramas in the past decade. The comment section instantly flooded with tens of thousands of messages, the most popular of which read: "Recommend replay! Recommend replay! Recommend replay!"

Later in Lin Xiaosa's livestream, the usually lively girl fell silent for over ten minutes before speaking: "Everyone... I might not be able to continue the livestream today..." Her voice was distinctly nasal, "I need to... process this..."

Surprisingly, the comments were surprisingly consistent:

[Hug Sa-chan]

[We all understand]

[See you tomorrow]

[Buy Wendy a cider]

In a university dormitory group chat, six boys were frantically scrolling through the screen:

"Who understands, guys? I called my dad right after watching it."

"My grandma just asked me why I was kneeling to watch TV"

"I want to cry when I see the wind blowing outside the window now."

"Look! CCTV has released a special! 'Exploring Cultural Innovation Through the Genshin Impact Animation'!"

Indeed, within just two hours of the animation's conclusion, major state media outlets published commentaries. The most notable was a commentary titled "What is Freedom in the New Era?" It specifically noted: "...when our young people can collectively shed tears over a story about 'freedom,' it demonstrates that we truly understand the weight of this word..."

…………

It was three in the morning in Los Santos, and the Xiaoyu Technology headquarters was still brightly lit. Inside Jack's office, seventeen curved screens flashed different data charts simultaneously, each displaying terrifying statistics for the "Genshin Impact Animation: Mondstadt" series—a 15.2% viewership rating, an 18.7% peak, and... 0.3% for the "Eternal Realm" anime.

"boom!"

The crystal ashtray smashed against the bulletproof glass, creating spiderweb-like cracks. Jack's face was horribly distorted under the cold light of the monitor. He loosened his tie, his expensive Armani suit already soaked with sweat.

"Show me all the comparison data!" he demanded, his voice gnashing out from between his teeth. "I want to know how they did it!"

The technical director swiped his trembling fingers across the tablet, and a set of brutal comparison charts were projected onto the main screen:

Picture accuracy: Genshin Impact animation is 98.7% close to movie level vs other animations 52.1% mediocre

Emotional resonance index: 9.8/10 vs 4.2/10

Social media discussion volume: 470 million vs. 8

"That's impossible..." Jack snatched the tablet away, his finger practically poking through the screen. "How long have they been around? Our partners are some of the most famous companies in the animation industry, aren't they?!"

In a corner of the office, the marketing director said cautiously, "Boss, after our game 'Eternal Realm' launched on Netflix, the comments were all... "

"What is it?!" Jack turned around suddenly, anger burning in his eyes.

She swallowed. "It's all 'I might as well watch the cutscenes in Honkai Impact 3rd'..."

"Snapped!"

The tablet in Jack's hand shattered. He paced around the office like a trapped animal, his Italian leather shoes making a sharp sound on the glass shards.

"Contact the animation studio over at Sakurajima!" He suddenly stopped. "Have them issue a statement saying that miHoYo's animation definitely plagiarized Sakurajima's techniques!"

The PR director wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Well... Sakurajima Animation Association just tweeted that Genshin Impact is a 'milestone in the new era of animation industry'..."

"What?!" Jack grabbed Tom by the collar, "Those opportunistic bastards! They took so much money from us last year..."

Just then, the office door flung open. A pale-faced secretary rushed in: "Boss! Something terrible has happened! Our stock price... plummeted 15% at the opening! The board of directors is holding an emergency meeting!"

Jack stumbled back, knocking over the coffee stand behind him. The scalding Americano had stained his tailored suit, but he couldn't feel the heat anymore. "15%...that's...seven billion dollars..."

The technical director stared at the news alert that suddenly popped up, his voice trembling. "It's even worse... Gaming forums... are launching a campaign to boycott the VR version of Eternal Realm..."

Jack suddenly fell silent. This silence was even more terrifying than his previous rage. He slowly walked to the French window, overlooking the early morning lights of Los Angeles.

"MiHoYo..." His fingers scratched the glass, making a sharp sound. "I want you to pay!"

Volume 2 must be done by miHoYo! 乆! : 057 The Ice Queen's Defeat (2/10)

Tianming doesn’t care how popular the animation is on Blue Star or what tricks Xiaoyu Technology is up to.

Because, just the day after the Genshin Impact animation was broadcast, Tianming encountered some minor troubles.

The Ice Queen Alexandra, who had been tricked by Tianming once before, got a membership quota from somewhere and activated the signing space on the terminal bracelet. After completing the 20 draws for novices, she was now frantically requesting an interview in the private chat channel.