Chapter 283: with translation of chapter title

Teyvat.

"Liúyún, come in, the hall master has already left."

"In the private room of New Moon Pavilion, tea fragrance wafted. As Xiányún pushed the door open, Zhōnglí sat properly by the window, holding a cup of clear tea, gazing into the distance at the myriad lights of Liyue Harbor."

"Sovereign." Xiányún stepped forward quickly, her sleeves bringing a gust of clear wind, "The scenery in the heavens, have you seen it? Those Wind Wings are essential gear for adventurers on the continent, yet now they actually appear in the space station of the Black Tower. Sovereign, could it be that beyond Teyvat… there are already visitors?"

Zhōnglí's fingertip lightly rubbed the rim of the tea cup; after a moment of silence he slowly said: "In over six thousand years, Teyvat has indeed had visitors from beyond the heavens come."

Xiányún's eyes lit up: "Have you seen them?"

Zhōnglí raised his brows, his eyes deep as rock: "I have. Aside from that Traveler, I have also seen a lady from another world. That lady once roamed all of Teyvat; perhaps she is still wandering this world now."

"As for those Wind Wings—" Zhōnglí shook his head, "If it weren't for that lady from another world taking them away from Teyvat… it's a pity, but what I know now is probably not much different from what you know."

"Then… according to the Sovereign's view, will the outside world bring a threat to Teyvat, to our Liyue?"

Zhōnglí nodded, his tone as gentle as ever, yet with added firmness: "…it will bring a threat, but there's no need to worry excessively."

"Oh? Sovereign, what do you mean?"

"In the blink of a Star God, the universe overturns more than half, myriad worlds vanish like dust. Such power, even the authority of the Archons or the principles of heavenly law, cannot hope to match it."

"When disaster looms in the future, needless to worry like the man who feared the sky would fall; but when disaster actually strikes…"

Zhōnglí did not continue speaking; his fingertip lightly stroked the cup's rim, his gaze lowered slightly, as if contemplating the tea leaves floating and sinking in the cup, or as if gazing through the tea broth toward a more distant past.

Silence was the best answer; Xiányún understood, and so she asked no more.

Outside the private room, the storyteller's voice drifted faintly, recounting the ancient legend of the Geo Archon subduing sea beasts. Xiányún caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye of Zhōnglí's lips curling into a barely perceptible bitter smile, but it vanished instantly, as if it were merely her illusion.

—— -> This line is just a separator: "——". We need to output 【17】 with translation? The line is just em dash. Should we translate as "——"? Probably keep as "——". So output 【17】 ——.

"Lúnnàdé enthusiastically showed Xīng the Black Tower Lady's collection, such as the Aligning Gun and the like, but Xīng's mind was completely elsewhere."

"She saw in the display case opposite a broken red greatsword, hovering in midair, pulled by an unknown force, outlining the contour of the broken blade. Its mottled surface resembled a scorched plain, telling of its past."

"A sudden wave of warmth brushed past her cheeks, lingering near Xīng's ears."

—— -> separator again.

Honkai 3.

"This sword…" Jizi quietly stared at the broken greatsword, her brows slightly furrowed. An inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up in her heart, as if this broken weapon had once trembled in her hands, cutting through the darkness of despair.

"Huh——" Qiyana exclaimed in surprise, "Auntie Jizi, the design of this greatsword actually matches your Valkyrie armor quite well."

"Qiyana…… judging from just a few shards of the broken sword, how did you tell it matches Teacher Jizi's armor?" Yaya quietly examined the remaining fragment of the sword, "And broken like this, the wielder must have undergone an extraordinary battle."

"Indeed, if Auntie Jizi's weapon became like that……" The girl merely thought a bit, then immediately shook her head: "Never mind, never mind, that's too inauspicious!"

Watching the girl's twin tails swaying left and right, Jizi suddenly laughed "pfft", reached out and rubbed Qiyana's head: "Who can say what the future holds?"

"But——"

Her hand slowly moved down, pressing onto Qiyana's shoulder, her voice firm: "As your instructor and captain, no matter how my weapon is broken, I will do my utmost to protect each of you, not letting you fall into danger."

"Huh?! Auntie Jizi, don't say such things!"

"This is my principle." Jizi's lips curled into a smile, "Come on, the next lesson should be combat training. Qiyana, since you said to let me worry less, then this combat practice will have me as your opponent."

—— -> separator.

"Xīng stood to the side observing the Black Tower's curios, while Lúnnàdé stood beside him reasoning things out, and he actually managed to figure out a few clues: he recalled that among the Black Tower's curios there was a game cartridge called 'Punk Luo De Spirit', which also appears on the list of missing curios."

"Lúnnàdé speculated that Silver Wolf's actions on the space station were merely a diversion; she didn't actually take the Star Core, but rather that 'Punk Luo De Spirit' game cartridge!"

"Xīng nodded; the Star Core Hunter indeed didn't take the Star Core, because the Star Core was taken by her."

"The Star Core Hunter's actions will instead become a smokescreen for our investigation. Impressive, truly a fellow of Punk Luo De." Lúnnàdé clicked his tongue in amazement."

"Although Xīng thought this guy was over-interpreting, she still was willing to accompany him to the surveillance room; but after some investigation, the facts slapped them in the face—Lúnnàdé discovered that this curio had never left the space station, but had been sent into the Black Tower Lady's office."

"This is the only lead; Lúnnàdé wouldn't give up, so Xīng had to accompany him to the Black Tower's office."

"But just as Xīng pushed open the door to the Black Tower's office, she felt a chill on the back of her neck——the air was filled with a subtle gunpowder smell, and unfortunately the fuse had already been lit. Black Tower and the Screw Golem stared at each other, the atmosphere tense."

"'Don't even think about it.' The Black Tower doll suddenly crossed its arms, voice rising a few notches: 'I'll say it again—I don't care what rumors Ruàn Méi is feeding you, wanting to shut down the simulated universe? Not a chance!'"

"'Black Tower, this is my decision.' The Screw Golem's tone remained calm and gentle: 'Question: what have we invested in this project? Hundreds of hours of system time, an entire planet's resources, and the most advanced technology in the universe. What have we gained? Unknowns, doubts, and a string of error reports.'"

"'The simulated universe needs errors, that's your own words; the current state clearly meets perfection, why aren't you satisfied?'"

"'I appreciate the flow of knowledge, but Black Tower, think about it—how much surprise has this project given you? Think again—how much disappointment has it given you?'"

"The simulated universe never lets me down; what lets me down is you... screw. Do you think you're amazing? You're just like a, a... a member of the idiot club."