Genshin Impact: Back From Teyvat - The Archon Follows Me Home!

On a sunny afternoon, the blazing sunlight made the river shimmer and sparkle.

The aquatic plants on both banks swayed gently in the breeze. Lu Chen enjoyed the cool air as he parted the weeds and found a spot with a wide, open view.

A fishing competition was underway by the river. The loser would get to enjoy a happy, smoky grilling session...

and also clean up the trash.

Lu Chen glanced at Venti in the distance. He hadn't caught anything yet, which made Lu Chen feel a bit more at ease.

He sat on a large rock and cast his bamboo-like fishing rod into the water.

Then he gazed at the rippling surface and quietly waited.

After a while, ripples suddenly spread across the water.

The circles grew wider and wider, the thin fishing line pulled taut, water splashing at the surface.

A fish had taken the bait—but not on Lu Chen's line.

He looked toward Venti. Venti was shouting excitedly and gripping his fishing rod tightly, pulling it upward with force.

"I got one! I got one!"

A grass carp over ten centimeters long flailed in Venti's hand. He quickly placed it in the net bag soaking in the river.

Then he shot a smug glance at Lu Chen.

"What are you so proud of... It's just the first one," Lu Chen clicked his tongue.

Why isn't mine biting? Didn't the system promise only premium products?

It can't be letting me down now!

The grilling and trash duty didn't matter—Lu Chen just wanted to take Venti down a notch.

But as he was thinking this, Venti had hooked another one...

"Mmm~ second one!"

This one was even bigger than the last, flapping energetically in Venti's hand.

Lu Chen stared in disbelief, starting to suspect there might be something special about Venti's bait.

"Come on already!" Lu Chen glanced at his Wishful rod and muttered, "Don't let me down now!"

"Eh? Chen, you still haven't caught one?"

Ei appeared with a small stool and sat down behind him.

Great, now Ei's here... I'm about to embarrass myself...

Ei covered her mouth and laughed. "You shouldn't have bet against Venti."

"I was just following your example," Lu Chen said, patting the spot beside him with a grin.

"You just won seven boxes of desserts off him. With a boss that strong, I couldn't fall behind!"

Ei gave the rock where Lu Chen was sitting a doubtful look and didn't sit.

Lu Chen took off his thin sun-protection jacket, folded it neatly, and placed it beside him, patting it again.

Ei sat on Lu Chen's jacket and leaned against him.

As the breeze blew past, Lu Chen and Ei watched the shimmering river and enjoyed the peaceful moment.

Lu Chen thought this was nice, too—his earlier competitive streak suddenly faded.

Just sitting quietly with Ei like this, doing nothing at all, wasn't boring in the slightest.

After a long while, ripples spread across the still river again.

This time, it wasn't on Venti's side—it was Lu Chen's.

"Finally!"

Lu Chen didn't dare speak loudly, afraid of scaring the fish away. He gripped the rod lightly, staying perfectly still.

Ei's eyes followed his line, filled with anticipation.

"My god!" Lu Chen nearly lost his grip—he almost let the rod fly out of his hands.

This fish is strong! He could feel it biting hard, so he quickly pulled up.

The bamboo rod bent into a deep arc.

Venti looked over, clearly surprised.

The bamboo rod was curved like a bow—no doubt about it, this was a big fish.

But Lu Chen wasn't going to let it go. With his stamina, he could lift a fishing boat. He gripped the rod tightly and pulled upward with all his strength.

The fish held on for a few seconds, but in the end, Lu Chen overpowered it.

With one final lift, the rod bent into an astonishing arc, looking as if it might snap at any moment.

With a splash, water burst into the air. A thick, dark shape, as long as an arm, burst from the river.

"What a huge fish!"

Everyone looked over.

Lu Chen dragged the fish to shore—it was nearly a meter long, even bigger than his arm.

"Quick! Ei, get the net!"

"Oh! Ah!" Ei finally reacted, hurried over, and scooped the massive grass carp into the net.

Aside from Venti, everyone gathered around in curiosity. The fish was fat and heavy, at least 40 jin, flopping around powerfully on the shore.

Lu Chen stashed his prize and looked smugly at Venti.

"Something's off..." Venti frowned, then realization struck.

"You're cheating!!"

"Huh?" Lu Chen casually cast another line and shrugged. "How am I cheating?"

"I forgot—you've got a system! That rod is from your system, it must have special abilities!"

Lu Chen grinned. "The rules never said I couldn't use it. You can use one too!"

"I don't have one!" The more Venti thought about it, the angrier he got. He felt like he'd been tricked.

Their fishing battle had now reached a fever pitch. With Wishful's buff, Lu Chen's catches just kept getting bigger—three large fish already, and the net was full.

Venti wasn't giving up either. He kept fishing nonstop—though his were small to medium, he was hauling them in fast, and his net was filling up too.

"This won't do... this won't do..." Venti sensed danger and looked back at Zhongli.

Old Master Zhong, the referee, was sitting on a small stool with a thermos in hand, watching calmly. He looked more like a seasoned fisherman than either of them.

Whether the winner would be determined by quantity or weight was up to Zhongli's final ruling.

But no matter the criteria, Lu Chen was clearly pulling ahead. Venti's waters were nearly fished out, while Lu Chen seemed to have cheat mode enabled—fish after fish kept coming...

No—he did have cheat mode!

Venti raised his rod and snorted coldly. He was going to cheat too!

"Wind, obey my command—"

As soon as he spoke, the water suddenly churned under the force of an Anemo gale.

Lu Chen watched in surprise as a big fish beneath the surface was scared off.

"You!" Lu Chen pointed at Venti, about to accuse him of cheating—but he held back.

Fine! If you're going to be shameless, I won't hold back either!

Lu Chen picked up a large rock, wrapped it in Anemo, and hurled it forcefully. The water on Venti's side exploded like a depth charge had gone off.

"Hah! Anemo?" Venti scoffed. "You've got a long way to go!"

Venti pointed ahead, and the river roared. Lu Chen watched in astonishment—a real-life Moses parting the Red Sea!

Venti's Anemo cleaved the river in two, exposing the muddy riverbed.

And the poor fish left floating in the air were wrapped in Anemo and sent flying toward the shore, one after another.

Lu Chen: "..."

I have to admit—you really know how to play.

The divine power that once reshaped Mondstadt's landscape, now used to blow up fish.

"Ei! We can't lose!" Lu Chen immediately regained his fighting spirit and called for reinforcements.

Ei looked at him, puzzled.

"Help me! I want fish—lots of fish!" Lu Chen pointed ahead.

"Oh... okay."

Ei nodded quietly, then walked to the riverbank and slowly raised a long blade crackling with lightning overhead.

The air grew heavy with tension. The riverside plants bent and swayed wildly, and the sky began to darken.

"Now—let there be annihilation!"