With only 72 hours to complete the challenge, Lu Chen made a few quick preparations and then set out with Venti in a car headed toward the city outskirts.
They were riding in a high-displacement off-road vehicle. Lu Chen sat in the front passenger seat, while Venti lounged lazily in the back.
The car had been borrowed from Zhang Zikai. Lu Chen had originally thought about renting one himself, but the process was too complicated—and he didn't even have a driver's license yet—so he dropped the idea.
Since fieldwork might become more frequent in the future, he figured it was time to buy his own vehicle. Given his current finances, a spacious off-road vehicle like this would be ideal.
Though it was his first mission outside the city and he had little time to prepare, Lu Chen still brought all the essentials: survival gear like a sleeping bag, tent, and water bottle. Most of the important supplies were stored in his system, so he appeared light and travel-ready, like he was heading out on a casual countryside trip.
What really stunned the driver, though, was what Venti brought—he'd stuffed the trunk full of alcohol. The driver glanced at the cargo and seriously wondered if these two were smuggling liquor.
He kept stealing glances at them throughout the drive, praying they wouldn't get pulled over by traffic police.
Fortunately, traffic was light, and the farther they drove, the fewer people and cars they encountered.
At first, Venti found the ride novel and interesting, but he quickly grew bored. He stared out the window, occasionally jotting down notes in his notebook.
He was composing music. One song wasn't enough for an album, so he'd decided to blend Mondstadt's style with this world's popular tunes, hoping to bring a refreshing touch to a restless world.
He had no choice—Tony kept calling to pester him for new songs, which was wearing his patience thin.
Inspiration couldn't be rushed...
While Venti quietly worked in the back seat, the driver didn't dare strike up a conversation. The journey remained peaceful and quiet.
Around 3 p.m., the scenery outside began to change noticeably. It grew more barren and remote. Lu Chen rolled down the window, and a gust of icy wind blew in, making the driver shiver.
The mission location was southwest of the city, right at the border of two municipalities. It was sparsely populated, with distant mountains rising and falling on the horizon.
Even though they'd only been on the road for a few hours and the altitude wasn't particularly high, it felt like spring had suddenly turned to winter.
"So cold..." Venti put down his sheet music and stared in surprise out the window.
He blew warm air into his hands. "Feels so familiar... like we're back on a snowy mountain!"
"It's not snowing, but yeah, it's pretty chilly. Weird," the driver commented.
Lu Chen chuckled. The driver had misunderstood.
What Venti meant by "snowy mountain" was Mondstadt's Dragonspine.
This sudden shift from spring warmth to winter chill was indeed reminiscent of that mountain, which wasn't governed by natural climate or latitude, but by the icy winds brought by the Nail of the Cold Sky.
As for this barren mountain, the mission had already explained its sudden freeze—ley line abnormalities.
With the two worlds gradually merging, extreme elemental anomalies from Teyvat had begun to seep into the real world.
The system had marked the mission location, so Lu Chen guided the driver up into the hills. Along the way, they passed abandoned farmland—though it was spring, none of the crops had survived. Everything was withered and frozen.
Some roads had been closed off, with uniformed investigators gathered nearby. At the base of the mountain, they spotted cameras and journalists. This was clearly the farm that had made the news.
Meteorologists were probably scratching their heads, but only Lu Chen knew the true cause behind the bizarre weather.
When the paved roads ended, the SUV bumped along a dirt track through the countryside. The air grew colder by the minute, prompting Lu Chen to pull on the thick coat he had packed earlier.
Eventually, the car couldn't go any farther. Lu Chen grabbed his backpack, and Venti hopped out too, casually pulling a few bottles of wine from the trunk.
As agreed, the driver would wait at the foot of the mountain, though he'd have to drive a bit back to find a safer place to park—there wasn't a single house or store in sight.
"You two seriously going up there?" The driver was completely baffled. This remote mountain, cold as winter—what could they possibly be doing up there?
"Just wait for my call." Lu Chen didn't bother explaining, simply mimed making a phone call.
As the car drove away, Venti muttered, worried the driver might sneak a sip of his stash. "Why didn't we just fly here?"
"Too eye-catching." Lu Chen rubbed his hands to fend off the cold. He clearly remembered the crowd of reporters gathered at the mountain base—getting caught on camera would be a real headache.
Following the coordinates from the system, they started climbing toward the summit. Luckily, the mountain wasn't very tall—just bitterly cold.
Seeing the area was deserted, Venti used his Anemo powers to boost their speed.
By the time they reached halfway up the mountain, snow had started falling. Large flakes drifted through the air—an incredibly rare sight for a coastal city in spring.
It was May, yet the mountain was blanketed in snow. The scenery was beautiful, but the cold was brutal. Lu Chen felt less like he was scaling a suburban hill and more like he was trekking up Mount Everest.
For some reason, his mind drifted to the Pyro Vision lying quietly in his system's inventory.
He hadn't yet awakened the talent to use Pyro—but maybe this mission would change that.
Sure enough, opportunity came quickly. Deep within the snow-laden forest, he spotted several icy blue, dumpling-shaped creatures bouncing around near a frozen stream.
Cryo Slimes!
"Training time," Venti said with a sip of vodka, his whole body warming. "I don't need to get involved, right?"
"Of course not!" Lu Chen hadn't fought in a while and was itching for action.
He drew his Blunt Sword and crept toward the Slimes, circling around a tree for cover.
These Cryo Slimes were all level 50 and up. They radiated dense Cryo energy, forming tough outer shells like blocks of ice—hard to crack through.
Thinking of this, Lu Chen silently switched to the Debate Club.
As the first Slime noticed him, Lu Chen activated his talent, [Song of the High Sky], channeling Anemo energy to leap into the air.
He dodged the Slime's charge and, riding the wind current, soared above its head. With a loud whoosh, he brought the heavy Debate Club crashing down.
"Take this!"
Several of the Slimes' Cryo shells shattered instantly. After landing, Lu Chen swung the weapon in a wide arc, sweeping the remaining Slimes into a heap of slime condensate.
This wasn't mindless bashing—Lu Chen knew that Cryo Slimes' shells were best melted with Pyro, but lacking that ability for now, he relied on brute-force physical damage to break through.
Lowering the heavy Debate Club left him panting. Behind him, Venti clapped cheerfully, watching the show.
"Bravo! Well done!"
But it wasn't over yet. Three Slimes on the outskirts had escaped the initial attack.
Still encased in Cryo shells, their round eyes locked onto Lu Chen as they crept closer, emanating a bitter chill.
One of them was significantly larger than the rest—clearly a stronger, elite variant.
"Ooh, danger alert." Venti leaned against a tree, taking another sip of vodka. "Let's see how you handle this one."