While the Sanctum Medicus was being purged by the Divination Commission…
In the game…
Guinaifen had already completed her undercover mission.
After defeating the leader, Violet Rose, she obtained a prescription slip from her called [Draught of Draconic Surge].
This formula was something ordinary alchemists couldn't even begin to comprehend.
It even contained ingredients like the Harmonizing Grass of Slumber!
When Sushang saw it, she was so frightened that she clung to Guinaifen's arm for a long time before calming down.
Guinaifen searched the control terminal.
Muttering to herself: "The genius alchemist of the Alchemy Commission—Master Dan Shu…"
"I wonder when she'll decipher the pharmacology of [Draught of Draconic Surge]?"
While waiting…
Guinaifen opened her character panel.
Her current team consisted of Himeko, Dan Heng, March 7th, and Natasha.
This lineup had worked perfectly fine back in Belobog, but now on the Xianzhou, facing the Mara-Struck, it was starting to feel a bit lacking.
Against elite enemies, like the [Disciples of Sanctus Medicus | Shapeshifter, it was even tougher.
Their health bars would occasionally flicker unpredictably.
There was even a risk of party members suddenly getting one-shot!
So, she decided to seriously optimize her setup.
"When did I get a Fast Firing set with Crit Rate? And it's even a 4-star purple-quality piece?!"
"This is insane! Absolutely cracked!"
After swapping to a full Fast Firing set, Guinaifen nodded in satisfaction.
"I'm terrifyingly strong now!"
Exiting the interface…
Guinaifen suddenly noticed a small red dot on the [Warp] option.
Curious, she tapped it.
A snow-white lion filled the screen.
"Huh? Where's my Seele?"
Guinaifen had been saving up, hoping to secure Seele with a guaranteed pity, but out of nowhere, a new banner had appeared!
Beside the white lion sat a silver-haired man, leaning against the beast with a faint smile, as if dreaming of something pleasant.
"Huh?! W-What is this…?!"
A wave of disbelief surged in Guinaifen's heart.
Her eyes darted to the banner's name in the top-left corner.
[Heavenly Spear's Command]
[5★ Character – Jing Yuan (The Erudition, Lightning) – Rate-Up]
"Jing Yuan… General Jing Yuan is really in the banner?!"
Guinaifen took a deep breath.
The moment she confirmed it—
Her eyes rolled back.
She collapsed onto the couch behind her.
A hand quickly reached out to save her, pressing her philtrum to revive her from the brink of unconsciousness!
"Jing Yuan's in the banner?! How could no one tell me about such a huge thing?!!"
"The character PV dropped half an hour ago! Xiao Guizi, you really don't keep up with Hoyoverse's announcements!"
"I get it, Xiao Guizi. The moment I saw Jing Yuan's banner, I almost passed out from excitement too."
"We can pull for the General now!!"
"Hoyoverse, you've gone too far! I just spent all my savings on Seele, now I have to swipe for two top-ups!"
"I just saw Jing Yuan's PV—"
"That ultimate skill—so cool I almost punched my screen!"
"What are we waiting for?! PULL!!!"
Guinaifen and Sushang sat in front of the screen, watching Jing Yuan's PV.
Their eyes sparkled with excitement!
"I've already saved up over 60 pulls, and I even have a guaranteed pity!"
"One top-up, and General Jing Yuan and his signature Light Cone will be mine!"
Guinaifen eagerly tapped [Warp ×10].
Instead of immediately entering the pulling animation, the screen froze for two seconds before the Astral Express appeared.
Guinaifen didn't mind.
"March 7th? Not bad!"
"Miss Tingyun? Nice!"
"Two Sushangs?! Huge win!"
After 60 pulls, Guinaifen noticed that the featured 4-stars were March 7th, Tingyun, and Sushang.
She was so excited she punched the table!
Even the livestream camera shook from the impact.
"OH MY GOD?!?!"
"Even the 4-stars are all my favorites!!!"
"This is literally my dream banner!!!"
She immediately jumped to the top-up screen.
Rational spending? Financial responsibility? Guinaifen didn't care about any of that now!
Under the absolute power of waifu/husbando love, everything else was meaningless!
However…
The top-up screen didn't even load at first.
The loading circle spun for four or five seconds before she could access it.
Guinaifen swiped without hesitation—as if delaying even a second would make her miss out.
Originally, she planned to only buy one top-up.
But after the first purchase, she felt it wasn't enough and immediately bought two more!
"Let's pull!"
70th Pull:
Obtained [Swordplay] and [Planetary Rendezvous].
80th Pull:
This was her guaranteed pity.
But Guinaifen was still so excited she couldn't stop hyperventilating.
Amidst five golden streaks of light—
[Jing Yuan (NEW) – Lightning – 5★ – The Erudition]
"FINALLY!!!"
After admiring his artwork, she immediately moved to the weapon banner!
60 Pulls Later:
[Before Dawn (NEW) – 5★ – The Erudition]
...
The chat instantly exploded.
"Gimme that luck! Gimme that luck!!"
"Jing Yuan, my destined husband!"
"Manifesting Jing Yuan and his signature Light Cone!"
"I declare Jing Yuan the best man in the world now!!"
"I won't lose! General!"
...
She immediately equipped [Before Dawn] onto Jing Yuan.
This was her first limited 5-star character—and one with his signature 5-star Light Cone!
Excited, she instantly leveled Jing Yuan to max, then went to fight every enemy on the map!
Suddenly…
A new mail notification appeared.
A message from Hoyoverse. Guinaifen didn't dare delay, afraid she'd miss important news.
[Dear Trailblazers: Due to a surge in top-up requests, our payment system experienced temporary instability.]
[We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience and understanding.]
[The issue has been resolved. As compensation, 300 Stellar Jades have been attached to this mail.]
[Hoyoverse reminds everyone: Spend responsibly. Don't get carried away.]
"Spend responsibly?! Impossible!!!"
Guinaifen was already deep into studying Jing Yuan's skills, his synergies, and team compositions.
Seeing the mail's contents, the livestream chat erupted.
"Stop swiping, everyone! Stop!!"
"You guys crashed the banner from sheer spending!"
"According to official reports, in just half an hour, [Stellar Rail]'s payment system overloaded three times!"
"And it's only been half an hour!"
"This is insane! Do Xianzhou players get tax deductions for whaling?!"
"But it's General Jing Yuan we're talking about!"
To be continued…
Advance 100 Chapters are up on my Patreon!
pat reon.com/AlphaSenatus