Genshin Impact, the spear remains.

As the raindrops fell on the grass, Bai Qiyun closed his eyes.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a chill suddenly crept up his shoulder, waking him from his sleep.

"Ha ha...."

Still in shock, Bai Qiyun gasped for breath. Without thinking, he grabbed his backpack and ran out of the tent.

The rain outside showed no signs of letting up; raindrops the size of beans pelted his face, making it difficult for him to open his eyes.

The next second, a huge axe came flying through the air and cleaved the tent behind him in two.

"Hichurst thugs?"

Looking at the monster standing not far away with an axe in its hand, Bai Qiyun called out its name without hesitation.

But why would a Hilichurl thug appear in a place like this? He had thoroughly searched the area before nightfall and found no trace of Hilichurls.

Using his elemental vision, Bai Qiyun barely managed to confirm the opponent's movements in the torrential rain, dodging their attacks while pulling out self-defense items from his backpack.

The guide I bought said that all you need to deal with this kind of Hilichurl is a small bomb, so he should be able to handle this guy.

A gleaming iron axe, washed clean by the rain, came hurtling towards him. Bai Qiyun stepped onto the rain-soaked grass, slipped, and before he knew it, several strands of his hair were shaved off.

When the axe blade crossed his profile, Bai Qiyun even thought he was going to die there.

However, since the other party missed this opportunity, he should repay them properly.

"snort."

A sinister smile crept onto the boy's lips as he gripped two A202s in his right hand, poised to fire.

An expression never before shown to humans appeared on the boy's face for the first time.

Ask yourself, would you feel sorry for a monster?

The answer is, no.

The A202, mixed with purple powder, exploded in front of the Hilichurl thug. The leaping lightning and rain triggered an electrocution reaction, freezing the Hilichurl thug and his axe in place.

Seeing this, Bai Qiyun was overjoyed and took out two A201 explosives made of fire elemental force. He had tested these explosives before and found them to be quite powerful, capable of delivering a fatal blow to the big, dumb guy in front of him.

"drink!"

To throw more powerfully, Bai Qiyun swallowed several mouthfuls of rainwater and shouted in the downpour.

The two cans of A201 flew like arrows towards the still paralyzed Hilichurl thugs.

In Bai Qiyun's eyes, he could already foresee the scene of the other party being blown to death.

However, a few seconds later, even the lightning elemental power that A202 had attached to the opponent was completely exhausted, but the newly thrown A201 still did not explode.

Bai Qiyun's face turned pale as he gradually realized something was wrong.

Could it be that the torrential rain interfered with the elemental structure of the prototype? If so, wouldn't all the stuff he had become junk?

After realizing that he was now a helpless cook, Bai Qiyun took off running.

Faster, faster!

He gritted his teeth, squeezing out every last bit of his strength, just to leave this place as quickly as possible.

With his shoes treading on the slippery grass, the boy continued to dash deeper into the rain-shrouded depths.

"Aww~"

Suddenly, a huge footstep came from the ground behind him, like some large monster stepping on it, which startled Bai Qiyun so much that he quickly turned around to look.

A Hilichurl thug wielding a shield charged toward Bai Qiyun, who had only taken a few steps. His speed was far greater than that of an average person running, and in the blink of an eye, he was behind the boy.

Oh no!

The instant the thought flashed through his mind, a huge wooden shield swung over and slammed into Bai Qiyun's body.

The boy was thrown into the flowing river beside him without any chance to fight back, and disappeared without a trace.

Perhaps not expecting the human to be so easy to deal with, the Wood Shield Hilichurl circled the shore for a while, and when it didn't see anything floating up, it left on its own.

"Ugh... Ugh"

Raindrops falling from the sky pounded on the water's surface, creating ripples.

Beneath the surface, Bai Qiyun struggled incessantly, trying to get closer to the shore, but no matter how hard he tried, he could only stay in place, as if something was holding him back.

The shore, which was once so close, now seemed to be surrounded by high walls, with even a short distance feeling like an insurmountable chasm.

The darkness beneath the water's surface no longer holds light.

Every time the boy reached out his hands, it was in vain.

Breathing became difficult, and consciousness became blurred.

There seems to be a sound in my ear, but what could it be?

Bai Qiyun closed his eyes, and the world fell silent.

"A chef is simply someone who cooks for others."

In the darkness, it was the old man's voice that kept the last vestige of clarity in his fading consciousness.

Persistence is sometimes a talent; there's no need to underestimate yourself.

Mr. Zhongli's voice, which seemed to pierce through people's hearts, resonated in his mind, giving him renewed strength.

Cooking showdown! Cooking showdown!

The girl's voice, seemingly brimming with boundless energy, rang in his ears, bringing him back to his senses. A flood of memories overwhelmed him.

It was autumn three years ago. Xiangling, who thought her cooking skills had greatly improved, stood in front of him with a smug look on her face. She had a record of seven losses and zero wins, but she didn't care at all and issued another challenge.

Of course, he eventually defeated this guy who could do three things at once – studying, martial arts, and cooking – with his experience.

But from that time onward, something was already beginning to show.

"Hmph, next time, next time I'll definitely win!"

Watching Xiangling run along, it was the first time Bai Qiyun realized that there was a high wall called "talent" between the two of them.

Even with her multitasking, Xiangling still managed to slightly outperform the other team in the final cooking competition.

From that time on, he stopped focusing on the food itself, because he understood that some things cannot be compensated for by "persistence".

As a genius, it is natural that he cannot understand the suffering of ordinary people.

Xiangling was like this, and so was the old man.

So whenever the old man scolded him with a stern look and a glare, he would stand obediently in front of him and take the scolding.

Because he knew that arguing was useless; a thick barrier had already formed between them.

Separated by high walls, they will never be able to understand each other.

Forever and ever.

In a daze, Bai Qiyun seemed to see the girl sleeping soundly in front of him.

The underwater world was pitch black, but the figure of the girl was so clear.

He reached out his hands, wanting to touch her.

Closer, even closer.

But the vortex behind him kept tearing at the boy, preventing him from taking another step forward.

It was only a step away, yet it felt as if something was blocking his way, a reality he could never reach.

No one knew that kind of thing better than him.