I, from the Celestial Empire, have parachuted into Teyvat.

"I've often heard of Mr. Kurishu, the president of the Universal Commerce Association on Inazuma Island."

Kuri hurriedly replied, "I am ashamed, you are too kind to me."

"Mr. Kurishu, please hurry up and leave. This batch of goods still needs to be transported back to the Chamber of Commerce."

"Ah, yes, thank you so much for your help. The World Chamber of Commerce will always remember your kindness."

After Kyurisu left, the crowd was dispersed by the Imperial Guard. Kizawa Nagahiro said helplessly, "Lord Ivan, why did you run out without notifying us again?"

Ivan rolled his eyes: "Tell you? If I told you, would I still be able to get out of here?"

Muze Nagahiro said with a wry smile, "But if you keep running around like this, not only will the General be very worried, but if something happens, the General could take our lives."

"I just came to the outlying island, how could anything happen to me?"

With a bitter face, Muzawa Nagahiro said, "You also said... if I hadn't arrived in time, you might have been in trouble?"

"Uh, it was an accident. I'll be more careful next time."

"You'll do it again...?"

Ignoring Muzawa Nagahiro's endless complaints, Ivan took out his phone from his pocket. The status bar at the top of the phone showed a no signal. Looking up at the vast ocean, Ivan couldn't help but sigh.

"Forget it, let's go back."

Kizawa Nagahiro paused for a moment, then hurriedly caught up with Ivan.

"Lord Ivan, please wait for me..."

Chapter 147 The Relentless General

In the eyes of most Teyvats.

Inatsume is a country full of mystery.

Inazuma is located in the far sea southeast of Liyue, separated by a vast ocean, and the two countries are very far apart.

Inazuma is a typical archipelago nation, consisting of countless neighboring islands of varying sizes. It's common to be greeted by a mouthful of fishy sea breeze while walking the streets of Inazuma.

Inazuma is ruled by General Thunder, one of the Seven Rulers of the Mortal Realm. General Thunder, a believer in eternity, has cast violent lightning spells across the seas surrounding Inazuma to achieve this goal, making it nearly impossible for ordinary ships to pass. Furthermore, under his orders, Inazuma has maintained a policy of isolation for many years. Foreigners find it difficult to enter Inazuma, and the people of Inazuma find it equally difficult to leave, making Inazuma a seemingly secluded kingdom on the continent of Teyvat. This is the main reason why most people find Inazuma shrouded in mystery.

As for why Ivan is here, that's a long story.

Nearly a month ago, during the final battle against the Vortex Demon God, Ivan was unable to retreat in time at the moment of the Vortex Demon God's self-destruction. To protect everyone, Ivan established a connection with the Heart of the Rock God, releasing a protective barrier strong enough to withstand a massive attack, confining himself and the Vortex Demon God within it. Facing the terrifying energy generated by the Vortex Demon God's self-destruction, Ivan originally thought he would definitely not survive, but unexpectedly, at the last moment, the Heart of the Rock God proactively released a barrier to protect Ivan. However, the price was that the connection between the Heart of the Rock God and Ivan became very weak. However, Ivan could feel that this connection was continuously strengthening and recovering over time. Until it was completely restored to its original state, Ivan would be temporarily unable to use the power of the Heart of the Rock God.

Although the protective shield protected Ivan's body, Ivan was still knocked unconscious by the energy generated by the self-destruction of the Vortex Demon God. When he woke up, he had already arrived in Inazuma.

Later, Ivan also deduced how he came to Inazuma. He thought the most likely scenario was that he was blown away by the shockwave from the explosion of the Vortex Demon God and then landed on the sea and drifted to Inazuma with the ocean currents. However, this was just his own guess, and it was impossible to repeat the process.

Inazuma Castle is located on Narukami Island, the main island of Inazuma. It is the largest capital city in Inazuma, and the Raiden General's palace and mansion are also located here.

At this moment, in front of the general's bedroom, Ivan sighed and then pushed open the door and entered.

Inside the room, a woman dressed in a light purple military-style kimono, with long purple braids, and extremely beautiful, was sitting cross-legged on the bed.

If a woman from Inazuma were standing here at this moment, she would be so frightened that she wouldn't dare to breathe, because the woman in front of Ivan is none other than the goddess of Inazuma—General Thunder.

Hearing the noise at the door, General Thunder opened his eyes. After seeing that it was Ivan, he closed his eyes again. A short while later, a flash of lightning appeared, and a woman who looked exactly like General Thunder and dressed exactly appeared out of thin air in the room.

Ivan showed no surprise at seeing two Thunder Generals, because he was familiar with the game's storyline and could easily tell which one was the real Thunder General.

Yes, there are actually two generals, a fact that is largely unknown to the people of Inatsuma.

General Thunder's real name is Baal, and she goes by the alias Shadow. In pursuit of eternity, Shadow used a magical technology from the ancient kingdom of Canria to create a doll that is exactly like her. She used this doll to manage Liyue and issue decrees in her place, while she herself hid in the space she created—the Pure Land of One Heart—for many years to meditate and contemplate the true meaning of eternity.

In layman's terms, it's like someone creating a robot and having it work for them according to programmed instructions.

The second Thunder General that appeared before Ivan at this moment was the real Thunder General's shadow. The one who was meditating on the bed before was a puppet. Once the real Thunder General left the Pure Land Meditation Space, the puppet would automatically stop working.

Ivan said, "I'm back."

Looking at Ivan, Ying frowned, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, and said unhappily, "I was looking for you. Where have you been again? How many times have you gone out alone since I rescued you?"

Yes, it was General Thunder who saved Ivan.

According to Ying, she found Ivan on a reef on a deserted island near Inazuma. Of course, it was not a coincidence that Ying rescued Ivan. She was meditating in the Pure Land of One Heart and was attracted by the aura of the Heart of God that Ivan carried. That's why she appeared on that deserted island, rescued Ivan, and brought him back to the General's Mansion.

When Ivan woke up and saw Shadow, he was startled, but he quickly understood the situation and told Shadow why he had two God Hearts. He gradually gained Shadow's trust and settled down in the General's Mansion.

When Ying asked him this, Ivan touched his nose and said, "Nothing, just going to the island to test the cell phone signal..."

After drifting to Inazuma, Ivan's phone wasn't broken, so he tried countless times to contact Xu Donghai, but there was never a signal. This trip to the remote island was a gamble for Ivan. The island is located at the northernmost tip of Inazuma, theoretically the closest point on Inazuma to Liyue. Ivan wanted to see if he could connect to the communication base station deployed by China in Liyue, but now it seems like a pipe dream.

Of course, Ivan tried to persuade Shadow to send someone to Liyue or Mondstadt to contact China, but Shadow insisted on her decision to close the country off and refused Ivan's request. Ivan could only keep trying to find a solution himself. He even asked many stowaways to help him carry messages, but he didn't know whether they failed to cross the storms in the Inazuma Sea or were captured by the Inazuma army. In any case, no message came back.

Ying put her hands on her hips and said, "Alright, now that you're back, you should keep your promise to me from yesterday, right?"

"All right......"

Upon hearing Ivan's agreement, Shadow immediately sat down in the chair next to Ivan, then adopted an elegant posture, assuming a focused and attentive stance.

Ivan smiled helplessly, then cleared his throat.

"As mentioned last time, Team 7, where Naruto Uzumaki is, began the Chunin Exams..."

If there were an Earthling here, they would immediately know that Ivan is talking about the classic Earth manga, Naruto.

This is what Ivan promised Ying: to tell her stories.

Ultimately, this whole affair stemmed from Ivan himself.

During his stay at the general's mansion, Ivan went to great lengths to ask General Lightning Shadow to help him deliver a message.

Because of his familiarity with games, Ivan knew Ying's preferences very well. Ying's personality traits, in modern terms, would be that of a stubborn homebody. So Ivan catered to her interests, interacting with Ying every day. One day he would teach Ying to play chess, the next day he would make her delicious food and desserts, the day after that he would tell her comic book stories, and there were many other things as well. In short, Ivan thought he would try everything that might interest Ying.

As a result, Ying became genuinely interested, and quite obsessed. As a reclusive girl who spent most of her time in her meditation space contemplating eternal truths, everything Ivan did and said sparked her immense curiosity and interest. Gradually, Ying even developed a severe dependence on Ivan, constantly pestering him to tell her stories and make her desserts. She couldn't bear to be apart from him for even a moment, and she wouldn't even return to her meditation space. But...

However, Ivan's ultimate goal in doing all this was to get Shadow to help deliver the message. However, Shadow was stubborn and refused to agree no matter what. Gradually, Ivan became desperate, but Shadow kept pestering him until it became a habit.

The story lasted for more than an hour, until Ivan felt his throat was dry before stopping, but Ying was clearly still not quite finished.

"Hey? Keep going."

Ivan said helplessly, "Can we continue tomorrow?"

Ying said with a hint of displeasure, "You stopped right at the exciting part. Don't wait until tomorrow, keep going. Don't go back tonight, I want to keep listening."

Ivan chuckled dryly: "If I don't go home tonight, am I supposed to sleep with you?"

Ying blinked, looking somewhat naive, and asked, "What's wrong with sleeping with me? Is there a problem?"

Ivan sighed, speechless. "Please, you're a general, okay? Don't you care about your status? Do you know that people outside have started calling me 'General's Consort'?"

"General Wang Fu? What's that?"

"He's the general's husband..."

"Husband? What does that mean?"

"My husband is... never mind, never mind..."

"Keep going, keep going."

"Wait a minute, let me have a drink of water first..."

Chapter 148 Ivan's Plan: Building a Signal Transmission Station

When Ivan opened his eyes in the morning, he saw the high ceiling, then sat up in bed and stretched.

Yesterday, he told Ying stories until one or two in the morning. His mouth was so dry that he couldn't take it anymore and collapsed onto Ying's bed without even taking off his clothes.

Yawning, Ivan saw the puppet clone of Shadow sitting cross-legged in meditation beside him.

Ivan suddenly felt playful, rolled off the bed, stood in front of the doll, and reached out to pinch its cheeks. The skin felt smooth and delicate, with a slightly cool touch, as if he were touching a piece of jade cream.

"Interesting. How did they make this doll look so real? Kanria's technology is impressive..."

Suddenly, the doll opened its eyes and met Ivan's gaze, its tone tinged with confusion: "What are you doing?"

The air seemed to freeze for a second. Ivan abruptly stood up, somewhat embarrassed, and asked, "Shadow?"

Ying looked completely bewildered: "Of course it's me."

Where's the doll?

“Some places need maintenance, so I’ve temporarily taken them into my Pure Land.”

"Uh......"

Why did you pinch my cheek just now?

"It's nothing, I just wanted to see if you were awake."

Ivan looked somewhat embarrassed.

Although he could usually distinguish between the shadow and the puppet, even the best can make mistakes...

Ying stood up and said, "Perfect timing, you're awake too. Let's continue. Where were we last night?"

Upon hearing this, Ivan hurriedly waved his hand.

"Wait, wait...please spare me today, my voice is hoarse, and I have something to ask you today."

Ying asked in confusion, "What is it? If you still want me to stop the thunderstorm and send someone to deliver a message for you, then you should already know the answer."

Ivan shook his head and said, "No, I plan to go to the outlying island again today."

Ying frowned and said, "Go to the outlying island? Didn't you already go yesterday?"

"There are still some things that haven't been finished."

Shadow stared at Ivan for a few seconds, and Ivan said helplessly, "How about I let Muze bring the Imperial Guards with me?"

Finally, Shadow nodded reluctantly, then took out a token from his waist and handed it to Ivan.

"This is my general's order. Seeing this order is like seeing me. It will make things easier for you when you're out and about."

Ivan touched his nose, thinking to himself that even without the general's order, things were still quite convenient for him outside, since he was already considered by everyone to be the general's consort.

"Come back soon. I haven't played chess for several days. I'd like to play chess with you tonight."

"Okay, I'll bring some ingredients back tonight to make you a dessert."

When Ivan mentioned desserts, Ying smiled knowingly.