He changed Tiwat

—This is how Han Fulai lost the opportunity to build a deep personal relationship with Miss Barbara.

He had actually fantasized a little about going shopping or having tea with his idol Barbara, just like in the game, but that's impossible now...

The good news is, he has no shortage of girls in Mondstadt who want to go shopping or have tea with him...

After finishing rehearsal, he was strolling and drinking tea alone in the shopping street when Mona cornered him.

Mona looked fierce and angry, and immediately questioned, "Have you forgotten about me?"

Han Fulai looked puzzled and surprised, but he didn't dare ask Mona why she asked that.

After all, if he asks "What did I forget?", it would confirm that he really has forgotten Mona...

"Ugh……"

Mona sighed helplessly when she saw his bewildered expression.

"I waited for you at the Goethe Hotel for most of the day, and then searched for you on the street for most of the day before I finally found you... Tell me, how are you going to make it up to me?"

Han Fulai didn't dare to complain about Mona, as those two half-days added up to more than a day. He smiled apologetically and invited Mona to "The Deer Hunter" for tea, the kind with snacks.

A refreshing glass of sparkling sourberry juice, paired with a plate of golden and crispy shrimp and potato cups, finally made Mona forgive him.

She pulled out a stack of experimental reports from her person—experimental reports on "three meals a day".

It wasn't until he saw this report that Han Fulai finally remembered what he had forgotten.

—That experiment about whether consciousness can determine matter.

He and Mona had agreed before the competition that for the next week, Mona would divine her three meals a day and shout out the divination results she wanted before eating... The purpose of this experiment was to see if Mona could influence the divination results with her will.

Honestly, this experiment was not unimportant; in fact, it was very important. It greatly helped them explore the secrets of the "false heaven."

But during the week Mona spent eating, drinking, and conducting experiments, a great deal of things happened on Han Fulai's side—he first won the "Badminton Festival Championship," then he and Yura passed Barbatos's trial, and also took down an acting archbishop of the Church of the West Wind, incidentally thwarting the Fatui's grand conspiracy...

Then he got busy rehearsing with Barbara and the others for the concert, so he naturally forgot that today was the date he had arranged to meet Mona.

So... he could only offer Mona another "Manor Pancake" as a token of his apology.

Chapter 374 Mona's Money-Picking Story

While reviewing the lab reports, Han Fulai briefly explained to Mona his experiences during the time she was conducting the experiments behind closed doors. Of course, he omitted the parts about the "White Princess" and "Time Ruler".

Even so, Mona couldn't help but be amazed by his "spectacular" experiences over the past week—how could so many things always happen around this guy?

For him, thwarting the Fools' schemes was something most people might only experience once in their lifetime, as natural as eating and drinking.

Think about it... From the moment he arrived in Mondstadt, first he beat up the "Skirmishers'" subordinates with Yingmei during the meteorite incident, then he beat up the "Lady's" subordinates with Yura in the snowy mountains, and then he wiped out the "Doctor's" father and son, Illock... In just one month, he managed to offend three Fatui Enforcers in succession?

It's no exaggeration to say that he's now a walking eye of the storm in Mona's eyes.

Mona even wondered if this was a characteristic of time travelers? After all, all sorts of major events were always happening around the traveler Ying, and when she was in a bad mood, she would go out into the wilderness to cause trouble for the Fatui...

In Han Fu's view, Mona's experimental life this week was actually quite exciting.

Just as he had predicted, most of Mona's experiments with the three meals a day ended in failure—and the successes were limited to dishes priced under 2000 moras per customer…

In her lab report, Mona truthfully stated that she wanted to eat "a pile of lots and lots of meat," and the divination showed that the chance of getting "Teyvat Egg" was 25%, while the chance of getting "Vegetable Salad" was 45%, "Fisherman's Toast" was 20%, and "Mondstadt Grilled Fish" and "Mondstadt Grilled Steak" were 5%.

Conversely, if you say you want to eat "vegetable salad," the divination result will definitely be a vegetable salad...

She tried ordering different dishes at other restaurants and did indeed eat different dishes, but when she passed by "The Deer Hunter" on her way home, the owner, Sarah, kindly gave her a vegetable salad.

In another instance, one day she was in a fit of pique and, unable to predict the delicious dishes she wanted to eat, refused to leave the house or cook. As a result, the kind Princess Fischl came to her door to offer her comfort...

To put it another way, if the food in Mondstadt were divided into star ratings, no matter how many cards Mona drew from the "card pool," she could only draw one-star and two-star common dishes.

The dishes that Han Fulai is serving her now, such as "Shrimp and Crispy Potato Cups", "Stacked Potatoes" that she once tasted at "Dawn Winery", and Yura's signature dish "Moon Pie", are all three-star or higher dishes and are not in Mona's "card pool" at all.

In short, Mona's will seems to only affect the portion of her wallet that she can afford...

Of course, Mona also put a lot of thought into experiments related to "three meals a day".

Han Fulai also saw many interesting experimental projects.

For example, Mona once tried to divine whether she would find money on the street today, and under the influence of her strong will, the divination result was "yes, she will find money".

Then Mona actually went out into the street to pick up money.

She was so focused on picking up the money that she accidentally dropped her wallet...

Fortunately, she realized it in time and quickly found her wallet again—finding your own wallet is like finding money, right?

After much painful reflection, Mona made a precise qualifier in her next experiment, emphasizing that she wanted to divine "finding someone else's lost or unwanted Mora," and then fate generously gave her another chance to find money in Mondstadt.

This time, Mona, with a rigorous experimental spirit of "controlling variables," deliberately chose to go out for a stroll around 2 a.m. without her wallet.

At this point in time, those who lost their wallets have already found them, and those who haven't are simply donating to the great astrologer Mona's experiment.

So, Mona, who was wandering around aimlessly in the early morning, saw a suspicious man in front of the fountain in the shopping street—the man jumped into the fountain and pulled out one shiny Mora after another...

Mona immediately understood what the "opportunity to make money in Mondstadt" meant.

She had lived in Mondstadt for quite some time, so she naturally knew that the fountain was known in Mondstadt as the "Wishing Well." Legend has it that the fountain was blessed by the "Water Spirits," and if you tossed a coin into the fountain and made a wish, you would have a chance to have your wish granted.

Of course, just like the legend of the spring spirit in Qingquan Town, this is all a conspiracy by the tourism industry.

However, since Mondstadt is currently holding a festival, tourists with spare cash are naturally willing to spend a little money for good luck, so the bottom of the Wishing Well is indeed covered with Mora.

Mona may be poor, but she hasn't stooped so low as to scavenge for money at a wishing well, which is like stealing offering boxes from Inazuma's shrine...

What she couldn't tolerate even more was someone picking up money in front of her—I, this young lady, resisted the urge to pick up the money, okay?

So she shouted loudly, startling the man who was stealing money in the "wishing well," causing him to fall into the well on his backside.

Mona righteously demanded that the man stop his despicable theft, but unexpectedly, the man begged her to keep the secret.

The man picking up money from the Wishing Well was named Anthony, a porter who did hard labor all over Mondstadt. He had a sister named Anna.

Anna has contracted a serious illness that is difficult to cure. She is weak, has a chronic cough, and occasionally coughs up blood—a condition that, in Liyue's parlance, is known as "consumption."

Although the kind Sister Grace had been taking care of Anna, the healing potions from the Church of the West Wind had limited effectiveness, and even Miss Barbara's healing magic couldn't clear the lesions from Anna's body. Furthermore, given their family's circumstances, they couldn't afford to hire renowned foreign doctors or high-ranking figures like bishops to treat their sister.

But the illness couldn't be left untreated, and the medicine had to be taken, which made their already impoverished family situation even worse.

Anna felt guilty for constantly causing trouble for her parents and brother. She believed in the legend of the "water spirit" and for the past few months, she has been throwing a coin into the "wishing well" every day to pray for the water spirit's blessing.

Anthony watched, his heart aching. He knew this "wishing well" had no magical effects whatsoever. Rather than wasting his money, he figured he'd better collect it; at least he could raise enough for some of the potions…

The astrologer, who could see through lies, knew that there was nothing false about what Anthony said, so she made an exception and performed a divination for Anthony and Anna without their request.

The divination revealed that a divine healer at the "Undivination Lodge" in Liyue Harbor possessed the ability to cure Anna, and that this healer would not accept payment from Anthony. The healer also told Anthony that Anna would not only recover completely but would also realize her dream of becoming a healthy and vibrant adventurer.

Perhaps it was Mona's "Water Divination" and "Eye of God" that made Anthony realize her extraordinary abilities, or perhaps it was simply a case of desperation. In any case, Anthony was overjoyed when he heard the news and decided to hurry home to pack his bags and set off for Liyue Harbor the next morning. The Mora he had just retrieved were given to Mona as a thank-you gift.

Mona, who "found the money," returned the Mora to the "wishing well."

She wrote this sentence in her lab report—

"The principles of material things are simple, but the principles of human beings are the most difficult... As an astrologer, I have found that being able to use my knowledge to help people in need is more joyful than finding money."

Chapter 375 The Promise with Mona

After discussing it with Mona, Han Fulai roughly summarized the operating logic of the "fate system" of the "false heaven":

First, the "false heaven" controls "fate" by forming a "trend" through a large number of prior causal relationships.

Under the shadow of the "False Heaven," the phenomenon of "predestined destiny" does indeed exist on the continent of Teyvat.

For example, under normal circumstances, Mona wouldn't be able to eat the expensive dishes she really wanted—because she was poor…

Her poverty was a consequence of the large sums of money she had spent on astrological tools such as planetariums.

If we extend this further, it would be quite easy for Mona, a truly skilled astrologer, to make money. In fact, it wouldn't be difficult for her to acquire a windfall through unconventional means such as divination.

However, she does lack money, and precisely because making money is not difficult for her, she is very willing to spend it, leading to her "spendthrift" lifestyle... If we dig a little deeper, this might be traced back to her master, the witch Barbie Ross. After all, the great witch never lacked money, and often emphasized to Mona that "truth is more important than money," so Mona, who trained under her master, developed this value system.

This is how "fate" is decided.

Just like dominoes, you arrange the dominoes in a certain order, and then give them a gentle push. The dominoes will fall down in the set order and form the pattern that the designer wants.

This is what is known as "circumstances create heroes".

Mona's "circumstances" were "poverty," which limited many of her choices, such as "the dishes she could eat three meals a day."

Controlling the "circumstances" is equivalent to controlling the "heroes".

Second, the "destiny" set by the "false heaven" is not absolute.

Just as they analyzed before, the principles of Heaven are not the "all-knowing and all-powerful" "Laplace's demon".

There is no perfectly smooth plane in this world, nor is there a rigid object that never deforms. Any man-made system is not absolutely independent; it will inevitably be affected by various external factors.

This can lead to various deviations in the actual execution of the "destiny" set by the system.

—According to the theory of chaos, it means that "the flapping of a butterfly's wings will cause a storm".

For example, Mona could consciously go against the "destiny" she divined, such as insisting on ordering barbecue after the divination revealed "vegetable salad," thus causing a "deviation" from the predetermined destiny.

Faced with this "deviation," the "False Heaven's" countermeasure is to "make up for it afterward," which means arranging various "coincidences" so that Mona receives a vegetable salad.

Simply put, if Plan A fails, then Plan B is immediately generated to achieve the same result.

Although the results may appear to be the same on the surface, the fact that the process can change reveals the fact that "fate is not absolute".

Third, and most importantly, "consciousness can determine matter."

Of course, this doesn't mean that the people of Teyvat can actually create things out of thin air with their minds. At least, no matter how much Mona wanted Mora to fall from the sky, Mora wouldn't actually fall...

But to some extent, Mona did influence reality with her will.

For example, if Mona is determined to achieve the goal of "finding money on the street" and her "water divination" predicts this result, then "finding money on the street" will become a fait accompli and be written into her "destiny".

Clearly, before Mona made such a divination, the "False Heaven" would not have included such trivial matters in Mona's destiny.

But Mona forced herself to do it in the experiment and also got the result of "finding money".

According to Han Fulai's analysis, this is because the "False Heaven" system is a local area network architecture similar to an FTP server, and the "Seat of Fate" representing each person's "destiny" is like a pre-written file stored on the server.

FTP users have different permissions depending on their role. Generally, there are three levels of permissions: "download and view only", "write but not modify", and "write and modify".

The lowest level of users, ordinary people, only have the permission to "view and download" (that is, observe and interpret). This level includes astrologers and all living beings on the continent of Teyvat. Users at this level cannot modify documents on the FTP server, and they also cannot view documents with advanced viewing permissions.

A higher level grants not only basic "view and download" permissions but also "write" permissions, meaning the user can upload their documents to the server and has the right to use the server's storage space.

The reason why the "Water Divination" developed by the Great Witch Barbie Ross can predict results with such extraordinary accuracy is that her "Water Divination" has higher privileges than ordinary people on the "False Heaven" server. Using "Water Divination" to observe allows her to see more files in the "False Heaven" and obtain more information than ordinary people, thus making it more accurate.

Based on this principle, Han Fulai speculated that the "Water Divination Technique" might possess a higher level of authority, and asked Mona to conduct related experiments.

He had Mona try to set a divination result using her will, which was essentially an act of "writing".

Mona's two experiences of "finding money" prove that she did indeed influence "fate" with her will—it's as if Mona added a line to her character's backstory: "On [date], Mona found money in Mondstadt"...

The fates I observe are written by my own hand, so of course they're always accurate.

However, this kind of behavior, which is similar to writing one's own destiny, is subject to limitations and is not a case of "what you wish for will come true".

Based on Mona's experiments, the logic behind the Sky Island's fate system's "writing fate" is likely to be based on "Causal Language Modeling".

In short, for Mona to achieve the "result" of "finding money", she must have an "antecedent" that leads to this result.

For example, if she takes her wallet out, then drops it and picks it up, that fulfills the "cause and effect" condition.

For example, if she didn't bring her wallet with her, and no one else lost their wallet on the street late at night, then the "cause" would become "there's money to pick up in the wishing well".

To put it simply, the "fate" that Mona writes must have the "theoretical possibility" that exists under the current circumstances, so that the fate system can arrange a reasonable "fate" for her.

Furthermore, since Mona's "water magic" only grants the ability to "write" but not "modify," she cannot alter history to achieve things like "Mona was rich from a young age and always carried a Mount Mora"...

But in any case, this means that the "loom of fate" does exist, and that humanity does indeed have the ability to write its own destiny.

This is a very important fact.

So, on the day before the "Badminton Festival" closed, Han Fulai made a very important promise with Mona.

He made a promise with Mona that he would add a message about him to Mona's "Constellation" whenever he needed it.

Chapter 376 Miss Yura, would you be willing to give me some face?

June 30th is the last day of the "Badminton Festival".

Han Fulai deliberately slept in a little longer that day.

For him, today he has to take three "exams" in a row, so he must be well-rested.

According to the schedule, at noon he was to attend a banquet at the Knights' headquarters to discuss cooperation between the two countries with the Knights' leaders and Mondstadt businessmen; in the evening he was to attend the closing ceremony of the festival and, as the "Poet Laureate," to offer a poem to the Wind God and the people of Mondstadt together with the "Mondstadt Idol" Barbara; after the concert, he was to announce the "Badminton Festival Princess" as the "Badminton Festival Champion."

How much he gains from this trip to Mondstadt depends entirely on his performance today.