Takumi sent Bronya a red envelope imbued with his sigil. He intended to tag that world so he could pull it over later.
Bronya: [Got it!]
She immediately understood what Takumi was planning. Although the world had just awakened its spiritual energy, it held potential. The problem was the swarm of magical beasts.
The humans of that world had even resorted to using nuclear bombsit was utterly insane.
They had arrived just as a nuke was detonated.
Luckily, Bronya quickly instructed Prometheus to take control of the world's entire electronic network, preventing greater disaster.
To save that world, they had to kill off the magical beasts and buy time for humanity to develop.
Bronya also started helping the people of that world advance their technology, since the rate of superpower awakenings was dismal. If they waited for mass awakenings, it'd take forever.
With Takumi now tagging the world, they just needed to complete their mission. Once done, he'd pull the world in.
Fujiwara Chika: [@Takumi, when are you going to collect the world?]
Chika couldn't resist asking once Bronya was done talking.
Takumi: [Hold on!] [Just focus on your mission.] [I'm bringing over Kanade's world first.] [After all, I promised her.] [Then Kurumi's world too.]
Ningguang: [Great! Just great!!] [More work for me again.]
Seeing Takumi's message, Ningguang wanted to curse.
More worlds again?
At this rate, would the work ever be finished?
Takumi: [Relax!] [You're the most capable one!]
Stay calm, Ms. Ningguang. This was nothing. There were still more worlds waiting.
Ningguang: [(#)]
Irritated, Ningguang posted a sticker and ghosted from the chat.
Takumi was treating them like tools. The pay was good, sure, but the workload was endless.
After roasting Takumi in the group, she logged off. No time for idle chatbetter to finish her work quickly.
Now that Takumi had crafted what she needed, she'd get Keqing to start building the cities.
Takumi had granted her huge authority, and honestly, she was quite pleased. No salary? Whatever.
She could now paint the world with her vision. As long as it aligned with development goals, Takumi wouldn't complain.
Prometheus would support her if needed. She loved this.
If she once dreamed of covering all of Teyvat with her Jade Chamber, she now aspired to project her vision across this entire world.
She'd claimed this world with garlic!!
Takumi had no idea what Ningguang was thinking. After sharing the plan in the group chat, he exited.
The reward for the mission wasn't huge, but the girls could handle it.
He just had to wait for them to finish, then he'd package that world.
For now, Takumi was headed to Kanade's world.
She had just reincarnated as an angel in Heaven.
As for Inori, she and Ayase had already moved out of Takumi's home and were on their way to their new place with a squad of Mechaids.
Everything was ready.
They were now officially residents of Takumi's world.
Prometheus even approved Tsugumi for advanced studies at the Academy, recognizing her talent.
Inori and the others were housed near Fujiwara Chika's group. After yesterday, they'd gotten acquainted.
Chika wasn't around today, off on a mission, but others were still around to help Inori settle in.
Back home, Takumi summoned a magic circle.
Time to bring over Kanade's world.
The afterlife world and the real worldtechnically the afterlife was nested within reality.
Takumi suppressed his aura to the absolute minimum before entering. Otherwise, the fragility of the afterlife world meant it would collapse instantly.
Even compressed to mimic a normal human, his power was still immense. Staying even a minute there placed a huge burden on the world.
So he had to act quickly and exit immediately.
Once the magic circle was activated and it detected the sigil he'd left behind, Takumi vanished on the spot.
Chapter 490: The Star Sea is Still a Sea
When Takumi entered Kanade's world, even though he continuously suppressed his power, it still caused massive tremors across the entire world. The whole world shook several times, and even parts of Earth experienced abnormalities. Spatial fissures appeared briefly before quickly vanishing.
This was because the moment Takumi entered the world, he immediately exited without staying even a second. He had appeared in the afterlife realm, which experienced the greatest impact. Even though he only lingered there for one second, the space there cracked. This made Takumi quite frustrated. This world was just too fragile. Luckily, he moved fastotherwise, it might have been doomed.
Looking at the world from the outside, Takumi muttered, "This place really is tiny."
Indeed, it was a small world. Just a bit larger than an average onebut only slightly. He stopped thinking too much and began packaging the world.
With a world this small, packing it up was quite easy for him. The inhabitants had no idea what was happening before Takumi had already packed the entire world away. After securing the world, he returned home, placed it properly, and started constructing a teleportation gate. He also sent a Mechanica over to notify the people of that world.
Once all of this was done, Takumi didn't concern himself further. He had to deal with the afterlife realm. As for this matter, Takumi decided to leave it to the expertHu Tao.
If the souls needed to be passed on, she could do it. If they didn't want to leave, she could help them recover instead.
"Where is Hu Tao?"
Having made up his mind, Takumi asked Prometheus.
"She's currently at Wanmin Restaurant in Liyue Harbor," Prometheus replied. "She's having lunch."
Takumi glanced at the timealready noon without him realizing it. Perfect timing to crash lunch.
With that in mind, Takumi teleported directly to Wanmin Restaurant in Liyue Harbor. The restaurant was bustling with activity, as expected during lunch hours. The place was packed.
He even saw a few people in Ttsuki Culinary Academy uniforms working there. It seemed Xiangling had recruited more staff.
Xiangling was indeed in the back kitchen, busily preparing dishes. Takumi didn't alert anyone and simply walked upstairs.
A server stopped him. "Sir, do you have a reservation?"
"I'm here to meet someone. Please go about your business," Takumi replied with a nod before heading toward a private room.
He pushed the door open.
Inside, Hu Tao was enjoying lunch, accompanied by Xinyan and Beidou. Upon seeing Takumi, Hu Tao blinked in surprise. The others also turned to look.
"Takumi?"
"What brings you here?"
Hu Tao quickly recovered. After all, she had just seen him the previous day.
"I've got some business for you," Takumi said, sitting down. "Remember that girl from yesterday? Her world is part of the afterlife, filled with lingering souls. I need you to go and perform some rites."
"If they want reincarnation, help them pass on. If not, let them become undead or some other race. Just help them reenter life in some form."
Upon hearing this, Hu Tao's eyes lit up.
"Souls with lingering regrets who don't want reincarnation?"
"Oho~ That's big business!"
She was clearly thrilled. Performing rites? That was her specialty.
"So you're on board?"
"Of course!"
"That world's a bit special. I'll take you there later, and you'll see for yourself. The girl you saw yesterday has already reincarnated as an angel. Most of the others are similarunfortunate children."
"If they wish to reincarnate, let them. If not, let them become undead or another race. We have so many races here; they can choose freely."
"Shiki should also have reincarnation services by now, right? I saw she installed otherworldly reincarnation arrays in the underworld."
Mentioning this, Takumi looked a bit odd. Shikieiki Yamaxanadu had somehow brought over Aqua's entire reincarnation system. Along with reincarnation methods from other worlds, the whole thing had become incredibly advanced.
"Yep!" Hu Tao proudly said. "That was my idea. Isn't it great?"
Clearly, she was elated. Shiki didn't come up with it herselfHu Tao had suggested it.
The underworld had become too boring, so she figured: why not spice it up? When building the system, she even considered having Yuyuko reincarnate.
Unfortunately, Yuyuko adamantly refused. She claimed she wouldn't be able to eat as much in a new life, and she absolutely didn't want that.
Even Youmu declined. Despite being her close friend, Youmu wouldn't budge.
Reincarnating wasn't that big a dealit was just changing races. Memories would be retained, and one could even become stronger.
Their refusal deeply disappointed Hu Tao.
Takumi listened to her, his expression growing more awkward.
"I see... if it's you, then I'm not surprised."
Shiki wouldn't bother with such thingsbut Hu Tao was always up to some mischief. This all made perfect sense now.
"You're something else!"
Takumi gave her a thumbs-up. "Really keeping up with the times."
"Hehehe~!"
Praised like that, Hu Tao beamed with pride.
Takumi didn't say more. He simply picked up chopsticks and started eating without the slightest reservation.
Watching him, Beidou finally spoke up.
"Takumi, can I offer you some feedback?"
Takumi paused mid-bite, confused. "Feedback? About what?"
Beidou coughed lightly. "Don't you think the oceans in your world are a bit... bland?"
"Seriously, the sea's not fun at all. There aren't even any treasures. You know sailors go on voyages to hunt treasure, right? But your world has nothing."
Beidou looked genuinely exasperated. As a seafaring captain, she felt utterly wasted in a world without maritime adventure.
Chapter 491: Hu Tao — I'm a Professional at This!
After hearing Beidou's words, Takumi was momentarily confused.
"Sorry about the lack of treasure and all that. This world... by the time I obtained it, it had already been cleansed once. And with the world constantly evolving, it really doesn't have the kind of treasures you're talking about. Unless you go digging deep somewhere, or maybe explore some underwater ruins, you might find remnants of a previous human civilization. Otherwise, this world is basically a blank slate. Some areas have already been put to use by me."
That's just how civilization develops. The growth of this world under Takumi's hand had only been about one or two years. So, the absence of treasure and ancient wonders was perfectly normal.
"That's why I feel it's such a shame. Truly regretful," Beidou sighed deeply.
"Then why not explore the cosmos instead? Isn't a sea of stars also a kind of sea?"
"Sailing in a spaceship is even more thrilling. Some of the worlds below haven't had their space explored. If you bring your crew and load up some ships, you can totally be a cosmic pirate queen!"
Takumi chuckled as he offered Beidou an idea. If there's nothing much to explore in this world's oceans, then why not turn her attention to the sea of stars?
After all, a spaceship is still a ship. That much tracks. Many other worlds Takumi had brought over were interested in cosmic exploration anyway. Why not have Beidou join up with one of them?
Beidou hesitated awkwardly at this idea.
"But... I don't really know anything about outer space. Sure, a sea of stars is still a sea, but it's a completely different concept. Is it really somewhere I can go?"
She wasn't sure how to even start approaching this. Space? That was way beyond her current domain.
"No worries! You only need to focus on fighting. With Prometheus around, even a pig could win!"
Takumi grinned widely. It's really that simple. Even if she doesn't understand anything, as long as she's up there, Prometheus will handle the rest. Beidou doesn't need to worry at all.
Hearing that, Beidou fell silent.
"Then what's the point of me going?! If even a pig could win, why bother sending me?!"
"Hehe! If that doesn't work for you, Beidou, how about exploring another world's oceans? Like that game world I mentioned before it's got calm seas and plenty of treasure. It's perfect for you. Since it's a game world, the NPCs can't even initiate attacks."
Hu Tao chimed in, figuring Beidou didn't want to go to space. That was fine Takumi had loads of connected worlds. One world didn't work? Just switch to another!
Beidou looked resigned. That seemed to be the only option. She felt uncomfortable if she didn't set out to sea at least once a day. She really just wanted to go on some exhilarating adventure, but alas, there weren't many worlds that could satisfy that.
"If we ever connect to the One Piece world, you'd definitely love it. That world suits you best. Too bad I don't know when that world might show up."
Takumi looked at Beidou, feeling a bit regretful. That pirate world truly seemed tailor-made for her.
"Oh? You mean One Piece? I've actually been reading that manga recently. That world really would suit me!"
Beidou's eyes lit up at the mention. Now that he brought it up, she got it. That world!
If that world ever connects, she would love to go and explore.
Everyone continued eating and chatting in the private room. As soon as the topic shifted to One Piece, Beidou couldn't stop talking. Clearly, she had been reading the manga in Takumi's world, and her anticipation was through the roof.
Takumi enjoyed the meal with everyone. After they were full, he took Hu Tao away.
Hu Tao was sent directly to the afterlife world. Takumi didn't follow the rest could be handled by her. After all, she was the professional here.
She landed right on the school field of the afterlife world.
Looking around, Hu Tao blinked.
"So this is the afterlife world? Feels pretty similar to the human realm. And it's not even that spooky. Looks like Takumi wasn't lying after all..."
She clicked her tongue in amazement at the environment. Not a bad place at all.
Of course, Hu Tao's sudden appearance immediately drew attention.
Truthfully, that angel from earlier hadn't shown up in quite a while, and this place had nearly been destroyed earlier today. So the students had banded together, assuming something had happened to the angel.
Now a new person appeared?
Naturally, they were suspicious. After all, another newcomer had just arrived last night.
Two in such a short time? That seemed... odd.
The students began peeking out. Nakamura Yuri led a group toward Hu Tao.
Seeing people approach, Hu Tao's eyes lit up.
She instinctively pulled out her Staff of Homa.
"Yo, nice to meet you all! Everyone's here, huh?"
