Chapter 174: Catching the Nymphs
Perhaps it was the sheer exhaustion from the previous day's activities, or maybe the hot spring had so thoroughly melted away their tension, but that night, Stelle and March 7th both slept with a deep, dreamless soundness.
The next morning, they awoke feeling completely refreshed, a vibrant energy coursing through them. After washing up, they immediately dove into the chat group, their fingers flying as they began to map out the new day's expedition.
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "Everyone, everyone! A new day has dawned! The exploration continues! Where should we go to farm points today… ah, no, I mean, where shall we go to explore the rich and storied culture of Amphoreus?"
[Honkai: Star Rail · March 7th]: "Yeah, yeah! That bath yesterday was so comfortable, I feel like I could run a marathon! We need to push hard and finish this event early!"
[Genshin Impact · Paimon]: "Paimon's ready to go, too! But… first, we need to know what we're supposed to do, right?"
Just as the group was debating whether to continue combing through the Cloudstone Market or venture into unexplored territory, a message from Wise popped up, bringing a dose of calm analysis to their energetic brainstorming.
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "Everyone, let's check the event page first. I have a feeling that for this type of event, new guidelines or mechanics usually refresh on the second day."
As an experienced gamer, Wise's intuition was rarely off the mark.
Heeding his advice, they all pulled up the event interface. Sure enough, right below the description for the [Temporary Stelle of Amphoreus] event, a new line of text had appeared.
[Hint: Try to find and interact with the strange 'Nymphs' radiating a soft golden glow within Okhema City. They may carry forgotten fragments of information that can effectively help you understand this world.]
[Genshin Impact · Paimon]: "Nymphs? Why would they be insects? How can a bug give you information?"
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "Golden insects? They sound kind of pretty…"
[Genshin Impact · Lumine]: "We won't get any answers by just guessing. Since the event has given us a new hint, let's make it our goal for the day and start searching."
Lumine's action-oriented approach immediately galvanized the group. They gathered once more in the private bathhouse to hash out a concrete plan. After a brief discussion, they decided to stick with the strategy of splitting into two main teams.
Dan Heng and Zhongli would remain at the library, continuing their deep dive into historical texts and literature in an attempt to unearth more deep, foundational information.
The other six would form a dedicated search party, responsible for tracking down the golden Nymphs scattered throughout Okhema City. This team further divided itself to cover more ground.
Lumine and Paimon would take the Cloudstone Market, a bustling area dense with people where information was likely to flow freely.
Wise and Belle would be responsible for the areas surrounding the Cloudstone Palace public bathhouse, a place of leisure and relaxation where all sorts of rumors and gossip might be overheard.
Finally, Stelle and March 7th would tackle the areas requiring special access credentials, such as the Garden of Life, which might hide a different class of information altogether.
With their labor clearly divided, the three small groups set off at once. They spread out like a great net being cast over Okhema City, beginning their hunt for the unique, golden Nymphs.
The search proved to be far easier than any of them had imagined.
Just as the event description had hinted, the "golden Nymphs" were exceptionally conspicuous. They weren't actual insects, but rather palm-sized, illusory clusters of light shaped like butterflies, composed of a soft, shimmering golden glow.
They floated silently in the various corners of the city—tucked away on street corners, hovering beneath eaves, and even hiding behind some of the grand sculptures. Even under Okhema's perpetual artificial daylight, their radiance was striking, as if they were specifically waiting to be discovered.
Whenever a group member approached and reached out to touch one of these light clusters, it would tremble gently. Then, it would dissolve into a subtle, pale blue stream of data that would briefly circle the person who touched it before leaving behind a vague fragment of information and quietly dissipating into the air.
[Exploration Progress +0.2%]… [Exploration Progress +0.3%]… [Exploration Progress +0.5%]…
As more and more Nymphs were found, the exploration progress bar on the chat group's interface began to climb in a slow but steady ascent.
However, a strange pattern soon began to emerge. During their lunch break, Lumine raised a question in the group chat.
[Genshin Impact · Lumine]: "Has anyone else noticed? The way those 'Nymphs' dissipate… those data streams, they feel… out of place with the overall style of Amphoreus."
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "Indeed. Amphoreus gives the impression of a civilization where classical aesthetics and divine beliefs are deeply integrated. But those data streams… they're very pure, more like the product of a highly developed information technology."
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "And the information they leave behind is so weird, too! It's all fragmented words or super short sentences, like 'the sky is fake,' 'observation,' 'error,' and some are even just a funny emoji. None of it connects at all!"
Stelle and March 7th felt a deep sense of agreement. The Nymphs they had found near the Garden of Life had provided information that was even more fragmented and beyond understanding.
[Honkai: Star Rail · Dan Heng]: "Mr. Zhongli and I have scoured all the historical records we could find this morning. We can confirm that we have not seen a single mention of these 'golden Nymphs' or any similar 'data stream' phenomena."
[Genshin Impact · Zhongli]: "This realm is indeed rife with peculiarities and obscurities. It possesses the power to break through the heavens, an ambition that once aspired to reach the sea of stars, yet it is ultimately bound by the power of the Titan and confined to the earth—a cautious, self-contained city-state."
[Genshin Impact · Zhongli]: "Now, for something like this to appear, something so dissonant with the fundamental tone of this world… It is certainly thought-provoking."
Dan Heng and Zhongli's words once again cast the contradictions and mysteries of Amphoreus into sharp relief. Despite possessing immense power and a history of grand ambition, the city was dominated by a higher existence, forced to remain sequestered in a corner of its world. Even the very fabric of its reality seemed complex and difficult to grasp. Zhongli's own sense of detachment, his inability to communicate smoothly with the stone and rock of this land, was just one more manifestation of this deep "peculiarity."
After a long discussion, they failed to reach any reliable conclusion regarding the origin or purpose of the Nymphs.
[Honkai: Star Rail · March 7th]: "By the way… have you guys noticed that it seems like only we can see those golden Nymphs? I was watching carefully, and the locals walking by don't show any reaction at all, as if they can't even see them."
[Genshin Impact · Paimon]: "Yeah, yeah! Paimon even deliberately pointed at a Nymph and asked a nearby stall owner what it was, and he just looked at Paimon like Paimon was an idiot!"
This discovery seemed to point toward a single, unavoidable possibility.
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "Perhaps, this is very likely a 'special supply' item generated by the chat group to assist us in completing the exploration event, and not an indigenous element of the world of Amphoreus."
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "Alright… Although I'm still a bit curious, if it's the chat group's doing, then we don't need to dig into it for now. Let's just focus on racking up that exploration progress!"
Left with no other recourse, everyone temporarily categorized the golden Nymphs as special creations of the chat group system, choosing to focus on their practical function of increasing the exploration percentage.
By the afternoon, the "high-privilege areas" that Stelle and March 7th were responsible for had been largely explored. The number of Nymphs and the information fragments they could find began to dwindle.
The two decided to return to the more densely populated Cloudstone Market and regroup with the others to continue their search.
This decision, however, would unexpectedly lead them to an entirely new discovery.
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