Lin En didn't follow her.
There really wasn't much to pack anyway—just a quick check for anything left behind. Most of their belongings were stored inside Aveline's Vision, easily accessible whenever needed.
But things were different for Lin En now.
With his ability finally activated, Visions no longer held much appeal—but not having any kind of storage space still felt inconvenient.
Honestly, being a outsider without a system is such a hassle… even your ability needs to be developed manually.
He complained inwardly, then used the idle moment to think things through.
World…
His thoughts turned to his world incarnation.
Even though it hadn't passed the newborn phase yet, it was still a genuine world.
Compared to something like storage space, it should naturally be able to handle that—downward compatibility and all.
But the problem was… it was being watched.
Through his connection with the world incarnation, he could easily enter it himself, bring others in, or store items inside.
The issue lay in opening a world passage.
That part was easy in terms of cost—
But the disturbance it caused was far greater than something like projecting a world overlay.
Using it occasionally in critical moments was fine.
But using it frequently as a storage function?
That would definitely attract attention.
Looks like I'll have to find another approach.
Once his world incarnation passed the newborn phase and ascended into the Sea of Void—free from its current dependent state—then everything would become much easier.
For now, though, he set that idea aside.
Liyue's "Exterior Domain" technique could work—and it suits someone like me with a world incarnation… but that's not something I can rely on anytime soon.
Even if he was confident he could gain Zhongli's help, that was completely different from obtaining Liyue's immortal arts inheritance.
And the "Exterior Domain" was one of the three supreme secret arts, alongside alchemy and talismans.
Not something casually taught.
Other nations might have their own methods… but none of them are options right now.
So I can only work with what's in front of me.
Fontaine doesn't give me any clear leads… but Natlan—
Perfect. I was planning to contact them once I reach Fontaine City anyway.
Once my world incarnation passes the newborn phase, it'll form a Gate of Traversal.
I don't know exactly when, but it won't take long.
When that happens, I'll need manpower to explore other worlds.
I can't return to Natlan for now, so they'll have to send people to me.
I'll have them bring rubbings of the ritual stone tablets—that should contain useful clues. And also the fabrication techniques for those teleportation fabrics used by the Smoke Mystics.
With a direction set, Lin En's thoughts gradually took shape.
Those so-called ritual stone tablets were essentially "books" left behind by ancient dragon civilization—records of their research into phlogiston-based technology and its underlying formulas.
And now, with part of an ancient dragon authority in his possession—
Wasn't that perfectly suited for him?
He even suspected that the Smoke Mystics' teleportation fabric technology was derived from ancient dragon tech as well.
Still, to be safe—and for convenience—he planned to have both sent over.
As for whether they would agree?
That depended on trust.
Lin En believed they would.
There was already a foundation of trust between them.
But if he was wrong…
Then this would serve as a test.
After all, he wasn't going to reveal anything truly core yet—like the Gate of Traversal.
From the moment he learned about that gate, he had already decided:
He was going to outsource.
After all, the Gate of Traversal would exist within his world incarnation.
And once it passed the newborn phase, that world would ascend beyond this realm, suspended high in the Sea of Void—
Untouchable.
At the same time, his true body would gain an unbreakable escape route.
So what was there to fear?
Beyond the newborn phase, a world's growth required far more than what Teyvat alone could provide.
Absorbing stray currents from the Sea of Void?
That was a drop in the bucket.
Even a single stage of growth could take millions of years—
And it only got slower from there.
That was the normal pace of a world.
Maybe one day Lin En would adapt to that timescale.
But right now?
He couldn't.
Going solo into other worlds to gather resources was inefficient—and risky.
Compared to that—
Sitting comfortably in the rear, coordinating operations (and enjoying life)…
Wasn't that far better?
Of course, he had no intention of becoming some exploitative capitalist deserving of a lamp post.
A worker earning 3,000 mora a month with 996 hours?
That's exploitation.
But what about 30,000, full benefits, weekends off, overtime pay, and holiday bonuses?
That was a real opportunity.
He had needs.
And for the "workers," this was a huge chance.
That's why Natlan's old friends were his first choice.
As things scaled up, the initial outsourcing team would naturally be absorbed—
Becoming his first official faction.
His direct core.
So of course, they had to be people he could trust.
This was just a small test.
If something went wrong, he could cut losses early.
"Woooo—!"
A sharp whistle echoed across the sea, pulling Lin En back from his thoughts.
They had entered the harbor's controlled waters.
From here, they would follow signal flags to dock.
And while he had been lost in thought, Aveline had already finished checking their belongings.
She raised a hand toward him and called out:
"I'll go handle the paperwork first, Lin En. Meet me by the lift later."
With that, she leapt straight off the side of the ship.
Mid-fall, she lightly adjusted her momentum and landed gracefully on a patch of ice that formed just in time—
Then sprinted toward the harbor as the ice extended beneath her feet.
"…Coming home in glory, huh?"
Lin En smiled.
As the saying goes—returning home without success is like walking in fine clothes at night.
Aveline had obtained her Vision outside.
Now that she was back, she couldn't wait to show it off a little.
Let her have her moment.
Lin En turned his attention to extracting Xiao Ai and setting up the ship's automated patrol route.
After all, while the ship had been running thanks to Xiao Ai—
Without her, he could still make a simplified version.
Xiao Yi, Xiao Du—whatever.
He didn't want to recreate Xiao Ai entirely.
The reason she was called an "extreme low-budget version" was because his original goal had been something like a ship girl—
Far more complex, with many abilities.
Naturally, that made it difficult to create.
But if he only needed basic autopilot functionality?
Then simplifying further made it much easier.
A thought—
World projection.
[Descend]
[Modulate]
Because the task was simple—and he already had experience—
This projection lasted even shorter than before.
The affected area was smaller.
And this time, not even the slightest trace of aura leaked out.
No resonance with the Frost Moon.
Lin En smiled, a bit proud.
"Done."