Chapter 2:

Sigh...

She rubbed her temples, trying to process everything.

"Now I look like her... Should I just inherit her name too?"

It wasn't like she was actually Fu Hua—just some cheap knockoff, right? But considering this was a completely new world, there was no way MiHoYo would come after her for copyright infringement.

Heh, no lawyers in another world.

With that, she made up her mind.

"Well, whatever. Guess my name is Fu Hua now."

Hua dusted off her clothes—despite there being no actual dust on them—before pausing, lost in thought.

"...Wait. Shouldn't I be panicking? Like, I just lost my dragon, and I'm already moving on?"

She frowned. Wasn't she supposed to be rolling on the ground in despair for at least five hours? Yet here she was, completely unfazed.

Tsk.

She clicked her tongue.

"I blame the old antique way of thinking... Wait, that's me now."

Her expression deadpanned.

"...I blame Senti."

Shaking off the thought, Hua tilted her head back and looked at the sky. The sun was still high—it wasn't going to be night anytime soon. But that didn't mean she could just stand around all day.

She needed shelter.

At least something temporary. After all, it wasn't like she had any idea where she was... or what kind of dangers lurked in this world.

Time to gather some wood.

Hua stretched her arms and made her way toward a tree that looked just right—not too big, no animals living in it, and no fruit hanging from its branches.

She placed a hand on its rough bark, nodding to herself. "Alright, let's cut this down."

...

Wait.

She blinked.

How am I supposed to cut this down?

She looked around, then checked her non-existent inventory.

No axe.

"...Maybe I should just do it like a certain block game?" she mumbled.

She balled her fist and gave the tree a light punch.

Tap.

...Nothing.

She punched again, this time harder.

Tap tap.

...Still nothing.

"Yeah, okay. That's not working."

Crossing her arms, Hua looked down at her fist. Maybe... maybe she just needed to focus?

Maybe if I concentrate really hard, my strength will awaken or something...

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

She focused.

She waited.

She tried to feel the thing.

She didn't know what the thing was, but she was sure she needed to feel it.

...

...Any second now.

...

...Yeah, nope. There was nothing.

She sighed. "Alright, screw it. Let's just go for a normal punch."

Stepping forward, she pulled her fist back and threw a straight punch at the tree.

Her knuckles connected with the bark—

And then...

Silence.

Nothing happened.

Hua stared at the tree. The tree stared back.

"Huh."

Guess I'll find a cave instead.

She turned around to leave—

CRACK.

A loud noise made her freeze.

Slowly, cautiously, she turned her head.

The tree she had just punched...

Was now perfectly cut in two.

"...????"

Hua stepped closer to the fallen tree, eyes wide with curiosity. She ran her fingers along the smooth, clean cut.

"Wow... I didn't know I was a martial arts master."

She nodded to herself, completely unbothered by the absurdity of the situation. She had no idea how that worked, but honestly?

If it works, it works.

Then, her gaze shifted to the other trees surrounding her.

A slow, creeping smile stretched across her face.

She cracked her knuckles.

"Let's try this again."

THUD.

A single, solid punch echoed through the quiet forest.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

For the next hour, the once peaceful landscape was filled with the relentless sound of fists slamming into wood. Trees that once stood tall and proud now lay scattered, victims of a certain devil who had decided to practice her fist on their helpless trunks.

By the time she finally stopped, most of the area looked like the aftermath of a logging operation—except there were no tools involved.

Only fists.

Only destruction.

And one very satisfied Hua.

"Now that I've gathered the wood, let's try making a log house..."

Hua clapped her hands together, ready to start building.

Then she paused.

"...Wait. Why are you still reading? And why am I still talking nonsense?"

She frowned, crossing her arms.

"Shouldn't a time skip happen now, and somehow I've miraculously built a two-story house, complete with running water and electricity?"

She blinked.

"...Never mind. I don't think I'll become schizo in this new world. Talking to myself like this... feels like I'm talking to someone..."

She deadpanned.

"I blame Senti."

Shaking her head, she refocused on the task at hand.

"Alright. Let's try making a simple house."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

A few hours later...

Hua dusted off her hands, stepping back to admire her work.

A proud grin spread across her face.

It looks like a house, so it should be a house... right?

Nodding to herself, she walked toward the entrance. Reaching for the door, she pulled it open—

CREEEEAK—

CRASH.

The entire structure collapsed instantly, as if it had just been held together by sheer optimism.

Hua stood frozen amidst the falling debris, staring blankly at the pile of broken wood that was once her "house."

"...."

She exhaled slowly, expression unreadable.

"I blame the reader."

After a few hours of struggling—without any failures...

...Well, maybe two or four.

...Okay, it was more than ten, so what?

The house was finally complete.

Hua placed her hands on her hips, staring at her hard-earned creation with a sense of victory.

"So it was true... 'keep moving forward' they said. From failure comes success."

Even though her body wasn't physically tired, her mind was exhausted.

"...I don't wanna build another house ever again."

With that declaration, she stepped inside.

Forget about this being temporary—she was living here now.

Glancing outside, she noticed that the sky had shifted to a golden hue. Sunset was approaching.

Better get some food before it gets too dark.

Hua stepped out and made her way toward the trees where she had found the weird fruits earlier. As she reached out to pick one, something in the distance caught her eye.

Hmmm?

A faint movement.

Something was there.

She narrowed her eyes and instinctively lowered her posture, sneaking toward the direction of the sound.

Even if it was a person, she wasn't about to just walk up to them and go

"Hey, I got lost. Do you know where the nearest city is?"

This wasn't some isekai manga. This was real life.

If a random stranger suddenly appeared out of nowhere and asked for a city's location, wouldn't that be... suspicious?

She deadpanned.

"Yeah, I'm 100% sure that person would get shot on sight."

At least, she would shoot first if it happened to her.

Ahem.

Anyway.

As she crept closer to the sound's source, she finally saw what was making the noise.

Lying on the ground, struggling to move—

Was an injured boar.

Hua stared at the injured boar.

Did it get attacked?

She crouched down, inspecting the wounds.

The cuts weren't clean—looked like they were made by a dull weapon.

Did some random guy just... beat this boar with a club or something?

She looked around. No one in sight.

Oh well. Guess I'll take this boar for my dinner.

Her mouth curled into a grin.

Meat.

She stepped forward from her hiding spot, ready to claim her prize—

"Mi muhe mita, mita movo lata!"

A sudden voice made her freeze.

Turning her head, she saw a weird humanoid creature approaching the boar.

It wore a mask... and on that mask was an eclipse symbol.

Wait a second...

Hua narrowed her eyes, staring at the creature.

Why does this thing look so familiar...?

She tried to remember where she had seen it before—

"yAaA!"

Her eyes twitched.

Oh.

OH.

Her expression darkened.

Isn't this... a Hilichurl?

Her brain lagged for a moment.

"...Am I in Genshin Impact?"

She immediately went through her memories.

She had never played the game before. The most she knew about it was from ads and that one friend who wouldn't shut up about it.

"yAaA!"

Oh, for the love of—

That stupid sound.

She could still hear it echoing in her mind from all the times her friend spammed it while mocking her for losing a 1v1.

She had even planned to try the game herself...

But, well.

A truck decided to fly toward her house before that could happen.

...Anyway.

Hua cracked her knuckles, glaring at the unsuspecting Hilichurl.

"I should beat this thing up."

Not because it was an enemy.

Not because it was blocking her dinner.

But because hearing that ya-da ya-da sound was making her irrationally irritated.