Lu Heng was sipping tea while Venti was drinking wine.
As he drank, Venti was also deep in thought. He wasn't someone who cared much about power or strength—as long as he had enough to protect what he wanted to protect, that was sufficient.
But now, the Card Shop had too many interesting things that piqued Venti's interest.
Just the alcohol-themed item card (Item Card: Item Card) Lu Heng had mentioned earlier was incredibly tempting to Venti!
He realized that even if he could sell the Gnosis, it wouldn't fetch much money, and the hassle wouldn't be worth it.
If only there were a stable way to earn income…
Thinking of this, Venti couldn't help but feel troubled.
Lu Heng glanced at Venti and immediately understood his dilemma.
Venti's only source of income was street performances.
But how much could busking really earn?
At best, enough for a few bottles of apple wine!
To think that Venti didn't even have a place to live in Mondstadt—he just slept on the great tree at Windrise.
How pitiful.
Compared to Zhongli, Venti's life seemed a bit too bohemian.
At least Zhongli had found someone to support him!
With that in mind, Lu Heng chuckled, "Why not follow the example of that guy in Liyue and become a consultant for someone?"
"Hmm?"
"You know about the old man's situation?" Venti asked, intrigued. "From the sound of it, he's working for someone… as an employee?"
"More like a high-level advisor. Ever heard of that?"
"Oh!" Venti's eyes lit up with understanding.
He had only awakened a couple of years ago and had been staying in Mondstadt ever since, so he wasn't aware of the situation next door.
Hearing Lu Heng's words, Venti suddenly grew interested.
If I'm not doing well myself, surely the old man wouldn't mind me freeloading a bit, right?
If my buddy's already cruising in a luxury car, what's wrong with me hitching a ride?
"Hehe."
Venti rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Well then, Boss Lu, I'll take my leave for now. I'm off to Liyue to check things out. I'll visit again another time!"
"In such a hurry?"
Lu Heng smiled. "I've actually been planning to open a branch in Liyue recently. If you want to find me, just come back to the shop in Fontaine."
"Eh?"
Venti, who had just stood up to leave, immediately sat back down.
"Since you're heading to Liyue too, why don't we go together?" Venti suggested.
"Sure." After a brief moment of consideration, Lu Heng nodded.
"What?!"
"Boss Lu, you're going to Liyue?!"
Tartaglia limped over, his steps hurried despite his injuries.
"Yeah."
Lu Heng smiled. "It's just business expansion. Since the shop's doing well, it's time to consider opening branches. I've chosen Liyue."
"Liyue, huh…"
Tartaglia felt a twinge in his back teeth.
This was complicated for him.
After all, the Tsaritsa had tasked him with stirring up trouble in Liyue!
In other words, he was supposed to scheme for Morax's Gnosis!
Given his current strength, he was still far from ready, but wasn't the whole point of pulling limited cards to bridge that gap?
He was growing stronger rapidly, while Liyue remained unaware of the Card Shop's existence—that was his first advantage!
He had already reached Archon-level strength, while Liyue was only just learning about the Card Shop—that was his second advantage!
By the time Liyue started flocking to Fontaine to pull cards, he would already be at the level of a high-tier Archon—that was his third advantage!
In Tartaglia's mind, by the time card-pulling became popular in Liyue, he'd already be strong enough to challenge Morax one-on-one. Why bother with elaborate schemes?
After all, being one step ahead meant staying ahead forever!
But now, Lu Heng was going to open a branch in Liyue!
The sky was falling!
His time advantage was gone!
Given Liyue's economic strength, Tartaglia didn't even dare to imagine the consequences—he feared it would exceed his wildest expectations.
But Tartaglia knew he couldn't influence Lu Heng's decision. All he could do now was make the most of whatever advantage he still had.
At this point, Tartaglia could only hope that Liyue's intelligence network was slow. That way, when Lu Heng opened his shop in Liyue Harbor, it would be like starting from scratch, giving him a few more days of advantage.
After some more contemplation, Tartaglia decided to tag along with Lu Heng.
He'd have to go to Liyue eventually anyway—might as well go together.
Wait!
A sudden idea lit up Tartaglia's face.
The Northland Bank in Fontaine wasn't doing too well, with only 1.2 billion Mora in available funds. The rest belonged to depositors and couldn't be freely used—otherwise, a single misstep could cripple the branch!
But what if he used up this 1.2 billion and then went to Liyue's Northland Bank to tap into their funds?
Wouldn't that be amazing? (So damn satisfying!)
Liyue's economy was far more developed. Even though the Northland Bank there was struggling under the Tianquan's pressure, its scale was several times larger than Fontaine's!
Tartaglia could already see the divine throne beckoning to him.
"Liyue is great, Liyue is wonderful!"
Tartaglia grinned brightly. "Boss Lu, mind if I tag along too?"
Lu Heng was taken aback.
Tartaglia's expression had been shifting rapidly, and now he suddenly made this request… After a brief moment of thought, Lu Heng activated his "Gambling Prophet" skill.
Immediately, he understood.
This guy was a genius!
After glancing at Venti, Lu Heng replied, "Sure. When the time comes, I'll be opening the shop. You'll help out?"
"No problem!" Tartaglia nodded excitedly.
"By the way, who's this?" Tartaglia turned to Venti.
"Hello there! I'm Venti, the three-time consecutive winner of Mondstadt's Most Popular Bard competition!" Venti introduced himself cheerfully.
Tartaglia had never heard of such a contest, but the title sounded impressive.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tartaglia, the 11th of the Fatui Harbingers, codename 'Childe.'" Tartaglia nodded politely.
"Oh? A Harbinger?"
Venti's eyes sparkled as he grinned. "I've got a business proposal. Interested?"
"What kind of business?" Tartaglia asked, curious.
"Come here."
Venti looked around conspiratorially and gestured for Tartaglia to lean in.
Once Tartaglia was close, Venti used his cape to shield their exchange, then pulled out a chess piece-like object from his chest and raised an eyebrow.
"A Gnosis. Want it?"
"?!"
Tartaglia's eyes widened in shock.
Wait, hold on—
You're acting like you're selling contraband, and you pull out a Gnosis?!
Judging by the Gnosis's appearance, Tartaglia instantly recognized Venti's identity.
"What's the deal?" Tartaglia asked cautiously.
Venti thought for a moment, then held up five fingers. "50 million. Final offer."
"50 million?!" Are you robbing me?!
If this were the past, Tartaglia would've immediately shaken Venti's hand and closed the deal.
But times had changed!
That was then, this is now!
Are you kidding?
50 million?!
With that much, if I'm lucky, I could pull a five-star gold card!
"Not interested!" Tartaglia refused without hesitation.
This was Signora's mission—what did it have to do with him, Tartaglia?
He and that cold woman never got along anyway.
Might as well pretend he never saw it!
As for merits… pulling cards to grow stronger was the greatest merit of all!
"If you're really desperate to sell, you should go back to Mondstadt. There's a Harbinger there who might be interested," Tartaglia suggested tactfully.
"I'll give you a discount!"
"Unless it's free, I'm not considering it!" Tartaglia shook his head repeatedly.
Venti sighed in disappointment.
Failing to trick Tartaglia made him feel a bit defeated.
Besides, if even a discounted Gnosis couldn't be sold, was this thing really becoming worthless?
Then again, among the Seven Archons, aside from the Tsaritsa's secret plans, who else even cared about this thing?
"Times have changed," Venti lamented.
Meanwhile, as they chatted, news of Lu Heng's impending departure from Fontaine to Liyue began spreading like wildfire.
Without a doubt, Lu Heng's departure caused far more panic than the prophecy crisis.
To the people of Fontaine, it truly felt like the sky was falling!
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T/N:
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