Liyue Harbor, Card Shop.
Lu Heng and Zhongli were chatting while a crowd of people gathered outside the shop to draw cards.
The news of the card shop hadn't spread too widely, but with Ganyu's promotion, all the idle employees from the nearby Ministry of Civil Affairs had come. With them as the foundation, and once the Yuehai Pavilion issued an official document, the card shop would surely become a sensation in Liyue Harbor.
"This is good as well."
Watching the Ministry of Civil Affairs employees drawing cards, a smile appeared on Zhongli's face, tinged with a hint of relief.
With the arrival of the card shop, Liyue's strength was bound to increase.
Originally, he had still been worried about whether this child had grown up yet.
But now… there was no need to worry anymore.
Among them, there would emerge powerful individuals even he would take notice of, and they would naturally protect their homeland.
As for the Geo Archon Morax… He could still remain a spiritual symbol, but His presence could gradually fade.
Lu Heng looked at Zhongli and could sense the relaxation in his heart.
He could also understand.
After working for so many years, finally being able to retire—it really was a great feeling.
More importantly, he was still young!
Mentally, he might have become steady, entering middle age, but physically, he was still youthful!
"Boss Lu!"
In the middle of their conversation, Tartaglia called out loudly.
"Your challenger is here," Lu Heng said with a laugh.
Zhongli smiled but didn't respond.
Tartaglia walked into the shop in high spirits.
He had just visited the Northland Bank, and the situation here was indeed much better than in the Court of Fontaine.
As expected of the economic center of Teyvat!
Even if life was relatively modest, the Mora in hand was several times more than in Fontaine!
"Huh? Where's Venti?" Tartaglia asked. "Did he go back to Mondstadt?"
"Yeah, he'll probably be back later," Lu Heng replied.
"Alright, I'll draw some cards first."
"How much are you planning to spend?" Lu Heng asked.
"Let's start with a billion!"
Tartaglia motioned outside with his chin.
Members of the Northland Bank were bringing in chests of Mora.
"Doesn't seem like your style," Lu Heng chuckled.
Shouldn't he be going all-in with his money for a gamble?
After all, this was Morax's territory, and the one he wanted to challenge was none other than the oldest Archon, Morax. Yet he was only spending a billion?
"Just testing the waters!" Tartaglia said.
A billion to test the waters?
The Fatui really were wealthy.
Zhongli couldn't help but feel a twinge of感慨.
"Then let's begin," Lu Heng nodded.
Tartaglia converted all the Mora into draws.
Then he solemnly held the Crimson Toad's front paws and said, "Toad, whether you can reach Tier 5 depends on today! I'm not asking for too many gold cards—just a few more purple ones to dismantle for experience would be fine!"
"Ribbit!"
The Crimson Toad let out a meaningless croak.
"Glad you're confident!"
As the holder of the Crimson Toad card, Tartaglia could understand what it meant.
He immediately had it perform a 10,000-draw.
"No gold cards, but eight purple ones!"
"Toad, you're amazing!" Tartaglia was delighted.
As the equipment's tier increased, the amount of card experience required grew exponentially.
Higher-tier cards meant more experience from dismantling!
"Again!"
Tartaglia had the Crimson Toad draw once more.
This time, only three purple cards appeared.
"This one's a bit unlucky," Tartaglia shook his head.
Zhongli stood up and walked over. He hadn't seen such large-scale card draws before and was curious.
"Mr. Zhongli."
Tartaglia took a liking to him and asked, "Why don't you try a draw for me?"
"Oh?"
Zhongli was slightly surprised but seemed interested. "Is that appropriate?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't it be? Don't worry!" Tartaglia didn't mind at all.
It was just one draw. The chance of getting a gold card was already small—getting one would be a pleasant surprise, but not getting one was normal.
"Then thank you. I'll give it a try," Zhongli said, feeling a bit eager himself.
He tapped the 10,000-draw button.
A dense purple light split into ten parts and landed on the counter, while cards below Tier 4 were neatly stacked to the side.
"Ten?!"
"Damn, Mr. Zhongli, you're even better than my toad!" Tartaglia gave a thumbs-up, then asked eagerly, "Again?"
"Alright."
Zhongli nodded and performed another 10,000-draw.
A rich purple light bloomed, and twelve purple cards appeared on the counter.
"Twelve?!"
"Hold on, buddy."
Tartaglia turned to Zhongli with disbelief. "Are your hands… blessed or something?"
Zhongli pondered and said, "Generally speaking, this might just be a temporary stroke of luck."
"Then try again?"
This time, the 10,000-draw yielded only two purple cards.
Tartaglia felt disappointed but also thought this was more normal.
"You should take over now. I've had my fun," Zhongli said with a smile.
"Alright."
Tartaglia turned to Lu Heng and said, "Boss Lu, don't you think something's off today? It's been 50,000 draws already, and still no gold card?"
He joked, "Boss Lu, you're not rigging the odds against regulars, are you?"
Lu Heng teased back, "What are you talking about? I run a legitimate business. Why would I tweak your odds?"
"Haha, just kidding. Dinner's on me tonight!"
Tartaglia glanced outside and said, "I've heard that Xinyue Kiosk and Liuli Pavilion over there are pretty good. I wonder how they compare to Hotel Debord… The only issue is the lines. Ah, forget it. I'll just use some means to cut in line by paying extra."
He didn't bother hiding the fact that he was a Fatui Harbinger or the underhanded methods the Fatui employed.
There was no need to hide such things in front of Lu Heng.
Lu Heng appreciated his honesty.
"Mr. Zhongli, you should join us too. Don't be shy. We're new to Liyue and don't know many people. Since you and Boss Lu get along, and I've taken a liking to you, let's be friends." Tartaglia patted Zhongli's shoulder.
Do you even know who I am?
Zhongli thought to himself but maintained a faint smile as he replied, "Then I won't decline."
"That's the spirit!"
Tartaglia said, "I've noticed most Liyue folks are reserved, but we Snezhnayans are more straightforward. We're friends—no need to be too polite!"
"True," Lu Heng agreed.
As they spoke, Tartaglia had already completed two more 10,000-draws.
It had been 70,000 draws now, and still no gold card?!
Was today just particularly unlucky?!
Tartaglia's hand trembled as he drew.
Refusing to believe it, he tapped the button again.
A familiar golden light burst forth.
Zhongli's gaze immediately locked onto the glow.
The power of an Archon-level being…
The golden light split into two in midair.
"A double gold? Your draws are something else," Lu Heng remarked with admiration.
This seemed to be Tartaglia's second double gold.
"Heh!"
"See? I knew gold cards would come eventually!" Tartaglia quickly handed the two gold cards to Lu Heng.
After appraising them, Lu Heng placed the two cards on the table.
[Yin-Yang Dual Mushroom]
[Tier]: 5 (Gold)
[Type]: [External Item Card]
[Trait]: [Treasure Medicine]
[Description]: A medicinal herb born from the blessings of heaven and earth. Consuming it grants insight into the Dao of Yin and Yang. Its effects are even better when refined into a pill.
Tartaglia looked at the card's information and image.
It was a mushroom—one half fiery red, the other icy blue.
"A natural treasure?"
Having learned a bit about cultivation from Lu Heng, Tartaglia thought for a moment and asked, "Do any of us know how to refine pills?"
"Pill refining isn't hard, but with just this one ingredient, you won't get much. You might as well eat it raw," Lu Heng shrugged.
"True."
Zhongli also nodded in agreement.
This thing… was definitely not a species found in Teyvat. At the very least, such a mushroom couldn't grow here.
And it was actually a Tier 5 existence?
Truly eye-opening.
"Then…"
Tartaglia said, "Sharing is better than keeping it to myself. Let's have the kitchen add this to dinner tonight and see how it tastes!"
"Oh, right!"
Tartaglia asked, "The chefs are ordinary people—can they handle this?"
"Don't worry. A regular kitchen knife can cut it. The medicinal properties might degrade a bit, but for soup, it shouldn't be too bad," Lu Heng reassured him.
If it were other natural treasures, they might be hard to handle, but this mushroom could indeed be sliced with a regular knife and cooked directly.
"That's a relief."
Tartaglia looked at the next card.
[Coiling Dragon Spear]
[Tier]: 5 (Gold)
[Type]: [Equipment Card]
[Trait]: [Coiling Dragon's Power]
[Description]: Forged from extraterrestrial meteoric iron and mixed with powdered Coiling Dragon bones. Where the spear's edge passes, the Coiling Dragon follows.
Lu Heng figured it was probably from a lower-tier world. Otherwise, it wouldn't be just Tier 5.
Still, grinding dragon bones into powder and mixing them with meteoric iron?
That was an… interesting approach.
Zhongli stared at the Coiling Dragon Spear card for a while.
Suddenly, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Seeing Zhongli's slightly odd expression, Lu Heng kept a straight face but was laughing inside.
Isn't this just rubbing salt in the wound?
"So cool!"
By now, Tartaglia had already equipped the card.
A long spear materialized in his hand.
The entire weapon was pitch black, with a coiling dragon etched along the shaft, as if using the spear as a pillar to spiral toward the blade.
It exuded a cold aura, the edge radiating sharpness. With each movement, it seemed to slice through the air, creating faint cracks.
Tartaglia was proficient in all weapons. He immediately stepped back and assumed a stance.
As he swung, a ferocious Coiling Dragon followed the spear's edge, as if ready to devour any enemy in its path!
"Pretty cool," Lu Heng praised.
"Hehe!"
Tartaglia was even more pleased.
"Boss Lu, I heard the new…"
"Ahem."
Lu Heng coughed lightly.
Tartaglia paused, then noticed Zhongli's silence and quickly shut his mouth.
Oops, there's a local Liyuean here.
Better not say anything that might cause discord.
Zhongli: "…"
Even if you don't say it, I know what you're thinking.
Why did I help you draw those purple cards earlier?
This is just asking for trouble.
"Ahem, let's keep drawing!"
Tartaglia looked guilty and quickly used up the remaining draws.
Though there were no more gold cards, Tartaglia was extremely satisfied.
With The Unnamed, Coiling Dragon Spear, and Miracle Survival, this was a pure berserker build. How would his opponents counter that?
Even if the Heavenly Principles descended, Tartaglia dared to say he'd poke a few holes in them with this spear!
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T/N:
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