Jean naturally understood what Diluc was saying.
The underground intelligence organization's information was very well-informed, as was the Adventurers' Guild's.
These past few days, Ningguang and the others had been fiercely suppressing the Fatui, even resorting to blatant commercial exploitation.
The Fatui dared not express their anger.
They still had to maintain a smiling facade and continue procuring resources.
To be honest, Jean was truly envious.
Even when the Grand Master on an Expedition was present, Mondstadt had never been so assertive.
But...
"The situation is completely different, Master Diluc!"
Venti chuckled, trying to appease Jean.
"Liyue's Geo Archon, Rex Lapis, is recognized as the strongest in Teyvat. The title of God of War is one that all future gods must look up to."
"Under his command are countless Adepti, all formidable in battle. The Conqueror of Demons, who is often active, also possesses Archon-level combat power."
"There aren't just one or two Adepti hidden within Liyue Harbor."
"Furthermore, Liyue doesn't have a Grand Master on an Expedition. As Teyvat's premier port and wealthiest nation,"
"they have the confidence to face anyone."
Venti might have intended to persuade Diluc not to be too harsh on the Knights of Favonius.
But after this string of words, everyone present looked at him strangely.
After a moment of silence, Paimon spread her hands helplessly.
"It sounds really strange coming from you."
"Liyue's Geo Archon diligently descends every year, and his Archon subordinates are all safely protecting Liyue."
"Yet you, this guy, can leisurely sleep for five hundred years."
"Your own subordinates are targeted by the Abyss Order, and you have no power to save Dvalin!"
"Seriously, bard, are you really one of the original Archons, just like Rex Lapis?"
"Or are you, this guy, just putting on an act?"
Hearing this, Venti's heart skipped a beat, almost breaking his composure.
His actions, if seen by Zhongli, would immediately reveal that he was putting on a performance again.
As the Anemo Archon who had lived for over three thousand years, in his earliest form, he was a spirit of the thousand winds.
He even had some connection to Istaroth.
And having successfully ascended to godhood, even if he lost his Gnosis and his faith, he would still be a top-tier powerhouse in Teyvat.
One of the strongest among the Archons.
The reason for his five-hundred-year absence was simply to heal his wounds.
The war in Khaenri'ah had nearly claimed his life.
As for why he was unwilling to act himself now...
It concerned the Abyss, the Heavenly Principles, his guilt over his dereliction of duty five hundred years ago...
And even Lumine, the Traveler.
Venti certainly couldn't admit it.
He merely looked innocently at Paimon.
"Didn't I say it already! The power of a god is related to governing their nation. I haven't been around for five hundred years, so how could I have any power?"
"Little Paimon, are you trying to get me eaten by Dvalin?"
"Don't forget, it was you guys who startled Dvalin and made me fail before, you know!"
Hearing this, Paimon's spirits deflated.
A hint of slyness flashed in Venti's eyes.
In truth, even without that incident, he would have had to connect with Lumine and the others; this whole situation required Lumine's involvement.
To put it in mystical terms, the moment Lumine arrived was the beginning of Teyvat's storm.
And Lumine was the eye of that storm.
However, Venti's subtle expressions naturally didn't escape Jean and Diluc.
But they didn't need to guess.
The Gunnhildr Clan was the clan that summoned Barbatos in ancient times.
Their family records stated that even before becoming the Anemo Archon, Venti's power was incredibly strong.
The original Seven Archons, and even the current Seven Archons, were not powerful after becoming Archons.
Rather, they became gods precisely because they were already powerful.
The title of Archon merely served to mark their achievements.
Venti once blew away ice and snow with a single arrow, bringing rain and dew, allowing Mondstadt to settle there.
Zhongli once threw a spear, creating the Guyun Stone Forest, and during the Archon War, he flattened Dihua Marsh.
Could a mere Gnosis, an external magical organ, truly enable them to achieve such feats?
Scaramouche later wielded two Gnoses, yet Nahida, who didn't even have a Gnosis, still managed to subdue him, didn't she?
The Archons' strength always came from within.
Jean and Diluc understood that Venti was definitely putting on an act.
But they didn't care.
Although Diluc seemingly didn't care about Venti's identity, he was, after all, the Anemo Archon.
While not as fanatical as the Liyueans, who universally believed "Rex Lapis must have his reasons for doing this,"
Diluc wouldn't expose Venti's little tricks.
Besides, Dvalin was not beyond Mondstadt's capabilities.
If they truly intended to kill him...
Whether it was deploying Lisa, recalling Albedo, or even letting Klee take the stage,
they could all deal with Dvalin.
Dvalin's current strength was far from what it once was.
Klee's mother could blow up Stormterror's Lair; surely she wouldn't have left Klee without some means to protect herself?
The topic quickly changed, and Diluc's criticism of the Knights of Favonius temporarily ceased.
After a pause, Diluc suddenly said,
"Liyue has changed so much recently. I don't know what they've discovered, but..."
"The output of resources like iron ore, wood, food, and stone has suddenly doubled, and their quality is far superior to before, yet the prices haven't changed at all."
"I heard that Fontaine and Snezhnaya are also preparing to send people to extensively purchase coal and renegotiate long-term contracts with Liyue."
Before he finished speaking, Jean asked, somewhat puzzled,
"Fontaine I can understand, since over there now... they do need to renegotiate contracts."
"But Snezhnaya... doesn't Liyue have the Fatui?"
Hearing this, Diluc sighed inwardly.
Jean was a very capable leader, and her popularity was high throughout Mondstadt.
The Grand Master on an Expedition's journey was perhaps also to pave the way for Jean.
But ultimately, Jean had too little experience with these matters, and her understanding of governance and the nation was far inferior to Ningguang and the others.
However, Diluc still explained,
"All of the Fatui's purchases in Liyue are priced fifty percent higher than other nations and factions."
"Snezhnaya is Snezhnaya, and the Fatui are the Fatui."
"The Liyue Qixing has declared that anyone who dares to purchase resources at a low price and sell them to the Fatui for less than one hundred and fifty percent of the set price"
"Liyue will prohibit that party from acquiring any resources from Liyue."
"I heard that after the Sumeru Akademiya violated a contract and was targeted by the Liyue Qixing, paying a heavy price to lift the ban,"
"the total price of all their procured resources tripled."
Hearing this, Jean was astonished. She knew this was her pen pal Ningguang's doing.
But Ningguang indeed had the confidence and the means; Jean was very envious.
Ever since she became the Acting Grand Master of the Knights, she had frequently exchanged letters with Ningguang, consulting on management issues.
However, recently, Ningguang seemed to be busy with something and hadn't been replying much.
Given that she was dealing with the Dvalin issue, Jean didn't think much of it.
"In any case, what I'm saying is,"
Diluc returned to the main topic, speaking softly,
"Liyue's current resource output far exceeds what it was, both in quantity and quality. After the Dragon Storm is resolved, we need to immediately negotiate with Liyue."
"Iron ore and grain are the most urgent needs of the Merchants' Guild right now, but the Guild doesn't have much Mora."
"At that time, you, as the Acting Grand Master, will need to go personally and negotiate on behalf of the Mondstadt Merchants' Guild."
With that, Diluc took out a newly acquired iron ingot that had been re-smelted by Liyue.
Its weight wasn't excessive; it was a normal iron weight.
But before Jean could take it, Venti suddenly transformed into a breeze and snatched the iron ingot.
Diluc frowned slightly, intending to ask him what he was doing.
But seeing the solemn look in Venti's eyes, he fell silent.
Clearly, there was some special secret about the things produced in Liyue.
Otherwise, a lazy Archon like Venti would never be so proactive.
"It can't be wrong..."
Venti muttered softly, his eyes filled with obvious shock and excitement.
A law aura that did not belong to Teyvat!
Even with Rex Lapis's divine power as the source of smelting, which greatly weakened the quality and aura of the MC world's iron ingot,
others might not have been able to tell, and even the Seven Archons might not have noticed.
But Venti, being an old friend of Zhongli's, was too familiar with him.
Having lived for over three thousand years, he could tell at a glance that this item was entirely different from any law in Teyvat.
"Another world... Old man, what exactly are you doing..."
Venti felt bitter, sensing that everything he had planned seemed to be on the verge of being overturned.
"Lord Venti... Venti, is there something wrong with this iron?"
Jean also asked softly.
Venti's expression quickly returned to his usual carefree and lazy demeanor, waving his hand with a chuckle.
"No, nothing. I just thought I'd never seen iron ore of such high quality... Liyue truly went all out."
He replied with an ambiguous statement, then Venti went back to drinking, but then lightly added,
"After we deal with Dvalin, Jean and the Traveler should be going to Liyue, right? Why don't we go together?"
"Coincidentally, I haven't seen that old friend in a long time."
Jean's heart sank, and she gripped the iron ingot, nodding softly.
Paimon, however, rolled her eyes and said with a giggle,
"Bard, didn't you say that Rex Lapis was always angry with you for tampering with his contract?"
"Is it really okay for you to come with us?"
Venti's face stiffened, but he quickly chuckled and said,
"Well... uh..."
"At that point, I can just apologize to the old man! As his old friend, he surely won't punish me with the Stone-Eating Punishment... right?"
The group did not continue discussing this topic.
However, Diluc and Jean had made their own calculations.
The fact that Venti would actively break his habit of avoiding Liyue clearly indicated that there was something unusual about these resources.
But this was Venti's business to discuss; they were merely there for normal business cooperation.
They tacitly bypassed the issue of Liyue's resources, and the group continued to discuss the plan to resolve the Dragon Storm.
...
Time flew by, and two days passed.
On the morning of the third day, Jiang Xuan pulled the sore and soft Ganyu out of bed.
After eating breakfast with everyone, they re-entered the MC world.
After rotating the current batch of miners to the next, everyone rushed back to the manor villa.
Today was the most important day.
Today...
They would finally step out of the comfort zone of the manor villa and take their first step to explore the entire MC world!
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