That night, in the dream.
Xia Zhi, Shenhe, Xia Ci, Xia Zhen, and Ganyu were all gathered again.
"Come on, let's queue for a match!"
"No more ranked. Let's do All Random."
"Sure."
Another chaotic round of AI stomping ensued.
Xia Ci leaned back from the keyboard with a sigh. "Ugh, I don't want to play with bots anymore. They're so dumb."
Xia Zhen was still admiring his Yasuo pentakill replay. "I thought it was fine."
"It's not what you think. It's what I think."
"Then go find five more players."
"It's not about the number. It's the matchmaking."
"What, you want to build your own server?"
"Yep."
"?"
The other four turned to see Xia Ci deep in thought.
"…You're actually thinking about building a whole server?"
"I am."
"God, you're such a net addict."
"I'm just brainstorming. We already have the Void Terminal. I could probably mod it into a server base."
"You don't even have a Gnosis."
"It's just for gaming! Doesn't need that much power."
"So what's your plan?"
"Cousin, remember that dream farm we talked about?"
"...You mean Azhdaha?"
"Exactly! With a god's spiritual power as the core, that's more than enough for a server."
"…Let's talk later."
Ganyu quietly sat on the sidelines, watching the group banter like pros. She didn't dare speak.
Even if she was now a Adepti, she was still clearly the weakest link here.
---
The next morning, Xia Zhi lay in bed.
Half a month off work, and he still had no motivation to move.
There was a knock at the door.
He switched to god's-eye view—it was Shenhe.
He got up, opened the door, and began his daily routine.
After washing up, Xia Zhi made breakfast for everyone.
Miss Chi Yu was grumbling, "You have no idea what Hu Tao did last night. She ran out in the middle of the night to buy fruits. Came back and simmered soup by herself, then woke me up to drink it with her. Said it was super good for the body. But that taste… ugh, I can't even…"
Everyone burst out laughing.
Zhu Zi brought in the newspaper and read some headlines aloud.
The front page featured an ad from the Liyue Bank.
New card launch, universal membership, mortgage-friendly offers...
Xia Zhi figured business at the Liyue Bank was going to explode today.
The power of media was finally starting to show.
Other news mostly covered yesterday's Lantern Rite festivities.
One article, written by Xiangling, on how to make Golden Fried Rice.
Miss Chi Yu looked envious. "She got ten thousand Mora for just that short piece?"
Xiangling chuckled. "Yup."
Chi Yu looked up. "Boss!"
"Hmm?"
"I wanna learn to cook too!"
"…Better not."
"Why not?"
"I don't think you've got the talent."
"How would you know?!"
"I sensed it… from Hu Tao."
"…Hu Tao is Hu Tao. I'm me! How is it my fault she's a disaster in the kitchen?!"
"…Fine. You can start training in the kitchen from now on."
"Yes! Thank you, boss!"
After breakfast, Miss Ganyu said her goodbyes and returned to Yuehai Pavilion for work.
Things had gotten pretty relaxed for her lately.
At 9:00 AM, the shop officially reopened.
A massive crowd had already gathered outside.
"Boss Xia, finally!"
"Do you know how we survived the past half-month?!"
"I read the papers. Said you were cooking on the construction site, and the workers even got free Rainbow Juice!"
"I saw that too. I almost went there myself."
"Almost? I actually packed and showed up! But they said they weren't taking anyone else."
"You must've been too late. I heard from a friend and rushed there the day before. I've been sleeping on-site for half a month! Man, the food there… you guys have no idea…"
"Damn it! You didn't even call me?!"
"Seriously!"
---
Listening to the noisy chatter, Xia Zhi shook his head with a smile.
He realized that once they went traveling, this little shop would have to close again. The regulars were going to be heartbroken.
Might be time to find a substitute manager.
When Miss Ningguang comes by tonight, he'd bring it up.
No need to let "wealth flow to outsiders," especially since she was someone he had calculated with divination…
---
Two days later.
On the seventeenth of the month, the school construction finished right on schedule.
At the same time, a list of workers was delivered to Keqing.
These were the most diligent workers from the past two weeks—their names were to be engraved on a commemorative stone.
They were ranked by dedication, top to bottom.
Keqing opened the list and began reviewing it.
But the moment she saw the very first name, her brow twitched.
"Moon… Carver?"
She blinked, then continued down the list.
The second name made her frown again.
"Mountain… Shaper?"
Keqing looked over their workload.
Um…
The combined workload of the next ten people barely matched that of either of them alone.
No surprise—Adepti weren't just supernaturally strong, they were absurdly diligent. Working through the night like it was nothing…
Keqing pressed a hand to her forehead, speechless.
"Lady Yuheng?"
"Proceed with the engraving based on this list."
"What about these two Adepti? Shouldn't we consult them?"
"No need. This is a perfect way to show the close ties between Adepti and the school."
"Understood."
done
---
Join my Patreon for early access to 100+ chapters and to support my work: Patreon.com/rivyura