Soon, the vermilion gate had completed its transformation.
The teleportation array etched onto the door was now functional, but it still lacked a destination.
At this point, teleportation was possible, but only with a general direction and approximate distance—hardly precise.
To achieve point-to-point teleportation, further setup was required.
Upon hearing Lu Heng's plan, Venti remarked, "This would indeed be quite convenient."
"If I wanted to go to the Court of Fontaine later, I could first head to the Liyue Harbor branch, teleport here, and then teleport to the Court of Fontaine?"
"Definitely not," Lu Heng shook his head.
He had initially considered that approach, but his thinking had since evolved.
This was his home—why turn it into a transit hub?
If it were just for his wife and friends, that would be one thing, but he didn't want strangers wandering around his house.
Lu Heng explained, "I plan to simplify it further. Eventually, it'll be possible to teleport directly from the Liyue branch to the Fontaine branch without needing to stop at my place."
"Once you understand the theory, it's actually quite simple," Venti mused.
"Then do you know how to do it?" Zhongli asked.
If you're going to talk like that, then there's no point in continuing.
Venti shook his head and fell silent.
His brain might have grasped the concept, but his hands and abilities weren't up to the task.
"Let's go to the shop first. Later, you guys can test the stability."
"Great, came to watch the fun and got roped into manual labor," Venti sighed, patting the back of his head.
"You think I let you come here for no reason?" Lu Heng chuckled.
Of course, this was just a joke.
Whether in terms of theoretical understanding or practical execution, the teleportation array Lu Heng had constructed was flawless—there was no risk involved.
Half an hour later.
Lu Heng had repurposed an idle warehouse in each of the two shops.
"Go ahead and try it," Lu Heng urged the three of them.
"Let's go."
Neuvillette had no objections; he was quite curious about this method of teleportation.
He stepped forward and turned the doorknob.
Upon opening the door, he found himself in a spacious room, facing another doorway.
Neuvillette walked through the room, turned the knob of the second door, and opened it.
What greeted him was the sight of the Liyue branch.
"It worked!"
Furina was delighted. "This way, if I want to visit Liyue, I won't have to take a boat or anything!"
"I'm going to check it out too!" Furina quickly followed.
Lu Heng wasn't worried about her. Instead, he examined the idle warehouse, pondering some details.
When the door was opened in the Court of Fontaine, the warehouse it led to was actually in Liyue Harbor, so opening the next door would take you directly there.
The same principle applied in reverse.
The teleportation process was imperceptible—it simply compressed the void space between two locations to an extreme degree, achieving the effect of "opening a door is like crossing a threshold."
After confirming there were no oversights and running a cyber-divination check without finding any issues, Lu Heng was completely reassured.
After some further thought, he decided to restrict access to this feature to a select few.
Simply put, too many people queuing up to use it wouldn't break the system, but the high traffic would be unnecessarily chaotic.
It would be best reserved for acquaintances.
After modifying the warehouse, Lu Heng also adjusted a room on the first floor.
Naturally, he needed to create a door that would teleport to the pocket dimension.
By the time everything was set up, it was already noon.
"Boss Lu!"
Venti said earnestly, "Have you considered opening a branch in Mondstadt?"
Lu Heng no longer had the all-functional shop expansion card in his possession.
He shook his head and replied, "I definitely have plans, but there's no rush for now. Are you worried that the Knights of Favonius might miss out on gacha opportunities because of the travel time between the two places?"
"That's part of it," Venti nodded.
"Then we could start by acquiring a shop in Mondstadt and setting up a teleportation door there," Lu Heng suggested.
Venti immediately pulled out his phone and glanced at the character profiles in Genshin Impact.
"If too many people come, it might get crowded here. How about just these people? You're already familiar with them," Venti proposed.
All Genshin characters?
"Deal!" Lu Heng agreed without hesitation.
"I'll message Jean. The Knights will secure a shop for you right away. Any additional requirements?" Venti asked.
Lu Heng thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No, that's it."
"Bro, thank you for helping Mondstadt keep up with the times!" Venti was overjoyed.
This way, even if the entire nation didn't immediately advance, the Knights of Favonius would!
And once the Knights were on board, the rest of the populace could follow at their own pace. After all, there was no external pressure.
"You're making me sound old," Lu Heng laughed.
"Age doesn't matter in the pursuit of knowledge—those who attain it first lead the way," Venti replied without missing a beat.
Zhongli nodded in agreement.
"Alright then."
Lu Heng shrugged, not making a big deal out of it.
The sentiment was correct, but if you truly considered someone a friend, it was best not to flaunt seniority too much.
"I'll go get Focalors. Let's head out for lunch," Lu Heng said.
Focalors, in her purely divine form, showed no signs of fragility despite slight erosion.
As she walked out with Lu Heng, she greeted the others with a smile. "Hello, everyone~"
Venti nodded in response. "Sister-in-law, hello!"
Zhongli's eyes widened.
Seriously, dude?
No wonder you're the smooth one.
Just look at that—a single "sister-in-law" brightened Focalors' mood instantly.
Furina silently stepped forward, linking arms with Lu Heng and staring pointedly at Venti.
With Focalors on one side and Furina on the other, Venti remained utterly unfazed under Furina's gaze. Instead, he praised, "The two of you standing beside my brother are a perfect match—a divine pairing made in heaven!"
Furina's expression immediately brightened.
Lu Heng sighed. "I'm starting to think you got your Archon position by being a smooth-talker."
"From a universal standpoint, that is a possibility," Zhongli mused, his expression complicated.
Neuvillette remained silent.
"I speak only from the heart," Venti laughed.
"Let's go eat. After lunch, we'll head to Mondstadt."
Mondstadt.
Jean had already received Venti's message.
Without delay, she summoned Lisa.
Spreading a map of Mondstadt City on the table, Jean said solemnly, "Although Mr. Lu Heng isn't opening a branch here directly, from Lord Barbatos' message, this shop is a step toward that future. Moreover, it will allow us to travel directly between the Liyue branch and Mondstadt via teleportation!"
"I understand," Lisa nodded. "You're considering the location, right?"
"It has to be the best—this is the opportunity Lord Barbatos fought for us," Jean said firmly.
"How about Fountain Plaza? It has the highest foot traffic," Lisa suggested.
Mondstadt City was different from Liyue Harbor.
From above, the city on the lake island appeared oval-shaped.
From ground level, the terrain rose gradually from the flat entrance to the highest point at the Cathedral of Favonius.
Fountain Plaza was essentially the heart of Mondstadt.
However, Mondstadt wasn't an economic powerhouse, so its central area wasn't as bustling as Liyue's Feiyun Slope. The streets were more uniformly developed.
But in terms of location, Fountain Plaza was undoubtedly the best—convenient for travel and spacious.
"Then this spot it is," Jean circled a location on the map.
Right across from the Good Hunter, between the general store and the alchemy bench.
(In the game, these two places are right next to each other with no extra space, but in this story, Fountain Plaza is larger, with room for a row of shops.)
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T/N:
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