After the meal.
Venti showed his phone to Lu Heng.
"I think this location is pretty good. What do you think?" he asked. "If you're not satisfied, we can change it—anywhere in Mondstadt is up for grabs!"
Lu Heng glanced at the location.
It looked familiar.
As the starting village in the game, Lu Heng had always been fond of Mondstadt.
When he used to AFK in the game, there were only two places he frequented: Mondstadt and Liyue.
Jean and the others had picked a great spot.
The environment around the fountain square was excellent, spacious, and the traffic flow was convenient too.
"Let's go with this," Lu Heng said, very satisfied.
"Then it's settled!" Venti was in a good mood.
Though it wasn't about opening a real branch store in Mondstadt, compared to some other nations, Mondstadt was far ahead.
The thought of Inazuma still being under lockdown made Venti chuckle unkindly.
As for Sumeru...
The waters there ran deep, but in the end, it had little to do with Venti, and he wasn't particularly close to the current Lesser Lord Kusanali either.
So, among the five nations they'd interacted with, only Inazuma and Sumeru lagged behind.
Even Snezhnaya had Tartaglia keeping up with the times in Liyue. Poor Inazuma and Sumeru... Oh, and Natlan too!
"Let's go. It's about time we wrap this up," Lu Heng said, turning to the others. "Are you all coming with me, or do you have other plans?"
"I'm coming with you!" Furina wanted to join in the fun.
Focalors had no other arrangements either.
Zhongli, the ultimate street wanderer, was happy to tag along for a trip to Mondstadt.
"Then let's head out."
Lu Heng raised his hand and opened a teleportation portal.
On the other side of the gate was Mondstadt City!
Passing through the portal, they arrived in Mondstadt.
The city's architectural style and the expressions and movements of its people gave off a relaxed and peaceful vibe.
The feeling of stepping into this city and instantly unwinding wasn't an illusion.
In terms of natural environment, Mondstadt surpassed Liyue in many aspects.
This was the legacy of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, who reshaped the terrain and altered the climate centuries ago.
"This way."
Venti navigated with his phone.
Soon, they arrived at the fountain square.
This was the third time Lu Heng experienced the sensation of the in-game map being merely a rough reference.
Looking at the spacious fountain square, Lu Heng was in high spirits.
"Over there—Jean's waiting for us," Venti said.
Upon learning of Lu Heng's visit to Mondstadt, Jean had secured the shop location and stayed behind.
She and Lisa had waited for about half an hour when they saw Venti leading a group toward them.
The two hurried over to greet them.
"Let me introduce you," Venti said cheerfully. "This is Boss Lu."
"Mr. Lu, welcome to Mondstadt."
Jean, the eldest daughter of the Gunnhildr Clan, carried herself differently from other nobles—she was a warrior who fought to protect.
However, Lu Heng could sense her nervousness.
"Thank you for arranging this and waiting so long," Lu Heng said with a smile.
Venti continued the introductions: "These two are Boss Lu's partners, the current Hydro Archons—Lady Furina and Lady Focalors."
Jean and Lisa were surprised.
Venti hadn't mentioned that such high-profile figures would be visiting.
"Lastly, this is the Geo Archon from next door, the old man Morax—just call him Mr. Zhongli."
After brief introductions, Lu Heng examined the vacant storefront.
It was actually two shops combined. A single shop would've been too small, but merging them created ample space.
Lu Heng nodded in satisfaction. "If I ever consider opening a branch, this'll be the first choice."
Jean and Lisa inwardly sighed in relief.
They'd worried the location might seem too ordinary for Lu Heng's standards.
Lu Heng quickly set up the teleportation array and said, "We'll go with Venti's plan. Also, we might need the Core of Civilization to come over."
Venti's eyes lit up.
The Core of Civilization!
Once it arrived, it would mean smart devices would proliferate across Mondstadt!
Having smart devices versus not having them was like comparing the modern era to primitive tribes!
"But won't people need an Emblem ID to use phones?" Furina pointed out.
"We'll just bring the Emblem Dispensers along," Lu Heng said, seeing no issue.
The counters in the shop were connected to the store itself.
They could be moved, but once taken outside, their functionality would be cut off.
In other words, they couldn't just borrow counters from the other shops to set up a "lite version" of the card-selling store.
But it didn't matter much.
Ordinary folks didn't have much Mora to spare—they'd likely only buy an Emblem and a phone to experience modern life.
The real spenders on card draws would be merchants, nobles, and well-off families with both Mora and combat needs.
As for the average person? They'd have to rely on luck.
Lu Heng opened another portal to summon the Core of Civilization.
Once its main body arrived, it immediately assembled several robots on-site.
These AI-equipped robots headed to Liyue via the teleportation array and returned in seconds with a batch of Emblems.
"Damn."
Venti marveled. "Artificial intelligence is something else. If it weren't for card appraisals, the boss could just let the AI run the shop, right?"
"Can't just leave it completely unattended. Gotta find something to do," Lu Heng said, scanning the shop. "Anything else we're missing?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Since they couldn't relocate the counters, there wasn't much else to add.
"Alright, then we're done here."
Once Mondstadters got their hands on phones, they'd learn about the cards online themselves.
Once card draws were available, customers would come naturally.
Worth mentioning:
The Core of Civilization was very considerate. Its AI had already set up an official website for the card shop.
The site featured a map of Teyvat, marking the locations of physical stores.
It also included detailed introductions to various cards, as well as information about Emblems and the unified system.
Online payments were possible—users could top up their accounts with Mora and trade with other Emblem holders.
However, the official site didn't support online purchases.
The reason remained the same: card draws had to be done in person at the counters.
Another issue was the lack of delivery services. The Core of Civilization and its robots were busy with production—no time for deliveries.
"Mr. Lu, would you like the Knights of Favonius to help with promotions?" Jean asked.
After a brief pause, Lu Heng replied, "A little is fine. Word of mouth will do the rest."
"Understood."
Jean promptly pulled out her phone to relay the orders.
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T/N:
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