Taking care of newcomers was something Lu Heng was quite experienced with.
Navia was well looked after by him.
Though her physical constitution couldn't compare to Furina and the others, Navia was no delicate maiden. After just briefly assessing her condition, she decisively chose to use a card to heal herself.
Could pain be considered a memento?
Only a lunatic would commemorate something like that.
If there were cards that could heal her, why not use them?
Thus, the healing cards proved extremely convenient.
Before long, Navia was back to her lively self.
Though it was already eleven, this meal still counted as breakfast.
Right after eating, as if timed perfectly, Focalors returned with Furina and the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
"Little sister Navia~"
Focalors greeted her with a smile.
"Big sister Focalors!"
Navia, recalling how the three had made excuses to leave last night, still felt a bit shy but warmly returned the greeting.
It was all thanks to Focalors that she had this opportunity.
If not for Focalors...
Navia glanced sideways at Lu Heng.
He was sipping tea leisurely.
She quickly averted her gaze.
Without Focalors' encouragement, she might have missed this man entirely.
Navia was genuinely grateful to Focalors.
"Heh."
Furina hummed cheerfully. "Now I won't feel bad asking Navia to make desserts for me. It feels perfectly normal for a younger sister to cook for her elder sister, right?"
"Don't go bullying her just because you joined earlier," Focalors teased.
"What are you talking about?"
Furina pouted, then grinned and hugged Navia's arm. "We're good sisters, aren't we?"
"Of course!"
Navia nodded emphatically.
Lu Heng reclined in his chair.
Unnoticed, the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had circled behind him and was now gently massaging his shoulders.
His already pleasant mood soared even higher.
There was no risk of discord in this household.
With Focalors and the Greater Lord around, any potential conflicts were nipped in the bud.
What did this mean?
It meant he had no worries at home!
All Lu Heng needed to do was look ahead.
Having virtuous wives truly was a blessing.
Taking a deep breath, Lu Heng swore to himself that he would treat everyone fairly.
They were all his beloved concubines!
Favoring one over another would mean neglecting someone else.
How could he bear that?
If he ever did such a thing, he'd wake up in the middle of the night and slap himself—such behavior would be utterly despicable.
Thus, fairness was a must.
For ordinary people, maintaining this balance might be difficult.
But for Lu Heng?
It was as natural as breathing, as easy as flipping his palm!
Since everyone had already eaten, lunch wasn't a concern.
After some playful banter, Lu Heng finally spoke up. "I need to head out for something."
"Oh?"
Focalors' eyes sparkled with amusement. "Could it be that my husband has his eye on another young lady?"
What kind of accusation was that?
Lu Heng laughed helplessly.
The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata walked over and lightly tapped Focalors on the head.
"I'm going for this."
Lu Heng pulled up the chat logs and showed them.
After a glance, Furina said, "Shenhe's condition... Her issues are quite serious. Does this count as a negative effect that can be purified?"
"It's a bit complicated," Focalors mused. "Technically, yes, but how do you purify it? If you cleanse the negative effects, wouldn't you also be removing a part of her 'self'?"
After all, it was a problem tied to her destiny.
This was like purging an illness from the body—in concept, it meant removing part of an organ.
Would that be right?
True purification wouldn't erase organs, but destiny was far trickier to handle.
"I might need to see her in person. The main concern is that Klee or others with purification abilities might not be able to handle the precision required," Lu Heng said seriously.
Klee's purification power was the strongest, but she was just a child. Delicate operations were beyond her.
This wasn't as simple as tossing a bomb and walking away.
It was more like performing surgery—precisely removing certain elements while preserving others.
In short, this was a tricky task for Klee but a breeze for Lu Heng.
This wasn't empty praise—Lu Heng simply had too many methods at his disposal.
Just the [Three Thousand Dao Seals] alone could easily resolve the issue.
At full power, it was sixth-tier. Individually, each seal was half-step sixth-tier. And with the boost from ninth-tier equipment, using a single skill at half-step seventh-tier was perfectly normal.
He wasn't even pretending anymore—Lu Heng was outright overpowered.
"Go ahead and resolve it quickly," the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata said. "Who knows? You might even bring home another sister."
"You too—"
Lu Heng facepalmed.
Damn it.
Even the gentle Greater Lord was becoming mischievous.
This was definitely Focalors' influence!
"Not me."
Though Lu Heng didn't say it, Focalors understood him perfectly.
Their relationship was one where they knew each other's depths and lengths—whatever Lu Heng was thinking, Focalors could guess.
"And not me either!"
Furina, seeing Lu Heng's gaze shift to her, waved her hands in denial. "I'm too dumb for that!"
Good grief.
Furina was so flustered she admitted her own silliness—clearly, this had nothing to do with her.
"I learned it on my own," the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata said with a soft smile. "I can embrace human nature too, you know~"
"Don't learn the bad stuff."
Lu Heng clicked his tongue.
"Go take care of your business already!"
Navia placed her hands on Lu Heng's shoulders and pushed him toward the door.
"You're kicking me out now?"
Lu Heng was baffled.
This didn't make sense.
Logically, shouldn't Navia be clinging to him, unwilling to part even for a moment?
Now it was Lu Heng's turn to be confused.
"I want to spend time with my sisters. I'll play with you tonight!" Navia declared.
"?"
Lu Heng fell into deep thought.
No wonder people said the honeymoon phase and married life were completely different.
The honeymoon phase was all sweetness and romance.
After marriage, things became mundane.
Though Lu Heng and Navia were still in the passionate stage, it seemed they had skipped the wedding and gone straight to post-marital life.
"Feeling like a third wheel here."
Lu Heng sighed dramatically.
Shaking his head, he said, "Line up, everyone. A hug and a kiss before I go."
"So troublesome."
Furina grumbled but was the first to rush over.
Flat chest. Next was another flat chest.
Then came the one who had just grown from loli to young lady—hopefully, she'd grow faster.
Finally, Lu Heng hugged Navia.
If hugging Furina meant hearts were close, then with Navia, there was still some distance between them.
What kind of hardship had he been living through before?
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Furina glared at him suspiciously.
"Nothing. I don't mind!"
"Hmph~"
Furina proudly placed her hands on her hips.
Lu Heng had liked her first. If he dared complain, she'd threaten him with a Barrett magazine.
"Off I go!"
Lu Heng waved.
After he left, the four women exchanged glances.
Focalors suddenly suggested, "Mahjong? Genius Invokation TCG? Co-op Genshin? PUBG squad?"
"Co-op Genshin! So many chests are so annoying—damn Civilization Core! Carry me, senpai! I need to save Primogems to wish for myself!" Furina pleaded.
"What about Navia?"
"Genshin sounds good," Navia said with a smile. "I'm not great at other games. I'd just hold everyone back."
"No worries among sisters."
The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata shook her head. "Let's play Genshin then."
It was worth noting that the Greater Lord called Furina "Little Fu" and Focalors "Big Fu" or "Troublemaker Fu."
"By the way, why don't you just top up?" Focalors asked.
"Why would I spend money on my own game?" Furina looked puzzled.
"If it's your own game, why not just ask Civilization Core for hacks?"
"No way!"
Furina shook her head firmly. "I want to rely on my own hands, my own efforts, and the help of kind strangers to earn my Primogems!"
Hacks were fun, but the thrill faded quickly—where was the satisfaction in that?
But the sense of achievement from grinding yourself? That was true emotional value.
Liyue Branch
Ganyu had gone to a celebratory banquet.
The Qixing had originally invited Lu Heng, but he declined to take care of Navia.
After messaging Ganyu not to rush and that he'd wait for her at the shop, Lu Heng began appraising cards for the waiting customers.
With such a large pool of people, lucky winners weren't uncommon.
Sure enough, someone pulled a five-star gold card—a life-changing draw.
Immediately, an envious merchant stepped forward to ask if they were willing to sell.
A five-star gold card was pure luck.
Some with abysmal luck couldn't pull one even after spending billions.
This raised a question:
Why did Vision holders seem to have better luck here than wealthy merchants?
The answer was simple.
Most people who left their mark in history were extraordinary in some way!
The same logic applied to Genshin's characters.
Those who became playable characters in Genshin—even if they seemed ordinary—possessed Visions.
Having a Vision meant they carried a fragment of the world's fortune.
This might sound abstract, but being acknowledged by the gods was proof of their worth.
Even if they appeared unremarkable daily, their hearts held nobility or traits recognized by divinity.
Of course, one particular individual defied this assessment—some things were better left unspoken.
Thus, the conclusion was clear.
Those whose names appeared in the annals of history, even if only briefly, were often either shining stars of their era... or colossal jokes.
Either way, their luck tended to surpass the average person's.
Except for Bennett.
"Let's hope Bennett loses fewer phones in the future."
Equipment wouldn't go missing.
Even a beginner-tier device was safe from Bennett's misfortune.
But phones?
Dangerous.
Maybe Civilization Core could manufacture cheap, durable burner phones?
But given Bennett's luck, even the most affordable option might not last long.
Shaking his head, Lu Heng snapped out of his thoughts and noticed a familiar figure.
"Boss Lu, busy as always." Yelan spoke softly.
"Oh, if it isn't the Almighty Yelan. Quite the rare guest."
Lu Heng didn't even bother pretending.
Everyone knew he had a soft spot for Genshin characters.
As everyone was aware, Lu Heng had seen Teyvat's original fate and turned it into Genshin.
Thus, it was common knowledge that he was already familiar with the characters in his own way.
Since the cat was out of the bag, why bother hiding it?
"Almighty Yelan?"
Yelan raised an eyebrow. "Mind explaining the title?"
"In gaming terms, it means you're top-tier." Lu Heng gave a thumbs-up.
"Oh?"
Yelan's interest was piqued.
Here was a funny thought: Genshin had been out for a while now.
Players had already analyzed character strengths thoroughly.
Yelan recalled an inside joke—one of the Qixing was a standard banner character, while a certain funeral parlor director was only four-star.
Rarity didn't signify actual power. Anyone could see it wasn't about strength or status.
Though in-game rarity had no bearing on reality, it didn't stop acquaintances from teasing each other.
Yelan knew she was a five-star.
Every time she saw Ningguang, despite herself, she felt a hint of smugness.
Currently, in Genshin, Yelan's banner hadn't even been officially released yet.
Civilization Core's approach was to rotate two character banners daily.
Lu Heng chatted with her about Yelan's "meta dominance" before asking, "So, what brings you here? Haven't seen you around lately."
Yelan shook her head. "You know how it is with intelligence work. Plus, there's been the Chasm situation... By the way, if there's any major development, does the game cover it?"
Without waiting for an answer, she continued, "Never mind. It's inevitable."
Sighing, she added, "I seized a free moment today to come. Thankfully, despite the busy schedule, I'm not broke."
Yelan didn't bother putting on airs with Lu Heng.
Her voice carried the exhaustion of someone who had been overworked—the languid tone of a worn-out professional.
Lu Heng found this mature, fatigued voice rather appealing.
"Money's always good. How much are you spending?"
"Two hundred million."
"Oh?"
Lu Heng was surprised. "Didn't expect that. Two hundred million in one go?"
"Confiscated some illicit funds. Plus, given my years of service, Ningguang and the other Qixing allocated me a portion," Yelan explained.
"That's good news."
Lu Heng had been wondering.
Though Yelan wasn't poor, reaching the hundred-million tier was usually beyond her.
Her assets might total that much, but liquid cash? Nearly impossible.
Now, with two hundred million at once, it all made sense.
"Good and not so good, I suppose."
Yelan smirked faintly. "They say with great power comes great responsibility. Now that I've gotten stronger through gacha, I'm just a more efficient workhorse."
"You're joking, right?" Lu Heng chuckled.
"Maybe?"
Yelan shrugged noncommittally.
"Shall we begin? Need equipment?"
"Don't need the gear or phone—I already have them."
Ningguang had procured a batch and gifted Yelan a set.
For Ningguang, this wasn't expensive—just a friendly gesture.
"Ready to start?"
"Sure."
Yelan was already familiar with the process.
Her Mora was in large denominations, which she withdrew directly from her Vision to complete the top-up.
Two hundred million Mora equaled twenty thousand pulls.
Lu Heng pondered his earlier theory.
By that logic, those with "fame" and fortune should have better luck.
But this wasn't cheating.
In reality, the gap between them and ordinary people wasn't massive.
Most of the time, it just meant an average person might get a five-star in seventy pulls, while Yelan got hers in sixty.
But this wasn't absolute.
If luck fluctuated at the wrong moment, even Lu Heng could only brace for disappointment.
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T/N:
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