"80,000… 81,900 tons…"
Jean's hand trembled as she held her teacup.
What did this amount of gold represent?
All of Mondstadt's gold reserves combined probably didn't exceed 5,000 tons.
All of Teyvat together? Maybe just over 100,000 tons.
And yet Liyue, in just over a month, had mined nearly that much—almost as much as all of Teyvat.
Gold was a hard currency in this world too.
It was an equivalent of currency, and even formed part of Mora's actual composition.
Not to mention, pure gold often had amplifying effects on elemental power.
The Mora system itself followed a gold standard.
Otherwise, if Mora was really just the blood and power of Morax turned into currency, wouldn't he be able to just make as much as he wanted?
Wouldn't the other nations be terrified?
If there truly were no constraints, then even if Zhongli was the God of Contracts, the other Seven wouldn't allow it.
And now, the amount of gold Liyue had gathered—if even just one-fourth of it were released…
It could collapse the entire Mora-based economy of Teyvat.
Of course, as the biggest beneficiary of the Mora system, Ningguang and her associates would never do anything that stupid.
She hadn't even dared to store that gold in the Golden House.
It was securely locked away in the MC World.
If word of this ever got out, the whole of Teyvat would be in panic.
But now that Mondstadt and Liyue were sharing the same fate, there was no need to keep it secret.
"This much… this much gold!"
Paimon's eyes were practically sparkling golden.
"If we bought food with that, I could eat for the rest of my life and still not finish it all!"
"This is amazing, Lumine! I want gold too! Hurry up and get me some!"
Ningguang couldn't help but feel fond of this little floating creature.
Maybe it was due to the influence of that cute and well-behaved little Nahida.
Lumine reached out and pinched Paimon's cheek with a smile.
"Little Paimon really does love good food, huh?"
"Of course! The whole meaning of Paimon's life is to taste all the delicious foods of Teyvat!"
Paimon pumped her tiny fists, her eyes filled with dreams of food.
Suddenly, her eyes sparkled with scheming, and she looked up at Ningguang with a charming smile.
"Ningguang sis, you're so rich, so beautiful, so kind—how about becoming Paimon's sponsor?"
"As long as I get yummy food every day, Paimon can help Ningguang sis with lots and lots of things!"
Lumine's mouth twitched.
Paimon had thrown away all dignity for Mora and good food.
Lumine wasn't sure how old Paimon really was, but definitely not younger than her.
And now, all for a few meals, she was calling Ningguang 'big sis' like it was nothing?
Unbelievable…
"Ningguang siiiis~"
Lumine joined in with an overly sweet smile, hugging Ningguang's arm with big pleading eyes.
"I can help too! I fight better than Paimon! And I eat way less than her! Please consider it, Ningguang sis~"
Lisa rolled her eyes.
When she treated Lumine to meals and gave her Mora, she'd never once heard Lumine call her "Lisa sis" this sweetly.
Such a little money-grubber!
Ningguang, on the other hand, found Lumine and Paimon adorable.
They were outsiders too, like Ryen.
She instinctively felt fondness toward them.
Besides, how much could it even cost to keep them around?
Even if Paimon ate like she did yesterday every single day, it would still take her ten thousand years to burn through even a tenth of Ningguang's wealth.
And it would leave Lumine and her team with a good impression.
Why not?
"In that case…"
Ningguang chuckled gently and said:
"From now on, all of Paimon and Lumine's expenses in Liyue will be covered by the Jade Chamber."
"And if you're traveling to the other seven nations, I can also give you some traveling funds. I'll make sure you won't go hungry."
At her words, both Paimon and Lumine lit up like stars.
"Really?! How much in traveling funds?!"
Paimon had that classic little money-lover face on, and Ningguang couldn't help but laugh.
"That depends on what you need. The Jade Chamber isn't short on Mora. Neither is Liyue."
"If little Paimon wanted, I could even build you a house out of gold."
Paimon held her chest with bliss, daydreaming about living in a golden house and feasting every day.
"Ningguang sis, you're the most beautiful, kindest, and best person Paimon has ever met! I love you so much!"
She flew straight into Ningguang's arms, all smiles.
With her philosophy of "who feeds me is my mama," now that Ningguang had basically announced she'd sponsor her, she was ready to start calling her "Mom" right then and there.
Jean shook her head slightly from the side, but deep down, she was genuinely happy for them.
Mondstadt really was out of money. Despite their gratitude, all they could do was let Lisa give Lumine five million out of her own pocket.
Jean had always felt guilty.
And Lumine still had to travel all of Teyvat in search of her brother.
Now that Ningguang was supporting them financially, nothing could be better.
Though in her heart, Jean was making plans.
Once Mondstadt recovered a bit and started rebuilding with Ryen's world, she would find a way to properly repay Lumine and the others.
"Ningguang, you mentioned before that you don't trade alchemical potions with us… but what about iron ore…?"
Jean asked softly. Ningguang smiled brightly.
"Oh, those things? If you need them, it's 5,000 Mora per ton, self-pickup. Just a bit to cover labor costs."
"Five thousand… per ton?!"
Diluc stared at Ningguang, utterly shocked.
Iron ore—especially premium quality—was a strategic resource. In the morning's market, the price per ton would easily go into the hundreds of thousands of Mora.
And now?
5,000 Mora?
It cost nearly 3,000 just to eat a good meal at Wanmin Restaurant!
This wasn't cheap—this was practically free!
Ningguang nodded, still smiling.
"There are countless resources in that world. Untouched, undeveloped."
"And thanks to Ryen's teaching, we've learned how to build iron farms. The miners don't even need to go underground anymore."
"Just two people can stand by the farm for a while and collect hundreds of tons of ore each day."
"The iron farm runs 24/7, incredibly efficient. That includes the resources you saw earlier…"
"Even our internal government trades in Liyue only use a few thousand Mora to cover costs."
"Miners go underground now only to look for diamonds. Our main forces in that world… are actually focused on city-building."
Everyone was stunned into silence.
After a long pause, Diluc spoke again, somewhat weakly:
"Then… those elemental resonance weapons from your blacksmith division…"
"Oh, those…"
Ningguang didn't mind revealing the secret. After all, Mondstadt would eventually do the same.
"Removing the materials from Teyvat, the cost is basically zero. Even counting labor, a weapon like the one Tartaglia paid 500 million Mora for…"
"Only cost us a bit over a million to make."
"Since he provided the raw forging materials himself, our actual cost… was still zero."
"Also, let me tell you a little secret…"
Ningguang smiled mysteriously.
"Those weapons only require pouring the materials into the molds and waiting two hours. If desired, thousands could be mass-produced in a single day."
"But just like Ryen said—scarcity marketing. Mora isn't the point. The key is boosting Liyue's influence in Teyvat."
"I'm telling you all this because I want you to develop in the same way as we did. It's part of the rules, and also your fast track to progress."
Diluc fell silent.
He remembered how just yesterday, he'd gone to the forge to request ten billion Mora to outproduce Tartaglia in weapon forging.
Now he felt like a total fool.
Good thing he hadn't actually spent it. Whether or not he'd have been swindled out of that money wasn't the point—the real issue would've been the embarrassment.
Suddenly, Lisa's face turned pale, and she even seemed unable to sit properly.
"Lisa!"
Jean looked anxious and quickly held her steady.
"I'm fine, Jean..."
Lisa shook her head slightly. She just hadn't been sleeping well these past couple of days. The curse backlash.
She was used to it.
Ningguang's gaze flickered. She spoke softly:
"This one's on me. I forgot Lisa still has that curse. Have some milk and a golden apple first. If that doesn't work, we'll wait for Ryen to take a look."
As she spoke, Ningguang retrieved a bottle of milk and a golden apple from a different dimension and placed them on the table.
Luckily, the table was made in the MC world—otherwise, it would've collapsed instantly.
As for whether Lisa's curse could be resolved, Ningguang wasn't too worried.
After all, karmic debt had already been wiped out. How bad could a curse possibly be?
Lisa didn't stand on ceremony.
From the way Ningguang spoke, these resources seemed essentially endless.
If that's the case, no need to act overly polite.
Lisa reached out to pick up the golden apple, but after trying for a while, she still couldn't lift it.
Puzzled, she looked at Ningguang.
"Sorry, I forgot... that golden apple weighs sixteen tons..."
Ningguang gave herself a little smack on the head and apologized sheepishly.
"Then this metal bucket isn't..."
Under Lisa's gaze, Ningguang looked a bit guilty.
"This one... almost three tons..."
Lisa fell silent.
Sure, this world had its quirks.
But now—
The items that could solve her curse were right in front of her, and she couldn't even lift them?
Was she supposed to lie face-down on the table to eat?
That would be way too humiliating, right?
Just as she was trying to figure out a solution, a cluster of starlight began to shimmer nearby.
Ningguang immediately stood up.
"Ryen's back. Let him handle it."
Jean and the others were momentarily stunned, then quickly stood up as well.
After all, they were about to meet a true world master—someone who outranked even the gods.
And ultimately, whether they could enter that world depended on Ryen's approval.
The starlight condensed more and more, and a few voices came through:
"Ningguang might be coming back this noon!"
"Then you all go back yourselves! I can stay here!"
"If we let you stay, who knows what dangerous modifications you'll make! Be good and come back—let us treat you to lunch!"
"...Maybe you should stay."
"Ryen!!!"
A playful yell echoed out, followed by Hu Tao dashing out after Ryen.
She leaped up and bit into the back of Ryen's neck like it was routine.
"Ow ow ow! You little rascal! Are you asking for a spanking?!"
As soon as he said that, Ryen noticed several sets of eyes fixed on him.
He immediately smacked Hu Tao on the back, and she blushed as she jumped down, standing obediently to the side.
But as she looked at Ryen again, she still gave him a glare.
Ganyu emerged as well, holding Nahida's hand, with Keqing beside them.
The double portal closed behind them.
Ryen straightened his clothes and gave Ningguang a smile and a nod.
"Looks like... you've already signed the final contract."
Maybe it was because Ryen had acted so friendly and amusing just now, but Jean and the others felt their tension melt away.
Lisa blinked and said softly:
"It's really hard to get a meeting with you, Mr. Ryen."
"Just call me Ryen," he replied with a slight smile.
"I mean, I don't think I'm that hard to find. Didn't you all come looking for me just two days after arriving in Liyue?"
Lisa shrugged.
"Well, since you invited me for tea, naturally I had to show up quickly."
"Tea, huh? No big deal. Let's grab some lunch while we're at it."
Just as he finished speaking, Lisa smiled and shook her head.
She pointed to the milk and golden apple on the table.
"Can we reschedule the tea for another day? For now… how about you treat me to some milk instead?"
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