Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

What? You think it's an intelligence leak? Is it possible that it's just a simple environmental issue?

As for intelligence, what kind of intelligence work can you expect from an organization that even the Dark Lords can't uncover?

-

After Qin finished reviewing last month's financial report in her office, she laid the document flat on the desk. She remained in that position quietly for a while, then picked up her teacup, took a sip, and put it down again, her gaze still fixed on the title on the cover.

The missile strike on the Abyss Ruins two months ago was indeed highly efficient. The Abyss Order's stronghold was wiped clean from the map, and subsequent reconnaissance found no signs of resurrection. The entire area returned to normal.

But efficiency comes at a price. The bill of nearly two hundred million was transferred to the Knights' account after the operation, taking up a large portion of the year's operational budget. The remaining amount was insufficient to support the maintenance of several small and medium-sized facilities and the procurement of seasonal supplies before the end of the year.

Qin flipped through the financial report again. She realized that neither reducing the size of the patrol team, suspending the upgrade of city defense facilities, nor reducing trade subsidies for the port were ways to solve the problem immediately.

Each option would impact her plans, either affecting the city's defenses in the short term or hindering normal trade operations in the medium term. Jean needed a solution that could fill the gap quickly and with minimal impact on existing finances.

Qin leaned back in her chair, gazing out the window at the treetops swaying gently in the spring breeze, and slowly sat up straight. (Tourism industry.)

Mondstadt's climate is indeed among the best of the Seven Kingdoms. The four seasons are distinct yet not too extreme, the dandelion blooming season in spring is long enough, and the rolling plains and ancient castle ruins in autumn are perfect for hiking.

Some ruins on the outskirts of the city have begun to attract sporadic visitors, but they have never been systematically integrated. Mondstadt boasts beautiful natural scenery, a comfortable living environment, and a convenient transportation network, making it fully capable of developing into a more mature tourist city.

By integrating existing facilities, launching several standardized tourist routes, and adding appropriate promotion, we should be able to attract a considerable number of tourists.

Liyue's business negotiations have also laid some groundwork for dealing with foreign investors, but they hadn't specifically shifted in that direction before.

Qin picked up a pen and wrote a few lines in the memo, then closed the notebook, stood up, and went to the Knights' warehouse.

In the following weeks, a new wooden sign was hung at the gates of Mondstadt that read "Welcome to the Free City of Mondstadt," with the font and color changed. Several hotels in the city began offering "Spring Specials" and "Three-Day Packages."

Handwritten notices have been posted at the entrances of bakeries and pubs, indicating the daily recommended menus and the opening hours of outdoor seating.

Even at Star-Picking Cliff, someone has put up a sign on the cliff edge, with the blooming period of Cecilia flowers clearly marked in the center of the sign, making it easier for tourists to determine the best time to view them.

After the first month ended, Qin took some time to look at the visitor statistics and accommodation spending records. The data was better than expected; although it wasn't enough to cover the shortfall in the bill, at least it had started generating positive cash flow.

As Qin closed her notebook, she noticed a supplementary note handed to her by her bodyguard. It concerned the potential risk of information leakage due to the increased number of outsiders.

Qin stared at the text message for a moment, then slowly placed it on the table.

"...The bad news is that the reopening of the tourism industry could lead to a large influx of people and a risk of intelligence leaks."

After saying that, Jean paused for a moment, as if waiting for a follow-up. Then she remembered Mondstadt's intelligence reserves, which were roughly equivalent in size to the orange cat that sat sunbathing by the fountain when she passed by the city gate every day.

It has a meticulous schedule, a complete territorial division, and a system of identification sufficient for its own use.

If someone wants to find out about something confidential from Mondstadt, they need to at least find a reliable source first, then piece together the information—and then they'll discover that such information can also be found through public channels.

Thinking of this, Qin picked up the text message again, looked at it, and then put it back on the table.

"Good news: There's practically no intelligence in the free city of Mondstadt!"

After Qin finished speaking, she felt a burning pain on her face.

It felt like someone had pointed out Qin's blind spots to her face, in a polite tone, and then left the information on the table before she could even think of a rebuttal, before turning and walking into the next room. But regardless, the numbers on the books were indeed improving.

Qin sat down in her chair, closed the notebook, placed it in the corner of the table, and then pressed the cover to make sure it was completely closed and wouldn't pop open again. "That's acceptable," she finally said, her voice steady as if she were confirming something herself.

Fanes heard about it in the second month after tourism reopened. He stopped for a few days on his way back to Mondstadt to handle some business, and after finishing his work, he put his luggage back at his lodgings and took a walk around the streets of Mondstadt.

Fanes saw several newly hung signs, a newly renovated souvenir shop, an open-air stall offering specialty drinks, and a small shop with a handwritten poster on its window that read "Strawberry Cream Crepes - Mondstadt Limited Edition".

Fanes bought a mixed juice inside, and while drinking it, he walked around the main street in the city center. He then walked for a while on the path leading to the Whispering Forest on the outskirts of the city, finally stopping at the fork in the road near Stargazing Cliff. He squatted down and touched the edge of the sign to see if the paint was smooth enough. Then he turned around and went back into the city.

That evening, while discussing work progress with Rosalind, he casually remarked on Mondstadt's tourism industry: "The scenery is quite beautiful."

After saying that word, Fanes paused, as if weighing his next words with a considerable interval, "But his management skills are limited."

Rosalind put down her cup and turned to look at him: "What do you mean?"

Fanes placed his empty cup on the edge of the table: "I walked around most of Mondstadt and found that the number of trash cans didn't match the number of visitors it received. Along the main streets, the intervals were about two to three hundred steps, but in some areas with higher tourist density, the trash cans along the roadside maintained the same spacing, so once they were full, they often had to drift several corners with the wind before finding the next spot."

Fanes placed the empty glass on the edge of the table. "For six minutes after I finished my mixed juice, I didn't encounter any facilities to dispose of the empty glass. I didn't find the first empty spot until I walked back to the entrance of this office."

Rosalyn picked up her cup and took a sip of tea: "So why do you think she wanted to get into the tourism industry?"

Fanes leaned back in his chair: "That bill was indeed very expensive. She needed to find a way to quickly recoup her investment, and tourism was certainly a relatively low-barrier option. However, this kind of rapid-start model often leads to blind spots in the early planning stages."

Fanes paused for a moment, "Perhaps Qin is planning something big for herself."

Rosalyn, holding her teacup, looked at him: "So, do you think she'll make the necessary adjustments?"

Fanes thought for a moment and said, "There probably won't be any major changes in the short term. But as long as people give feedback, she should be able to make up for it gradually. After all, if she wants to make up for that bill with tourism, she at least has to get tourists willing to stay until the third day."

The twilight outside the window was slowly sinking along the outline of the city wall, and the streetlights were coming on one by one. Fanes looked through the window at the streets that were lighting up and the figures of people slowly walking past the street corner in the evening breeze, then looked away and took another sip of his tea, which had gone mostly cold.

Fanes stayed in Mondstadt for two more days. After finishing the backlog of work, he packed his bags and prepared to leave. On the evening before his departure, as he passed by the wooden sign at the city gate that read "Welcome to the Free City of Mondstadt," he noticed a newly nailed round, dark-colored tin can on a pillar next to it. On the can, the word "Trash" was written in crooked white paint. The ink wasn't completely dry, and the bottom stroke was longer than the previous ones.

Fanes stood in front of the new barrel for a moment, without taking out his terminal to take a picture or turning around to find out who nailed it. He simply picked up the half-finished cup of fruit tea beside him and placed it into the barrel opening along a straight arc, making a muffled sound when it hit the bottom.

Fanes: Finally, we got rid of that thing!