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

The mountain winds in Jueyun were much colder than those in Liyue Harbor. Ying was crouching on a stone platform half-hidden by clouds and mist, having just finished rummaging through an exquisite treasure chest. Inside lay a few Mora and a yellowed old cookbook.

Paimonfei, standing next to her, picked up the cookbook, flipped through it, and put it back: "This looks like a notebook casually written by some immortal. It probably won't sell for much."

Ying put Mora into her money bag and was about to stand up when the terminal in her pocket suddenly vibrated.

Ying took it out and looked at it—a task notification popped up in the center of the screen, with the words "Urgent/Limited Time Request" marked in red and white. The task description below read "Assist in handling an impending emergency in the area surrounding Liyue Harbor, reward 80 Primogems." The accept button in the corner was flashing, as if urging her to hurry up and do it.

Paimon leaned closer to look at the screen, then at Luminous's face: "Luminous, something feels off about this request. Is there some kind of emergency happening around Liyue Harbor lately? I haven't heard anything about it. And isn't 80 Primogems a bit too much for an emergency request?"

Ying had already reached out and clicked the flashing "Accept" button. The task status on the screen jumped from "Available" to "Accepted," and then a confirmation prompt popped up. In the middle, in bold font, it said, "The task has been locked. Please report to the designated location on time." Below, there was a line of smaller text indicating the meeting time and location—three days later, at the outer harbor pier of Liyue Harbor.

Ying looked up, putting the terminal panel back into her pocket: "Whatever, that's a whole 80 Primogems! It would take me half a day opening chests to collect that many Primogems, and the quest description doesn't seem complicated, it shouldn't take too much time. I'm going to get this quest today no matter what!"

Paimon flew to her, his gaze still tinged with hesitation: "But... this quest really came at the wrong time. We had just arrived at Jueyun Pass and were looking for the immortals when it popped up. And did you notice that only you received the notification? I just checked your panel, and it showed 'targeted push,' which means this quest was only sent to you."

Ying stood up, dusted off the dust on her clothes, and headed down the mountain. "That's even better. It means they thought I was suitable for this task, so they specifically assigned it to me. Let's go, let's find the immortals first, and then go back to accept this task."

Meanwhile, in the back office on the second floor of the Northern Bank in Liyue Harbor, Fanes was leaning back in his chair, a terminal panel lying across his desk, the screen displaying the status of the task.

When Fanes saw the words "accepted," he relaxed a little in his chair, as if he had just completed an operation that required continuous monitoring and confirmed that it had successfully landed in the expected position.

D'Artagnan sat on the opposite sofa, watching his changing expressions the whole time: "That quest you gave me... the one I just sent to the Traveler?"

Fanes turned the terminal panel around so he could see the status on the screen: "Yes. I originally thought it would take at least 160 Primogems to hook her, but she just snatched it and got it done in 80 Primogems."

D'Artagnan leaned back on the sofa, reached into her pocket, pulled out the coin, and flipped it between her fingers: "...Didn't you say you were going to give her 60 Primogems?"

Fanes waved his hand: "60 is too little, it seems too deliberate. 80 is just right, she'll feel like she got it herself and won't suspect anything. Besides, the task itself is blank, I'll decide what to do when we get there. As long as she's there, I won't have to worry about her getting involved."

D'Artagnan put the coin in his pocket, crossed his arms, and looked at Fanes with a scrutinizing gaze that seemed to ask, "What exactly are you up to?"

"Little Twelve, why do I feel like you're becoming more and more like a rich man? I've only ever seen this kind of baiting and waiting for people to take the bait in Pantalone before."

Fanes leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head: "This isn't copying him. His approach is to get people to come to him, while mine is to make the target feel like they've gotten a good deal. The logic is essentially similar, but the execution is different."

D'Artagnan changed the subject: "Then why not call the captain over too? The captain is very strong; with him there, our chances of winning should increase significantly. Besides, he's the Fatui's executor, so we don't need to pay him extra; he'd be very cost-effective."

Fanes sat up straighter, his expression becoming more serious. "The captain can't come. If he does, it becomes an internal problem for the Fools. If something happens, like they knock down some trees on a hill or trample someone's yard during a fight, we'll have to bear all the losses ourselves. But it's different with the people we call in—like Dainesreb, the Traveler, and Zhongli. They're not part of Winter's organization. If they get involved and something goes wrong, or if they cause any accidents, compensation is negotiable, and reimbursement can be processed through the government's budget. If all else fails, I can pay more to smooth things over."

D'Artagnan sat on the sofa in silence for nearly ten seconds, as if his words needed enough time to be fully digested and accepted.

Then D'Artagnan spoke, his tone carrying a frankness that said, "It's harsh, but I really can't find any way to refute it: '...No wonder he became an executive officer. He's definitely not a good person.'"

Fanes leaned back in his chair, picked up the terminal panel again, and checked the mission status: "Don't you want the military funding anymore?"

D'Artagnan paused slightly, his posture leaning against the sofa back. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, and reached into his pocket to take out the coin. He began to quietly flip it over, once, twice, three times, without saying a word.

Seeing his silence, Fanes turned his gaze back to the terminal panel: "That's right. Go back to work and see if there are any other tasks we can take on and make some easy money."

D'Artagnan remained seated, but the coin in his hand had stopped moving, as if he was using that brief pause to confirm whether he needed to adjust the pace and direction of his next move.

The twilight outside the window was slowly sinking along the outline of the rooftops of Liyue Harbor. In the distance, on the Jade Palace Terrace, the outline draped in curtains still lay quietly in the center of the high platform. The number of pedestrians on the street gradually decreased, and the lanterns in front of the shops were lighting up one by one.

Fanes flipped the terminal panel over so that the screen was face down on the table, then stood up and walked to the window, looking at the lights that were coming on in the distance: "Judging by the time, the Traveler should be back from Jueyun Karst soon. Once she returns to Liyue Harbor, the quest will automatically update, and she will see the new instructions then."

D'Artagnan finally put the coin back in her pocket: "What if she changes her mind later?"

Fanes stood by the window without turning around: "No. Once she accepts the mission, the mission system automatically records her acceptance status and mission progress. As long as the mission isn't canceled, the system will periodically push updates. Besides, she still needs those 80 Primogems to pay off her phone loan; she won't give up."

D'Artagnan stood up from the sofa: "...You even knew about her phone loan?"

Fanes turned and glanced at him: "That phone was sold through my store's channels. I have a backup of her monthly payment records."

D'Artagnan stood in front of the sofa, looking at him. The coin in her hand had stopped spinning and was quietly put into her pocket. "...You really are becoming more and more like Pantalone. Except his method is to make people desperate and then lend them money, while your method is to make people willingly jump into the pit you dug, and then tell them there's an exit where they can get the Primal Stone—and you can come back up from the exit yourself after you go in."

Fanes picked up the cup of tea, which had gone mostly cold, and took a sip: "Making money is nothing to be ashamed of."

Fanes placed the empty teacup back on the table and turned to walk towards the door. He paused at the door, turned his head, and said, "Remember to check the Traveler's arrival time in Liyue Harbor tomorrow. If she arrives early, update the quest progress accordingly."

D'Artagnan stood by the window, watching Fanes's figure disappear into the darkness at the end of the corridor. He glanced at the lights of countless homes slowly lighting up in the twilight outside the window, then turned and left the window, walking down the stairs.

D'Artagnan: Don't look at me, I'm worried about being sold too!

-

Narrator: Due to Tartaglia's current weakness, we have decided to buff him! We will slightly increase his stats, and he will shed his title of "weakest executor" and gain the title "Ancestor Destroyer".