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

After Fanes' internet cafe became a hit, the eyes of the merchants in Liyue Harbor lit up significantly.

At first, I just happened to pass by the old man selling cloth next to Tiger Rock and glanced at it. I found that the queue in front of this shabby shop was longer than the dock where cargo was unloaded. I went back and talked about it to my wife all night.

The next day, the proprietress of the teahouse in the next alley came over with her teacup. She walked around the shop three times, stared at the row of glowing blue crystal panels for a long time, and finally pulled Fanes to the door and asked in a low voice, "Are you selling this...?"

Fanes leaned against the doorframe, hands in his pockets, a smile that said, "I've been waiting for you to say that for a long time": "Sell. Why wouldn't I sell? A fool wouldn't pass up a chance to make money."

The news spread like wildfire. Within just five days, inquiries about prices stretched from Tiger Rock to Liyue Harbor, including teahouse owners, tavern managers, innkeepers, and even two branch leaders of adventurers' guilds.

Everyone wanted to buy a few terminal devices to put in their shops as a signboard to attract business. After all, the turnover of Fanes' shabby internet cafe had become the talk of the town in the entire Liyue Harbor business district. Everyone said, "It's just a novelty," but they were all calculating the costs in their hearts.

Fanes invited everyone to a small conference room on the second floor of the Northern Bank, had a teller brew a pot of tea, then sat in the main seat, clapped his hands, and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, I have the goods, and the stock is sufficient. The problem is—the price."

Fañez gave him a figure. It was the price Sandone had given him after tripling the cost price of the mass-production version and then discounting it; the final price would still be 20% higher than what he was paying.

Several people present turned green on the spot. One old shopkeeper, who was holding an abacus, stopped halfway through turning the beads, looked up at Fanes's innocently smiling face (that of a ten-year-old child), and after trembling for a while, finally managed to squeeze out, "How much more expensive is this than the cost?"

Fanes picked up his teacup and took a sip, his tone utterly sincere: "Not much at all. The research and development costs, satellite launch fees, terminal maintenance fees, communication network rental fees, and the food expenses for my three cats—it all adds up to this amount. If you think it's too expensive, you don't have to buy it; I won't force you. However, I've heard that three tavern owners in Mondstadt are already queuing up for my offer. One more buyer won't make a difference, and one less buyer won't make a difference either. You can decide for yourselves."

The meeting room was silent for about five seconds. Then the old shopkeeper closed his abacus and sighed, "I need three units. When can I pick them up?"

Seeing that someone had taken the lead, the others also began to state the quantities they wanted. Fanes had the clerk register each person's name and shop address, collected the deposit, and then added a sentence.

"By the way, here's something to remind everyone before you pick up your order. This thing needs an internet connection to work; otherwise, it's just a useless brick. I also have the networking equipment here, including the main unit and cables, all readily available. The price isn't high, and you can get a discount if you buy it as a package with the terminal."

The tavern owner sitting below immediately slammed his fist on the table: "What? We need to buy an extra net?"

Fanes shrugged: "The signal comes from a satellite in the sky. You need something in the shop to receive it so it can be distributed to each terminal. Otherwise, you won't be able to receive the signal while it's floating in the air. Don't worry, the internet fee is not expensive. It's calculated monthly; you pay only for what you use, and there's no charge if you don't use it."

After the meeting, Fanes carried the box full of deposits back to his workshop. When he opened the door, Sandone was drawing up improved blueprints for the second batch of equipment on the table, while Shinonin was assembling a new prototype next to him.

Fanes placed the box on the ground, opened the lid, and inside, neatly stacked Mora coins gleamed with a warm yellow light: "The R&D funding is in place. The second batch of equipment upgrades can begin."

Sandonne looked up from the blueprints and glanced at the box of money. A hint of "that's more like it" flashed in his blue eyes, but his tone remained aloof: "I've already prepared the budget for materials and labor. However, if you can get a little more funding, I plan to upgrade the resolution of the crystal panel by another level."

Fanes waved his hand: "I'll figure out the money. You guys focus on getting the second batch of prototypes out; the companies that bought the first batch are waiting to use them."

After the news reached the Winter Palace, Pantarone arrived in Liyue by carriage almost the next day. When he pushed open the door to the studio, he was still dressed in an elegant dark suit, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the light under the crystal lamp, carrying an exquisite briefcase, and wearing the kind of smile that a businessman has when he sees money.

After entering, Pantalone looked around the studio, then nodded slightly to Sandone: "I heard your communications project has already started to turn a profit. Northern Bank can provide an investment, and once the funds are in place, your R&D progress can be accelerated by about 30%. How about it? Interested in discussing it?"

Sandone didn't even look up. She finished tightening the screwdriver to the last turn, securing the newly installed crystal panel to the prototype's casing. Then, she slowly put the screwdriver back in the tool tray, stood up, and dusted off the metal shavings clinging to her clothes.

He stopped in front of Pantalone, his blue eyes devoid of emotion, but the slight curve of his lips conveyed a sense of "I've been waiting for this day for a long time," and said, "Not interested."

Pantalone's smile faltered slightly: "...Why? The Northern Bank's funding conditions should be better than any private investment firm on the market; interest rates and profit sharing are negotiable."

Sandonne turned around, walked back to his workbench, sat down, opened the blueprint book, and spoke in a flat tone as if he were reading an unimportant report.

"I applied for research funding three times before. All three times it was rejected by you, with the reason that 'the budget has been prioritized for the fifth-ranked project.' My materials expenses were delayed for half a year before they were approved, and I still owe two payments for labor costs."

Sandoni looked up at Pantalone, the smile on his lips turning colder. "Now that my project is making money, you're quick to run away. Keep that Mora for the Doctor; my studio doesn't need it."

Pantalone stood silently in the doorway for several seconds. He still held his exquisite briefcase in his hand, his gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses lingering for a moment on Sandone's back before slowly turning to Fañes, who was squatting in the corner pretending to study blueprints.

Fanes whistled, his gaze drifting to the ceiling, pretending he hadn't heard anything.

Pantalone finally put the suitcase down, bending over to place it on the low table by the door, his voice carrying a restrained tone that said, "Not earning this money would be worse than losing it."

"Keep the documents in the box and take a look. They contain my analysis of the future trends in the telecommunications market. If you change your mind later, you can contact Northern Bank at any time."

Pantalone turned and walked out the door, his steps still unhurried, but Fanes noticed that as he left, his empty hand clenched tightly at the edge of his sleeve. After the door closed, Fanes put down the drawings and sat down next to Sandone: "I felt relieved hearing what you just said."

Sandoni turned a page of the blueprints, his tone still haughty: "Enough nonsense. I've changed the wiring layout for the second batch of equipment. Take the new blueprints to the factory for a new quote in a couple of days."

Fanes nodded repeatedly in agreement.

More than a month later, the first batch of merchants who bought the terminal equipment opened for business. In order to recoup their costs and make a profit, they set their internet access prices much higher than those of Fanes' Yangshizi Internet Cafe.

When the customer arrived, he saw the price, turned around and left. After taking a few steps, he turned a corner and went into Fanes' shop, which still maintained the original price.

Several merchants later tried to lower their prices, but they found that no matter how they lowered them, they could not compete with Fanes' pricing, because Fanes' costs had already been diluted by the profits earned from selling the first batch of equipment at high prices.

The owners who bought the equipment did the math and realized that not only was it a long way off before they could recoup their investment, but they also had to pay extra internet fees every month to maintain those unused metal machines. They were filled with regret.

What made them even more furious was that Fanes had already started pushing out the second batch of upgraded terminals.

The owners of the first batch of equipment buyers stood in front of their deserted shops, looking at the long queue that stretched to the street corner at Yangshizi Internet Cafe across the street. They felt like they had a lump in their throat, unable to swallow or spit out blood.

Meanwhile, Fanes was squatting in front of his shop, stroking the chin of his large, fat orange cat, holding a glass of fruit juice that Xiangling had just mixed. He looked at the long queue across the street, his smile so bright it could blind passersby. He bent down and patted the orange cat's head.

"Don't you think our business practices are particularly unethical?"