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

Fanes rode Little Black across the sea for three whole days and could no longer distinguish east from west.

Fanes set off full of confidence, his backpack packed with enough dry rations for a week and a bottle of water. But after his first flight, he realized he had underestimated the vastness of the sea.

Although Xiao Hei's cruising speed was fast, there were no reference points on the sea. The sun rose and set in the east, and the seawater changed from deep blue to light blue and then to dark green. No matter how it turned, there was no sign of land.

The next evening, as Fanes lay on the dragon's back, looking at the half-eaten rations in his backpack, he began to wonder if he should have looked at the map before setting off.

On the morning of the third day, the water bottle was empty, and the only dry ration left was a single, rock-hard compressed biscuit. Fanes broke the biscuit in half, ate one half himself, and broke the other half into pieces to feed Little Black.

When Little Black opened its mouth to catch the few pieces of debris, its amber vertical pupils were filled with a sense of grievance, as if to say, "That's all?" But it didn't say anything, it just flapped its wings and continued to fly forward.

As evening approached, Fanes lay drowsily on the dragon's back, feeling as if he were about to be dried into a dried-up corpse by the sun, when he suddenly noticed that Xiao Hei's speed had slowed down.

I barely managed to open my eyes and glance ahead—a dark outline appeared on the horizon, not large, but definitely land.

Fanes sat up abruptly and patted Little Black's neck: "Land! Land! There's an island!"

Little Black folded its wings and glided down. When it landed on the land, the feel of its claws touching the ground was a bit strange, with a hard and rough echo.

Fanes slid off the dragon's back and stood on the ground. After looking around at his surroundings, he remained silent for a long while.

This place is indeed an island. But rather than an island, it's more like a barren mountain jutting out of the sea. The entire land is almost entirely bare rock, covered with a grayish-greenish-black hue. The serpentine patterns gleam with a somber light in the afterglow of the setting sun. Not a single blade of grass grows on the entire surface; not even a few mosses can sprout.

Fanes squatted down and touched the texture of the ground—the stone was hard as a rock, the cracks were filled with sand and dried salt crust, and there was no soil layer suitable for planting anything.

Fanes stood up, dusted off his hands, and sighed, "What a pity. This place is completely unsuitable for farming; not even a blade of grass grows here. I can't exactly let Little Black gnaw on rocks if he gets hungry in the future, can I?"

After circling the island, Fanes felt increasingly regretful. Although the island was in a remote location, it had taken them three days to find a place to land, only to find nothing but rocks. He returned to his landing spot and waved to Little Black.

"Forget it, I'll just take a stone back as a souvenir. At least it'll prove I was here."

Little Black crouched down and nuzzled Fanes's hand with its massive head, as if to comfort him. Then it straightened up, took a deep breath, and exhaled a burst of dragon breath towards a raised patch of ground.

The black flames erupted from the serpentine surface with a dull crackling sound, and the rock shattered and crumbled under the intense heat, sending fragments and debris flying in all directions.

After the smoke and dust cleared, Fanes saw what was revealed beneath the stone layer that had been torn open by the dragon's breath. A rich, translucent emerald green shimmered with a warm light in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The section of jade that had been split open by the flames was about three feet square. Its green texture was smooth and delicate, with no cracks or impurities inside. Under the light, the entire section had a uniform and mellow transparency, like a piece of natural jade that had been cut in half.

Fanes squatted down in front of the fragment, reached out and touched its cool, smooth surface. The sensation from his fingertips told him that this was not some green mineral, but real, high-purity jade.

He paused for two seconds, then suddenly stood up and kicked a few pumice stones along the edge of the island.

The exposed surfaces after the rubble rolled down were shades of green—some were a deep, vibrant emerald green, some had a slight blue tint, and some were a uniform pale yellowish-green.

It seems that a whole jade vein is buried underground on the entire island, covering an area that stretches from one end of the island to the other. If the purity of the entire vein is the same as that of the previous section, the total amount of this vein cannot be described as "not small".

Fanes stood silently beside the exposed section of jade for a long while. Then he took out the prototype and took several photos of the exposed vein.

The crystal panel clearly reflects the luster and texture of the jade, and every photo shows that it is an extremely high-quality raw material.

He scrolled to his contacts and tapped on Rosalyn's name. After a few rings, Rosalyn's voice, as always, remained calm: "What's up?"

Fanes sat on the edge of the jade's cross-section, reaching out to touch the smooth green surface again, and asked, "Sister Rosalin, what kind of jade is valuable?"

Rosalyn paused for a moment: "Whether jade is valuable depends on its texture, color, transparency, craftsmanship... Why are you asking this?"

Fanes sent over the photos he had just taken, then said into the microphone, "I've sent you the photos. Can you help me estimate how much this batch of goods is worth?"

There was a silence for several seconds. Even through the microphone, Fanes could feel Rosalyn zooming in on each photo, examining them closely. When her voice came back up, it was half a octave lower than before.

"...So many? Where did you get them? The quality is almost top-notch."

Rosalyn paused for a moment. "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

Fanes sat down against the jadeite's cross-section, resting his chin on his hand. "Don't worry, rarity makes it valuable. I discovered this mine myself, and I haven't told anyone yet. You know what I mean."

Rosalyn was silent for two seconds, then her tone became serious: "That's good. Now, quickly find a way to inflate the value of this batch of jade. Don't rush to sell it; first, let the market know that this quality exists, but don't let them know how much is in stock."

Fanes looked up at the darkening sky above, the sunset painting the sea a warm orange. Little Black snorted beside him and swept his tail on the ground. He spoke into the microphone.

"Understood. Do you know anyone in the jewelry business? Spread the word for me that there's a batch of high-quality jadeite looking for buyers, but the price needs to be high."

Rosalind responded, "I know a few jewelers in Mondstadt who can pass on your message. But you need to give me a batch of samples; people will only pay a high price if they see the actual items."

Fanes looked down at the exposed, emerald-green vein at his feet: "Samples are easy to handle. I'll bring a few back for you later; you can decide how much to use."

After hanging up the phone, Fanes put the prototype in his pocket and sat for a while against the little black dog's warm, scaly surface. The wind blew in from the sea, carrying a salty, damp scent, but Fanes didn't care much anymore.

Fanes felt his mind racing – if this batch of jade veins were used properly, it could not only recoup all the money previously invested in internet cafes and research and development, but also save enough start-up capital for the New World expansion plan.

He reached out and patted Little Black: "That dragon breath you unleashed was excellent. I'll give you a treat when we get back."

Xiao Hei turned its head and glanced at him, its amber vertical pupils carrying a hint of resentment, as if saying, "I haven't eaten enough for three days and you're still telling me to have more food." But it still lowered its head and gently nudged his back with the tip of its nose as a response.

Fañes sat on the edge of the emerald mine, watching the distant sea being dyed by the last rays of the sunset in a blend of gold and deep blue. He felt that this voyage was much luckier than he had expected.

At least that souvenir stone was saved. Fanes dusted off his trousers, stood up, and prepared to set off for the return journey once it was a little brighter.

We must get back to Zhidong before our provisions run out. We need to speculate on the value of the jade, start mining, keep the island's location a secret, and control the flow of goods—every step has to be carefully calculated. But these things can't be rushed; getting people back alive is the most important thing first.