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

A year is neither a long nor a short time, but for that experimental field in the New World, it was enough for the rice to head three times, for the potatoes to produce three crops underground, and for Sandoni's notebook to be filled with three whole volumes of climate observation data.

Fanes squatted at the edge of the experimental field, picked up an ear of rice, rubbed it open to check the plumpness of the grains, then squatted down next to the potato row, shook the soil, pulled out a few round potatoes, weighed them in his hand, and showed a smile that said, "My efforts this year have not been in vain."

This land is indeed capable of producing crops, with yields even exceeding those of the most fertile paddy fields around Liyue Harbor by 20-30%. Abundant water resources, fertile soil, a mild climate, and no extreme weather throughout the year—it's as if someone specifically chose the most suitable place for farming and left it there waiting for him to take over.

Fanes put the stalk of rice into a bag, stood up, dusted off his knees, and walked back to the makeshift observation post to look through the yield records for the last three quarters. The numbers were listed line by line on the paper, each line more impressive than the last.

But one problem has remained unresolved—transportation.

The new continent is too far from Teyvat, and the existing ships are too small, too slow, and have limited cargo capacity.

If we rely solely on traditional wooden sailboats to transport grain, after deducting losses during transport and crew expenses, the remaining profit after reaching the shore would not be enough to pay the sailors' wages.

Fanes lay on the wooden table at the observation station and drew up several plans, trying everything from improving the sail shape to adding watertight compartments. In the end, he found that no matter how he modified it, he could not get around a core shortcoming - the ship was not big enough.

After doing the math and calculating the balance of my secret stash, I made a decision.

Fanes went to Sandone and placed a stack of blueprints and a note with the budget limit in front of her: "I need an aircraft carrier battle group. You figure it out."

Sandonne picked up the note, glanced at the numbers on it, then looked down at the drawings on the table. He remained silent for a long time before looking up at him.

"Your budget is only enough to build two ships. One ocean-going freighter and one multi-purpose ship with a flight deck. An aircraft carrier battle group requires at least five ships, and you can't even muster three right now."

Fanes sat opposite her, rubbing his temples. "Then let's build two first. The cargo ship will be called the Winter Solstice, and the multi-purpose ship will be called the Ice Emperor. The Winter Solstice will be used for transporting grain, and the Ice Emperor will be responsible for escorting them."

Sandonne lowered his head and began to draw lines and mark dimensions on the drawing. The pen tip moved quickly across the paper, with a focused attitude that seemed to say, "I'm already calculating, so don't rush me."

Fanes sat quietly opposite her for a while, then finally drew a circle in the upper right corner of the paper: "The two ships together are three hundred meters long. The cargo ship is two hundred and twenty meters long, and the multi-purpose ship is eighty meters long, equipped with a small flight deck and a simple weapons platform. This is the largest size that can be achieved within your budget."

Fanes stared at the number in silence for a moment. He had poured all the funds in his savings into it, including the final payment for his jade business.

If these two ships cannot make this route between the New World and Winter, all his savings will sink to the bottom of the sea.

As for why he didn't seek funding from Pantalone, Fanes had considered it carefully before making the decision.

With Pantalone's keen business sense and drive, as long as he sees a profit potential in this shipping route, he will definitely find a way to seize control.

At that time, they'll create a whole system for things like triangular trade, Dongxumi Company, and grain futures monopoly. The speed at which Zhidong shuts down accounts will definitely be faster than the speed at which he makes money.

Fanes felt he was still young and hadn't lived enough, and didn't want to be sanctioned by the G7. So he rejected all of Pantalone's proposals on the grounds that they were "not needed for the time being," and stubbornly completed the entire project on his own.

As the Wintership and the Ice Emperor were docked side by side in the Wintership Harbor's shipyard, Fanes stood on the pier, looking up at the two enormous steel silhouettes, feeling his heart rate rise in direct proportion to the height of the ships.

Their hulls were longer than any active warship in Winter Harbor, and the cargo ships had wide, flat decks and enough cargo holds to hold the harvest of an entire medium-sized grain silo.

The multi-purpose ship has a flat take-off and landing platform at the rear of the hull. Although the surrounding weapon bases are currently empty, the reserved interfaces and load-bearing structures have been laid out.

On the day of their first fully loaded voyage, Fanes was not on one of the ships. He rode Little Black, hovering in the air above the two ships, carrying the newly polished Frost Spike in his arms. The ice-blue ridged spike gleamed in his hand, its tip sharp and its entire body icy cold, as it floated high in the sky with him.

The journey to the New World was calm for the first few days, the sea as smooth as a deep blue silk ribbon. On the evening of the fifth day, as Fanes was lying on the back of his little black dog, looking down at the course of the fleet below, a dark ridge suddenly rose from the sea about two nautical miles ahead of the fleet.

The thing rose slowly but steadily from the sea surface, its outline gradually becoming clearer, revealing a rough, scaly surface and two rows of sharp spikes arranged along its spine.

The part of it that was above water was about half the length of the Ice Emperor. Its head had the characteristics of those who fled during the Demon God War—forelimbs that had not completely degenerated and a pair of eyes that still retained the remnants of pupils.

As Fanes watched the thing rise from the sea and block the front of the fleet, his mind went blank without any extra thought; only one sentence clearly came to mind: "Whoever prevents me from farming properly will become fertilizer in the fields."

Fanes gripped the Frostfire Nail tightly in his hand, patted Blackie's neck to signal it to dive. The wind rushed past his ears, the seawater rapidly approached from below, and the dark head that was continuing to rise from the surface grew larger and larger in his vision.

At the end of his dive, Fanes hurled the Frost Spike, the icy blue ridge tracing a straight, almost impervious trajectory in the twilight light, precisely piercing the very center of the skull.

The demon's body trembled the moment it was driven in, as if an invisible hand had held all its movements in place from the inside. Then it slowly and silently sank back under the water, leaving only a ripple that gradually spread across the surface of the sea.

After piercing its target, the Frost Nail returned to Fanes's hand, still cold and without a trace on its surface.

The crew of the Winter and the Ice Emperor witnessed the entire process. When Fanes landed back on the flight deck of the Ice Emperor, several sailors were huddled along the ship's side, peering back at the gradually calming sea, their expressions indescribably complex.

Fanes put the Frost Nail into the leather sheath hanging at his waist and waved to them: "Keep going. Watch your course, don't veer off course."

I settled myself on Xiao Hei's back, finding a position away from the storm, my back resting against the curve of the dragon scales, waiting for the long shipping route ahead, carrying the first harvest, to stretch towards the outline of the port that had just lit up on the northern sea.

Little Black folded its wings and landed back on the landing platform at the stern of the Ice Emperor. It squatted on the steel deck, yawned, and then glanced at the sea in the distance, which had returned to calm.

On the day the first batch of grain arrived at Winter Harbor, queues began forming at the docks from early morning. Warehouse managers had already emptied the storage spaces in several of the largest grain depots, and workers waiting to unload stood on the shore, watching the two massive ships slowly approach the shore.

The ship's waterline was pressed very deep, and the grain sacks in the hold were piled up to the top. After the cargo hold lid was opened, the aroma of grain wafted into the air on the dock with the airflow from the hatch, mingling with the smell of sea breeze and the rust of the harbor.

Pantalone stood beside a mooring post on the edge of the dock, his gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses shifting from the unloading hatch of the ship to Fanes, who was directing the workers to move the cargo in the distance, and then back to the pile of grain sacks being carried into the warehouse.

He watched for a long time without speaking. As he turned around and walked back along the harbor, his pace was slightly slower than usual. His fingers lightly twirled the edge of his sleeve, as if he were pondering something.

The plan was roughly related to grain—not how to buy, but how to sell. How to raise the price to the highest possible level, how to get those who needed grain to pay more, and how to ensure that every grain obtained by those who had no grain bore the mark of their names, even if they paid twice the price.

Pantalone had been thinking about these things for a long time, just waiting for a signal to act. Now the two ships were in port, the grain depots were full, and the cargo ships and aircraft carrier had completed a full round trip. The signal had come, and he had already begun to mentally plan the first and second steps.

Fanes stood at the warehouse entrance, dusting off his hands, completely unaware that the gaze behind the gold-rimmed glasses on the other side of the dock was slowly scanning the entire supply line's operational logic.