In the past, even though Rosalyne disdained the wealthy,
she would still make an appearance to talk, considering that the Northland Bank was an important financial source for the Fatui.
But now, the Northland Bank was no longer important.
Until she received a confirmed reply from the Cryo Archon, Rosalyne would not allow any conflicts between the Fatui and Liyue.
She even considered ordering Tartaglia to stop his original plans—
it would be enough to simply wait quietly for the Geo Archon to step down and obtain the Gnosis.
But that was a contract between the Geo Archon and the Cryo Archon—it couldn't be interrupted.
Yet Rosalyne also wanted to win over Liyue as an ally against Celestia for the Cryo Archon.
If the contract continued, it would inevitably offend Liyue.
But if they didn't follow through…
The punishment of the Stone from the Geo Archon—
not even the Cryo Archon herself could withstand it, let alone Rosalyne.
Stuck between two choices…
Rosalyne sighed. For the moment, she had no idea what to do.
The best plan now was to wait for a reply from the Cryo Archon, then go talk to the Geo Archon.
As one of the three people privy to the truth of that contract, Rosalyne knew Zhongli's real identity.
She was also the true recipient of the Gnosis transfer.
But now another major issue had come up:
Zhongli seemed to have permanently settled in a courtyard at the foot of Mt. Tianheng.
Rosalyne couldn't reach him.
With a heavy heart, she closed the file in front of her.
"Your Majesty, you've really given me a difficult job…"
To be honest, Rosalyne felt that given Liyue's current strange pace of development,
it actually seemed far more promising than just following the original Gnosis-collection plan.
The Gnosis, after all, had been given by Celestia. Rosalyne didn't even know what it truly did.
But surely, using a weapon bestowed by Celestia to fight Celestia itself came with enormous hidden risks.
Liyue was different…
Rosalyne suspected that the moon—or perhaps Liyue—had connected to a mysterious world.
And the depth of power that world brought was overwhelming.
If they could cooperate with Liyue, even if they ultimately lost to Celestia,
at least Snezhnaya would have a path to retreat.
And the Cryo Archon's life could be saved.
Rosalyne couldn't bear the thought of the Cryo Archon fading away in sorrow.
The Cryo Archon had not only saved her,
but had guided her for the last 500 years—she was both a revered god and a kindred spirit.
For the Cryo Archon's grand cause, Rosalyne was willing to die.
But if she could preserve her life instead, she was also willing to pay that price.
No one understood how dangerous this road was better than she did.
The Cryo Archon was walking a tightrope in the skies.
"Your Majesty… Liyue is too powerful. Cooperating with them is clearly the better choice for us…"
Rosalyne clenched her fists in frustration.
Suddenly, the door burst open.
Tartaglia threw off the cloak that had concealed his identity and slumped exhaustedly into a chair.
Rosalyne reined in her thoughts and looked at him.
"How did it go?"
"It was fine."
Tartaglia nodded perfunctorily and complained helplessly:
"Dealing with those merchants is disgusting. Why am I the one stuck with this kind of job?"
Rosalyne ignored his complaints and said directly:
"Hand it over."
Tartaglia rolled his eyes, too tired to argue with her.
He carefully retrieved twelve vials of potion from his Vision.
Six were healing potions; the other six were distributed evenly among strength, agility, and speed types.
Rosalyne frowned slightly, fixing her eyes on Tartaglia.
"Just these? I gave you a billion Mora~!"
Tartaglia's tone turned cold as he crossed his arms:
"You think these potions are easy to buy? You think we're the only ones trying to get them?"
"The Adventurers' Guild, underground intelligence networks…
Everyone's watching the flow of these potions."
"One potion—four or five different forces are bidding for it.
Being able to get these is already impressive!"
"If you think I'm hoarding any, don't blame me for flipping out."
Rosalyne didn't argue further. With a wave of her hand, she pulled the potions in front of her.
She stared at them with burning eyes—especially the healing ones.
Six bottles were enough to heal the soul injury she had suffered back then,
with two bottles left to send back to the Cryo Archon.
"How much did it cost?"
Suppressing her urge to drink one immediately, she asked quietly.
"Four hundred and eighty million."
Tartaglia didn't try to pocket the remaining Mora and casually tossed it to Rosalyne—
only for her to return it.
"Keep buying. These are far from enough."
"Are you insane?"
Tartaglia was furious.
"I'm a Harbinger, not your errand boy! Find someone else to do this!"
"I nearly broke my legs for these damn potions!"
Rosalyne picked up a healing potion and examined it carefully, letting her magic seep in.
Within moments, she felt a deep and genuine inner peace.
A surge of vitality flooded through her, purifying even her own magic.
"No one traced it back to the Fatui, right?"
Rosalyne asked casually. Tartaglia nodded.
"I changed my appearance and bought them as a Snezhnayan merchant."
Seeing that Rosalyne was about to speak again, Tartaglia quickly raised a hand.
"Don't say it. I know what you want to ask."
"Enchanted weapons and alchemical potions are different.
These things aren't sold easily.
And even if they were, all transactions must be registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
There's no way to hide a Fatui identity."
Hearing this, Rosalyne didn't say anything more.
She uncorked a healing potion and downed it in one gulp.
The long-lost vitality filled her soul.
Her old injuries slowly began to heal.
In one go, Rosalyne drank four bottles.
Tartaglia didn't interrupt her.
Running around all day buying potions from merchants and adventurers had exhausted him.
This wasn't the kind of task he was good at.
Besides, once the potions were revealed to be alchemical,
countless buyers came flocking in.
These sellers didn't lack customers.
After a while, Rosalyne took a deep breath.
Her previously unstable aura—burning flames and freezing cold all mixed together—was now gone.
For the first time in ages, a sense of soul-deep relief washed over her.
Her whole body felt at ease.
"This really is life-saving stuff…"
Eight potions remained—two of each type.
She began to consider whether to send them to the Cryo Archon.
Even though it was obvious they were products of another world…
But still—
What if the Cryo Archon could figure something out from them?
"I swear, you're not seriously planning to send all of these to Her Majesty, are you?"
Tartaglia sneered, clearly displeased:
"I went through all that trouble to get these. I should get a share too."
Rosalyne gave him a cool glance.
"It was my Mora."
"Then why didn't you go run around for it?"
Tartaglia retorted irritably, then grabbed one of each type of potion for himself.
"The Tsaritsa already has merchants from Snezhnaya transporting potions to her. I'm keeping a set for myself. As for yours—do whatever you want with them."
Satisfied, Tartaglia put away the four types of potions.
He now had two life recovery potions, plus a few of the strength-enhancing ones—not many, but enough.
Rosalyne thought for a moment and gave up the idea of sending them back to the Tsaritsa.
As Tartaglia mentioned, the Tsaritsa already had Snezhnayan trade routes in place. Compared to the Fatui, it was much easier for them to acquire the potions.
These four potions in her hands would be crucial for survival.
But that alone still wasn't enough in Rosalyne's view.
"Is there any way to buy more? Or maybe even get those higher-grade potions the Millelith use…"
"Are you trying to get yourself killed? I, for one, would like to stay alive."
Tartaglia sneered.
"Those Millelith potions are under the direct control of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Every bottle is logged daily and strictly forbidden from being sold. They even monitor each other. If one bottle goes missing, they will investigate it to the end."
"If Liyue finds out, who knows—those Adepti might get involved."
Rosalyne sighed and said no more.
After a while, she spoke again, her tone quiet:
"Before we came, Her Majesty ordered you to make contact with Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's Zhongli and the Traveler. How is that going?"
Tartaglia leaned back lazily and replied casually:
"I've already come into contact with that otherworldly Traveler. But she never acts alone—she's always with the Qixing or the Knights of Favonius."
"So far, I've only had a brief encounter with her. I'm planning to approach her more and use that to get near Mt. Tianheng."
"As for Zhongli…"
Tartaglia gave a bitter laugh and shook his head.
"He's either at the base of Mt. Tianheng or staying at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. I haven't been able to get close."
Hearing this, Rosalyne frowned slightly.
"Even such a small task, and you can't get it done!"
"Watch your tone. I'm warning you—I'm not one of your subordinates!"
Tartaglia narrowed his eyes, his expression frosty, and Electro energy sparked from the Delusion at his chest.
Rosalyne had no desire to start a fight with Tartaglia. She just huffed and asked,
"Are you sure Zhongli returns to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor every night?"
Just moments earlier, Tartaglia had been brimming with murderous aura—now he returned to his usual sunny demeanor and said nonchalantly:
"Can't say for sure. Sometimes he doesn't. Are you planning to go find him? I'd advise against it. That place is also under Qunyu Pavilion's surveillance—you won't even get close."
Rosalyne snorted and began walking back to her room.
"That's none of your business. Just do your own job. And one more thing…"
"Until we receive Her Majesty's reply, put your plans on hold for now."
Without waiting for Tartaglia's response, she left the room.
Tartaglia pouted, annoyed.
"What an irritating woman…"
After resting a bit, Tartaglia pulled out his potions and began counting them carefully.
He needed to keep a close eye on these.
After all, they could save his life and even boost his combat abilities.
There was nothing more important to him than that.
Meanwhile, in the Minecraft world…
After showing everyone around Base No. 1, Ryen finally teleported the group to the previously planned Mondstadt Base No. 1—the End Portal area.
As soon as Jean opened her eyes, she was stunned.
What was once a small village had been transformed into a large area surrounded by stone walls. All the wooden houses had been demolished.
Nothing new had been built yet, but the ground had been cleared flat.
It was now in the ideal state for development and construction.
"Ryen…?"
Jean was confused.
Ryen smiled and said:
"It wasn't me. Ningguang had the Millelith help level the ground and reinforce the walls."
"The rest is up to you now. It's not that difficult, and no Redstone tech has been installed yet."
"This is just a preliminary plan. However you want to build it—whether it's reclaiming land from the sea or digging into the mountains—you can handle that in Phase Two."
Jean pursed her lips with mixed emotions and lowered her eyes slightly.
"Thank you so much…"
Ryen said nothing, just smiled.
"These days, this world's become quite dangerous. If this area wasn't fenced off, there would be way too many monster ambushes."
"Anyway, it's no big deal."
~~----------------------
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