Entara Industrial District.
Venti was, as always, sitting cross-legged on the roof, enjoying the breeze, holding a manga book that Lumine had sent him.
The book is titled "one piece."
"Yo, Venti, slacking off again?"
A snotty voice came from below.
Venti closed his comic book and waved to the newcomer: "I'm not slacking off. My work will be done in one day. I was just thinking if I could go back to Teyvat to find some good wine to drink. It's been a while, and I miss my Dandelion Wine a bit."
Jack flew up and stood beside him.
"Tsk tsk, one piece. It seems Lumine got a lot of benefits from you."
"That girl, ever since she got world coins, she's been better at running the general store than I am. Recently, she and Ningguang have been planning to buy out the last set of compulsory education textbooks."
"Hehe, isn't that great? Liyue finally entered an era of human governance. With the exploration of pioneers from parallel worlds, they can avoid many detours."
Jack took out a bottle of Dandelion Wine from his god's eye and tossed it to Venti.
"Eh? Dawn Winery's limited-edition specialty! Good stuff, Traveler!"
"Diluc gave it to me. The warehouse at home is overflowing with it, more than I can drink."
If he hadn't said anything, it would have been fine.
But as soon as he said it, Venti showed a resentful expression.
So you, old man, have such good wine, yet you're so stingy, only sending me one or two bottles of white wine each time.
"Are you here to collect diamonds today?"
"Sort of. Mainly for something else."
After taking a big gulp of wine, Venti was slightly tipsy: "Traveler, you have something else for me?"
"Indeed, it's something that only you can do."
"I'm all ears."
"I need you to... work a few more shifts for these alchemy machines."
"Pfft!"
Venti spat out a mouthful of wine, making the roof fragrant with its aroma.
"No, Traveler, we agreed it would only be for one week."
"Ah? Is, is that so... Hehe, I forgot, that's not important!" Jack mimicked Venti's playful demeanor and continued: "This time it's paid work, alright? How about 10 bottles of Feitian Erguotou special supply and 10 bottles of Dawn Winery limited-edition specialty every month?"
So generous?
Venti became a bit suspicious: "You're not going to make me work thirty days a month, 24 hours a day, are you?"
"Look at you, saying such things. Even capitalists aren't that outrageous. Nine to five, and how about double weekends off?"
"This..."
Emotionally, Venti didn't want to work.
After all, in a sense, he was the embodiment of freedom.
If even the God of Freedom wasn't free, then the word itself would become a joke.
But from a rational perspective, these two good wines were rare delicacies.
Venti, who didn't want to take a single cent from his subjects, was truly poor and could only afford Dandelion Wine.
If he had 20 bottles of fine wine to drink every month, what a carefree life that would be.
Jack saw that he was somewhat tempted.
So he pulled out his final trump card.
"I've also placed a Teyvat Gate in the Knights of Favonius, guarded by Jean and the others, and I've also set up Teleport Waypoints in most parts of Mondstadt."
"You know the working mechanism of the alchemy machines; one charge can last for several hours. You only need to periodically return to MC Entara through the Teyvat Gate to complete the work and collect 20 bottles of good wine every month. Why not?"
The Teyvat Gate wasn't expensive, 32 emeralds.
Previously, due to safety concerns, placing one in Mondstadt hadn't been considered.
However, now that he stood at the pinnacle of Teyvat, his actions were much more casual.
Moreover, it would be quite inconvenient if everyone had to use the Serenitea Pot to come to MC World.
After all, there's no such thing as handing over your house keys to your subordinates for arbitrary use.
...
After much deliberation.
Venti finally agreed to Jack's long-term employment.
When under someone's roof, one must bow their head. Since he had already become someone's retainer, it was only right to help out.
After signing the two-part contract.
Jack went inside the factory to collect the dozens of sets of diamonds that had been converted in the past few days, and then replenished the coal.
Ever since he achieved diamond freedom, he had made 10 diamond backpacks, each with 108 slots, meaning he could transfer 1080 stacks of coal at once when fully loaded.
Moreover, Venti could now also use the crafting table, so for convenience, Jack always crafted coal blocks (9-in-1) before placing them.
"—Venti, is Jack here?"
Outside the door, Keqing's voice came.
Jack said loudly: "I'm inside, Keqing, just come into the factory."
Hearing this, Keqing smiled kindly at Venti, opened the door, and walked in.
"Jack, Lumine seems to have discovered a special building."
"Hmm? That girl again. Where did she find it?"
"About 900 kilometers from Entara, on a coastal area. There's an underwater prison there. This is the footage she took with her camera."
Jack picked up the photo Keqing gave him and examined it carefully.
In the photo.
Lumine was grinning, holding up her fingers to make a V-sign, which he skipped over directly.
Behind her was a huge lake, and beneath the lake, a massive, silent black fortress stood.
Giant arched walls surrounded the fortress, making it look like a prison.
"It looks like an Iron Maiden. Lumine, that girl, when it comes to causing trouble, she's definitely the one."
"Iron Maiden?"
"It's a rare underwater dungeon with very rich resources. It's divided into two layers, outer and inner. The outer layer mostly has Piglins wearing full sets of Netherite armor. Treasure chests there can drop normal dungeon items."
"The inner layer is connected to the Nether, with monsters like Magma Cubes and Wither Skeletons. Treasure chests inside can drop items only found in the Nether, like Scrolls of the Deep Dark."
"Of course, because I don't have the seven curses ring, the Scrolls of the Deep Dark, which can create various cursed items, are temporarily useless to me. But the treasure chests in the inner layer of the Iron Maiden might drop a Flame Core, which is a magical stone that grants immunity to fire damage."
Ten minutes later.
Jack and Keqing returned to Linjian Cabin.
"Daddy! You're back."
Klee, who was scratching her head while doing math problems, immediately jumped up.
Jack hugged her and playfully pinched her little nose: "Hmm, my little cutie, have you listened carefully to Teacher Mona's lessons?"
Klee drew out the end of her sentence: "Yes~~"
"Enen, my daughter is so good."
He patted Klee's head, then held her and sat on the sofa.
He looked at Mona, who was napping nearby.
"If you're so tired, go rest for a while. Can you manage observing stars at night and teaching the little witch during the day, working non-stop?"
Mona didn't speak, just raised her hand and made an OK gesture.
Alright, it's just a bottle of milk's worth of effort anyway, let her be.
"Keqing, go call the others and see who's still here."
Half an hour later.
Ganyu, Shen He, and Lumine arrived successively.
Jack scanned the number of people present.
"The others seem to have gone back to Teyvat. Should I go call them?"
"No need. More people only make exploring the dungeon more efficient. The inside of the Iron Maiden is very spacious, I'll have time to support you all."
Mona had to watch Klee, so she was temporarily excluded.
Present were Ganyu, a long-range archer, Shen He as bottom lane support, he and Lumine as composite elementalists playing mid and top lane, and Keqing as a high-speed jungler.
It was simply a perfect five-person team.
"Without further ado, let's go conquer the Iron Maiden! Flame Core, I must have it!"
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