Aether sat frozen in his high-backed chair, his gaze utterly vacant.
Whatever lighthearted banter rippled around the table washed past his ears entirely unheeded.
Only Ningguang's parting decree echoed relentlessly within his skull.
He had to lead his Khaenri'ahn vanguard into the field to slaughter Abyss Mages.
What manner of absurd cosmic joke was this?
Had he become his own villain?
No, that was entirely backward.
Had he become his own heroic crusader?
That felt even more nonsensical.
Leading his people toward the long-awaited restoration of their homeland on one hand, while commanding them to hunt down Abyss Mages with the other.
What was this contradiction, an angel and a demon bound within the same vessel?
Even if these targets were merely automated voxel mobs spawned by the Genshin Impact module, an uncomfortable prickle lingered stubbornly in his chest.
Yet recalling that Zhongli and the reigning Archons were scheduled to hunt down world bosses bearing their very own likenesses, Aether found his mood improving considerably.
Across the table, Ningguang was turning over her own strategic calculations.
In truth, the Five-Nation Alliance had suffered an acute deficit of ley line materials over recent months.
The explanation was straightforward: the people of Khaenri'ah had integrated into the allied structure of the block world.
Under conventional circumstances, acquiring refined ley line materials required either scouring the wilderness for monsters gathered around Ley Line Outcrops or executing members of the Abyss Order.
Laying hands on Khaenri'ahns was now strictly forbidden, and the abominations born from spontaneous ley line disorders were not only scarce, but scattered across dangerous terrain.
Ningguang had spent weeks fretting over the supply choke, watching several advanced metallurgical projects grind to a halt for lack of ley line components.
She had briefly contemplated approaching Aether to negotiate dispatching covert teams into the dark depths to harvest remnants.
Yet knowing how desperately his people had fought to escape that lightless chasm to claim their own sovereign soil, asking them to dive back into the abyss was an unreasonable demand.
The dilemma had hung unresolved over her ledgers, causing a dull ache behind her temples.
Now, with the activation of the Genshin Impact module, the bottleneck had dissolved in a single stroke.
Better still, the ley line materials harvested from this realm possessed an energetic purity that eclipsed native specimens a hundred times over.
While it still involved putting down Abyss Mages, automated voxel monsters were hardly living flesh and blood.
There was zero ethical quandary.
From every possible perspective, this development was a monumental blessing. The supply was now limitless, and the qualitative leap would elevate countless elemental products across every manufacturing guild.
Achieving that potential, however, rested upon the research divisions led by Albedo and the scholars of Sumeru.
"Did your scouting parties recover any other extraordinary materials?" Ryen asked casually, leaning back against the cushions.
Dashi considered the ledger for a second before shaking his head.
"None of exceptional rarity for the present. Our regiments only directed their full attention toward the Genshin Impact module three days ago."
"Yet Ryen need harbor no worry. Lord Tighnari provided our division with a comprehensive botanical manifest."
"It highlights the specific specimens requiring priority extraction and catalogs the key materials our industries demand."
"The troops possess an innate familiarity with these resources, and we integrated veteran quarrymen into our forward units."
"Regarding other resources I cannot speak with certainty, but when it comes to subterranean ores, our miners know every vein by heart."
"The extraction of the module proceeds with remarkable smoothness. Our soldiers command extensive combat experience against every spawned creature."
"They recognize the raw materials on sight, sparing our units the need to constantly trouble our leadership over basic identifications."
A subtle trace of pride colored Dashi's tone.
These were the familiar elements of their homeland, handled with seasoned confidence.
Harvesting them did not require halting every five paces to seek guidance, unlike their early days in unfamiliar dimensions.
Given sufficient time, the miners were eager to demonstrate a hundred unique techniques for splitting crystal veins with maximum efficiency.
The council shared quiet, satisfied glances, warm smiles touching their lips.
Herein lay the supreme virtue of the Genshin Impact module.
Operational expansion was extraordinarily seamless, with the troops already commanding deep, instinctual literacy regarding half of its systems.
Ningguang accepted the resource ledger Dashi offered, her amber eyes scanning the columns with an approving nod.
"Deposit the gathered materials in the storage vaults of the manor, and instruct your divisions to resume their duties."
"Furthermore, rotate a detachment into Redstone Tech City this evening to rest."
"The foundational server parameters of the metropolis are largely finalized, leaving only minor calibrations."
"Bring your men into the residential districts tonight, adopting the standard living routines of Teyvat as an operational trial run."
"Test every parameter: extinguishing the lamps for sleep, testing architectural block hardness, and moving freely along the thoroughfares."
"Tomorrow, half your division shall return to the extraction shafts while the rest remain within the walls, conducting their day like ordinary citizens of a mortal city."
"Maintain this trial across seven full days, and submit an exhaustive observation manifest to my desk when the week concludes."
"If the parameters hold without friction, our people will finally possess an absolute, fortified sanctuary within this universe."
"Remember: conduct your evaluation with extreme diligence. This is the very city that will receive the arriving generations of Liyue."
Dashi snapped to attention, saluting with crisp discipline before turning to carry out his orders.
Keqing offered a rare, radiant smile of profound satisfaction.
"After weeks of relentless labor, Redstone Tech City is finally stepping into its next epoch. May the trial conclude without flaw."
"Guarded by server administrator permissions, complications are practically impossible," Ningguang murmured, turning her eyes back to the manifest.
Though three days of mining had yielded few legendary artifacts aside from the Dead Ley Line Leaves, the remaining inventory was far from trivial.
Specialized elemental catalysts like ley line branches served elite industrial projects, but common minerals like Crystal Chunks were the foundational bedrock that enriched the entire mortal populace.
Across barely three days of extraction, the volume harvested was already sufficient to ignite a sweeping technological revolution throughout the workshops of Liyue Harbor.
Measured in commercial currency, the monetary valuation of these mineral caches would easily shatter the threshold of several hundred billion Mora.
Lisa reached into an open crate, lifting a faceted Electro Crystal into the warm light with a thoughtful, nostalgic sigh.
"It is genuinely remarkable. Specimens of this scale and purity are relics I have only ever laid eyes upon within the halls of the Hexenzirkel."
"Yet even within the coven, crystals of this grade numbered barely four or five across our entire collection."
"My esteemed seniors guarded them as absolute treasures."
"Now, a casual glance into this crate reveals over a thousand of them. What an extraordinary module."
Keqing's interest flared instantly, her violet eyes locking onto the librarian.
"The Hexenzirkel holds materials of this refined tier as well?"
"Naturally," Lisa replied, a faint, proud tilt touching her chin.
"The Hexenzirkel stands as one of the most formidable assemblies across the whole of Teyvat, stationed along the cosmic boundaries of the firmament to intercept external anomalies. Every witch in our ranks wields power that rivals ancient gods."
"Even Celestia receives our coven with formal diplomatic courtesy."
"Our institutional heritage is not something to be taken lightly."
Reflecting on her past encounters with Alice, Lisa estimated that the elder witch likely stood on equal footing with the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
A guardian tasked with defending the perimeter of the world was naturally cast from extraordinary cloth.
"How does the Hexenzirkel process Electro Crystals of such pristine purity?" Keqing inquired eagerly, her notebook flipped open and pen poised.
The Hexenzirkel was populated by peerless arcane scholars; they had likely developed sophisticated, mature refining methodologies.
Lisa recalled the memories, her lips twitching with mild amusement.
"You are far better off remaining ignorant."
"Why?" Keqing's brow furrowed in clear disapproval. "This directly concerns our practical utilization of high-grade reagents; I must understand the methodology."
"Very well," Lisa sighed, tossing the glowing crystal back into the crate with total nonchalance.
"My esteemed seniors wore them as necklaces."
"Could it be that suspending them against the chest activates an ambient elemental conduit?" Alhaitham deduced with rigorous, analytical seriousness.
"No," Lisa replied flatly, shaking her head.
"They simply found them exceptionally pretty."
The council chamber fell dead silent.
Several leaders parted their lips to speak, only to close them again as the reality of the Hexenzirkel settled into their thoughts.
An assembly of terrifyingly powerful, ageless witches living along the boundaries of the world, wholly unconcerned with mortal leylines.
Such minerals were of zero practical utility to beings of that stature.
Yet they remained women at heart, and appreciating radiant jewelry was universal nature.
Viewed through that lens, stringing them into glittering necklaces made complete sense.
Ningguang shook her head with a soft, amused laugh.
"We have no need to dwell on the eccentricities of the Hexenzirkel. These materials may hold little meaning for immortal witches or our personal martial prowess, yet to the development of a mortal civilization, their value is immeasurable."
"How best to refine their matrix and unlock their maximum industrial potential rests entirely with our scholars."
Alhaitham composed his expression, casting aside the brief absurdity as he nodded with crisp academic discipline.
"Our faculties shall assume the portfolio. Unraveling such pristine specimens is a research topic no scholar could ever refuse."
Ningguang inclined her head before sweeping her gaze across the table, her tone turning solemn and authoritative.
"The wealth of the Genshin Impact module is now plain to all. Higher purity, boundless reserves, complete varieties, and effortless extraction."
"Those four traits alone dictate that we should transition our national demand for raw materials entirely into this block world."
"Persisting with conventional mining across Teyvat has become a wasteful, inefficient expenditure of labor. That exact effort is far better directed toward harvesting resources of hundredfold purity here."
"Therefore..."
She paused, meeting the attentive gazes of her peers with unshakeable resolve.
"I propose that Liyue permanently terminate all domestic extraction of native minerals across Teyvat, transferring our entire industrial workforce across the portal into this realm."
"Aside from designated agrarian plots and livestock pastures, all native mining shafts across our homeland shall be sealed and decommissioned."
Keqing's brow knit tightly, immediate concern rising in her voice.
"A sudden, total cessation will leave thousands of families who rely on quarrying without a livelihood..."
"I have already structured the transition," Ningguang countered smoothly, shaking her head.
"We are closing native quarries, yet our operations in this realm require an ocean of fresh hands."
"Those miners can be transferred across the threshold to continue their craft upon this boundless frontier. Redstone Tech City stands fully constructed, offering the ideal residential foundation to receive them."
"We have long prepared for civilian migration, and now the stars, the land, and the people are in perfect alignment. There is zero justification to keep our folk breaking their backs in Teyvat over impoverished ores."
"Furthermore, everyone understands the environmental tragedy of the Chasm. Centuries of relentless excavation have inflicted catastrophic wounds upon our soil and fractured our local leylines."
"Sealing those shafts grants the earth of Liyue Harbor a chance to heal. From every practical and ethical perspective, this transition is the proper course."
Zhongli nodded in deep, profound concurrence.
The ecological trauma and ley line instability festering within the Chasm had been his heaviest domestic sorrow for centuries.
Halting the pickaxes meant stripping the miners of their bread, yet continuing the excavation invited catastrophic collapses.
Ningguang's policy resolved both dilemmas with flawless symmetry.
Turning the logistics over in her mind and discovering zero structural flaws, Keqing offered a decisive nod.
"It is sound. You have my full endorsement. When precisely do you intend to declare the cessation?"
Ningguang tapped her fingertips rhythmically against the timber, her amber eyes burning with visionary ambition.
"My roadmap targets the conclusion of the military trial run, once we confirm Redstone Tech City provides flawless residential comfort."
"Guizhong, Rex Lapis, and I shall finalize the remaining server parameters in the interim."
"When that milestone is cleared, the gates will open for our first wave of civilian migration."
"I shall proclaim the policy on that exact day. We will welcome not only the quarrymen, but artisans, merchants, and laborers from every commercial sector, establishing our domestic market loops and trade routes in record time."
Rising slightly from her chair, a radiant, imperious pride swept across Ningguang's features, her voice ringing clear throughout the vaulted hall.
"My objective is simple: within six months, Redstone Tech City shall stand, just like our beloved Liyue Harbor across the sea, as the undisputed economic heart of this universe."
"The wealthiest, most magnificent, and most flourishing metropolis across the boundless cosmos!"