Zhongli noticed the card furnace for [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong] emitting a faint blue glow and immediately turned his gaze toward it.
He hoped the furnace would soon finish forging [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong].
However, after a brief stir, the furnace fell silent once more.
Zhongli let out a soft sigh, looking a little disappointed. Yet he quickly composed himself.
When Xiao returned carrying a bundle of materials, he went straight to Luya and piled them before him. They were all attribute-infused gems and materials dropped from monsters.
Luya accepted the materials and handed Xiao some cards as payment. Xiao took them and sat down at a table to start building his Deck.
Time passed, and soon it was nearly closing time. Luya checked the preorder count for Duel Disks—500 had been sold already, although tournament sign-ups were only at 160 people. If the ratio of one advancing for every ten held, then the finals would have about 16 participants. With today's wave of publicity, Luya expected more people to come tomorrow.
As night fell, customers gradually left the shop. Hu Tao, Keqing, Ganyu, Yanfei and the others waved goodbye in turn.
"See you tomorrow, shopkeeper!"
"We'll head back first, see you tomorrow!"
"Here's hoping tomorrow's Lantern Rite will be amazing!"
"See you~ we're off now!"
Luya stood at the counter, waving to each in farewell.
"Goodbye!"
"Thank you all for today's help~"
The shop emptied, until only Zhongli remained. Luya knew Zhongli wanted to ask about [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong]'s progress.
"Mr. Zhongli, are you here to check on [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong]?"
Hearing the question, Zhongli smiled and nodded. "As expected... the shopkeeper is as insightful as ever."
Luya returned the smile with a nod. "Mr. Zhongli, please take a look yourself..."
At Luya's invitation, Zhongli stepped closer. The card furnace for [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong] glowed brighter. Orange light wrapped around blue, while the Lock of the Mortal World and Glaze Lilies had already been completely refined. The Demon God's Flesh radiated an earthy yellow glow as it was gradually processed by the furnace.
It seemed that once the Demon God's Flesh was fully refined, [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong] would be complete!
Luya smiled at Zhongli. "The process is nearly finished. By tomorrow morning, it should be done."
Zhongli could not hide his joy—this old friend would finally have the chance to meet him again.
"Then... let's meet again tomorrow." He spoke not only to Luya but also to Guizhong within the furnace.
Inside, the blue flames seemed to stir at Zhongli's voice, swaying like Glaze Lilies flickering in firelight.
With a nod, Zhongli turned and left the shop. After he departed, the shop was empty.
The system's voice rang out—
[Commencing today's settlement…]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host!]
[You have completed today's business!]
[Today's total revenue: 135 million Mora!]
[Of which, card pack profit: 100 million Mora]
[Other profit: 35 million Mora]
[Preorder revenue: 50 million Mora]
[Available Mora: 185 million]
Hearing the settlement, Luya nodded.
[Generating rewards... please wait.]
As before, the system issued rewards based on revenue. With today's revenue surpassing 100 million Mora, Luya waited eagerly to hear what reward would come this time.
[Congratulations, Host, for breaking 100 million Mora in single-day revenue!]
[Reward: 10 Vending Machines (Drinks)]
[Reward: 10 Vending Machines (Snacks)]
[Reward: +4 Duel Stages.]
[Reward: +500 Card Pack production.]
[Note: Vending Machines auto-restock.]
Hearing this, Luya found the vending machines' auto-restocking ability perfect for the shop, bringing in extra profit and offering new, fun things to attract customers.
He installed them immediately. The drink machines offered many Blue Star beverages—cola, Sprite, lemon tea, and more. Luya couldn't wait to see how the people of Liyue would react to these! The snack machines carried fish tofu, sausages, instant noodles, and other varieties.
Luya skipped the store upgrade for now. With 185 million Mora available, minus the 25 million reserved for the 500 preordered Duel Disks, he planned to order another 500 Duel Disks for store stock, along with Starter Decks and Card-Draw Bread. With the Lantern Rite sure to draw more customers, preparing stock in advance meant even greater profits!
At this rate, he would soon have enough Mora to upgrade the store.
Opening the system shop, he saw:
⌈Permanent Goods⌋
[Card-Draw Bread] – 2,000 Mora
[Starter Deck] – 100,000 Mora
⌈Lantern Rite Duel Tournament Limited Goods⌋
[Star Gloves] – Free
[Metal Star] – Free
[Duel Disk Spray Paint] – 5,000 Mora
[Simplified Duel Disk] – 50,000 Mora
Luya purchased 1,000 Duel Disks and 500 Starter Decks in one go. In an instant, he had spent 100 million Mora. He also bought 10,000 Card-Draw Breads. Altogether, he burned through 120 million Mora.
Closing the system shop, Luya ended his day's business and returned to his room, waiting for the Lantern Rite to begin.
It would also be the day the Duel Tournament commenced.
...
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