Chapter 385

Adjusted via Luo De's test.

He first confirmed that the divine body created by Duotuolei had no issues, was genuine and usable; moreover, under the functions of false god status and perpetual motion energy, this body truly could reach god-level attack power.

Defense goes without saying.

Zhongli personally tested it.

Ordinary gods' attacks cannot inflict substantial damage on it.

If we must point out the sole drawback:

It's probably still an issue with this energy.

"The energy is too weak; many functions either fail to achieve the expected effect or simply have no effect."

This is the test report Luo De gave to Nadixa.

It includes his personal testing.

Nadixa naturally wouldn't say anything, she nodded and said: "It seems the focus of future research should still be on improving the supply efficiency and energy storage of the perpetual motion energy."

"Hmm."

"Is it that you can handle things alone if I'm not here?"

Luo De said with some concern.

The Flower God Festival has been over for a while.

The gods of various nations basically returned home with their own people, including the Cryo Empress and the Pyro God Mavuika who had an agreement with Luo De, also left; only the vagabond Venti and Furina Navia remained here.

Oh, right.

Also, Apep.

I heard that this guy had a minor conflict with Navia right after the Flower God Festival ended.

Luo De wasn't there at the time.

I just heard that at the time, Apep harbored ill intent toward Furina, and to protect her, Navia confronted her for a long time.

But the eventual result was that the two of them didn't end up fighting.

Instead, Apep ran off to Fontaine's crew, eating and drinking for free all day, seemingly intending to mooch off and go with them.

Lin also couldn't figure out what exactly happened.

He only knew.

Fontaine's side urged.

In recent years, Fontaine's water level has been rising; it's clear the time of the doomsday prophecy is approaching, and claiming not to be anxious is a lie.

Luo De had promised Egeria, and also promised Navia.

Although no contract was made, one cannot go back on one's word.

So Luo De doesn't intend to delay too much; he plans to go to Fontaine with the Fontaine people in these few days.

Anyway, the situation in Sumeru is now completely stable.

Having a Killing God on top makes one far less provokable than a seemingly weak and benevolent god.

Under Luo De's intimidation.

Sumeru became unprecedentedly united; everyone who originally harbored ulterior motives became honest and dared not show their heads at all.

With this premise.

Even if Luo De leaves, one can rest assured.

His only current worry is that if Nadixa continues researching perpetual motion energy, with her ability, if she rashly contacts large amounts of Abyssal force, whether her body can withstand the erosion of that Abyssal force.

"Don't worry."

"The Flower Spirits will cooperate with me, and Egeria also made me a protective suit using Sweet Dew Living Water as material."

Nadixa waved her hand, showing a relaxed expression, and a bright smile appeared on her face.

Being able to make flowing water into a protective suit is also a manifestation of Hydro Authority.

Actually, Luo De can also do more or less the same.

But the Authority he obtained from Orobas cannot compare to Egeria's, the orthodox Hydro Archon; even the retired Hydro Archon is still far stronger than him in this regard, this half-baked one.

"Just ensure safety."

"Abyssal force is too dangerous; there's no need to rush progress."

"Our situation is now stable; we don't have a very high demand for that right now, having some to use is enough."

"Also."

"Don't throw away those experimental perpetual motion crystals; let the Mondstadt people sell them, and if they want to buy them themselves, that's fine too."

The matter Luo De mentioned afterward.

Nadixa thought for a moment, somewhat hesitant, and said: "Releasing the perpetual motion crystals this early—is this really a good idea?"

The importance of perpetual motion crystals goes without saying.

This is something that even Khaenri'ah once exhausted all efforts trying to research.

One could say that.

If Luo De and Nadixa hadn't unearthed the research logs of Khaenri'ah and the Fontaine Academy, Sumeru's attempt to develop safe perpetual motion crystals would likely take hundreds of years.

It is also precisely because of these two existing research results, plus Nadixa's ability to infinitely simulate with her Dream Authority, that Sumeru has the chance to research safe perpetual motion crystals in this era.

In Nadixa's eyes.

This technology is still too dangerous.

Let's not talk about anything else.

Once announced, the Sweet Dew Flower Sea will inevitably suffer endless attacks.

It will also prompt some countries to take risks and extract Abyssal force for research.

This danger is unbearable for both Sumeru and all of Teyvat.

Furthermore, Sumeru not only possesses but can also produce perpetual motion crystals.

Once it leaks, it's obvious it will draw the greed of those with ulterior motives.

Don't assume the gods are on good terms with each other.

The mortals serving the gods don't care about this; for profit, whether personal or for the nation, they will surely make decisions that best serve their own selfish interests.

These are all things Nadixa worries about.

However, what she did not expect is.

Luo De, who usually keeps such matters deeply secret, this time spoke very openly: "It's fine, just let it be sold. We've already established our prestige, haven't we? The current Sumeru is a nation capable of independently repelling the Grass Dragon King Apep!"

Single-handedly defeated the Grass Dragon King Apep.

Upon hearing those words.

Nadixa couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, then she asked: "You originally sought Apep's cooperation for this purpose?"

Exactly.

Otherwise, just having Apep act as an actor to intimidate the desert folk would be a terrible waste.

If we want to scare them, we definitely need to pick those foreigners who are easily ill‑intentioned to give a fright.

Luo De openly admitted his little scheme.

The gods' side doesn't need intimidation.

Many gods are on good terms with Luo De.

The Anemo Archon, the Electro Archon, the Geo Archon, soon also the Pyro Archon and the Hydro Archon—only the Cryo Archon's attitude is ambiguous, and her attitude toward Luo De is still mostly exploitative.

But Luo De will soon be able to take the position of Second Seat Executive of the Fatui.

So, in other words.

Luo De can also be considered one of Snezhnaya's own people, so they have no reason to continue scheming against Sumeru as before.

Looking at this situation.

Luo De fundamentally doesn't need to worry about the gods' mutual hostility.

The only thing he feels is still unstable.

Namely, those mortal power layers with ulterior motives.

Here we must name Inazuma's three commissions. Not mentioning the Tatara Commission and the Tenryou Commission, which are corrupt and rampant, even the Kanjou Commission, in Luo De's view, is not anything good.

Kamisato Ayato is too smart.

If it weren't for the last trace of humanity, he, who has completely become a political machine, would do anything for profit.

And Kamisato Ayato is not an isolated case.

Across the nations of Teyvat, politicians like him are not few.

To deal with such politicians.

The only means.

Is violence.

No way.

Because reason is hard to get through to them.

Even if you win the debate today and make him admit he's wrong, he'll soon come back with other excuses to harass you like a fly.

Only by using fists to make them realize they won't reason will these emotionless political machines truly calm down.

It must be said.

Flexing muscles is still quite effective.

Since Apep's 'defeat', via monitoring of the Void Terminal, many spies from various nations hiding in Sumeru have withdrawn, especially the rainforest areas that were previously infiltrated like a sieve; now they can be said to be quite clean.

"Is Mondstadt safe then?"

Nadixa still has some worries.

Others dare not provoke Sumeru, but they definitely dare to provoke Mondstadt.

After all, the Wind God poses little threat outwardly, and basically no one cares about him.

Plus, the Mondstadt Knights of Favonius lack their grand master, high-end combat strength is severely lacking, and their ability to respond to external threats is very unsatisfactory.

Nadixa worries that if they hand over the perpetual motion crystals to them, they might not be able to guard them, and the finished product could be stolen directly.

"That is indeed possible."

Luo De must admit, Nadixa's worry is quite reasonable.

You should know.

Mondstadt could, even under layers of tight protection, have its Wind God's artifact stolen by a Fatui person.

Moreover, it wasn't a Snezhnaya executive who did it; merely an intelligence operative easily broke through the Knights of Favonius' defenses, and no one has managed to catch her.

If the sales rights of the perpetual motion crystals were given to Mondstadt.

Then it's very likely that the warehouse would be looted and all the perpetual motion crystals would be cleaned out.

Although acknowledging this fact, Luo De doesn't really care about it: "Losing it is fine; we just need to sign a contract, deliver on time, and what happens afterward and what occurs will be up to the Mondstadters' own handling."

Luo De's attitude is very clear.

Sumeru lacks money.

And completely safe perpetual motion crystals are very valuable.

Even the smallest amount of perpetual motion crystal is enough to fetch a sky‑high price.

So, in Luo De's view.

Now the best choice is to take Nadixa's 'defective' perpetual motion crystals and sell them for money to recuperate; as for whether the buyer can keep their goods, that's not something they need to consider.

This

Nadixa still felt some hesitation.

I know you're worried that if someone stole the perpetual motion crystal, they would crack its technology and then turn their malicious intentions toward the Abyssal power. If you really are worried about that, then just add some anti-theft measures to the perpetual motion crystal in the foreign trade version. After all, you are a god, so setting up mechanisms that cannot be unlocked by non-divine power is always fine. Then just provide a matching unlock key. That way, as long as the key remains with the harpist, even if someone steals the perpetual motion crystal, they won't be able to decipher its secrets.

The matter has come to this point.

Nadixa also thought it made sense, so she adopted this measure.

What followed was simple.

Basically, after Luo De left, there were some arrangements; some were made by Luo De, and some were made by Nadixa.

The main point is this trip to Fontaine.

Luo De did not go alone.

He planned to bring a few more people to make up for his neglect over the years.

It is precisely because of this idea.

Some important positions lacked personnel who could be allocated.

Nadixa and Luo De are now focusing on researching which people to replace to fill the positions.

A few days later.

Baital Harbor at the northernmost end of the Sumeru rainforest region.

It is a small seaport; the only place reachable is Fontaine across the sea.

Unlike the bustling Omos Port.

Baital Harbor sees few merchants and cargo, its throughput small, roughly equivalent to a tiny seaport.

But this is also due to Sumeru's own poor operations.

The fundamental reason is that cooperation between Sumeru and Fontaine is very scarce, and even personnel exchange is rarer than in other nations.

Therefore, when Luo De brought Dixiya, Ke Lai, Tadela, and Ekgolia to Baital Harbor, the harbor not only had hardly any merchant or passenger ships, but also very few passengers.

"The problem with the trade route is serious."

Although they were preparing to meet with the Fontaine people and leave Sumeru together, Luo De still told Nadixa about what he had seen and heard along the way.

No matter how you say it.

Now Fontaine has decided to establish a new cooperative relationship with Sumeru.

To ensure the cooperation.

Naturally, Sumeru must guarantee the safety of harbor transport and the trade route.

As the sole sea lane directly connecting Sumeru to Fontaine, Luo De deliberately took a slow carriage, leisurely traveling all the way from Sumeru City to Baital Harbor.

The facts prove it.

There are many problems along the way.

Banditry rampant is just a minor issue.

Monsters abound, the roads are severely damaged; these are serious problems affecting trade flow.

Especially the problem of road damage.

Luo De can see that.

The trade route from Sumeru City to Baital Harbor still has a good foundation, with supporting infrastructure on both sides of the road; the two countries likely had considerable trade in earlier years, but perhaps after the five-hundred-year pitch-black calamity, when the Dendro Archon and the Hydro Archon both fell, the two nations fell into chaos and their contact was severed.

And the current problem with this trade route lies in those few words: long neglect of repairs.

Not only is the road surface severely damaged, but the supporting infrastructure is also largely destroyed to the point of being unusable.

Therefore, in Luo De's view, before opening the Sweet Rain Flower Sea trade route, repairing this old trade route is the priority.

"Hmm, I've remembered it."

Nadixa wrote down Luo De's words in a small notebook.

Actually, she didn't need a notebook; she couldn't possibly forget what Luo De had said.

But Luo De had said it once.

A good memory is no match for a blunt pencil.

Nadixa thought it made sense, so she also developed the habit of carrying a notebook to record things.

The simple discussion of official matters thus ended.

After saying goodbye to Nadixa,

Luo De brought Dixiya and the others aboard the ship, standing at the rail and waving to her and to the Great Merciful Tree King, who likewise had not chosen to leave.

With a blast of the whistle,

The luxurious cruise ship from Fontaine set off, its speed increasing until, after a few minutes, it became merely a tiny black dot, merging with the brilliance on the sea.

(End of chapter)