Dawn Winery.
Diluc stood inside the study.
Before him stood the butler and the head maid of Dawn Winery.
"How much electro crystal reserve does the Winery have left?"
The butler, who was responsible for managing the commercial sector of Dawn Winery, immediately replied:
"Young Master, the Winery previously procured a batch of electro crystals for the internal energy supply."
"The Winery's lighting, cooking, and operation of mechanical equipment all consume electro crystals for power."
"To maintain normal operation, the Winery consumes 300 electro crystals daily."
"Currently, there are still over ten thousand electro crystals remaining in storage."
On the continent of Teyvat, the most widely circulated lighting equipment among commoners is generally driven by electro crystals.
Elemental Power is not something everyone possesses or can utilize.
However, electro crystals are widely distributed across Teyvat, easy to collect, and inexpensive, making them the most used energy source.
But because electro crystals have the characteristic of exploding when encountering Pyro Element, the development of electro crystal technology has not been large-scale.
Small-scale applications of electro crystals are manageable; even if they explode, the power is not significant.
But once the scale increases, the explosive power of electro crystals is enough to turn people to dust.
It is extremely rare for an entity like Dawn Winery to collect this many electro crystals at once; only major powers would do such a thing.
This is because large-scale electro crystal reserves require complex storage management methods, and every single electro crystal must be wrapped in a special material that insulates against the Pyro Element to prevent explosions.
Compared to the Mora spent purchasing electro crystals, storing them actually costs more Mora and human resources.
This is also the reason why electro crystal technology has not advanced.
Not everyone is as fortunate as Fontaine, possessing stable Indemnitium to use as energy.
In fact, Fontaine's technology was able to develop a level far surpassing that of normal nations in Teyvat precisely because of the emergence of Indemnitium energy—an energy source that is stable and easy to utilize.
It is similar to Wakanda in Marvel; because of the existence of the metal energy known as Vibranium, their nation's technological development far surpassed other tribes in the region, even exceeding America at that time.
Hearing the butler's report, Diluc nodded.
"The electro crystal reserve is temporarily sufficient, but we still need to find a way to acquire another batch, at least twenty thousand electro crystals."
"As for the management and storage of the electro crystals, please handle that, Butler."
The butler bowed respectfully.
"Yes! Young Master!"
With that, Diluc turned to look at Adelinde, the head maid of Dawn Winery.
As the head maid, Adelinde's public role was managing all the maids in the Winery, responsible for cleaning, catering, and guest reception services.
In reality, Adelinde was also the guardian of Dawn Winery, responsible for managing its secret forces, and deeply trusted by Diluc.
Moreover, Adelinde herself was a master whose skills were hidden from plain sight.
"Ms. Adelinde, I have some materials here. Please find someone to collect them and send them to the secret base."
Diluc handed the list of materials required for elemental weapon production to the head maid Adelinde, and instructed:
"Remember to keep the contents of this list confidential. Be careful during the procurement and transportation process of the materials, and avoid being targeted by people from other factions."
Adelinde nodded and took the list.
Seeing the densely packed list of materials, her brow furrowed slightly, but she immediately returned to her usual calm and capable demeanor.
"Understood, Young Master!"
"I will complete the mission successfully!"
The list Diluc gave Adelinde featured a rich variety and quantity of materials. Such large-scale procurement was bound to attract the attention of other factions.
But Adelinde understood that since Diluc entrusted this task to her, the head maid, rather than the public-facing white gloves of Dawn Winery, it meant this mission had a very high degree of secrecy.
No matter how difficult the task, head maid Adelinde would complete the mission given to her by Diluc with all her might, just as Diluc trusted her.
The Knights of Favonius and Dawn Winery both began taking action, but the Springvale Farm side showed little commotion.
Springvale Farm.
Everything was as usual.
The members of the Five-Color Squad were mining and training in the Underground Mine.
Amu and Siegfrieda continued their delivery work.
Aqiu led the Hilichurls in enthusiastically planting trees and collecting oak resin in the Oak Forest.
Xing, the person in charge of the elemental weapon cooperation project and one of the three major powers, was running around everywhere under the moniker of the Trash Can Knight.
Sometimes she would help Amu with deliveries, sometimes she would cause trouble for Aqiu and the Hilichurls, and sometimes she would go to the Underground Mine to dig and fight monsters.
Of course.
Xing's most frequent activity was treasure hunting (flipping trash cans) on the streets of Mondstadt.
Gradually, this Trash Can Knight became famous in Mondstadt.
Anyone who saw a cute, gray-haired young girl flipping through trash cans couldn't help but exclaim whether this was a distortion of human nature or a moral decay.
Factions hostile to the Knights of Favonius, such as the aristocrats and the Fatui,
also seized this opportunity to attack and mock the Knights of Favonius, attempting to undermine their prestige in the hearts of the people of Mondstadt.
However.
As Xing found priceless treasures in trash cans time and time again, an increasing number of "free" Mondstadters joined the activity.
Even the Fatui couldn't help but marvel:
"Are the people of Mondstadt really this free?"
"And you can actually find treasure in trash cans?"
In response to the Fatui's confusion, Kaeya, the mastermind behind the scenes, smiled without answering.
Hilarious.
Most of the treasures found in the trash cans were placed there by Kaeya's subordinates. On one hand, it was to clear out the Knights of Favonius's surplus inventory; on the other, it was to attract the attention of various factions so that the elemental weapon plan could proceed more smoothly.
It seemed to be working well now!
As more and more people found "treasures" in the trash cans,
it wasn't just Xing and some Mondstadters; even visiting tourists used the excuse of experiencing Mondstadt's "philosophy of freedom" to publicly rummage through trash cans.
Furthermore, reporters staking out near trash cans even took photos of Fatui soldiers secretly flipping through trash cans late at night.
Of course.
The stubborn Fatui flatly refused to admit the photos were real.
To clear their own names, the Fatui started dragging other factions down with them.
Photos of the Knights of Favonius flipping trash cans.
Photos of aristocrats flipping trash cans.
Photos of Sisters from the Knights of Favonius Church flipping trash cans.
And even...
Photos of the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt flipping trash cans!
At some point, this had clearly turned into a carnival for jesters. It seemed that any famous person who didn't have a photo smeared with flipping trash cans lacked credibility.
Everyone was reveling, but only Xing was distressed.
She originally thought that by becoming the Trash Can Knight, she could monopolize all the trash cans in Mondstadt.
But in the end...
Before becoming the Trash Can Knight, she had to secretly flip trash cans.
After becoming the Trash Can Knight, she still had to secretly flip trash cans to avoid being fought over by others.
Wasn't her title as Trash Can Knight completely pointless then!
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