Genshin Impact: I, the Winter Prince, reign supreme.

Among the various types of destinies, there are two generally recognized extremely unlucky ones: one is the "Lonely Star" destiny, which means that such people are destined to be separated from their relatives and friends and spend their lives alone; the other is the "Robbery Star" destiny, which means that such people are destined to have many disasters and hardships in their lives and often face life-threatening situations.

After the immortal divined for Shen He, he said that she unfortunately possessed both of these extremely unlucky fates, which would not only bring misfortune upon herself but also harm those close to her.

From then on, she lived in seclusion in the deep mountains and forests, rarely interacting with others.

Even with Chongyun, who is related to her by blood, she only sees him once every few months. If it weren't for the responsibility of guardianship and discipline that she, as an elder, has to fulfill, she would absolutely not want Chongyun to come into contact with her.

Similarly, she didn't want to harm the prince's destiny and fortune because of her special fate, so she thought about completing the task assigned by the immortal and leaving as soon as possible. But then she heard those words that moved her deeply.

Previously, no one had ever dared to claim to be tough in front of her.

Su Yu invited again, "Miss Shen He, this is a rare and beautiful occasion. Please have a seat."

At this moment, Su Yu had taken off his princely robes and changed into casual clothes. He spoke quite casually, but his heroic spirit remained undiminished, leaving no room for her to refuse.

So she played Go with Prince Zhidong all night long, and didn't leave until dawn.

Chapter 148 Life is Like a Game of Chess

Prince Zhidong's chess skills were naturally inferior to those of her several immortal masters.

The only form of entertainment for the "Three-Eyed Five-Manifestation Immortals" who lived in the mountains was playing chess. After thousands of years of experience, each of them was known as a "Chess Immortal".

However, this prince always managed to find a glimmer of hope in desperate situations and turn danger into safety. His seemingly ordinary moves often turned the impossible into the possible.

Prince Zhidong's chess skills were only of average level, a conclusion that can be easily drawn from the outcome of the game.

She played ten games with Su Yu, and Su Yu only won five.

She herself was not particularly skilled at chess, and had never won against her immortal masters in normal times, but today she won five games.

What struck her most was Prince Zhidong's chess style: proactive, relentless, and full of unstoppable momentum, making him impossible for her to defend against.

Master Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun once said that a person's chess style reflects their character. He once commented that Shen He's chess style always deliberately avoids direct confrontation and clashes, which is a manifestation of her cautious and timid mentality and unwillingness to get close to others.

They played chess all night, and hardly talked about anything outside of the game.

As he was leaving, Shen He said apologetically, "I hope you didn't find tonight too boring, Your Highness. I... am not good at communicating with people, please forgive me, Your Highness."

Su Yu nodded: "It's alright."

Shen He lowered his eyes, bowed again, turned and left, the faint fragrance of plum blossoms from the mountains lingering in the air.

It was still early.

Just as Su Yu finished his morning practice, the lady from the Hidden Mirror Pavilion brought in a steaming hot breakfast from Wanmintang. Xiangling, to repay Su Yu, had taken care of all three of his meals for the day.

The lady of the Hidden Mirror knew that her prince didn't play Go often during the winter months. Last night, he suddenly became very interested and played Go all night. There must be a deeper meaning behind it. She said enviously, "Your Highness, you used Go as an excuse to investigate whether the consciousness of the Sea Demon God resides in Miss Shenhe's body. Miss Shenhe is so lucky. You are so good to her."

Unexpectedly, Su Yu shook his head without offering any further explanation.

The Sea Demon God will not make any rash moves in the near future; his focus will be on the business battle with the "Liyue Seven Stars".

Su Yu always felt a sense of urgency, so he wouldn't passively wait for the business war to end; he had to fan the flames and accelerate its progress.

Do you know how to play chess?

The woman with the hidden mirror was taken aback: "I know a little, but I'm not an expert."

"I have nothing to do this morning, so come and play chess with me."

The lady with the hidden mirror hurriedly replied, "Ah? Your Highness, I am only a beginner."

Playing chess is like a competition in a ring; one-sided domination is no fun at all. While eating breakfast, Su Yu instructed, "Go find Granny Ping and tell her to inform the immortals to take turns coming to see me every day."

"Your Highness, those immortals are all aloof and arrogant. Would they be willing to lower themselves and come to play chess with you?" Lady Zangjing expressed her concerns.

Su Yu picked up a chess piece and laughed, "Tell them that if Morax hadn't gone into seclusion, they wouldn't have had this opportunity. When Morax comes out of seclusion, I can play with him for three days and three nights."

"Your Highness, does the Rock King Emperor also enjoy playing chess?"

"Life is like a game of chess. The universe is unpredictable, and heroes are all but laughed at."

……

The Winter Mission's residence was bustling with activity for the next few days.

No sooner had the people who came to express their gratitude left than a group of immortals from Liyue descended one after another, either riding on clouds or on cranes.

Even Su Yu had not expected that the "Three-Eyed Five-Manifestation Immortal" would take serving him chess as a starting point to integrate into secular society and actively respond to his call.

This is also their way of fulfilling their promise to "Yuheng Star" (玉衡星).

Keqing lent them 50 billion Mora on the condition that the immortals would appear in the city regularly, actively contact humans, and let the people know about the immortals.

The immortal also requested Su Yu to arrange for a person to be stationed in front of the delegation's residence to provide real-time updates on the moves made by both sides to the people outside, so that the people could appreciate and learn from them.

After each day's Go game, the immortal would go out to review and explain the game to the people who had listened to the game, promote the culture of Go, and take this opportunity to enhance his relationship with the people.

But the immortals are faced with a difficult problem.

If the game is played behind closed doors and the results are not made public, then no matter how badly the Prince of Zhidong loses, he will not lose face. However, if a real-time reporting method is adopted, it means that the results of each game need to be shown to the public.

Prince Zhidong might also be subject to merciless criticism from the audience for making a wrong move.

Upon hearing this, Su Yu generously stated that the two sides were making friends through chess, and he didn't care about winning or losing, hoping that they wouldn't feel any psychological burden.

In order to increase the entertainment value, Su Yu wanted to collaborate with Liyue's gambling industry to launch a betting business in connection with this game.

The gambling industry in Liyue Harbor is highly developed, and the brothels in the city are merely ancillary businesses. Rumors circulate that the combined assets of the ten largest gambling dens even surpass those of the "Liyue Seven Stars."

This news sounds exaggerated, but the intelligence sent by the wealthy Pantarone clearly shows that the ten gambling dens are powerful, with businesses spanning the seven kingdoms of Teyvat, and their wealth indeed surpasses that of the Liyue Seven Stars.

The "Liyue Seven Stars" are merely local business oligarchs in Liyue, while the Ten Great Gambling Houses are like multinational corporations, with branches in various countries, making them a force to be reckoned with.

There are ten world-renowned organizations on the continent of Teyvat.

Based on a comprehensive ranking of strength and number of members, the Fools of Winter are ranked first.

Leaving aside the millions of members spread across the seven kingdoms, the mere eleven executives are enough to make any opponent tremble with fear. Now, with the added prestige of Prince Winter, his influence is so great that it can be described as the sun at its zenith.

The second place goes to the Adventurers' Guild.

Those who can join this organization are revered as adventurers. Because they frequently need to explore various dangerous secret realms or carry out perilous missions, every member is no ordinary person.

The third place goes to the treasure-hunting group, which might be more accurately described as a "tomb-raiding gang."

The core members of this organization are a group of desperate outlaws who are willing to risk their lives for wealth. Many bandits and tomb raiders in the seven kingdoms of Teyvat are members of this organization. Wherever there is treasure, there they are.

The fourth place goes to the Witch Association, whose main activities are "exploring ancient trees" and "organizing tea parties".

In terms of sheer strength, the Witch Association is undoubtedly the most powerful organization on the continent of Teyvat, with its founding members including:

Claire's mother, Alice;

Mona's master was a highly skilled astrologer.

Abedo's mother, "Golden" Rheindorf;

"The guide who never gets lost," Nico, and others.

The Witch Association is ranked fourth simply because it has too few members, with only a handful of eight.

The fifth is a mysterious force that wields the power of the abyss, known as the Abyss Order.

……

The organization ranked tenth is the gambling den.

It is the only one of the ten major organizations composed of secular forces. Its financial resources and intelligence capabilities are second to none on the continent of Teyvat, and it is known as the king of the dark world.

It operates in the gray areas of laws in various countries. Whether it's local government officials or vicious criminals, as long as you pay enough Mora, you can always get the information you want and buy the items you want from them.

Most of the contraband sold on the black markets of various countries is smuggled and transported by forces affiliated with gambling dens.

However, upon learning that the Prince of Winter had expressed interest in cooperation, the head of the Liyue gambling industry was filled with mixed feelings and hesitated for a long time, unsure whether to agree.

Chapter 149 Abundant Wealth

The head manager of the Liyue gambling den was a stout old man with thick eyebrows and large ears.

In his youth, he topped the list in the Liyue civil service examination, becoming the top scholar. Later, he resigned from his official post to go into business. He was noticed by the previous gambling den manager and spent ten years grooming him into his successor.

The previous manager of the gambling den took a liking to him because he valued his education and talent, and also because of his shrewdness.

This person is meticulous in his dealings with others and has a knack for business. In recent years, the gambling industry has grown stronger and stronger, and his position as the head manager has become more stable than it was in the early years when he took office. He has become the real person in charge of the gambling industry in Liyue.

Several years ago, Ningguang of "Tianquan Star" sent Yelan to contact him many times to discuss cooperation between the two sides in intelligence, but he declined each time for various reasons.

He warned his subordinates that Ningguang was a manipulative and cunning woman who would betray any business partner for commercial gain, and that it was best not to cooperate with her.

The facts have proven his point.

Several of Ningguang's old friends, who had worked closely with him in the field of intelligence, were imprisoned one after another on charges of treason and betrayal. He narrowly escaped this fate.

After Ningguang's incident, the shareholders and elders of the gambling industry trusted him completely.

This time, however, the prince of Zhidong expressed his intention to cooperate, but the head manager hesitated to make a decision. A group of major shareholders and elders came to find him, blocking his office completely.

In Liyue, hundreds of thousands of merchants are vying for a spot to be a spokesperson for a prince, depositing huge sums of money into the Northern Bank. For the past two weeks, long queues stretching hundreds of meters can be seen every day outside the Northern Bank.

Prince Zhidong only visited a small fishing village and casually tasted a tigerfish, which caused the tigerfish's value to skyrocket and it became the most popular signature dish at Wanmintang Restaurant.

Not only that, but fans of the Prince from all over Teyvat traveled from afar to Liyue just to taste the dishes that Prince Winter had eaten. As a result, Wanmin Restaurant's revenue hit a record high. Due to the overwhelming popularity of the business, Chef Xiangling had to announce that grilled tigerfish would be served in limited quantities every day.

The diners naturally united in their opposition, but Xiangling angrily told them that if they continued eating like this, the tigerfish in the small fishing village would be eaten to extinction sooner or later, and only then did the diners give up.

Ji Fang, the proprietress of Wanwen Jishe, has been beaming with joy every day lately, as if she has ushered in a second spring in her life.

He would boast to everyone that Prince Zhidong was the God of Wealth descended to earth. This was originally another honorific title that merchants used for the King of Rock, but Ji Fang used it to address Su Yu, which shows how grateful he was.

No wonder she behaved this way—

Her auction house holds three auctions every day, morning, noon, and evening, and each one is packed to capacity. The guests are not so much bidding on the exhibits, but mainly seeking to experience the thrill of Prince Zhidong's extravagant spending spree here last time.

The proprietress, Ji Fang, is also very good at marketing. She renovated the small private room where Su Yu and Zhong Li sat into the most luxurious single room in the entire venue, and the ticket sales alone bring in more than 100,000 Mora every day.

When the young students and scholars of winter arrived, they heard that the Prince had once lectured at Wanwenji Academy and regarded it as a sacred place for academic exchange. Perhaps soon, the Academy, the highest institution of learning, would purchase it at a high price and build it into a branch campus of the Academy.

At that time, she will be among the top wealthy merchants in Liyue.

In short, even ordinary people who don't understand business opportunities are keenly aware that whoever can cooperate with Prince Zhidong right now will have a lot of money coming their way.

Prince Zhidong's fame and prestige are the most efficient tools for generating profits.