After receiving all the system rewards, Luya was ready to do something even more important—to upgrade his shop!
Luya focused his consciousness into the system and summoned the holographic interface. A map of Teyvat appeared before him, and Luya selected his Liyue card shop.
⌈Current Shop Level: 5 (Upgradeable)⌋
╵Normal Duel Stages: 30
╵Action Duel Stages: 1
╵Bluff Duel Stages: 1
╵Area: 3,000 square meters
╵Daily Automatic Card Pack Generation: 5,500
╵Card Furnaces: 6 (Available for Purchase)
╵Electronic Duel Game Machines: 10 (Available for Purchase)
╵Vending Machines (Snacks/Drinks): 20 (Available for Purchase)
╵Available Mora: 344 million
Luya selected the upgrade option. A surge of light flooded the system interface—his available Mora dropped instantly by 160 million, making his heart ache a little. Yet after the upgrade, the shop's base parameters saw massive improvements.
⌈Current Shop Level: 6 (Not Upgradeable)⌋
╵Normal Duel Stages: 40
╵Action Duel Stages: 1
╵Bluff Duel Stages: 1
╵Area: 4,000 square meters
╵Daily Automatic Card Pack Generation: 8,000
╵Card Furnaces: 6 (Available for Purchase)
╵Electronic Duel Game Machines: 10 (Available for Purchase)
╵Vending Machines (Snacks/Drinks): 20 (Available for Purchase)
╵Available Mora: 184 million
The upgrade cost 160 million Mora, yet expanded the shop by another 1,000 square meters and added ten more Duel Stages. The shop was now enormous—Luya felt tiny inside it. He thought for a while; so much space needed to be used efficiently. The screening room and arcade area could be expanded further.
However, with only 184 million Mora remaining, he still had uses for it—stock purchasing and upgrading his [Divine Hand] skill. Mora was urgently needed now, though with Ningguang and Xingqiu helping, Luya had no worries about selling out. Yu-Gi-Oh!'s popularity in Liyue Harbor was growing rapidly. Thus, Luya decided to restock heavily through the system shop.
But before that, he needed to upgrade [Divine Hand]. Increasing his summoning capacity and maximum Monster Level would better prepare him for emergencies.
Just as he prepared to upgrade, the system voice rang out:
[Congratulations, Host. The shop has reached Level 6!]
[Splendid!]
[Branch Shop Function Unlocked.]
[Each branch requires 50 million Mora to open.]
[You may freely allocate area, Duel Stages, and devices between the main shop and its branches.]
[Branches will improve upon leveling.]
[Teleportation between main shop and branches enabled.]
Hearing the new feature, Luya was thrilled! It just so happened that the system had earlier rewarded him with a 500-square-meter property at Chihu Rock—perfect for a branch shop. Yet opening one required 50 million Mora. With only 184 million left, he needed to budget for both stock purchases and skill upgrades, so a branch would have to wait.
He opened his skill menu to begin upgrading [Divine Hand].
[Divine Hand Lv1 (Upgradeable)]
╵Materializes Monster Cards into reality, granting them physical form and absolute control.
At Level 10, can also materialize Spell and Trap Cards.
╵Maximum Simultaneous Summons: 1
╵Maximum Monster Level: 1
╵Upgrade Cost: 1 million Mora
╵Available Mora: 184 million
Only 1 million Mora to upgrade? Easy. Luya locked onto the skill.
"Upgrade!"
One million Mora vanished, and his left hand burned hot as power surged through it. It jerked upward instinctively, as if in reflex.
[Divine Hand Lv2 (Upgradeable)]
╵Maximum Simultaneous Summons: 2
╵Maximum Monster Level: 2
╵Upgrade Cost: 2 million Mora
╵Available Mora: 183 million
He continued upgrading! Another flash of light enveloped his hand.
[Divine Hand Lv3 (Upgradeable)]
╵Maximum Simultaneous Summons: 4
╵Maximum Monster Level: 3
╵Upgrade Cost: 4 million Mora
╵Available Mora: 179 million
[Divine Hand Lv4 (Upgradeable)]
╵Upgrade Cost: 8 million Mora
╵Available Mora: 171 million
[Divine Hand Lv5 (Upgradeable)]
╵Upgrade Cost: 16 million Mora
╵Available Mora: 155 million
[Divine Hand Lv6 (Upgradeable)]
╵Upgrade Cost: 32 million Mora
╵Available Mora: 139 million
[Divine Hand Lv7 (Upgradeable)]
╵Maximum Simultaneous Summons: 32
╵Maximum Monster Level: 7
╵Upgrade Cost: 64 million Mora
╵Available Mora: 91 million
Luya decided to stop there. At Level 7, he could now summon monsters like [Dark Magician]—and up to thirty-two of them at once! Though the system only granted him three copies of each card, and one each for Divine-class monsters such as the Egyptian Gods, at this point, Luya could practically walk sideways across Teyvat.
He had upgraded to Level 7 for another reason—to fulfill one of Hu Tao's long-held dreams. After restocking goods, he would head out to honor his Lantern Rite promise with her. Though the shop was now closed, it was still early—around six or seven in the evening. Since customers left early for the festival, Luya also closed early.
Before meeting Hu Tao, he had one last task: restocking. After upgrading both shop and skill, he had 91 million Mora remaining. He would convert it all into merchandise to double the return.
Opening the system shop:
⌈Permanent Goods⌋
[Card-Draw Bread] – 2,000 Mora
[Starter Deck] – 100,000 Mora
[Advanced Duel Disk] – 100,000 Mora
[Random Theme Deck] – 30,000,000 Mora
Luya was stunned—30 million Mora for one deck!? Yet curiosity won out, and he bought two immediately.
Whoosh—60 million Mora gone. Both deck boxes bore giant question marks. Apparently, they had to be opened to reveal the theme. Luya decided not to open them—sealed decks fetched higher prices. He planned to auction them later; only a few could afford thirty million apiece anyway.
Meanwhile, Duel Disks had evolved from the simplified 50,000-Mora version to 100,000-Mora [Advanced Duel Disks]—though Luya didn't yet know the difference. He spent the remaining 31 million evenly on [Card-Draw Bread], [Starter Decks], and [Advanced Duel Disks]. All had 50% profit margins—solid returns.
Luya emptied his Mora completely. Now, he would head to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—to meet Hu Tao for the Lantern Rite they had promised to spend together.
From the system inventory, he withdrew the [Gold Legend Card] he had drawn from the [Ghostly Spirit Pack]. On its artwork was an elderly man with graying hair, wearing a Taoist-style hexagram hat and robes resembling Hu Tao's, sitting beneath a peach blossom tree with eyes closed in contemplation.
[75th Master of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor] Level 7│LIGHT│Spellcaster│2000 ATK / 1700 DEF
This was Hu Tao's beloved grandfather. Luya's original plan had been simply to gift her this card as a keepsake. Yet now, with his power to materialize cards into reality, this Lantern Rite, he could let Hu Tao meet her grandfather once more.
As the card was Level 7, his Level 7 [Divine Hand] could manifest it perfectly. Still, Luya knew that even if he brought the [75th Master of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor] to life, his time would be short—his life force nearly spent.
Once he passed again, the card would vanish too. It would be Hu Tao's last chance to see him.
Albeit both she and her grandfather had long accepted the nature of life and death. Hu Tao had learned to live cheerfully despite her loss. So, Luya believed this final reunion—a farewell—would make her happy and bring her closure for that long-ago game of hide-and-seek.
With that thought, Luya tucked the card safely into his pocket. Everything prepared, he opened the shop door.
Destination: Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
...
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