"..."
"..."
"Little Li, are you sure this is my Curio?" Elysia tilted her head, her gaze toward Chen Li becoming slightly scrutinizing.
"You said 'anything is fine,' so I chose a random style. You can't blame me for that. Besides, it cost me 1 Crystal," Chen Li said, averting his eyes, not daring to look directly at Elysia.
Presented before Elysia was a pair of black stockings.
[Attack Speed Gear]: As the saying goes, the less you wear, the higher your defense. Made from Heavenly Cloth, these black stockings possess formidable defensive power. When worn in battle, they increase the wearer's action speed. The more elegant and beautiful the combat posture, the faster the attack speed.
Effect: If using a bow, arrows will be converted into Arrows of Love, carrying the [Love] effect. Due to the blessing of Spacetime and Fate, when facing an attack and successfully dodging, a time-stagnation field will be triggered, briefly slowing the flow of time.
(When an enemy's Love value reaches 100, they will be [Charmed] and enter an immobilized state. The stacking speed of the [Love] effect is also influenced by the elegance and beauty of the combat posture.)
PS: These are stockings infused with someone's "heart's blood"! Therefore, under certain specific conditions, they can transform into white stockings. The Charmed effect granted by the white stockings is the true charm.
(Miracle: I'm trying to optimize the random Curio forging mechanism in the forging table's Recycle Bin. Honestly, this intelligent Entry combination system is basically an artificial idiot!
Oh, by the way, sometimes making good use of the Negative Curios that the Recycle Bin might produce can also create even greater miracles. The good thing about Negative Curios is that your conscience won't hurt when you give them to a villain. A good way to recycle trash.)
Curios born from the Recycle Bin were created from the random decomposition and fusion of discarded Entries that Chen Li hadn't saved or used, so there was a high probability of them being Negative Curios.
The advantage was that it was cheap.
If there were enough discarded Entries stored in the Recycle Bin, investing 10 Crystals could spit out four or five Curios a day later.
The disadvantage was the high randomness and the high likelihood of getting Negative Curios.
But they were great for screwing people over.
"Although the effect of this Curio isn't as amazing as I imagined... why don't you try it on?" Chen Li asked after explaining the description to Elysia, omitting the PS note and Miracle's commentary.
"Hmm, doesn't that sound amazing? 'The more elegant and beautiful the combat posture, the faster the attack speed'—isn't this tailor-made for me? I love this piece of clothing," Elysia praised, stroking the black stockings.
Elysia liked beautiful things.
In terms of appearance alone, this pair of stockings was indeed very beautiful. As she held and caressed them, the texture felt incredibly comfortable.
"I'm glad you like it. But to be honest, it's not an exceptional Curio. The superiority of a Curio often lies in its ability to play with rules."
Yet, this particular Curio was undeniably suitable for Elysia, as her fighting style was truly elegant and beautiful.
"Does that matter? As long as I'm satisfied, isn't that enough?"
"You're right. Also, you can adjust the length of the stockings on your legs. The shorter they are, the weaker the constant effect, but the stronger the defense," Chen Li added.
[The less you wear, the higher your defense.] That wasn't just an idle remark.
"Is that a random magical effect too?"
"No, that was my design."
"It's a great design. Next time, don't design it. Because have you ever considered, if they get shorter and shorter, how am I supposed to use them for defense?" Elysia asked, a question that struck at the very soul of the matter.
"...Ahem, anyway, having the effect is better than not having it, right? What if you need it? For example, what if I created a Curio that generates a shield based on your defense stat?" Chen Li's mind began to wander again.
"I'll take this Curio. How much do I owe you?" Elysia asked.
"Money?"
"That's right. Didn't you say at the beginning that I should provide my own materials? And you said that miracles aren't free. But now, the Star Stones are yours, so the materials obtained with them are naturally yours too," Elysia nodded.
"Let me think..."
Upon handing the Curio over to Elysia, Chen Li immediately received 20 Crystals.
In the future, Elysia could use it to achieve greater results in a certain battle or accomplish other kinds of miracles.
No one knew what the future held.
In any case, it's not like Elysia would use them to charm Chen Li, right?
Forging this Curio cost a total of 10 Crystals.
Although it didn't have many special rule-bending properties that would increase the initial cost, extracting the Entries from the gacha items with the Flames of Miracle cost 8 Crystals, even more than it took for [Pale Justice].
The items from the lottery did have echoes of Time and Fate, but their quality was still inferior to that of a Relic.
The other 2 Crystals were spent on the Heavenly Cloth's automatic shaping and for storing the [Imprisonment] and [Wind Control] Entries.
Curio Forger profession experience +8.
At the same time, Chen Li received the 50 Star Stones from giving them to Elysia, plus another 50 Star Stones for handing over the completed Curio.
The two transactions were calculated separately.
From one Curio, he had earned 10 Crystals and 100 Star Stones.
More importantly, after completing the [Complete one Forging Commission] beginner's quest, he could claim even more Crystals!
"I want more, and more precious, Entries!" Chen Li declared.
"I'll do my best to keep an eye out for items containing precious Entries for you. Before that... here, there are 5 million inside," Elysia said, tossing a card in front of Chen Li.
"Five million? Rich lady! Food! Hungry!"
"Ahem, this is actually my salary card. It has my reward for subjugating the Herrscher of the Void. But we both know the real situation, so... after you've spent all the money, remember to give the card back to me," Elysia said.
"Huh, the bounty was that high?"
"You holed up in the Engineering Department for seven days, so you never had a chance to collect the ID and salary card the Flame-Chasers made for you. Though it seems there isn't much money in your account."
"Mhm, that's probably because I traded all the credit for defeating the Herrscher of the Void for a business enterprise," Chen Li nodded.
"What kind of enterprise?"
"A video game company."
"A game company? Oh, are you planning to release a game?"
"Mhm. Among my essential transmigration supplies, I prepared some fun little games, animations, comics, and songs," Chen Li nodded.
It was all to help him survive better.
"Oh, what's the name of the first game?"
"Legends of the Three Kingdoms!" Chen Li announced.
Never mind how many bad reviews the game has, you can't deny that it's a cash cow!
Oh, right, to avoid ruining his own reputation, Chen Li had registered the company under the name "The Fool's Tavern."
And his title as chairman within the company was—Sparkle. He also served as the game planner.
Let the players suffer a bit; I, Sparkle, will bear the infamy!
"Will a game from another world really be compatible with this one?" Elysia asked.
"Of course, it needs to be reprogrammed according to the specific situation in this world. I'll have people to help me with that. After all, I spent a Longevity Pill on this matter," Chen Li said.
"What do you need the money for?" Elysia didn't understand.
"To sponsor Mobius and buy her patents," Chen Li said.
And not just Mobius, but also Einstein, Dr. MEI, and others.
These were all opportunities to earn Star Stones.
But Chen Li wasn't interested in running a business, so he used a Longevity Pill to exchange for professional talent.
Was he worried the Flame-Chaser higher-ups would go back on their word?
Chen Li was actually hoping they would.
After all, what investment could possibly be faster than just robbing the Flame-Chaser leadership?
He did, after all, have an Entry called [Forced Trade].
"Huh? Then why didn't you just talk to Dr. Mobius directly?"
"Because she's not interested in Longevity Pills."
"Then how can you be sure she's interested in money?"
"Mobius isn't interested in money either, but with her temperament, her lab is bound to be in the red year after year. So, I can just become her investor, right? She would definitely want a hassle-free investor. This is what you call a win-win situation."
By providing strong financial support to Mobius, Vill-V, and MEI, he could certainly improve the situation in this world, and his own returns would be substantial.
Besides, Chen Li had another, rather embarrassing thought.
One day, he would stand before Mobius and gently pat her face with a stack of cash!
Then he would say to her: "Mobius, you wouldn't want Klein to go hungry because of you, would you?"
The more Mobius looked at him like a lab rat, the more excited Chen Li became at the thought of that scene.
"Oh, I think I get it... So, let's go on an off-site mission."
"Huh? How does your mind jump like that? And what kind of mission requires you to go personally?"
"It's like this. Just yesterday, the Flame-Chasers received a challenge letter from someone who's been investigating us. Our victory condition is to find them," Elysia briefly summarized the situation, then grabbed Chen Li's hand without taking no for an answer and started pulling him outside.
"Investigating the Flame-Chasers? A challenge letter? At this point in time, it should be Vill-V, right?" Chen Li pocketed Elysia's salary card, lowered his head to recall the timeline, and confirmed the person's identity, then let Elysia drag him along.
Vill-V, a genius inventor, the creator of the Divine Keys.
Also, an excellent potential customer for a Curio.
For example... a confidence-boosting Curio.
As for whether she wanted one or not, that wasn't up to her to decide.
"Oh, right, first I'll take you to get your ID and salary card. Then I'll find a place to change into my attack speed... black stockings."
Elysia was also very curious about just how effective this seemingly improper Curio really was.
Elysia's voice gradually faded from his ears. The next moment, a cacophony of noise flooded in.
"Hm?" Chen Li snapped his head up.
Before him was a school campus. Students in uniforms, exuding a unique youthful energy, were walking to and fro.
"Is this still the Flame-Chasers? Where the hell am I?" Chen Li was stunned for a second before realizing that he had gone missing while walking again.
And strangely, the students didn't seem surprised by his appearance. This was different from his previous experiences, where his sudden transmigrations would always cause a commotion among any witnesses.
Perhaps... it was an enhancement from The Guide to Forging Curios? Making his appearance less abrupt in the eyes of others?
"Are... you a student at Qiongqiong Academy? Why aren't you in uniform? Do you need to borrow mine? The dean of discipline is right over there. He gets really fierce when he sees students without their uniforms." After standing in a corner for a while, someone tapped Chen Li on the shoulder.
Chen Li turned his head and saw a warm and cheerful white-haired young man.
"You're... Kevin?" Chen Li looked at the bright and cheerful boy before him, uncertain.
"You know me? Looks like you really are a student here. Do you need a uniform?" the boy in front of Chen Li asked again enthusiastically.
"Thanks. As repayment... do you need a little help?" Chen Li took the autumn school uniform from him, a bold idea suddenly forming in his mind.
This kid, Kevin, could be a walking jackpot!
Meanwhile, at the entrance to the Flame-Chasers' Engineering Department, Elysia stared at the empty space behind her, lost in thought.
"Where did Chen Li go?"
Author PS: I'm trying my best to write. I'm trying my best.