"Don't make such a sour face. You get to live forever, and I get you. We all have a bright future," Chen Li said, patting the shoulder of a Flame-Chaser executive.
"Yes, yes, Lord Chen Li, I am so very grateful to you," the middle-aged man said, staring at Chen Li through gritted teeth.
"Don't look at me like that. Weren't you the one who agreed? I provide you with 10 longevity pills, and you listen to my every command from now on," Chen Li said with an air of innocence.
"..." The Flame-Chaser executive was on the verge of tears.
Yes, he admitted it. When faced with the temptation of ten longevity pills and Chen Li's childishly simple request, he thought he had it in the bag!
Once I get the pills, so what if I go back on my word?
You think some outsider can beat me on my own turf? If you can, I'll eat this table right here!
Do you have any idea what home-field advantage means?
And then, he crashed and burned.
When Chen Li produced a list of over 100 stipulations and commands afterward, the executive's mind went blank.
The Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin was ridiculously overpowered!
It was especially effective against high-ranking, powerful individuals who were, themselves, quite weak.
Since the Curio stated that the more "equivalent" a trade was, the stronger the enforcement, it also implied that against weaklings like these executives, the trade didn't have to be perfectly equivalent.
As long as the coin glowed gold, the deal was on.
Chen Li was testing the coin's limits, but so far, he hadn't seen it reach them.
However, when facing unconventional beings like Aeons or the Dragon God of Gensokyo, he would choose to be more cautious.
The Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin, forged with only a dozen or so Miracle Crystals, had its limits.
Miracles weren't free. To achieve greater miracles, one had to invest more Crystals.
It was only after his professional level rose to Lv2 that Chen Li learned Curios also had a star rating.
Only a Curio with a rational combination of Entries, forged with over 100 Miracle Crystals, or one that had a chance of defying an entire world, could be considered a one-star Curio.
Novice Curios utilized the rules of the world; Star-rated Curios defied them.
In other words, all the Curios Chen Li currently possessed, with the exception of Pale Justice, were novice works.
Pale Justice could be considered a one-star Curio in terms of its effect, but its creation was boosted by a first-time forging bonus, so it wasn't a true one-star Curio.
Thinking about it, Pale Justice could summon knights from different worlds and drop their Trial Certificates, from which he could learn their inherent skills. There was indeed a qualitative difference compared to the Curios he had forged later.
Originally, Chen Li thought his later works just weren't good enough. Now he understood—it was because he was poor.
But there was no need to worry about novice Curios being too fragile... if they couldn't defy the world, couldn't they at least defy you?
The "world" didn't just represent a planet or a civilization, but the entirety of all things.
Even gods seemed minuscule before the "world."
---o---
"Alright, your next job is to go and trick the other Flame-Chaser executives into making a fair trade with me as well," Chen Li said to Executive No. 1.
"Your trades are truly 'fair'," Executive No. 1 said sarcastically, while still using a respectful tone.
"Without me, where would you get a hundred-year life extension? Even if it's counterfeit medicine, the effect is just as good," Chen Li said irritably.
"What? It's counterfeit?"
"I found that the authentic longevity pills are extremely expensive but not very effective, so I just saved a bit on material costs. But don't worry, the effect is the same," Chen Li said with a shrug.
"..." What could Executive No. 1 do but resign himself to his fate?
"Oh, right. Take eight of those longevity pills and use them to operate, secure more resources for the Flame-Chasers, and elevate its status," Chen Li added casually.
"Huh?" The executive froze, then looked down at the ten pills he had just received.
Including these ten, there were only thirteen longevity pills circulating in this world.
Chen Li's meaning was obvious.
Not only were they counterfeit, but he only got to keep two. The pain was immense!
"Alright, stop complaining. You should be glad that I'm trying to save the world right now. Otherwise, I would have killed you long ago," Chen Li said with a pleasant smile, seeing the executive's still-defiant expression.
To avoid harming any good people, Chen Li had specifically summoned the Longbow of Peace to check the Sin Value of the Flame-Chaser leadership.
He then discovered that it was an act of kindness on his part not to have their entire clans annihilated.
Especially since, after controlling this executive, he had actually received an "Approbation of Sublime Morality." Chen Li knew then that he didn't even need to summon the Longbow.
It was only because Chen Li lacked functional Curios at the moment. If he had more, why would he even need these people? He would have started a killing spree long ago, even slapping the Herrscher of Finality in the sky while he was at it.
"Yes, boss! I will carry out your orders to the letter!" Executive No. 1 instantly stood at attention.
"Oh, one more thing. Help me find someone."
"Who?"
"His name is Kalpas, though I don't know if that's what he's called now. Male. I don't know where he lives either. All I know is that he helped some villagers wipe out Honkai Beasts, but then they tied him to a post, believing that drinking his blood would grant them resistance to the Honkai. Alright, go find him."
"???" Executive No. 1 was completely bewildered.
You know what happened to him, but you don't know where he lives? Are you messing with me?
"Alright, hurry up and find him, or I'll kill you," Chen Li said, patting the man's shoulder.
He had originally planned to threaten him with his wife and children, but he had a feeling this kind of person wouldn't care about such things and would value his own life more.
"Yes, boss!" Executive No. 1 left with a bitter expression.
So what if he was being messed with? All he could do now was make sure Chen Li had a good time.
Considering this might be a major undertaking, he decided to screw over a few of his rivals among the Flame-Chaser leadership before he started the search.
There was strength in numbers, after all.
And there was no way he was going to suffer alone!
"Done!" Chen Li watched Executive No. 1's retreating figure with satisfaction.
Although he didn't entirely agree with the philosophy of "settle internal affairs before dealing with external threats," now that he had decided to turn the tide against the Previous Era's apocalypse and earn more Miracle Power, he would absolutely not allow the fruits of his victory to be enjoyed by the trash in high places!
Chen Li was no stranger to the classic tale of the hero defeating the demon king, only for humanity to destroy itself through internal conflict.
If he couldn't clean out these parasites, he would rather watch the world burn.
He named this plan the Flame-Chaser Paradise-ification Project.
And now, all he had to do was wait for the traitors to expose themselves.
---o---
"I spent ten longevity pills to secure a sufficient lab budget for you from those greedy Flame-Chaser executives. You'd better not disappoint me, Dr. Mobius," Chen Li said with a sorrowful expression upon returning to Mobius's lab.
"Did it really take that much?" Mobius was startled.
Although she had researched the longevity pills and found that they merely extended life by preventing change, leading her to discard them as worthless, she had to admit their effects were potent.
"Note, I'm not just talking about this quarter's lab budget. So if you ever go over budget or run short in any quarter, just come to me," Chen Li said.
"...Thank you." Although she wasn't sure if she had accidentally sold herself in the deal, what Chen Li was doing was undeniably helping her.
"You're welcome."
"Then my scalpel..."
"Tell me, what kind of scalpel do you want?" Chen Li asked.
Mobius's commission could also yield a profit, and he had no intention of giving it up.
Mobius might be poor, but she still had herself.
"First, it must be sharp. Able to cut through any experimental material."
"No problem."
A [Sharpness] Entry was easy to obtain.
"Second, it should preferably be able to stimulate the potential of the experimental subject."
"I'll see what I can do."
"It also needs preservation properties."
"Sounds a bit strange, but also no problem."
"Can it guarantee that any experiment performed with it will be a success?"
"..."
"It would be best if it could also make the subject evolve infinitely!"
"..."
"Why aren't you talking?"
"The requirements you've listed aren't impossible to achieve."
"Really?" Mobius was incredulous.
She knew just how demanding her requests were.
Was this even possible?
"I'll definitely have it made for you in ten years," Chen Li guaranteed.
"Ten years? Are you kidding me?"
"You're the one who started joking first, aren't you?"
"Tell me a feasible method," Mobius said after a moment of silence.
"It's not that it truly can't be made; it's mainly a lack of forging materials. You really can wait. But I can forge a semi-finished Curio for you first, and we can add the other functions later," Chen Li said.
"How many of the requirements can be met now?"
"Sharpness, potential stimulation, and preservation."
"Those three will do. Is there anything special I need to prepare?" Mobius nodded.
"No need. I'll prepare everything," Chen Li said.
"Are you sure?" For some reason, Mobius's heart began to pound with an inexplicable anxiety.
This wasn't Chen Li's usual style when they made deals.
"I'm sure. Because you no longer have any bargaining chips to trade with me," Chen Li said, leaving her with a meaningful smile before turning to leave.
"What's that supposed to mean? Explain yourself."
"Just kidding. Where did Elysia go?" Chen Li asked.
"She went to play with little Griseo. Are you going too?"
"Lend me a lab. And go tell Elysia to stop playing. Have Griseo's mood recover a bit. I'm going to forge your Curio, I'll be right back! It's my turn to play with Griseo," Chen Li declared with a grand wave of his hand, striding forward.
Slaying Hua Xiong While the Wine is Still Warm, Griseo Edition.
"???"
---o---
"All unexpected factors must be brought under control. That is the key to saving the world."
Item after item was tossed into the Miracle Forging Platform by Chen Li, and countless origin characters materialized one by one under the stimulation of the Miracle Flame.
[Sharpness], [Stimulation], [Potential], and... [Eternity].
These four Entries were the "components" Chen Li would use to forge Mobius's scalpel. All but the last one were sourced from youkai relics.
Preservation and eternity could theoretically be considered equivalent.
Kaguya Houraisan is so useful.jpg
[Scalpel]: Forge a wondrous scalpel with numerous functions for Mobius.
Issuer: Mobius
Reward: 10～150 Crystals
Risk: Low～Extremely High
This was what the commission interface looked like after Mobius had listed all her demands.
Who knew what Mobius would do with such a scalpel?
Now Chen Li really had to keep her under control.
When Chen Li reduced the functions to three, the maximum reward dropped from 150 to 50, and the risk was lowered from Extremely High to High, which was within his acceptable range.
Time trickled by, and the scalpel Mobius wanted gradually took shape under Chen Li's hands.
[Save-Your-Life 3000]: King Yama wants you dead at the third watch; it can keep you until the fifth!
Effect: When performing surgery with this scalpel, no matter how severe the patient's injuries, their vital signs will be fixed at their pre-surgery state until the operation is complete.
It can also convert the patient's will to live, life force, physical strength, mental fortitude, and other usable factors into a certain number of potential points, developing the patient in their desired direction. If the patient is unconscious, the user of the scalpel determines the direction of development.
PS: This is a benevolent scalpel.
Forging this Curio cost 4 Crystals to extract the Entries, 7 Crystals to enhance them, and 4 Crystals to increase the Curio's capacity.
Total cost: 15 Crystals. Professional EXP +15.
The main brightness enhancement was applied to the [Potential] Entry.
"I have a feeling that although this scalpel's functions are almost identical to the initial design, it's a completely different thing from what Mobius actually wanted," Chen Li muttered, scratching his head as he picked up the Soul Steel scalpel from the forging platform.
Whatever. It doesn't matter what the Curio's style is, as long as the effect is the same.
Mobius won't be able to tell the difference anyway.