Sunday: My friend, did you forge a Curio yesterday? Did you create a miracle? Did you realize your ideals?
"Argh!" The first thing Chen Li saw when he woke up was Sunday's death-call trio!
You little punk, just you wait! The moment the communication rights get transferred to your sister, I'm blocking you!
Master Craftsman Chen, who had been busy all day, had just fallen asleep at 25:00 (1 AM) last night, only to wake up to this message.
The message's timestamp was 7 AM.
Regarding the time difference, Chen Li had asked Sunday about it right after his first harassment attempt.
Although one couldn't see the sun in The Reverie Hotel and time in the dreamscape was perpetually frozen at a single moment, their work and rest schedules were similar to those of the Previous Era.
"Seriously, doesn't this guy sleep? Hiss, wait a minute. When people from Penacony enter the dreamscape, does that count as sleeping?" A question suddenly popped into Chen Li's head.
If it did count as sleeping, then they would work for 12 hours in reality during the day, and then, after falling asleep, work another 12 hours in the dream world...
Chen Li suddenly understood why Sunday wanted to establish a seven-day weekend.
"But what does that have to do with a freelancer like me?"
Although Chen Li was indeed grumpy from being woken up, he quickly forgave the idealist that was Sunday.
There was nothing wrong with his ideals. The problem was that he lacked the power to achieve them! The world was what was wrong!
Just then, Chen Li noticed another red dot on The Guide to Forging Curios. As a compulsive person, Chen Li could not allow such an audacious red dot to exist in his Guide!
And then...
[Let's Have Some Fun]: Help Sparkle forge a Curio that can keenly sense where fun can be found.
Posted by: Sparkle
Reward: 20~40 Crystal + 250 Star Stone
Risk: Low~Medium
"Oh crap, Sparkle's tracked me down!" was Chen Li's first thought upon seeing this commission.
Could it be that because he kept pinning the blame on Sparkle, she had crossed worlds to hunt him down?
"While it's true that worlds connected to me are more likely to generate spontaneous Miracle Commissions, why would it be Sparkle? The Guide doesn't think I have a secret crush on her, does it?" After shaking off the strange thought, Chen Li couldn't help but fall into deep contemplation.
Chen Li felt that receiving a Miracle Commission from the Xianzhou was more likely than receiving one from Sparkle.
Or perhaps it was because he had been continuously ruining her reputation, creating a karmic link between them?
"Then what if I push all the blame onto Aha?"
Although it was strange, receiving a new commission meant that Chen Li had another way to access the Honkai: Star Rail universe.
The only problem was... tricking Sparkle might be a bit difficult.
And honestly, Chen Li was very uneasy about handing a Curio over to Sparkle. Heaven knows what kind of effects she would wring out of it, or who she would use it on.
[You there?]
But then again, abandoning a client was impossible. Never in this lifetime!
The reason Chen Li always started with a single word was because the client would only receive the basic information about Curio Forgers after he initiated contact.
To avoid bothering the other party, Chen Li tried to use the briefest possible text to trigger the information transfer.
It was definitely not because he couldn't think of a more impressive opening line!
Absolutely not!
Sparkle: Colleague?
Seeing the query from the other side, Chen Li almost lost his composure.
Who's your colleague?!
Sparkle: Hey, hey, why'd you stop talking?
---o---
"Why has this Curio Forger gone silent? Speaking of which... should I keep pretending to suspect he's a Masked Fool, try to get closer, and then get him to give me a discount? But does he even know what the Masked Fools are?" Sitting on a park bench, her chin resting on her hand propped on the armrest, Sparkle's mind was racing.
Capturing a Miracle Commission through a Miracle Crystal would make the other party unconditionally believe in Chen Li's identity as a Curio Forger.
But a commission that came to him like this didn't have that effect.
Chen Li could spend half a crystal to pay for this "belief," or he could choose to send the message without attaching the power of "belief."
Chen Li didn't pay the fee. Sparkle could believe it or not. Besides, even without the power of "belief," this kind of out-of-thin-air communication was highly credible.
Although Chen Li didn't pay, Sparkle... believed him.
As a Masked Fool herself, Sparkle didn't think any of her other associates had the power to do something so miraculous.
People in the Honkai: Star Rail universe might suspect the Masked Fools were behind something like this, but Sparkle herself was a Masked Fool. Did this have the power of Elation in it or not? How could she not know?
In any case, she would believe it for now. Getting tricked was a separate matter. She could only blame herself for not being skilled enough!
Sparkle: Hey, hey, hey, you there? You there?
Noticing that Chen Li hadn't responded for a long time, Sparkle, who had proactively sent another message, gradually realized something.
The sweet and sour shredded potatoes she just ate didn't have any potatoes in them!
"Playing the strong, silent type, are we? Then don't blame me for being cruel!" Sparkle clenched her fists.
Very well, I'll just use you as my memo pad!
Let's see how long you can keep up that cool act.
"Let's see, what should I send for the first message? Oh, right, a selfie." Mumbling to herself, Sparkle took a photo.
The communication interface could send voice messages and pictures, similar to a phone's chat function. It could even upload files.
Just now, Sparkle had held up the transparent screen, taken a picture of an advertisement for a certain superstar playing on a loop nearby, and uploaded one of the star's new songs.
Sparkle: Hello, my name is Sparkle. I'm a singer, and I hope you'll enjoy my new song. I also hope you can get back to me when you have a moment. Thank you for your trouble.
After sending the picture of the superstar Robin, Sparkle even included a remarkably polite message.
Sparkle hated that this virtual screen didn't allow her to change her name. Also, because she only had a partial understanding of it, she had no idea if the other party knew what she looked like. In any case, she would assume they didn't. If she was exposed... she'd just change her story.
Lady Sparkle is never short on fun, because Lady Sparkle can find fun in everyday life!
"So then... where should I go to find some fun first?" Pondering this question, Sparkle stood up and skipped away into the distance.
---o---
"If you're Sparkle, then who am I? And sending a selfie of Robin is just too much. Does Robin know she's become a Masked Fool?" Walking through the internal corridors of the Flame-Chasers, Chen Li吐槽'd internally as he looked at the message on the semi-transparent Guide.
"But it really is a small world. To think Sparkle would choose a picture of Robin as her disguise..."
"Department Head Chen, we're here." The man in black leading the way for Chen Li knocked on the office door to alert the person inside, then stepped aside and spoke to Chen Li.
"I understand," Chen Li nodded.
It certainly felt strange being addressed like that for the first time.
It was this man who had rung the doorbell of his dorm in the Flame-Chasers, forcing Chen Li to temporarily put aside his conversation with Sparkle.
Of course, leaving Sparkle hanging was also part of his plan.
As it turns out, men really don't cherish things they get for free.jpg
"Come in." A very authoritative voice emanated from within the room. One could tell immediately that the speaker was a long-time high-ranking official.
"Please go in by yourself." The man in black opened the door and invited Chen Li in, then stood guard outside.
"Let me introduce you. This is my dearest friend. I wanted to bring him in on the longevity pill business..." After Chen Li entered, Executive #1 first activated the office's soundproofing, then, with a serious expression, began to introduce Chen Li to the man who, just one day prior, had been his most detested political rival.
---o---
"Alright, spit it out. What else did you call me here for?" Chen Li tossed the Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin in his hand, casually gesturing at the two Flame-Chaser executives.
"First, a high-ranking official from the United Nations is also very interested in the longevity pills," said Executive #1.
"That's right. I made the introduction," Executive #2 said, glaring at Executive #1 through gritted teeth.
No wonder this bastard was being so nice! He was planning to screw me over!
"That's great. Then he can be Executive #3. Arrange a meeting as soon as possible," Chen Li nodded.
How could Chen Li refuse when they were so eager to walk to their deaths?
As for whether the official might be innocent?
Chen Li would sooner believe that Sparkle was currently hugging Robin's leg and shouting "I'm your fan!" than believe that man was a good person.
Why had Chen Li been staying in the Previous Era? Wasn't it to control all its resources and make saving the world more convenient?
Defeating the Honkai was indeed a huge problem, but in Chen Li's view, defeating humanity itself was a challenge not to be underestimated.
The thought of these parasites, cowards, and oppressors remaining on top even after he saved the world made Chen Li wish the world would just end right now.
"But he wants twenty longevity pills."
"No problem. I can make as much of this fake medicine as he wants," Chen Li said with a wave of his hand.
In the end, once the items were in their hands, they would become his anyway.
At worst, it would just mean a little more trouble for Kaguya Houraisan.
Speaking of which, Chen Li had only brought 50 of the fake pills with him this time. Half of them were already gone; it was about time for him to make a trip back.
"Fake medicine?" Executive #2 froze for a second. When he realized what that meant, he wanted nothing more than to kill Executive #1 right then and there.
"Never mind that. Tell me the second thing," Chen Li said.
"Second, we have a lead on that Kalpas person you're looking for," Executive #1 said respectfully.
"So soon?" Chen Li was a little surprised.
"We didn't expect it to be this fast either, but... it turns out someone is selling God's Blood."
"Selling what now?"
"It's called God's Blood. They claim that drinking it will make one immune to all diseases. According to our investigation, they seem to have seen Honkai Beasts but don't understand what the Honkai is. After we bribed a villager, he said that one day, 'He fell from the sky...'"
"The stars and moon brought the daughter of God?" Chen Li couldn't resist finishing the line.
Wasn't that quote about Elysia?
"Ahem, that villager said a god descended from the heavens and defeated a giant monster that was attacking the village. Because of this, the villagers began to worship him as a deity. But because of a rumor that the god's... blood... could ward off that strange phenomenon... that is, the Honkai, he was imprisoned and is being bled. That villager was short on cash, so he planned to trade some of the God's Blood for money," Executive #1 explained.
"Hmph. They only do this because they think Kalpas is easy to bully! Not only are they bleeding him, they're doing takeout? I can't tolerate this for a second! Let's go! Take me to that village." Chen Li slammed his hand on the table.
He couldn't stand these kinds of vicious commoners!
This is why Chen Li said it: you have to think about conquering humanity first, then you can think about conquering the Honkai.