"A flaw, fleeting and gone in an instant!"
Become nourishment for my Curio!
Seeing the variety of strange and wonderful Entries appearing within the Miracle flame, Chen Li swung his hammer so fast it nearly started smoking, determined not to waste a single one.
[Communication], [Teleportation], [Boundary], [Existence], [Subversion], [Creation], [Movement], [Negation]…
These were all good Entries.
…
[Friend Circle]: All within the four seas are brothers! To have met is to know, to know is to be friends, and if we're friends, you have to come take a hit for me in the Friend Circle!
Effect 1—Communication: Every friend within the circle has a daily quota of 5 minutes of face-to-face communication via a simulated projection. Information and network-based communication are unrestricted. If both parties hold a Curio, the simulated projection communication time is unlimited.
Effect 2—Item Transfer: You can send items to friends. The item itself serves as payment for the transfer. For transfers within the same world, a maximum of 10% of the item's value will be deducted as a fee. For transfers between worlds, a minimum of 50% will be deducted. If both parties hold a Curio, intra-world transfers are free, and inter-world transfers have a maximum fee of 20%. (The fee can be paid by offering energy or some other price equivalent to the item's value.)
Effect 3—Friends: When the user is in danger, the Friend Circle will activate an auto-defense function. The stronger the connection between the user and the friends in the circle, the better the defense. When an attack breaks through the Friend Circle's defense, a "connection" (i.e., a "friend") can be sacrificed to nullify the damage from that attack.
PS: A literal Friend Circle.
(Miracle: Speaking of which, if Master were to confess to girls with sincere lies, would it be possible to end up with a harem? Or drawn and quartered?)
"Hold on, wait a minute. Who the hell uses their friends as disposable items?" After hearing Chen Li's introduction of the newly forged Curio, Kaguya Houraisan stood up, shifted over a bit, and sat back down, staring at Chen Li in shock.
"Oh, don't misunderstand. It sacrifices a friend's connection status to nullify the damage, not the friend themselves. Don't be scared," Chen Li said, waving the ring in his hand.
"That's still ridiculous! Is that how you're supposed to use friends? I once heard that Investigators like to use their friends as scapegoats. I didn't believe it then, but I believe it now," Kaguya retorted.
"I'm not an Investigator."
"But your parents are, and legendary ones at that."
"What does this have to do with my parents?"
"In any case, keep that ring far away from me," Kaguya said warily.
"Tch, what a coward. Besides, even if I keep the ring away from you, as long as you're holding that phone, you still count as my friend." Chen Li tossed the solid gold metal ring, inscribed with strange patterns, to the side.
After leaving his hand, the metal ring floated up above Chen Li's head and expanded to a radius of about two meters, enveloping him.
The metal ring split into countless phantoms. These numerous ethereal rings began to rotate slowly in different directions, making it seem as if Chen Li himself was trapped within a Rasengan, thoroughly protected by the spectral rings.
Yet, even though Chen Li was sitting on the sofa, the ring ignored the sofa's volume and passed right through it, as if the two existed on different layers with no collision physics between them.
Then, with a snap of Chen Li's fingers, the layer the Friend Circle occupied seemed to become hidden, and it vanished in an instant.
"Can I touch you?" Kaguya asked curiously.
"I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, the Friend Circle won't affect my normal life. You won't be repelled if you touch me. It only defends against attacks directed at me," Chen Li explained.
"Then how strong is the defense?"
"It depends on the quantity and quality of my friends. Right now, I only have two: you and Eirin Yagokoro. While my connection with Eirin isn't very strong, my connection with you is very close, since you signed an indenture contract. So the defense should be quite high right now."
"…" Kaguya's face darkened.
Can you please not bring up the indenture contract?
Just then, the phone in Kaguya's hand vibrated. She opened it to see a message from Eirin.
"Chen Li, there's a problem."
"What is it?"
"Yakumo Yukari wants a phone too," Kaguya said.
The "phone" was one of the physical manifestations of the Friend Circle and the medium for its communication function. It was also the true form of a "friend."
When an attack broke through the Friend Circle's defense, this was the thing that would be sacrificed to shield Chen Li.
When Chen Li had reforged the original communication Curio into this new one, the two paper cups had each transformed into a phone—one for Kaguya, one for Eirin.
The phones were bound to Chen Li's friend status; they couldn't be lost and could be hidden.
"Yakumo Yukari, huh…" Chen Li stroked his chin.
"I can have Eirin refuse for you," Kaguya offered.
"It's fine, no need to refuse. Give her one. After all, she helped out quite a bit during the forging process."
If [Yakumo Yukari being ignited by the Miracle flame, allowing her Entries to be naturally extracted, which Chen Li then conveniently took one of] counted as helping… then Yukari's help had indeed been immense.
What Chen Li had taken was actually the small gap Yukari had used to spy on Eirin.
To create the Friend Circle, Chen Li had used several Entries—[Communication], [Teleportation], and [Connection].
Effect 1 came from [Communication]. Effect 2 came from the gap's [Teleportation] and [Connection].
Of course, extracting an Entry from the gap itself resulted in a lower initial brightness than extracting a more fundamental Entry directly from Yukari.
Yukari could teleport from anywhere using spatial rifts, or move parts of her body to other places. This wasn't limited to physical space; she could also move within paintings, dreams, and stories. That was the source of the Entry.
The [Communication] and [Connection] Entries seemed highly compatible and were naturally attracting each other, so Chen Li had strengthened the [Connection] Entry.
The [Friend Circle] cost a total of 36 Crystals: 5 for the Miracle flame, 15 to strengthen [Connection], 3 to strengthen Teleportation, and 13 to increase the Curio's capacity.
Perhaps it was because the [Teleportation] Entry's brightness was too low that the cost of transfer was so high.
"I spent 36 Crystals for you this time. Remember to produce more fake elixirs when you have the time," Chen Li said to Kaguya.
"Yes, yes, I know. I can never repay your kindness, so I'll do it slowly." Kaguya rolled her eyes at him.
Kaguya believed that Chen Li had done it partly for her, but mostly for himself.
Of course, she was still a grateful person.
It was just fake elixirs, right?
She'd just make them.
It's not like it cost money anyway.
"Contact Eirin and have her ask Yukari what style of communication device she wants," Chen Li said.
"Ah, she can choose the style?" Kaguya was taken aback.
"The style of the communication device is customizable. The [Friend Circle] can then print it out." With a wave of his hand, one of the many ethereal metal rings floating around Chen Li flew out and landed in his palm, solidifying into a physical metal ring.
"3D printing?"
"Something like that."
"That's pretty… high-tech. Can you print a new one for me? I want virtual reality glasses, or better yet, just give me a chat panel," Kaguya said with great interest.
"Don't even think about it. Printing costs money. You already have one, don't be wasteful."
"How much?"
"0.1 Crystals or 5 Star Stones. It's a good thing it doesn't exclusively require Crystals, otherwise I might not even be willing to print them," Chen Li said.
It was precisely because establishing a connection required a "price" that the "connection" itself could be used as the "price" to nullify damage.
"Is the price difference between Star Stones and Crystals that high?"
"The actual exchange rate isn't that exaggerated. It's mainly because Crystals and Curios share the same origin. That's also why holding a Curio grants so many discounts for communication."
"I see."
"So are you going to ask Yukari what kind of communication device she wants or not?" Chen Li urged.
Although as the user of the Friend Circle, Chen Li could message Eirin directly, it wouldn't be appropriate.
"No need to ask. Yukari wants a phone," Kaguya declared with a wave of her hand.
"…You didn't even ask her."
"I don't care. If I can't have a virtual screen, no one else can either. Especially not Yukari," Kaguya said, perfectly justified in her reasoning.
"Fine." Chen Li nodded, agreeing with her logic.
Since it wasn't his communication device being printed, he didn't particularly care.
With a thought, the metal ring floating in his hand began to spin, quickly using Star Stones as raw material to construct a mobile phone.
"Speaking of which, don't you think having only one app on the phone is a bit monotonous?" Kaguya asked tentatively.
"What are you getting at?"
"I think you could add a multiplayer function. That way, I could team up with people from other worlds."
"You already can. It's part of the communication function. Go explore the Friend Circle's features yourself."
"Then how about adding a food delivery function?"
"…Get lost." Chen Li absolutely would not create a function specifically for Kaguya's laziness.
However, he might create one for his own laziness.
Laziness is the driving force of human progress! Laziness is the wellspring of human inspiration!
Because people were too lazy to write, they invented the printing press. Too lazy to leave the house to mail a letter, they invented the telephone. Too lazy to walk, they invented carriages, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trains, high-speed rail, airplanes…
Of course, there was also the matter of efficiency.
"Oh."
"The Friend Circle certainly has a lot of potential. In the future, we could build a trading and communication platform to make the most of it." Although Chen Li had rejected Kaguya's food delivery idea, he still affirmed her suggestion to develop the Friend Circle's multi-functionality.
"Ooh, that sounds interesting. When do we start?" Kaguya was quite intrigued.
"The Friend Circle might become a one-star Curio in the future, but definitely not now. In other words, we have no money," Chen Li stated.
If nothing else, the price of "Teleportation" had to be brought down.
The solution to that problem was simple: he just needed to increase the Entry's brightness.
After successfully forging the Friend Circle, Chen Li received 30 Crystals and 200 Star Stones. The reward was comparable to the cost.
Since he could use the Curio himself, it wasn't a loss.
The source of the Crystals? For giving Gensokyo a little taste of interdimensional shock!
Chen Li couldn't rely on the Miracle Shield for defense every time; after all, it cost Crystals.
…
"One for my dad, one for my mom, and one for Tonghua."
"How nice. Why can't I have a virtual screen?" Kaguya said, her face full of envy as she watched Chen Li mass-produce virtual screens.
"Alright, stop being envious. I told you, after you finish making 100,000 fake elixirs, I'll give you a new device. You can keep the old one as a backup," Chen Li said.
"Emmm… Speaking of which, if a friend's connection is consumed, can you re-establish it?" Kaguya said, skillfully dodging the topic of the 100,000 elixirs.
"Yes, I just need to create another communication device. It's not a huge cost," Chen Li replied.
For that very reason, Chen Li decided to give Kaguya a backup, and one for Eirin as well.
Otherwise, if both Eirin and Yukari's connections were consumed at the same time, it would be troublesome if he couldn't contact them.
This was highly likely, as the [Friend Circle] consumed connections starting with the weakest ones.
And the only friends Chen Li had never met face-to-face were Eirin and Yukari.
"Being a Curio Forger is so convenient."
"That's because the price was already paid in full when the Curio was forged," Chen Li nodded.
The Miracle system and the Curio Forger profession both used the power of Miracle to achieve miracles, but they operated on completely different logic.
One was direct realization, while the other was indirect realization—or teaching a man to fish.
"So what about developing the Friend Circle's functions…?" Kaguya asked again.
"You develop them. Do it yourself and you'll have plenty. In theory, as long as a function is related to communication and connection, it can be implemented in the Friend Circle. You could even debut as a virtual idol or form a band with people for the rest of your life," Chen Li said casually.
"But I don't know the Source Script at all."
"Neither do I. I'm already learning it, so nagging won't help." Chen Li shrugged.
It was true; the Friend Circle was currently a relatively blank platform with endless possibilities for imagination.
But to implement functions, one had to write in the Source Script, because the Source Script was universal.
If Chen Li wrote [I want a virtual avatar of a fair-skinned, red-eyed, cat-eared beauty with long white hair and long legs], he could truly create such an avatar on the Friend Circle's network.
But his vocabulary was insufficient.
Chen Li was already working hard to build it up.
It wasn't because he actually wanted to be a virtual idol, but because a future professional skill he could obtain, [Wondrous Brush], was related to the Source Script.
This was another carrot the little pixie had dangled in front of him.
"Yukari joining is a good thing. If I'm short on Entries in the future, I can see if I can get some from her." Chen Li was quite happy after receiving the notification that Yukari had joined the Friend Circle.
As an old hag who had lived for who knows how many years, Yakumo Yukari surely had an extensive collection.
"By the way, Li-bao, can you give me admin privileges? That way I can mute Yukari whenever I want. It would be even better if I could not only mute her, but also paralyze her physical body or strike her with lightning," Kaguya suddenly had an idea.
"And, and, we could also create a set of member rules. Prohibit everyone from spying on each other and stuff like that," Kaguya grew more and more excited as she spoke.
"You might as well build a Demon-Locking Pagoda. Hmm, wait a minute…" A flash of inspiration struck Chen Li.
Combining Entries of the same or similar types could expand a Curio's effective range, just as Merit plus Abundance had created the Scales of Merit.
Since the Friend Circle was a circle, if he added a [Confinement] or [Discipline] Entry, could he add a Demon-Locking Pagoda function?
Perhaps he could add an effect that pulled strange and problematic people into the group for management, which would also increase the Friend Circle's defensive power.
And as it happened, people who possessed Curios were often not quite normal.
Do one thing, and increase his defense twice. Wasn't that a win-win?
"Thank you for the inspiration. When I have the money, I'll implement a similar function. As thanks, I plan to appoint you as the first administrator of the Curio group," Chen Li said, quite satisfied with his line of thinking.
With the [Allocation] skill, which allowed him to tailor the inclination of Entries, many of Chen Li's wild ideas could be realized.
Some "phones" could connect to the network. Some "phones" could only be connected to the network.
Matou Zouken, for example, would obviously be the lowest of the low in the Friend Circle.
You know, we're having a super awesome party this weekend, all the cool people will be there. But guess who didn't get an invitation?
"But I don't have a Curio. How about… you let me borrow the Friend Circle?" Kaguya felt that the metal ring in Chen Li's hand, which could constantly split, combine, and transform, was very cool.
"What does an immortal Hourai like you need defenses for? Take my advice, you can't handle this Curio," Chen Li said, patting Kaguya on the shoulder.
Besides, who said you needed a Curio to join the Curio group?
You can still stab someone to death without a spearhead.
"Stingy."
"Instead of complaining about me, you should get back to making fake elixirs. No dinner until you're done."
"Then you might as well starve me to death."
Kaguya truly didn't understand why Chen Li needed so many fake elixirs. Was he really planning to buy out an entire other world?
"Kaguya, you have to understand, you're not just making fake elixirs; you're making them for the sake of world peace. When I save the world, I will definitely name you the world's number one great hero of fake elixir production," Chen Li said, sitting next to Kaguya to cheer her on.
With nothing else to do today, Chen Li planned to sit beside Kaguya and grind his proficiency with the model of the Power of Eternity and the Instant to its maximum level.