"These five phones are byproducts of another Curio of mine, the Friends Circle. Through this Friends Circle, you can expend a certain cost to quickly teleport items to another person's hand. You can distribute these phones as you see fit," Chen Li explained after watching Robin hand the five phones over to Screwllum.
The matter of the Elation mask was unimportant; it wasn't Chen Li who would suffer the bad luck, anyway.
What was important now was to find a way to get in touch with Herta.
Chen Li wasn't lusting after Herta's status, but he was lusting after the sooo many Curios in Herta's possession.
"Understood." Screwllum did not refuse the gift.
"Inquiry: Chen Li, do you have any free time recently?" Screwllum suddenly asked.
"I do have quite a bit of free time. What's wrong?"
"Suggestion: If you have time, you might consider visiting the Herta Space Station. I personally feel that you and Herta may have common topics of discussion. Moreover, Herta is currently working on a project with several other Geniuses that you might be interested in," Screwllum said.
"A project..."
"Its name is the Simulated Universe. It is a simulation system designed to study the Aeons. Herta can explain the specifics to you in person. In addition, Herta also has a large collection of Curios. Even if you do not participate as a collaborator, you can still join as an employee."
"Alright, I'll consider it," Chen Li nodded.
Then, he turned his head and immediately put the matter to the back of his mind.
Simulated Universe? Not a chance.
Oh, they're MAKING the Simulated Universe? That's even worse.
Chen Li knew his own limits.
Instead of having him build a Simulated Universe to explore the past experiences of the Aeons, they might as well just have him forge a Curio that could teleport him right in front of an Aeon so he could question them directly with [Then I Ask You].
At that point, he could even ask the Aeon of Elation exactly how many jokes he's witnessed.
Though he'd probably just get a reply along the lines of, "Will you remember how many slices of bread you have eaten in your life?"
Perhaps this is a particular obsession unique to Geniuses.
Chen Li didn't go out of his way to warn the Geniuses, because he really didn't want to add another +1 to the world-destruction tally in the historical records of his Guide to Forging Curios.
Besides, Sunday's "Orderly Paradise" Curio was a high-priority target for his attention.
"Perhaps I can give the Orderly Paradise that Sunday anticipates a different image, like... Heaven... That way, when I tell Sunday in the future that his sister has gone to a more wonderful place, he won't mistake it for my bed," Chen Li thought seriously.
"Phew, I've finally sorted out the problems outside. As expected, I should leave this planet as soon as possible. Thank you so much for your help this time," Robin said, looking at Chen Li gratefully.
This planet was truly plagued by disasters.
It had been visited by two different Aeons three days in a row, and both had caused a huge commotion.
Chen Li's troubles were endless, and so were theirs. The difference was that Chen Li received equivalent returns, while all they reaped was insomnia and laughter.
The excuse the Aeon of Elation had fabricated while impersonating Robin wasn't a complete lie. The entire planet outside the reception room had indeed burst into laughter because of a single chuckle from Aha.
The "help" Robin was referring to was Chen Li giving her the remaining half of the Miracle Crystal left over from inscribing the Source Text, allowing her to use her Curio to soothe the planet-wide laughter with her singing.
Curios could be recharged with crystals.
Miracles were never free.
Because miracles required spending money.
However, the whole point of forging a miracle into a Curio was to save crystals in the first place, so using crystals to recharge a Curio was completely putting the cart before the horse.
"Although the Aeon of Elation was the one who made the whole world laugh, and it has nothing to do with me, He was ultimately drawn here by my scent. So this doesn't count as help, it's compensation at best," Chen Li said.
"It's not your fault. After all, no one in this world can stop the actions of an Aeon. It's a good thing the Aeon of Elation only ever wants to see a good show. If it had been the Aeon of Destruction who descended, then... well, let's not talk about that. What are your plans next, Chen Li?" Robin asked after shaking her head.
There was no such thing as perfection in this world. Even Aeons couldn't save the world; disasters and misfortunes were everywhere.
But Robin, who believed in "the strong helping the weak," would do everything in her power to soothe this gloom and disaster.
"What's next? Of course, I'm going to use my status as a member of the Genius Society to go around swindling and freeloading."
"Eh? For real?"
"Fake. Swindling is out, I just want to freeload. I wonder what an Aeon tastes like," Chen Li seriously considered the question.
If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't beat the Aeon of Elation, Chen Li would have pounced on Him and taken a bite right then and there.
"What would you like to eat, Chen Li? My treat. But we might have to order takeout, because after that song just now, I've become even more famous on this planet," Robin said, a little troubled.
"Emmm..." Chen Li remained silent, his gaze fixed on the halo above Robin's head.
Is that thing edible?
Chen Li thought it might be.
"Chen Li?" Robin's hand waved in front of Chen Li's somewhat dazed eyes.
"Let's just go out to eat. You can borrow these [Disguise Glasses]. This way, no one will recognize you," Chen Li said to Robin, taking off his glasses.
"It's not just me. You, the new member of the Genius Society, seem to be quite famous as well, at least on this planet. Have you forgotten that your true face was witnessed by at least a hundred thousand people on stage yesterday?"
"What they saw was the Curio Forger wearing disguise glasses. What does that have to do with me, Chen Li?" Chen Li spread his hands.
The Chen Li with glasses was the 85th member of the Genius Society, the Curio Forger, and also an intern at the Divination Commission.
The Chen Li without glasses, however, was an Emanator of Abundance, a wanted criminal of the Xianzhou.
Chen Li quite enjoyed the feeling of cutting loose when he wasn't wearing his glasses.
Speaking of which... did I forget something?
Watching Robin put on the glasses, now eagerly planning to go out and have a blast, Chen Li fell into deep thought.
---o---
"So hungry... Where are my oranges~~?" Qingque lay sprawled across her desk in the library archives, missing her partner in slacking off.
She had even skipped lunch waiting for those oranges.
"Maybe... I should try a bite?" Qingque's gaze fell upon the book Chen Li had been halfway through eating.
If Chen Li could eat it, maybe she could too.
"Ptooey, ptooey! So bitter! Forget it, I'll just ask Kaguya Houraisan for help. One cup of instant noodles, please," Qingque quickly entered her group-chat-slacking state and sent a payment-requesting red envelope to her friend.
This Friends Circle was really strange. It didn't have a takeout function, but the payment function was implemented very quickly.
Kaguya Houraisan naturally wouldn't let her friend down and soon sent Qingque a cup of instant noodles.
"Wait a minute, why is the noodle cake in this cup only half full? And why is there only a fork but no seasoning packet?"
Runaway Princess from the Bamboo Forest...: Oh, I almost forgot, the teleportation function of this Friends Circle isn't perfect yet, so it requires half of the goods to be paid as a delivery fee. But it's not a big deal, I'll just send you another cup, right?
Kaguya Houraisan admired her own cleverness.
And so, Qingque received two half-noodle cakes and two forks.
"Damn it, where's the seasoning packet!" Qingque raged with rage for a moment.
Then, with a resentful look on her face, she began to gnaw on the dry instant noodle cake.
Instant noodles without a seasoning packet might as well just be a dry noodle cake, right?
---o---
"Ah, that hit the spot," a satisfied Chen Li said as he once again returned to the Divination Commission's archives, guided by Qingque's connection.
With Robin as his enthusiastic guide, Chen Li had managed to get successfully lost on that nameless planet.
However, he had gotten lost and ended up on a food street.
So, Chen Li ate his way through the entire food street.
Robin paid the bill.
The feeling of eating soft rice was just fantastic.
In addition, Chen Li had also received a large amount of Star Jade rewards from this meeting.
The act of using Source Text to make over a hundred million people each transfer 50 credits to Screwllum had earned Chen Li 800 Star Jades.
Honestly, the amount was so large that Chen Li found it a bit hard to accept.
He got 800 Star Jades for a simple prank, which wasn't much less than what he got for conscientiously cleansing eighty percent of the ghosts on Miko's Earth.
Officially joining the Genius Society also netted him a considerable amount—1000 Star Jades.
At the same time, he spent only 40 crystals to obtain a 1-Star Curio.
Chen Li couldn't even imagine if his day could get any more perfect.
Speaking of which, what was it that I forgot?
"Cheeeen~ Liiii~" A voice that sounded like it came from the depths of the underworld echoed in Chen Li's ears.
Chen Li followed the sound and saw Qingque with a dazed expression.
"Qingque, Qingque what's wrong with you? Qingque, don't you die on me!" Chen Li immediately rushed forward and lifted Qingque with one arm.
"Feed me peanuts, feed me peanuts~~"
"Ah, peanuts? I didn't bring any," Chen Li said, stunned for a moment.
"What are you two doing?" The moment Fu Xuan entered the Divination Commission's archives, she saw a completely burned-out Qingque and a Chen Li holding her, looking very concerned.
"Master Diviner, you have to get justice for me! This guy, Chen Li, said he was going to buy me two oranges and left the archives. I waited from noon till afternoon and he never came back with oranges! The lunch he brought me was just one dry instant noodle cake and two forks, he didn't even give me a seasoning packet!" Qingque, who had originally just wanted to mess with Chen Li, instantly decided to shift all the blame to him the moment she saw Fu Xuan appear.
Chen Li finally remembered what he had forgotten.
"Huh?" Fu Xuan was completely bewildered by the situation.
"Qingque, you were slacking off again, weren't you? And you're even corrupting the newcomer." Although Fu Xuan didn't know what had happened, she quickly made a judgment based on her experience.
Looking at Qingque trying to evade responsibility for slacking off, and Fu Xuan standing with her hands on her hips, completely ignoring Qingque's explanation, Chen Li decided... to roll the die in his hand.
It was time to roll for points to solve the current crisis!
He used it now because the situation couldn't get much worse, no matter what. At most, Fu Xuan would dock a day's pay from him and Qingque.
But that wasn't a problem, because as an intern, Chen Li didn't have a salary.
Compared to that, Chen Li was more curious about how this die would solve the current dilemma in an absurd or elated manner.
The sound of the die landing echoed in Chen Li's ears. He watched as the 20-sided die came to a rest on the floor, displaying the current number.
[13]
Alright! A great start.
Now, he just had to see how absurd the solution to the current crisis would be.
"Master Diviner, I really wasn't slacking off. Look, where are there any fish in the archives?" Qingque said, blinking innocently.
Thump!
Inside the archives, a book hidden in a gap between bookshelves, with a golden carp printed on its cover, suddenly jumped and fell from the shelf.
The sound attracted the attention of Chen Li, Fu Xuan, and the others.
Then, they watched as the book, hopping and flopping, transformed into a half-meter-long golden carp.
"Hmm? What... is this?" Qingque stared at the thing with a dumbfounded expression.
"Did a book gain sentience?" Even the knowledgeable Fu Xuan was completely baffled by this.
"In any case, catch it first. Don't let it wreak havoc in the archives," Fu Xuan said, then took the lead and lunged for the golden carp.
WHAP!
However, just before Fu Xuan could grab the golden carp, its body leaped from the floor, swung its tail in mid-air, and slapped Fu Xuan square in the face.
Fu Xuan was sent flying, landed in Chen Li's arms, and was knocked out cold.
"...Bro, is this even logical?" Chen Li was completely stupefied.
Slacking off, slacking off, was THIS the fish she was supposed to be touching?
And you can actually knock out Fu Xuan with a single tail slap?
I thought the Vidyadhara High Elder was already invincible. Whose champion is this fish? To possess such valor!