"Help me, [Ego]."
"Help me, [Helix]."
"Help me, [Infinity]."
"..."
"Chen Li, are you sure trying this can really summon our Stands?" Mobius asked Chen Li, who was sitting on the side, munching on melon seeds and clearly having the time of his life.
"Why not? Have you all forgotten? When Little Griseo called for Adult Griseo, she shouted '[Starry Impression]'. That was her codename after the Thirteen Flame-Chasers were established. Don't you think there's a deep meaning to that?"
"Based on that, let's think from a different perspective. Perhaps all the future Thirteen Flame-Chasers can summon their own Stands, and you are all the future Thirteen Flame-Chasers."
"The reason you can't summon them now is probably because you all died in different ways before the new civilization arrived, so the summoning difficulty is just a bit higher."
"Perhaps you need... further stimulation," Chen Li commented while cracking another melon seed.
"I have a feeling you're purely just watching the show over there," Elysia said, having a strange intuition.
But if you were to ask whether Elysia was tempted by the idea of summoning her own Stand, she definitely was.
Wow, two beautiful girls like me exist in this world? It would be such a pity not to try and summon the other one!
"You're imagining things," Chen Li said, desperately trying to suppress his smile.
Alright, Elysia had guessed correctly.
But while the probability of them summoning their Stands was low, it wasn't zero. And besides Su, Kevin, Hua, and Griseo, Aponia might also have her own Stand.
Some people are alive, but they are already dead. Some are dead, but they are still alive.
Each of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers had their own way of dying. Aponia's death was even more unique. Using a backdoor that Vill-V had left in the Elysian Realm, she chose to merge her consciousness with it, all to find the answer that Elysia had successfully used to change the future.
So it was hard to say whether Aponia was dead or alive.
Perhaps if Aponia summoned her Stand, she could summon a massive Elysian Realm to smash her enemies.
That sounded even cooler.
Damn it, Aponia, was that your escape route?!
"Lunch is ready." Kalpas kicked open the door to Mobius's lab and pushed a dining cart inside.
But the first thing Kalpas saw upon entering was Elysia, Mobius, and Vill-V striking various strange poses. Sakura was also nearby, but she hadn't joined in the Stand-summoning ritual. Instead, she sat there silently, seemingly lost in thought.
"Hmph, what are you all doing?" Kalpas froze for a moment.
"Oh, I knew I forgot something... Kalpas, the one who's out of the loop!" Chen Li slapped his forehead, finally remembering what he'd forgotten.
"What do you mean, 'out of the loop'?"
"It means you somehow missed the entire explanation process, so you don't know anything. Anyway, let's eat first. I'll catch you up on the world's situation later."
After saying that, Chen Li made a beeline for the food cart.
Although [Mom's Tablecloth] could indeed conjure up any food the user desired, Chen Li's situation was special. With his [Gourmet Cells], he could eat anything, so it never produced normal food for him.
Mobius? It produced instant noodles of various flavors for her.
Elysia summoned all kinds of exquisite pastries and small cakes.
Vill-V summoned compressed biscuits, fitting Chen Li's stereotype of a science-oriented woman.
Sakura? Hers was a bit more normal, but Chen Li wanted something cooked. Sushi was out of the question.
Sirin was special; she summoned nothing but snacks.
...
Although he wasn't full, after everyone else had eaten their fill, Sakura walked over to Chen Li and asked him a question that would test his logical reasoning.
"If my little sister ultimately becomes the Herrscher of Corruption and is sealed within the Black Box, then after 50,000 years, who exactly is inside that Black Box?"
"That... I'm really not sure. I hope it's Higokumaru. Anyway, we can go and see," Chen Li said.
"Then... will my sister have the ability to summon a Stand?"
"Hiss... that's a very tricky question. Again, we can go and see. But for now, I can give you some time off. Go and spend some quality time with your sister, or you could just bring her directly to the Flame-Chasers."
"But Boss, my current job is the Imperial Sword-Bearer... I need to protect you."
"Emmm..." Sakura said it so earnestly that Chen Li couldn't find an angle to refute her.
Are you implying that you, a single assassin, can protect me better than my friendships and bonds can?
But Chen Li quite liked this kind of loyalty. So...
"Don't worry. If I die, I can revive just by watching a 30-second ad."
"That makes sense." The moment she thought about how Chen Li only needed to watch a 30-second ad to revive, Sakura suddenly saw the light. She seemed to have made some kind of decision, turned around, and walked away.
"Damn it, Sakura left so decisively! Dock a month's salary from her to buy me french fries!" Seeing Sakura's departing figure, Chen Li felt heartbroken.
Isn't a life that can be revived with a 30-second ad still a life?!
"What kind of french fries cost a month's salary?" Elysia sidled up and asked.
"That's not the point. Right, Vill-V, come over here."
"What is it?"
"Go and forge 13 medals according to these 13 symbols." Chen Li took out the representative symbols of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers.
"Aren't you a forger too? You're slacking, Chen Li."
"I'm busy, aren't I?"
"Busy with what?"
"Busy eating. When I'm at home, eating makes me stronger. That's the confidence the [Gourmet Cells] give me."
"Fine. So what's the point of forging these 13 medals?"
"As you can see, these 13 medals are the future symbols of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. I plan to forge them, and then after each of you has performed a heroic deed, I will award these medals to you to certify your status," Chen Li said.
Chen Li would also give special instructions to the higher-ups under his control to be respectful and obedient when they saw these 13 medals.
Act first, report later, with imperial authority. That was the meaning of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers!
"Oh, I get it. They're privilege medals, right?"
"Don't be so blunt. In short, we'll use these 13 medals to display our authority and to guide public opinion. So, in order to earn these medals, you'd better hurry up and practice summoning your Stands. Good luck!" Chen Li patted Vill-V's shoulder.
"Once these 13 medals become a symbol of our civilization, I'll collect them all and forge them into a Curio. It might have some miraculous effects," Chen Li added.
In fact, Chen Li was already planning to go treasure hunting in the Current Era after a while. According to the original plan he had given to the Previous Era's leadership, he should be able to reap a lot of good stuff.
"I need no Stand. I shall surpass my Stand!" Elysia declared, hands on her hips.
"Even if you say that, you won't be getting your medal that quickly."
"Guh!"
"Alright, you all can continue practicing summoning your Stands. I should get back to my own work. Sirin, have you finished collecting the Honkai energy?" Chen Li asked Sirin, who was standing nearby.
"I've already filled 10 World Bubbles," Sirin said, pointing to the bubbles that were orbiting her at a constant speed.
For Sirin, constructing empty World Bubbles wasn't difficult. The reason she needed to use them to collect Honkai energy was that while a Herrscher's use of Honkai energy was almost unlimited, the energy within their core was only a small fraction of what they could wield. Most of the energy existed in the Sea of Quanta. Therefore, when Sirin traveled to other worlds, she would face a mana shortage.
(Similarly, because only a small portion of a Herrscher's Honkai energy is in the core, a Divine Key made from a core will exhaust all its energy every time its Zeroth Power is used, requiring at least two hours to recharge. A Herrscher, however, does not have this problem.)
Therefore, at Chen Li's suggestion, Sirin constructed these Honkai energy World Bubbles as a storage mechanism. Only a Herrscher like the Herrscher of the Void, with the ability to manipulate the Sea of Quanta, could enjoy such a convenience.
However, as long as they didn't travel to other worlds, other Herrschers wouldn't have this problem either.
But even with the Honkai energy from so many World Bubbles, the power output limit of the Herrscher core was still fixed. What limited a Herrscher was never their mechanics, but their output ceiling. Just like the youkai of Gensokyo.
"I feel like nine is enough. So, can I eat one?" Chen Li asked, wiping the drool from his mouth as he looked at the World Bubble that was so tempting to him.
"Here." Sirin didn't hesitate at all, directly tossing a World Bubble to Chen Li. She even thoughtfully shrank the originally fist-sized bubble to the size of a ping-pong ball, allowing Chen Li to swallow it in one gulp.
"Gulp! Tastes pretty good. I feel my resistance to Honkai energy has increased a lot!" Chen Li felt a surge of power.
Although this wasn't the first time he had eaten Honkai energy, it was the first time he had eaten a World Bubble.
"Where are you guys going next? Take me with you," Elysia cozied up to them.
"Sure. After I get to the other world, I'll use the Friend System to summon you. You can just send a projection."
"Why send a projection? Can't I go in person?"
"Think about it. If you send a projection to travel to another world while you're here practicing summoning your Stand, aren't you doing two things at once? And the projection's memories will be sent back to you in the end."
"Hiss..." Elysia sucked in a sharp breath.
Was that a benefit? Wasn't that just torture?
"Speaking of which, I think I can rent out friend slots. After all, for something as good as getting double experience points at the same time, my friends should definitely pay up," a flash of inspiration hit Chen Li.
"Wait, you mean in the future when you summon our projections to help you fight, we have to pay you?" Elysia clutched her forehead, trying to understand Chen Li's logic.
"Helping me fight will definitely be free, but if you want to participate in the daily double EXP event, you'll definitely have to pay. And since this is a trial phase, the slots are limited," Chen Li explained.
"...You're a damn genius! But I think your business will fail. Who would possibly pay for this service? Right, everyone?" Elysia waved her hand, expressing her clear pessimism about Chen Li's business venture.
"Indeed," Mobius nodded.
"Makes sense," Vill-V agreed.
"Who would pay money to assist someone else?"
Seeing them so confidently express their pessimism about his business, Chen Li almost believed that it really had no future...
If it weren't for his private message channel vibrating nonstop, Chen Li would have almost believed them.
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: Save a spot for the double EXP card for me, thanks.
[Green Wriggly Snake]: I want a double EXP card slot.
[The Engineer with a 100% Teamfight Participation Rate]: I want to participate in the double EXP event. I'll owe you the Star Stones for now and pay you back double later. Don't ask me who "Double" is.
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