"Have you made your decision?" Chen Li stood atop a high wall, looking down at the thriving town below.
Although the prosperity of the town before him couldn't compare to the Imperial Capital Chen Li had seen, the spirit of the residents here was a cut above that of the common folk in the capital.
Their eyes were filled with the light of hope.
"Since I've already pledged 10 Teigu, I have naturally steeled myself for what's to come. I had no choice before, but now, I want to make things a little more perfect," Najenda said, looking down at the town that had been built from scratch with a sense of gratification. But when she looked towards the somewhat luxurious encampment in the distance, her expression turned grim.
Najenda knew that daring to pledge 10 Teigu when she had nothing was a risky move, and entrusting the Teigu to an otherworldly visitor like Chen Li carried the suspicion of selling out her world.
But compared to the stability of the nation, even the Teigu were things that could be sacrificed.
"The Teigu were forged to maintain the Empire's rule. If the First Emperor could see me giving them away to reform the currently corrupt and decadent Empire, he'd probably be happy enough to jump out of his coffin," Najenda said, unsure if she was confiding in Chen Li or comforting herself.
The current Empire was completely beyond saving. That was a fact.
The Revolutionary Army was, at the very least, better than the Empire. That was also a fact.
But this world shouldn't be one that only compares who's more rotten.
So, after lurking in the Curio group for two days and conducting a field investigation, Najenda finally decided to take a gamble.
With the Teigu of this world as her wager, she was betting that the power borrowed from Chen Li could make this world a better place!
If you were to ask whether Najenda was worried that Chen Li had other designs on this world, she truly was at first. But later…
"I remember you're about to collect enough for a Revival Card, right? Why don't you revive that First Emperor and see if he's happy?" Chen Li suggested.
"That won't be necessary. I'm afraid he'd see the current state of the Empire and die of anger all over again, wasting one of my Revival Cards," Najenda said with a wave of her hand.
See? That's how it was.
Resurrection was such a beautiful word, yet Chen Li was willing to give away the Revival Card link to everyone for free.
The wealth of the Empire was indeed staggering, but it depended on who you compared it to.
The day before, Najenda had heard a group member named Screwllum say that the price of a single Revival Card link was enough to buy a planet teeming with life.
And after accepting his enthusiastic invitation to visit a planet composed of inorganic life forms, stepping onto a spaceship, and watching the clusters of stars flit past her, Najenda knew that the Empire was indeed a backwater country.
The only thing Chen Li found appealing about this Empire, and the only reason he was willing to expend so much effort on it, was likely his desire to witness a so-called miracle.
Since that was the case, why not just go with the flow?
Originally, in Najenda's mind, the ideal configuration for the Empire was this: General Budo would sit firmly in the capital, suppressing all troublemakers; she herself would assist the Emperor in managing the people's livelihood; the Emperor would recruit talented individuals and serve the people wholeheartedly… As for Esdeath? She could go conquer the four corners of the earth and preferably never return to bother her.
But after a long discussion with that elegant and gentlemanly mechanical aristocrat, Screwllum, Najenda suddenly felt that the Emperor wasn't strictly necessary.
Of course, Najenda knew that with the Empire's current level of productivity, it couldn't support a more democratic system like an electoral one. But that wasn't a major issue. This world still had miracles, and it had Curios…
"Chen Li, can you forge a Curio that can manage the Empire? A Curio that ensures the Empire's decisions are never wrong, one that allows the Empire to stand tall in this world forever!" Najenda asked, her heart filled with hope.
"You know, I actually have a Curio just like that on hand right now, but you might not be able to accept the cost."
"What's the cost?"
"Never mind the cost. The group chat is blowing up with people @ing me, asking when the commission starts."
"Sooner rather than later. Let's do it now."
"You got it!" Chen Li nodded and then approved all the world-traversal requests sent to him by the group members.
Countless portals appeared, layered one upon another beside him, and then, the "bonds" from all corners of the world converged here.
"I assume you are all already intimately familiar with the structural model of the Revolutionary Army headquarters. In that case, further words are unnecessary. Please, begin," Najenda said very politely to the crowd that had just arrived in this world.
Gentlemen, I desire a revolution!
Najenda had already been back at the Revolutionary Army headquarters for two days to report on her duties. She hadn't been idle during this time. Instead, she had used the built-in map function of the Friends Circle terminal to create a complete blueprint of the headquarters, which she then shared in the group chat this morning.
That structural model marked all the high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Army whom Najenda deemed important, with the aim of catching them all in one fell swoop today.
Some of these higher-ups were good, some were bad, but Najenda no longer had the heart to distinguish between them. She just wanted to use the Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin to sign a fair and just contract with them.
"Eh, we're fighting three seconds after meeting? I like it. I'll be taking my leave, everyone. This MVP is mine."
"Goodbye."
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out."
"Wait, let me put an Eternity Power marker on you first. Okay, you can go get yourself killed now."
"Wow, so many cute girls! Vill-V, look… Hey, Little Li! Haven't seen you in two days, did you miss me?"
"I'm not interested in girls. I just want to study the Teigu of this world. Maybe I can figure out how to make them. If I may be so bold as to ask, does anyone have spatial teleportation abilities? Could you take me to the treasury where the Teigu are stored?"
"Princess, I've finally found you. Are you having fun in this other world? It's time to go home. You can't be so willful anymore."
"Eirin, didn't you say you weren't coming? I don't care! I'd rather die here today, jump from a ten-thousand-meter-high cliff, than go back to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost! Chen Li, save me!"
"Kaguya, want to play online? I developed a new combo yesterday! You, over there! Don't touch my halo! You can't eat it!"
"The feeling of being in another world is truly strange. I can't mobilize the power of my Path here. Thankfully, this Emanator of Erudition isn't a fraud."
"Logic: The power of a Path is a part of Imaginary Energy. This world has no Imaginary Energy, so naturally, the power of a Path cannot be mobilized. However, this severance of connection only prevents us from acquiring energy from the outside; our internal energy is not affected in the slightest."
The scene was a chaotic mess. It seemed no one was listening to Najenda at all.
"…" Najenda, who had been counting on these group members to show off their skills, was instantly struck silent.
She had thought she was about to give the Revolutionary Army headquarters a little otherworldly shock, but instead, these people first gave her a little group-member shock.
Right now, some were sightseeing, some were studying the air, and one had even spread out a blanket, taken out [Mom's Tablecloth], and started to eat?
No, seriously, what are you all here for?
To freeload for the participation prize?
In the group chat, these people had all boasted about themselves to high heaven, but in reality, they were just…
BOOM!
"Ah, my apologies. I got too absorbed in studying this other world, so my hand slipped."
Najenda stared at the flattened mountain peak in the distance and fell silent.
Alright, these people were indeed quite powerful. They hadn't been bragging in the group chat, because they really were incredible.
But they weren't doing any work!
"Chen Li, aren't you going to manage… Chen Li?" Feeling her grand ambitions about to be ruined, Najenda tried to ask Chen Li for help, only to see him staring at the town where the Revolutionary Army headquarters was located with a dazed look in his eyes.
"Ah, I can feel it! The Civilization Value is increasing! I… see history," Chen Li muttered strangely.
Najenda clutched her head in agony.
No, seriously, how can not a single one of these group members be reliable?
Are you guys here for a picnic?
And for those studying the properties of this other world, can't you do that later?
"Are you alright?" Just as Najenda was feeling lost, a hand rested on her shoulder.
"I-I'm fine," Najenda shook her head.
"Your expression tells me you are very much not fine. But no matter. Let me ask, where do I collect the 200 Star Stone reward?"
"Collect the reward now?"
"The work is done. Why shouldn't I collect the reward?" Yakumo Yukari tilted her head, not understanding what nonsense Najenda was spouting.
"Huh?"
"Here." Yakumo Yukari snapped her fingers. Countless gaps opened up in the surroundings, and innumerable, tightly bound high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Army, along with countless treasures and Teigu, rained down from the gaps like dumplings from a pot.
"I remember now. You were the first one to rush out… Yakumo Yukari, right?" Najenda's eyes glazed over again.
Hasn't it only been half a minute?
What just happened?
"That's right. So, where do I collect the reward?" Yakumo Yukari asked with a smile.
Sending Yakumo Yukari to deal with the Revolutionary Army was the very definition of a dimensionality reduction strike.
Yakumo Yukari was always being teased in the group chat for not having high enough damage output, but that was in the context of destroying a planet.
Najenda glanced at the group of "self-absorbed" members, then at Yakumo Yukari asking for her reward, and instantly understood something.
"You guys… don't tell me you just decided to slack off because you knew you couldn't beat Yakumo Yukari's efficiency?" As soon as Najenda said this, the scene fell silent.
"Couldn't be helped. If you wanted to destroy the world, we each have our own special skills. But if you're talking about the speed of kidnapping people, and you even provide precise spatial coordinates… how could I possibly compete with Yakumo Yukari?" Kaguya said with a shrug.
"The moment I arrived in this world, I detected numerous spatial fluctuations nearby, and those fluctuations extended precisely to all the red-marked points in the Revolutionary Army headquarters. So… giving up the competition was a wise choice. This woman definitely charged up her power for a long time before teleporting!" Herta said with conviction.
"Don't slander me. My gaps are instantaneous," Yakumo Yukari retorted.
She had simply memorized the locations of everything she needed to kidnap and collect from the model before teleporting.
"I don't know. I just came to get the participation prize," Gabriel said, looking up blankly.
My game hasn't even started, and it's already over?
Should I continue playing here or go home to play?
"So what now?"
"Let's find a suitable place for a picnic," Elysia suggested.
"I hear this world has a lot of Danger Beasts, and their meat is delicious… Should we go hunt some?"
"Don't just think about eating! But catching a few Danger Beasts to take back for experiments would be excellent."
"Experiments in the field of life? I think we two might have some common topics. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ruan Mei."
"I am Mobius."
"Chen Li, how should the rewards be distributed?" Najenda asked, tugging on Chen Li's sleeve as she watched the scene descend into chaos once again.
"Give each of these 13 people one Star Stone. The rest goes to Yakumo Yukari. Oh, right, give one more to Kaguya Houraisan. Even though she only applied an Eternity Power marker, she at least put in a bit more effort than the others," Chen Li said.
"I knew it! A support's score will never be the lowest!" Kaguya clenched her fist in excitement.
Although Kaguya only got two Star Stones, which was seemingly just one more than the others, in other words… Kaguya was second from the top!
"Why do you care so much about this rating system?"
"None of your business."
"If I may be so bold as to ask, do you need any follow-up assistance? For example, with usurping the throne. I'm an expert in that," Yakumo Yukari said, promoting herself to Najenda.
"Are you that short on Star Stones?"
"Very short. Who isn't? If I were you and had 500 Star Stones, I'd definitely use all 500 to pull for the grand prize. Maybe I'd even pull a chance to become a god," Yakumo Yukari said.
In fact, Yukari was planning to save up 500 Star Stones for one big pull!
Back then, Haruhi Suzumiya had managed to pull a world-destroying, corrupted Holy Grail with just ten Star Stones!
Then she, Yakumo Yukari, could use 500 Star Stones to pull a god-tier, top-quality Holy Relic!
"Unfortunately, these 500 Star Stones are for a specific purpose," Najenda shook her head.
Because Chen Li could have just not given her the 500 Star Stones and directly stolen the Teigu.
He was just looking for a reason to let the group members earn Star Stones through labor, take them back to their own worlds, stir up some trouble, and see if it would generate even more Star Stones for him.
"Then what are the remaining 300 Star Stones for? Can you tell me in advance so I can do some homework?" Yakumo Yukari asked.
"Yakumo Yukari, aren't you being a bit too competitive?" Kaguya pointed at her.
"Working your butt off for 3,000 a month is being caught in the rat race. Working your butt off for 300,000 a month is called being diligent," Yakumo Yukari said, shaking her head and explaining her life philosophy.
When it came to laziness, Yakumo Yukari was second to none.
She just really wanted to improve.
Because Yukari had discovered that even without using them for gacha pulls, these condensed energy bodies called Star Stones could be used to strengthen her gap ability, which in turn would lead to a slight growth in her boundary manipulation ability.
This stuff was truly miraculous.
"So, how about it? Want to continue hiring me?" Yakumo Yukari asked, taking out her folding fan and waving it gently.
"Some idiots fan themselves all year round," Kaguya muttered.
Yukari's hand froze for a moment.
"I want to consult Chen Li's opinion on this matter first. Chen Li, what was that Curio you mentioned that could manage the Empire?" Najenda asked Chen Li.
"A collective consciousness. But my Civilization Value hasn't stopped increasing yet, so you should probably go deal with them first," Chen Li said, pointing at the higher-ups that Yakumo Yukari had bundled up.
---o---