"Can any group members read minds?"
"I'll do it."
"Any group members skilled in interrogation? Don't get me wrong, I just want to beat him up."
"I'll do it."
"Do we have any group members who can heal?"
"I'll do it."
"The Curio group chat is truly full of talented people," Najenda remarked with emotion.
"…But aren't you asking the same person every time? Yakumo Yukari, aren't you being a bit too competitive?" Kaguya Houraisan was utterly astonished.
Yakumo Yukari has lived for a very long time. It's hard to say how high her "power output" is, but if you ask whether she's picked up a few clever tricks over the years, Yukari would have plenty to say.
And so, Yakumo Yukari contributed greatly to Najenda's interrogation of the Revolutionary Army's higher-ups.
Of course, there were indeed members in the group who were more professional than Yukari in certain aspects. For instance, Eirin Yagokoro was clearly a better healer, but Eirin was busy trying to persuade her own princess to return to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost and live a life with a normal schedule.
"Eirin Yagokoro… you never actually intended for your princess to go home with you, did you?" Herta said with absolute certainty, watching Eirin walk quite deliberately over to where the "research group" had gathered.
Since it was the first time in another world for most of them, they had split into different groups based on their level of enthusiasm for this new world. For example, there were those who wanted to study the world, those who just wanted to relax, and those who had been eating this whole time.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Extremely obvious."
"Actually, as long as I know the princess is safe outside, I'm relieved. It's a good thing for her to get out of the house for a change."
"The problem is, after leaving your Bamboo Forest of the Lost, isn't she still just being a shut-in at Chen Li's house?"
"Don't worry about that. Just tell me, did the princess leave 'home' or not?"
"…"
Of course, Eirin's motives weren't that shallow.
The main reason was that Eirin didn't see any harm in it. After all, Kaguya Houraisan possessed the [Shut-in] profession in this other world; as long as she stayed cooped up at home, she would continue to improve.
According to Kaguya's own description, most of her shut-in abilities remained effective even after leaving Chen Li's world, but being a shut-in in another world wouldn't grant her any experience points.
Furthermore, Eirin remembered that the contract Chen Li and Kaguya had signed stated that if Chen Li sent Kaguya home, Kaguya would have to marry him.
Looking at it from another angle, as long as Kaguya never went home, she would never have to marry him.
You say that living in the same house for a long time might lead to feelings developing?
That was no longer something Eirin needed to worry about. Because… it was about time the old spinster Kaguya Houraisan found a boyfriend.
Eirin couldn't even remember how many years Kaguya had been single, and Gensokyo… forget powerful males, there were barely any stronger-than-average males.
Being a shut-in in that dump of a place called Gensokyo, it would be a miracle if she could find a boyfriend!
---o---
"It's done. The situation isn't optimistic, but it's still somewhat optimistic," Najenda said after finishing her chat with the Revolutionary Army's higher-ups.
"???" Hearing what Najenda said to him, Chen Li began to wonder if she was sober.
Do you hear what you're saying?
"The first part is because the ranks of the Revolutionary Army are not pure. The second part is because there are indeed many people with lofty ideals within the army," Najenda explained.
Just now, Najenda had taken the Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin and Yakumo Yukari to solve the unity problem among the Revolutionary Army's leadership.
The reality was just as Najenda had initially feared. Within the Revolutionary Army, there were many ambitious individuals who, amidst the turmoil, harbored dreams of conquering the world.
If it were just the ambition to conquer, that could be considered human nature. After all, who wouldn't want to become the emperor?
Winner takes all; it had been this way since ancient times.
However, among the higher-ups, there were also many spies from the Empire's nobility and powerful families.
Perhaps "spies" wasn't the right word. They had genuinely joined the Revolutionary Army, but if the revolution gained the upper hand, these noble families would instantly transform into the Revolutionary Army's spies within the Empire.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket—an old trick of the nobility and powerful families.
This, in itself, wasn't a problem either. But many of them were utterly useless, sin-laden wastes of space who, even after joining the revolution, did nothing and even continued to plague the army.
That was just not right.
But once Najenda stood before them with the Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin in hand, their true identities no longer mattered. From this moment on, they were noble-minded patriots striving for the well-being of the people!
For those who were already dedicated to the people, they could now realize their ideals while receiving compensation equal to their efforts—the life-extending medicine Najenda had promised.
As for those with ill intentions, they too had to obey the coin's command.
The low-quality longevity medicine was courtesy of Kaguya Houraisan.
With this, Kaguya, the "lie-down-and-win dog," had truly become the MVP.
"You've come at the right time. I've finished acquiring the Civilization Value. Are you interested in awakening the Empire's collective consciousness?" A Miracle Card floated above Chen Li's palm.
The Empire occupied a crucial position in this world, and its rise and fall were a significant part of the civilization's rise and fall. The Revolutionary Army, in turn, was a significant part of the Empire.
The Empire belonged to the civilization, not just to the Emperor alone.
At least, that's how it looked from a god's-eye view.
Therefore, the great change within the Revolutionary Army was a key node in the history of this civilization.
Although this crucial node was resolved by Yakumo Yukari alone in 30 seconds, you could only praise her efficiency; you couldn't say the node itself was unimportant.
Because of this, Chen Li gained a large amount of Civilization Value and 1000 Star Stones, far more than the amount he had distributed.
On top of the 600 Star Stones from the great change in the Revolutionary Army, the very act of "Yakumo Yukari obtaining Star Stones" also provided him with more.
Who knew what Yakumo Yukari planned to do with those Star Stones?
(Civilization Value: Replenished by interfering with or leading key nodes in a civilization's historical events.)
"A collective consciousness… Can it really help the Empire always make the right decisions?" Najenda, who had already seen the effects of this Miracle Card, was still a little worried.
"That depends on what you truly want. A collective consciousness can have different biases. If you choose 'the continuation of the Empire' as its primary goal, then you will get an Empire that, no matter how corrupt, will never fall, just like the current one," Chen Li said.
In reality, from the Empire's perspective, the Revolutionary Army was not a problem at all.
This wasn't arrogance; it was a fact.
Although the Empire was corrupt, its military might was still unmatched.
"But if you choose 'the continuation of the Empire's people' as its primary goal, then you will get a nation that, no matter what blows it suffers or what enemies it encounters, may experience temporary decline, but at the critical moment of facing annihilation, key figures who can turn the tide and pull the nation from the brink of collapse will always emerge," Chen Li said.
Of course, this had its limits. For example, if the Empire, fortified with this collective consciousness, were to encounter a dimensionality reduction strike like Herta, it might manage to slightly dirty her clothes, but it still wouldn't be able to reverse the outcome.
"Then I choose the latter!" Najenda's eyes lit up.
"So quickly?"
"If I coveted wealth and glory, why would I give up being a general of the Empire to start from scratch in the Revolutionary Army? I consider myself very lucky because I was the one who met you first, and not someone like Esdeath. Otherwise, who knows what kind of collective consciousness she would choose," Najenda said.
At least in Najenda's view, the Empire wasn't important; the people were.
"If that is what you wish, then very well." Chen Li tossed the Miracle Card in his hand.
As the card left his hand, it grew larger and larger, flying higher and higher, becoming more and more transparent until it merged with the very fabric of the world.
Miracle Card: [Toying with the Vassals at the Beacons]
As Chen Li's accumulated Civilization Value rapidly depleted, an invisible presence quietly and vaguely enveloped the entire Empire.
Because the Civilization Value Chen Li had obtained from this key node wasn't that much, the collective consciousness that appeared only had basic functions. It required choosing a civilization development strategy right from the start, and changing it later would be very troublesome.
This was also why Chen Li hadn't used this Civilization Value on the Previous Era.
There was too little of it, not enough to awaken a sufficiently advanced collective consciousness. The basic influence on the populace was also not high enough, and at most three high-level characters with the "Destiny" attribute could be born at any one time.
It was less a collective consciousness and more a kind of "fortune" or "destiny."
"Hmm? It seems something has been born." Many of the group members who had come to freeload for the participation prize raised their heads to look at the sky, seemingly sensing a special presence.
"See, that's another drawback. Because I don't have enough Civilization Value on hand, the awakened collective consciousness is easily discovered in its early stages. But it's limited to people with special abilities like these," Chen Li said to Najenda, pointing at the gasping group members beside them.
"Esdeath?" Najenda subconsciously thought of one person.
The psychological trauma Esdeath had inflicted on her was simply too great.
"It won't go that far. Esdeath is just a brute. What does she know about destiny? In other words, in this world of blood and blades where only the Teigu are a bit magical, no one can discover this situation," Chen Li said, shaking his head.
"Then it's fine. So what should we do now? Wait?" Najenda asked.
"Theoretically, you could just wait, but it's better to take the initiative. You guys, stop slacking off over there! Want to experience a Civilization Fast-Forward?" Chen Li shouted at the group of members he had invited over to get a participation prize only for them to start slacking off.
"Civilization Fast-Forward?"
"I have a little Civilization Value left after awakening the collective consciousness. I can accelerate the civilization's timeline. In other words, treat the civilization like a game and skip the plot to get to the next plot point. I can also bring people along. Who wants to experience a Civilization Fast-Forward?" Chen Li explained.
"Traveling through time? Interesting. Count me in."
"I want to try too."
"Oh no, skipping the plot this time really means skipping life!"
"Can I go?" Najenda asked, pointing to herself.
"You can. When the timeline is accelerating, you can freely choose whether to join the script or not… Let me explain it this way. Imagine you're facing an exam. If you choose to join the script, you'll instantly arrive at the end of the exam and receive a test paper that you painstakingly completed yourself. If you choose not to join the script, it's equivalent to skipping the exam," Chen Li nodded.
The former was similar to King Crimson's time erasure; the process was deleted, leaving only the result.
But if he started talking about King Crimson, Najenda would probably be even more confused, so Chen Li used a different explanation.
"What about the memories from that period?" Najenda asked.
"They'll be generated into a compressed file and stuffed into your brain. When you need those memories, they'll automatically pop up," Chen Li said.
"Eh? Doesn't that mean that in the future, before school, I can borrow a Miracle Card from you, Chen Li, fast-forward straight to the end of the school day, and then go home and play games?" Gabriel's eyes lit up.
"…Go to school properly! Civilization Value is not for you to waste like that!" Chen Li roared.
"Oh."
"Aside from Najenda, everyone else should be choosing to stay out of the script, right?" Chen Li said with a smile.
"Um… how about I work a little harder and choose to join the script? I can be a control group and help everyone collect the things they want. I'll just charge a small fee," Yakumo Yukari raised a small objection.
"…" Chen Li looked at Yakumo Yukari, and the two began a staring contest.
This was Chen Li, the Curio Forger. Staring at him for 30 seconds was equivalent to staring at him for 30 seconds!
"200 Star Stones for you to do me a favor," Chen Li finally said, breaking the silence.
"No problem. What's the favor?"
"Help me collect the Teigu outside of the Revolutionary Army. I've sent you the relevant information privately," Chen Li said.
What Yukari wanted to do in this world wasn't important. She was a smart person and knew her limits, unless she didn't plan on going to other worlds in the future.
Moreover, letting Yukari run loose within the script would also allow him to see what kind of benefits bringing an otherworldly visitor into another otherworldly world could bring him.
"Then I can also join the script to earn money," Kaguya Houraisan said.
"You can't. Because even if you join the script, the 'you' in the script will just find a place to be a shut-in. You'd never do any work," Chen Li said, shaking his head.
"Emmm…" Kaguya felt that Chen Li had a point.
She had been thinking that the Kaguya in the script would be the one doing all the hard work, but she had forgotten that the Kagu_ya in the script would have the same lazy disposition as her.
"And if you have any commissions, you can all give them to Yakumo Yukari. I'll reimburse any commissions under ten Star Stones," Chen Li said.
"Really?" Kaguya's eyes lit up.
"But I will reject any unreasonable commissions. In short, don't try to exploit my bugs."
"Oh, never mind then."
"I want some Danger Beasts."
"I also want some Danger Beasts."
"Help me with my homework."
"Eh? Can you do homework for others? Can you do math homework?"
"Can you help me find the lost forging method for Teigu?"
The commissions started off normal, but they grew progressively stranger, giving Yakumo Yukari a headache.
How did 'do my homework for me' get in there?
And the lost forging method for Teigu… Do you think I'm some wish-granting turtle in a pond?
"How about… we have a few more people as a control group?" Yakumo Yukari asked tentatively.
It was true that Yakumo Yukari wanted to earn Star Stones, but she didn't want to work herself to death.
---o---