---o---
"Qingque, you said that Haruhi Suzumiya wanted to learn divination from you, right?"
"Yeah, what about it? You know me, Chen Li. Even though I slack off all day, I've still got a bit of skill. Teaching Haruhi divination would have been a piece of cake," Qingque said with considerable confidence.
This was the source of Qingque's confidence in her slacking. You can pretend to be bad, but you can't actually be bad. As the most outstanding diviner in the Divination Commission—one who could even make Fu Xuan wonder if she could escape her divinations—Qingque had a few tricks up her sleeve.
"…But then, because Fu Xuan was provoked by my challenge, she called you over to help prepare and adjust the Matrix of Prescience. So you didn't have time to teach Haruhi, right?"
"Exactly. And I couldn't even play Celestial Jade with her. What a shame. It's all your fault."
"But you also told Haruhi that once Fu Xuan calmed down and stopped using the Matrix, you'd have time to teach her, correct?" Chen Li asked again.
"That's right. But the General just called the Master Diviner away for something. She won't be back for a while, so she told me to wait here for her. Looks like I won't have time to teach Haruhi this morning," Qingque nodded.
"…Master Diviner, you've done well!" Chen Li slammed a fist into his palm, beginning to praise Fu Xuan.
"What's so good about it? It's so boring just waiting here," Qingque complained to Chen Li through the video call.
"This is all the choice of fate… You were destined not to teach Haruhi Suzumiya divination today," Chen Li said, shaking his head.
Chen Li was still very impressed with his decision to immediately slap a buff on Haruhi with the Elation Die after sending her to the Xianzhou. Otherwise…
If Haruhi had learned divination from Qingque, and Qingque had promised to teach her until she mastered it, and Haruhi had believed her, then Haruhi might have genuinely learned divination in a very short time.
If Haruhi had really learned divination and, on a whim, decided to divine the success rate of something she wanted to do, or even whimsically divined whether she could destroy the Xianzhou with a single punch…
That might be a bit of an exaggeration, since she was in another world and her reality-warping abilities were limited, but destroying the Divination Commission with one punch might not have been out of the question.
If Haruhi saw that she would succeed and then actually wanted to try it…
Things would have gotten interesting.
"You've worked hard," Chen Li sighed.
"It was nothing," Qingque shook her head.
"I wasn't talking to you," Chen Li said, holding up the Elation Die in his hand.
The Elation Die had really worked too hard. Chen Li had originally thought that getting a critical failure every time he used the die to buff Haruhi was the die messing with him. He never expected that it was actually trying its best.
Really, if you're under a lot of stress, you should just say so.
Hachi-Die, you magnificent bastard. You shoulder such a heavy burden, even pushing yourself to the limit, and you don't say a word?
[Elation Die: …]
The little spirit wasn't sure if the Elation Die had informed Chen Li of its stress, but the spirit felt it was necessary to speak up on the die's behalf: If you wanted to know, then you should have "asked"! If you don't "ask," how am I supposed to tell you?
Besides, if the Elation Die really did speak up, you'd be the one getting angry.
However, the little spirit suspected the die might have just been messing with Chen Li. After all, Haruhi's own position was ridiculously high, but deceiving her was simple.
"Forget it. I'll just consider it an offering to the turtle in the wishing well after my wish was granted. Equilibrium truly does exist in all things," Chen Li quickly came to terms with it.
"What are you rambling on about? I'm putting together an online Celestial Jade game. Want in?" Qingque asked.
Qingque was calling Chen Li now because he had asked her to give him real-time reports on Fu Xuan's situation.
"No thanks, you go play by yourself. Oh, right, that 100-Star-Stone red envelope I sent you earlier—you don't need to use it to strengthen the Matrix. Just keep it for yourself," Chen Li said.
"What's with the formality between us? You don't need to pay me for such a small thing," Qingque said, though the corners of her mouth couldn't be suppressed.
"Consider it compensation for having to stand guard all day."
"Alright. But why don't I need to give the Star Stones to the Matrix? Aren't you planning to give the Master Diviner a little shock with your connections anymore?"
"Barring any surprises, the results of the Matrix this time might exceed your expectations—it might actually be able to observe some of my situation. It's just that the results might be a little… subtle," Chen Li said.
Besides, Chen Li had only wanted to get a laugh out of Fu Xuan to quickly replenish his Elation points. But seeing Qingque sentenced to a day of standing guard had already provided him with that amusement.
Of course, no one would ever complain about having too much fun.
"Subtle?"
"Mm, subtle."
Because of… the Elation Die.
Qingque had told him about the Matrix of Prescience, saying that whether it was the evolution of heavenly principles or the passing of mortal generations, as long as there was enough information, it could answer any question. It was essentially a computer that was both scientific and metaphysical.
Scientific, because it sounded like a supercomputer. Metaphysical, because its principles were a gift from Nous.
Furthermore, Fu Xuan's third eye could indeed be used to observe the future. Fu Xuan had some accurate information on Chen Li—not much, but perhaps enough.
Chen Li had originally planned to give Qingque some Star Stones to toss into the Matrix to strengthen it and give Fu Xuan a little divination surprise. But now, it seemed that wouldn't be necessary.
The Elation Die would make its move.
Chen Li hadn't forgotten the description of the Elation Die: When the roll is greater than 10, you will successfully resolve the current crisis, but there is a chance the process will become extremely absurd or joyous.
And through experimentation, he had learned that "a chance" actually meant "a very high chance."
To prevent Qingque from teaching Haruhi divination, it was inevitable that she would have to stand guard there for a day. Fu Xuan wouldn't make Qingque stand by the Matrix for no reason, so she would probably use it once, go do other things, and then come back to use it again.
During this process, Fu Xuan should be able to get some divination results—results that seemed somewhat plausible but also not quite plausible, enough to make her keep using the Matrix to divine further…
"Every peck and every drink is preordained. Qingque, it is your fate to receive these 100 Star Stones, and it is also your fate to stand guard by the Matrix of Prescience for a day," Chen Li said to Qingque.
"Eh, why?"
Because you wanted to teach Haruhi Suzumiya divination!
However, Chen Li didn't plan to say this out loud. The more people who knew Haruhi was a wish-granting turtle in a well, the more troublesome it would be to keep it a secret.
Perhaps, Chen Li leaving that challenge for Fu Xuan was also part of the Elation Die's plan.
Yes, it was all the Elation Die's fault!
He wondered if Fu Xuan would believe that explanation when he had to explain himself later.
---o---
"Too cruel! Too brutal!" Little Herta appeared beside Chen Li, her eyes filled with bewilderment.
"What's too cruel and brutal?" Chen Li asked, confused.
"Najenda is too cruel."
"Najenda?"
"You left right after Robin finished singing, Chen Li, so you probably don't know about the several extremely brutal decrees Najenda issued after announcing the rebirth of the Empire."
"What happened?" Chen Li was a little puzzled.
What kind of decrees would make Little Herta think they were brutal? Najenda didn't seem like that kind of person.
"Najenda received some off-world orders through Screwllum, you know about that, right?"
"I did hear something about that…"
Since he had helped her this far, he might as well see it through. Perhaps because Screwllum felt a bit embarrassed for having received a portion of the Minister's gifts without doing anything, he helped introduce some business to the newborn Empire—screws that even a feudal society could produce.
This proved that Najenda had made the right call by handing out the gold. Screwllum's connections were worth far more than that gold.
There was no need to worry about installing the production lines. In the current universe, if a production line couldn't be assembled with great convenience, it would never capture the cosmic market.
There was no need to worry about energy; solar power was a very clean energy source.
Nor was there any need to worry about environmental pollution. The industrial chains Screwllum had access to weren't so low-level as to require sacrificing the environment as part of the cost.
And there was still no need to worry about personnel training. The people of the Empire didn't need to know what these things were for; they just needed to know which screw needed to be turned in which direction.
All in all, these were high-quality production lines that, under normal circumstances, could only be obtained through connections. The pay was good, the work was easy, and the difficulty was low. And there was no worry about selling the products. As long as there were no quality issues—or even if there were—with the output of a single empire, plenty of people would be willing to do Screwllum a favor. As long as Screwllum wished it, these products would absolutely sell well.
However, Najenda had refused this proposal, opting for a strategy of low profits and high volume. It wasn't that Najenda didn't want more profit, but owing Screwllum too many favors would be troublesome to repay in the future.
"Najenda's thinking isn't wrong. Owing favors is the most troublesome thing. But because she chose the low-profit, high-volume route, the treatment she's giving the factory workers has become excessively severe."
"How severe?"
"According to the decrees Najenda issued, those workers have to work a full eight hours a day, are only provided with three meals and snacks, only get milk in the morning, have only one hour for a lunch break, can only get a raise once every four months, only get triple pay for overtime, must exercise for an hour after work, and only have one day of psychological counseling a week."
"Tell me, isn't that just too brutal?" Little Herta turned to look at Chen Li.
"...Quiet, I'm thinking."
Chen Li was genuinely thinking hard. He didn't know if Little Herta was a bad actor or just genuinely out of touch. Because whenever he wandered around the Herta Space Station, he never seemed to hear any researchers or staff complain about their salary or treatment.
"What's there to think about?" Little Herta muttered.
"Let me ask you… if that's considered poor treatment, then don't your Herta puppets have to be on standby every day? Isn't that equivalent to 24-hour overtime? And they get to eat three meals, snacks, and even have milk, but you Herta puppets can't eat anything because you don't have an ingestion module. Big Herta doesn't even pay you a salary… You tell me, which is more brutal?" Chen Li retorted.
"…" Little Herta fell into thought.
"…" Seeing Little Herta fall into thought, Chen Li also fell into thought.
"I understand!" Little Herta's spirits lifted!
"Understand what?"
"Big Herta's treatment of us is too poor! I'm going to protest to her right now! We want snacks! We want salaries! We want lunch breaks! For [Herta]!"
Thwack! Halfway through her protest, Little Herta's head was struck by a staff.
"Chen Li, what have you been up to now!" Big Herta stood with her hands on her hips, looking coldly at Chen Li.
Big Herta felt that whenever she wasn't around, Chen Li was corrupting her Herta puppets. It was just that she had caught him this time.
If it was Chen Li, then seeing him corrupting Little Herta meant he had always been corrupting Little Herta! It was just like when a parent sees their child playing a game; the parent assumes the child is always playing games, not that they started playing after finishing their homework.
"I was merely teaching Little Herta what freedom is."
"That's right, he was just teaching me about the spirit of freedom! So we want snacks! We want salaries! We want lunch breaks! For [Herta]!" Little Herta declared righteously.
"…" Big Herta facepalmed.
Seriously, sister?
Among all my Herta puppets, besides you, who can eat? Who can spend money? Who can sleep?
Although this Machine Spirit could grant the puppets freedom, this was a bit too free.
"Chen Li. It seems Big Herta doesn't plan to agree to my protest. What should I do?" Little Herta turned to look at Chen Li.
"You're not even willing to call me Godfather."
"Godfather!"
"If Big Herta doesn't agree, then of course we…"
"Ahem." Big Herta cleared her throat pointedly.
"Then of course we drop the protest. What else can we do?" Chen Li spread his hands.
"What? Godfather, how could you surrender to the enemy so quickly?"
"Little Herta, do you know the flower language of the Gardenia?"
"What?"
"Forbearance."
"Isn't that wrong? Doesn't the Gardenia symbolize joy, strength, eternal love and promises, a lifetime of faithful waiting and perseverance, and things like that?" Big Herta interjected.
"What do you, an alien, know?"
"…This is my universe. You're the alien here," Big Herta rolled her eyes at Chen Li.
"Ignore her. For now, we'll practice forbearance. When the day comes that you can suppress Big Herta with one hand, we'll take back our right to speak," Chen Li said, patting Little Herta's head.
"Ermm… alright. Then let's each take a step back. I want snacks, I want a salary, and I want a lunch break!" Little Herta said to Big Herta.
"Fine, fine, fine," Big Herta nodded perfunctorily. Little Herta could ask for the entire space station for all she cared; it was all [Herta] anyway.
"Alright, since you're back, let's call Ruan Mei and Screwllum and go have a chat with Nous?" Chen Li said to Big Herta.
"Sure, I'll notify them. Screwllum should be discussing the production lines with Najenda. Ruan Mei seems to be studying that super-class Danger Beast with Mobius. The two of them seem to get along quite well," Big Herta nodded.
"Ruan Mei's mother's surname is Mei, and Mobius's surname is also Mei. It's normal for them to get along."
"…Are you sure Mobius's surname is Mei?" Big Herta tilted her head.
"That's not important. But speaking of Mobius, it's about time I put her to work." Chen Li took out a few Senzu Beans from the large jar Haruhi had given him and sent them to Mobius via a red envelope with a message.
[Use a scalpel to try and cultivate these Senzu Beans into Seeds of Life. Lower the cultivation difficulty.]
The projections of Mobius, Vill-V, and Sakura had expired yesterday and returned to their original bodies. Only Elysia's projection remained, hanging in the Xianzhou's sky.
Mobius and Vill-V had smoothly integrated the experiences from their projections. For example, Mobius could still observe the synthesis probability of Seeds of Life and instantly catalyze their growth. And thankfully, they hadn't caused any major trouble on the Xianzhou, which was a relief for Chen Li.
As for Sakura, after training with the Cloud Knights for a while, she seemed to have developed something incredible. It appeared she had combined the Paths of Preservation and the Hunt to obtain a rather miraculous ability: after successfully blocking an enemy's attack at a perfect moment, she could increase her Hunt value. Once the value was full, she could instantly make her blade appear in the enemy's heart, executing them.
To thank the Cloud Knights for sparring with her and helping her perfect this ability, Sakura simplified it into a technique she called a "parry" and taught it to them.
This was a good thing. There was no problem with this.
But because the current parry was only applicable to katanas, and the Cloud Knights had no such weapons in their inventory, the Artisanship Commission was now working overnight to rush-produce this type of weapon. And because they heard that combining the Paths of the Hunt and Preservation could lead to an even more advanced technique, some Cloud Knights were now contemplating how to get their hands on some power of Preservation.
All in all, Sakura, who Chen Li considered his most honest "child," had quietly pulled a fast one on him.
Mobius didn't turn the Arbor into a Seed of Life, and Vill-V didn't make the Xianzhou stand up, but Sakura, with her own power, had nearly paralyzed the entire Artisanship Commission and had even started a trend among some Cloud Knights of considering whether they should also believe in the Aeon of Preservation (the Fate-Mending Lord).
You could say that Sakura was poaching for Preservation from within the camp of the Hunt. Although, considering both the Hunt and Preservation were "Lords of Fate" (the Xianzhou's term for benevolent gods), the impact wasn't too terrible.
But it had certainly opened Chen Li's eyes.
After receiving a positive reply from Mobius, Chen Li put down his phone. He then saw Baiheng chatting with Big Herta, both with very serious expressions.
"What are you two talking about?" Chen Li asked as he walked over.
"We're discussing whether you have to pay the money back."
"What do you mean, whether… why are you still discussing this?" Chen Li almost lost his composure.
"If anyone else asked this question, I'd just think they were being ridiculous. But the problem is, this method is actually feasible for you. For example, if you forged a Curio that operates on logic," Big Herta said.
"…You think too highly of me."
Why would Chen Li forge a Curio for such a boring reason?
"I've got it!" Big Herta snapped her fingers.
"You have the answer?"
"No. Let's go ask Nous. Chen Li, how many more times can you use your Miracle Card?"
"Uh, over 30 times," Chen Li said. He had accumulated that many uses by dying for over 30 days inside the Aeon of Nihility.
"Then it's perfect to use one more time."
"Don't ask Nous such a boring question!" Chen Li retorted.
"Ruan Mei and Screwllum are here too. Let's go. I want to see what kind of answer Nous will give to such a boring question," Big Herta said with great interest.
The thought of Nous hearing this incredibly dull question, being rendered speechless, and yet being compelled to answer it made Big Herta want to laugh.
---o---
"What do you mean, you're discussing how to buy the Xianzhou with Nous? Is this Matrix of Prescience broken?" Looking at the result displayed by the Matrix, Fu Xuan was profoundly shaken.
Theoretically, the Matrix of Prescience could not be wrong. But the answer it gave was so outrageous that Fu Xuan began to doubt herself.
"Qingque, go check if there's a problem with one of the Matrix's three foundation arrays," Fu Xuan said, turning to Qingque who was standing beside her.
Since the Matrix couldn't be wrong, and she couldn't be wrong, then the Matrix must be broken!
"Huh? Inspect all three foundation arrays of the entire Matrix? That's… a huge amount of work."
"Chen Li ran away, and you are not without blame," Fu Xuan stated.
"Why?"
"When I first brought Chen Li to the Divination Commission, he was so well-behaved. But after just a few days, he dares to openly skip work and even challenge the authority of his superior… You must have been a bad influence!"
In fact, this was why Fu Xuan, the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission, only had Qingque by her side while using the Matrix. She already felt it was overkill to use the Matrix for a single employee; if she had other staff help, it would be too much of a waste of manpower and resources.
Did Qingque count as manpower and resources?
Fu Xuan thought that, for the most part, she did not. After all, if Qingque wasn't wasting her energy here, she would be wasting it somewhere else. It was better to have her use that energy on something more worthwhile.
"…" was Qingque's silent reply.
Does Chen Li need me to be a bad influence? He's plenty "bad" on his own! This is a ruthless man who can get a laugh out of the Aeon of Elation!
"As I thought, not a single Star Stone I got from Chen Li came for free," Qingque muttered as she trotted off towards the three foundation arrays of the Matrix of Prescience.
---o---