"Is this thing today's world-destroying monster? It looks pretty average."
Sirin curiously examined the snake coiled up on a plate on Chen Li's dining table.
Anyone who lived in Chen Li's house for a while knew that a random item with world-destroying potential would spawn in his bedroom every day.
Containing these items allowed Chen Li to obtain a large amount of Star Stones and Merit, which was equivalent to receiving a daily supply from a monthly pass every time he opened his eyes.
The best part was, this monthly pass was free.
The overly "free" Little Herta was also one of its products.
"This is no ordinary snake. This is a Greedy Snake with [Immortality] and [Devour] Entries!" Chen Li reminded her.
"Greedy Snake?"
"That's right. It has [Immortality], [Reincarnation], [Devour], and even [Growth] Entries. The quality of its base material is even better than what I used to forge the one-star Curio, [Gourmet Cells]... A pity it showed up a little too late," Chen Li sighed.
Melting down and reforging his [Gourmet Cells] was out of the question; he was quite satisfied with it.
"Is it the kind of Greedy Snake I'm imagining? The kind that can eat anything, grows bigger after eating, and as long as it doesn't touch its own body or tail, it will never die until it becomes a star-devouring behemoth that consumes the entire world?" Sirin's eyes lit up with interest.
"What version of Greedy Snake have you been playing? But in practice, it should be more or less the same."
"For something so dangerous, why don't you just toss it into the forge and melt it down?" Sirin wasn't afraid, because she knew that if Chen Li dared to bring this snake out, he had his reasons.
"What do you think?" Chen Li turned to look at Little Herta.
"I guess... the fact that you didn't destroy this snake immediately means it has a use. For example, you could sign a contract with this snake, making it your avatar. Then you become the player, controlling the Greedy Snake to devour items! And after it devours things, you'd get attribute points back in return!" Little Herta's eyes sparkled.
Chen Li looked at Little Herta, then back at the Greedy Snake.
After touching the snake again and not seeing any potential [Avatar] Entry appear, he gave Little Herta a disappointed look.
Child, I'm so disappointed in you.
"Your 'opportunity' ability isn't all that great, is it? Not even a fraction as good as Haruhi Suzumiya's." Chen Li shook his head in regret.
He'd actually had the same thought as Little Herta. Since they were both from the "world-destroying starter pack," he wondered if her Machine Spirit ability could "twist" the Greedy Snake's abilities, which is why he had tried to lead her on.
After all, Little Herta's activation ability had been enhanced with crystals.
However, the facts once again proved Big Herta's research correct. Although Little Herta's Machine Spirit ability could bend reality to her will, it was more focused on changing and increasing her own skill ceiling.
If Little Herta said she could eat, she could eat. If Little Herta said she could get pregnant, she could get pregnant. But Little Herta saying this Greedy Snake could become an avatar was clearly not happening.
Unless Little Herta ate the snake raw.
"Huh? Eat it raw? No way! It looks disgusting." Hearing Chen Li's suggestion, Little Herta shook her head repeatedly.
The Machine Spirit is already on the path to invincibility. Why would I need to borrow the bones of some snake?
She wasn't like Haruhi Suzumiya, a wish-granter who was unaware of her own potential and couldn't be made aware of it. Little Herta could already use her Machine Spirit ability to instantly push one of her stats to a certain limit.
She was very satisfied with this ability.
Just as Chen Li said, the height of a fountain cannot exceed its source, and the power of a Machine Spirit puppet cannot exceed its belief!
Little Herta felt she just needed to focus on her own abilities.
"Then what are we going to do with this Greedy Snake? Do you need me to sever it with Myriad Phenomena Severance?" Sirin asked eagerly.
"No need. I'll toss this snake to Mobius. I think it would be better for her to use this snake's genes for her MANTIS transformation than the Honkai Beast Shesha's. Even though they're not from the same universe, I believe Mobius can do it," Chen Li said.
He was confident Mobius could find a proper way to devolve the Greedy Snake into a life seed and then use it on herself.
Giving it to Haruhi Suzumiya and letting her unleash the superiority of this world-destroying monster was out of the question.
Chen Li didn't doubt whether Haruhi could make the snake gain an avatar ability in her world. He only doubted whether she would let her imagination run wild and start thinking about things like avatars betraying their original bodies, causing the Greedy Snake to go out of control.
That's what happens when you read too many novels; you develop a strong aversion and anxiety towards abilities like creating avatars.
"Will that work? Aren't you afraid Mobius will cook up something crazy with this Greedy Snake?"
"It's not a big problem. Mobius has a Curio that can restrain this snake," Chen Li said.
In truth, the biggest problem with the world-destroying seeds that spawned in his room every day was that they couldn't be easily destroyed. Take this Greedy Snake, for example. Before it had a chance to grow, even someone like Chen Li, who wasn't skilled in sealing arts, could seal it. But a seal would break one day.
As long as you couldn't break the Greedy Snake's "invincible" immortality, it would destroy the world sooner or later.
Because a regenerating Greedy Snake had infinite chances to try again, while the "world" only had one.
But all Mobius had to do was make one cut on the snake with her scalpel. Until she finished the surgery, the snake would forever remain in a state of being operated on, unable to grow.
"So that's how you solve it?" Sirin was deeply impressed.
"That's how functional Curios work. They may not have extreme stats, but they have extreme mechanics."
"Then what does that make Myriad Phenomena Severance?" Sirin asked.
"A dummy-proof game console," Chen Li stated bluntly.
If Mobius was playing the game of "life" with her scalpel on 'realistic' difficulty, then the wielder of Myriad Phenomena Severance was playing on 'story' difficulty.
As long as you didn't use it to snip yourself, you'd clear the game eventually.
---o---
"Ahem, speaking of which, why hasn't Kaguya come down? Should I go call her for breakfast?"
"Let's not. Kaguya ran away to my place precisely because she didn't want to wake up early. If she still has to be woken up every morning after coming here, she might as well go back to Eientei," Chen Li said.
Because Kaguya had moved out of the room directly above him, she miraculously hadn't been woken up by something crashing through the ceiling this morning.
"Chen Li, when are you going to forge a Curio for me?" Little Herta asked, raising her hand.
"Forge a Curio for you?"
"I'll pay the corresponding price."
"No, it's not a matter of payment. It's... what do you need a Curio for? Or rather, what type of Curio do you want?" Ever since he saw Mobius work wonders with a novice-level Curio, Chen Li had become stricter in his selection of who he gave Curios to.
"I think I might need a Curio that can transform me into a magical girl," Little Herta said.
"Huh? Aren't you supposed to be ensuring your own uniqueness? Why are you copying Big Herta?"
"No, no, no, I'm not like that magical old lady, Big Herta. The magical girl I want to be is an Imaginary magical girl. I want you to forge a Curio using the [Imaginary] and [Magical Girl] Entries."
"..."
"I was thinking, since Aeons are beings that have mastered a portion of Imaginary energy, if I obtain some Imaginary energy from the Imaginary Tree, could I directly become the Herta Aeon! I figure I can do it," Little Herta said.
Chen Li glanced at Little Herta, then at the commission that had just been generated.
[The Imaginary Witch]: Forge a magical girl transformation device for Little Herta that will allow her to become a representative of the Imaginary Tree.
Publisher: Little Herta
Reward: 30 ~ 150 Crystals.
Risk: Low ~ Extremely High.
"There, there. That's a dangerous toy. Let's not play with it, okay?" Chen Li coaxed.
This commission had the largest gap between the minimum and maximum crystal reward that he had ever seen.
If the Curio he forged could earn the top-tier reward... then Chen Li was convinced it wouldn't just let Little Herta hold the sun and moon and pluck the stars from the sky; it would let her hold the sun and moon and pluck the Aeons from the sky.
Actually, Chen Li had considered such a plan before but had rejected it.
The cost was too high.
And it was only applicable in worlds that had an Imaginary Tree.
High cost, narrow scope of application—it wasn't a suitable commission.
"Seeing your expression reassures me. It means my idea is indeed feasible." Far from being disappointed by Chen Li's tactful refusal, Little Herta became even more excited.
"What are you planning?"
"Chen Li, next time you eat an Aeon, could you scrape a piece of its divine body out of your mouth and give it to me? I was thinking, if I collect a part of every Aeon in this world, could I generate a mini Honkai: Star Rail universe inside my body, connect it to the Imaginary Tree, and trick it into misjudging me as an Imaginary world, thus supplying me with Imaginary energy?" Little Herta explained her idea.
Little Herta figured that the most representative feature of the Honkai: Star Rail world was the Aeons. You could call it a world of Aeons.
So, if she took a part from each Aeon and placed it within herself, could she form a small world of Aeons?
It was like taking a small sample from every part of a pond and putting it into an aquarium to create a simple, miniature pond.
As long as she could get the basic infrastructure down, the permit could be dealt with slowly.
Of course, she knew that the Aeons weren't the entirety of the Honkai: Star Rail world, but wasn't she trying her best to hypnotize herself?
Machine Spirit, show me your limits!
"...You really dare to dream big. But some of the Aeons have already fallen."
Chen Li found that the thought processes of these geniuses were all remarkably clear. They always liked to exploit the world's bugs, and yet, because of the conditions they themselves possessed, their actions were logically sound.
"Then let them win the Revival Games. Or there's another way: can't you just become an All-Paths Walker? The Aeons are dead, but their Paths remain. When they cast their gaze upon you, can't you just eat the gaze? Or just go hug the Path itself and take a bite."
"And then spit it into your mouth?"
"Ugh, that sounds disgusting. But if it's for the sake of godhood... I suppose it's not entirely unacceptable." Little Herta put on a reluctant expression.
"The All-Paths achievement... is a bit difficult. I'll do my best."
That was easy to say, but some Paths were very strange.
Like Propagation...
"Thank you, Big Brother Chen Li," Little Herta said, forcing a high-pitched voice.
"Eek!" Sirin, standing nearby, shivered.
Forcing a cutesy voice gets you nowhere!
"If Big Brother Chen Li can't forge a magical girl Curio right now, could you forge a hypnosis Curio instead?" Little Herta pressed her advantage.
"A hypnosis Curio... sounds a little improper, but I'll ask anyway. What do you want it for?"
"To hypnotize myself."
"You're going to hypnotize Big Herta?"
"No, just myself. Since you said the power of a Machine Spirit puppet cannot exceed its belief, can't I just use a hypnosis tool to strengthen my belief?" Little Herta said.
"..."
If Huo Linfei had the Curio you want, forget seven days, he probably could've made Xue Huang put her hair up in three!
"Ask Big Herta for the payment. She'll reimburse you. I've already spoken with her," Little Herta said.
"Fine. But I'm warning you in advance, don't misuse this Curio, or I'll hang you up in the Herta Space Station and whip you for three days and three nights!"
"Understood. I'm not stupid."
"One more thing. The negative effects of any Curio held by others are unlikely to work on a Curio Forger."
"Why are you telling me? I'm really not going to hypnotize you. You should be telling her." Little Herta looked innocent, then glanced at Sirin.
"Wh-what does it have to do with me?! I-I would never use hypnosis or anything like that!" Sirin flew into a rage at Little Herta's accusation.
"See? She's getting flustered." Little Herta made a fist and pointed her thumb at Sirin.
"Little Herta!"
"Hey, play nice, don't pull out the Myriad Phenomena Severance! Good luck, Chen Li. Try your best to complete the All-Paths collection. If you get stuck anywhere, come find me, and I'll help you! That includes the Path of Propagation, you know~~"
"Little Herta, I'm going to kill you!" Sirin became even more furious.
"Heh, help me? You should worry about saving your own skin first."
However, Chen Li was quite interested in the payment Little Herta mentioned.
I can get it directly from Big Herta, right?
[Dad]: Big Herta, let's discuss something. Little Herta said I should help her forge a hypnosis Curio and that I can ask you for the payment directly.
[Peerless and Perfect Herta]: That's right. For someone with the power of a Machine Spirit, a hypnosis Curio can help her become stronger more effectively.
For example, using it to hypnotize Little Herta into building a curvature engine in three minutes might actually work. Big Herta was also very keen to see the limits of the Machine Spirit.
[Dad]: I don't need payment. Your current Curio collection is just my leftovers anyway.
[Peerless and Perfect Herta]: What's that supposed to mean? You've only picked through the Curios in the Herta Space Station. How do you know I don't have collections elsewhere? Just wait until the Astral Express brings me back something good. I'll definitely rub it in your face!
[Dad]: Right, right. So... I need you to do me a favor.
---o---