Silver Wolf: So you're that Curio Forger?
Dad: That's right. And you're the Punklorde hacker who tried to challenge me?
Silver Wolf: Screwllum told me in a message that you want to compete with me in a game to see who can grind harder?
Dad: Yes. What, are you scared?
Silver Wolf: Hilarious. Me, scared? I'm super brave, okay? Don't think you can challenge my profession with your amateur hobby just because you're a member of the Genius Society!
Dad: Then let's do it. This Friends Circle of mine has a built-in system that allows people from different worlds to play games together online. I'll share the link with you in a bit. Just download it to your terminal and you can play.
Silver Wolf: Pretty slick. This "Friends Circle" is your Curio? It's moderately impressive.
Dad: Let's get this straight first. Our competition is a best-of-three. Even if you lose the first round, don't get upset. There's still a second.
Silver Wolf: Overflowing with confidence, are we? Me, lose to you? You'd better book an appointment at the hospital first. I don't want to have to pay your medical bills across star systems when you pass out in the middle of the night.
Dad: You don't need to worry about that. By the way, my Friends Circle terminal can't be hacked, so you can forget about using tech to grind for you.
Silver Wolf: Me? Use tech? Impossible!
Dad: Then why did I just get a notification that my Friends Circle terminal is under a cyberattack?
Silver Wolf: Ahem, professional habit...
Dad: So, the wager. What are the stakes?
Silver Wolf: If I win, you will transfer those 500 credits you scammed from me back into my account, one credit at a time! And whenever you see me, you must address me respectfully as Lord Silver Wolf or Lord Wolf King. Which one you use will depend on my mood.
Dad: Deal. But if I win, you have to call me Dad, both online and offline. Unless I permit you not to.
Silver Wolf: ...
Dad: On top of that, let's set a compulsory contract. Whoever uses underhanded, external methods to win will be cursed: in every game in this universe, all their gacha pulls will hit hard pity, and all their dungeon runs will have zero drops. I imagine that's cruel enough for any gamer.
Silver Wolf: Done! But since it's a best-of-three, I get to decide the game for the second round, and you get the third. And the game has to be something that can actually be done. For example, you can't challenge me to a Curio forging competition.
Dad: No problem.
Lying in her cyberpunk-style room and chewing on bubble gum, Silver Wolf received a red packet from him. After tapping it, a golden coin materialized in her hand. The coin vanished after she repeated the terms of the punishment for cheating.
"This is the first time I've met someone online whose screen name exists solely to take advantage of others. The internet really has all kinds of people," Silver Wolf couldn't help but complain as she looked at the chat log after the coin disappeared.
She swung her long legs off the beanbag chair, stood up, and walked out of the room.
"Kafka, no need to call me for dinner tonight!"
---o---
"I hope Silver Wolf will be okay."
Inside the archives of the Divination Commission, Chen Li put his hands together in a prayer.
It was unlikely she would die from exhaustion, seeing as she had companions. But for the next day or two, Silver Wolf probably wouldn't be getting any sleep.
"Didn't you say your time was precious? Does playing games count as proper business?" Qingque, who had watched the entire exchange, asked with some confusion.
"Hmm? Who said I was the one competing against her?"
"Huh? Then who is?"
"Kaguya Houraisan."
"...You're even swindling an underage girl?" Qingque crossed her arms, her eyes filled with disdain as she looked at Chen Li.
"Is there a possibility that I'm also a minor?" Chen Li asked tentatively after a moment's pause.
"Oh, so you're not 200 years old?" Qingque nodded, the realization slowly dawning on her.
"No, I'm not even 18."
"HUH?!" Qingque was thoroughly shaken.
---o---
"Chen Li, Qingque, are you two at it again... Hmm? You're not slacking off?"
When the "Sky of the Divination Commission"—Fu Xuan—arrived at the archives, she was surprised to see Chen Li reading a book and Qingque not playing Celestial Jade.
"Oh, Lady Diviner, what brings you here?" Qingque wasn't playing cards. She was staring blankly into space, lost in thought, and only reacted instinctively when she saw Fu Xuan.
"I came to check on Chen Li's progress. How is the studying coming along?" Fu Xuan asked, turning to him.
"I've finished the beginner's tutorial and am now on the advanced course," Chen Li said, holding up the book in his hands.
While Chen Li held little hope that divination skills would be effective in other worlds, it never hurt to learn something new.
"That's good... Hmm, wait, let me see the cover of that book again. Postpartum Care for Dimensional Trotters?"
Even the worldly-wise Fu Xuan was stunned for a moment when she saw the title of the book Chen Li was reading. The Divination Commission's archives actually contained such a book?
"Lady Diviner, you might not believe this, but studying skills from other fields can effectively improve my progress in learning divination," Chen Li said.
The book was indeed a bit strange, but he couldn't be blamed. The Divination Commission's archives were all-encompassing. It would be a criminal waste not to take the opportunity to learn a few extra skills.
"Fine. I suppose I can believe that." Looking at Chen Li's sincere eyes and feeling the sincerity in his words, Fu Xuan reluctantly accepted his explanation. After all, he bore the blessing of Nous; it was normal for him to be a little strange.
"Speaking of which, Lady Diviner, you may not believe this, but you've broken the law, you know?"
"I... Qingque, what are you talking about?" Realizing the words had come from Qingque, Fu Xuan shot her an annoyed glare.
It's true, though, Qingque complained internally. Employing a minor under 18 is a serious crime on the Xianzhou.
She quickly morphed her expression into a playful grin and changed the subject. "Lady Fu Xuan, was there anything else you needed?"
"If you find any more Literary Fortune Carp, remember to call me," Fu Xuan said after a moment's hesitation, revealing the true purpose of her visit.
Before Chen Li or Qingque could react, she turned and left.
"I have a feeling our Lady Diviner is getting addicted to being the General," Qingque whispered to Chen Li.
"Sounds plausible. By the way, Qingque, do you acknowledge that the goddess of Pure Beauty, Idrila, is of peerless beauty?"
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Go on and play. Oh, wait. Qingque, would you be interested in witnessing firsthand how I forge a Curio?" Chen Li asked.
"Eh, really? Can I?" Qingque's interest was instantly piqued.
"Of course. As it happens, I just took on a new job," Chen Li nodded.
He had already contacted Medusa. Upon learning that Chen Li could craft a pair of glasses to suppress her petrification, she had gladly agreed to trade some local specialties from her world for his services. Being used as an ATM by the little evil god of her world meant Medusa had some savings. Although it was wages she had earned from working several jobs in the Demon Realm, Chen Li's Curio was absolutely worth the price.
On top of that, Medusa had quietly asked Chen Li a question that left him a little flustered.
"Excuse me, would it be possible to forge a Curio that can make an upper-class demon permanently useless and completely dependent on me?"
What could Chen Li do? He could only say: "I'll do my best to try."
The customer is God, after all. And one must do their best to satisfy God's requests.
This Medusa was a rare, easy-to-please client. Chen Li's other customers were, to put it mildly, a handful. Qingque, for instance, was a client he had sought out purely to find a guide in the Honkai: Star Rail world. The price was practically a giveaway; all she had to do was find a suitable Entry.
As for whether Medusa's new Curio would cause trouble for someone... there was no need to worry. If nothing unexpected happened, the target of this Curio would naturally be Jashin-chan. And Jashin-chan was already a useless freeloader who treated Medusa like an ATM.
Since she was already useless, there was no fear of her becoming even more useless.
In any case, the first step was to find a way to get to her world.
And if you were wondering why Chen Li didn't just give the infinite leek to Hatsune Miku to gain access to her world... it was because Medusa was closer to Jashin-chan.
---o---
"Will my very own Curio pop out of that furnace one day?"
Qingque watched Chen Li's back as he worked at the forge, the Flame of Miracle burning brightly. Her heart fluttered with excitement.
Once she had her own Curio, she would never have to worry about being caught slacking off by the Lady Diviner again.
At that thought, Qingque was fired up!
"Right, I must work hard to find an Entry related to slacking off!" she exclaimed, clenching her fists in self-motivation.
"Oh, no need for that." Chen Li suddenly spoke, interrupting her train of thought. "The [Slacking Off] Entry is indeed a bit tricky. Fortunately, I can extract Entries from stories. So now, as long as you slack off every day, and do it for long enough, I'll be able to extract the [Slacking Off] Entry directly from you."
This was, in fact, one of the reasons Chen Li came to check in at the Divination Commission's archives every day.
Even if Qingque could use the Friends Circle's "offline status" feature in the future to evade Fu Xuan's divination, the [Slacking Off] Entry might still prove useful. Lately, whenever he forged a Curio, the "Miracle" system had been giving him notes related to the "Source Text" for adding more functions to the Friends Circle.
Thanks to those five negative Curios, Chen Li had now learned more of this text.
If you were to ask when the Friends Circle would get an online status adjustment feature? Chen Li could only say...
It was already in a "New Folder."
As for the first system to be built for the Friends Circle? That would be the payment system, of course!
Without paying, how can you get stronger?
---o---