Getting a new Curio and a new Miracle Card should have been a happy occasion, but Chen Li's mood was incredibly complicated.
Floating beside him was the Miracle Card that had appeared after he incinerated the Devourer.
[Kicking the North Sea Kindergarten]: You have broken the rule that a being cannot be eliminated in its embryonic stage, proving your code has higher priority than its!
Effect 1: When you kick a creature younger than your current age, you will inflict massive true damage and apply a "Fear" effect.
Effect 2: Can be used to forge a Curio.
Seriously, who are you trying to insult?
This was also the first time Chen Li had ever seen a Miracle Card with only two effects listed.
Furthermore, this card only granted him 15 crystals.
If he had the choice, this would probably be the first Miracle Card he'd forge into a Curio!
Because everyone around him was an "old hag" who was much, much older than him.
However, after killing the Devourer embryo, Chen Li had suddenly received 800 Star Jades.
And the ball of "light" sitting on the anvil made Chen Li feel even more conflicted.
[Gourmet Cells of Unconventional Taste] (One-Star): I reckon this thing is edible...
Unconventional: You can rapidly improve your physical attributes by tasting unconventional delicacies and gain resistance to said delicacy. Each type of food can only provide a one-time evolution, which is not dependent on the quantity consumed. However, increasing the consumption of the delicacy can grant greater resistance to it.
Delicious: You can discern the latent deliciousness in any food and make yourself become "delicious."
Digestion: You can eat anything and digest it rapidly. You will never feel full.
PS: Appraising popular internet foods. Hey, this thing looks edible...
(Miracle: Miracle Mini-Lesson is now in session. Today's lesson is on [Wealth], [Leader], [Gift], [Self], [Fifty], [Watch], and [Strength]. In human terms: "Rich bro, V-me 50, show me what you got." The applications of the source language are quite miraculous, aren't they?)
That's right, this was a one-star Curio. Chen Li's first one-star Curio, which cost him 101 crystals to forge.
Excluding Pale Justice.
Chen Li had discovered that humanity had its limits, but since he had no desire to stop being human, he decided to find a Curio to help him break through those limits.
The appearance of the [Allocation] ability had left him in desperate need of attribute points, which was why he had invested so much into this Curio.
Crystals sitting in his hand couldn't lay little baby crystals. As long as he kept 50 on hand for emergencies and forging new Curios, it was enough.
And as for this Curio, Chen Li naturally gave it a rave review!
He didn't know what made it strong, but he'd give it a good review first and ask questions later.
Thanks to the [Good Review Cashback], this forging session granted him additional experience equal to half the crystals spent.
A total of 151 EXP was gained.
Curio Forger: Lv3 (89/300)
His fame had also increased by 25 points for completing the commission from his brother-in-law, Sunday, to forge a Curio for Robin.
Fame: Lv2 (1/200)
At the same time, with his seventh Miracle Check-in, all tasks for Novice Quest 4 were completed.
New professional skill [Extraction], get!
From now on, Chen Li could extract Entries from "stories."
Crystal Balance: 149
"Alright, problem solved, world crisis averted. And I've leveled up," Chen Li said with satisfaction, tossing a Merit Coin in his hand.
The Devourer was indeed a world-ending possibility, but only one among many.
In this world teeming with monsters and demons, a mere "potential world-destroyer" was, at best, only qualified to "sit at the table."
It was a long way from the "head seat."
But resolving this crisis still granted him Merit—a whole 30,000 points' worth.
"Tsk, this Devourer is such a scrub," Chen Li said disdainfully.
Clearing out 80% of the ghosts in Miko's world had given him over 100,000 Merit points.
Either this Devourer hadn't matured yet, or it was destined for misfortune even without his intervention, so the payout wasn't that high.
"Alright now, you're starting to sound like a smug brat," Li Changxi said, pressing down on Chen Li's head after he finished forging.
Smug brats were born to be put in their place.
"I know, I know. By the way... Mom, do you think this world has a consciousness?"
"Unclear, but it definitely operates on a set of logical principles," Li Changxi said, shaking her head.
After all, they accepted world quests and received rewards through their personal panels.
"Then do you think this world is using me as a trash can? Just tossing any difficult problem it encounters my way for me to handle?" Chen Li asked, looking up at the ceiling.
"That's not impossible," Chen Shi did not deny the possibility.
"Forget it. It's not a total loss. After binding this Curio, I'm suddenly a little hungry. Guess I'll figure out some breakfast... or dinner." Chen Li, who had slept through the entire day, clutched his stomach.
"Alright, I'll cook today," Li Changxi announced happily.
"...You guys go ahead and eat. I suddenly feel like I have something else to do," Chen Li said, his face filled with dread.
"Don't be like that. It's not often your old mother cooks personally. If you don't eat, what will you eat? Aren't you hungry?" Li Changxi said, displeased.
"I'll eat this..." Chen Li pointed at the Devourer embryo.
"That thing is edible?"
"I reckon it should be..." Chen Li said, stroking his chin.
---o---
CRUNCH!
"Eat up, why aren't you guys eating?" Chen Li asked, looking puzzledly at the people around the dinner table as he gnawed on the meteorite in his hands.
He now understood why this Curio had been designated as a one-star item.
"How does it taste?" Kaguya Houraisan asked curiously.
"Not bad. I feel like my attribute points have shot up after eating this. And it's surprisingly tasty, kind of like chicken, and it's got a great crunch. Want to try?" Chen Li offered, holding the meteorite out.
"No thanks, I've already broken a tooth once," Kaguya said, shaking her head vigorously.
When it came to seeking death and being curious, Kaguya was in no way inferior to Chen Li.
So when Chen Li broke off a piece of the meteorite and handed it to her, she had bitten down on it without hesitation.
And then her tooth was gone.
Only then did Chen Li discover that when he considered an item "food" and intended to eat it, he could easily break it apart, and no matter how hard it was, it wouldn't hurt his mouth.
This Curio was truly miraculous.
"How is that thing so hard? After you extracted its source Entries, shouldn't it have crumbled to dust?" Kaguya complained.
"It has a [Hardness] Entry. It also had a [Toxicity] Entry. I extracted most of its Entries but left a few behind."
Chen Li had originally left those two Entries to forge a weapon, but he never expected to end up eating it himself.
"Was that on purpose or an accident?" Kaguya asked, looking at him suspiciously.
"On purpose," Chen Li said, puffing out his chest.
"Don't say that with so much pride, you bastard!" Kaguya picked up a spoon and threw it at him.
Chen Li caught the spoon, hesitated for a second, then tentatively put it in his mouth and bit down with a crunch.
"Wait, you can eat that too? Is your mouth a blender?" Kaguya was starting to lose it.
"It's alright. Tastes pretty good, actually," Chen Li said after a moment's thought.
"Why don't you just eat the table too?"
"I could. But... I don't really have the appetite for it. Besides, what would we use for a table then?" Chen Li shrugged.
"Don't worry, I have the Power of Eternity." Kaguya placed her hand on the table, used her power, and looked at Chen Li expectantly.
Eat. Go on, eat it.
"Kaguya, you're a genius! I suddenly feel like we're a match made in heaven," Chen Li said, a spark of inspiration in his eyes.
"..." Kaguya stared at Chen Li, astonished.
What are you trying to say, kid? Are you confessing to me right now?
"If I find a rare food, you can use your power to sustain it. That way, I can infinitely stack my resistance to that item! If that's not a match made in heaven, what is?" Chen Li's eyes lit up.
The first bite of an item determined how much stronger he would get.
But the more he ate of it, the higher his resistance to it would become, and that could be stacked infinitely.
"Go spend the rest of your life with your rare food, you bastard!" Kaguya threw her plate at Chen Li as well, then stood up and walked away.
This dinner was completely ruined.
She was full of anger.
"Women's hearts are like a needle at the bottom of the sea," Chen Li said, shaking his head. Then he took a bite out of the plate.
"...Do you think our Li did that on purpose or by accident?" Chen Shi turned and asked his wife.
"I feel like it was on purpose," Li Changxi whispered.
---o---
"Alright, I'm off to continue my adventures," Chen Li said, bidding farewell to his parents after finishing dinner.
"Go on, go on. When a son grows up, he can't be kept at home..."
"..." Chen Li rolled his eyes at his mother. Then, holding a long needle, he stepped into the reception portal.
"Li-bao, long time no see." The moment he arrived, someone started pinching his cheeks.
"Honestly, where on earth did you learn that nickname?" Chen Li grumbled, looking at Elysia.
"From the group chat, of course. That Kaguya Houraisan is very interesting," Elysia said, showing Chen Li a virtual screen.
Elysia had also joined Chen Li's Friends Circle.
Since there was only one Curio group chat for now, she had joined it.
Chen Li planned to create a dedicated Flame-Chasers group chat once he had more "Friends" from that organization.
It would make communication much more convenient.
"Speaking of which, Kaguya is calling you a bastard right now. What did you do to tick her off?" Elysia asked, a little curious.
To make a shut-in that angry, you must be pretty skilled.
The last time Kaguya had been this angry was when Elysia invited her to play a game Chen Li had released in this world called Sanguosha.
"Emmm..." Chen Li stroked his chin, not knowing what to say.
Does toying with a girl's feelings count?
Well, she's not a girl, so it's fine.
"Let's not talk about that. Have you prepared the Honkai Beasts I asked for?" Chen Li chose to change the subject.
"They're ready. What are you going to do?"
"Eat them. Have you ever tried barbecued Honkai Beast?" Chen Li asked, raising the long needle in his hand.
The needle was over a meter long, looking very much like a barbecue skewer.
But it was, in fact, the pain-inflicting needle he had forged.
Because it was made of Soul Steel, it had the ability to stretch at will.
Chen Li had unbound the needle from his father and given him the Time Anchor in exchange.
"Barbecued... Honkai Beast?" Elysia's eyes widened.
Are you serious?
"It's a new Curio I got. I can eat anything, and I gain resistance to whatever 'delicacy' I eat. So I was thinking, if I eat enough Honkai Beasts, does that mean my resistance to them will be maxed out? And how would maxed-out Honkai Beast resistance manifest? Would they be unable to hurt me, or something else?" Chen Li fired off a series of questions, as if trying to get them all out at once.
Even for a Curio he had forged himself, Chen Li still had many questions about its use.
He could use [Then I Ask You] to ask the Curio directly, but the skill was still on cooldown.
In any case, the plan was to eat first and ask questions later.
"Alright... but can you really eat anything?" Elysia asked.
"Theoretically, yes. As long as I consider it edible, I can eat it."
"Which means, conversely, you can't eat things you don't think are edible, right? In that case... what about me?" Elysia winked, pointing to herself.
"???"
Are you serious?
"Just kidding. Don't be so serious. Come on, I'll take you to the Honkai Beasts," Elysia said, patting Chen Li on the shoulder.
"But it's not entirely out of the question... How about you give me a strand of your hair?" Chen Li asked, a thought suddenly occurring to him as he looked at Elysia's back.
As a Herrscher, if he tasted Elysia's hair, would he gain resistance to Herrschers?
That would be incredibly important in the Honkai world.
"You're serious? But my hair is very precious. I can only give you one strand, okay?" Seeing that Chen Li was genuinely curious, Elysia didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm. In her eyes, being curious about the world was an excellent quality.
Elysia painfully plucked a single strand of her hair and handed it to Chen Li.
With a spirit of scientific inquiry, Chen Li placed the strand of Elysia's hair into his mouth.
"The texture is a bit like noodles."
"It must be dragon beard noodles, because dragon beard noodles are delicious," Elysia said with conviction.
"No, it's like Luosifen."
"???"
"It's delicious. Eli, thank you for the treat. Your hair, just like you, is so perfect that one can't find a single flaw."
"Kaguya was right. Sometimes you're really asking for a beating, but other times, you make it so hard for anyone to actually hit you," Elysia sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead.