Thanks to 'Qingque' dragging Jing Yuan into a game, things moved fast.
The dedicated tables and Celestial Jade tiles hadn't even been mass-produced by the Artisanship Commission yet, but the game—already a potential sensation—spread across the Xianzhou Luofu like wildfire.
Qingque happened to have a few prototype tables and sets from the Commission on hand, so she high-tailed it to some local parlors she knew, deciding to launch a pilot run in Exalting Sanctum.
As for the other 'Qingque'?
Naturally, she began porting Celestial Jade into the Originium System, allowing any logged-in player to enjoy the game online.
However, she didn't just do a straight copy-paste; she kept the offline experience in mind.
By using Originium to enter a gaming state, players could choose between a purely digital, touch-free match or sit at a physical table linked to the system, using real tiles to compete with others remotely.
If you're wondering about the technical hurdles or long-distance latency—don't.
The answer is simply the power of Elation.
By tapping into the Path of Elation itself, she constructed a connection spanning the entire cosmos—a stable online environment with virtually zero lag or interference.
For an Aeon, such a feat is as simple as breathing, yet no Aeon had ever bothered to tinker with such a thing just to distribute a gaming network to the universe.
Beyond Celestial Jade, 'Qingque' integrated a leaderboard system she'd been preparing.
The primary ranking was based on the decryption progress of the Equation of Elation.
So far, however, the name Bai Ming sat lonely at the very top, with only a few geniuses like Herta managing to even crawl onto the list.
The rest were just standard leaderboards for Celestial Jade and an achievement system.
As for rewards, they ranged from basic Credit points to "small wishes"—certainly enough to tempt the average person.
On the flip side, 'Qingque' had designed this with a hidden intent.
Every time someone used Originium to play Celestial Jade or any other game, the backend logic was powered by the internal mechanics of the Equation of Elation.
In other words, to a commoner, this was just a game launched by an Aeon. But to a researcher, every single match was a live demonstration of the Equation.
It provided a tangible, visible glimmer of hope for those who refused to give up on the secrets of Originium.
It was a carrot dangled out front, luring people forward to provide 'Qingque' with a steady stream of emotional value.
Even if these researchers couldn't figure out a thing, they still had a shot: play the game, grind the achievements, and trade the rewards for a Wish.
Every player could wish to learn the secrets of the Equation of Elation, and 'Qingque' would grant them a small introductory tutorial on its decryption.
If they could learn it, they would naturally master a tiny fragment of the Equation's power.
It was a perfectly viable path.
The only question was whether people, once they realized a Wish could grant anything, would still choose something as tedious as an Equation over a direct Blessing from the Path of Elation.
A direct Blessing was an option, of course. But the Path of Elation has always been a bit... erratic.
If one ventured too far down that road, they would eventually sink into a hollow, nihilistic joy, inviting their own self-destruction. But well, that wasn't her problem.
Aside from Celestial Jade, the fan-fiction site previously cooked up by Simulated Aha was also given its own achievement system.
Unlike the new card game, the site had been running for a while. The moment the update went live, several users hit their milestones instantly and earned their first Wish.
Though, for the moment, it seemed no one had actually made a request yet.
Originium had received another major update.
Naturally, it drew massive attention. Between the new leaderboards, the achievement system, and the sudden appearance of Celestial Jade, the discussions were deafening.
Initially, everyone assumed it was just a gaming platform built by an Aeon for a laugh—until a creator started a livestream.
The content? He was going to use his earned Wish.
The power of Elation easily projected what the creator saw directly into the receiving devices of his audience, allowing him to share the experience with the entire universe.
Millions flocked to the stream to witness the moment a mortal made a request to a god.
This creator happened to have a thing for "mecha-girls."
When he shamelessly wished for a shuttle that was "sleek, flashy, and cool enough to transform into a beautiful mechanical girl," the chat exploded with ridicule.
Everyone thought the Wish was just a gimmick.
But then, a booming laugh echoed through the stream.
The Originium in front of the creator began to vibrate, hovering in mid-air. The mask belonging to 'Qingque' squeezed out from the stone.
It materialized out of thin air, then took a sharp breath and blew toward the window.
A torrent of Imaginary Energy surged from all directions, and right there in the sky, it constructed a shuttle that was sleek, flashy, and capable of transforming into a mecha-girl.
The ship was over three hundred meters long. When it transformed in front of the wisher, the resulting mecha-girl stood a staggering four hundred meters tall!
The design philosophy was simple: big is good, and bigger is better.
The guy who made the wish was shell-shocked.
He wanted a life-sized mecha-girl to hang out with, not a four-hundred-meter super-titan! How was he supposed to get close to her when she was that huge?
He dared to question the appearing Aeon.
But the Aeon's laughter rang across the galaxy through the livestream:
"Hahaha! Your wish didn't specify the scale! But I look forward to your next one."
With that, the mask dissolved into particles of light and flowed back into the Originium.
The stone fell to the floor, leaving the four-hundred-meter mecha-girl and her tiny master staring at each other in stunned silence.
The scene on-site was dead quiet, but the livestream chat went absolutely nuclear.
Wishes actually come true!
As the realization hit the denizens of the universe, the emotional value bar on 'Qingque's' panel returned to its state of frenzied growth.
As the footage of the stream began to spread, she was in for another massive harvest.
--+--
In Herta Space Station...
Madam Herta finished watching the clip of the livestream. A look of confusion crossed her face.
"What is she playing at now? This is a bit much, even for her..."
Herta glanced at the panel in front of her. She also had a Wish available, but she'd assumed 'Qingque' was just joking.
It turned out the wishes were real. But what was the goal? Just to be an attention seeker?
Thinking this, Herta decided to use her Wish to satisfy her curiosity.
When the program 'Qingque' had set up responded and appeared before Herta, the real 'Qingque' manually took control of the avatar.
She looked at Madam Herta, who was sitting there sipping tea, with an exasperated expression.
"...What?"
"Making a wish. What else would I be doing?" Herta looked up, giving the mask formed by the Originium a half-smile. "So, come on. Satisfy my curiosity. Tell me, what's the point of all this?"
"Are you serious? You went through all this trouble for that? You couldn't just call me?!"
'Qingque' couldn't believe it. If this woman wanted to ask, she could have used her phone. Why go through this whole song and dance? She's losing it...
"On a phone, I wouldn't know if you were lying. Besides, I wanted to see what this 'wishing' actually felt like."
Herta had dabbled in the Equation of Elation. She was sharp enough to notice that everything related to Originium relied on the Equation to function.
While it wasn't as clear as the time the power had directly descended upon her, it was still infinitely easier than trying to research it from scratch.
'Qingque' saw the look in Herta's eyes and knew the secret was out. She let out a mischievous chuckle.
"You noticed? The entry barrier before was too high, so I lowered it. Now, even if you aren't a genius, you can wish for the power of Elation or a tutorial on the Equation."
"...And why? Just because it's 'fun'?" Herta studied the mask curiously. She'd wondered about this for a long time but hadn't asked. Today seemed like the right time.
"To spark Elation in the hearts of all living beings in the cosmos, obviously. Why else? From now on, this is my exclusive gaming platform."
Since her goal was to collect emotional value, saying she was "sparking Elation" wasn't technically a lie.
Herta, however, still couldn't wrap her head around it. Did this have any meaning?
"Does something like this have any meaning for an Aeon? I don't recall Aha ever doing something like this."
"As long as it has meaning to me, that's enough."
"...Fine." Herta opened her mouth to argue but decided not to push. She wasn't one to nag once she had the gist of things.
"Any other questions? If not, I'm heading back."
"Actually, yes. Stay and play a few rounds of cards with me. I've already called Screwllum and Divine Herta. Ruan Mei said she's busy today."
"???"
Two physical question marks popped out of the mask—a very human-like expression of confusion. Herta set her teacup down with a click and said nonchalantly:
"What? This is the game you designed, isn't it? Is it so strange that I want to try it out? I've already had the table prepared."
"...Fair enough."
What could 'Qingque' say to that? It was just a game of cards. Might as well.
With that, the mask on the Originium dissipated, and 'Qingque's' consciousness returned to the Luofu.
While she was playing cards online with Herta, the real Qingque finally started to realize something was off. She patted the Originium in her pocket, her expression becoming very grave.
"Isn't she supposed to be a Heliobus? Fine, she knows the General, but how did she manage to market Celestial Jade into this thing? And under the name 'Celestial Sparrow Entertainment' no less?"
"Something is wrong. Something is very wrong."
Qingque was now seriously beginning to suspect that she was being set up.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL