After obtaining the ability to create clones, Qingque adapted to her newfound busy lifestyle with surprising speed.
After all, her true self could slack off and head out to play tiles while the clones handled the heavy lifting.
As for the games that 'Qingque' kept stuffing into the Originium, Qingque had tried them out herself.
She found the competitive card games quite entertaining, though she didn't have much patience for the single-player stories about collecting pets to become a champion.
However, while the plots didn't grab her, she was genuinely taken with the little creatures themselves.
Qingque had scrolled past a video of a fan-fiction writer who had been granted a wish and asked for a real Pokémon.
Now, the author had abandoned writing entirely to post daily videos of the cute pet, and their popularity was through the roof.
She thought it was adorable and planned to get one for herself when it was her turn to make a wish.
It wasn't just Qingque, either; the newly hired designers felt the same.
Once they realized the characters and pets they meticulously designed had a chance to manifest in reality as their companions, the team became possessed.
They burst forth with two hundred percent enthusiasm, working as if they'd been injected with chicken blood.
It honestly gave Qingque quite a fright. She knew for a fact she could never summon that level of professional passion.
As for the games being hosted within the Originium—meaning no top-ups and no direct revenue—one might wonder how Celestial Sparrow Entertainment intended to turn a profit...
That was where the Interastral Peace Corporation came in.
The Strategic Investment Department had sent representatives to fold Celestial Sparrow Entertainment's accounts directly under their own banner.
According to the Head of the Strategic Investment Department, Qingque was free to spend the Corporation's credits however she liked. In fact, the more she spent, the better.
Such sheer, unadulterated wealth made it very difficult for Qingque to keep her cool.
Had her self-control not been legendary, she'd likely have submitted her resignation to the Divination Commission already to retire into a life of leisure at Celestial Sparrow.
Still, there was something undeniably nice about walking down the street and hearing people call her "CEO Qingque."
The only issue was back at the Divination Commission, where her colleagues had started calling her "Boss" to follow the trend. That was a bit awkward.
What's more, Qingque had expected Lady Fu Xuan to give her a lecture about neglecting her duties, given the massive stir she was causing.
To her surprise, Fu Xuan hadn't scolded her at all; she'd actually encouraged her to do a good job.
It made Qingque's instincts prickle.
She had the nagging sensation that she was being watched. But since nothing unusual had happened yet, she simply tossed the thought to the back of her mind during her happy tile-playing hours.
One day, Qingque followed her usual routine: sending a clone to slack off at the Divination Commission while her true self slacked off at Celestial Sparrow.
As she wandered aimlessly through the building, she found herself at the door of 'Qingque's' office.
Over the past few days, she'd realized that this deity who had barged into her life—bringing such drastic changes—was actually quite easy to get along with.
Combined with Qingque's natural social grace, the two had become fast friends.
Their bond might not have been deep just yet, but they certainly enjoyed each other's company.
Qingque cracked the door open and peeked inside. She found the other "her" playing cards—not Celestial Jade, but a different game they'd developed recently.
Honestly, seeing another version of herself standing there in the flesh was a surreal experience. Once the initial fear had faded, it felt more like having an older twin sister.
With more employees joining the company and the workload being distributed, a stray thought occurred to the now-idle Qingque.
Rumor had it that when the Arbiter of Myriad Distinctions took on someone's form, it wasn't always a perfect replica of their current self; sometimes, it was a version of them from a future timeline.
Even though 'Qingque' looked identical to her right now, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of person she might become in the future.
Inside the room, 'Qingque' noticed the head poking through the doorway. "What's up?"
"Nothing, just passing by. Then a question popped into my head." Qingque walked in, closed the door behind her, and pulled up a chair directly opposite 'Qingque'.
Seeing her sit down so deliberately, 'Qingque' shifted her attention away from Hearthstone and looked at her with curiosity. "What's the question? You look so serious."
"Well, I heard that when you turn into someone, Boss, there's a chance you take on a future form?"
"That does happen. Though it's not necessarily 'the' future, but rather a possibility—one that likely won't even happen."
Being a diviner, Qingque understood the concept.
She pointed at herself, her eyes practically overflowing with curiosity. "Then... what about me? Is the way you look now... is this the current me, or some version of me from a different possibility?"
'Qingque' let a mischievous smirk play on her lips. "Do you really want to know?"
Watching that expression, Qingque felt a sinking feeling that this wasn't going to be good news. But curiosity won out. She gave a cautious nod. "Is my future... something terrible?"
"No, not at all. In fact, you're quite successful."
"Phew... Boss, don't scare me like that. I thought the path ahead was all hidden daggers and gloom." Qingque let out a long sigh of relief.
She had celebrated too early. 'Qingque' pressed her lips together, trying to stifle a grin. Suddenly, a wheel-like apparatus resembling peacock plumage quietly unfurled behind her.
The Kālacakra Skyplume manifested right before Qingque's eyes. As Qingque stared at it in wonder, 'Qingque' spoke slowly.
"This is the Spiritus passed down through the Xianzhou Yuque: the Kālacakra Skyplume. And my current identity happens to be the General of the Yuque... General Qingque."
BOOM!
The words hit Qingque's ears like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Her ears had to be broken. She must have misheard something absolutely absurd.
"General of the Yuque, Qingque"? What kind of nonsense was that?
Haha... she definitely misheard. It was her ears, right?!
Qingque's silly smile froze, then slowly vanished, only to reappear on the face of 'Qingque'.
With a look of disbelief mixed with a faint sense of spiritual death, she stared at the smirking 'Qingque', searching for some slim hope of a "truth" that wasn't this.
Unfortunately, the truth is often cruel. Whether Qingque accepted it or not, it existed as an objective fact.
Qingque couldn't fathom what kind of trauma she would have to endure to jump from a lowly diviner of the Luofu to the General of the Yuque.
With her personality? Leading a Xianzhou ship? To her, it sounded like a fairy tale.
'Qingque' sat back, enjoying the "existential crisis" written all over the other woman's face. She wasn't in a hurry; she quietly continued her card game, giving Qingque time to process.
It wasn't until the match ended that Qingque managed to snap out of her shock. Then, an even more terrifying thought hit her.
"Boss! About this... 'General of the Yuque' thing... General Jing Yuan and the Master Diviner don't know about this, do they?!"
Qingque felt like her heart was going to leap out of her chest. If news that she might become a General reached the ears of people like Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan, she could already imagine her future.
She had only just adjusted to being "CEO Qingque."
If the high-ranking officials of the Xianzhou started grooming her with "expectations," then even with clones, she could kiss her life of slacking off and playing tiles goodbye.
Then, she saw the curve of 'Qingque's' smile, and her heart sank.
"They already know, don't they...?"
"Well, Jing Yuan has the Lightning-Lord, so he naturally senses the Spiritus' bestowed by the Reignbow Arbiter. Besides, when I took your form, I gave The Hunt a heads-up. Don't worry, even the Aeon of The Hunt knows your name now."
"..."
Qingque felt the sky collapsing. Her vision went dark, and she slumped into her chair, her neck tilting at a hopeless angle.
What had her life become lately? All she did was find an ancient manual on Celestial Jade in the archives, try to restore the game, and look for new ways to slack off.
How did that turn into becoming a CEO of a massive company and being scouted by the Luofu's top brass because she "might become a General"?
No wonder the Master Diviner had been looking at her strangely lately.
She hadn't thought much of it then, but now it was clear: that was the look of someone who had found a prime candidate for "intensive training"!
Was it too late to resign, leave her hometown, and fly to the other side of the galaxy?
Qingque looked at 'Qingque' with utter despair.
Boss, you've really done me in this time...
'Qingque' laughed, her grin widening at the sight of the girl's misery. "Look on the bright side—didn't I give you the ability to clone yourself?"
"But I still have to control the clones! It doesn't save any mental energy; if anything, it doubles the strain!" Qingque shook her head and sighed.
Sending one clone to work while her true self went to the parlor was fine; multitasking under 'Qingque's' blessing was smooth enough. But controlling three bodies was a stretch, and four? She'd collapse. Even if she could manage it, it was still her brain doing the work.
"There is a way to make clones that don't require your mental focus," 'Qingque' offered, "but there's a chance they'll become independent. You might end up in a power struggle with yourself over who the 'real' one is."
"...That's even scarier! I'd have to play 4D chess against myself?" Qingque shot that idea down immediately.
She had no desire to go to war with Qingque No. 2 and No. 3 in the future.
"Boss..." Qingque said, struck by a sudden, desperate thought. "Do you think I could lead Celestial Sparrow Entertainment on an expedition to the galactic market? Like, right now?"
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL