---o---
"...Next time you use my account to spread a meme, could you please notify me in advance?"
When Screwllum reconnected the video call with Chen Li, his voice was filled with helplessness.
"There's a next time?" Chen Li's eyes lit up.
"..." Screwllum suddenly felt that "thinking thrice before speaking" was a very good habit to have.
"Thank you very much. In any case, I've got the Entry I wanted, and I've already pinned the blame on the Stellaron Hunters. They've done so many bad things anyway, a few more wanted posters won't hurt. Speaking of which, what bad things have the Stellaron Hunters actually done?" Chen Li suddenly asked Screwllum, a little confused.
Could it be the collateral damage caused while they were chasing after Stellarons?
Thinking about it, both the Stellaron Hunters and the Astral Express crew seemed to have the technology to seal Stellarons. And none of them had jobs; they were all unemployed vagrants. No wonder neither group was impressed by Sunday's seven-day work week.
The reason was found.
If you want someone to agree with a seven-day work week, you first have to find them a job.
"Query: What Entry required such a large-scale operation?" Screwllum was very curious about this.
"I was originally trying to get a [Mother] Entry from this incident because I want to forge a Curio that can produce snacks with the taste of a mother's cooking. But it seems a small accident occurred," Chen Li explained.
Thinking of this, he glanced at his new [Call Me Mom] Entry, which wasn't particularly bright but was certainly absurd.
Because he had deleted the post as soon as the progress bar filled, he hadn't consumed much Miracle Power, and likewise, the brightness of the resulting Entry wasn't very high.
Considering that he himself didn't care about his reputation but Screwllum did, Chen Li had held back from completely ruining Screwllum's account, stopping just short. Besides, Chen Li discovered that using Screwllum's account to send this kind of memetic message had diminishing returns on Starstones. This time, he had only gained 400.
Aside from intentionally shortening the duration, Chen Li suspected it might also be a matter of public credibility. The first time is new, the second time is familiar. People might have gotten used to Screwllum's account being "hacked."
So next time, Chen Li planned to use a different Genius Society member's account to give everyone a surprise!
"Inquiry: Such a Curio... if possible, after it is forged, may I have a taste of the snacks?" Screwllum asked.
"...I'll see if I can make motor oil come out of the tablecloth. Probably," Chen Li said. To be honest, he was a little unsure.
However, Screwllum's words did remind him that perhaps he shouldn't ignore the issue of race. After all, every species has a mother.
"Reminder: I only require energy. The source of this energy is no different from yours. I would not sacrifice the pleasure of eating for the sake of efficiency. Of course, a little lubrication might be necessary. So... thank you for the motor oil," Screwllum said.
"I see... But Screwllum, why are you interested in this Curio?"
"Contemplation: I am curious what the 'taste of a mother' feels like for an inorganic lifeform," Screwllum replied.
"Alright, no problem. Speaking of which, Herta finally logged into the Friends Circle terminal this morning. I'll create a Genius Society group chat for you all," Chen Li said.
"Thank you for the trouble."
The Friends Circle was one large network, which would contain many group chats in the future. Of course, the most important one would be the Curio group. Chen Li planned to pull the Genius Society members into the Curio group after creating their own chat, but before that, he needed to create a familiar environment for them. The topics the geniuses discussed might not interest the other members of the Curio group. At the very least, they wouldn't be interested in string theory and the like.
"Why does this Friends Circle feel like a girls' dormitory? Ten people, eight group chats," Chen Li grumbled, looking at the current number of groups.
Although most of the groups, created on a whim, died after a few messages with everyone migrating back to the main chat, the number of groups was indeed growing. There were gaming groups, gaming group 2, gaming group 3...
---o---
[The Great Herta]: Phew, finally completed the triple-binding of fingerprint, iris, and soul to activate the Friends Circle terminal. And then I suddenly got a notification that I was pulled into this chat group. Where is everyone?
[Screwllum]: Is binding the Friends Circle terminal that troublesome?
[The Great Herta]: Hmm? How did you bind yours?
[Screwllum]: I am not certain. My terminal is a virtual screen, and the Curio Forger authenticated it for me personally, so I am unfamiliar with the process. You may need to ask Ruan Mei about this matter.
[The Great Herta]: That makes sense. Since you're an Intellitron, you can't complete a fingerprint authentication anyway. @Ruan Mei
[Ruan Mei]: It was not that troublesome. I am highly wary of any container that can scan soul fluctuations, so I chose to proceed with the login while disregarding the risks. It was successful.
[The Great Herta]: Huh? That was an option?
Sitting on her 800-meter-long bed, Herta, who was watching the chat with great interest, was taken aback.
You mean, he asks you to complete the verification through fingerprint scan, iris validation, and soul binding, and you just... refuse? And he agrees to your refusal?
"Interesting." A curious smile appeared on Herta's face.
Proceed with login, disregard risks, is it? Then what's the point of setting up such a complicated triple authentication? Just for fun?
[The Great Herta]: So, which one of you in this group is the Curio Forger who made me fall into the same trap twice? If you dare to trick people with memetic messages like that, you should be prepared to be tricked yourself.
[Ruan Mei]: Perhaps it is the one named [Dad]? The one with the blank avatar and name should be Stephen.
[The Great Herta]: Dad? What a strange name.
"...Do all these people like to use their real names online?" Feeling a bit out of place in this overly serious Genius Society group chat, Chen Li began to wonder if he was the one who was wrong.
Then he took a peek at the main group chat.
---o---
[Runaway Princess from the Bamboo Forest...]: LMAO, that Silver Wolf is such a loser. Couldn't even last a day and a night. According to the real-time physical status monitoring system, she's already tilted. So unskilled, yet loves to play.
[Celestial Jade Master]: I think the reason she's tilted is probably because Chen Li framed her, not because she kept losing to you in the game.
[Where are the Pretty Girls]: Coming up with a screen name is so hard...
[Green Twisty Snake]: Does anyone want to get stronger? Does anyone want to surpass their limits? You can come find me. High efficiency, low risk. Not a single person I've operated on has given a bad review so far.
[Green Twisty Snake]: Wait? What the hell is this nickname? Elysia, did you change my nickname again!
---o---
"Excellent. Now this is a proper group chat." This kind of absurd chat style was the true friendship and bond that belonged to him.
However, Chen Li was also a little worried. If they corrupted the atmosphere of his Friends Circle, would it affect its functionality or some of its attributes?
Whatever. As long as the Friends Circle is still running, who cares how it runs.
---o---
[Dad]: I'm going to forge a Curio. If you want to know anything, just ask Screwllum. He'll explain.
[The Great Herta]: No time to explain, just off to forge a Curio? Very good. Man, you've caught my attention.
[Ruan Mei]: Herta, what book are you reading lately?
[The Great Herta]: It's a book Asta left in the office. The title seems to be Overbearing CEO Fell in Love with Me, Side Story of the Secretary's Counterattack: With 108 Children in One Go, I Dominated the World with My Prolific System.
Herta wasn't actually interested in reading novels, but a novel with such a strange title had piqued her curiosity enough to glance at it.
"???" by Chen Li.
The title of that dubious-sounding book is longer than my lifespan.
[Dad]: I'm going to forge a Curio that can infinitely produce snacks and pastries, and one that allows people to taste a mother's cooking. If any of you need it, you can borrow it when I'm done.
[The Great Herta]: Forging a Curio... can the requirements be that specific?
Herta, who was often interested in all sorts of strange and unusual things and had even built countless space stations for them, expressed her desire to have a look. Herta had many collection rooms scattered throughout the universe. She collected those things simply because she liked them. As long as it was interesting, Herta liked it. The Herta Space Station managed by Asta was just one of many she owned.
[Dad]: That's how forging Curios is. You won't know until you try it. By the way, you guys really don't have to use your real names online. If you're bored, you can take a tour of the main group chat. You'll find many surprises.
[The Great Herta]: Like... posting photos in drag?
[Dad]: ...You learn useless things pretty fast.
The "useless things" referred to internet slang like "posting photos in drag," not that Herta herself was useless. It was a pun that sparked the imagination and was quite amusing.
"But then again, can this Entry really forge a proper Curio?" Chen Li looked at his newly acquired Entry and couldn't help but scratch his head.
[Call Me Mom]
"Well, at least it's not 'Become Mom.' Otherwise, the supernatural would cease to exist."
Become Mom (当妈 dāng mā) and Touma (当麻 dāng má), the homophones were amusing.
The Miracle Forge ignited once again. To avoid making his already precarious financial situation worse, Chen Li carefully placed the Entry into the flames.
---o---