The Artifact Forger from the Beginning of Collapse

"I'm just thinking that skilled workers like you are definitely the most worthwhile investments," Chen Li said.

Chen Li once again deeply understood what it meant for science and technology to be the primary productive force.

The acquisition of the power of miracles is related to the strength of the artifact, but more importantly, it depends on the magnitude of the miracle that the person who possesses the artifact can create.

The fact that Möbius can leverage 15 crystals to generate an income of 50 crystals shows that he is indeed someone who is suited to create miracles.

But then again, miracles are neither positive nor negative.

The more miracles Mebius can create, the more Chen Li needs to keep a close eye on her, lest Mebius ruin the previous civilization.

Mebius does have a bottom line, but not many.

"Are you saying I'm not worth investing in?" Alicia's slightly resentful voice reached Chen Li's ears.

"Wow, a ghost!" Chen Li was startled and turned around to see Alicia staring straight at him.

"..."

“However, you can’t say that. After all, no matter how good Möbius’s experimental results are, you’re the ones who have to use them, right?” Chen Li quickly said.

"I feel that your explanation lacks any sincerity."

"Ahem, that's not important. What's important is whether Greta's mood is full? I'm going to play with her now." Chen Li changed the subject to one that Alicia might be interested in.

Chen Li wasn't lying.

If asked to name the greatest miracle this world could accomplish, Chen Li had no other idea besides defeating the Collapse.

However, defeating the Honkai also requires crystals.

Chen Li possesses Herrscher of the Void material cards, which allow him to extract [Space], [Apostle of God], [Herrscher], [Honkai Energy], or complete Herrscher of the Void entries from the opponent.

The most important one is obviously the "Honkai" entry, which has a high level of brightness.

With this entry, Chen Li only needs to add an entry like "control," "defeat," or "kill" to create a wondrous object to defeat the Honkai.

But to make the cost of defeating the Honkai less, the entry needs to be brighter.

Just like there is a difference between "guaranteed win" and "guaranteed win".

Therefore, Chen Li's most important task right now is to collect crystals.

The way to defeat the Honkai is this: the Moth of Flame only needs to charge forward, while Chen Li has to consider many things.

With such a wondrous item, it certainly wouldn't be Chen Li who used it.

Chen Li only needed to sit and wait for the crystal to arrive.

……

"Alicia, do you know?"

"what do you know?"

“In life, you can’t just eat anything a stranger gives you, because she might drug you. But you can take things from strangers and eat them, because she won’t have time to drug you,” Chen Li said while eating a lollipop.

"...So this is why you ignored the candy from the plate that Mebius brought over and insisted on snatching Gretchen's candy, which made her cry?!" Alicia's voice rose.

"After all, it's Mebius, so it's normal to be careful." Chen Li shrugged.

“…” Mebius’s forehead veins bulged.

I'm so grateful to this big spender for all the money I've been given, so I'm personally delivering a treat, and you're looking at me with such malice?

Honestly, why are you speaking such blunt truths?

However, Möbius didn't go too far; he just added a little cold medicine. It only affected the taste.

The biggest investor certainly can't be drugged and taken to the lab for experiments, otherwise where would the budget come from?

However, one can observe the different physical constitutions of people from different worlds by observing their reactions after taking ordinary medications.

Mebius had just created a new document on his computer called "Observation Diary of Outsiders".

"And don't worry, Gretchen hasn't cried yet, has she?" Looking at the blue-haired little girl who was standing there dumbfounded after he took her candy, Chen Li stuffed a gold coin into her hand before she was about to cry.

On this gleaming gold coin is printed a little figure giving you a thumbs-up, and behind the figure is a scale, which seems to symbolize something.

"What is this? A magical object that can stop a crying child from crying?" Alicia curiously examined the golden coin that Gretsch was happily playing with.

"How could there be such a strange and wondrous object? This is called... a commendation of lofty morality. Consider it a gift from me to little Gresh," Chen Li said.

At the same time, it was also a test of the prop's effectiveness.

The effect is remarkable. Look, now no one is complaining about Chen Li stealing Little Grey's candy anymore, right?

Praise of lofty morality can even be used to do things that are not morally permissible.

Using this coin to steal Grey's Candy is indeed a bit of a waste, but it is still a gift.

Normally, the praise of lofty morality would disappear after it is used, but because what Chen Li did was not immoral enough, only a small amount was consumed, and the rest can be given to Gretchen.

"With this coin, Gretchen can be protected from misfortune; it's definitely a good material for a talisman," Chen Li said.

"I……"

"You wouldn't be trying to steal something from a child, would you?" Chen Li interrupted Möbius before he could finish speaking, looking at him with disdain.

“I just want to know how it works. Lend me one, I’ll return it to you later,” Möbius said.

“I’d like to borrow one too,” Alicia said, raising her hand.

"Although I don't think you'll come up with anything worthwhile, I can't discourage you like this. But I can't just give it to you for free."

“What do you want now? I have nothing left to give you,” Möbius asked.

"Don't worry, I don't need any valuables from you. I remember you have a Flame Chaser No. 1 medal, right? It's to recognize your status as a member of Flame Chaser No. 1."

"..."

"..."

When Chen Li brought up the topic, both Mebius and Alicia fell into an eerie silence.

“I was tricked.” After a long while, Mebius finally spoke slowly.

"Hahaha!" Chen Li laughed without any restraint.

"Kid, this isn't funny."

“Exactly, everyone makes mistakes.” Alicia nodded repeatedly from the side.

“Mebius, you truly delight me. Here, I’ll lend you one, and I’ll lend you one too.” Chen Li lent two tokens of high moral praise to Mebius and Alicia respectively.

Chen Li knew, of course, that it was Alicia who had tricked Möbius out of his Medal No. 1; Chen Li just wanted to find an excuse to mock Möbius.

Who told Mebius to put cold medicine in the sugar?

Chen Li can observe the entries on items. Just now, when Chen Li touched the candy, he saw two extra entries on it: "Treatment for colds" and "Sleep aid".

It's very faint, extremely faint, but it's definitely there.

Although I don't know why Mebius put cold medicine in the sugar, I'll just laugh at him first.

"Is this thing very valuable?" Alicia asked.

If it's very valuable, Alicia will have to consider exchanging it for something else.

"If you feel bad, just prepare a few more crystal flowers for me. I might be able to sell them for a high price when I go to the other world. As for the gold coins... their value lies mainly in how they are obtained," Chen Li said.

Helping an elderly woman cross the street is a "fragment" of high moral praise, but as a meritorious act, it is something countless people dream of.

"You, a blacksmith, also work as an unscrupulous merchant?" Mebius said.

"You can't say that. I only earn money through hard work. After all, time travel also has its costs," Chen Li complained.

A single trip costs 10 star stones, which isn't cheap.

However, aside from the 300 star stones he received when handing the scalpel to Mebius, Chen Li earned 30 star stones simply from transporting the demon flesh and blood.

It's clear that the demonic flesh and blood weren't very useful to Mebius's research, but they were somewhat useful nonetheless.

And so, Alicia believed Chen Li's lies and gave him 10 crystal flowers.

"You guys chat first, I'm going to do my experiments," Möbius said, taking his leave.

"I should get back to work. Let's finish all 10 weapon orders we've been hoarding in one go," Chen Li said, stretching.

Chen Li is also the Minister of Engineering, and he has an agreement with the higher-ups of the Fire Moth to exchange weapons for Soul Steel.

Although there is now a high-ranking official as an undercover agent, Chen Li still longs for merit.

Chen Li made weapons, and those weapons were used to eliminate Honkai Beasts. How can that not be considered a meritorious act?

It's really rare to encounter a Honkai Beast, a creature with naturally villainous attributes.

“Then I’ll go with you.” Alicia patted Gretchen’s head and chose to go with Chen Li.

"Goodbye, Uncle Li." The well-behaved Gretsch waved goodbye as well.

"Call me brother." Chen Li couldn't help but say.

"Goodbye, brother and uncle."

"...Is Gretchen deliberately messing with me?" Chen Li turned to Alicia and asked.

"Well, who knows?" Alicia scratched her face lightly with her fingers.