With a thought, Fu Zhu's system backend control panel popped into view.
Rather than calling his system a traditional one from a novel, it was more accurate to describe it as a unified whole of Minecraft's various functions. For instance, the system's function of rewarding achievement points upon completing various accomplishments, or the mod shop for purchasing MODs—these features all bore the shadow of the FTB quest system.
That was why he preferred to think of his system as an isekai adventure modpack that encompassed all mods.
And when a player enjoys the fun and convenience brought by the various mods in a modpack, they occasionally run into some frustrating experiences.
For example, monsters from certain mods might take up the spawn slots in a specific area. When a player wants to build a Piglin farm or an Enderman farm to grind for mobs, they often find other monsters spawning instead.
At times like these, one would need to go and modify the mod's config file to disable the spawning of a certain creature or alter its spawning area and logic.
Regarding the curse on Castorice, Fu Zhu's first thought was to modify her "config file" and erase the curse.
Unfortunately, the entirety of Amphoreus was equivalent to a modpack that hadn't been fully compiled yet. If he wanted to gain control and modification rights over it, he would have to wait until he had obtained all twelve Coreflames.
So, directly modifying Castorice's "config file" was something he couldn't do right now, but!
There was only one problem, but there were many ways to solve it!
He currently had two general approaches. First, find a way to access the system Lygus used to control Amphoreus and erase Castorice's curse directly at the system level.
However, given how highly Lygus valued this "project" of Amphoreus, he didn't think Lygus would make it so easy for him to find.
Second, if he couldn't modify Castorice's "config file," he could very well modify the config files of other items!
Fu Zhu meticulously went through all the items he could think of and possessed, simultaneously attempting to modify a diamond sword. His plan was to make it so that when Castorice held a certain item, she would be unable to inflict the [Wither] damage. This would allow him to remove her curse from another angle.
But after several attempts, he discovered that any equipment or item that didn't inherently possess the [Wither] property could not be modified in the way he hoped.
"This is a bit tricky... What are the things that can cause [Wither]?"
Wither Roses, Wither Skeletons, the Wither...
Got it!
Fu Zhu suddenly thought of the [Scythe of Death] from the [Millénaire] mod—the very same one he had used to resurrect Tixi and the others!
Besides being able to resurrect the dead, the [Scythe of Death] also had a chance to inflict the [Wither] effect!
Although it was only a chance, it definitely possessed the [Wither] property!
With this in mind, Fu Zhu immediately selected the [Scythe of Death] in his inventory and opened its config file, where he found the line of code for the chance to cause [Wither] damage.
Fu Zhu tried to modify it and found it was entirely possible, but it would require him to pay a hefty price in experience.
Seeing his experience level drop by 100, Fu Zhu felt a pang of pain, but experience was something that could be farmed again.
After closing the system interface, Fu Zhu looked down at Castorice leaning against him and called out softly.
"Castorice."
"Hm?"
Castorice looked up at Fu Zhu, her little eyes full of puzzlement.
"Here, a small gift for you."
Fu Zhu handed the newly modified [Scythe of Death] to her.
But Castorice didn't take it immediately. She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
"Big Brother, I'm already very happy that you can play with me. I can't take any more of your things."
Castorice thought that Fu Zhu wasn't completely immune to her curse while playing with her; he was surely paying some price to endure it. She had already caused him so much trouble; accepting a gift would be too much.
She didn't want to lose her one and only "friend."
Seeing the determined look on Castorice's little face, Fu Zhu couldn't resist the urge to tease her. He slowly dangled the [Scythe of Death] in front of her.
"Listen, this scythe can block the curse on your body. From now on, as long as you hold it, you can touch anyone you want. Are you sure you don't want it?"
The moment she heard this, Castorice was tempted. Her eyes followed the scythe as it swayed back and forth. When Fu Zhu moved it left, her gaze followed it left; when he moved it right, her gaze followed it right.
Fu Zhu could even hear the little girl gulping nervously from a mix of excitement and tension.
After hesitating for a long moment, Castorice's face flushed red, and she whispered in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Big Brother... can I... can I trade something for it?"
"Of course, you can."
Fu Zhu pushed the [Scythe of Death] directly into her hands, not caring what the little girl planned to trade for it.
At the same time, to verify if the modified scythe worked, he specifically turned off the automatic feeding system in his Exquisite Backpack. After waiting a moment, he confirmed that his health bar was not dropping and the [Wither] debuff was no longer appearing. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
After taking the [Scythe of Death], Castorice fumbled around on her person for a moment, took out a few coins, and held them out to Fu Zhu.
"Big Brother, I don't know how much your scythe is worth, but it must be very expensive. I'll give you all the money I save up from now on!"
Fu Zhu hadn't intended to accept, but seeing the stubbornness in the little girl's eyes, he hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it.
If he didn't accept, it would probably weigh on Castorice's mind from now on, wouldn't it?
"Alright then, I'll be waiting for you to make me rich, okay?" Fu Zhu smiled as he took the money from Castorice's hands and reached out to ruffle her hair.
Seeing Fu Zhu take the money, Castorice finally breathed a sigh of relief. A smile returned to her face as she lovingly played with the [Scythe of Death] in her hands.
Watching her smile so happily, Fu Zhu instantly felt that the 100 levels of experience were well spent.
However, the [Scythe of Death] was ultimately just a temporary solution. Castorice couldn't hold onto it forever. To completely solve the problem of the curse, and for him to gain complete mastery over the Amphoreus mod, he had to retrieve the [Death] Coreflame.
But the whereabouts of the [Death] Coreflame...
Fu Zhu stared at Castorice, lost in thought, when something suddenly occurred to him.
He had been subconsciously overlooking an important fact all this time!
Since it was the [Death] Titan, and the priestesses had mentioned the River Styx, then a place like the [Underworld] must exist within Amphoreus!
So why hadn't he tried looking for the [Death] Titan in the [Underworld]?!
"Holy shit, I'm a genius! If I had known, I would have had Nous make me an Emanator of Erudition before I shut it down!"
Fu Zhu stood up in excitement.
Losing her support, Castorice flinched in surprise. She looked up, confused, at the suddenly excited Fu Zhu.
Fu Zhu turned around, placed his hands on Castorice's shoulders, and said excitedly,
"Castorice, kill me!"