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"For most people, a single day is negligible. Unless what they forget is a day off, hardly anyone bothers recalling what happened yesterday."
Sylvester glanced at Haha and continued, "But for her, that's her entire first half of life."
Staring at the machine that kept producing useless pills, Jing Yuan felt his mood—and his expression—grow increasingly complicated.
"The Doctors of Chaos truly live up to their reputation as the most jaw-dropping doctors in the universe."
"Just imagining what it's like to be a patient in their hands makes one feel sorry for them."
They only wanted a pill that erased two hours of memory, yet so many absurd complications had already cropped up.
It was hard to imagine what kind of hell those patients suffering from incurable diseases had gone through.
Hmm… wasn't it said that after IPC's Aventurine was gravely injured on Penacony, it was the Doctors of Chaos who pulled him back from the brink?
Then why did he look completely fine afterward?
Could it be that his luck was so outrageous that he directly pulled a top-tier pill?
Jing Yuan shook his head and laughed at himself.
To be thinking about such things at a critical moment like this—he must have been subconsciously infected by Sylvester's way of thinking.
He cleared his throat and said seriously, "Ahem. Bailu, how many uses does this machine have left?"
As general, he had a rough understanding of the device. If he remembered correctly, it automatically accumulated some kind of energy, limiting its use to six times a day.
And it was best not to let the uses stack up, otherwise the energy accumulation rate would slow—or even stop entirely.
Bailu's chubby little hands flew across the keyboard. After hitting Enter, she checked the result.
She frowned. "One more…"
"To maintain maximum output, the machine was used once this morning and twice just now. The remaining energy is only enough for one final use."
"…" Jing Yuan fell silent.
Looking at the emerald-green and sapphire-blue pills in his hand, he sighed inwardly at heaven's lack of cooperation.
With those two 'peerless geniuses' of the pill world as precedents, it was hard for him to have any confidence in the third one.
Seeing his inner struggle, Sylvester spoke up in comfort.
"Or you could reconsider that 'clean and exquisite' upper strategy?"
"…"
Jing Yuan still didn't say a word, mechanically turning his head away.
It's not that I don't want to use it—it's just that your upper strategy is way too ruthless. You're talking about putting a knife to an Aeon.
The Xianzhou is a small household; we can't afford a blade that sharp!
Sylvester watched Jing Yuan's gaze shift from speechless, to aggrieved, and finally to brimming with appreciation for him.
He smiled faintly. "It's fine. Relax. Worst case, we'll just use the second pill."
Then he put away his playful tone. "It's unlikely that Haha would truly become an idiot. Otherwise, she would've been one when she first woke up today."
"If she forgets everything related to the Path of Elation, it'll be troublesome—but not unsolvable."
"We'll just say that Haha opened a bottle of [Fermented Bean Soda] from my shop and turned out like this after drinking it. Aha will definitely believe it."
"???"
Jing Yuan—and everyone else present—blinked in unison, staring at him in confusion.
What did drinking fermented bean soda have to do with amnesia?
And from Sylvester's tone, the Star God would definitely believe such an absurd excuse?
If that were the case, wouldn't it be easier to just force Haha to drink some douzhi?
Naturally, none of them had ever encountered those shockingly bizarre varieties of douzhi. They didn't understand just how badly Aha had suffered from it—and how, driven by a "joy shared is joy doubled, suffering shared is moral" brand of malicious glee, the Star God had scoured the entire universe for unlucky souls to "enjoy" the pinnacle of human flavor together.
But they all held Sylvester's strength—and the output of his Curio trash cans—in deep awe.
Perhaps it really was some adulterated, bizarre douzhi. Maybe the Lord of Elation had personally tasted its effects.
Thus, everyone subconsciously rationalized Sylvester's words.
"Very well. We'll be counting on you, Shopkeeper Sylvester."
At this point, Jing Yuan had no better options left.
And in the end, the one who would suffer wasn't him anyway.
He cast Haha a rather sympathetic glance.
Whether this could be resolved without further misery would depend entirely on her fate.
"Bailu, start the machine."
"Got it!" Bailu's little hands rattled off a familiar string of characters, then she cheerfully pressed Enter.
Clang.
The furnace door of the alchemy module swung open. Scorching heat poured out, and along the flattened hatch, a purple pill rolled out.
Jing Yuan snatched it up and got straight to the point. "Well? Are the side effects within acceptable limits?"
"Let me see." Bailu read the text on the screen aloud. "Uh… after consumption, it erases memories from the last two hours. At the same time, for the 24 hours after waking up, the user will accept anything anyone says without discrimination, believing it blindly."
She still didn't know Haha's identity, nor what kind of pill would truly fit the requirements.
So, she scratched her little head and asked, "Um… does this meet your needs?"
Her question was vague, but when she turned to face everyone, she froze.
Aside from Sylvester—who looked relaxed and nodded with a smile—everyone else had their eyes wide open, faces frozen in shock.
It was exactly the same expression they wore when she once skipped class to go fishing in the Scalegorge Waterscape, only to surface and see Sister Lingsha glaring at her with a darkened face.
Remembering that unpleasant memory, Bailu said innocently, "Th-this really isn't because my hands are cursed or anyth—"
Before she could finish, a chorus of exclamations exploded beside her. The people who had been dumbstruck just moments ago were now cheering.
Lingsha, in particular, excitedly pulled Bailu into a hug.
Her smile was radiant; her whole being filled with relief. "Bailu! You were amazing. Thanks to you—and Shopkeeper Sylvester's idea—Luofu has made it through this crisis! You're benefactors of the Luofu!"
Compared to the previous two, this side effect was practically a positive effect!
"Ah? Ah?! I saved the Luofu? When did that happen?"
Faced with Lingsha's praise, Bailu was utterly baffled.
Are they… talking about me?
Everyone's talking so strangely today. I can't understand any of it.
"Then… since my contribution is so huge, can I take a day off tomorrow?" Bailu asked quietly, already prepared to immediately change her tune if Lingsha showed the slightest hint of anger.
Taking leave—normally a taboo she wouldn't dare touch.
But Lingsha completely shattered her expectations.
"What's that worth? Even if you want a whole week off, it's fine!" Lingsha agreed without hesitation, still riding the high of excitement.
"Really? That's awesome!" Bailu cheered along with her.
At that moment, though for different reasons, everyone was celebrating—except Haha.
Looking at Haha, still unconscious, Sylvester silently mourned for her for three seconds.
If she ever learned that after enduring so much suffering, the only good outcome was helping a little girl get a day off… who knew how she'd feel.
Oh, right. She's the Incarnation of Elation.
Then it's fine—she'd probably just laugh herself silly.
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