"Wouldn't it have been easier if you'd just done this from the start? You had to make me get my hands dirty." Chen Li patted the non-existent dust off his clothes, complaining to the higher-ups who were trembling in their seats.
"You are right, my lord. My lord is unparalleled in this world, my lord is supremely intelligent..." The closest one to Chen Li was Higher-Up #1, who was currently sparing no effort to express his reverence.
Snap!
Chen Li ignored the praise and snapped his fingers.
The All the World's Evil that had been controlling the villains withdrew from their bodies, but it also took a part of their essence and spirit with it. The bodies of those possessed by the evil were naturally corroded. This corrosion was far more terrifying than that of Honkai energy. If they only lost ten years of their lives, they could count themselves lucky.
But as long as they were left with their lives, the guards didn't dare voice any objections. Just moments ago, for the price of a single Longevity Pill, all of their lives had been sold to Chen Li. How they were going to split that one pill was their own business.
Among all the guards, the only lucky one was the woman now standing beside Chen Li—Sakura.
The eighth of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, who bore the Signet of [Setsuna].
The reason she was here was that the current Sakura belonged to an assassination organization called the [Poisonous Pupae]. With her homeland fallen, the young girl wandered with her only sister, her life adrift. As an assassin, Sakura had been hired for this job. As a blade, she had no choice in the matter.
In the not-so-distant future, Sakura would even accept a mission to assassinate Dr. MEI, only to be beaten up by Kevin, who was by MEI's side. In the end, MEI would hire Sakura, with the promise of protecting her sister from the Honkai as payment.
"Don't worry. As for this matter of you assassinating me, as long as you pay for it with your body, I won't do anything too excessive to you," Chen Li said, patting Sakura's shoulder reassuringly when he saw she was still tense.
"..." Sakura remained silent. Because she, too, was one of the countless unlucky souls who had sold themselves for a single Longevity Pill.
"Say something," Chen Li said, poking her cheek.
"The mission I received was not to assassinate you, but to assassinate the person sitting next to my employer," Sakura said slowly.
"Eh? I thought you didn't rush me because you saw how handsome I was and couldn't bear to do it. So that was the real reason?" Chen Li was taken aback. He truly hadn't expected someone's train of thought to be so peculiar.
But thinking about it, it made sense. Everyone had brought guards, but almost all of their targets were either Chen Li or the Longevity Pills in his hands. When they sent all their guards to snatch the pills, their own masters would be left defenseless. It was the moment they were most vulnerable. If not now, when would be a better time to assassinate them?
"Which genius came up with that idea? Stand up and let me see you. Mm, I see you. You, my boy, are an absolute genius."
While chatting, Chen Li waited for all of All the World's Evil to re-converge in his hand.
Then he swallowed it in one gulp.
Sakura's pupils constricted at the sight. Only those who had been in close proximity to All the World's Evil could understand what a wicked and powerful force it was, yet this person could swallow it without batting an eye. How terrifying!
"Phew..." Only after swallowing all the evil he had poured out did Chen Li release his imitation of it.
Just as he could undergo a "Herrscher transformation" after eating a single strand of Elysia's hair, having eaten so much of All the World's Evil allowed him to emanate its same delicious aroma.
According to his observations, the evil in the Holy Grail had no dominant consciousness; it only endlessly radiated malice towards its surroundings. When Chen Li became a part of it, yet possessed a clear consciousness like a candle flame, he could indirectly control it. It was going to spread malice and cause destruction anyway, so what did it matter whose orders it followed? That was probably the principle behind it.
This was also why Chen Li hadn't just gnawed on the Holy Grail to destroy the evil entirely. He was seriously considering it: if he ate this entire portion of All the World's Evil, and then later went to the Type-Moon world and stood before a Grail corrupted by the black mud, would that evil listen to Angra Mainyu, or to him? After all, he would have consumed a full portion of it!
Moreover, Chen Li noticed that when he didn't cover the Holy Grail with the trash can lid, the corrupted Grail would slowly absorb the malice of the humans in his vicinity. So theoretically, the evil he was consuming would be of a greater quantity than the original.
Chen Li hadn't dared to take out the Holy Grail on the Xianzhou. First, it didn't fit his persona there, and second, he was worried that the "sundering" that accumulated in the hearts of the Xianzhou natives—the very thing that caused mara-struck—might also be drawn to him. Theoretically, it shouldn't, but no one had ever tried it. Who knew in which direction things would gallop?
"Alright, alright, from this day forward, I am all of your dear father... actually, no, I can't say that. I don't have this many unfilial sons. In short, from now on, you are to find an opportunity to gather all the high- and mid-level officials who didn't attend this meeting, and then I'll wipe them out in one fell swoop. Only then can we completely control the resources of this civilization."
Now that nearly eighty percent of the top brass from both the UN and the Flame-Chasers were his underlings, Chen Li could finally let himself go. The reason it was eighty percent and not one hundred was that there were always some unlucky souls ostracized by the mainstream, even among the leadership.
From this day forward, I, Chen Li, am the father of the Previous Era!
Excellent. Vengeance plan, complete. Time taken: one hour. Fifty minutes were spent chatting with Vill-V and Elysia, six minutes were spent on travel, and only the final four minutes were spent on revenge.
"In that case, my lord, what are we to do with the resources of the entire civilization?" Higher-Up #1 asked in a low voice.
"Fabricate history. And put on a grand show for the next civilization," Chen Li said.
"I mean, what is our most urgent task right now?"
"I told you, fabricate history and put on a grand show for the next civilization!!" Chen Li said, clenching his fist.
"Huh?"
"But first, you can help me collect some antiques. I want to see if there are any useful Entries. Oh, right. I appoint you as my Imperial Sword-Bearer! From now on, you will be responsible for staying by my side, protecting my personal safety, and relaying my messages." Chen Li patted Sakura's shoulder.
"Me? Protect you?" Sakura felt as if she had misheard something.
"That's right. I'm so weak, pitiful, and helpless. If you don't protect me, who will?" Chen Li's eyes widened.
"...Understood, my lord."
"No need to be so formal. I won't do anything to you. It's just that sometimes, you'll need to sacrifice your womanly charms..."
"???"
---o---
"Quickly, quickly, protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor! Sakura, it's time for you to sacrifice your womanly charms!"
"..."
"Wow, what a cute girl. Your name is Sakura, right? I'm Elysia, it's a pleasure to meet you ♪♪♪"
"According to the historical records, Chen Li's Imperial Sword-Bearer, Sakura, was incessantly harassed by Chen Li's Noble Consort, Elysia, from the very beginning of her tenure."
"Um, please, calm down..." Yae Sakura was completely unable to handle Elysia's enthusiasm.
"Yae Sakura cursed the absurd Noble Consort under her breath."
"Calm down? How can you ask me to calm down? A girl this cute, I can't calm down at all! Want to go for a drink together?" Elysia asked enthusiastically.
"Unable to restrain her restless emotions, the Noble Consort began her further harassment. The name 'Noble Consort Ai' (爱妃 - Àifēi) is both a homophone for 'beloved consort' and an expression of the author's affection for Elysia, a truly delightful touch." Chen Li rapidly recorded Elysia's wicked deeds towards Yae Sakura on a piece of paper.
"That's enough! You've been badmouthing me this whole time! You weren't even listening!" Elysia pointed at Chen Li, flushed with indignation.
"So what exactly are you doing?" Vill-V asked Chen Li after studying the Synthesis Platform for a long time and failing to figure anything out.
"I am recording history," Chen Li said.
"This isn't recording, this is pure fabrication!"
"You shouldn't concern yourselves with the affairs of a historian. As they say, history is written by the victors, and this Emperor is clearly the victor, so I can write it however I please." As he spoke, Chen Li resumed his process of writing history.
The first order Chen Li gave his new underlings was to fabricate history. To use the power of an entire civilization to fabricate its own history and then pass that erroneous history down to the next one. Of course, only the history was to be fabricated, not the knowledge.
Although this method had many drawbacks, drawbacks were exactly what Chen Li wanted. This way, when he arrived in the Current Era, he would find it was still the same Current Era. Although he had left Mobius a Curio that might help her change the world, Chen Li had more faith in the depravity of human nature than in Mobius. Without him around, the top priority for those idiots at the UN would still be infighting, definitely not fighting the Honkai.
Of course, the Honkai still had to be fought. But if you were to ask if they ultimately succeeded? One could only say that they "fought."
[Dad]: Your Majesty?
Chen Li once again sent a message to his dear Queen, tossing over some Otaku Happy Water and snacks along with it.
[Queen of the Void]: Here.
[Dad]: Anything unusual?
[Queen of the Void]: Don't know.
[Dad]: The fact that Your Majesty is still here is 'nothing unusual' enough for me.
[Queen of the Void]: ...
See, the Herrscher of the Void still exists, which means Chen Li's influence on the Previous Era didn't cause any substantial changes to the Current Era. A bunch of useless fogies!
"It seems I'll have to take matters into my own hands after all. So, my dear Consort, are you interested in saving the world with me?" Chen Li extended a hand towards Elysia, who was currently harassing his Imperial Sword-Bearer.
"Right now, I'm more interested in finding a place to have a drink with Sakura," Elysia said seriously.
"Drink your head! Hurry up and save the world with This Emperor! Otherwise, This Emperor will forge a Curio that will make you never see a beautiful girl for the rest of your life!"
"What? You can forge a Curio that vile? Your Majesty! Noble Consort Elysia is ready! What are we to do now?"
"Help me research how to make a livestream more entertaining."
"What do you mean? What are you going to do?"
"I'm planning... to make my debut."
"Huh?"
---o---