Honkai, But I Have Too Many Mods

Even though she knew the pot was magical, Firefly was still surprised when she saw the scene, despite being mentally prepared.

"Put the Alchemy Pot and Workbench on the third floor."

"Understood, Master."

After all this last night, Liu Bai was broke again.

His original 2.5 million was now a meager 20,000 – but it was still enough.

"Firefly, Little Gui, pick any room you like. I'm going to check out the other equipment."

The most important equipment was the two things he had just bought – especially the Alchemy Pot.

Alchemy in the game was a very interesting gameplay mechanic.

The mechanism was simple: throw a bunch of random stuff into the pot, and after a while, it would spit out something.

For new players, this alchemy was basically a way to recycle trash and gamble for their dreams.

And for veteran players… this alchemy mechanism was a stable way to turn a small profit into a big one.

All items in the game had a hidden value – let's call it the Alchemy Value.

The alchemy mechanism, to put it bluntly, was (x+x+x…)/2.

The item with the Alchemy Value closest to this calculated result would be chosen as the alchemy outcome.

On the third floor, looking at the large pot bubbling with green liquid, Liu Bai started throwing things into it.

Mysterious Meat, Starshrooms, regular pork, potatoes…

"Boss, are you making potato and mushroom meat soup?" Guinaifen, smelling the aroma, peeked in from outside the door. "Didn't we just finish breakfast?"

"Get lost, get lost."

Liu Bai's face darkened as Guinaifen bothered him, and he shooed her away.

Fine, he couldn't refute her words at all. Veteran players often said similar things when they were dreaming with the Alchemy Pot.

Especially since the minimum unit for low-level materials thrown in was 100g…

It really looked like making soup.

"Got it! Boss, you're not allowed to eat alone~"

If the hidden values of these mod ingredients hadn't been changed in the update, then the result should be…

[Potion of Wisdom (Beverage)]

[Depending on the amount consumed, reading efficiency increases by 1%~100% for one hour. Cannot be stacked with the same item.]

Liu Bai stirred the pot with a large ladle for dozens of seconds, then successfully fished out a small bottle filled with green liquid.

This was currently the most practical item Liu Bai could concoct.

Anything higher either wasn't useful or had Alchemy Values that were too high. Most of these Alchemy Values were single digits, and he simply couldn't concoct anything good with them.

Continuing.

This time, Liu Bai used less Mysterious Meat and added more Activated Starshrooms.

Well, the highest quality item among these was actually the Mysterious Meat – because it could identify any kind of meat.

It was equivalent to a small meat treasure chest.

Of course, the hidden value would likely decrease after identification, and only with a small chance would rare meat ingredients like "Emperor-grade Honkai Beast Elephant Meat" appear – although who knew if it would still be edible after identification.

[Alluring Aroma (Item)]

[Effective after full application. When favorability increases, the effect increases by 50%; when it decreases, it decreases by 50%. Duration is one hour. Cannot stack with other favorability buffs.]

These items hadn't changed.

One was for quickly studying books, and the other was for quickly increasing favorability.

After confirming that the Alchemy Values hadn't changed, Liu Bai kept only the necessary ingredients and threw the rest into the pot. Following the same procedure, he made several more portions of each.

Then Liu Bai went out to say hello to Guinaifen, returned to the real world, took out the physical training book he bought yesterday, drank the potion in one gulp, and then read while looking after the house.

[Starting to read "Beginner Physical Training", current progress: Page 1, 1%…]

[Physical Skill unlocked, experience growing…]

[Reading progress reached 50%, Physical Level increased to 2.]

Three hours later, his Physical Level successfully increased, and a warm current began to fill Liu Bai's body.

Ding dong~~

"Is Mr. Liu Bai home?"

This was… the doorbell?

Chapter Twenty-Six: Yelan's Invitation

"…Ms. Yelan?"

Liu Bai was a little unsure when he heard the voice, but after seeing who it was, he confirmed that it was indeed Yelan, not Rita, whom he was waiting for.

"Hello~" Yelan, still in her familiar robe from yesterday, greeted Liu Bai with a smile. "What's with that look?"

"A little... surprised?"

Liu Bai answered truthfully.

"I didn't expect you to come looking for me."

"Eh—that's quite direct," Yelan said with a smile, arms crossed. "Mr. Liu Bai, are you waiting for Rita?"

"...Aren't you being quite direct yourself?"

"This is called being upfront," Yelan replied, not entering the house but taking a look inside from the doorway. "Is your sister... Raven here?"

Liu Bai wasn't too surprised by Yelan's question or how she found him.

After all, according to Raven's earlier words, his information had already been handled by Yelan.

"No."

"She really isn't putting in much effort... By the way, Liu Bai, have you gotten a bit stronger?"

Yelan's senses were sharp, and she could already faintly feel the improvement in Liu Bai's physical condition.

However, with this level of familiarity, she had dropped the "Mr." title within a few sentences.

"Ah, it was just a casual question, don't take it to heart." Yelan also felt her question was a bit odd.

"It's fine. So, Ms. Yelan, what brings you here this time?"

"I'm here on behalf of someone to invite our extraterrestrial friend—don't worry, our guild isn't interested in you, even though Liu Bai, you truly are a rare commodity."

Yelan made a gesture to invite him.

"I'm quite looking forward to when Rita discovers this herself. No, I'm even more looking forward to when Rita finds out about your fake relationship with Raven."

"Can you not wear that 'I'm enjoying this' expression right now?"

"Enjoying the show is the privilege of an outsider."

Yelan stretched lazily.

"Although the current guild doesn't really seem like an outsider anymore, so can I assume Liu Bai, you accept the invitation?"

"Hold on a moment, I need to find my bodyguard," Liu Bai sighed.

"Hey, hey, Liu Bai, do you have a habit of bringing another girl when you go on a date with a girl?"

"..."

Liu Bai was speechless.

Yelan (extending a hand and patting) Liu Bai's shoulder: "Don't worry, I'll be your bodyguard today—I personally don't mind being a third wheel."

"For the information?"

"You're too perceptive."

Yelan flashed a bright smile.

["Yelan" has become a temporary companion]

What was that... This prompt felt like something out of an RPG.

"Then let me tidy myself up first."

Let me spray some perfume first.

"Just asking, Liu Bai, how much do you know about our world?"

In the car, Yelan, wearing sunglasses, continued chatting with Liu Bai as she drove.

"Hmm... I know quite a bit, like Honkai, Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and so on."

"Is that so... While I don't want to admit it, recognizing these things truly means recognizing this world. Hey, Liu Bai, does your planet have Honkai too?"

"No—before coming to this planet, I had never heard of Honkai." Liu Bai maintained his interstellar persona. "This planet is beyond our currently explored universe, and I'm not a professional in scientific research."

"So, a super remote backwater... According to Gray Serpent's records, you're quite a wealthy merchant in the universe too? Are you bragging or being serious?"

"Depends on how you define wealth."

"Indeed, definitions are very important—so, is the universe very peaceful? By the most basic definition."

"Then it's hopeless. It has nothing to do with peace; all sorts of trouble exist. If you want to hear about it, I can tell you all about it."

"Sigh... My cosmic dream is shattered." Yelan put on a faux sad expression. "Anyway, thanks. Considering you gave me free information, we're even—perfect timing, we're here."

As they chatted, Yelan's car stopped in front of the guild.

The guild entrance before them showed no sign of having been attacked yesterday.

It was exactly as Liu Bai remembered it from yesterday—including the dazed white-furred amoeba-like creature in front of the gate.

The speed of reconstruction was incredible.

"Slacking off during work hours, minus one hundred points."

Yelan parked the car and the first thing she did after getting out was kick Kiana in the shin.

"Huh—?"

"Talking back to your superior, another hundred deducted."

"No, I haven't even said anything yet!"

"Still talking back, another hundred deducted."

Liu Bai watched quietly from the side as Yelan played the role of an unscrupulous boss—she seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit.

However, Yelan then pointed at Liu Bai.

"What should you say when you see a customer."

"Customer? Oh! It's you, you're here again today!" Kiana recognized Liu Bai immediately.

"What do you mean, 'you're here again today'—Kiana, are you really not planning on using your brain at all?"

"Yes, yes, yes... Who was it again, welcome to the Liyue Merchant Guild~~"

Kiana drawled out the welcome with a perfunctory tone.

"...Sigh, even I get headaches like this sometimes," Yelan sighed helplessly. "Let's go, Liu Bai, no point in dealing with this girl."

Liu Bai didn't really mind. It would be strange if Kiana were serious about something like this.

After greeting Kiana, he followed Yelan into the merchant guild.

Perhaps because it was nearing noon, the merchant guild today was much livelier than yesterday, looking like a bustling department store.

If there were another attack now...

No, it shouldn't be possible. This person, Ming, is a notorious scoundrel. It's likely only someone utterly deranged would dare to launch an attack.

Continuing to follow Yelan, Liu Bai saw Rita in front of a flower shop.