Stationery Store, second floor.
As Chu Ke sensed the ever-growing Fundamental Forces within his body, he followed along with a video blogger's cooking tutorial.
Fifteen days had passed since he acquired the Fundamental Forces, and their total amount had reached 16k.
The exact figure was 16,384. Apparently, once the number of digits began expanding, the Nixie tube timer had switched to unit notation to reduce the displayed digits.
When the total amount reached 10,000, the Fundamental Forces underwent a tremendous evolution—at that point, they could perform Material Exchange.
Put simply, before this, if Chu Ke wanted to create an object, he needed an equal mass of matter as "raw material" for conversion. What he used most often were gas molecules.
But now, if Chu Ke wanted to create anything, he only needed to directly use the Fundamental Forces to conjure matter from thin air. At the same time, he could also convert matter into Fundamental Forces.
This meant that, if Chu Ke wished, he could directly "sacrifice" a universe at any time and raise his Fundamental Forces to a universal scale—or even beyond.
Things like opening portals had become effortless.
"I'm getting more and more invincible." Chu Ke sighed. More than anything, he felt lost, unsure what direction he should strive toward, like someone who had just gotten into college and had no idea what to do next.
"Having fun and eating are still the real truth." Chu Ke had always lived by the principle of "try a little; if it doesn't work, just lie flat." Since he could not find an answer, he would stop looking. What mattered was living in the moment.
After finishing the dishes, he gave them a small taste. They were unexpectedly good.
Chu Ke had not planned on cooking, but every night, the street outside his shop turned into a night market, packed with all kinds of barbecue and snack stalls. The moment he smelled those aromas, the cravings in his stomach came crawling out.
After placing the dishes on the dining table, Chu Ke looked them over and felt that something was still missing.
Right, fried skewers.
Not using the Fundamental Forces to synthesize food he intended to eat was the bottom line of Chu Ke's sense of ritual in life. He immediately decided to go out and buy a few skewers, along with some iced Coke and Sprite. That would complete a nighttime calorie bomb of a meal.
Heading downstairs, Chu Ke had just been about to leave when he ran into a blond, blue-eyed foreigner with chest muscles like a bodybuilder's.
The only incongruous thing was the huge bundle of grilled skewers in his hand, still sizzling with oil.
Chu Ke raised an eyebrow as the Fundamental Forces began appraising him.
Meanwhile, Caesar walked into the Stationery Store carrying his skewers.
He finally understood why visiting night markets could be linked to losing weight. The place was filled with the aroma of delicious food everywhere, making it hard not to have a "little taste" or two.
Originally, he had intended to finish eating at the stall. After all, walking around with a huge bundle of skewers did not quite suit his image.
But seeing that everyone around him was doing the same thing, Caesar had no choice but to do as the locals did.
As he passed this Stationery Store, the two heart-shaped gemstones in the display window caught his attention.
Since he had come out shopping, he ought to bring back a gift. Since Nono did not want food, he could pick out a small accessory instead.
They might be fake, but little imitation accessories that suited the night market atmosphere had their own charm. It did not matter whether they were real gemstones or not; either way, he could afford them.
"Looks like I'm lucky." Caesar smiled at the shop owner, who appeared to be on his way out. "I won't take much of your time. Do you have a purple heart-shaped necklace like the ones in the window? One will do."
The gemstones in the window only came in yellow and blue. Caesar felt that purple would suit Nono better.
Chu Ke broke into a cheerful smile.
There was a road to heaven, yet you refused to take it. You would not drink until forced—no, that was not right either. Anyway, you came right to my door yourself, so don't regret it. Hehehe.
"Sorry, they aren't for sale, and we only have those two colors." Chu Ke spoke with slight regret. "But since we've crossed paths, and you said you were lucky, I'll give you this yellow crystal necklace."
Caesar froze for a moment, then smiled as well. "Is this what Chinese people call fate? Then I'll buy a pen too."
Chu Ke nodded, wrapped up the necklace and pen together, and handed them over. "Come again!"
After Caesar left, Chu Ke looked at the stack of red banknotes in the corner of the table. There was probably more than ten thousand yuan.
Caesar had secretly left them behind himself. It was likely the amount he would have paid if the gemstone had been real.
Was that Caesar's strange sense of pride? Chu Ke shook his head and went out to buy grilled skewers.
"One more to go. If the mountain will not come to me, I will go to the mountain." Before leaving, Chu Ke glanced at the lonely blue gemstone necklace in the display window.
The next day, Regent Hotel.
After spending an entire night practicing spoken English with his friend in America, Lu Mingfei loosened his collar, trying to make himself look a little more composed.
This interview location was fucking luxurious, which only put even more pressure on Lu Mingfei.
That pressure grew even heavier after Zhao Menghua, Chen Wenwen, Su Xiaoqiang, and the others finished their interviews at lightning speed.
It seemed as though they had no intention of letting anyone pass. Every interviewer before Lu Mingfei had failed to last three minutes, and the hot-tempered Little Fairy had even started cursing on the spot after coming out.
"Next, Lu Mingfei." The summons reminded Lu Mingfei of the number-calling machine at a hospital, making him feel a little stifled.
Before going in, Lu Mingfei gently grasped the necklace on his chest, then let go and pushed open the door.
A school never lacked students with uneven strengths. Whenever exams came around, they only relaxed after the subject they were good at had been tested, as though it gave them confidence.
Lu Mingfei was the same. Only this miraculous necklace could comfort him in the face of pressure.
Inside the conference room, the place was empty. At a large conference table that could seat dozens, only two people dressed in dark green uniform suits were seated. Silver-thread patterns were embroidered on their chests; they were probably school uniforms.
One was a man and the other a woman. The woman had a head of fiery red hair, pure silver four-leaf clover earrings by her ears, and an impossibly beautiful face. The man had golden hair, muscles like a bodybuilder's stretching his uniform tight, and was ridiculously handsome as well.
They looked very well matched.
All right, there was no way he would pass this interview. This school only admitted handsome men and beautiful women.
Lu Mingfei was certain of it.
Wait! Lu Mingfei's gaze swept over the blond man, only to be suddenly caught by an item on his hand.
It was a yellow Heart-shaped Gem necklace identical in style to the one around his own neck. Its thin chain had been looped twice and worn around his wrist as a bracelet. Only a small part was visible beneath the school uniform, but Lu Mingfei still recognized it.
He was a Magical Girl too!?
Although Lu Mingfei really wanted to complain about why all Magical Girls were men, he held it in because of the setting.
He did not dare imagine what this hulking bodybuilder would look like after transforming.
"Hello, Lu Mingfei. My name is Chen Motong, and I'm one of the interviewers." The red-haired girl introduced herself, slowly studying Lu Mingfei.
"Hello, I'm Caesar Gattuso, the assistant interviewer." The blond man also gave him a friendly smile, though for some reason, there was an odd... amorous undertone in his gaze.
Fuck, no. Keep that kind of thing away from me!
"Hello, interviewers. My name is Lu Mingfei." He had originally prepared for an English interview, but seeing that the interviewers were speaking Chinese, Lu Mingfei switched back to Chinese to introduce himself.
"Then, the first question." Nono propped up her head with one hand, her fist against her cheek and index finger resting on her temple. "Do you believe there are aliens in this world?"
Hearing that question, Lu Mingfei's brain shriveled for a moment, but he quickly realized this was probably testing the applicant's ability to react on the spot.
"I do. I believe aliens exist." Come on, I'm a Magical Girl myself. Even if aliens existed, Lu Mingfei would not be surprised anymore.
"Why do you believe that?" Nono lifted her eyes and glanced at Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, about to answer, when an enormous bang suddenly erupted from outside the door.
Caesar and Nono both froze. The next moment, Caesar picked up the walkie-talkie from beneath the table and asked, "What happened?"
The walkie-talkie crackled, and a terrified male voice came through. "A monster! A monster covered in scales!"
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