[Mystery] 04

Every sip and every bite, every chance encounter—once a story is born, it gains power.

Chen Miemie had gone to great lengths to create the impossible Eternal Moon meteorite, ultimately bringing this world a chance for change.

Chen Miemie stared at the large section missing from the meteorite and pondered for a long while.

“So the beginnings of the New Era didn’t start twenty years ago, but 3,643 years earlier.”

The anomalies all wore expressions of sudden realization. Only Qinghua noticed that something was wrong.

As the First Familiar, Qinghua possessed an innate sensitivity to Chen Miemie.

She could keenly sense that a mere meteorite fragment couldn’t have caused such a drastic change in Chen Miemie’s emotions.

“Miemie, when you went back just now, did you encounter anything else?”

Chen Miemie hesitated, then vaguely revealed a tiny part of the truth.

“Actually, Frost Moon told me the fragment’s trajectory. It was the first time I’d ever spoken with Frost Moon in my true form. Forget it—it’s all in the past. Don’t worry about it.”

There was no way Chen Miemie could bring himself to tell his Familiars the truth.

No matter what method he had used, this time Chen Miemie had acted recklessly, forcing his way through the world barrier. Though it had only lasted for an instant within the story world, he had still violated the laws of the world jointly established by the Two Suns and Three Moons.

If that didn’t sound serious enough, there was an example from Chen Miemie’s previous life.

The five permanent members of the United Nations had signed an agreement establishing global rules, promising not to use nuclear weapons. Then one of the five—Eternal Moon—had secretly used one. The consequences would be…

The Two Suns and Three Moons were unique existences. The moment something happened, they noticed it immediately, and they didn’t care whether Chen Miemie had been in the story world or had traveled back into the past.

Chen Miemie had caused such a huge mess this time that the distant Twin Suns had yet to react. Frost Moon and Hong Yue, however, had nearly exploded. They used one of their rare opportunities to communicate and went straight to Eternal Moon’s true body to offer him their most heartfelt greetings.

After giving Chen Miemie a thorough scolding, the two sisters proved to be soft-hearted despite their sharp tongues. They joined forces to erase as many of the related aftereffects as possible. They also declared that, the next time the sun asked about it during a solar eclipse, the official story would be that it had been an experimental action unanimously decided upon by the three of them.

Once he had sorted through all those tangled emotions, Chen Miemie got down to business.

“All right, everyone move aside. I’m going to take off a small piece and prepare to advance to the next rank.”

The anomalies immediately cleared a space.

Although the meteorite had been broken before, that fracture had occurred during the struggle between Eternal Moon and the world barrier. In reality, its hardness was astonishing.

Chen Miemie transformed into [Huangyi] and used “Yellow Laser Cutting Technique.” After cutting for more than half an hour, he finally managed to remove a fist-sized piece.

Chen Miemie was still considering how he ought to use the meteorite.

“Should I swallow it whole? Or grind it into powder and mix it with water?”

When he turned around, he found a crowd of envious eyes staring at him.

Chen Miemie shifted the small stone from his left hand to his right. The anomalies’ eyes and necks followed the movement in unison.

“You want this?”

“Yes!” “We do~” “Very much!”

The anomalies nodded furiously. If the person standing before them hadn’t been Chen Miemie, they might well have tried to snatch it.

Chen Miemie thought about it. He didn’t know the reason, but as Eternal Moon’s Familiars, it wasn’t particularly strange that they would be attracted to something that had come from Eternal Moon.

Chen Miemie was generous. After all, everyone before him was one of his “vassals who had followed him from the beginning.”

“There’s still plenty of the big meteorite left. I’ll make a small object for each of you later. Qinghua, write down what everyone wants.”

“Yay~” Black Hole, who had joined later, leaped for joy when it realized it would get one too.

Qinghua took out a little notebook. “Everyone who needs to register, line up here beside Little Blackboard. Think carefully about what you want. It can’t be larger than half the size of the piece Miemie is holding.”

The usually chaotic anomalies immediately formed a neat line in front of her. Even Red, who had long hung from the ceiling; Lost Snail, who rarely spoke; and Water Gaze, who hid behind the fish tank’s curtain of water, all hurried over to line up obediently, terrified that they would miss their turn and be left out.

Thanks to its ability to fly, Daidai was unexpectedly first in line.

“Big Sister Qinghua, I want a pillow. I can rest my head on it when I sleep.”

Qinghua sized up Daidai’s body. “All right. You’re small, so that can be done. Next.”

Most of the others chose jewelry such as necklaces.

The available material was limited, so larger objects were out of the question. Pendants and similar items, however, could be carried with them at all times.

Of course, there were exceptions.

Pure Water and Water Gaze both asked for a small stone, saying they wanted to place it directly in the fish tank as decorative stones. The Forbidden Fruit Bestiary chose a bookmark.

Black Hole had no physical body and nowhere to put anything, and it began running around in circles in a panic.

Bobo crept up to it.

“Black Hole, aren’t we the best of friends?”

Caught off guard, Black Hole instinctively admitted, “Of course. We’re good friends who even developed a combo move together.”

“Wonderful. I was worried because you don’t have anywhere to put your item. As it happens, I want a large plate for serving roast chicken, but I’m just a little short on material. As a good friend, could you lend me your share for now?”

Black Hole immediately realized what was happening and flew into a rage.

“You good-for-nothing Bobo! You’re trying to steal mine! No way!”

Bobo and Black Hole’s plastic friendship shattered on the spot.

Chen Miemie paid no attention to the anomalies’ heated discussion. He was still studying how to “use” his own piece of stone.

Eating it was out of the question. The meteorite was unbelievably hard, so it definitely wouldn’t digest.

He tried dripping some of his blood onto it, but nothing happened.

“Should I wear it as jewelry too? Somehow, that doesn’t feel right.”

He thought for a long time but still couldn’t come up with a good solution.

Qinghua finished recording everyone’s requests and returned to the sofa.

“Miemie, I’ve written down what everyone in the house wants.”

“Good. For those who aren’t here—Sedan Chair, Road Rage, Haomiao, Yarn Ball, Twin Bridges, and the others—contact them too. Make a complete list of what everyone wants, then give it to me. I’ll find someone to make everything in one batch.”

“Chen Miemie, you’re so generous.” Bobo was very pleased. Relying on its shamelessness, it had pieced together enough leftover material from everyone else to make up the volume needed for its large plate.

Chen Miemie smiled.

“I’m not generous. You’re all my own people, and I can’t use that much material anyway. Giving it to you or keeping it with me makes no difference. It’s just moving something from my left pocket to my right.”

The moment he finished speaking, Chen Miemie suddenly froze.

“I understand!

“When other people use the material, they’re using an external object to strengthen or even mutate themselves. That’s why it’s called ‘using’ it.

“But I’m different. This meteorite came from Eternal Moon himself. Using something that belongs to Eternal Moon on me, Chen Miemie, is no different from moving something from my left pocket to my right.

“This isn’t ‘using’ it. This is returning.

“Bobo, stick out your leg and let me take a bite. You’ve made another contribution.”

Bobo was overjoyed. It immediately leaped up and performed a midair full split.

Chen Miemie held the small meteorite in both hands and released his ability, [Moonlight]. In his heart, he thought:

Meteorite, you are me, and I am you. We were one to begin with. Let us merge once more.

This was an absurdly idealistic thought, yet, unexpectedly, the meteorite really did begin to glow. Its light merged seamlessly with Chen Miemie’s [Moonlight].

The entire small meteorite “lightified” at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Once the meteorite had completely transformed into light, Chen Miemie withdrew the light that had fused together in his hand.

At that very moment, he felt as though his body had changed slightly. It was both warm and cool—a contradiction, perhaps, but in any case, extremely comfortable.

He knew this feeling well. He had advanced.

“So this is [Mystery] 4?”

He could not yet feel the physical enhancement while in the Eternal Moon’s night. He would have to wait until daytime to experience it. But he knew that some new power had appeared within his [Mystery].

“My [Mystery] was originally [Moonlight], but now it seems to have given rise to a new power?”

Chen Miemie quietly sensed it, then reached out and clenched his right hand at the empty air.

Moonlight gathered in his palm, gradually taking shape.

It became a quill made of moonlight.

“So that’s how it is. Old friend, we meet again. After passing through [Time] and [Stories], I have gained the ability to use moonlight as ink and write a book with this quill. I’ll name this new ability [Moon-Womb Scroll].”

While attempting to activate [Moon-Womb Scroll], Chen Miemie happened to glance at the large meteorite.

“Hm? There seems to be something glowing deep inside the meteorite’s core.”

He walked over to the meteorite and gave a slight wave toward the glowing spot.

From the center of the meteorite floated a drop of viscous yellow liquid. It was crystal clear, resembling a teardrop-shaped liquid gemstone.

Chen Miemie had returned to the Eternal Moon’s true form several times, so he recognized it immediately.

“Moon Marrow!”

Moon Marrow was a rare liquid found within the Eternal Moon. It generally appeared only in the core of the lunar body. Chen Miemie did not know what it was used for, but it was certainly scarce.

Chen Miemie secretly congratulated himself.

Luckily, I had been fairly particular with my wording when continuing the story. Back then, I wrote that “the Eternal Moon selected a stone from its body.” The word “selected” meant it had not simply picked any random stone, but had chosen one with great care. This meteorite containing Moon Marrow must be an exceptionally precious stone.

After storing away the Moon Marrow and fully completing his advancement, Chen Miemie instructed them, “Stay here and keep an eye on the meteorite. I’m going out for a while. Let’s see what the Sealed Book Hall looks like in the year 120 of the Seventh Era.”