At Herta Space Station, the few people who had previously wanted to meet the foxian lady had already been sent back.
This time, Pei Guang's harvest was pretty good: five people managed to extract three "celebration firework sound effects" and ten regular firework effects. This confirmed that the complexity of a mission indeed affected the drop rate.
However, analyzing drop content could wait until later. After wrapping things up, Pei Guang and the others brought everyone back to the space station and reported to Asta.
In the command bridge of the control cabin, Asta listened to the accounts of what these people had just experienced.
To put it simply, they got a taste of what a honeypot scam was like on the Luofu. According to their version, the foxian lady they met wasn't a lady at all: she was a heart-eating monster.
While what they went through wasn't exactly the truth, it wasn't far off either. After all, the foxian lady in the instance did indeed dig out hearts without anesthesia. Compared to Tutu, though, that was honestly not that big of a deal.
With that settled, everyone went off to rest. The next day, the trio spent another full day playing in Aetherium Wars before temporarily going their separate ways.
Though Aetherium Wars was still ongoing, there were a few days left until the finals, and Belobog had already taken on a festive atmosphere, but to preserve the feeling of anticipation, Pei Guang hadn't yet explored any of the festival content.
If you played too early, you'd lose that sense of excitement. Pei Guang planned to join everyone on the actual festival day.
Knowing too much ahead of time just made it boring.
It just so happened that the Luofu's internal systems were getting back on track, and with the maintenance finished, all the abodes had fully reopened. So Pei Guang decided to go take a stroll on the Luofu.
In truth, it wasn't that Pei Guang only wanted to walk around the Luofu: it's just that he had already taken the space station apart from top to bottom, and there wasn't much fun left there.
If he went to Belobog now, the festival surprise would be spoiled. He'd basically exhausted Aetherium Wars, and as for the snowfields outside the city… they were fun at first, but got boring after a while.
Only the Luofu, with its many unique abodes, still offered new and fresh experiences worth exploring.
After all, there were so many abodes on the Luofu, and it really was fun to explore. Pei Guang also planned to wander around and see if he could trigger any new quests.
Currently, he had finished all main, side, and homestead quests available in this phase. To unlock the next stages, he had to kill time.
He didn't have the time skip ability from other games, where you could skip ahead a few minutes or even weeks or months, so his only option was to pass the time by wandering around.
March 7th had returned to her room on the Express, preparing to organize the photos she had taken recently. Some important ones were pinned on her photo wall, while others, less important but still nice, she planned to sort and save for her collection.
Besides that, she was also getting ready for the upcoming festival, including planning outfits and preparing for the Penacony gathering.
Of course, she wasn't just prepping for herself: she had also picked out a few things for Pei Guang~
As for Stelle? She had originally planned to hang out with Pei Guang, but just before they set off, she received a message from Clara. So she went off to play with Clara instead.
And so, Pei Guang once again ended up wandering the Luofu alone—just a drifter on the streets.
Since he had no quest and no clear goal this time, Pei Guang was simply enjoying the beauty of a world so unlike his own.
"No wonder it's called the ninth art~ As a player, this is exactly the kind of unique beauty we live for~"
Leaning on a railing and watching the starskiffs come and go, Pei Guang suddenly had a bold thought: if he jumped down now, would he get crushed to death? The moment that thought appeared, Pei Guang immediately felt the urge to try it.
But then, seeing he only had one resurrection left, he decided against it.
Logically, his current defense and HP shouldn't get him killed from a fall like that—but with his years of gaming experience, he knew that just because you can't die during story segments doesn't mean you can't die outside of them.
Some games don't care how high-level you are: take a couple steps, twist your ankle, and you're dead. It just wasn't worth testing it now~
While Pei Guang was lost in thought, wondering if he should do something reckless, someone suddenly approached him.
"Hey, bro—you're an outworlder, right?"
That "bro" made Pei Guang look up. In front of him stood a blond middle-aged man. From his outfit and looks, it was immediately obvious he was an outworlder.
"Yeah, that's me! What's up, bro? Need my help with something?"
Seeing someone approach him, Pei Guang immediately lit up with excitement. But the middle-aged man, Amos, was slightly taken aback by Pei Guang's enthusiasm.
"Help? Not exactly. But hey, you know…"
His mysterious tone piqued Pei Guang's curiosity. "Know what? You got some insider info or something, old bro?"
Amos glanced left and right, making sure no one was watching, then spoke in a low voice: "Bro, just call me Amos. Mind if I ask your name?"
Pei Guang: "Well, what a coincidence! My name's Ultraman Ace ."
Amos: "Brother Ace, do you want to know some insider info about Luofu?"
Pei Guang: "Of course! Let's hear it, bro~"
Amos: "You know about the recent revival of the Arbor on Luofu, right? According to the official explanation, it was due to the Lord Ravager's havoc, and the Luofu general, together with the Trailblazers from the Astral Express, dealt with it. But in truth, things aren't that simple.
This whole incident was actually caused by an organization called 'Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.' All those people in the Alchemy Commission are followers of the Scriptures. Even now, the Luofu locals still worship the Plagues Author, and when things went south, they just blamed it all on the Lord Ravager."
Listening to him, Pei Guang mulled it over. It sounded mostly right, but not entirely.
Curious, he asked, "Oh? Bro? Do you have something to say or want to do something? Can we skip the whole long background part? I already know it: basically, some in the Alchemy Commission are followers of the Scriptures, and those Mara-struck were created by them, right?"
Amos: "You already know? That makes things easier. Bro, you don't even know how much the outworlders like us have suffered in this mess on Luofu. After the incident, there's been no guarantee of safety or property for us. You know what else I heard? The Alchemy Commission even used us outworlders for experiments, bullying us just because we have no connections here."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man began to cry. Pei Guang checked the system logs and nodded, "That's true. I also know of several cases where the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus experimented on outworlders, even turning them into Mara-struck to wreak havoc on Luofu."
Seeing how much Pei Guang knew, Amos got even more excited. "Exactly! That's why we've gathered some fellow outworlders and are planning to confront the Alchemy Commission. Since those people on the Xianzhou treat us like this, we have to demand justice!"
The phrase "demand justice" fired Pei Guang up even more. "Got it. So the mission is to go with you guys to the Alchemy Commission and demand justice for the outworlders, right? No problem, I'll go with you. But about the reward for this operation~"
Pei Guang made the universal hand gesture for money. Seeing this, Amos leaned in and whispered, "No problem, bro. As long as it works, take as much as you want. Depends on your ability."
That one line stunned Pei Guang.
In all these years, this was the first time he'd encountered such a generous side quest? Take as much as you want? Just how hard was this mission going to be?
But Pei Guang wasn't dumb. He sensed something was off. "Alright, no problem. But let's be clear: what exactly is the mission? Just going to demand justice? Is there a specific plan?"
Amos smiled mysteriously. "There is! We'll go straight to the Alchemy Commission's medics and demand an explanation, so more people can see how hypocritical the Xianzhou folks are. If they refuse to answer us, we'll make sure the entire Xianzhou sees our strength."
Pei Guang: "No problem! As long as the reward's ready, I promise I'll get your mission done perfectly."
After Pei Guang accepted the quest, Amos pulled out a map of the Alchemy Commission and pointed to the star skiff dock to the north.
"We'll meet here in the afternoon. Including you, we've got hundreds of people. This isn't just for ourselves: it's to seek justice for all outworlders. We'll show them that the Reignbow Arbiter cannot purge the plague. Only Oblivion can cleanse the Scourge!"
Pei Guang pivoted quickly and echoed his words, "Only Oblivion! Cleanse the Scourge!"
Seeing how aligned Pei Guang seemed, Amos nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! Only Oblivion can cleanse the Scourge. Brother, looks like we're of the same faith!"
Pei Guang: "Yeah! For various reasons, I also want to meet the Aeon of Destruction in person one day."
That part was true. Ever since he got the "Waiting for You" Light Cone from Stelle—something bestowed by the Aeon of Destruction—Pei Guang had been pondering the whole Destruction thing.
Like, how does one even kill an Aeon?
Ask another Aeon for help? Though he'd cooperated with the Aeon of Remembrance, Pei Guang was sure that one wouldn't help him unless the Aeon of Destruction got in the way of their plans. Their relationship was strictly professional.
As for other Aeons? He wasn't close to any. And Aeons were mysterious as hell. At this stage, Pei Guang figured he wouldn't be running into more of them anytime soon.