While Stelle, March 7th, and Himeko began their mission, Pei Guang also set off.
With Firefly in tow, he made his way to where Something Unto Death was located, and found something interesting.
The place where Something Unto Death was hiding… turned out to be the Family's stronghold.
That's right: Pei Guang's group had arrived at the Dewlight Pavilion.
Dewlight Pavilion, the fortress of the Oak Family, where the family heads gathered to discuss Penacony's major affairs.
Pei Guang's original plan had been to deal with the Family first, then capture Something Unto Death from within the Dream. But he hadn't expected that, after arriving in Oak Family territory, he'd find Something Unto Death right there.
Now he was intrigued.
"How interesting… is it trying to steal something again, or is someone in the Oak Family actually the mastermind?"
Without sufficient evidence, Pei Guang would only speculate: never jump to conclusions.
After all, in every game, misunderstandings caused by coincidences were incredibly common.
Firefly: "So what now? How do we get inside?"
Pei Guang: "Through the front gate, of course. Looks like Something Unto Death has already set a trial for us. We can't find it without passing the test. In that case, let's charge straight in!"
As he spoke, Pei Guang's hand touched the transformation device—and in that instant, flames enveloped his body.
As the fire wrapped around him, a suit of armor appeared: its base color a blazing red.
Yes, this was the "Heliobi Armor" Firefly had built for him, adjusting the data from Sam's armor to fit Pei Guang's body.
Seeing him transform, Firefly took a deep breath and activated her own transformation device as well.
The appearance of two armored figures made the nearby guards gasp.
"Who are you people? Don't tell me you're… hmph! Very well! To dare trespass into Dewlight Pavilion during my shift—you must not take the Family seriously at all!"
The pom-pom atop the Pepeshi's head quivered as he glared sternly at the armored Pei Guang and Firefly.
But, following the principle of avoiding conflict if possible, the Pepeshi gave them one last warning.
"Leave now, and the Family will not pursue this matter. Otherwise, you'll both be captured!"
Hearing that line, Firefly froze completely inside her armor.
What was wrong with this world? She'd only ever shouted those kinds of lines out loud as a joke when showing off in front of Pei Guang.
It was one thing for Pei Guang or Stelle to imitate her: but now even a random person they met was saying it too?!
Hearing those words, something deep in Pei Guang's DNA stirred.
Inside the armor, he pulled out a portable speaker, played an energetic BGM, and prepared to start posing dramatically.
But before he could, Firefly spoke in a pleading tone: "Ah Guang! Please, I'm begging you, don't imitate it… I feel so embarrassed…"
She was curling her toes in mortification: Pei Guang's armor might not have been identical to Sam's, but it was close enough.
Hearing him say that line while wearing armor so similar… it was enough to make her want to die of secondhand embarrassment.
Pei Guang: "You're right. Using the same line over and over does get a little dull. In that case…"
At this moment, the armored Pei Guang made a charging pose: "I am the Trailblazer Pei Guang. Prepare to die!"
The line sounded imposing, but Firefly suddenly had a bad feeling.
Reality indeed went in the direction of her intuition.
Right after Pei Guang said that, before the Pepeshi person could react, he suddenly jumped up.
The armored Pei Guang spread his arms in midair, flying toward the Pepeshi person as if he were sitting on something.
"Angry Crow Takes Flight!!!"
The mechanical shout made Firefly's scalp tingle, and she felt her blood pressure spike.
Seeing Pei Guang coming at him in midair, the Pepeshi person widened his eyes. He wanted to run.. actually, he stood up and ran.
Pei Guang's strike didn't hit the Pepeshi person, but instead triggered his urge to flee.
Facing the escaping enemy, Pei Guang let out a cold laugh: "Hmph! Trying to run? Thunder Whirlwind Slash!"
Two swords suddenly appeared in Pei Guang's hands—standard Cloud Knight equipment from the Xianzhou Luofu.
They looked ordinary, but at this moment they felt perfect.
With the twin swords, Pei Guang began spinning. Using the Heliobi Transform Device, he even added lightning effects as he spun, making the Thunder Whirlwind Slash look shockingly impressive.
Firefly had adjusted this set of armor for Pei Guang, but no matter how she adjusted it, its outward appearance still resembled Sam in many ways.
Precisely because of that, when she saw Pei Guang using these "skills," her mind buzzed.
At this moment, Firefly didn't understand.
Clearly, she had come with Pei Guang to look for Something Unto Death: so why were they fighting? And even if they were fighting, why had it suddenly turned into some chunibyo display?
But along with the buzzing in her head, Firefly also took a deep breath.
She felt she had once again reached a crossroads in life.
She knew that the choice she made now would determine whether her future self would die of embarrassment or live like a normal girl.
Watching Pei Guang rampage through the battlefield in a Sam-like mech, remembering all of his unserious behavior along the way, she did not hesitate: Firefly moved too.
All her life she had used Sam for extremely serious combat only. But this was a dream, and the Sam she was using was merely an imitation produced by the Heliobi Transform Device Pei Guang gave her.
So if she did something… less serious… surely Sam wouldn't mind.
Since things had already reached this point, there was no need to display any unnecessary dignity. Pei Guang had already set the precedent: if she indulged a little too… Sam wouldn't blame her, right?
Yes! He shouldn't blame her, because she was using a fake Sam created by the Transform Device and not the real Sam.
That meant even if she went a bit overboard, it should be fine!
Having figured that out, Firefly felt the buzzing in her head disappear, and her thoughts cleared.
At that moment, she understood why Pei Guang was so happy: this kind of complete release was more stress-relieving than anything else!
Especially because this was a dream—there was absolutely no need to worry that her actions were going too far.
At this moment, Firefly also jumped, and unlike her usual large-range punching attacks, she copied Pei Guang's movement and flew out.
"A-Angry… Angry Crow Takes Flight!!!"
Meanwhile, at the temporary Stellaron Hunter gathering point, Kafka had found Silver Wolf.
"How's the mission going over there?"
Because of Pei Guang's appearance, the script had already fallen apart. So Silver Wolf had been on standby, ready to support Firefly at any time.
Hearing Kafka's question, Silver Wolf paused her game.
"No idea. But with Ah Guang there, it should be fine. If you're that worried… let me check if I can connect to her. Huh? Interesting—they're actually staying in an area with surveillance. Let me see what they're doing."
If Firefly had activated Sam, Silver Wolf could have contacted her through Sam. But now she could only rely on Penacony's surveillance footage to see what was happening.
But the moment she opened the surveillance feed, both of them fell silent.
On the screen, two "Sams" were beating up a "kid." And while they beat him up, they could clearly hear Firefly's unmodified shouting voice.
It had to be admitted that this Pepeshi person, who could serve as a doorman at the Dewlight Pavilion, did have some skill: Pei Guang and Firefly hadn't instantly taken him out.
Because of that, the two "Sams" in the footage were still using "skills."
"Angry Crow Takes Flight!"
"Ah Guang! How was that?!"
Pei Guang: "Excellent! Come! Next, let's use our blood-pumping combo move!"
Firefly: "Tornado Decimates Trailer Park!!!"
In this moment, even Silver Wolf, despite already being hardened by Pei Guang's antics, froze, her expression solidifying.
Kafka sucked in a sharp breath and quickly closed the video.
Kafka: "What are they doing?"
Silver Wolf: "No idea. But it looks fun. Didn't expect they could make a new suit of armor too. Interesting. I'll have Ah Guang make one for me sometime. But this 'Angry Crow Takes Flight' must be a new skill he came up with, right? Want to try it?"
Kafka: "?"