A mechanical voice burst out through the voice modulator—and the Bloodhounds around Pei Guang froze, as if time itself had stopped.
Firefly stared in shock. "You can even stop time?!"
Pei Guang said nothing. Instead, he moved among the frozen Bloodhounds, dragging their bodies together and placing a barrel of explosives beside them.
He took out a remote detonator, ready to press the button, then stepped back to his original position.
Everything was perfectly set up. Holding his battle pose, Pei Guang arrogantly looked at the frozen Bloodhounds.
"When you wake up in reality, tell everyone this: it was the Stellaron Hunters who sent you off. Time! Flow once again!"
Even the frozen Bloodhounds, though unable to move, seemed stunned. Firefly, too, was speechless.
None of them could tell what kind of madness had taken hold of this red-armored warrior.
Yesterday they'd been bullied by the King of Trash; today they were being mocked by a lunatic Stellaron Hunter?
But they had no chance to complain—no time to counterattack either.
As soon as Pei Guang allowed them to move again, he turned his head sharply, and the explosives right beside them detonated in a huge explosion, blasting the Bloodhounds straight back to reality.
A true man never looks back at explosions: Pei Guang walked forward calmly, back turned to the fiery blast behind him.
The combination of the explosion and the booming BGM made the scene look like a blockbuster movie shoot.
Even Pei Guang himself was overcome with excitement watching it all unfold.
What could he say? The whole setup looked a little over-the-top, but in his eyes, the time-stop pose, the flashy lines, and the massive explosion were perfect!
He gave the whole sequence a full score.
No wonder the game world was fully stitched together: if you could imagine it, you could make it happen.
Pei Guang was delighted!
Firefly, meanwhile, was utterly dumbfounded…
Watching Pei Guang light that barrel of explosives, she had the strangest sense of déjà vu, as if she'd done something exactly like that herself before.
Pei Guang wasn't just copying her words now: he was even copying her actions?
Wait—
Firefly suddenly realized something unsettling.
Pei Guang had been calling himself Sam, shouting familiar lines she always used, lighting explosives exactly like she used to… could it be…!
While she was lost in thought, more and more people gathered at the entrance of the Dewlight Pavilion. These were elite members of the Bloodhound Family, and when they saw the scene before them, their eyes widened.
Through the flames, two Sams turned their heads toward them at the same time.
Seeing the fire, and the two armored figures emanating murderous intent, and recalling what had happened to the previous squad, they all felt their hearts tremble.
With the Charmony Festival approaching, it seemed every kind of stray cat and dog now dared to cause trouble in Penacony.
Sure, yesterday's fight with the King of Trash had been their mistake—but today, these two armored maniacs blowing up the Dewlight Pavilion?
That was blatant humiliation.
If it had happened somewhere else, it would just be an insult to the Family. But here, it was an insult to the entire Harmony.
The Bloodhound Family's officer leading this team raised his weapon, flanked by members of the Sweet Dream Troupe. He looked straight at Pei Guang and Firefly.
"Everyone! Do not fear them. The enemy cannot shatter our will. The power of Harmony links our minds as one: together we will overcome these foes! We! Are! Unstoppable!"
With that shout, the Bloodhounds and their allies roared back in unison, "Unstoppable! Unstoppable!"
The power of Harmony surged through them. The officer channeled it, directing the wave toward Pei Guang and Firefly.
But the instant his Harmony power touched them, he froze.
Because at that very moment, he could feel the same Harmony energy flowing within Pei Guang and Firefly.
"You… you're Harmony too? Wait—our Harmony…"
His voice trailed off as he sensed the resonance between their powers.
This was truly unbelievable.
As members of the Family and as part of Harmony, how could they feel the power of Harmony coming from their supposed enemies? Was their own Harmony not strong enough, or were those people pretending to be Harmonious?
While he was still confused, he suddenly noticed something unusual:
an existence that seemed strangely similar to the Aeon of Harmony, yet smaller, cuter. It looked like a dog pouch but had two cat-like faces.
He saw pure Harmony radiating from that little creature's body... alongside the powers of Preservation and Destruction?
Huh? What kind of Harmony was this?
While he was silent, puzzled, and astonished, a strange sound reached his ears.
"Universal Harmony~ woof woof woof, meow meow meow~"
That sound made him even more confused, but before he could react, his consciousness returned to reality.
As he came to, he realized the original Harmony connection had been severed—and replaced by a new one.
Harmony… had infiltrated the Family?
That bizarre thought flashed through the Bloodhound officer's mind.
But as soon as it did, he noticed something else: his body had frozen. He couldn't move at all.
When his awareness cleared again, he saw Pei Guang standing right among the crowd.
Looking at the armored enemy before him and feeling that strange Harmony energy around Pei Guang, he wanted to ask whether they were on the same side. But he couldn't open his mouth.
Yes, Pei Guang had once again used his Holy Light to freeze them in place.
Pei Guang didn't care in the slightest about Harmony or non-Harmony powers right now.
All he wanted was to blow Penacony sky high.
Just like before, he dragged these people together.
Under their stunned gazes, and under Firefly's dazed one, Pei Guang, clad in armor, took to the sky.
Up in the air, he pulled out a cargo star skiff and aimed it down at the people below.
"I've got the winning formula, Road roller-da!!!"
At the same time, Welt, who was on his way to the Dewlight Pavilion with Acheron to investigate some information, noticed more and more people gathering there.
"Excuse me, what's going on here?"
Welt stopped one of the Bloodhound members.
The man answered sternly, "The Stellaron Hunter Sam is attacking the Dewlight Pavilion! You'd better get out of here—don't get in our way!"
The Bloodhound left quickly. Welt frowned as he watched him go.
Acheron: "Should we still go over there?"
Welt nodded. "Let's take a look. A Stellaron Hunter attacking the Dewlight Pavilion… why target that place?"
He decided to check out the situation himself.
If it was all a misunderstanding, as a member of the Astral Express, and someone who'd dealt with Silver Wolf before, Welt hoped he might be able to mediate.
But when he and Acheron reached the Dewlight Pavilion, both immediately stopped in their tracks.
Not far away, a red-armored figure was slamming a cargo star skiff straight down on a group of paralyzed Bloodhounds, shouting words completely incomprehensible to normal people.
"I've got the winning formula, Road roller-da!!!"
Welt and Acheron witnessed the armored warrior physically hurl the star skiff onto the group below. Welt took a deep breath and removed his glasses.
He wiped them, though they were never dirty, whether in dream or reality, and put them back on.
He looked at Pei Guang standing on the star skiff, then at the radar map showing Pei Guang's location, then listened to that modulated, mechanical-sounding voice.
"The Family has fallen beneath my road roller!"
"An immortal body! Unmatched power!"
"And! Invincible armor!"
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
The sight made Acheron frown.
Somehow, she felt a strange sense of familiarity from that armor.
Welt's hand trembled as he once again removed his glasses. This time, he threw them to the ground and "accidentally" crushed them beneath his foot.
"Oh no, my glasses broke. Would you help me find somewhere that can fix them?"
Acheron looked at the transformed Pei Guang, then back at Welt beside her. She silently nodded.
The two of them turned away and left.
Welt was certain now: that guy wasn't a Stellaron Hunter… it was Pei Guang.
He had no idea why Pei Guang had become a Stellaron Hunter and started fighting, but seeing that armor, he couldn't help feeling envious.
That envy was exactly why he chose to leave: because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist joining in.
If nothing else, just seeing Firefly transformed behind Pei Guang was proof that Pei Guang had mastered the armor's secrets. And just the thought of Pei Guang being able to make armor like that made Welt incredibly excited.
Recalling Pei Guang's dramatic villain acts from earlier only made his blood boil hotter.
But he knew now wasn't the time to play around—at least not when others besides Pei Guang were watching.
Thinking that, he sighed helplessly: on the entire Astral Express, no one but Pei Guang could join him in his games.
That realization left Welt just a little bit melancholy.