"Who's there!!!"
A voice entirely different from the patrolling spiritfarers's echoed around them. The one standing guard had been possessed by a fragment of Furynox, patrolling the area while draining the life force of the spiritfarers of the Ten-Lords Commission and repelling intruders.
But no one expected that while it was on duty, the fragment suddenly felt itself get poked.
Even stranger: it could distinctly feel it got poked in the butt. Or, rather, its weak point? Getting poked anywhere else might've been fine, but there?
It felt both violated and humiliated.
Just as it was about to retaliate, it heard several voices behind the body it was controlling.
Pei Guang: "Huohuo! You hit its weak point! Now use your strongest attack to seal it!"
Huohuo: "Strong attack? I—I don't know any!"
Stelle: "Just use whatever you're most comfortable with."
Tail: "The stuff you learned at the Ten-Lords Commission—just go with that!"
Huohuo: "I—I got it! Spirit talismans, spirit talismans! For protection!"
Huohuo stabbed her talisman flag into the body possessed by the Heliobus. At the same time, her talisman activated. The fragment, already weakened by the poke, was forcefully expelled from the host's body by Huohuo's exorcism.
Watching the fragment fly out, Tail, the actual Heliobus, was stunned: "Whoa? You actually pulled it off? You really have some skill. You even managed to teach something to this timid girl."
Before Pei Guang could respond to the praise, Stelle puffed up proudly: "Of course! Do you even know who he is?"
As she basked in the moment, Huohuo was practically glowing with joy, staring at the expelled Heliobus fragment: "Mr. Ah Guang! Look, I did it! I really did it!!!"
She was thrilled. Even though she hadn't acted alone this time, every step had been hers: Tail hadn't helped at all.
For the first time, Huohuo felt happy, fulfilled, and confident. There was still fear, but this first success was a massive boost to her courage.
Pei Guang: "Well done! Alright, let me see if this fragment is usable!"
Pei Guang picked up the Heliobus fragment and examined it, then grumbled in dissatisfaction: "Seriously? Can't synthesize yet? Need five to make one basic Heliobus? And that's to make items? Might as well be sewing penguins!"
He was frustrated. While he'd had fun "stitching" things along the way, sometimes these systems just pushed him to complain.
The shard system wasn't bad, per se. It's just that drawing character or item shards instead of full units made him want to rant.
Still, Pei Guang figured it wasn't a loss: judging by the current situation, there were definitely more than five fragments around. If five make one, then hey, might as well call it a win.
Then, considering Heliobus's nature, Pei Guang had an idea.
"Hey, Tail, let me ask: when a Heliobus splits into mini ones and absorbs enough power, can it grow into a big one? Is that how you guys multiply and evolve?"
Tail: "They can. Wait—why are you asking?"
Pei Guang: "I just had a wild idea. Stelle! I think when this is over, we should try building a Heliobus factory!"
Tail: "?"
Stelle: "Oh? A Heliobus factory? Tell me more!"
Pei Guang explained, "Look! Heliobus grows from extreme emotions and drains their hosts during that process. Now, the Abominations of Abundance have insane life force but no brains. Plus, they're full of intense emotions.
Here's the idea: we collect more Heliobus, shatter them into fragments, let them possess Abominations of Abundance, let them grow, then smash them again—repeat the cycle. Boom, infinite Heliobus! We'd each have a God-tier pet!"
Stelle: "Tch—if this works, it's genius! With Abominations of Abundance, there's no such thing as cruelty."
Pei Guang: "Exactly! Super efficient. Once we've got time, let's grab a few Abominations of Abundance and test it. If they don't work, we can try those Antimatter Legion puppets. Either way, no problem!"
At this, Tail's face turned solemn. It'd seen saints, but never someone like this: a living King Yama. Compared to Pei Guang, even Abominations of Abundance seemed gentle.
As Pei Guang drifted into his fantasy, Huohuo tugged at his sleeve: "Over there: there's a bunch more…"
That first success had fired up her confidence. She was still scared, but now she wanted to go again.
Pei Guang: "Let's go, then. But this time, don't use your weapon, try this instead. Sure, your weapon easily knocks the fragments out, but if people wake up and realize how you did it, they might go berserk on the spot."
Not to mention, for the sake of her future workplace relationships, that sneak-attack method wasn't really suitable for teammates.
Huohuo: "Um, how do I use this?"
Pei Guang: "Come, I'll show you. Take that one over there for example—let's go!"
Pei Guang led the way, showing Huohuo how to properly use the coffee. He snuck up behind a target, silently stood up, and jammed the coffee bottle into the person's mouth.
One squeeze, perfect dose. The person collapsed on the spot.
And the moment the coffee hit, not only did the possessed collapse, but the Heliobus inside also calmed down. Once everything was settled, Huohuo moved in and drew the fragment out with her talisman.
While she worked, Pei Guang explained, "See? It's easy: just jam the bottle in and squeeze. Your turn?"
Huohuo took a deep breath, then nodded enthusiastically: "Okay! I'll handle the next one."
Taking the bottle, she copied Pei Guang's moves perfectly. The sneak approach was simple enough, and Huohuo picked it up after just one demo.
She crept up behind the next target, pulled out the coffee bottle, and moved smoothly through the steps—until she did something that stunned both Pei Guang and Stelle.
Right in front of their eyes, Huohuo didn't even open the cap.
Instead, she shoved the still-sealed bottle straight into the person's mouth.
"Drink! Drink it all!!!"
Huohuo carefully replicated each of Pei Guang's movements. But because she didn't open the bottle cap, when she jammed the coffee bottle's mouth into the person's mouth, it only made the person freeze in confusion.
And when Huohuo squeezed the bottle, none of the liquid actually entered the target's mouth to knock them out.
At first, Huohuo thought she just wasn't strong enough to squeeze it. But as she felt the gaze of the enemy on her, she swallowed nervously and said, "U-um… this is delicious coffee. It helps you stay alert. Would you… like a sip?"