Hearing Pei Guang, Hanya replied, "It's fine. If you really lose it, you can spend a certain amount of points or credits to get a new one. But it's bound to you: it's useless in anyone else's hands. Let me also clarify the point system: points can be exchanged for anything currently available in the Xianzhou Alliance.
In theory, if you save enough, you could even become a general, or even an Arbiter-General, and command the entire Alliance. But you'll have to explore the specifics yourself."
Pei Guang said, "No problem. I'm used to free exploration. But hey, now that I've got the medal, don't you have a mission for me? Let me earn some points!"
Hanya replied, "I do. I was planning to commission you for something related to Heliobi. You know the situation with Heliobi: although Fyxestroll Garden's Heliobi have been stabilized, there are still some Heliobi remnants running loose on the Luofu.
I want to invite you to deal with them using your preferred methods. For every external Heliobi you fully neutralize, you'll earn 100 points. Once all of them are dealt with, you'll receive an additional 1,000 points.
One hundred points can be exchanged for 100,000 credits at the Ten-Lords Commission or used to rent various magical tools for a day. I'll send you a general exchange list later so you can get an idea of what's available."
As Hanya explained, Pei Guang showed an expression of understanding. Then, curious, he asked, "Quick question: can I team up with others to do your missions?"
Hanya replied, "Yes. After accepting a mission, who you work with is entirely your choice. Just be mindful of how the rewards are split."
Pei Guang said, "Of course I'll keep that in mind: I've been a raid leader in multiple games. But come to think of it, I'm surprised you're so familiar with gamer terminology."
Hanya looked at Pei Guang and said, "We're not all just workaholics, you know. We try to keep up with the times and try new things during our breaks. Anyway, about the Heliobi: do you have a plan?"
Pei Guang thought for a moment and said, "Actually, yeah. Because of the nature of the Heliobi, it's useless to try to search the Luofu blindly or wait for people to report them. I plan to use some special tactics…"
Hanya asked, "Do you need any support from us?"
Pei Guang replied, "Yes, actually. Here's the idea: I want to set up a kind of urban legend website. On the site, I'll hire some 'internet ghostwriters' to post convincing-looking urban legends to attract attention.
These Heliobi creatures resemble ghosts in how people perceive them, right? Then I'll have the site's users submit their own stories, and based on their credibility, we'll investigate. I definitely can't handle it alone, so I'll need people to assist me and others to secretly verify whether each story is just made up or actually caused by a Heliobus."
Hanya said, "That's actually a pretty good idea. It'll be a bit demanding in the early stages, but the sooner we round up those Heliobi, the less risk there'll be. Just a heads-up: keep Heliobus-related information away from unrelated parties.
The more people who know, the more likely it'll cause problems. As for manpower, I'll assign Huohuo to you. Under your guidance, she's become quite adept at dealing with Heliobi. Do you need anyone else?"
Pei Guang replied, "Don't worry. I'll keep it low-key—no flashy moves and unnecessary attention!"
Pei Guang spoke with the tone of at least a Japanese army major, but in his mind, he was already thinking about how to get more missions: "Let me think? I also want to find a popular and good-looking streamer to attract traffic. After all, a boring website can only attract a small group of enthusiasts. If there's some fun involved, it'll get more people interested.
Maybe they're just watching for the streamer or the entertainment, but if they really notice something strange in their life, they might think of our site to vent or ask for help. And as for the streamer, I actually have someone in mind…"
Pei Guang thought of Guinaifen. He met this girl during the Interastral Tournament Festival, and he remembered she had mentioned being a streamer. With her good looks and lively personality, Pei Guang figured she was a perfect fit.
Pei Guang planned to boost the site's popularity through catching Heliobi. With the site gaining attention, he could find more Heliobi, which would in turn draw even more people in: a positive feedback loop.
He was itching to get started on this.
On his end, Mei had already begun researching Honkai Energy. If that research succeeded, his territory would have the technology to provide large-scale, high-efficiency energy.
At that point, if he managed to synthesize something like a Lightning-Lord out of 999 Heliobi, wouldn't he be chasing Lord Ravagers and beating them up across the solar system?
But fighting and killing weren't really a player's dream. Pei Guang's real dream was that after creating a Lightning-Lord, he'd also make a trash can of the same size.
In the future, if he didn't like some faction, he'd just control the Lightning-Lord and instead of fighting or killing, he'd dump the garbage from the giant bin onto their planet.
Then he'd show up with an open diplomatic policy. Eheh! Wouldn't that settle everything?
Meanwhile, on the Astral Express, Welt was lying in bed resting after having been too busy recently. That night, he had a terrifying dream.
In the dream, the Honkai returned to Earth. Along with it came a massive Herrscher-like being wreaking havoc across the planet: like a Lightning-Lord.
But that wasn't the scary part.
The scariest part was that the Lightning-Lord wasn't wielding a conventional weapon, or even a plunger, but a giant trash can.
And it wasn't destroying buildings or killing people. Instead, it simply dumped trash out of the garbage bin. All kinds of trash, all colors, dry and wet alike.
What's more, in the dream, Welt saw Qitian Dasheng rolling in the garbage and even greeting him.
"What a terrifying dream…"
Waking up, Welt was soaked in cold sweat. The dream felt far too real: so real it was as if it had actually happened.
He got up and put on his glasses, which he didn't even need, and decided to take a walk to clear his mind. But before heading out, he noticed some new notifications on his phone.
Opening them, Welt felt a chill run through his body.
Pei Guang: "We can trigger missions in the Xianzhou Alliance now! Once we rack up enough points, we can even mess around as generals or marshals~"
Stelle: "Yay!"
Pei Guang: "Also, I've accepted a new mission to capture Heliobi. Once we catch enough of them, I'll be able to create something like a Lightning-Lord. Perfect timing too, someone in my territory just developed a way to convert Imaginary Energy into Honkai Energy. According to the description, this Honkai Energy is highly efficient and clean: should be just right for powering my synthetic Ravager."
Himeko: "Honkai… I remember Old Yang mentioned that before… wasn't it one of his enemies?"
Pei Guang: "No idea. According to Kevin's wife, Mei, this Honkai Energy is a special form of Imaginary Energy. Theoretically, it has a wide range of applications: testing did show it's a little dangerous, but overall it's manageable. I've already sent the researcher to Herta Space Station. They've got the equipment, and with Herta around, there shouldn't be any real danger."
March 7th: "Honkai… I think Uncle Yang mentioned that too… why not ask him? He might have some advice or ideas."
Pei Guang: "No rush! It's still in the testing phase. But I have a feeling it's just a naming coincidence. The universe is so big: duplicate names are totally normal. Maybe Mei called it 'Honkai', but in another world it'd be named 'Mecha T-Rex' or something."
March 7th: "Whatever, doesn't matter~ Just remember to include me when something fun comes up. I love interesting stuff."
There was more casual chatting below, but no one was really focused on Honkai, or whether they could become generals. The real question was: what's for dinner today? Welt noticed the group veered off-topic again before falling silent.
"Honkai…"
Welt wondered if he was seeing things. He took off his glasses, wiped the lenses, that had no prescription, and put them back on. To be sure, he even leaned in close to the screen.
After seeing keywords like Mei and Honkai, Welt had a gut feeling that the Honkai Pei Guang was talking about might really be the same Honkai he knew.
The Earth Pei Guang came from had gone through different experiences, but had some familiar people and similar history. In his world, that period was known as the Pre-Civilization Era.
Welt had thought this world just happened to resemble his own, with Honkai being replaced by Paths.
But now? Now they were actually researching Honkai here too?
Was he fated to never escape from this?