Ruan Mei could tell what sort of emotions these two had developed and what had caused them.
She had already witnessed Pei Guang's capabilities, and now she just wanted to have a proper conversation with him and... collaborate to complete her own goals.
"I don't want your... treasures? I just felt curious when I saw them. And the reason I came back here... was simply to see what you've created…"
Her gaze shifted to the Cat Cakes.
Feeling that the woman wasn't eyeing their treasures, Stelle let out a sigh of relief. "Looks like she's not here to snatch our stuff?"
Pei Guang: "Hard to say. I mean, talk about timing. Just when our treasures bring us a chance to pull something rare, she shows up? You expect me to believe she's not targeting these?"
Stelle: "Then should we open them all, fast?"
Pei Guang: "I think we should! Plus, it's the first time our Cat Cakes have brought back 'treasure chests'. I have a feeling we're gonna hit jackpot!"
At the mention of a jackpot, Stelle started rubbing her hands in excitement. Her eyes were filled with affection as she looked around at the trash cans, parcel boxes, and treasure chests.
Ruan Mei didn't quite know what these two were up to, but being back here gave her a chance to not only see these new life forms again, but also to closely observe Pei Guang once more.
Thinking back, she had missed many chances to study Pei Guang up close. And every time she saw the results of his work afterward, she'd regret not making the most of those earlier opportunities.
Now that the chance had presented itself again, Ruan Mei resolved to observe him properly. Even she couldn't figure out what on earth could possibly come out of a trash can, cardboard box, or a beat-up old crate.
The first to open a chest was Stelle.
From the moment she got here, she had her eye on a certain trash can: it looked like it had seen at least a hundred years—an elder among trash cans.
Despite its age, it still proudly fulfilled its mission, and its slightly battered body seemed to beckon to the Trailblazer.
Without hesitation, she lifted the lid.
The moment it opened, a purple light burst out of the trash can.
Pei Guang had gotten used to this sight, but Ruan Mei, seeing it for the first time, was stunned.
What the hell? You can actually get stuff from a trash can?
Stelle leaned in, thinking it was probably just another purple-quality material. But when she opened it and got a closer look, she lit up with excitement: it was a recipe.
Stelle: "Ah Guang! Look! I pulled a recipe!"
She excitedly held it up for Pei Guang to see.
This was something completely new, and Pei Guang felt intrigued. "A recipe? For feeding the Cat Cakes?"
With his extensive gaming experience, Pei Guang figured this drop must be related to the Cat Cakes. After all, they were the ones who brought back these treasure chests, so it made sense if the loot was relevant to them.
But once he took the recipe in hand, he showed a sudden interest.
As a player, he was perfectly capable of cooking: just throw the ingredients in a pot and follow the recipe. The higher the skill level, the better it tastes.
So logically, having a recipe to make cat food for the Cat Cakes wouldn't be a surprise.
But once he actually looked at it, he realized he had been completely wrong. This wasn't a recipe for the Cat Cakes: it was a recipe by the Cat Cakes, for the player.
[Cat Food Recipe: Dango]
[Usage Condition: Any feline creature with a certain level of intelligence can learn and use this. Eating freshly prepared dango on-site grants special effects.]
[Consumption Effects: When freshly made and fully consumed, restores 80% satiety, moderately restores stamina and HP, slightly increases max stamina, duration 1 hour.]
[Note: Only effective when freshly prepared and eaten on-site. Eating later will negate the cat food effect.]
Looking at the effects, Pei Guang rubbed his eyes and then, after a brief pause, angrily slammed the recipe onto the ground.
"Damn it!"
His sudden outburst confused Stelle. "Is there something wrong with the recipe?"
To her, it looked like he was just playing around. After all, when Pei Guang was truly mad, he wouldn't just toss things or shout; this seemed more like an emotional release, a nostalgic recollection of something painful yet oddly amusing.
Stelle was curious about what that memory could be.
Pei Guang shook his head and, with some regret, picked the recipe back up. "Nothing's wrong. Absolutely nothing. In fact, this means we now have a way to get buffs through food. But this recipe... it reminded me of some rough memories. Back when I was still hunting monsters all over the world... the only thing I had to eat was dango…"
Seeing the recipe triggered a whole mess of thoughts about the Cat Cakes.
He had clearly spent time thinking about all sorts of things related to them, but somehow he had completely forgotten about cat food.
Looking at this recipe, he truly didn't expect to be able to eat cat food in this world.
Even if it was just one dango recipe, it was enough to bring tears to his eyes. For a hunter, eating real cat food in reality was the ultimate joy.
At that moment, Pei Guang turned to the Cat Cakes and said, "Having you all around is just the best."
The Cat Cakes, moved by his heartfelt words, felt like everything they had done was worth it. They howled joyfully, shouted with excitement, and celebrated this touching and joyful moment together with Pei Guang.
Pei Guang: "Alright! Let's get busy—let's open all these chests!!!"
Stelle: "Okay!!"
Stelle was fired up by Pei Guang's enthusiasm.
She didn't really know what was so special about the recipe, but seeing how excited Pei Guang was, she knew something good was definitely about to happen.
The two of them began opening boxes quickly.
As purple, green, blue, and white lights began to shine from the containers, they also started to notice a pattern.
Purple lights usually meant cat meal recipes, while anything lower than that was just regular materials. But halfway through the unboxing, when Stelle opened an ordinary-looking delivery box, an intense golden light suddenly burst out of it.
The golden light pierced straight through the space station, dazzling the eyes of nearly all the station's staff. Not just the staff: Stelle and Pei Guang also had shocked expressions the moment they saw the light.
Because the intensity of this golden glow was exactly the same as when they'd previously drawn a Light Cone or even a Stellar Warship! The golden brilliance, powerful enough to pierce through everything, felt like it was declaring itself to the universe.
As for Ruan Mei, she was already emotionally numb.
She'd already been stunned when she saw Pei Guang and Stelle pulling rare materials out of trash bins, and now, with this golden light, she was completely at a loss.
Even though she specialized in biology, she still knew enough about basic science to understand: unless it was the work of an Aeon or an Emanator, there was no way a plain-looking box—just an ordinary box—could possibly emit light strong enough to pierce physical matter.
And when she came into contact with it, she was certain: this light could pass through a star system…
While she was questioning her entire worldview, Pei Guang and Stelle were carefully gathering around the cardboard box, taking out a single book from inside.
[Premium Cat Meal Set: A high-difficulty cat meal recipe set]
[Requires the cooperation of multiple chefs to complete a full course meal. Includes 12 regular sets and 24 seasonal sets. Grants different stat buffs depending on the taste quality of the food. Please explore the effects on your own.]
[Note: Buff effects only apply if consumed on the spot. Eating later will only count as regular delicious food.]