Time passed quickly, for good moments always do.
Even though Firefly intentionally slowed her pace, the two of them still arrived at their destination.
Looking at the familiar storefronts, Firefly cheerfully introduced: "Have you heard this saying? In dreams, hunger is the rarest spice. The shop I'm taking you to has most of Penacony's specialty foods—like Clockie Pizza, Oak Cake Rolls, AlfalfaSalad, and… the classic SoulGlad~"
Excitedly, she shared the shop's delicacies, and before long, they had already arrived.
"Welcome. What would you like today?"
Once they sat down facing each other, the waiter brought over the menu with a smile.
Firefly pushed the menu toward Pei Guang, speaking with a slightly proud tone: "Go ahead, order anything you like! It's my treat! Even if we order one of everything, the budget is still enough."
At that moment, Firefly looked a little proud of herself. For her, this was the first time she'd ever treated someone else to a meal.
How to describe this feeling? It was… very happy.
Although she had just met Pei Guang, the experiences they had just shared brought them closer. Even though she didn't have much money in the dream, she still wanted her new friend to taste her favorite restaurant's food.
Seeing Firefly's happiness, Pei Guang couldn't help smiling himself.
But as he scanned the menu, he also noticed Firefly's eyes lingered on something. The way she pressed her lips together showed she was anticipating a particular dish.
Pei Guang looked at the menu as well, only to freeze. The prices were absurdly high. Dishes that would be mere appetizers in Belobog or the Xianzhou cost three times more than a full entrée there.
And from the pictures, the portions looked tiny.
But then again, he thought, it wasn't unreasonable. Food and drink in dreams weren't necessities: they were luxuries. And Penacony was a world-famous tourist destination.
Expensive prices were only natural.
If a tourist spot doesn't overcharge, is it really a tourist spot?
Glancing at the menu, Pei Guang nodded: "Oh? Then I won't hold back~ But…"
"Hm?"
Pei Guang sighed: "Sorry, I have choice paralysis. How about this, what's your favorite? I'll just order the exact same thing."
"Eh???"
"Or could it be…"
Pei Guang leaned in mysteriously: "Could it be that the thing you like is really expensive, and you don't want to treat me to it?"
"N-no, that's not it, I… I just…"
Firefly shook her head quickly, about to explain, but Pei Guang cut her off: "If it's not that, then we'll just order the same thing. You don't understand, for people like me, choosing is incredibly difficult. When eating out, the most important thing isn't to eat the most expensive dish, it's to eat what both people think tastes good."
Pei Guang wasn't lying to Firefly: he really did have trouble making choices.
Usually, when faced with a multiple-choice question, what he wanted most was simply: "all of the above."
He could also tell that Firefly's financial situation wasn't very good, especially because she kept staring at the menu, hesitating.
Recalling what she'd said earlier, regarding taking one of everything being on budget, from that line alone, it wasn't hard to guess that the girl sitting in front of him didn't have much money.
If this were just an ordinary game, Pei Guang might have insisted on going for the "collect every cut-scenes" route, just to see whether the girl would pout in frustration.
But in a real experience… Pei Guang much preferred seeing others happy—especially the smile of a pretty girl, which he liked the most.
Rather than guessing, why not let Firefly choose for herself? That way, he could also test her taste.
Firefly looked a little embarrassed as she said, "Really? My favorite here is the Oak Cake Rolls. I have one every day~ this cake is just so delicious~"
Pei Guang: "Every day? Aren't you worried about gaining weight?"
Firefly: "This is the dream world, you can eat as much as you like and never gain weight. It's just that I don't have much money, so I can only afford one a day…"
Her voice carried a light, cheerful tone. It was the very first cake she'd ever tasted, and also her favorite.
Just as she happily introduced what she liked, a sudden thought struck her. Only ordering one roll cake… would that seem stingy?
So she hesitated.
Normally, ordering one for herself would be fine, but now that she was treating someone else, wouldn't it look cheap? Especially since the Oak Roll Cake was the cheapest item on the menu…
While she was still wavering, Pei Guang nodded and said, "Sounds good! Let me try your taste for myself. But with cake, you've got to have a cup of coffee, right?"
Firefly: "Eh? But they don't serve coffee here…"
Pei Guang pulled out two cups of coffee. "They don't, but I do. Since you're treating me to cake, I'll treat you to coffee. Trust me, you'll fall in love with the taste."
It was the same coffee he usually carried to knock people out, but in this case, the amount he brought out was just enough for drinking without putting anyone to sleep.
After so long, Pei Guang was already very skilled with it.
Coffee that could both take down enemies and be enjoyed leisurely? He liked it immensely.
The Oak Cake Roll was soon served. The moment Firefly saw it, her eyes lit up.
"You should eat too. This cake roll is really delicious~"
Pei Guang nodded and copied her movements, tasting it carefully.
"Mhm~ no wonder it's called an Oak Cake Roll. Perfectly recreates the flavor and texture of wood."
High EQ: "perfectly recreates the flavor and texture of wood."
Low EQ: "it tastes just like a piece of wood."
At that moment, Pei Guang stared at Firefly, baffled.
Why on earth did she like something that tasted this bad? The flavor was practically identical to chewing on a tree.
Eating a spoonful of plain sugar would honestly be better.
But then he saw the way Firefly happily nibbled at it, savoring each bite, and it didn't look fake at all.
His brain started racing, analyzing the situation based on his past experience.
With Firefly, there were only two likely scenarios:
Either she deliberately brought him here to eat this awful cake, faking her enjoyment just to play a trick on him.
Or she genuinely thought it was delicious.
That could only mean one of two things: either her body was unusual, or she had never tasted any other kind of cake before—making this truly her favorite.
He thought of other possibilities too, but regardless of the truth, Pei Guang wanted the story to progress according to his own expectations.
And for that, he would need to keep gathering resources as the plot advanced. Only with enough supplies and preparation could he steer the upcoming events in the direction he wanted.
His expression grew serious at the thought.
Firefly, unaware of what was running through his mind, grew nervous when she saw his face. "Um… is it not enough?"
Pei Guang shook his head. "No, it's plenty. So, how's the coffee?"
Firefly took a sip and smiled happily. "It's delicious. So this is what coffee tastes like…"
The bitterness mingled with fragrance, and together with the cake roll, it gave her a completely new kind of experience.
But soon she realized something was wrong.
She had been the one inviting him, yet she was the one enjoying herself the most?
Embarrassed, she quickly tried to cover it up, asking, "Um… do you have anywhere you'd like to go next? Or should I show you around?"
Pei Guang: "Actually, I do have a place in mind. Do you know how to get to Clock Studios Theme Park? Just now, I found an admission ticket in a trash can. I want to check it out and see what's inside~"
Firefly: "Studios Theme Park? Sure, no problem~"
Firefly was overjoyed.
Today she had her favorite cake roll, tasted coffee for the first time, saw things she had never seen, experienced things she had never experienced.
She was truly happy!
And she felt she had to thank Pei Guang—if not for him, she never would have gotten to drink such good coffee.
As for his strange behavior… strange was fine.
In this dream world, most people were strange. Being able to enjoy what you couldn't in reality, to laugh out loud, to share your favorite food… that was enough.
She was already very happy. And because she was happy, she couldn't forget the one who had brought her this moment of joy: Pei Guang.
But of course, getting to the Studios Theme Park wasn't going to be so smooth.
The moment they stepped outside, they found the streets crawling with members of the Bloodhound Family.
For two "Four-Star Good Citizens," making it past the Bloodhounds' blockade was going to take some effort.