She was standing across the street from Pei Guang, and coincidentally, people around her were also trying to catch him.
That meant those people had also become Pei Guang's targets.
Others might not know what was inside those bags, but she did!
Trash from Belobog, Herta Space Station, and even Earth: all sorts of garbage mixed together. And inside some of the bags were special packages.
Those packages were no joke: roasted durians, fermented mung bean juice, canned herring, and piles of rotting garbage left sitting for who knows how many days.
That was Pei Guang's strongest "liquid bomb," a weapon with devastating psychological impact, especially against advanced carbon-based civilizations.
Even Phantylia, who had tasted it, admitted its effectiveness.
At that moment, locking eyes with Pei Guang, Stelle knew she had to get serious.
She immediately spun around, drew her War-Flaming Lance, and the amber glow at its tip enveloped her whole body. Not only herself—she even extended the Preservation's power to a few bystanders nearby.
She didn't care about favorability with enemies, but she and Pei Guang both cared about keeping civilians safe. They would always do their best to protect bystanders from harm.
"The lance is already lit!"
When the Bloodhound Family members saw the "bombs" Pei Guang had thrown, they were shocked. They hadn't expected him to twist the dreamscape to this extent—actually crafting explosives?
Sure, no one could die in the dream world, and destroyed buildings would eventually regenerate, but pain was still pain. So they prepared to dodge or intercept.
But just as they were about to act, they felt a surge of pure Preservation power.
"There's a Preservation Path Emanator helping us!!!"
Someone shouted, and the hunters suddenly grew confident.
Preservation's followers were famous for their resilience. With that power protecting them, bombs? Nothing to fear!
Fired up, they charged forward, eager to capture Pei Guang and Firefly and humiliate them.
Unfortunately for them, the Preservation power wasn't helping them. Any husky among the hunters would know that. Even the Fool among them knew what Pei Guang kept in those bags.
So when she saw him throw his psychological warfare payload, she immediately bolted.
The hunters charged, the husky fled, and even the Fool ran. As for Stelle, the one who had released the Preservation power, she used her trump card just as the bags hit their mark.
"War-Flaming Lance! Charge!!!"
In an instant, Stelle darted forward, covering a huge distance in the blink of an eye. At the same time, the Preservation-imbued flames ignited the garbage bags.
Without even speaking, she and Pei Guang had pulled off a perfect combo attack.
The bags burst open, releasing their payload in an indiscriminate attack. But because Stelle had protected the bystanders beforehand, the Preservation barrier held the garbage back.
Even so, the sheer stench and imagery were enough to make their brains reel.
The civilians who were protected at first looked confused, but once they saw the disgusting contents explode everywhere, they screamed.
Then, realizing none of it touched them but splattered others instead, they felt both nauseated and relieved—before fleeing as fast as they could.
The hunters weren't so lucky. The bizarre stench short-circuited their brains for a few seconds. Some gagged and vomited, others roared in anger.
But it was already too late. During those few seconds of shock, Pei Guang had already set his sights on a luxury car nearby.
It was a black "Steinway Falcon," a Penacony-made hovercar. This model was a symbol of status and wealth.
As Pei Guang appeared before it and reached for the door, the car looked down on him. It was no ordinary taxi anyone could just hop on: it was a luxury machine, proud and dignified.
But Pei Guang shattered its pride and trampled its dignity.
He quickly pulled out his lockpicking tools, poked at its purely decorative door lock, and the door popped open.
At that moment, the car felt only fear and despair. It was a luxury vehicle, and yet it had been broken into by a fugitive so easily?
Its entire life as a car now felt like garbage.
Even the trash can nearby seemed to recognize its disgrace and opened its lid, ready to accept this "trash-tier" vehicle.
But sadly for the car, Pei Guang wasn't going to let it die like garbage. Throwing open the door, he shouted to Firefly: "Get in!"
"Uh?"
Firefly was stunned again.
From Pei Guang's decision, to throwing trash bombs, to stealing a car—the whole sequence flowed seamlessly. And in the blink of an eye, he had hijacked someone else's ride?
"Isn't this… not right?"
Pei Guang: "What's not right about it? They're the ones trying to capture us. This is called emergency self-defense! Besides, we've got to shake them fast. My ticket's about to expire."
"But…"
Before she could finish, Pei Guang had already jumped in and said: "If you don't follow me, you know exactly what you'll be facing in a minute~"
Firefly instinctively looked back at the Bloodhounds, who were now wearing masks of pure suffering. This attack might not have caused physical harm, but it had scarred them deeply.
She didn't even need to imagine, just thinking about that stench splattering onto her was terrifying enough. If it really had hit her, not even igniting the entire sea would quench her rage.
Realizing that, Firefly quickly followed Pei Guang into the car.
Pei Guang, once in the car, ran his hand along the interior, roughly gauging the condition of the vehicle. Then he floored the accelerator, and the car shot forward.
As a car, the moment its door was forced open, it knew it no longer had a choice. Everything Pei Guang did, it saw clearly.
If Pei Guang's "attack" had landed on it, even as a luxury car, it was certain it would have ended up in the arms of a garbage bin. But the little trash can was never its destination: its goal was always to soar freely along the road.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Stelle saw Pei Guang and Firefly safely getting into the car to make their escape.
She nodded in satisfaction. "As expected of Ah Guang: effortlessly securing a ride that lets him dodge enemy pursuit."
But just as Stelle was savoring the moment, she suddenly realized the car was racing in the opposite direction from where she was.
Seeing this, her eyes widened, and she started running. "Eh? Ah Guang! Ah Guang! Wait for me! I haven't gotten in yet! What am I supposed to do without you? Ah Guaaaang!!!"
Inside the car, as he sped along, Pei Guang suddenly shivered.
Noticing his strange reaction, Firefly, who had just regained her composure, asked nervously, "W-what's wrong?"
Pei Guang: "Feels like I forgot something… but no idea what it is. Forget it! Not important. We're heading straight to the Studios Theme Park!"