Pei Guang skillfully packed Sparkle up, stuffed her into a trash can, stuck a pacifier in her mouth, and even attached four wheels to the bottom.
Only then did he nod in satisfaction.
A transforming magical girl: Pei Guang was starting to look forward to what he might get out of her.
Firefly: "So next… are we just leaving her here?"
Pei Guang shook his head: "How could we? What if someone comes by and rescues her? We're bringing her along."
"But…"
"Relax, it won't delay our fun~ Come on, let's watch a movie~"
Originally, Pei Guang had planned to explore this Studios Theme Park, but judging by how things turned out, the rewards were already secured. No need to wander around anymore: better to just sit down and watch the movie before time was up.
Perfect chance to check whether the movie was interesting, so later he could bring March to watch it too.
"Yeah, but at this rate with her affection level? If I take March to the movie, Stelle will definitely come to mess things up, huh? Forget it, let her mess around, not a big deal."
Pei Guang didn't mind. March 7th's affection was already almost maxed out anyway.
By his analysis, the only thing left was to keep progressing the main storyline to unlock her higher affection cap.
Firefly could see Pei Guang had something in mind, but after thinking it over, she stayed quiet.
Pei Guang and Firefly went to watch a wonderful movie. It was a romance, and in Pei Guang's eyes, a perfect one for couples.
The protagonists met by accident, went through hardships, then confessed to each other and ended up together.
For Pei Guang, it was a classic plot, so classic you could guess the ending from the start. But the actors brought it to life.
It was precisely because the story was so classic that it resonated—almost everyone had gone through something like it.
Accidental meeting, from strangers to friends, happy conversations, heartfelt confessions…. Each had their little secrets, those secrets caused conflicts, but after the storm came the rainbow.
There were laughs, there were tears, and even though the plot was cliché, the way it was acted out made it feel unique.
If he had to rate it, Pei Guang would say nine out of ten games or novels with a male and female lead had similar storylines.
But plot was like that—so long as it was performed well, even the most classic could captivate and immerse.
He was no exception.
He was already imagining how March 7th would bawl her eyes out if she came. What he didn't notice was that Firefly, sitting next to him, had red eyes as she watched.
Seeing the story, she thought of herself.
In reality, she might never experience such a normal life. In the dreamscape, she could control her body well enough, but her emotions still showed on her face.
Thankfully, the theater was dark for a better viewing experience. Otherwise she couldn't imagine how ugly she must look right now.
Pei Guang thought about March, Firefly thought about herself, and Sparkle?
Eh! She was still enjoying her baby-like sleep, unconsciously sucking on the pacifier.
Same movie, three completely different thoughts.
When the movie ended, Pei Guang carried the trash can and walked out with Firefly. Standing outside, breathing the fresh air, Firefly felt her mood lighten.
"That movie was really good, but…"
Her voice grew low. "But in reality, are there endings that beautiful? Even if there are, they'd never happen to me…"
It was her heartfelt sigh.
She loved the perfect ending in the movie, the way it matched everyone's wish for happiness. But because it was so perfect, it felt unbearably distant: so distant she didn't dare to even imagine it.
She then gave a bitter smile.
Seeing it, Pei Guang pulled at his own face and said: "Ah~ don't look so down~ come on, smile a little, will you?"
At his antics, Firefly's gloom scattered. "Hahaha~ what kind of face is that?"
Pei Guang: "A face to make you laugh when you're frowning. Tch, shouldn't have taken you to this movie. Since you didn't like it, I'll rummage through the trash can and find another ticket, then take you to a different one, how about it?"
Firefly chuckled softly: "How could that be? Just finding one ticket this time was already lucky. How could we stumble onto another…"
Pei Guang: "How about this—we make a deal. If I find another ticket, same dreamscape, same place, we watch it together again."
"This…"
Firefly fell silent. She didn't know if she'd even get the chance to come back here after leaving.
Seeing her hesitate, Pei Guang pressed her: "Don't overthink it. Just say if you want to watch or not."
He snapped his fingers. "If you want to, that's all that matters! I'll take the quest to watch movies with you. Once I find a new ticket, I'll come back to hand it in. Hmph, and when I complete it, the reward better be good."
Hearing about rewards, Firefly hesitated. "But I…"
Pei Guang cut her off: "If there's no physical reward, mental reward works too. Raise your affection, or praise me a little, either's fine. If you invite me into your affection events, that's even better. I'm easy to please."
Pei Guang could tell Firefly had some unspeakable burden. But no matter what it was, after traveling with her, he felt she was a good girl.
One way or another, he didn't want to see her come to harm.
As a proper player, his job was to overturn every possible tragedy and steer the story toward the ending he wanted.
While the two of them (and a trash can) were still caught up in their feelings, Stelle, who had been exploring the dreamscape, ran over.
"Ah Guang! I'm here! Quick, let me see who I'm supposed to loot!"
Her shout shattered the strange atmosphere.
Pei Guang immediately waved to her: "This one! She disguised herself as Sampo and wore a mask. My guess is she's a Masked Fool. But no worries, whoever she is, I've got a feeling she'll drop loot!"
Stelle walked over.
She glanced at Firefly first, muttering something to herself inside, then shifted her gaze to Sparkle.
Good grief, Stelle couldn't help but exclaim in her heart. Just a few hours in, and Ah Guang already managed to pick up one and knock out another?
His efficiency was really something else.
But while she was grumbling in her head, her hands were anything but honest.
First she took the pacifier out of Sparkle's mouth, then hauled her out of the trash can and laid her on the ground. Finally, she stretched out her wicked claws toward Sparkle.
"Ehehe~ let me just touch you a little!"
Watching Stelle looking borderline deranged, Firefly whispered softly, "Is this really okay? Her smile… it's so scary…"
Right now, Stelle looked exactly like some creepy pervert. Firefly couldn't shake the feeling that handing Sparkle over to her would only end badly.
Pei Guang, however, spoke calmly: "Don't worry. The body doesn't really appeal to me or Stelle. This is just a game: there's no 'best look,' only 'better looks.' What we're really interested in is whether she drops something when we loot her. And I've got a feeling she will. And it'll be good loot too!"
Firefly asked, "How can you be so sure?"
Pei Guang replied, "Player's intuition!!!"
As a player, you'd always get these strange gut feelings, when drawing cards, opening loot boxes, you just knew this time something would drop. It was a mysterious sixth sense, like suddenly having the thought "this pull's the one," and then boom, a single roll hits the jackpot.
That feeling always came out of nowhere, but in Pei Guang's experience, it was never wrong.
Stelle made her move. And just like Pei Guang said, neither of them were perverts.
An unconscious pretty girl, or boy, did nothing for them. At most, an unconscious beauty was just "-1 stamina" for the character, but what they dropped could give the player "+1 happiness" and "+1 strength."
Stelle's technique was extremely practiced. In just a few breaths, she had checked every place Sparkle could be hiding something.
And wouldn't you know it: just like Pei Guang predicted, loot dropped.
What appeared in Stelle's hand was a little watermelon.
It was only palm-sized, but the instant she saw it, Stelle knew this was absolutely something good.
"Ah Guang! It dropped! It dropped—come see what this is!"
Excited, Stelle ran to Pei Guang and showed him the watermelon.
Pei Guang took it. One look and his eyes widened.
[Weapon Effect: Talking Cursed Watermelon]
[Effect: When equipped to a weapon, the weapon will transform into a cursed watermelon. Each attack will cause the cursed watermelon to inflict psychological damage on enemies.]
[Note: Please be aware that this psychological attack may cause targets to enter a berserk state. Use with caution.]