Acheron accepted the peach, bigger than her head, and for some reason, she could smell the faint scent of someone she knew upon it.
She couldn't help but take a bite immediately.
Firefly, watching curiously from the side, asked, "Huh? That thing actually dropped a fruit? That's incredible."
Pei Guang shrugged. "Right? It's a dream. Anything can happen in a dream—nothing's too strange."
Firefly: "I see… but how did you even know it would drop something?"
Pei Guang explained seriously, "Simple. If you see something shaped weirdly, looks suspicious, or even seems to be tempting you to approach it—break it. Stuff like that usually drops loot. As for what it drops, that's luck. Acheron liking it? That's just an accident."
For players, what you get is pure chance, but for Acheron, when she saw that peach, countless memories came flooding back.
"I…"
This wasn't any peach she'd eaten before, yet its scent was like one freshly picked, one that still carried her own trace upon it.
She knew this was a dream, and that anything could appear here—but still, she hadn't expected this.
She took a careful bite, and the familiar taste made her freeze in place. Expressionless, she gazed at the peach, hugged it lightly, then turned to Pei Guang.
"May I ask… is there a way to get another one of these peaches?"
Pei Guang: "No idea. But judging by how it appeared, if you find other suspicious-looking containers or enemy-like structures around Penacony, they might drop something too. From my experience, unless it's something super rare, common stuff usually drops."
Pei Guang's explanation was calm, and Acheron memorized every word.
This was a dream, and anything that happened here could make sense. She noted down what he said, planning to try it herself later.
For Pei Guang, the teacup-head was just a funny little episode, but for Acheron, it was meaningful. She'd already decided to test his theory the next time she was free in the dream.
As for the peach itself…
Acheron looked down at it.
She didn't want to store it away, yet she couldn't bring herself to finish it too quickly. Taste-wise, it wasn't the most delicious she'd ever had, but it was unique.
It carried her scent. And even if it only existed within a dream, that was enough.
So now, what had been a normal three-person exploration team changed after the appearance of the giant peach.
Pei Guang and Firefly wandered ahead, looking more like tourists than adventurers, while behind them Acheron hugged the peach so large it blocked her view, nibbling it little by little. With each bite, she smiled faintly.
At a glance, they didn't look like treasure hunters searching for the Watchmaker's relic at all: more like three people on a spring outing.
The trio pressed forward, but after a while, Firefly's expression suddenly turned grim. She sensed a wave of scorching heat through the dreamstuff, one she knew very well.
"Wait… this is…"
She fell silent, a bad feeling creeping up on her. She wanted to tell Pei Guang to turn back, but before she could, his next words made it impossible.
Pei Guang: "Judging by the layout, yeah—up ahead should be the hotel lobby. Oh? Looks like Stelle and Black Swan are there too. Let's go!"
Firefly: "O-okay…"
Acheron said nothing: she simply took another bite of the peach and followed.
They passed through the corridor and stepped into the lobby. The moment they arrived, Pei Guang saw Stelle and Black Swan approaching from another hallway.
Just as their groups were about to meet, a sound from within the lobby drew everyone's attention.
They turned—and saw that the grand lobby of the Dreamscape's Reverie Hotel was littered with the bodies of Dreamchaser Troupe monsters. At the center stood a figure in gleaming silver armor, holding the charred corpse of one such creature.
Seeing that armor, Firefly drew a sharp breath and instinctively hid behind Pei Guang.
Black Swan looked at the armored figure and spoke its name aloud.
"Stellaron Hunter… Sam?"
As she said the name, the armored figure turned. The scanner on its head swept rapidly across the five of them.
"One Galaxy Ranger, one Memokeeper… and…"
When its gaze fell on Pei Guang, and Firefly hiding behind him, Sam froze.
For a moment the room fell silent.
Even Black Swan didn't know what to say: argue for a fight? Admit the truth and ruin her cover? Better to play dumb.
She was a Memokeeper: she didn't have to know everything; just watch the show.
Acheron didn't care either. Since getting that peach she'd seemed to find a lost piece of youth; fighting could wait—peaches came first.
While the two of them were quiet, Stelle padded up to Pei Guang and whispered, "Ah Guang! What's going on? Why's everyone suddenly quiet?"
Pei Guang: "He's the Stellaron Hunter, Sam. An old acquaintance of ours—well, not formally met, but Silver Wolf has definitely warned him about us. Seeing us here, he'd hesitate. After all, our goal's the Watchmaker's treasure."
Stelle: "You gonna give it to him?"
Pei Guang shook his head. "No way. We don't need it, but Firefly does. Whether that treasure's useful or not, we should grab it and let her try. Then we'll decide."
Stelle: "Got it!"
Pei Guang: "Don't worry—leave the negotiations to me."
He stepped forward a few paces and addressed Sam's armored form calmly.
"Stellaron Hunter Sam, are you going to stop us from seeking the Watchmaker's legacy? If not, step aside now and you won't get hurt. If you block us, anyone who stands between us and that treasure will die."
Stelle muttered from the side, "If we're supposed to be on the same side, isn't killing each other a bit much?"
Pei Guang: "What's wrong with it? It's a dream—nobody dies for real. If we have to, we'll just send him back to reality."
Stelle: "True. A righteous five-on-one—how could we lose? Hey, wait—Firefly's transformation gear can make a cool suit of armor. Firefly, why don't you go up first and try it? Don't worry, he's a Stellaron Hunter: we know him, he ought to give us a little face. Right?"
Stelle suddenly realized they weren't actually that close with Sam.
Pei Guang studied Sam, who was standing by, and said, "He'll probably give us a bit of face. Didn't you see how cocky he was at first, then he paused when he saw the two of us? He's probably figuring out how to handle this.
Firefly, when Sam approaches, don't start a fight right away. He's a friend of my companion team; if we show a bit of restraint, he'll likely spare us a bit of face."
Stelle: "And if he doesn't?"
Pei Guang: "Simple—righteous five-on-one."
With five people on the scene, Pei Guang couldn't imagine how they would lose.
Hearing Pei Guang and Stelle's plan, Firefly peeped her head out cautiously from behind Pei Guang.
She looked at him with a complicated expression and asked, "For real? Me? Go fight Sam?"