"Stand still~ I'll give you a blessing."
Accompanied by March 7th's cheerful voice, Pei Guang felt a protective shield enveloping him.
"Nice! A support, huh? Thanks!"
In the heat of battle, Pei Guang didn't have the luxury to focus on anything other than fighting. Grateful for the shield, he made a quick decision.
"Execution!"
Once again, he plunged the wooden sword into an enemy, bracing himself for an incoming attack. However, the expected assault didn't come from the enemy but from his ally instead.
March 7th aimed her bow at the sky, and a barrage of ice shards rained down, freezing all the enemies in their tracks. Thanks to the ice shield provided by March 7th, Pei Guang wasn't affected by the attack.
"I'm pretty awesome, aren't I? Let's move on!"
Now wasn't the time for bragging tho. March 7th hurried to the elevator to activate it, but as she did, her expression froze.
"I knew it…"
"What's wrong, what's wrong?"
Pei Guang came over, saw the elevator door tightly shut, and immediately raised his sword.
"Stop that!!!"
"??"
"If you damage the elevator, we'll be in big trouble! If only the all-capable Dan Heng were here, he'd definitely be able to fix this thing."
As March 7th grumbled, Pei Guang moved closer to the platform and started tapping on it with his wooden sword. "In my experience, if you knock on electronic devices, they might start working again. Want me to give it a try?"
March 7th quickly stopped him. "No way! If you break it, we're doomed."
Just then, Dan Heng and Stelle appeared beside them. "I can't fix it."
Dan Heng explained, "I took a different route. Arlan's hurt but not in any immediate danger. Does he know what's up with this elevator?"
Dan Heng pondered for a moment. "As the head of the security department, he should."
March 7th said excitedly, "Then let's go meet up with him!"
As the two of them decided on their next move, Pei Guang sidled up to Stelle, looking at her thoughtfully. "Hey~~~"
"Hmm?"
"Are you a player too? Were you in the closed beta?"
In Pei Guang's memory, his friend never mentioned that this was a single-player game. With such a perfect immersive gameplay experience, it wouldn't be surprising if there were other players around.
"What a shame. If you were a player too, our efficiency in looting would definitely be much higher."
"Looting?"
"Yeah! In sci-fi settings like this, you can always find weird parts in trash bins."
"In the trash?"
"For sure! Based on my years of experience, even if you don't find important materials, you might find valuable items or even high-level weapons. The chances are low, but trust me, if you search enough, you'll find something. By the way, are you interested in that guy?"
"Uh, don't be shy! Think of it as a dating sim. I'm playing it like an adventure game myself. Hey, it's just a game; we don't know each other, so let's just chat."
While the two were chatting, March 7th turned back and called out, "You two, hurry up!"
"Coming!"
Pei Guang got up and followed, realizing that since this was the main quest, he had to keep up. Stelle, watching Pei Guang's odd walking style, fell into thought. During their journey with Dan Heng, the two hadn't exchanged much, and most of the enemies had been dealt with by Dan Heng in a single strike, leaving her little opportunity to act.
Seeing how proactive Pei Guang was, she wondered if following his lead was the right choice.
Thinking this, she started imitating Pei Guang's bouncy walk.
Noticing the two of them hopping along, March 7th curiously asked, "Do you two know each other?"
Pei Guang replied, "Nope, but she seems like a newbie. It's common for veteran players to guide newbies."
March 7th remarked, "Weirdos…"
The group arrived at the control room, where March 7th, Dan Heng, and Arlan began conversing.
Meanwhile, Pei Guang, still hopping around, listened while also rummaging through the area. Unfortunately, he found nothing—no boxes, no jars, and even the drawers were locked.
Arlan, noticing the hopping pair, asked curiously, "Who are they…?"
March 7th sighed, "I don't know, we picked them up along the way. We thought they were with you."
Arlan shook his head. "Nope… But speaking of which, you should have received an access card since you were commissioned."
Hearing the word "access card," March 7th suddenly remembered something. "I think I did get a card, but I don't remember where I put it… Ah! Found it."
On the other side, just as Pei Guang heard that the access card was lost, he was about to jump at the opportunity to take on a task when he saw March 7th pull out the card. Suddenly, he looked dejected.
Seeing this, Stelle asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Pei Guang explained, "Usually, when something is lost, a task is issued. With a task, there's a reward. In cases like this, we need to actively seek out tasks, but I didn't expect her to just be messing with us. By the way, didn't you pick up a side quest earlier?"
"Side quest?"
Pei Guang regretfully explained, "Didn't he just mention that most members successfully retreated? That means some haven't. This is a hidden side quest. Based on my experience, rescue or protection missions tend to offer great rewards. Since I'm not too familiar with this place, let's team up, and we'll split the rewards after the mission, but I'll keep anything useful to me!"
Stelle asked hesitantly, "Won't it be dangerous?"
Pei Guang reassured her, "Let's go, let's go. Based on my experience, as long as we don't progress the main quest, they won't move forward, and the plot won't continue. Side quests come first. Dangerous? Don't worry, I'll teach you how to stealth. I've noticed that enemies here come in groups of four. We'll sneak up, each of us will take out one, then you hold one off while I quickly eliminate another. The rest will be easy to deal with."
"Okay…"
As the doors unlocked and various areas became accessible, March 7th suddenly realized that the two people who had been rummaging around had disappeared.
"Where did they go?"
Dan Heng calmly replied, "They were here a moment ago. Now they've gone off to rescue people."
March 7th, concerned, exclaimed, "Rescue people? With so many enemies? How?"
Dan Heng had overheard their conversation, but after hearing Pei Guang's confident words, he didn't intervene. The enemy numbers were overwhelming, and the group was too scattered. Even if he wanted to help, he couldn't do much.
If those two strangers could save more people, it would be a good thing.
March 7th, now anxious, explained, "You don't understand! Pei Guang is very strong! Extremely strong. But if we don't stop him, he might end up tearing this place apart!"
March 7th still remembered Pei Guang's antics earlier—tearing down doors, smashing jars, and dismantling boxes. She could stop him when she was around, but who knew what he might do when she wasn't there to intervene?