The mission to rescue people in danger was progressing smoothly: Pei Guang had in fact saved everyone he encountered along the way. Following the directions of other researchers, he smashed through walls, forcibly connecting various rooms.
As the number of rescued people displayed in the mission prompt increased, Pei Guang started to consider whether it was time to return and turn in the mission.
"Let me think. We have a total of 23 people. If we run into enemies on the way back and lose four or five, we would have still saved nine people each. The reward for saving nine people should be pretty good, right? Besides, there seem to be more and more monsters, and it might get too difficult to protect everyone if we continue."
While strategizing, Pei Guang also checked his system. In addition to his storage space and the beginner's sword, several new skills had appeared on his interface.
Block: Can block enemy attacks, though no one knows why the enemy loses balance after being blocked.
Stealth: When crouching, enemies will ignore your actions. Ineffective after an attack.
These skills didn't have specific stats and just appeared suddenly as Pei Guang continued to explore. There were no prompts when using them; it was entirely up to his personal gaming experience to judge when to use them. Once used, they appeared on the skill panel.
As for how to allocate points or acquire more skills, Pei Guang decided to wait until he had completed the novice mission and this side quest before figuring it out.
"Stelle! Let's go! Time to turn in the mission."
"Okay… but why are you taking all those things?"
Stelle had been watching Pei Guang's actions closely. During the rescue, Pei Guang would always take small items like toys, dolls, and books, even asking others to help him collect these things. She didn't quite understand what use these items had.
Hearing her question, Pei Guang patiently explained, "Don't underestimate these collectible items. At safe points or teleport points, some NPCs will give out tasks that seem really dumb. The rewards are usually modest, and the collection tasks are simple, but they're a hassle to run around for. If we carry these items now, we might be able to complete some missions when we return. By the way, if you get any missions that need specific materials, let me know. I've already collected materials from over 50 people, so it'll be easy to turn in missions. Oh, and fuses! In a world as open as this, we're definitely going to need fuses. We should collect as many as possible; you never know when they might come in handy."
"Okay…"
Stelle looked at the large group following them and fell into deep thought. She looked at the special baseball bat in her hand. When she tried to smash through walls like Pei Guang, she couldn't break them, but Pei Guang could with his wooden sword. She wasn't sure if the issue was with her or with Pei Guang, but she remembered his advice about collecting items for missions and started picking up some small parts herself.
As they were about to turn in the mission, March 7th's voice echoed from down the path: "Finally found you! Do you have any idea what kind of trouble… you've caused…!?"
March 7th had planned to scold Pei Guang harshly for recklessly tearing through the place. The station was already under attack, and now Pei Guang had caused even more damage, leading to massive losses.
But when she saw the large group of people behind Pei Guang, she chose to remain silent. Although the station had suffered structural damage, March 7th noticed that Pei Guang hadn't destroyed any important electronics or equipment. Instead, it was mostly random items like bottles, jars, and boxes that had been trashed. She also knew what was more important, whether human lives or those objects.
Dan Heng, who had been with March 7th, frowned slightly at the sight. "There are too many people. We definitely can't escort them all at once. Let's send them to the guard room first. I'll stay with Alan to take care of them while you gather more help to bring them back."
With so many people, it wasn't possible to bring everyone back safely at once.
"Alright… uh, Pei Guang, you did a great job! Now, come with me. We need to find reinforcements"
Hearing the praise, Pei Guang muttered to himself, "You can increase favorability by disobeying orders? Looks like mission priority is higher than NPC instructions. Not bad, not bad."
Stelle, listening to this, felt her brain was starting to overheat. To her, Pei Guang was fine in every way, except that he often said things she couldn't understand at all.
And so, the group split up again.
Before they parted, Pei Guang reminded Stelle, "This is a dual-line mission for defense and support. My skills are more combat-focused, so I'll go with March 7th on the support mission. You stay with Dan Heng for the defense mission. Here's a tip: If the enemy attacks and you can't hold out, let the support NPCs draw the monsters' attention first, then you can flank and finish them off."
This was a common strategy in many games, where hostages were fragile and could die easily, but NPCs were much tougher.
Hearing this, Stelle thoughtfully looked at Dan Heng, who was guiding the group's retreat. Dan Heng, sensing their gaze, suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Oh, and here are some consumables I just collected. They don't heal much, but you can use them. Don't be stingy with consumables in the early game."
As he spoke, Pei Guang took out some candies and food from his storage space. To Pei Guang, these were items that could restore a fixed amount of health, usually just a few dozen or a hundred points. But since it was still the early stages of the game, he figured even 500 HP was a lot. These items could restore quite a bit, making them pretty good.
"Thanks."
"No problem! It's the veteran's duty to help the newbie. Besides, I haven't experienced the thrill of carrying a newbie yet."
On the other side, March 7th, seeing the two of them talking quietly and Pei Guang pulling out candy from who knows where, curiously approached. "What are you two doing? Candy? Where did you get that?"
Pei Guang: "I carry it with me~ Want some?"
Seeing Pei Guang offering the candy, March 7th took one. "Sure! Mmm~ tasty~"
Pei Guang couldn't help but murmur in his mind, though he spoke aloud, "This increases favorability? Too bad there's no favorability stat to check how much she likes me. But I guess in a realistic game, adding stats would be too immersion-breaking. Whatever, let's just focus on the mission and see what the rewards are."
"?"
March 7th was puzzled by Pei Guang's thoughts but could tell he was treating reality like a game. She was about to say something when she caught Dan Heng's eye. "March, you and Mr. Pei should go to the main control room and seek reinforcements. We'll handle things here."
"Alright! Let's go! Stop daydreaming."
March 7th led Pei Guang as they set off. She really didn't dare let Pei Guang out of her sight anymore. Although he had done a great job this time, who knew what trouble he could cause next? If he was going to cause trouble, she wanted to be there.
The two headed towards the central elevator to seek reinforcements. This time, she was more cautious, making Pei Guang go first while she followed behind. Then she watched as he suddenly changed direction, heading away from the elevator that led to the control room.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
"Just wait, I'll be right back. The chest! My chest!!"
Why did Pei Guang run? Because he spotted a chest not far away. During the rescue, he had noticed a very large, locked chest; although it was locked, he could open it with a single tap.
And now, he saw another chest calling to him. He grabbed his wooden sword, ready to strike, but March 7th grabbed his wrist. "No wandering around right now!"
March 7th felt her head buzzing. She finally understood how Dan Heng must have felt dealing with her—it was genuinely exhausting.
"Huh? Forbidden actions? Fine, I'll finish the main quest and come back for the chest."
Pei Guang grumbled in dissatisfaction but obediently followed March 7th to continue the "main" mission. However, just as they were about to reach the elevator to the control room, a horse-like monster appeared in the sky.
"Crap! An elite monster? I knew this mission wouldn't be so easy!"
Seeing an elite monster, Pei Guang couldn't just stand by. He charged in with his wooden sword, and, as he did, March 7th infused her power into him.