At this moment, Antonia watched the three with gritted teeth, deep in thought, when suddenly, Seele appeared.
Seeing her, she felt like she'd found a lifeline.
Antonia: "Seele, thank goodness you're here. They…"
Seele looked at the trio—one force-feeding coffee from a bottle, one rummaging through pockets, and the last pulling out a bunch of junk as if preparing something. She wondered how she should explain this to Antonia and the others. If Natasha were here, she'd know how to explain it perfectly, but Seele was at a loss for words.
Sensing Seele's dilemma, Dan Heng stepped in to explain: "We were asked to come and help deal with some trouble. These three companions of ours think and act a bit differently from most, and their actions might have scared you. I apologize on their behalf."
This made Seele's eyes light up: "Exactly, exactly! Don't worry. They're good people. See those supplies? They helped bring them down, including a letter from Natasha's mother."
Hearing this, Antonia let out a sigh of relief: "Phew, you scared us! We thought…"
Seele reassured her: "Don't worry. Even if we weren't here, they wouldn't do anything to you. Uh… if you run into them again, just ask them to protect you and say that the mission rewards are on me, Seele."
After Dan Heng and Seele explained who Pei Guang's group was and what they'd done, the fear quickly turned into admiration. The more they'd been afraid, the more they now admired them.
Heroes from the Overworld who had brought down countless lifesaving supplies—heroes who brought news from loved ones. Yes, in such a high-pressure environment, hearing about people driving down from the surface with a ton of supplies made them seem like nothing short of heroes.
Even though most people hadn't met Pei Guang, nor had they personally benefited from his help, word of mouth had quickly deified their actions and deeds. Some even muttered among the crowd, "If only these heroes could become the Supreme Guardians!"
After all, what Pei Guang and his group had done was like bringing a ray of light into this dark underground—a small, slightly mischievous light, but a light nonetheless. It gave people hope and a sense of peace.
Antonia and her group left, as for those troublemaking Vagrants? They were dealt with thoroughly, showing them how to behave and conduct themselves properly.
To Antonia, even in chaotic times, even when facing death, one must not lose their dignity. As for their strange behavior and unconventional thinking? What does it matter if talented people think differently and act oddly?
Watching Antonia and her group's quick change in behavior and attitude, Dan Heng finally understood why Pei Guang was so keen on building rapport. In his view, rapport equaled prestige. Normally, pioneers like them wouldn't know what the people here needed, but Pei Guang seemed to always be one step ahead, prepared.
However, when he saw Pei Guang pulling out junk, he recalled the trio's past glorious moments on the Astral Express, and the unlucky guards, so he reminded Seele and Bronya: "The next fight might be too brutal. If you can't bear to watch, you might want to turn away."
Seeing Pei Guang's preparations and hearing Dan Heng's words, Bronya recalled some unpleasant memories. Pei Guang's heroic deeds in Qlipoth Fort were still fresh in her mind, especially afterward when many guards were thoroughly disgusted. Even she and Cocolia were sickened for quite a while, and despite cleaning up, they occasionally imagined they could still smell it!
Bronya hugged herself: "Seele… right? If you can't handle it, just turn away. Their fighting style… it's terrifying."
Seele, thinking back to Pei Guang and Stelle's sneaky actions, pondered: "Terrifying? Maybe a bit weird, but not terrifying, right? Hmm, maybe I should learn a few tricks from them—might come in handy for future battles."
Dan Heng: "…"
He was very grateful to have known Pei Guang early on and had witnessed the highlights of the trio's combat moments alongside Himeko and the others. Although he couldn't predict what kind of tricks these three might pull off in the future, Dan Heng was certain that Pei Guang would make sure these Vagrants wouldn't have an easy time. Whether the punishment was physical or mental... they would see.
What's the saying? "Death might be avoidable, but living through the punishment is inevitable." Dan Heng hoped that these Vagrants would learn their lesson and behave themselves after this.
Pei Guang and the others moved swiftly. Just as Dan Heng finished recording the trio's bizarre actions, March 7th took out two fist-sized firework-like gadgets. "Hmm~ Four people and we only got two weird little things? You said this is a weapon effect? How do we use it?"
Pei Guang inspected the items that March 7th had pulled out using his system. "Yep, it's a weapon effect. It's like enhancing your weapon. Give me your weapons, and I'll add the effect for you."
Stelle handed over her bat, while March 7th hesitantly asked, "This thing... it doesn't have any drawbacks, right?"
Pei Guang shook his head as he read the description. "No drawbacks. It's just a small piece of equipment, a little gadget. I'm still figuring out exactly what it does. If you're worried, I can test it out on a trash bag for you to see. But be gentle when using it—once your weapon's durability is gone, this thing will disappear along with it."
Pei Guang hadn't expected that looting bodies would not only yield treasure-finding devices but also weapon effects. And judging by the frequency, it seemed the drop rate was pretty high. But why was it that when he was looting earlier, he got nothing despite the supposed 50% chance? After all, when opening a box, he usually hits the jackpot on the first ten pulls...
Right now, Pei Guang was delighted. Compared to the Antimatter Legion back at the space station, which shattered into pieces when defeated, these Vagrants were weaker and more troublesome to deal with, but they dropped loot reliably. As he continued to explore, Pei Guang realized that his online friend was truly right—there were a lot of game mechanics stitched together here! He just hadn't discovered enough yet.
After all, only a week had passed since he arrived in this world. Discovering features like loot boxes, body looting, and various random mechanics at this speed felt quite impressive to him.
In a game like Minecraft, two hours of playtime, a week in this world, might not even yield a single diamond if you're unlucky, so it's understandable that he hadn't discovered more mechanics yet.
However, Pei Guang was also eager to see if there was a crafting function. Since so many games had been stitched together, it wouldn't be too much to hope for a crafting system, right?
But thinking about this made Pei Guang a bit frustrated. "Damn it! When I asked if they'd stitched Sword Art Online into this, they said no! But it is definitely stitched in!" The thought of those deceptive online pals made Pei Guang angry. And when he got angry, he remembered those Vagrants threatening him, saying he wouldn't have an easy time: that thought led him to decide to test the attack effects on these guys.
Using a wooden sword wouldn't be appropriate. Even though it was called a wooden sword, it had been upgraded, and Pei Guang worried it might end up doing real damage. The trash bag, however, was a perfect choice—not too much damage, except mental one, but it allowed him to fully enjoy the fun of the effects.
Pei Guang looked at the still-unconscious Vagrants. "You looted them clean?"
March 7th responded, "All clear. Now, let me see what this weapon effect looks like."
Pei Guang replied, "I'll give you a demonstration!"