Once all the materials were looted and the enemies were securely tied up, Pei Guang, armed with the trash bag now equipped with the attack effect, was ready to experiment.
After all, the Vagrants had said they wouldn't let him off easily, so showing them kindness now would make him lose face as a player. If the storyline had set it up so that he couldn't take revenge, he'd have no choice, but in a world with such freedom, not getting his payback would leave him feeling unresolved.
The leader of the Vagrants, who had been the first to be force-fed coffee, was also the first to wake up. He blinked in confusion, his mind still foggy from the coffee's effects.
He realized he was tied up and saw three people standing in front of him. His memory suddenly returned.
"Awake, are we?"
Seeing Pei Guang, he put on a fawning smile. "Please, sir, forgive a fool like me."
Pei Guang responded, "Have you ever heard the saying?"
The leader hesitated. "What saying?"
Pei Guang smiled coldly. "Forgiveness is between you and God. It's my job to arrange the meeting. You didn't want to let us off easily, right? Well, then…"
Without hesitation, Pei Guang swung the trash bag at the leader's head.
As the attacks landed, Seele watched intently, lost in thought, while Bronya turned away, unable to bear the sight of such brutal methods. However, the three of them were soon drawn back to the scene.
Because the effect actually triggered.
Every time Pei Guang swung the trash bag at the leader's head, the spot where it landed would burst into a firework-like effect.
The dazzling fireworks seemed to celebrate something good, but each burst was accompanied by a cry of pain. The cries were filled with pleas for mercy, with disgust and terror clear in the voice.
The effect was especially striking when Pei Guang spun around and swung the bag like a windmill, causing the fireworks to appear faster and faster. The bursts would appear, float down slowly, and then fade away after a moment.
The exact mechanism behind their appearance was unknown, but Dan Heng wasn't interested in figuring it out right now. He just noted the effect and its uses, ready to employ it when needed.
March 7th was wide-eyed with excitement at the sight of the stunning effect. Though the fireworks were repetitive, every attack made them pop out with a satisfying "bang," the more frequent the attacks, the more fireworks appeared. It might not have been useful, but it sure was entertaining, wasn't it?
Stelle was equally captivated. She looked at her bat, then at the effect. The simple contrast between the two scenes made her close her eyes dreamingly, unable to resist imagining the possibilities.
She saw the enemy— a formidable enemy. She watched herself swinging her bat, striking the enemy's head. With every hit, the enemy roared, and with each roar, fireworks exploded, as if acknowledging her strikes.
At that moment, she understood Pei Guang's phrase: "It might be useless, but it's essential." Yes, what's the point of a weapon if it doesn't have special effects when it hits? While it might not defeat the enemy, having these special effects is really cool!
If they could find more of these gadgets and have Pei Guang attach them, and then capture some unkillable enemies, wouldn't that make for a super flashy battle?
At that moment, March 7th and Stelle exchanged a glance, both seeing the excitement in the other's eyes. They had to equip these effects! Who cared about the principles? Since they met Pei Guang, even trash cans could yield treasures, so why shouldn't weapons have special effects when they hit? It's practically common sense!
However, the joy lasted only a few seconds, as the garbage bag's durability was too weak, and after several hits, it broke apart. As they looked at the scattered trash, March 7th and Stelle felt a pang of disappointment.
It wasn't that the trash was particularly disgusting or smelly, but rather, they both recalled Pei Guang's warning that if the weapon was destroyed, the effect would disappear along with it.
"Huh?"
Pei Guang awkwardly looked at the broken bag in his hand, then turned to March 7th and Stelle, "Sorry, the garbage bag couldn't take it and broke… so we lost one gadget. But it's no big deal, since March can easily loot more of them, we can just capture a few more and see if we can find some more effects."
For Stelle, that wasn't the main issue. She excitedly asked, "So who gets the last gadget?"
Pei Guang was startled, "Who gets it? You think you can still take it from me after it's in my hands? It's all mine!"
March 7th smiled, "What a shame. You could've increased your favorability."
Stelle looked at March 7th in surprise, "You're so devious."
Pei Guang turned to March 7th, "Alright then! Hand over your weapon, let me add some effects."
But March 7th, after twirling her weapon, pushed Stelle forward instead, "Hmm~ Since we're all in the same team, it's better to give the good stuff to the one who needs it the most. I don't attack as often, so I see the effects less. She attacks more, so she'll get to see it more often. Besides, I've already looted two of these, so next time we encounter some enemies, I'll just loot some more."
Pei Guang replied, "Fine by me. Judging by the odds, the probability of finding these should be pretty high. Worst case, we'll just capture more people and loot them. No big deal."
Hearing that she could try it out, Stelle excitedly handed over her bat, but then hesitated. She looked at March 7th, who winked at her.
"March, you're the best!"
March 7th just smiled, not saying much. Did she like the effect? Of course, but experiencing something that made her even happier? Well, then the effect didn't matter as much anymore~
The bat was now equipped with the attack effect, and based on Pei Guang's assessment, since the gadget was in the shape of fireworks, the effect would probably be fireworks too when it hit.
"Stelle, give it a try. Your bat has unlimited durability, so you don't have to worry about breaking it. But go easy and don't injure them: we still need them to mine."
Stelle swung her bat, "Got it~ I'll test it on them right now."
She looked at the trembling, conscious Vagrants nearby, remembering their earlier threats.
Stelle: "Since you won't give us anything good, I'll let you taste the bat instead."
Vagrant: "We're already like this, you have no ethics! No morals! No humanity."
Stelle turned to Pei Guang, "Do you have them?"
Pei Guang: "No idea, but since they said we don't, let's just assume we don't."
The Vagrant made one last desperate plea, "What you're doing is against the law!"
March 7th: "We're already branded as assassins of the Supreme Guardian, who cares about that? Come on, let's get this over with. We've got other tasks waiting."
Suddenly, Stelle remembered they still had a mission to complete. Even though Seele wasn't rushing them, it seemed pretty urgent, didn't it? With that, she didn't delay any longer. Rules? Sorry, but compared to rules, she was more interested in seeing what kind of special effect her attacks would produce. Watching Pei Guang one earlier made her itch to try it out, and now she could finally indulge—what a thrill!
On the other side, Bronya, watching Stelle swinging her bat and the fireworks effects continuously popping up, felt like her sense of normalcy was increasingly slipping away. She was actually starting to think this was normal.
As for Seele? She was eyeing the effect with a bit of envy. After all, who wouldn't want their weapon to unleash some flashy attacks?