"I…"
Dan Heng fell silent, but before he could say more, Pei Guang cut in, "Alright! No need to say more. Xianzhou, forbidden stuff, got it. I've made a mental note. No big deal—since we're teammates, your mission is my mission. Someone like you, who's clearly a good guy, probably went through something rough. But since you're not dead and it's just a ban rather than a bounty or kill order, whatever happened might have been big, but it probably wasn't your fault."
Pei Guang continued, "You mentioned the Abominations of Abundance earlier. I read up on that in the data archives—selflessness, altruism, and healing. Based on those traits, that Aeon's existence is one of the most dangerous for regular life forms."
March 7th, intrigued, asked, "Why is that?"
Discussions about Aeons were common across the universe, but March 7th was curious to hear Pei Guang's take on it.
Pei Guang explained, "Because selflessness is the scariest part. Let me ask you something: how would you feel if you encountered an immortal, unkillable cockroach?"
At that, both March 7th and Stelle gasped in horror.
Pei Guang continued, "If one is bad, imagine a swarm of them. Selfless, altruistic, and healing—they can grant blessings to ordinary people, but they can just as easily bless cockroaches. There's no benefit to blessing people, and there's no benefit to blessing cockroaches either. As for healing? To an insect, death, cold, and heat can all be considered 'illnesses'. So if the insects can't die, that means they've been 'cured' of death. Now imagine a swarm of immortal, heat-resistant, cold-resistant bugs. What kind of nightmare would that be?"
At that moment, both March 7th and Stelle shuddered visibly.
Pei Guang spread his hands, "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Still, if you recognize that immortality is a debuff, you can milk these kinds of beings for all they're worth. Like I said before, I just want a way to heal from major injuries or revive from near death. Immortality? That's terrifying. And don't even get me started on what people could do to you if you were truly unkillable… I mean, have you ever heard of 'scatological punishment?' Not to mention—"
March 7th quickly clapped her hand over Pei Guang's mouth. "Stop! I'm getting nauseous. Ugh!"
She had briefly imagined it, and Pei Guang's description was horrifyingly vivid. She had once wondered what it would be like to be immortal, but now the idea, combined with Pei Guang's talk of the most grotesque punishments, made it sound worse than death.
Pei Guang smiled behind her hand. "See? I told you, people can come up with endless ways to torment others. And invincibility? That's another debuff. I know of a few 'invincible' beings—one had their brain shattered, another gave up thinking entirely, and one is stuck burning forever in unquenchable flames. That's not even counting the possibility of some psycho capturing you and live-streaming your social humiliation every day…"
Stelle clapped her hands. "I get it now! I didn't understand the terror before, but what you're saying, Ah Guang, is truly horrifying."
March 7th nodded grimly, "Yeah… that would be worse than death. This whole immortality thing really is a curse—best to stay far away from it."
Watching his companions, each with slightly different understandings of the situation, Dan Heng didn't know how to respond. But in some ways, Pei Guang's perspective made sense, and it was clear that Pei Guang had even more terrifying ways to deal with those immortal abominations.
"No? How could that be? If a sane person could come up with such devious, malicious methods of torture, wouldn't a madman be even more creative?"
Seeing that Pei Guang had some understanding of these things, Dan Heng breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, people who followed the Path of Abundance deserved a certain level of respect. What really worried him was the possibility that Pei Guang might, on a whim, become one of the Abundant. But now, Dan Heng only hoped that when they met Pei Guang in the future, they wouldn't provoke him. This guy had too many tricks up his sleeve. If it were just a matter of ideas, that would be one thing, but the problem was, Pei Guang could actually execute many of the things he suggested.
Ridiculous? The Abominations of Abundance should be thankful they don't encounter Pei Guang, because with his methods, he could easily subject them to fecal punishment without a second thought…
As for what Pei Guang would do if he really encountered them? According to Pei Guang himself, he didn't have much to hide. The obedient ones would be sent to mine, and the rebellious ones… to generate electricity. What? Electricity generation is not useful?
Pei Guang was a player! In the real world, people have to consider usefulness and meaning. But for players, when they get involved in production and start mass-producing things, there are only two categories: useful and useless things.
All in all, Dan Heng felt reassured. Based on Pei Guang's current state, there was less worry about him becoming one of the Abominations and more concern about how far Pei Guang would go when he encountered their monsters. The methods he might use could cross a line that even an ordinary person's conscience wouldn't bear.
Dan Heng said, "Seeing how you're doing, I feel more at ease. I'll head back to rest. Good luck with your challenge against the Stellaron Hunters."
Pei Guang laughed, "Haha! Winning is impossible, but it's going to be fun, and I have your test to thank for that."
Dan Heng nodded and went back to his room. As soon as he entered, he recalled the events of the game and immediately hugged his weapon tightly. He glanced at the puppet sitting beside him, watching videos on the internet, and felt a little more at peace.
Meanwhile, far away in the Xianzhou, Blade suddenly woke up with a start.
Upon waking and confirming his surroundings, he let out a sigh of relief.
It was the Cloud Knights who had woken him up, informing him that they were taking him to meet Xianzhou Luofu's Arbiter-General, Jing Yuan.
The thing Blade feared most these days was dreaming. Before, when he used to dream of Dan Heng, he could at least torment him. But now, facing Dan Heng, Blade was the one being tormented! Who knows who had taught him such dirty fighting tactics and that dreadful singing.
Remembering Dan Heng's singing from the dream made Blade feel like ants were crawling all over his skin. Here's a joke: the mighty former High Elder of the Vidyadhara, Yinyue jun, meowing like a cat? If anyone who knew him was still alive, they would've laughed to death.
If the Cloud Knights hadn't woken him up, he might have been stuck in that dream, endlessly tortured. Now, at least, he was free.
Cloud Knight: "Let's go. General-Arbiter Jing Yuan is waiting for you."
Blade didn't say much. He just stood up silently and allowed the Cloud Knights to escort him to Jing Yuan and his retainer, Yanqing.