"Are the Trailblazers... mentally sound?" Tingyun thought, genuinely questioning her rescuers' sanity. It wasn't as though Pei Guang's group was after riches; any of the crates nearby held more valuable goods than the decorative porcelain they were shattering.
It might be inconvenient to deal with, but the vases were merely unremarkable decorative pieces, unique in design but not inherently valuable on the Xianzhou.
Yet Stelle, armed with her bat and lance, was meticulously shattering every vase and tapping on anything vaguely shaped like a pot.
Watching this strange ritual, Tingyun rubbed her eyes and turned to Pei Guang. "You really like smashing these vases, don't you? If you're interested, I could arrange for a few as gifts. Just, please… leave the decorations alone?"
Pei Guang shook his head. "That wouldn't be the same. These vases have a soul."
Watching them, Welt felt conflicted. His sense of ethics told him not to destroy property—even if it was worthless—but his rationality knew better. Each shattered vase revealed more materials and rare effects.
After considering for a while, Welt decided that once they met the regional leader, he'd have a private word with them. He'd even be willing to compensate for the damages if it came down to it. Back on his home planet, if a few decorations were the only price to pay for saving lives, he'd gladly line the streets with items for Pei Guang to break.
So Tingyun continued to lead them, her brow furrowed, while Pei Guang and March 7th casually gathered Stelle's defeated enemies and tossed them into trash cans.
Obstacles? Not an issue. Tingyun witnessed firsthand the Trailblazers' efficiency: crates blocking their way were kicked aside, enemies were bundled into cans, and every decorative vase was shattered. Fortunately, there were plenty more vases in other areas not directly in their path…
"Such… unique methods," Tingyun murmured, unable to hold back her amazement. She'd visited numerous planets but had never seen anything quite like this.
Pei Guang gave her a brief, simple explanation: "You call it unique, I call it efficient."
While his words might have sounded normal, Tingyun's tail hairs stood on end the moment she heard the word "efficient."
"Ha-ha… quite amusing…" she replied, deciding not to engage further. A gut feeling told her that going along with Pei Guang's logic might only lead to a more terrifying outcome.
With Stelle downing a Mara-struck in the distance, the team caught up with her. There was a terminal nearby that controlled the skiffs, which Tingyun planned to use to lead them to Starskiff Haven. But she found herself hesitating—was it really a good idea to bring them along?
Just then, Stelle found a letter on the downed Mara-struck soldier. "Finally, some loot! It's… a letter? A side quest, maybe?"
"Let me see," Pei Guang said, taking it from her. It was a letter home, describing the soldier's experiences. As he read the words "Alchemy Commission secret experiment" and saw other mysterious terms, Pei Guang's brows furrowed deeply, exhaling as he leaned back in surprise.
March 7th noticed Pei Guang's serious expression, his raised brows, and the way he leaned back thoughtfully—a telltale sign that he'd discovered something significant.
"Pei Guang? Did you find something important?"
Pei Guang replied, "Oh yeah, something big. Seems like part of the main quest conspiracy, but no worries. We'll get these people to safety first. Turns out things here are a lot worse than we expected… real trouble from both inside and out."
Welt, observing Pei Guang, chimed in, "What exactly did you find?"
Pei Guang gave him a knowing look. "I'll fill you in later; looks like we've got more on our plate than we thought."
Tingyun had been watching the whole time, curious about their conversation. She leaned in, glancing at the letter in Pei Guang's hands. "What's that? Maybe I could be of some help to you?"
Pei Guang held up a hand, "No need, just keep doing your thing. By the way, where are these people headed?"
Tingyun thought for a moment. "They'll be handed over to the Alchemy Commission's physicians. Anything you need to know, Pei Guang?"
Pei Guang pretended to be casual. "Oh, no, just curious. We don't really know much about how things work here." That was a lie: Pei Guang had studied up on the Xianzhou setup before even arriving.
Tingyun smiled warmly, "Rest assured. Soon, I'll arrange for a freight starskiff to transport these people and yourselves to the Starskiff Haven's central hub, where they'll be taken into care. But before that, let me thank you all for your help. Without you, they might have only had…"
At Tingyun's signal, a large starskiff descended to their location. She carefully loaded all the mine carts onto it, and the Trailblazers boarded, ready for their next step.
Once on board, Tingyun expertly maneuvered the starskiff through the air. Meanwhile, Pei Guang examined it with growing interest.
As she steered the ship, Stelle sidled up to Pei Guang and whispered, "You seem oddly fixated on this starskiff… think you could pilot it?"
Pei Guang grinned. "Easy. Up, down, left, right, drift. Once we've got some downtime, maybe after the main quest, let's sneak one of these and take it for a spin."
Stelle looked nervous. "Are you sure that's okay?"
With perfect confidence, Pei Guang responded, "What's the problem? Just find one with a pilot on board, kick 'em off, and we're good to go. I've done this loads of times."
Listening to their conversation, March 7th nudged them with a reminder, "Hey, you two might want to keep it down. Tingyun can probably hear every word."
Up ahead, Tingyun, who was indeed overhearing them, managed to keep a polite but awkward smile in place. The Trailblazers weren't exactly subtle—they discussed their schemes out loud without a second thought!
Pei Guang noticed Tingyun's strained smile but simply waved it off. "It's fine. A crime you don't get caught for isn't really a crime, right? We'll borrow it, take a joyride, and return it before anyone notices."
Stelle admired Pei Guang's logic. "Classic Pei Guang! Already figured out a loophole to stay legal."
Pei Guang laughed, "I'll have you know, I'm basically an outlaw who lives outside the law!"
Tingyun, listening to their banter, stayed silent and focused on getting to their destination quickly, hoping to end this surreal conversation soon.
Meanwhile, Welt reassured her, "Miss Tingyun, there's no need to be concerned. Despite how they might sound, these three mean no harm. They're simply comfortable in a safe environment and tend to express their thoughts freely. Rest assured, they would never actually disrupt your daily life."
Based on his observations of Pei Guang and Stelle's actions at the space station and Belobog, Welt knew Pei Guang to be a person of principle. Pei Guang often spoke of rewards, but back at the station, he had saved countless people, receiving little more than a token and handful of credits in return.
In Belobog, he'd spoken of a 'final reward' yet mostly just sifted through trash cans, transporting supplies and messages unconditionally for the people of the Overworld.
Even the so-called 'final reward' had only been an internal acknowledgment, a motivational boost for himself, rather than something he'd sought from anyone else.
With this explanation, Tingyun nodded, smiling once again. "Thank you for the clarification. I wasn't worried about his intentions. I simply find this manner of communication… interesting. I can see you all have honest hearts, unafraid to express every thought—even the darker ones. Such openness is rare."