The noise of the scuffle soon attracted attention from bystanders. But just as more people gathered, the battle ended.
The thief lay facedown on the ground, covered in lumps, some of which even had smaller lumps on top of them. Standing triumphantly on his back, Trash Cake proudly raised its stick, while Glutinous Rice Cake had already hidden its chopsticks behind its back.
Ice Cake didn't use any weapons. Instead, it was rummaging through the thief's pockets. It found the stolen wallet, but… well, Cat Cakes had no interest in wallets.
It kept searching, and finally pulled out something that made them all visibly excited: an Ancient Part. According to Pei Guang's categorization, this was a green-rarity item, slightly better than white-rarity, but not by much.
Ice Cake held up the Ancient Part, and the moment the other two saw it, they meowed together in excitement. They believed it was one of those rare treasures Pei Guang had mentioned, and they would bring it back to him as a gift.
They were overjoyed. They felt proud for completing the mission, and even more delighted at the thought of bringing something valuable back to Pei Guang.
They hopped happily on the thief's back, and their joy spread to the crowd around them, drawing smiles and laughter.
They were celebrating the chance to bring Pei Guang something special; but just as they were reveling in that joy, their attention was suddenly drawn to something else.
Not far away, they spotted a trash can. But this wasn't just any trash can: it was a completely full one.
In theory, such a thing shouldn't exist in Belobog, especially after Pei Guang left and the city began researching advanced recycling technologies.
After all, trash cans had become one of Belobog's signature features. A trash can shouldn't actually have trash in it.
No one knew why this one existed, filled to the brim. The weathered canister, the deep crevice where the lid met the rim… it all exuded a sense of mysterious, ancient majesty.
It captivated their attention.
The freshly acquired component now seemed far less appealing. The three Cat Cakes leapt toward the glowing trash can together.
Standing in front of it, they felt a divine, sacred aura radiating from the bin.
Without hesitation, Trash Cake tossed the newly found material into the trash can, then jumped on top of it. At that moment, this overfilled trash can became its property—a precious gift it intended to bring to Pei Guang.
The Cat Cakes didn't have Pei Guang's teleportation abilities, so they could only transport the trash can by ship to Herta's Space Station.
That day, this trash can became the first one in Belobog to ever ride a spaceship.
All previous cans had been stored in inventory space, but this one? It traveled aboard a real ship, personally delivered to Herta's Space Station.
When the three Cat Cakes returned, Asta, who was in charge of reception, excitedly pulled out her phone. "Don't rush, I'll tell Ah Guang you're back right now!"
Of course, Pei Guang and the others hadn't waited at the station the whole time, but he had asked Asta to contact him the moment the Cat Cakes returned: he wanted to see them as soon as possible.
But just as Asta was about to make the call, Trash Cake stretched its neck. "Meow~"
Asta paused. "Hm? You mean... don't be in such a rush? You want to surprise him?"
"Meow~"
The three Cat Cakes nodded enthusiastically. And with their return, as if sharing some kind of psychic connection, more Cat Cakes began to arrive: those who had finished their assignments and completed their explorations.
Asta was thrilled to see them back, but as she looked at the "souvenirs" they brought, her expression grew a little complicated.
Still, silent or not, a gift is a gift. Even if it's a trash can, Asta would accept it with a smile.
If the Cat Cakes truly wanted to give her trash cans, she was already planning to commission a special ship just to store these unique keepsakes.
Just like Trash Cake and its team, other traveling Cat Cakes brought back things too, some returned with trash cans, others with ceramics from the Xianzhou. Of course, not every Cat Cake found a container they liked: some were unlucky and brought back only a few seeds.
But even those Cat Cakes bounced with excitement. Back at their place of origin, the returning Cat Cakes began joyfully exchanging stories with one another.
"Look at my trash can—so big and round!"
"Mine's completely full!"
"Mine is porcelain from the Xianzhou."
"This one's called the Celestial Jade, it's super fun."
"My fruit tastes amazing~"
The Cat Cakes were excitedly sharing the results of their latest exploration. Each of them had brought back something they believed valuable for Pei Guang and were now eagerly waiting for his praise.
However, before Pei Guang returned, it was Ruan Mei who arrived at the space station first. After finishing her own tasks, she made time to visit the station.
She wanted to see what Pei Guang had done with all these Cat Cakes. Familiar with the layout, she entered the space station and made her way to the containment area.
But the moment she stepped into the Cat Cakes' habitat, she fell silent.
The environment wasn't particularly fancy, but with little cleaning robots handling tidying duties, it was clean and orderly. But what left her speechless today was the sheer number of trash cans placed all over the area.
"If I remember correctly, these little ones were supposed to be out on commissions… so why did they all bring back trash cans? Don't tell me these are the kind of trash cans that can turn into Preservation Emanators?"
Ever since witnessing a trash can transform into a Preservation Emanator, Ruan Mei had done some research of her own into trash cans. She had a hunch these ones might be special.
So she approached the nearest trash can and gave it a quick examination, only to conclude it was… just a regular trash can.
To be thorough, she lifted the lid. And the moment she opened it, she became even more convinced of just how purely trash these cans really were.
"Trash cans… and trash?"
As Ruan Mei stood puzzled, Pei Guang and Stelle suddenly appeared in the middle of the crowd of Cat Cakes. She saw both of them pause at first, then light up with overwhelming joy.
Yes, Ruan Mei saw with her own eyes the two of them literally overjoyed at the sight of these trash cans: Stelle even hugged a lid and started rubbing her face against the can.
But just as the two celebrated and the returning Cat Cakes yowled in excitement, both Pei Guang and Stelle noticed Ruan Mei standing silently nearby, watching them.
They had teleported over immediately after receiving a message from Asta. Caught up in their excitement at the sight of so many treasure chests, they hadn't realized someone else was there.
Now that they did, both fell silent.
After a brief pause, Pei Guang and Stelle broke the silence.
Stelle pulled out her bat. "Why is that woman looking at our trash cans?"
Pei Guang replied, "Trash cans have turned into Preservation Emanators before, haven't they? And she's the one who creates Emanators."
Stelle gasped. "You mean she's here to steal our trash cans?"
Pei Guang: "Could be! These are all our treasure chests!"
Stelle: "Exactly! They're ours, she can't touch them until we've opened them!"
This time, Ruan Mei witnessed something even stranger.
Before, even when she tricked Pei Guang, he only retaliated out of irritation. But now… she hadn't done anything!
She was merely watching out of curiosity, and yet… Pei Guang and Stelle actually had killing intent???