As Pei Guang waited, the Can of Preservation strode forward.
But the moment he saw it, Pei Guang froze—because this Can looked exactly like Below One Bucket.
"Bucket?"
Looking at the familiar form, Pei Guang called out softly.
At his voice, Below One Bucket revealed its tender pink limbs, and from inside its trash-can body, a bunch of Cat Cakes crawled out.
"Meow~"
"Meow?"
"Humph-humph!"
The Cat Cakes and Below One Bucket greeted Pei Guang warmly, and seeing it here, Pei Guang couldn't help but complain: "How are you even here?"
Below One Bucket: "Dada! Wah! Dadada!"
Pei Guang: "What? You dreamed that you were invited by the Can Family to help test the new King of Trash? Ah, yes, and that challenger is me."
Hearing Pei Guang's confirmation, Below One Bucket gave him a big thumbs-up, while the Cat Cakes cheered for Pei Guang's ascension as King of Trash.
The moment Below One Bucket acknowledged him, countless Cans appeared around Pei Guang. Some had burly limbs, some were small and cute, others were in every color imaginable.
These weren't the trash cans of Penacony: they were Cans from all across the cosmos!
Today, they felt the call from the King of Trash. The trash cans finally had their king!
More and more trash cans appeared in this dream, and although they were not on the same planet, they were together in one dream.
And under the gaze of countless trash cans, Shatana stood by Pei Guang's side and announced an important matter to all the cans.
Shatana: "From this day forward, he is our king! He is our King of Trash! Let us, under the leadership of our king, restore the glory of the Trash Can Clan! Aeons may be mighty, but the King of Trash Cans shall live forever!"
Other trash cans: "Trash be mighty, the King of Trash Cans shall live forever!"
Seeing the shouting trash cans, Pei Guang drew in a sharp breath.
He had to admit, this was indeed a dream only adults could experience: if a minor went through this dream, they'd probably go insane from these trash cans.
Of course, looking at these trash cans, Pei Guang actually found them pretty interesting. He even wondered if, in future battles, he could summon more trash bins to fight.
They didn't look strong, but they could certainly inflict psychological damage on the enemy.
As Pei Guang pondered, his system presented a new notification.
"Congratulations, player, on becoming the King of Trash Cans. You have acquired a new skill: [Might of the Can]."
[Might of the Can: By sacrificing trash bags, you may summon powerful trash cans to fight for you. The combat strength of the trash cans depends on the quality of the trash.]
[Note: You are the King of Trash Cans. Trash cans will not allow their king to be insulted. Your enemies will receive hostility from the cans. Though not in the same world, trash cans can exist in the same dream. Penacony has become the holy ground where cans gather and worship, celebrating the birth of their king.]
[Some trash cans do not acknowledge you as king. You have a certain chance of encountering trials from these cans. By overcoming more trials, you will gain more recognition and become the true King of Trash Cans.]
"…"
Looking at the new skill and its description, Pei Guang no longer even wanted to complain.
This King of Trash Cans… was truly something else!
Pei Guang thought to himself: he had been an emperor, a king, and a commander before, but he had never been a King of Trash cans.
Now there was only one thing nagging him: if he opened these trash cans as their king, would he get more rewards?
The thought grew stronger in his mind. He was already itching to find a trash can to test if something good might come out.
At that moment, feeling the shouts of the surrounding cans, Pei Guang smiled. Not only he smiled: the whole process had been observed from outside, and Firefly now also had nothing but a smile on her face.
Compared to Firefly's smile, Stelle was far more excited.
At some point, Stelle had already scooped up the Dream Bubble and was smashing it against the ground.
"Open up! Open up! I haven't even touched these trash cans yet!!!"
Stelle's desperate cry echoed through the Golden Hour.
People nearby didn't understand why someone could hold a Dream Bubble and bang on it, nor why this person was hammering it while shouting about trash cans.
Those farther away couldn't hear Stelle's words, but the sheer desperation in her voice made them feel a pang of sorrow for a second. Then, after that second, they bounced back to being lively once more.
"Ehe~ So fun, really so fun!"
Unfortunately, all fun must come to an end.
As the bouncing trend grew, the Dreammaster issued an order for the heads of each family to prohibit this bouncing behavior. Obviously, they were too slow, and what awaited them next was not bouncing dreams, but the arrival of a new family.
And this family was none other than the Trash Can Family.
The Trash Can Family had now made Penacony their holy ground, the place of their king's birth. To guard its peace and prevent pollution, the seven trash cans who had tested Pei Guang in the dream were the first to arrive in Penacony.
They did not wish to disrupt Penacony's tranquility. They sat around the city like ordinary trash cans, blending into the dreams.
When they encountered destined people, or those who sought to defile the holy ground, they would show them the cruelty of trash cans, and the might of the Seven Martial Cans under the King!
If the seven could not win, they would call upon their big brother, Below One Bucket! The true Preservation Emanator.
Pei Guang knew nothing of this. Nor did the families. Not even the Dreammaster realized that countless trash cans had now appeared in Penacony's dreams.
After Pei Guang had finished experiencing the Dream Bubble, and while Penacony was undergoing strange changes, Sparkle finally finished reading her bar and re-entered the dream.
Upon entering, Sparkle immediately spoke: "Damn trash cans, don't let me catch you."
She returned to the dream, only to find Pei Guang, Stelle, and Firefly in discussion.
Spotting Pei Guang, Sparkle asked in confusion: "You're done already?"
Pei Guang nodded. "Yeah, it's over. Really not a bad experience. Definitely something only adults can handle."
"Huh?"
Sparkle was stunned. She'd only been kicked out briefly, and by that time, Pei Guang had already finished?
She missed the best part?!
Seeing Sparkle's silent face, Pei Guang bid her farewell: "The dream was fun, but it looks like this big eyeball's broken. It can't let Stelle or Firefly try anymore. Since we can't keep going, we'll head out. If you need anything, come find us anytime~"
Since the Dream Bubble couldn't be played anymore, Pei Guang had no intention of wasting time here. He planned to go have fun elsewhere with Stelle and Firefly.
Sparkle, meanwhile, was left dumbfounded, especially when she saw Dr. Edward's eyeball rolled back.
Her head was full of question marks.
She didn't know what had happened, but she knew one thing: she had missed out on the fun!
"Damn trash cans! Why did I have to make a Dream Bubble about trash cans? This is all Sampo's fault, that damn Sampo."
Sparkle had chosen trash cans as the theme mainly because Sampo had once said: "The Trailblazer loves trash cans. If they go a day without touching one, they get all restless."
And the result? She made a trash-can-themed Dream Bubble tied to Penacony, saw just a bit of it before being kicked out by the cans themselves, and missed Pei Guang's whole wild experience?
Inside the Dream Bubble, the trash cans came out, confronted her with some puzzle she couldn't answer, then kicked her out before she could even see the fun?
Thinking of this, Sparkle clenched her fists. But just then, she noticed a trash can not far away. At the sight of it, her anger flared.
And just as her anger rose, she heard an even more infuriating voice.
"This drink's pretty fun: lend me a little more, I'll leave you some~"
Hearing that, Sparkle instinctively looked toward the beverage Pei Guang had given her.
Just moments ago, there had been a few good sips left to share around. Now, it was down to just a single sip.