Seeing the statue move, Pei Guang's face twisted into a perverse but curious grin. "I knew something was off about this statue. Didn't think poking it would really bring something out. How does it feel? Pretty intense, huh?"
Watching what he did, both Firefly and Sparkle were overwhelmed.
They had seen with their own eyes Pei Guang stabbing his fingers into the statue, then wearing that twistedly curious expression as he spoke.
And especially when he asked whether it felt "intense," both of them were left in shock.
Forget Sparkle now—even the Sparkle from before would have fallen silent at this.
Abstract. Way too abstract.
Using Thousand Years of Death on a statue, then asking if it felt intense: that wasn't something any normal person would ever do!
Doing it was one thing, but asking about the feeling afterward?
If it had been the Firefly who just met Pei Guang, her brain would only have trembled in disbelief. But having traveled with him for some time now, after going through so many bizarre and funny moments, Firefly instead stepped closer and asked curiously,
"Did you find something interesting?"
Pei Guang didn't explain. Instead, he looked the Clockie Boy up and down. "Clockie Boy! I can't believe you really exist!"
Clockie Boy: "Tick-tock~ What do you mean you can't believe I exist? I do exist, alright?"
An exclamation mark popped out over the Clockie Boy's head, plain enough for Pei Guang to see, while its eyes turned into the exaggerated cartoony kind from last century's animation.
Looking at this comical figure, Pei Guang poked its clock face in curiosity. "Eh? Can't deny it, your design really does look a lot like Mickey's cousin. But anyway—what are you watching me for?"
At that, the Clockie Boy somehow pulled out a hat, set it on its head, then clasped its hands to its sides and said cheerfully, "Tick-tock~ I'm searching for someone who can help me find the Clock Credits. That damned Boss Stone stole them all. Without them, normal transactions in the dream have been disrupted.
And you! My friend—can you help me recover the Clock Credits he stole? They're scattered all over Penacony. Tick-tock~ Please, kind friend, help Clockie Boy!"
As it spoke, the Clockie Boy put on a pleading expression: literally with its left eye turning into the word "beg" and its right eye into the word "plead."
Pei Guang: "No problem, I'll take your quest. But if I help you find the Clock Credits, what do I get?"
Excited, the Clockie Boy jumped up and spun in a circle around him.
"I'll give you Clockie Boy's treasure! I'll also teach you Clockie tricks~ Even though you don't need Clockie tricks to help people recover lost emotions, I believe if you learn them, you can better protect Penacony! Then together we can drive out Boss Stone and restore peace to Dreamville!"
Pei Guang: "Good! I'll take your quest. Where are the Clock Credits?"
Clockie Boy: "Tick-tock~ They're scattered all around Dreamville. You can find them anywhere~"
Pei Guang: "Anywhere? Hmm… I haven't searched seriously yet. Let me ask someone else."
He pulled out his phone and messaged Stelle. After all, Stelle had looted piles of stuff: maybe among them were Clock Credits.
Meanwhile, at the Dream's Edge, Stelle had just knocked out a Bloodhound Family member blocking her way with a single strike.
While rummaging through his body, she received Pei Guang's message.
Pei Guang: "You said earlier you looted a ton of stuff. Did you pick up anything like Clock Credits?"
Stelle looked at the bills she had just taken from the Bloodhound's pocket, printed with Clockie Boy's face, and casually tossed them into her inventory.
"Yeah, I put them in my backpack. Check if these are it."
When the bills appeared in the shared storage, Pei Guang showed them to the Clockie Boy. Its eyes went wide. "That's it, that's it! As long as you gather enough Clock Credits, I'll give you Clockie Boy's treasure!"
The Clockie Boy bounced excitedly, while Pei Guang immediately messaged Stelle again.
"Hurry! Got any more of those bills? If you do, send them over."
Stelle didn't waste words: she just dumped over five hundred Clock Credits into the storage. Only then did she reply, "Some I pulled out from boxes, some straight off people. You wouldn't believe it—the Bloodhounds drop rate on these is insane!"
Pei Guang handed them all to the Clockie Boy. Seeing so many, its eyes widened.
"Tick-tock! As expected of my friend—didn't think you'd collect so many this quickly. These are yours, as your reward. These are the crystallized emotions that Dreamville lost. Now they belong to you."
As it took the Clock Credits, the Clockie Boy handed Pei Guang five crystallized emotions.
Looking at them, Pei Guang fell into deep thought.
The Clockie Boy hopped excitedly and pulled out ten Light Cones, continuing: "Tick-tock~ If you can collect more Clock Credits, there's also this~"
Pei Guang glanced at the Light Cones, and when he saw the image on them, his interest was instantly piqued. At first glance, he spotted a Light Cone featuring Firefly's image.
Seeing that, Pei Guang's motivation shot up.
This Light Cone, he felt, was perfect to give to Firefly.
Even if she didn't want it, he could keep it as a collectible. And if he didn't want to keep it, he could always take it back to the machine Ruan Mei left in the Herta Space Station and use it to synthesize Cat Cakes.
Using limited Light Cones for synthesis always made Pei Guang's heart ache, but now that he could get a large number of ordinary Light Cones, his interest was fully ignited.
Pei Guang once again contacted Stelle.
Pei Guang: "These Clock Credits are valuable. How's the drop rate?"
Stelle: "From trash cans or roadside chests, the drop rate is average, mostly stable for Emotional Manifestations, but only twenty or thirty bills. Bloodhound Family members not only drop basic effects but also over seventy bills. Some strange monsters drop them too, not a lot each, but there are plenty of monsters."
Reading Stelle's reply, Pei Guang started carefully planning: "If you run into small mobs that drop these things, take them out. Best to make it sustainable. These aren't just for exchanging Emotional Manifestations, they can also get us Light Cones!"
The moment she saw the words "Light Cones," Stelle's eyes lit up.