The Golden Hour was already in chaos.
First, Pei Guang had been mistaken for an illegal trespasser and was wanted across all of Penacony, forcing Sunday to step out and clarify things.
Even Sunday found Pei Guang troublesome. Just the fact that he could make his sister bring a trash can from the dream into reality proved how bizarre his abilities were.
No sooner had Sunday resolved Pei Guang's issue than word came that a five-star stowaway had appeared at the border, turning the whole area into a no-man's land.
Everyone there, whether from the Bloodhound Family or the Dreamweavers, had been taken out. All containers cracked open.
The only silver lining was that several troublesome monsters were also wiped out along the way.
And before the trespasser matter could even be handled, something bigger arrived: the Preservation's Emanator had entered Penacony.
Not just the Emanator himself: he brought an entire family along. If it were an ordinary family, even Sunday, maybe even the Dreamweavers, would have shown up to greet them.
After all, it was the Preservation's Emanator. With him around, the Company would never dare touch Penacony.
But here was the problem: the Emanator wasn't human. He was… a trash can.
Sunday stared at the bucket before him, his head buzzing. His sister pulling out a trash can from the dream was one thing, but that trash can becoming a Emanator?
What the hell was the Aeon of Preservation thinking, giving a trash can this much power?
Still, complaints aside, he had to treat the visit seriously.
To emphasize how important this Emanator was, the family had to throw their full weight into welcoming him. Naturally, his arrival also drew Aventurine's attention.
Between all this back and forth, no one had the time to study whether a road had appeared in the sky, which allowed Pei Guang to happily and peacefully keep building a path through the heavens straight toward the Dream's Edge.
For efficiency's sake, Pei Guang built the path in the opposite direction of Stelle.
Past the city, the border was nothing but skyscrapers, with no roads below them—only a bottomless abyss.
As they advanced, Sparkle didn't stir up trouble.
Truthfully, she had no interest in sabotaging others while they worked. Instead, she preferred to play roles, using those roles to achieve her goals.
The real reason she stuck with Pei Guang was because she sensed that following him would let her experience a brand-new script, something completely different from the one she was supposed to act out.
And so she chose to join as a 'young girl.'
When she entered the role, she gave her all, even losing herself in it. That's why, as a 'girl,' Sparkle would never disrupt the work at hand.
While Sparkle devoted herself to playing her role, Firefly, trailing behind, watched her closely and suddenly felt something wasn't right.
By then, Pei Guang had finished building the road to the rooftop of a building at the border. His plan was to take this rooftop as a base, then build connecting paths to other towers, gradually occupying the border and turning it into his own farming ground.
He was already daydreaming about grinding monsters for days, piling up thousands upon thousands of Clock Credits, and trading them to the Clockie Boy for all sorts of Light Cones. He even imagined giving Firefly her cone, raising her affection for him.
But just as he was lost in that fantasy, Firefly's words pulled him back to reality: "Careful, there are people ahead. Quite a few…"
"Your perception's sharp, but that's not a problem. If there are people, even better."
Sparkle shivered. "Even better? Won't we get caught?"
Pei Guang: "Relax. We won't be caught. They won't even know it's us. Listen, I'm a professional at ambushes. Just follow me—I'll sneak us through."
He was clear about his stance. Since he was already a wanted man, branded a five-star citizen, shouldn't he act like one?
But when he led the others to sneak closer, he found the situation unexpectedly complicated.
On the rooftop sat an old man in a chair. Two Bloodhound Family members stood openly watching him, while three more lurked in the shadows, also keeping their eyes on the old man.
Sparkle whispered, "Whoa~ such a big setup. Why are so many people watching this old guy?"
Pei Guang shook his head. "No idea. Maybe he committed some huge crime? Or maybe he's the Family's enemy, too hard to kill so they've put him under soft lockdown? I smell a quest. This old man definitely has a special mission and reward. Come on, let's figure out how to get him out."
Firefly studied the scene and frowned. "What should we do? There are five people, positioned to cover each other. We're only three. At best, we can take down three at once…"
Pei Guang: "No problem. Leave the baiting to me, but I'll need your help in a bit."
Firefly: "What can we do?"
Sparkle: "Can I help too?"
Pei Guang nodded. "Of course! Here's the plan: you two hide inside this trash can. When they get close to the edge, kick them down."
After laying out the plan, Pei Guang boldly walked out. The Bloodhound Family members frowned at the sight.
This place was secluded, but it wasn't rare for tourists to wander in. Their job as guards was to drive such people away.
They were just about to drive Pei Guang off, when he suddenly pulled out a sack, threw it over the old man, slung him over his shoulder, and bolted.
The whole set of movements flowed like water, smooth as if he had done it countless times before, leaving no chance for anyone to react.
With the target bagged, Pei Guang quickly ran back toward the passage they had used earlier. As he stepped onto the sky road, he casually broke off the path behind him.
By the time the Bloodhound members rushed over, Pei Guang was already carrying the sack a good distance away from the building.
Seeing them stuck at the edge, unable to cross, Pei Guang raised his middle finger and started taunting: "Trash! Useless! Small fry!"
The taunts hit their mark.
The five men stood at the rooftop edge shouting back insults, and one of them even pulled out a comms device to report that the target had been snatched.
What they didn't notice was that, while they were busy cursing and calling for help, two figures had quietly emerged behind them.
Following Pei Guang's instructions, Sparkle and Firefly had hidden in the trash can and waited for the right moment. When the Bloodhound members clustered at the edge of the roof, the two girls crawled out and crept up quietly.
Once close enough, both of them stood up at the same time, each shoving two men hard—
"Ahhhhhh!!!!"
Four screams rang out as four men were pushed off, instantly exiting the dream.
The last one, seeing his companions fall, instinctively prepared to counterattack.
"Damn it! I'll—"
But just as he spun around too suddenly, his left foot tripped over his right, his body tilted, and he tumbled off the edge as well.