Chadwick's eyes lit up with spirit again. He remembered much, but some things were gone forever: even the drink could not restore them.
Seeing his renewed spirit, Pei Guang greeted him: "How do you feel?"
Chadwick lowered his head: "I… seem to recall many things…"
His body trembled with anger as he closed his eyes and retraced his life: "I remember… I saw something… weapons, endless casualties… and all of it tied to me…"
"I think I saw some people… extraordinary people… I was once one of them… I was once… a member of the Genius Society! My family—my family must have done something to me. And I couldn't resist. Alone, I can't escape it. I'll need a powerful external force, like… the Genius Society…"
Chadwick raised his head toward Pei Guang: "Child, would you lend a hand to an old man you've only just met? Even if you don't know what kind of person he really is?"
Looking at the old man before him, Pei Guang extended his hand: "I'm a player, a professional Trailblazer. I'd be glad to accept your commission, and I expect to be properly rewarded when it's done.
I don't know what kind of person you are, but right now you're just an old man in need of help. If, after I help you, I find out you're not to my liking, I'll beat you up—or even kill you. But until then, I'll give my all to help you, to pull you out of this mess."
Pei Guang's firm answer and unwavering expression left Chadwick silent. In this dream, he felt clearly the simple, pure mindset that belonged to a player.
Why does a player accept a quest? Simply for rewards, or for achievements.
Such a simple goal was enough for a player to spend time, effort, and everything they had gained in the game.
Of course, if the quest was too messed up, players would curse it—but that was only after they had gotten into the story.
That straightforward reliability of a player made Chadwick extend his own hand.
He needed help. He didn't know if Pei Guang could truly help him, but now that he had regained much of his memory, he was certain of one thing: if he missed this unique existence called Pei Guang, he might… never have another chance.
At that moment, his eyes shone with dazzling light, the pride of a genius resurfacing.
Hearing his words, both Firefly and Sparkle widened their eyes.
What? A member of the Genius Society? Just by following Pei Guang and casually choosing a building to log into, they encountered a Genius Society member? Even if it had been the jokester version of Sparkle, not the current young girl Sparkle, she would still have shown a surprised expression at this scene.
Firefly and Sparkle revealed looks of disbelief, while Pei Guang looked seriously at Chadwick: "A member of the Genius Society? I didn't expect the dream to be holding even a Genius Society member… Looks like… this time we're really in trouble."
Firefly bit her lip on the side: "Big trouble…"
Pei Guang nodded: "Yeah! From the way things look, he's not a guest of Penacony at all, but someone being watched and imprisoned. For Penacony to dare imprison a member of the Genius Society, and even tamper with his memory… tsk tsk tsk, the water here runs pretty deep."
Firefly looked at Pei Guang anxiously: "Then this matter…"
Pei Guang answered with certainty: "This quest, I'm definitely taking it! To be precise, as a player, I don't turn down quests just because they're hard. The only kind I refuse are the truly disgusting ones. But this involves something pretty big… maybe you two should lay low for a while?"
A bold idea had already formed in Pei Guang's head.
Penacony's Family was holding a member of the Genius Society? And judging by the looks of it, they even split his memories apart?
Pei Guang didn't know what terrible crimes this old man might have committed before, but there was one thing he was sure of: the Family definitely didn't want this matter exposed.
Firefly shook her head: "No, I… might not be as strong as you, but one more person means one more bit of strength."
Sparkle continued playing her girlish role: "Mm! I won't leave either!"
Pei Guang didn't believe Sparkle was really afraid, but seeing her act like that, he casually offered comfort: "Don't worry, I know a few members of the Genius Society too. Mr. Chadwick, are you really a member of the Genius Society?"
"I… yes, only… some of my memories…"
Seeing Chadwick strain to recall while showing a pained expression, Pei Guang interrupted his thoughts: "If you can't remember, then don't. I understand your request. I'll take you out of here."
Chadwick clenched his fist: "Take me out…"
Pei Guang nodded: "That's right! Take you out. I was wondering why, before coming to Penacony, I kept encountering so many members of the Genius Society. Turns out it was all leading up to this…"
To Pei Guang, all the previous quests had to be connected somehow.
Whether it was interacting with Ruan Mei or temporarily staying with Screwllum at the space station, they all carried the feeling that something big would happen later.
And now, here it was—an actual plotline involving the geniuses.
Looking at this story…
Pei Guang was still thinking when a commotion rose up around them.
"It's here! The man was taken!"
"You lot! Over there!"
"Take them out."
The Bloodhound Family reacted immediately when they discovered an accident had occurred here.
They knew this was no small matter. If word really spread, it wouldn't just be trouble for the Bloodhounds: Penacony itself would face problems.
Seeing the enemies appear, Firefly clenched her hands, while Pei Guang, once the Bloodhounds entered within ten meters, immediately unleashed his Holy Light.
At the sight of Pei Guang's Holy Light, several Bloodhounds recognized him: "It's that stowaway causing havoc in Penacony! Watch out for his ability!"
The Bloodhounds exchanged words quickly while shifting their formation. The existence of this peculiar being called Pei Guang had already spread through all of them.
They had developed countermeasures against his ability, but they hadn't expected to run into Pei Guang here of all places.
As for his bounty? That had already been lifted. If they really had intended to capture him as a stowaway or under some other charge, they would have discovered the bounty was gone.
But the issue at hand had nothing to do with that. It was far more serious than all of it.
According to their department's reports, this matter concerned not only the Bloodhound Family but the very survival of Penacony itself.
That was why they wouldn't even bother to check whether Pei Guang and his group were stowaways or not.
Regardless, they had to eliminate this problem.
As members of the Family, they took pride in it. The Planet of Festivities, Penacony, wasn't one of the universe's greatest powers, but with the Family's presence, it wasn't a place ordinary forces could provoke.
Unfortunately for them, this time they had kicked a steel plate wearing spiked armor.
Seeing their movements, Pei Guang immediately pulled out his trash can backpack, shoved Chadwick inside, then with his right arm hugged Firefly and with his left arm wrapped around Sparkle.
Sitting down on the ground, he whooshed off in a flash.
Pei Guang thought about whether to wipe these people out completely, but for now he abandoned the idea.
Pom-Pom had specifically reminded him before disembarking to follow the rules.
By those rules, counterattacking was fine, but if he really killed anyone, Penacony's favorability toward the Express would drop to an unrecoverable point—and it would go against Pom-Pom's request.
He also considered Robin's goodwill. Whatever the case, Robin had left him with a good impression.
Though in truth, Robin wasn't the decisive factor. The real one was Pom-Pom.
Pei Guang didn't want to see Pom-Pom angry. These people weren't worth making Pom-Pom upset, and at the same time, Robin counted as a bonus reason to hold back from total annihilation.
Of course, when Pei Guang thought of "killing," it wasn't just knocking someone off a building to wake them up in reality.
He meant erasing them completely: from consciousness to body.