The Chess Ghost had been dealt with.
Once the group returned to Fyxestroll Garden and locked the Chess Ghost up, the task of quelling the rumors was handed over to Stelle. Since Pei Guang saw that Stelle was quite interested in it, he just left it to her.
As for the content itself, Pei Guang didn't even need to look to know this girl probably came up with something either entertaining or some kind of quirky science trivia.
Whatever… Pei Guang figured he'd save it up and binge it all in one go when there's more material and nothing else to do. That would definitely be a blast.
With that entire round of work done, Guinaifen turned to Pei Guang, clearly excited. "Today was such an eye-opener! Next time we run into one of those Heliobus things, could Little Gui here give it a shot?"
Pei Guang replied, "Of course! Next time we run into a Heliobus, you're up!"
Guinaifen beamed. "No problem! Leave it to us then. But that aside, what do we do next?"
Pei Guang thought aloud. "Next, huh? If there's new content on the site and it looks solid, we'll go verify it. The rest of the time… we just live life as usual~"
Pei Guang never expected capturing the Heliobi to be something that could be wrapped up in a day. From his perspective, the launch of this points exchange system was proof he'd just been handed a long-term activity quest in the Xianzhou.
And going by typical game logic, to keep players active, this kind of quest would definitely be given out in batches.
Of course, Pei Guang also hoped he was wrong. After all, this was his first time being a "realistic-type player," and all he could do was take wild guesses about how things would unfold.
The group spent some time chatting at Fyxestroll Garden while keeping an eye on the website. The number of users was growing fast, and someone needed to filter through all the submitted content.
Guinaifen and Huohuo were the most invested in analyzing submissions. Whenever something seemed remotely promising, the two of them, sometimes with Sushang, would rush off enthusiastically.
But the results? They always came back disappointed.
Monitoring the site didn't require being at Fyxestroll Garden, so Pei Guang and Stelle returned to the Astral Express. But they didn't go back just to chill: they went to help.
Although their operation inside the giant bug hadn't caused much actual damage to the Express, Himeko decided it was safest to run a full inspection anyway. This train was her home, after all. And as players, naturally, they had to pitch in to maintain the place.
So Pei Guang and Stelle both lent a hand. Thanks to the player-exclusive synthesis ability, their work efficiency shot up. But there was one thing Pei Guang really wanted to complain about:
"This boring progress bar… can't I skip it?"
Even though he knew there was no skipping things like this, after all, if you could skip this, it'd be like skipping through your own life, it didn't stop him from grumbling.
Once everything was wrapped up, Pei Guang decided to head over to the Space Station and check on how Mei's research was going. A few days had passed already, and according to normal game pacing, it was about time for some progress update prompts.
Using the teleportation point from the Echo of the Space Station, Pei Guang arrived at Herta's Space Station. It seemed to be just after a break: many staff members were walking from here deeper into the facility.
But seeing the direction they were coming from, Pei Guang couldn't help but mutter, "What the… there aren't even any offices over there, right? Why does it look like everyone's clocking out but heading into the work zone? Some team-building activity or something?"
While joking around, Pei Guang followed the crowd inward to look for Mei. But just as he was about to step forward, he noticed a particular woman.
Setting aside her appearance for the moment, what caught Pei Guang's attention immediately was her pale, shapely legs.
"Hoo boy… those legs! Kinda stunning. And this outfit? Bit of a Xianzhou aesthetic?"
Ruan Mei, who was holding a dessert plate, sensed a gaze on her. She was long used to looks like this, but for some reason, this one felt different. So she turned around.
The moment she turned, Pei Guang's eyes lit up even more. He had to admit: this woman's style really had something going for it. But when he saw Ruan Mei's face, Pei Guang couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"(＃`O′) Hey! You've got cake crumbs on the corner of your mouth!"
His voice was loud enough for everyone nearby to hear clearly, but no one dared turn around or laugh at Ruan Mei.
Hearing him, Ruan Mei elegantly wiped her mouth, then walked over to Pei Guang.
"Thank you! Hello, what's your name?"
"Pei…"
Before Pei Guang could finish his sentence, Ruan Mei reached out her right hand and lifted his chin. The moment she made contact, a surprised expression crossed her face.
She could usually glean all sorts of biological details through touch—but when she touched Pei Guang, her ability completely failed. Just like the data she'd once gathered from the Simulated Universe, Pei Guang's existence was highly unusual.
He was alive, yet not quite alive, possessing every biological function of a human, yet at the same time, like a mass of data. She couldn't comprehend what those "data" meant, but just from the touch, she could confirm some of her previous theories were right.
And precisely because of that, a few new thoughts began to form in her mind.
Faced with such a bold woman, Pei Guang said bluntly, "Wearing gloves probably doesn't feel great, huh? Want to take them off?"
"I only use touch to activate my perception: it lets all the life-related details flood into my mind. That helps me understand your basic biological structure. It's the foundation for deconstruction and reconstruction. Your body is very special… honestly, you're a perfect specimen that anyone would love to experiment on."
Ruan Mei really wanted to take Pei Guang away for some experiments. But she knew he wasn't someone she could just mess with.
Still, that didn't stop her from trying to understand him a little better.
Pei Guang: "Is that so! But hey, by the way, is that cake you're holding really that good? To the point you didn't even notice the smudge at the corner of your mouth."
Ruan Mei nodded, gazing gently at Pei Guang: "I was admiring the view. The scenery here is vast and calming. It's perfect with the light fragrance of lotus leaf, plum blossoms, glutinous rice, and icing sugar."
As she spoke, Ruan Mei turned and led Pei Guang to the observation glass, pointing outside at the planet below: "Here, look. The azure planet lies right beneath our feet, so full of vitality. This dessert is delicious too. Want half?"
Ruan Mei offered the small plate in her hand to Pei Guang, with the half-eaten cake still on it.
"Eh? Let me try it then, see just how good this stuff really is."
Pei Guang didn't hesitate, took the plate, and started eating. After a few bites, feeling like it wasn't quite hitting the spot, he pulled out his prototype coffee brewer and took a big satisfying gulp.
"Ah, just as I thought! Sweets go best with a bitter aromatic drink to bring out their flavor. Delicious, really!"
Ruan Mei: "Indeed, though personally, I prefer tea over coffee."
Pei Guang: "I don't really have preferences. As long as it tastes good or gets the job done, it's fine. Hey, want to try my coffee? It's insanely good, I'm telling you: top of the top! Everyone who's had it says the same."
Just as Ruan Mei was about to politely decline, she caught a glimpse of Pei Guang's coffee cup, still filled with the dark liquid, and her expression turned serious.
Because what she saw in that deep brown liquid seemed to be a purple preserved egg with a big toothy grin staring back at her.
A cognitive filter? Or something like it? She could tell: this wasn't something an ordinary lifeform could comprehend. She knew what this thing was, but at the moment, she just couldn't quite recall.
While pondering this seriously, she picked up the coffee cup and took a sip.