Seeing the two people with such unique rides, Qingni suddenly had a bad feeling…
While Qingni was doubting her life choices, Pei Guang and Stelle began driving their trash cans in circles around her.
After a few loops, both stopped sharply, then jumped out of their trash cans at the same time.
"Qingni, right? Hello, I'm Pei Guang, a Trailblazer from the Astral Express."
"Stelle, Trailblazer!"
Pei Guang and Stelle introduced themselves, but seeing the two of them still wearing trash can lids on their heads, Qingni began doubting whether asking the Trailblazers for help had been the right choice.
She wanted to leave. She wanted to find some other way to achieve her dream, but she had already come this far.
When Pei Guang and Stelle noticed Qingni trying to leave, they immediately grabbed her from both sides.
Pei Guang: "Leaving already? You see the things we're driving and think we're not serious, don't you? Relax, we're super serious. Come on! We'll make you a pilot!"
Stelle: "That's right, that's right! Trust us, we're professionals, no need to be afraid! With Ah Guang here, I guarantee you'll be a top-tier pilot in three days. Just don't forget our reward."
Hearing Stelle take the initiative to bring up rewards, Pei Guang nodded approvingly. "Good! Looks like your understanding of games is improving. That's right, when you accept a quest, there should be a reward. If some NPC won't give a material reward or even a spiritual reward, we should start considering twisting their head off."
Stelle: "Exactly! Twist it right off."
These days, Stelle was picking up Pei Guang's habit of saying scary things more and more, but the words of these two genuinely frightened Qingni.
"Um… I…"
Qingni had heard the Trailblazers were easy to talk to, so why, at their first meeting, were they already talking about twisting people's heads off?
Seeing the frightened girl, Pei Guang patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Relax, we're easy to please. Just give us whatever you think is valuable. If you don't have anything valuable, raising our favorability works too."
Before Qingni could respond, Stelle turned to Pei Guang. "Ah Guang! Isn't it kind of weird for us to say we're easy to please ourselves?"
Pei Guang turned to her. "What's weird about it? Once, I was doing a quest, and someone told me, 'Only an idiot would do this quest.' Then they immediately handed it to me… and I still did it."
Stelle: "Pfft!"
Stelle couldn't help laughing at that.
She'd heard Pei Guang complain about this kind of thing before, but every time, she still found it funny.
Since the day she woke up, she'd been learning from Pei Guang.
Sure, his behavior might seem strange to normal people, but wherever they went, he was always willing to help anyone in need.
He might talk about demanding rewards, but in reality, even a child's lollipop or a simple "thank you" was enough for him to throw himself into helping with all his effort.
Ignoring Stelle's laughter, Pei Guang held Qingni's shoulder. "Don't worry! Since I've taken your quest, I guarantee I'll finish it. A pilot just has to fly a starskiff, right? Come on, let's start flight training right now."
Qingni: "Huh? Here? Won't it be…"
Pei Guang: "Dangerous? Don't worry! While you're flying, either Stelle or I will be with you the whole time. And we've even invited a special guest!"
Cough, cough, cough!
With those three coughs, Bailu's presence was announced. Hearing the coughs, Qingni instinctively turned to look.
"Lord High Elder?"
Although Bailu hadn't been in charge of the Vidyadhara for long, as Yukong's daughter, Qingni was aware of major political events.
The youngest Vidyadhara High Elder—rumors claimed that though she appeared young, her methods were ruthless, clearing out all opposition on her first day in office and even using mind control on other Vidyadhara!
Those were just rumors.
The real reason the Vidyadhara followed Bailu's orders was partly that she'd been empowered by Pei Guang's overwhelming fists, even earning the backing of other High Elders from the Xianzhou Alliance, and had developed abilities highly effective against her own people.
Of course, brute force was just the foundation.
The true reason the Vidyadhara were willing to listen to Bailu was simple: she brought in a lot of money.
In recent days, the "Echo of War" instance in the Scalegorge Waterscape had been challenged several times, and those challenges had shown the Vidyadhara what true enjoyment was.
The most cooperative participants in the first batch had been given big houses; anyone wanting to open a shop just went ahead and opened one—wealth at its most willful.
On top of that, the medicine to reverse devilish afflictions was in Bailu's hands.
With both money and cures, the Vidyadhara's standing had soared, and Bailu's position had skyrocketed even higher.
In the past, when the Vidyadhara assigned people to accompany Bailu, it was to keep an eye on her. Now, they truly assigned guards to protect her.
Thanks to these changes, the outside world had picked up at least some information about the Vidyadhara.
Hearing Qingni's respectful words, Bailu put her hands on her hips and proudly looked at her. "That's right! I'm the current High Elder, hahaha!"
If Pei Guang weren't here, Bailu would never act so smug.
Compared to before, she'd become much more mindful of proper etiquette, but when Pei Guang was around, that was a different story. With him here, she was like an unbridled horse, completely letting herself go.
Or rather, only when Pei Guang was present could she truly act freely and do whatever she wanted.
After basking in her pride for a moment, Bailu looked at Pei Guang with excitement. "Ah Guang! What do you need me to do this time?"
This time, Pei Guang had sought Bailu out for something specific to do, but she had a feeling she'd get to have a lot of fun with it too.
Pei Guang gave a thumbs-up. "Of course! We're going to train this young lady named Qingni to become a pilot, so we'll need your help, Bailu. Piloting a vehicle is dangerous: if she turns out to have no talent for it and fumbles her way into an accident, that wouldn't be good. That's why we need you as backup~"
Bailu patted her chest. "No problem! Leave it to me, miss! Hey! You there, Qingni, I'll give you a buff!"
Bailu kindly used the healing power of the High Elder on Qingni.
This power ensured that even if Qingni got into an accident, as long as her body stayed intact, her life would be safe.
Meanwhile, Pei Guang also had an all-attribute recovery item. With that plus Bailu's life-saving ability, it would be almost impossible for her to die.
Qingni was a bit baffled by Bailu's actions.
She'd piloted a Starskiff before, and, while dangerous, a Starskiff had a very strong safety system. Even if two Starskiffs collided at full speed, the passengers could survive.
Besides, she could handle piloting one herself, so just asking the Trailblazers for help wouldn't put her life in danger… right?
How could that even be possible?
But then Pei Guang's training method left her speechless.
Pei Guang: "Excellent! Everything's ready, let's set out toward becoming a pilot. And what is a pilot, naturally, but someone who pilots a Starskiff. Our first training is very simple: you'll pilot your Starskiff, catch up to us, and overtake us. Once you do that, the first training is complete. Aim to become the strongest pilot!"
"Ah?"
Qingni froze.
Wasn't this a little fast? Shouldn't they assess her situation first? Just straight into piloting a Starskiff?
Seeing Qingni's look of disbelief, Stelle smiled. "Don't underestimate us. We may not be piloting Starskiffs, but we're very fast! Before Ah Guang and I came here, we specifically looked into what it means to be a pilot. That's why, while we race, we'll also be attacking you."
Qingni: "!!!"
Suddenly, Qingni felt a danger sign flash above her head. Even when facing enemies, she could suppress fear—but against Pei Guang and Stelle, she felt a primal, instinctive terror.
Her mind went blank, and by the time she came to, she was already sitting in the Starskiff's pilot seat.
As she sat there, Pei Guang's earlier explanation of the training came to mind.