The first stage of training was simple: a Starskiff race!
From Dragonprayer Terrace to the Alchemy Commission, then back to Dragonprayer Terrace, three round trips: if she could come in first, she'd complete the first stage.
To avoid harming bystanders, Bailu had specifically asked the Vidyadhara to temporarily close this route so Pei Guang's group could train freely.
Recalling the race details, Qingni took a deep breath, her face showing confidence.
She was very talented at piloting Starskiffs.
Even though last time she'd witnessed Pei Guang's terrifying control skills, just seeing it once had made her immune. This time, she felt she had a real chance of overtaking him.
But what happened next slapped her in the face.
As the judge, Bailu had her cute water rabbit mark the race line, and at the starting point, she began the countdown.
"Countdown! Five!"
The moment she began counting down from five, Pei Guang and Stelle slammed their accelerators.
Pei Guang's trash can spewed blue flames as it shot over the sea's surface, while Stelle's trash can blazed with brilliant light as both person and bin rocketed into the distance.
"Ah?"
Qingni stared blankly at the two vanishing figures.
The countdown wasn't even over—how could they already be gone?
Seeing her confusion, Bailu explained, "Ah Guang said, in battle you have to strike first. Pilots are monsters who fight the Abominations of Abundance: when fighting them, once the battle begins, you don't follow rules! Which means the moment the race starts, you can take off."
"Ah?"
Qingni still didn't quite get it, but watching the two in their trash cans speeding away, her competitive spirit flared.
So what if they got a head start? She had plenty of talent for piloting!
With that thought, she regained her confidence and took off in her Starskiff.
She thought it was a simple speed contest, but as soon as she started moving, she saw that Pei Guang wasn't just racing.
This wasn't a speed race: it was an item race!
Pei Guang's trash can, the War God armor, spun 360 degrees while sprinting forward, and in the instant it faced Qingni, a drill shot out.
Seeing Pei Guang's attack, Qingni's pupils shrank, but thanks to her natural piloting skill, she instinctively maneuvered her Starskiff to dodge.
However, after evading the first attack, she was immediately hit with an unending barrage from both Pei Guang and Stelle.
The attacks themselves weren't the most suffocating part: the real shock was that Pei Guang could turn and spin without losing any speed.
"How is that possible?"
Turning and attacking without slowing down—did physics not exist in this world?
But reality gave Qingni no time to think.
Seeing her dodge the first attack, Stelle aimed the mouth of her trash can directly at Qingni's Starskiff.
"Trash Cannon! Fire!"
At that moment, a massive garbage bag was launched.
Seeing the black bag over a meter in diameter, Qingni's body once again dodged instinctively. But this time, Stelle's attack was far nastier than Pei Guang's.
No—strictly speaking, it was the combination of their attacks that was truly vicious.
Pei Guang's strike had made Qingni subconsciously think all their attacks would be straightforward like that, and Stelle's attack at first looked straightforward as well… but hidden behind the garbage shell were spears made from shattered trash can parts.
It's important to point out that Qingni really was gifted: she dodged the garbage bag cannon shot in a single move.
But then she was hit by the follow-up attack hidden behind it, striking her Starskiff hard enough to bring it to a complete stop.
The moment Qingni's Starskiff halted, Pei Guang and Stelle both stopped and returned to her side.
Inside the Starskiff, Qingni was still a little shaken.
In that split second, she'd almost felt like death was waving at her. But at the same time, the Vidyadhara's power and the strange traits of a "player" had ensured she took no harm at all.
For a player, all kinds of racing or flight games could have accidents for realism, but Pei Guang wasn't actually trying to kill her—this was training.
No training match in any game ever actually killed a teammate or NPC.
Whether it was the player's traits or the Vidyadhara's protection, either one alone would've kept Qingni safe. Still, this first taste of combat left her body trembling slightly.
And thanks to that one hit, the Starskiff was basically wrecked and couldn't be piloted anymore.
Qingni stepped out of the cockpit and saw Pei Guang and Stelle waiting with concern.
Pei Guang: "How was it?"
Qingni took a deep breath, then looked at Pei Guang with excitement. "Never felt this good before! It's just… this Starskiff…"
She glanced at her Starskiff, now completely smashed beyond use. To wreck it on her first drive left her feeling a little embarrassed.
Pei Guang waved it off. "No big deal. Vehicle problems are normal. Come on! Next, we repair the Starskiff, then race again!"
Qingni: "Repair the Starskiff?"
Pei Guang crossed his arms. "Of course! How can a pilot not know how to repair their Starskiff?"
Qingni: "But… but I don't know how to repair one…"
Pei Guang: "That's fine. Just hammer it a bit or tighten something with a wrench, and it's fixed."
Qingni: "Huh? That works? What about parts?"
Pei Guang pulled out a trash can filled with damaged trash can parts. "You can find all sorts of components here. They might be trash can parts, but if you can repair a Starskiff with them, you're a true pilot. A good pilot should be able to repair or even build a craft."
A player might not know how to code, but in-game, what they can create isn't much limited by real-life learning.
Throughout gaming history, vehicle repairs were always simple and crude: twist something with a wrench and it's magically fixed. Swing a hammer at a hologram, and it becomes real; take a deep breath to heal, slap on a medkit to recover from every injury.
All things players always love.
Stelle: "Exactly, exactly! If Ah Guang says it works, then it does. Remember, you need imagination. Only with imagination can you do these things."
Stelle didn't even bother complaining about Pei Guang's "player logic" anymore: everything he did was just normal player behavior, and for a player, that was nothing strange.
If she had to complain about something, it would be Pei Guang's fluctuating power.
The more she spent time with him, the more she saw it: he was "strong against the strong, weak against the weak," could trade blows with anyone, and could win against anyone, always in about the same way.
But then again, that was normal.
At least in the mobile games she'd played, some protagonists were exactly like that, with their strength that fluctuated with the plot.
One second they were mowing down enemies with an RPG, the next they were stuck in a corner with a tiny knife screaming "aaah!"
Qingni didn't understand most of this, but something in their words felt magical, making her decide to give it a try.
She'd invited the Trailblazers here, and things were already in motion, so why not see it through, all the way toward the goal of becoming the strongest pilot?
From the moment she asked the player Pei Guang for help, her life's path had already deviated. To a player, she had become an NPC in their game's progress.
Especially since she was now a "raised" NPC: when a game features raising an NPC, most players will give it their best effort.
Whether raising a daughter, a lover, or a rival, the player's motivation is always maxed out.
Even for a random small-fry NPC, players will often give them the best they can spare without hurting their own experience.
That was exactly Pei Guang's mindset now.
Since Qingni wanted to be a pilot, as a player he would naturally use every resource and skill he had to teach her everything he knew, until she became the strongest pilot.
Pei Guang: "Come on! Pick your parts! Remember—imagination!"
"What? How to attach it? Just hammer it in!"
"This part's broken? Tighten it with a wrench."
"Alright! Let's go for another lap!"