"Let's go. I'll lead the way."
Firefly took the lead, guiding Pei Guang through several turns until they arrived beside a café.
"We're here," she said. "This is the place."
Pei Guang glanced up at the café and couldn't help but whistle. "Not bad: gotta say, this place has taste. Luxurious, classy, a real sense of style."
The praise made Firefly's face freeze awkwardly. She looked to the side and muttered, "No, it's… here."
Pei Guang followed her finger—and saw a manhole cover.
"Huh," he said, circling around it with curiosity. "Now this feels like a proper secret base."
Firefly gave an embarrassed smile and lifted the cover. "Don't worry, it's a dream. Anything can happen here. People fall out of the sky all the time, and everyone's used to it by now. I'll go first. It's a bit dark at the start, so keep close."
But just as Firefly opened the manhole and was about to descend, she instinctively stepped back.
Since Pei Guang was right behind her, she bumped straight into his chest, and he reflexively caught her.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Pei Guang looked down the opening—and saw a trash can.
It had one hand gripping the handle and the other pointing dramatically at them. Its lid tilted upward like a crown as it spoke in a booming, imperious tone:
"I am Trash Can Taro. This space is full."
"Uh…"
Pei Guang stared at it, fighting the urge to say, Should I shout 'MUDA MUDA' now?
The trash can floated up from the hole. It had been enjoying its peaceful time cleaning the underground tunnel, until these two interrupted. Unless they gave it a good reason, it would have to show them that the dignity of a trash can must never be trampled upon.
It swaggered out of the hole, but the moment it got a good look at Pei Guang, it froze.
Then, with a sudden shift in attitude, it bowed respectfully.
"My apologies! I did not recognize you, my great King. I should not have disturbed your date. May your journey be delightful! Glory to the Grand Path of the Bins and Cans, and may trash endure forever!"
After offering his blessings to the great King of Trash, Trash Can Taro crossed his muscular arms and departed.
There were plenty of manholes in Penacony. No need to occupy this one and interfere with the King's romantic outing.
On the contrary, he hoped the Trash King would produce heirs so that the trash can clan could prosper and thrive for generations to come.
All for the glory of the Trash Can Family!
Besides, there were plenty of other lids to lie under and collect garbage. This one could be left for His Majesty.
Only after Trash Can Taro had gone did Firefly mutter under her breath, "I can't believe even here there's a trash can… there definitely wasn't one before…"
Her small grumble trailed off as she realized something was wrong.
When she'd opened the cover and seen such a bizarre sight, she'd instinctively stepped back for safety—and ended up right in Pei Guang's arms.
At first, everything had happened too suddenly for her to process. But now that her brain caught up, she realized she was leaning against his chest.
She'd read about moments like this in novels: the racing heartbeat, the sudden warmth… but this was a dream. Feelings like that shouldn't exist here.
And yet… she could feel it.
The fluttering pulse, the heat in her skin… just like the books described.
Not knowing what to say, she stammered, "Um… how long are you planning to hold me like this?"
Pei Guang looked down at her. "Hold you? I'm just supporting you. Hm? Unless you want a hug?"
Firefly flushed. "I—I didn't mean it like that."
Pei Guang leaned closer. "So… do you want one or not?"
Firefly had planned to refuse, but at that moment, countless memories flashed through her mind.
Somewhere deep in her consciousness, she heard a familiar voice whisper: 'Make your own choice.'
Make her own choice, huh? Maybe that was it.
Whatever the reason, she opened her mouth.
"…I want to."
Hearing her answer, Pei Guang thought for a second, then gave her a light hug. The situation felt strangely ambiguous, but he figured maybe this was a mini side quest to raise affection.
Who knew? Maybe higher affection meant better loot later.
It was a gentle, fleeting embrace—but it made her heart stir.
Even though this was the dream world, she could feel the warmth, the closeness, the steady heartbeat. It was real enough to leave her unsure what to do next.
He'd held her before once, when they were running for their lives, but this time was different.
Softer. Lighter. Barely more than a touch, and yet so much more charged with emotion.
If it were a fight, she'd know exactly how to handle it.
But something as simple as this, something so ordinary for others, was completely new to her.
Watching Firefly's brain visibly short-circuit, Pei Guang tapped her gently on the head. "Alright! Mission complete. So, where's my reward?"
"R-reward?" she stammered. "Um… affection points. Lots and lots of affection points."
Her voice trembled as she spoke.
She didn't care about rewards anymore: she just wanted her heartbeat to calm down!
But Firefly adjusted her emotions quickly.
After just a few breaths, she managed to suppress the strange sensations in her body. "Sorry, that trash can showing up so suddenly just startled me. Let's go, from here, we'll reach the entrance to my secret base. I'll go first. It's a bit dark at the beginning, so stay close to me."
She wanted to move past what had just happened as fast as possible, so Firefly jumped down into the manhole first. Pei Guang followed right after, leaping in behind her.
Once inside, Pei Guang found that this wasn't a normal sewer. Even the sewers in Penacony were filled with Classic SoulGlad. If this were reality, all that SoulGlad would stick to everything so much that no one could move an inch.
But in a dream, even if it got on your body, it didn't cling or leave any residue.
Still, Pei Guang wasn't about to let it go to waste, so he collected it all without hesitation.
He had a hunch that mixing this SoulGlad with trash might produce something with even better effects. So, as he crawled behind Firefly, he started gathering the SoulGlad from the sewer walls.
The tunnel was narrow, only big enough for one person to crawl through in a single direction. Even turning around was nearly impossible.
Up ahead, in the dim SoulGlad-coated passage, Firefly crawled forward while speaking. "Stay close. It's a little dark, but don't worry, we'll be there soon."
Pei Guang crouched low and crawled after her. "Relax, I'm not—"
Before he could finish his sentence, he fell silent.