In the Golden Hour, Robin didn't know she was being followed, nor did she know that the person following her had changed.
Since Su Mo had already agreed to resolve the crisis, and she had informed her brother of the situation, The Family was surely prepared. Under these circumstances, compared to a crisis that was already guaranteed to be handled, what she should focus on more was Su Mo's experience. This was her original intention in wanting to be his guide.
Just as she opened the bottle of SoulGlad she had just bought, handed it to Su Mo, and was about to explain the origins of the drink and the cultural phenomenon it had created over the years...
"Wait, you two!"
Not far away, a Pepeshi who looked less than one hundred and twenty centimeters tall suddenly rushed over.
"Excuse me, who are you?" Robin instinctively stood in front of Su Mo. Seeing that the other party seemed to have no hostile intent, she relaxed slightly, though her eyes held a hint of worry.
Could it be that this person recognized me?
Fortunately, this worry did not come true.
"Ahem! I am the owner of the shop that sells SoulGlad!" the Pepeshi cleared his throat and said with a serious face. "The SoulGlad you just bought is a product I sell."
So, it was the shop owner who had come to find them. Hearing this, Robin was slightly taken aback and glanced back at the place where she had bought the drink. "But I bought the SoulGlad from a vending machine!"
Since when do vending machines have shop owners?
"That's where you're wrong!" The Pepeshi was momentarily stunned, then immediately changed his tune. "As everyone knows, in a dream, many devices are different from reality. For example, the vending machine you just saw, while it may look like one on the surface, is actually filled with blood and sin!"
As he spoke, the Pepeshi clenched his fists, his face filled with grief and indignation, as if he were letting out a silent roar.
"Huh? Why do you say that?" As a member of the Oak Family, Robin was completely confused.
Although the Oak Family was mainly in charge of project management and the Hound Family was in charge of construction, and she hadn't been back to Penacony for a long time and didn't know much about the inner workings of the dream, a mere vending machine couldn't possibly be involved with blood and sin, could it?
Seeing Robin's puzzled expression, the Pepeshi snorted. "You must be thinking, why would a mere vending machine be described in such a way? Is this guy some kind of lunatic?"
"Well, not that extreme..." Robin shook her head.
The Pepeshi continued on his own. "The answer is actually very simple. The vending machines in Penacony are not unmanned at all, but manned!"
"Huh?" Robin still didn't understand.
"Every time you buy a drink, a captive Pepeshi, suffering from claustrophobia, manually pushes out the drink. No buying, no harm! Everyone has an obligation to protect the Pepeshi!" The Pepeshi passionately exposed The Family's dark secret of employing "child labor."
If March 7th were here, she would most likely believe this nonsense and feel sympathy. But Robin was not a naive fool like March 7th. She would not believe such a loophole-ridden lie.
Not to mention that Penacony had over a hundred thousand vending machines, and the number of Pepeshi was nowhere near that.
From a purely economic perspective, there was no reason to do this. In the dream, simple machines like vending machines didn't cost much to create. If they were to specifically imprison Pepeshi to do this, the cost of maintaining their vital signs would be even higher.
And most importantly...
"This may be rude, but the SoulGlad I just bought was on the top shelf, and the drink came out from the bottom. The vending machine is about two meters tall." Robin said tactfully to the Pepeshi before her. "Even if such an inhumane thing were happening, it wouldn't be possible for a Pepeshi to do it, right?"
A Pepeshi couldn't even reach the drinks on the top shelf!
"You! How rude! This is discrimination! I'm going to file a complaint! You're discriminating against us Pepeshi!" Having been hit where it hurt, the Pepeshi before her immediately flew into a rage.
Halfway through his tirade, his phone suddenly rang. The Pepeshi glared up at Robin while looking at his phone message.
"If you keep improvising your lines, your payment will be deducted, and you'll have to pay a huge breach of contract fee... Does this bastard think we Pepeshi are easy to bully? I... I... I..." The Pepeshi stretched out his arms, and the pom-pom on his head began to tremble.
Just as Robin was considering whether to call the Hound Family's security, the other party's attitude suddenly did a 180-degree turn.
"I'm sorry, you two. I was just kidding!" The Pepeshi squeezed out an insincere smile and pointed to the bottle cap that Robin was about to throw into the trash. "Actually, there's no rumor about Pepeshi being enslaved. I just wanted to kindly remind you two that SoulGlad is currently holding a promotion, and you can check the bottle cap for prize information."
"This time, the prizes aren't small things like 'another bottle.' Lucky people might even win the grand prize of a free tour of the entire Penacony!"
As he spoke, he got into character again, his tone becoming high-spirited, like a hard-selling salesperson on the street.
"Grand prize?" Hearing this, Robin did not show the expected or excited look of an ordinary person. After all, for both her and Su Mo, the gimmick of a free tour was not very attractive. They no longer needed to worry about such small amounts of money.
However, it would be inappropriate to say so in front of others. So she just waved her hand and said, "A grand prize of this level must be very rare. How could it be so easy..."
Before she could finish, she saw the Pepeshi take a step forward, stare at the bottle cap in her hand, and show a look of shock. "Wow! A golden legendary!"
With an incredibly exaggerated performance, the Pepeshi pointed at Robin and Su Mo before him and shouted, "You two are so lucky! You won the grand prize! You get a couple's ticket for a luxurious three-day tour of Penacony!"
At these words, Robin had not yet reacted. From a nearby shop, several staff members in suits and ties suddenly walked out.
"What? Someone won the grand prize?" The staff arrived on the scene in a second and asked.
"That's right, right here! It's these two!" The Pepeshi, like a traitor calling for the imperial army, immediately and enthusiastically waved at the staff.
"W-wait!" Seeing things developing in an unexpected direction, Robin was a little dumbfounded.
"Esteemed lady, do you have any requests?" A female staff member immediately came over enthusiastically. "As a lucky customer, we will satisfy any request you have. Whether you want to conceal your identity or spend an unforgettable vacation with your lover, we can provide the most suitable arrangements!"
Hearing this, even a dignified and generous person like Robin was a little flustered for a moment. She had done her homework for this tour, and although she had expected some unexpected surprises, she had never expected it to be this unexpected.
And...
"Couple's ticket... are there no other tickets?" She had intended to decline the prize, but after secretly glancing at Su Mo, she inexplicably changed her refusal into a question.
Before this, she had only had pure admiration, without any fantasies in that regard. After all, idols were meant to be admired, not fantasized about.
But after truly meeting Su Mo and being reminded like this, she suddenly felt that she couldn't go back.
If it were Lord Su Mo, he would surely be able to understand and support my career, right?
Hearing her ask this, the female staff member showed a professional smile. "I'm sorry, no! Our highest prize is a couple's tour, and we do not accept any form of prize exchange."
Hearing this, Robin bit her lip and shook her head slightly. "I have already made my own travel plans. Please allow me to decline this prize—"
Before the word "prize" could leave her lips, the staff member in front of her immediately took out a plan. "Before you refuse, esteemed lady, you can take a look at the content of our couple's tour. Whether you want to savor the history, culture, or cuisine of Penacony, we have prepared the optimal route for you."
"Whether it's restaurants or cinemas, we have already booked seats in advance. In addition, our staff will only work behind the scenes and will not disturb you. You can enjoy your leisure time in private."
As she spoke, the staff member also hinted desperately, "I personally recommend this route of dining, watching a movie, and resting! The recently released The Caged Bird, Her Master, and Their Love is the most well-received movie recently! The two protagonists develop a spark of love during a brief encounter, and it's called a 45-degree pure love masterpiece. It is said that everyone who has watched this movie together has eventually become a couple!"
After speaking, the female staff member winked and added, "Speaking of which, there is a scene in the movie where the female protagonist wins a prize. According to the director's explanation in the Easter egg, this is the only branch that could lead to a tragic ending. If the female protagonist makes the wrong choice at this time and refuses the reward, she may lose the best opportunity!"
"Uh..." Hearing this, Robin was slightly taken aback. Are you trying to hint at something?
Just as the staff member finished speaking, the roar of an engine was heard. Soon, a luxury car glided to a stop in front of the two.
"Dear guests, you will be provided with transportation from now on. Of course, if you do not need a driver, you can also use this car as you wish." The driver opened the door and bowed, speaking respectfully, his white gloves elegant and clean.
"Yay! I won!"
"What did you win?"
"Ten million... no, our two esteemed guests have won the ten-million-dollar super grand prize!"
On the other side, a staff member shouted in celebration. In the end, a group of people completed their communication in less than a few dozen seconds and brought ten million credits in cash to Robin.
"Congratulations, dear guests! The lottery ticket included in your couple's tour package was just redeemed, and your luck is simply unparalleled. You've won another grand prize... With this luck, you two will surely have the ultimate experience on your couple's tour!"
The staff members looked at them with burning eyes, and regardless of how awkward it sounded, they threw all their flattery at them.
After Robin expressed her refusal, they collectively pushed, raising the already luxurious tour package to another level. As if they knew the two were not short of money, they now focused on the incredibly lucky experience.
"..." Robin blinked and said nothing. It wasn't that she was shocked by the sudden luck and money.
Not only was this amount of money nothing to a rich woman like her, but the series of lucky gift packages itself was very strange.
Let alone Robin, even if March 7th were here and saw this series of illogical lucky events, she wouldn't be foolish enough to believe it was all a coincidence.
No matter how you looked at it, these people's attitudes were too strange. It was as if they had been arranged by someone to provide them with service.
But who would do such a thing? Could it be my brother? But if it were him, the scale should be much larger. And he has a rigid personality. Even if he wanted to help me, he wouldn't come up with something like a couple's ticket. Who could do such a thing and know both of our identities? Friend or foe?
Thinking this, Robin put aside her previously disturbed thoughts and looked at Su Mo. "What do you think, Lord Su Mo? Should we accept?" She handed the decision to him.
"Of course we'll accept." Surprisingly, Su Mo nodded immediately and looked at Robin. The two looked at each other.
"You also want to know who has so much free time, right?"
"Mm." Understanding Su Mo's meaning, Robin nodded in tacit agreement.
The staff immediately breathed a sigh of relief and began to arrange the next tour location with great fanfare.
Seeing the plan proceed smoothly from a distance, at the top of the theater, Sparkle also patted her chest in relief. "Congratulations! Director Sparkle's skills are quite good... but I have a feeling that Lord Su Mo saw me. Oh Lord of Elation, that's not just my imagination, is it?"
Muttering to herself, she leaped off the top of the building. She wouldn't be harmed in a dream, so Sparkle wasn't committing suicide.
She was just in a hurry to get to an emergency... the Pepeshi who liked to add his own lines and whom she had threatened with a breach of contract fee seemed to have united with other Pepeshi and was now threatening to go on strike.
In Robin's eyes, the scale of this couple's tour was not very large, but Director Sparkle had indeed done her best.
With almost zero connections in Penacony, she had managed to do this much by being diligent, dedicated, and personally involved in everything.
Any mistake required her to personally rectify it.