With the Cat Cake of Knowledge leading the way, the Cat Cakes agreed to Pei Guang's proposal.
And the moment they agreed, the hyper-energetic Pei Guang whipped out his phone and immediately created a group chat called [Commission Group].
He added everyone he had met along the way: Asta, Herta, Ruan Mei, Screwllum, Bronya, Gepard, Jing Yuan, Kafka and more.
Basically, anyone he thought was competent enough to give commissions to the Cat Cakes.
Sure, some commissions might be dangerous, but Pei Guang figured that as a player acting as the middleman, he could just choose appropriately—no big deal.
In games, certain expeditions or missions can be risky if the character's level is too low, so Pei Guang planned to accept commissions through this group and assign tasks to the Cat Cakes based on their individual performance.
As for danger? Pei Guang thought about it and figured: at least four of the Cat Cakes he synthesized were shining golden: they were Aeon Cat Cakes. With those four in the lead, the risk shouldn't be too high.
Yep, Pei Guang had already mentally assigned those golden-level Cat Cakes as his safety net for commissions and expeditions: the kind of characters where, as long as you have their card, you can't fail.
In the group, Pei Guang also posted an announcement explaining the purpose of the group:
"Taking commissions. Any kind of commission is fine. If we can take it, we will. If we can't, we won't. A professional team. During the commission: meals, lodging, and fun are all included. Remember to give rewards upon completion."
Pei Guang had thought long and hard and still couldn't come up with anything more refined. He also figured that trying to make it sound too elegant might make people misunderstand the purpose.
When this announcement was posted, everyone who read it was a little stunned.
Most people already knew Pei Guang liked looking for tasks, Jing Yuan especially. He knew Pei Guang sometimes took on Ten-Lords Commission tasks when he had time.
But what Pei Guang had said back then was "I'll take them if I have time."
As the most sharp-minded and Pei Guang-savvy among all the Arbiter-Generals, Jing Yuan sensed that this wasn't going to be so simple. Without hesitation, he added the Cloud Knights' Marshal of the Xianzhou Alliance into the group.
The very moment Hua joined, she typed a simple message:
"If the Abominations of Abundance are not purged, the Hunt cannot end. The Xianzhou Alliance has vowed to eradicate the Abominations of Abundance who poison the stars. We need your help."
No one in the group expected the Xianzhou Alliance to act that fast.
People were still getting their bearings in this new group chat, and some were privately thinking of messaging Pei Guang to ask what was going on—then bam, they made it public.
Though the Cloud Knights' Marshal didn't mention any reward, everyone knew the Xianzhou Alliance wouldn't be stingy. The real problem was that hunting Abominations of Abundance wasn't something just anyone could do.
Even Herta could only provide technical support: there was no way she could help with the actual long-term hunt.
With the Marshal's commission on the table, no one else posted anything for a while. Some people hadn't seen it yet, some were still observing, and others were coping with their broken defenses and trying to calm down.
Looking at the Xianzhou Alliance's commission, Pei Guang thought, "Now this is a real quest! What kind of mission starts you off with something this huge?"
It was like a player leaving the beginner village and getting a quest to march three kilometers to the Demon King's castle and kill a max-level boss.
Just as Pei Guang was wondering whether he should decline, Yaoshi Cake jumped onto his shoulder and saw the commission. The moment it read it, it let out a soft meow.
"Meow~"
"Hm? You're saying you can take on this mission? Do you even know what the Abominations of Abundance are? These are the kind of guys who eat without ever needing to poop!"
Yaoshi Cake nodded firmly, its little paws tapping with excitement.
As a player, Pei Guang could tell that Yaoshi Cake was different. It was golden, and judging by its aura, it walked the Path of Abundance. It actually made sense for it to be the one to take on this hunt.
Pei Guang could feel that Yaoshi Cake didn't agree out of ignorance: it had seriously read through the commission, thought about it, and then made its choice.
And in truth, the moment Yaoshi Cake saw the words "Abominations of Abundance," something within it stirred—a strange twist of fate.
Perhaps because it walked the Path of Abundance and wielded the power of Elation, the term alone made it instinctively recoil in disgust.
As one of the adorable Cat Cakes Pei Guang had created, it would represent the Path of Abundance in destroying them!
Yes, together with the player, it would use the power of Elation to accept the hunt and destroy the Abominations of Abundance.
Looking at the serious-faced Yaoshi Cake, Pei Guang nodded. "Alright then. If you think you can do it, go ahead. Just remember: if anything happens, contact me. If anyone dares to hurt you or your teammates, they better be ready to say goodbye to their household registration."
Hearing Pei Guang's bold declaration, the Cat Cakes' eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Invincible~ Pei Guang~"
The cats meowed excitedly, but they were all calling out the same name.
Pei Guang said, "It's fine if you say I'm invincible, but remember, never call yourself invincible out there, because those who say that are the ones who always end up dead!"
"Meow~"
The Cat Cakes responded excitedly.
Pei Guang respected Yaoshi Cake's decision, so in the group chat, Pei Guang replied to Hua's commission: "No problem! This little one will accept your commission. While it's helping you eliminate the Abominations of Abundance, make sure to show it the world and let it explore. Oh, right—he told me he'll want to come home to rest every few days. If that's okay, then he's in."
Seeing Pei Guang's message, the Cloud Knights' Marshal didn't feel anything strange at first—until she saw who accepted the commission.
She fell silent.
Not only her: Jing Yuan and Ruan Mei were speechless too.
No one knew how to even begin commenting on it.
Where did this chibi version of the Plagues Author come from?! And wait a minute… is it really okay to send such an adorable little thing onto the battlefield?
Pei Guang's very existence already made the world feel absurd, but when they saw the Yaoshi Cake he posted, it felt like the world had just gotten even more ridiculous.
Especially Jing Yuan: he had seen Pei Guang's brilliance firsthand, so he did believe this was possible. But precisely because he believed it, he was left completely dumbfounded.
Just imagine: in the battle against Abominations of Abundance, Yaoshi Cake is standing front and center, little paws tucked in.
What are those abominations supposed to do, shout "Mercy to the Sanctus Medicus!" and kneel down in reverence? Or actually fight it?
Could they win? Sure, but wouldn't that be embarrassing?
But clearly, if Pei Guang dared to send it, they probably can't win.
As for whether it could win or not, Pei Guang didn't know, but Aha definitely did. Because the moment Aha saw Yaoshi Cake accept the commission, he nearly died laughing.
A Cat Cake made in the image of the Aeon of Abundance going to fight Abundance's own followers? That wasn't even the funniest part.
The real kicker was that this Cat Cake, walking the Path of Abundance, was going to use the power of Elation to fight?
In game terms, it would be like being tagged as an Abundance character, displaying Elation traits, but dealing Destruction-type damage.
See that green dewdrop? That's not a blessing from Yaoshi: it's Aha's little prank.
And yet, this was just the beginning.
Once one Cat Cake accepted a commission, everyone in the group chat started posting theirs rapidly. Even the Galaxy Rangers, who no one knew how they even joined the group, came to join the fun.
Galaxy Ranger said: "We don't know who Pei Guang is, and we've never heard of Pei Guang's exploits. We just heard someone here can help solve really difficult problems, so I came to take a look."
After all, Hua had set a strong precedent: the title "Cloud Knights' Marshal" was practically a living ad. Combined with everyone in the chat knowing how capable Pei Guang was, people began posting their own commissions one after another.
But among all of them, the most conflicted person was actually Ruan Mei. She could tell that Pei Guang was using her creations to take on commissions, which, frankly, was the most insane part.
What was even crazier was that when she posted a commission of her own… one of the Cat Cakes actually accepted it. And this Cat Cake was based on one she had created herself.
That Cat Cake was just an unqualified experimental lifeform that could bring a bit of unexpected joy. How had it gone from that… to being capable of assisting her in actual work in just this short amount of time?