The transformation device in Pei Guang's hand made him feel an excitement like never before.
He really wanted to transform right there on the spot, but after glancing at the cramped space around him, he decided to hold it in for now.
Instead of putting the transformation device into his storage space, Pei Guang turned it into a belt and fastened it around his waist.
Seeing the obvious joy on his face, Firefly smiled as well.
But as she watched him turning the device into a belt, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Eh? Why did you turn the transformation device… into a belt?"
Firefly herself used a very small and cute device, about the size of her palm, like a little firefly.
Pei Guang shook his head. "No, no, no! This isn't called a transformation device: it's called a Driver Transformation Gear!"
"Uh… what's the difference?"
Pei Guang replied, "Well… basically there's no difference. Ah~ I can't hold it anymore, my heart's racing! Since everything's ready, why don't we get moving?"
At the mention of taking action, Himeko, March 7th, and Stelle all walked over.
March 7th: "Eh? We're starting already? Letting the Family truly feel Harmony—just thinking about it is exciting! So, where do we begin?"
Pei Guang thought for a moment. "To be honest, after so much story progression, I've never fought a battle this well-prepared. Since there are so many of us, I think we should split up."
"Ah? Split up again?"
Himeko looked at her and said reassuringly, "Alright, don't pout. We're short on time and have a lot to do. Splitting into two groups is the most efficient way."
Pei Guang nodded. "Exactly! This mission is simple. This time, Stelle and I will each lead a team, since this particular ability is something only the two of us have."
March 7th: "Ability? What ability?"
Stelle: "Of course: Clockwork Trick! With it, we can see the emotions people are missing. By using Clockwork Trick, we can restore those missing emotions."
Pei Guang nodded. "Right. But honestly, that ability's a pain to use—and messing with people's hearts? How's that better than just giving them a drink!"
Smiling, Pei Guang pulled out several bottles of "Emotion Recovery Functional Drinks."
Just one sip of this drink could help those missing emotions rediscover themselves.
In terms of both efficiency and usability, it completely crushed Clockwork Trick.
To Pei Guang, Clockwork Trick was probably just a backup skill he got by accident from wasted consumables.
As for controlling people's emotions? He thought it wasn't that useful.
For enemies, one cup of coffee was enough to knock them out so he could loot them comfortably. For allies, another cup could calm them down or clear their minds: simple and effective.
What really annoyed Pei Guang was that Clockwork Trick only handled four basic emotions—and none of them were "lust" or "arousal".
Pei Guang found that extremely boring.
Thank goodness the Clockie Boy was a child-friendly character: if he were an R18 NPC, Pei Guang didn't even dare imagine how this whole storyline would've turned out.
But since it didn't have that kind of function, he quickly lost interest in Clockwork Trick. Partly because he didn't like to toy with people's emotions, but also because the ones he wanted to play with weren't even available.
Pei Guang continued explaining to March 7th and Himeko: "In Penacony, many people's hearts are missing emotions. Without emotions, they're just like machines—numb and lifeless.
I don't know whether it's the influence of Harmony or some other force, but I know it's wrong. And since Xipe wants Penacony to embrace Harmony, we might as well restore their emotions while we're at it!"
Himeko: "Missing… emotions?"
Pei Guang nodded. "Yeah. I'm not sure if it's because of the environment or someone's doing, but some people are missing certain feelings. According to Clockie Boy, Boss Stone took everyone's emotions. But actually…"
Pei Guang could clearly feel something was off in Penacony.
Harmony or not, the Dreamscape wasn't as beautiful as it seemed.
He felt like there was something lurking within Penacony: but since the clues were all too scattered right now, he couldn't analyze it properly. All he could do was assume that someone was stirring up trouble.
Either way, Pei Guang planned to start by restoring the emotions of the ordinary people in Penacony.
By increasing their favorability and guiding them into Xipe's harmonious embrace, he could gather a loyal crowd.
Once enough people joined, even if the Family resisted Xipe's Harmony, Pei Guang could rely on the masses to overthrow the Family: gaining Penacony's favor and unlocking the new region's unique rewards!
So far, he hadn't gotten many good items in Penacony, but following the classic game logic… if the drops are scarce early on, that just means there's something great waiting at the end.
To ensure he'd get the best possible final rating, farming favorability was a must!
Stelle: "Ah Guang! Say no more, I get it! Let's split up—you go after the Family, and I'll make more people regain their emotions!"
Pei Guang: "Exactly! Let the NPCs of Penacony boost our favorability till it's overflowing! Let the dream world return to what dreams should be! But wait—why are you taking the bigger job? Winning over more people should be my task."
Stelle: "Just leave it to me~ I want to experience what it feels like to have so much favorability too~"
Pei Guang: "Tch! Fair enough. I've been the one farming favor all along, you haven't felt that satisfaction yet. Fine, I'll let you handle Penacony's favor grind this time."
March 7th, fired up by their energy, jumped in. "I want in too! I want to know what it feels like when everyone in the city knows who I am after maxing out favor!"
Pei Guang: "Oh? You too? Fine, I'll leave it to you two, then."
To Pei Guang, Stelle had a point. He'd been the one maxing out favor in every region so far, and his companions hadn't gotten the full experience.
So this time, he'd let Stelle and March handle the mass favor grind: it was only fair that everyone in the crew got to enjoy that wonderful feeling.
The three of them had stars of excitement shining in their eyes. Seeing their enthusiasm, Himeko smiled.
Himeko: "Oh? Looks like you've all made up your minds?"
Pei Guang nodded. "I plan to go find Something Unto Death first. As for harmonizing the Family… there's no rush."
Pei Guang glanced at the minimap showing Something Unto Death's location. Interestingly this guy was right inside the Dream and completely motionless.
Then he checked Xipe Cake's situation: it hadn't even started acting yet, hadn't even used the power of Harmony, but somehow the area was already self-harmonizing.
In the bar, among the people and the Sweet Dreams Troupe—
"Woof woof woof woof! Meow meow meow! Universal Harmony, the stars shine together!"
Just witnessing that scene made Pei Guang certain that he wouldn't be able to do Xipe Cake's task for a while.
Since he couldn't, he decided to continue the earlier investigation about death instead—after all, that was the main storyline.
Stelle: "March and I will go help more people find themselves again. Even if the Dream World needs people to work, Ah Guang and I want them to be able to freely express their emotions while they work—not suppress them.
Since it's the Dream World, even workers should be able to enjoy the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness of dreams. If they can't even do that, then what's the point of having dreams in Penacony at all?"
Unlike taking medicine when you're sick, most people in Penacony simply had missing emotions. Happiness, pain, anger… these emotions might seem negative at times, but they're proof that a person has a self.
If those are taken away, isn't that just robbing people of their right to dream for themselves?
As someone who was raised by Pei Guang, Stelle couldn't stand by and ignore that.
Seeing Stelle's determination, Pei Guang clapped his hands with force. "Looks like you've grown up. In that case, go all out! I'll attract the Family's attention! I'll set ablaze the sea!!"
At first, Firefly smiled at Pei Guang's enthusiasm… until he suddenly mentioned igniting the sea.
Wait—why was his hand moving toward the transformation device?
Firefly instantly regretted it.
When she had first received the transformation device from Pei Guang, why had she shouted all those chūnibyō lines? Great—now Pei Guang had learned them all.
And the worst part wasn't that he learned them: it was that he could actually shout those lines out loud, in front of everyone, with zero shame!
Pei Guang began to act.
Stelle and March 7th were the first to set off. After some thought, Himeko decided not to accompany Pei Guang in his "operation."
After all, she was the Astral Express's navigator: if the kids caused trouble and she joined in, things would get hard to explain if it all went south.
Pei Guang was openly targeting the Family; if she tagged along and things escalated, it would be troublesome.
But following Stelle was different.
Helping those who lost their emotions regain them: no matter how far that went, the Family couldn't really punish them for it. And if Pei Guang did cause a disaster, as the navigator, she'd at least have an excuse to protect him.
She figured her worries might be unnecessary though: given Pei Guang's abilities, it wouldn't be surprising if Stelle's group hadn't even started before he had already "harmonized" the entire Family.