Everyone had received a gift—except for one person.
No one said anything, but everyone knew who it was.
In that mont, a shared question silently echoed in everyone's mind: What exactly did Ruan i do to offend Pei Guang?
And at that mont, it was Ruan i herself who broke the awkward silence and looked at Pei Guang. "I need a tissue sample from the Propagation Emanator for research. May I have one? I can offer compensation, darling~"
At those words, everyone drew in a sharp breath. Herta and Screwllum watched the scene unfold with expressions like spectators at a good show.
Pei Guang replied, "Compensation? Then you'll have to tell what kind of compensation~ Otherwise, I can't agree. Also! I do have a lot of sample tissues, but what reward I give you depends on how much I like you. As it stands, my affection toward you is still at wary~"
At that mont, Pei Guang felt pure satisfaction. After all these years, for once he didn't have to suck up to NPCs for quests or affection. Now they were the ones who had to curry favor with him just to get things.
It felt really great.
Originally, March was seething when she heard Ruan i call Pei Guang darling, but after hearing Pei Guang's response, she puffed her chest out in pride.
"That's right! We risked our lives to get that stuff: how could we just give it to soone we barely know?"
Ruan i showed a contemplative look. "Hmm~ Then just like last ti, I'll promise to fulfill one request from you: anything except sothing impossible like universal peace."
Pei Guang: "Deal! I accept your quest!"
Pei Guang accepted the quest, then pulled out a leg hair from the Propagation Emanator. Compared to the others, this one was very small, only the size of a palm.
"Quest complete! I'll co to collect the reward when I need it~"
Ruan i: "Alright!"
Pei Guang: "Okay then, that's two quests of yours done. Anything else you need? If not, I'm gonna go get so rest."
That was a lie. Pei Guang had zero intention of resting: he just wanted to find a quiet spot and sort through all the stuff he'd acquired.
Ti to synthesize what needed to be synthesized, sell what could be sold.
His inventory had only three slots left: he used to save space by nesting items like Russian dolls, but he couldn't do that anymore—he needed to clean up.
After finishing Ruan i's quest, Pei Guang looked at Hiko. "Hiko~ anything else I need to handle?"
Hiko shook her head. "Nope. You just take it easy. We'll take care of the staff."
Bringing the staff back wasn't difficult. They could still be safely retrieved via teleportation using the Echo Space. Even without Pei Guang's teleportation, the area they were in had company ships stationed nearby. It wouldn't take long to pick them up.
Overall, it wasn't a big problem.
Pei Guang returned to his room on the train and began sorting out his inventory.
After he left, everyone else returned to their duties. Most of the people present weren't gossip-mongers, and the space station had just been through a serious incident: they had to calm the staff down.
Just thinking about that gave Asta a headache. "After this whole ordeal, I bet everyone's even more uneasy."
Ever since the Antimatter Legion's invasion, the staff had been harboring all sorts of feelings. So even secretly ford an anonymous group to vent and complain about the station's managent.
Thanks to Pei Guang, those complaints hadn't beco too serious. But after today's events, no matter how it turned out, the internal unrest was bound to resurface.
Thankfully, it was a small faction. In the grand sche of things, it wasn't a major issue, but Asta took even small problems seriously.
If ignored, small problems would grow into big ones. As the station chief, she couldn't just let them slide.
March and Stelle also returned to the train: Stelle had considered continuing her missions, but after today's huge victory, she just wanted to hurry back and split the loot with Ah Guang.
Back on the train, Pei Guang spent over a day clearing out his inventory until it was practically empty again.
He sold what could be sold and synthesized everything else.
This ti, the synthesis results weren't great. Most of what he made were rare materials, not powerful special-effect items. Still, he stored them all. He wouldn't be using them himself, but Earth's improving technology definitely would.
"All done!"
Looking at the large amount of freed-up space, Pei Guang nodded in satisfaction. Just as he was wondering what to do next, his phone buzzed.
He opened it—it was a ssage from Ruan i. "I'm leaving the space station. Want to et one last ti?"
Pei Guang thought about it seriously for a while before replying: "Sure. Where?"
Ruan i: "The usual place."
Seeing those three words, the usual place, Pei Guang rolled his eyes on the spot. Sure, solving puzzles was part of the ga experience, but cryptic riddles for this kind of thing? Terrible design choice.
His affection for Ruan i decreased yet again…
While he thought that, his body had already moved and he arrived at the platform where he had first t Ruan i.
Ruan i was standing there, holding a dessert, nibbling while gazing out at the blue star outside the window. When Pei Guang arrived, she turned her head and smiled at him.
"You ca. Want so? Don't worry, I didn't put anything in it this ti." Ruan i smiled.
Pei Guang: "Sure! Honestly, if you hadn't drugged the first ti we t, I probably would've liked you a lot more. And if you could trust a bit more, we might've even beco close friends, maybe best friends? Who knows?"
Pei Guang once again accepted the cake from her.
As he ate, Ruan i looked at him and said, "Because of so things I don't like to talk about, it's hard for to trust anyone outside myself. At first, I wanted to control you: make you forget everything related to . But now... there's no point in hiding anymore."
There was a hint of sadness on her face. Seeing her like that, Pei Guang stuffed the rest of the dessert into his mouth and asked while chewing, "Why are you the one acting sad?"
Ruan i answered calmly, "Because of my own actions, I might've missed out on a real chance at success. After you left, I couldn't stop thinking about whether I made the wrong call. I promised you before, if you ever faced danger you couldn't overco, I'd personally co to your aid. And yet…"
This isn't sothing Ruan i was faking.
Although she very much wanted to study Pei Guang, to figure out how he managed to shake a trash can and sohow produce a Preservation Emanator, it didn't conflict with the guilt she felt from failing to keep her promise.
According to all her data, the Propagation Emanator she created should have only lasted for fifty-six seconds. Yet, it beca real: and during the process, there was even the involvent of an Aeon.
In that case, she truly had no ability to help Pei Guang.
In fact, she couldn't even enter the Equilibrium Trial space. The gap between mortals and Aeons was far too great for any ans to bridge.
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