At that moment, Pei Guang felt like time itself had stopped. Watching March 7th's icon getting closer on the minimap, his breath and heartbeat nearly came to a halt.
"Ah Guang… what are you all… doing…"
March 7th's voice came from behind Pei Guang, filled with curiosity.
Yes, March 7th had walked over out of pure curiosity. She looked at the transforming Heliobus and asked, "Huh? So this is the Heliobus you mentioned? What is she doing?"
Pei Guang replied, "She took my bait seriously. She thinks I wanted to see."
Even though Pei Guang was nervous, seeing March 7th made him feel inexplicably calm, as if her presence healed his entire being and put him at ease.
Hearing Pei Guang's words, March 7th's eyes widened: "What! No way!!!"
March 7th hadn't followed him out of suspicion: she trusted Pei Guang's character. She had come over because she wanted to let him know the matter had been resolved, but when she couldn't get a message through, she decided to check in person.
And now she hears this? This Heliobus is acting shamelessly? In an instant, she tensed up, casting Six-Phased ice to instantly encase the Heliobus, and with urgency in her voice, she turned to Pei Guang: "Don't look! Don't look! Don't look!"
Pei Guang: "I'm not looking! Heliobus! Don't pull this stuff in front of me! If you make March mad, I'll kill you."
At that moment, Tutu the Heliobus froze entirely. Weren't those messages full of "wanna see your chest, wanna see your panties"? And now he won't look?
Tutu grumbled in frustration: "Humans are so hard to understand. One moment you want to look, the next you don't. But…"
She dismissed her transformation and looked at March 7th. The moment she laid eyes on her, she got excited all over again: "Daaamn~ This is the first time I've seen someone so pure and beautiful…"
March 7th had been angry, but hearing that praise and feeling that gaze, she blinked: "Huh? Really? Ah Guang, this Heliobus speaks really nicely. Is she messing with me?"
Pei Guang shook his head: "Nope. Heliobus can sense human emotions, and right now she has no reason to lie. Besides, forget Heliobus, even we all think you're that kind of beautiful girl~"
Hearing Pei Guang's praise, March 7th fidgeted a little: "Well, yeah~ I do know I'm a youthful, cute, and beautiful girl, but hearing it said to my face like this is a little embarrassing."
Pei Guang: "What's to be embarrassed about? Be bold! Be proud!"
After the two of them flirted for a bit, March 7th suddenly remembered something important: "Oh right! Ah Guang, I forgot to tell you: the reason I came was because your phone has no signal. I wanted to update you. I've talked things over with Stelle and the others. We're all heading to Luofu together, but… she hasn't sent a rally signal yet…"
Recalling the main issue, March 7th quickly explained the situation. A
fter hearing her report, Pei Guang looked toward the Heliobus: "No big deal. Just have her send out a rally location. As for the signal issues, maybe it's being disrupted by the Heliobus? Anyway, I think this Heliobus is quite promising. I'm planning to recruit her as one of our staff."
"Staff? Hey, Ah Guang~ you're not plotting something, are you?"
March 7th looked seriously at Pei Guang like a seasoned detective. Pei Guang gently pinched her cheek: "How could I? Her appearance is just a copied form. Yours is one of a kind~ And anyway, if I were that perverted, wouldn't anyone in Belobog have escaped my grasp?"
March 7th gave it some thought: "But you always say you're a perv. Are you just being honest?"
Pei Guang: "Isn't it obvious? I'm only into your type~"
Tutu the Heliobus had been watching with interest, but the more she listened, the more something felt off.
Why was this dog food being stuffed into her mouth all of a sudden? As a Heliobus, she didn't mind most things, but after doing this job for so long, even she felt a bit uncomfortable watching this scene.
Tutu: "Alright already! Stop your mushy human stuff and just take me with you! I'll stick with you from now on! Just make sure I'm well-fed! I want to become the strongest of all Heliobi!"
As a proper Heliobus, she had her unique ambitions. While she still doubted the sincerity of Pei Guang's invitation, well—she didn't really have another choice right now.
Pei Guang: "No problem! But before that, let me perform a little modification on you."
When she heard the word modification, she shuddered, but recalling that terrifying feeling when she had tried to invade Pei Guang earlier, she chose to behave.
When Pei Guang's hand touched her body, the Heliobus was instantly transformed by him into something akin to a stand-in: able to draw power from human emotions, retaining her intelligence and original Heliobus traits, and capable of freely possessing bodies for daily life and combat.
Even though many functions had been added, Tutu herself didn't feel much different, and Pei Guang had no intention of telling her. After all, he had been exploring freely for so long: wasn't it only natural to let someone else experience that same freedom?
That was what Pei Guang thought… but the more he thought about it, the more serious his expression became: "Wait a minute? The reason I have this much freedom—could it be because my online friend got scammed like this before?"
The more Pei Guang thought about it, the more possible it seemed. He made up his mind: if he ever had the chance to talk to that online friend of his, he was definitely going to ask whether they had been tricked the same way back in the day.
Pei Guang didn't want to dwell on it too much. What mattered now was his next step: using his map editor to create a new map.
He had already decided where to set up the map. But since this was Luofu, Jing Yuan's territory, he gave Jing Yuan a heads-up.
After understanding Pei Guang's request, Jing Yuan thought it over and agreed right away: "It's just the creation of an Echo space. Do as you like, young friend, just make sure what you make doesn't harm anyone."
Pei Guang agreed without hesitation. His reason for making this realm was for sustainable corpse-touching, and he also had another plan: to charge people to enter his map, and while they paid to play, he could also touch their corpses—profiting from both ends.
Just thinking about the potential made Pei Guang feel like he was too evil, too wicked, utterly without conscience. How could a Trailblazer behave this way?
But who said a player couldn't? As a player, when efficiency and conscience go head-to-head, this time, efficiency wins.
Pei Guang placed the map near Fyxestroll Garden. First, because it would be convenient for the Ten-Lords Commission to keep an eye on Tutu. Second, because the area around Fyxestroll Garden had the right atmosphere: perfect for a horror-themed map.
As for why a horror theme? Because horror brings out the strongest emotional responses, allowing the Heliobi to feast happily. Besides that, Pei Guang had other ideas in mind. If those didn't pan out, he would scrap the theme and make a different type of map.
Still, Pei Guang felt things would mostly go smoothly.
Once he arrived outside Fyxestroll Garden and chose a location, he began editing the map.