When the patrolling enemy's back was turned, Pei Guang stepped out first, with Firefly following close behind, both moving quietly.
Once they were outside, Pei Guang shut the door behind them. "Remember, whether you're entering or leaving, always close the door in a horror setting. If something comes from behind, the door might buy us a little time."
Firefly blinked. "I see… but what if closing the door traps us inside instead?"
Pei Guang froze for a moment.
Then, after an awkward silence, he quickly changed the subject. "Don't worry about that—that's player business!"
He felt his face heat up with embarrassment. He'd been so focused on "good habits" that he'd completely forgotten about the possibility of walking straight into a death trap.
To cover the awkward moment, he decided to channel his frustration into hunting down any lurking enemies.
Instead of moving directly forward, he pressed himself against the wall, circling around from above through the shadows.
Meanwhile, Firefly followed his earlier instructions and silently crept up behind the patrolling enemy: a small robot perched on top of a floating die. She glanced down at the "staff" in her hands, still wondering if this weird thing could actually deal damage.
Still, since Pei Guang said it would work, and she'd already gone this far, she decided to give it a try. If it failed, she'd just fight seriously.
Just as Firefly was about to strike, she suddenly felt the staff's instructions: some kind of innate knowledge of how to use it.
"Huh? Is this… enchantment?"
Following that instinct, she cast the enchantment spell. The staff flared with red flames—and at the same moment, Firefly felt something drain from her.
It wasn't her stamina, nor her energy or life force: it was something less tangible, yet clearly perceptible. And as quickly as it faded, she could feel it regenerating fast.
"How strange…"
Squatting behind her target, Firefly's eyes widened in awe.
She hadn't expected the "club" Pei Guang gave her, apparently called a staff, to have such fascinating abilities.
And that wasn't all.
She soon realized she could use several other spells: shields, self-buffs, enemy debuffs, even a lighting spell—and offensive magic too?
But what surprised her most was that these effects didn't only apply to her.
"Wait… what?"
Firefly froze. She knew Pei Guang was powerful, after all his abilities could even alter reality, but this was ridiculous.
The range was enormous; the effect even reached across dream layers?
But the spell said it only worked on "oneself"… could he count as part of herself somehow?
Her mind swirled with confusion, but her body moved automatically.
According to the staff's hints, its attack magic, Rock Swing Magic, was triggered just by swinging it. After casting her buffs and enchanting the weapon, Firefly raised the flaming staff and brought it down toward the enemy's head.
The moment it hit, her eyes went wide.
A notification echoed in her mind:
[Limb Severing Effect Triggered]
Before she could even react, the mechanical creature shattered into pieces, scattering across the floor in a pile of broken metal.
Firefly stood frozen, staring at the remains.
She'd expected to beat it, but not like this. Wasn't that… a little too brutal?
At that moment, Pei Guang, who had just finished off another enemy and stored its body, turned just in time to witness the scene.
He couldn't help but start clapping enthusiastically. "Incredible! Absolutely incredible!"
Firefly opened her mouth, flustered. "Uh, that…"
Pei Guang waved a hand. "Don't worry, that's the weapon's special effect. It's got a chance to inflict stun, slow, or dismemberment. Looks like you triggered the full dismemberment one—makes it easier for me to collect the bodies later."
Compared to the empty-shell soldiers of the Antimatter Legion, Pei Guang loved these mechanical enemies: they actually left corpses.
With his "enemies drop coins when killed" trait, these fights were perfect: more loot, more materials, more profit!
After collecting the broken pieces, he turned to Firefly. "So? How's the weapon feel? Comfortable to use?"
Firefly nodded, still looking at the staff in awe. "It looks strange… but surprisingly, it feels good in my hands."
"Since it feels good to use, you can keep that weapon for now. I don't really need it at the moment anyway. We don't know what kind of enemies might show up next, and I'll feel more at ease if you have something to defend yourself with."
"You're worried about me, aren't you?"
Pei Guang couldn't help but laugh at Firefly's question. "It's just the two of us here: if I don't worry about you, who else am I supposed to worry about?"
"Hehe~"
"Alright, enough with the 'hehe.' Let's keep moving. Every extra second in this creepy place makes me uncomfortable. Who knows if anything good will even come out of this weird place."
Although they had easily taken down two enemies, Pei Guang didn't let his guard down, keeping his senses sharp and alert.
The map felt dangerous, yes, but that only made him more excited.
The thrill of exploring a high-risk dungeon was irresistible to any player. And somehow, Pei Guang had a strong gut feeling that he'd find something valuable here.
He and Firefly moved cautiously down the corridor.
Just as they were about to reach the open area ahead, glowing words suddenly appeared in the air—instantly putting Pei Guang on edge.
"I see… so we're playing hide-and-seek, huh?"
Pei Guang didn't think much of the floating text at first. But just as he was about to take another step forward, a sudden chill ran down his spine.
He sucked in a sharp breath and immediately grabbed Firefly's hand. "Wait—watch out. Danger."
Almost by instinct, Pei Guang looked up and saw a mass of thick, purple-black mist forming above them. Something terrifying was taking shape inside it.
Years of experience kicked in: Pei Guang reacted instantly. Within a single breath, he was already dragging Firefly and sprinting forward.
The path ahead was broken, but there was a half-open room nearby. With no time to hesitate, Pei Guang pulled Firefly inside.
In most games, a player would probably be forced to watch a ten-second-long boss entrance cutscene, but Pei Guang wasn't an idiot.
Why waste time watching that when he could be hiding already?
So the moment they entered the room, he shut the door behind them, quickly placed a trash can on the floor, and pulled Firefly inside it with him.
From spotting the enemy to ducking into cover, his movements were smooth and seamless: not a single second wasted!
When the monster finally poked its head out, Pei Guang and Firefly were already crammed inside the trash can.
The creature's glowing purple eyes darted around, clearly confused.
It could sense that there had been people here, prey it was about to send to their doom, but when it looked around, the place was empty.
It tried to sense again.
Nothing.
Had the targets… exited the dream entirely?