Chapter 36 - 35: Pre-Battle Resource Allocation

Pei Guang and Stelle climbed back over the wall and went straight to their hotel, while Bronya, having missed her chance, remembered Pei Guang's appearance and decided to speak with her mother, Cocolia, first thing the next morning. The next day, as the sun rose, March 7th stretched happily after waking up. "Hmm~ It's another beautiful day. Oh? It's getting late; looks like it's time to gather." She then got up, checked herself in the mirror, and took out her phone to check for any new messages. In the group chat for the Astral Express family, there were some new updates. Himeko: "Have you noticed anything unusual?" Pei Guang: "Nope!" Stelle: "Nope!" Welt: "Be careful during your activities. We've detected some strange energy readings, which could be dangerous if not handled cautiously." Since the situation hadn't reached an unmanageable level, Himeko and Welt decided not to intervene immediately. Himeko viewed this world as a testing ground, allowing Stelle and Pei Guang to get familiar and find their footing. Pei Guang: "Got it!" Stelle: "Got it!" Seeing this, March 7th replied, "I went to bed early last night and didn't notice anything unusual, but I had a strange dream." Himeko: "A dream?" March 7th: "I actually dreamt that Pei Guang and Stelle were rummaging through trash." Himeko: "Haha! That's quite an interesting dream." Pei Guang: "Rummaging through trash? How could I be doing that?" Stelle: "Yeah, there was nothing in the trash." March 7th: "I guess that's why the dream was so odd..." Pei Guang: "While I do use trash in battles, I don't actually rummage through it!" Stelle: "Me neither!" Both Pei Guang and Stelle used trash but did not rummage through it. Oh? Last night? That was just opening boxes and collecting trash cans—though there was trash inside, they didn't rummage through it. To Pei Guang and Stelle, this was a fundamental difference. Dan Heng: "..." After the lively group chat, March 7th went to Pei Guang's room and knocked on the door, "Hey~ Are you up?" "I'm awake." "Then I'm coming in~" March 7th pulled the door handle and pushed the door open. As soon as the door opened, she saw Pei Guang and Stelle sitting on the bed, with a huge pile of various strange materials in front of them that she'd never seen before. She gasped. That gasp did nothing to warm up Belobog, but instead filled the room with a sense of joy. Pei Guang said, "What are you standing there for? Come in!" Looking at all the strange materials on the bed, March 7th mumbled to herself, "What did you do last night? Rob a warehouse? Are those... multiple Safeguard of Amber?! This stuff could fetch a high price even at the Interastral Peace Corporation, right?" Seeing this, March 7th felt her head itch a bit. She recalled last night's memories. Last night, after seeing some really bizarre sights, she thought she was just seeing things because she was so tired, so she went back to sleep. She was so exhausted and just wanted to relax her mind, so she passed out right away and, upon waking, had forgotten about the strange things she'd seen. Who would've thought what she saw was real? Pei Guang and Stelle actually fished these things out of trash cans?! "Don't rush, check this out." After Pei Guang pulled out the limited-edition Starship Certificate he had obtained, March 7th instinctively took it and gasped again. This time she took in so much air that her body started to protest, causing her to cough. "A Starship?" Pei Guang corrected her, "A limited-edition one!" Stelle, eager to show off, pulled out her Light Cone: "Look! A Light Cone!" Staring at the golden Light Cone with the big words "Waiting for You" on it, March 7th felt like she wasn't fully awake. This wasn't just any anomaly, it was a huge anomaly. How had these two not realized this wasn't normal? She pulled out her phone and looked at the chat records in the group. She wondered if it was too late to share what she was seeing now. Pei Guang, rubbing his hands together in excitement, said, "When Dan Heng wakes up, see if he needs anything. Let's distribute these among ourselves to boost our overall strength. I can feel that today's going to be a tough battle." "A tough battle?" Pei Guang nodded, "Yeah! Aren't we going to meet that Great Guardian or something? How could there not be a fight? It's a shame we couldn't bring the Starship here, otherwise, I'd just blast them with a cannon and end it all!" At this point, March 7th's mind went blank as all her memories of last night flooded back. Why could they find a Starship in a trash can? Does it matter? No, it doesn't. March 7th slowly adjusted to the situation. It's probably for the best that she didn't see how Stelle had provoked the Aeon of Destruction last night. Otherwise, she might have completely lost it by now. Who cares why they have these things? As long as Pei Guang can use them, that's all that matters. At that moment, Dan Heng's voice came from outside the door: "Are you all in here?" As he spoke, the door was pushed open. Seeing the smiling March 7th, the happy Stelle on the bed, and Pei Guang sitting in the middle of the bed surrounded by piles of materials, he fell into deep thought. "Did I... come at a bad time?" Pei Guang said, "No! Dan Heng, you're just in time. See if there's anything here you can use." "Something I can use?" Dan Heng hadn't taken a closer look before, but now that he did, he gasped as well. That gasp felt like fate mocking him, almost breaking his composure. What did he see? An "Arrow of the Starchaser"? An arrowhead crafted by Xianzhou artisans using shards of Lux Arrows? And even the "Obsidian of Desolation"? These were all incredible items. Each of these could greatly enhance the combat abilities and understanding of different paths. Especially the Arrow of the Starchaser: something that's incredibly rare. Even he only had a few pieces in his collection, and yet Pei Guang just casually has one here? And then there's that "Safeguard of Amber", a fragment said to be left over from ancient wars—something the Interastral Peace Corporation might not even have a few of, yet here were four of them? Yes! Pei Guang had one, and Stelle had opened three, making a total of four. Seeing this, Dan Heng silently walked out of the room, closed the door, and then reopened it. He was sure he wasn't hallucinating. Instinctively, he picked up the Arrow of the Starchaser: it was genuine, so new that it looked like it had just been crafted yesterday. There were no signs of age on it, yet it had a... well... a strange smell? Dan Heng asked, "Where did you get these...?" Looking at the neatly arranged 78 materials, even Dan Heng, who rarely showed confusion, was puzzled. It was just too bizarre. Many of these items should have been passed down through the ages, yet he could smell something fresh on them—though it wasn't quite right. Pei Guang said, "Stelle and I opened some boxes last night. I've already taken what I need, and Stelle has taken hers too. The rest is for you two to split. If there's anything left, we can sell it later!" March 7th, expressionless, looked at Dan Heng: "He... got a Starship. And she..." March 7th looked at Stelle, who proudly took out the Light Cone. The aura of the Path of Destruction emanating from the Light Cone left Dan Heng completely speechless. This wasn't a Light Cone formed by anyone's memory, especially with those big words "Waiting for You" on it. Who was bored enough to create a Light Cone with just those words? And how was its quality so high, with such a pure Path of Destruction? Did the Aeon of Destruction personally craft this?