Pei Guang's words made March 7th shiver slightly: her first instinct had been that if they were really inside such a massive creature, they should escape immediately.
But after hearing Pei Guang's explanation, and realizing that countless living beings on nearby planets might be devoured by this thing, she felt that as a Trailblazer, they ought to do something.
While March 7th was lost in thought, she suddenly noticed two strangers not far away: one further back, dressed like a company employee, and one closer, a red-haired and handsome man who looked like a knight.
March 7th: "Seriously! If it weren't for them ramming into us, we would've avoided that giant bug. And now they come to us? Looks like they're here to cause trouble, how about we deal with these two first?"
Pei Guang: "I think that's doable. But that guy… he kind of looks like a Knight of Beauty…"
March 7th looked at Pei Guang in surprise: "Weren't you the one who didn't know anything before? How come now you seem to know everything? You even know about Knights of Beauty…"
Pei Guang: "Mm~ I have some connections with them in the game?"
Pei Guang recalled his experience in the Memory World. In his eyes, the so-called Memory World was a unique gameplay mechanic that helped him quickly get familiar with various parts of this universe's lore while playing.
After going through the Memory World, Pei Guang could confidently say he now understood many of the Aeons and factions across the universe. Though, that's assuming the Memory World's plot was consistent.
If the writers retconned anything, then there was nothing he could do.
Stelle: "How can you tell?"
Pei Guang replied confidently, "It's the aura. You might not believe it, but Knight of Beautys are the kind that once you've seen them once, you can easily recognize them again. Their art style is just that distinctive."
Stelle: "Art style, really? Then what's our art style like?"
Pei Guang pulled out an abstract wanted poster he got in Belobog: "Probably like this?"
Stelle: "Mm! I think it suits me quite well!"
Looking at the abstract version of herself, Stelle nodded in satisfaction. Meanwhile, March 7th anxiously turned to Pei Guang: "This isn't the time for jokes, Ah Guang! What are we going to do about this guy?"
Pei Guang: "Simple. Knight of Beautys are actually people with extremely pure hearts. If we show them our beauty, they'll join us. If we can't, then we'll have to go along with their rhythm. We need to take the initiative."
March 7th: "I see—show beauty? How do we do that?"
Although March 7th also knew she was a super cute and unbeatable girl, if this had been when she'd just met Pei Guang, she'd definitely have smugly hinted for him to look at her.
But now, she could tell Pei Guang had a deeper meaning behind his words.
Pei Guang answered seriously: "That's easy, just show them the beauty as we understand it."
He recalled how those Knight of Beautys were recruited in the Memory World. Of course—it was by showing off the player's own aesthetic.
Thinking of this, Pei Guang continued: "Look! The Lord Ravagers have their own destructive aesthetic, the Masked Fools have their joyful aesthetic. And me? I'm a player! So we'll show him what player aesthetics are all about!"
Stelle: "I get it now! I understand! Ah Guang, let me go first!"
Pei Guang: "No problem. If you fail, I'll take over."
March 7th: "And what if you fail?"
Pei Guang: "Then it's simple. Just shout the name of the Aeon of Beauty and punch him. Don't ask: just consider that our way of expressing beauty."
March 7th covered her face. Even after going crazy with Pei Guang for so long, some small part of her still clung to the idea that this wasn't how things were supposed to go.
As for Himeko and Welt? The two of them were no longer focused on what was happening here.
If Pei Guang was right, they had gone into the belly of another bug. The train car was also being invaded by bugs. While the younger group dealt with the collision and its consequences, the older members had their own job: handling the true intruders inside the train.
Pei Guang's group was getting ready to head over, but just as they started walking forward, Pei Guang stopped them.
"You two! Lend me your ears. If we just walk straight over, he won't feel our understanding of beauty. We need to make an impression."
Stelle: "Oh? Ah Guang, what do you have in mind?"
March 7th: "Go for it. I stopped worrying about being embarrassed a long time ago."
Even though she didn't always understand Pei Guang's actions, March 7th trusted her companions—and trusted Pei Guang.
Besides, being embarrassed is only embarrassing when you're alone: when a group of people are embarrassed together, it doesn't feel that bad. And Pei Guang had a kind of magical power, he could get everyone involved. When a whole group does it together, it becomes a trend.
By that logic, whatever Pei Guang does is always at the forefront of fashion!
March 7th called this the Pei Guang Equation, a way to explain all the unexplainable things about him.
Pei Guang thought seriously for a moment, then came up with an entrance plan: "I think we can express our hearts through song, and our thoughts through dance!"
The moment he said that, everyone present turned to look at him.
Himeko, after a brief silence, quietly stepped back until she was out of earshot. Dan Heng proposed checking the train cars to see if any bugs had gotten in. Pom-Pom went off righteously to inspect the state of the train. After a moment's pause, Welt followed Pom-Pom to help check.
In just a few seconds, everyone except the trio had cleared out. They had all heard Pei Guang sing before. To put it kindly, his singing was very emotional. Combine that emotional singing with dancing? That was a recipe for eye trauma.
March 7th took a deep breath, then made up her mind: "No problem! Ah Guang, I think your idea is great! Let's do it!"
Pei Guang revealed a wise glint in his eyes: "Don't worry. These days, the background music I've used was all pre-recorded and tuned with my own voice. Making you listen to my bad singing was torture: this is for your sake."
Stelle was deeply moved: "It's fine! Ah Guang, just go for it."
The light of wisdom in Pei Guang's eyes shone even brighter.
At this moment, he looked like he was possessed by a god of wisdom as he said seriously, "Don't worry, this time the lyrics are only a few lines. It's mostly about the movements. And the movements? Way simpler than before."
At that moment, Stelle felt herself getting swept up in the momentum. She locked eyes with Pei Guang: "You go ahead—I'll be your backup dancer. I'll make sure you go viral. Same as always, you go first, we'll follow."
Pei Guang: "No problem~"
With that, Pei Guang strode forward like the leader of a street gang. Stelle and March 7th flanked him on either side, stepping boldly behind him. When they arrived behind the knight named Argenti, he seemed to sense something and instinctively turned around.
The moment he turned, he was struck by a shocking sight.