Arriving inside, Huohuo witnessed a shocking scene: the entire space was filled with the BGM of the mightiest Fahai, and terrifying sounds echoed around her.
Pei Guang: "Every cause has its effect! Your retribution is me! Stelle, stop it! It dared to beat me at rock-paper-scissors!"
Stelle: "It beat you too? But I can't stop it!"
Pei Guang: "I set up an RPG in the public inventory space!"
Pei Guang: "And a mortar!"
Stelle: "Blow it sky-high!"
Pei Guang: "And I planted a micro-antimatter bomb!"
Stelle: "Okay never mind that then!!!"
Pei Guang said, "Then let's use a Gatling! Three hundred rounds, extended mag! Heliobus! Don't run! We're the good guys, really, we'll make it quick!"
Amidst the BGM and the two shouting voices, Huohuo heard explosions, gunfire, and… was that begging for mercy?
"Help! Help! Someone save me! They're gonna kill this Heliobus, ah!!!"
The pitiful screams made Huohuo tremble a little, but with the boost from the mighty BGM, she managed to muster up a tiny bit of courage.
Just then, Huohuo noticed that the cries for help were getting closer. In the tunnel not far ahead, a Heliobus burst out.
"Thank goodness, people!"
This Heliobus was named Cirrus, another unfortunate one trapped here. It was a Heliobus that looked like a big eyeball engulfed in ghostly flames. Seeing it, Huohuo felt like her whole body froze.
The tiny bit of courage she had built up instantly vanished. Watching the Heliobus get closer, her legs started trembling.
Seeing Huohuo getting terrified again, Tail shouted at her in frustration, "Where's that momentum from earlier? You already charged in, and you're getting scared of a tiny Heliobus? If you really can't handle it, just shout that spell you were chanting earlier!"
Tail's words reminded Huohuo. Listening to the BGM in the air, recalling what Pei Guang had said before and how she felt when entering, Huohuo closed her eyes and started waving the little flag in her hand.
"Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon! Daluo Fazhou! Prajna Pamakong! Prajna Pamakong! Prajna Pamakong!"
Huohuo chanted while vigorously swinging her flag. Meanwhile, the charging Cirrus was stunned. It saw Huohuo swinging… a toilet plunger. And as she waved it, something seemed to fly out.
Normally, Heliobus were energy beings, unaffected by physical objects, but today, it really felt like it was cursed.
First, it encountered Stelle: originally, it had wanted to use Stelle to escape, but who knew this person could somehow shoot bullets that not only hurt but drained its strength?
Funny thing, right? It, Cirrus, a famous Heliobus, was actually feeling pain from being shot.
And it wasn't just Stelle. Right after, Pei Guang showed up and yelled, "Stelle, are you here?"
After getting Stelle's confirmation, they started communicating by shouting. And with Pei Guang's arrival, Stelle's weapons escalated from a pistol to SMGs, rifles, sniper rifles, flamethrowers, and even RPGs.
Normally, Heliobus couldn't be killed by those, but today was anything but normal. Facing actual threats to its life, of course it ran.
It had thought Huohuo was just a clueless human who stumbled in by accident. But spotting Tail made it realize she wasn't ordinary. Then, hearing Huohuo chant that spell and seeing her swing the toilet plunger, it felt worse than ever.
Even worse, it vaguely saw something really flying out from the plunger: things that stuck to its body. Actually, those were talismans Huohuo had learned to throw.
But empowered by the toilet plunger's special effects, the moment they touched Cirrus's body, it felt its sanity and health points plummet.
The unbearable disgust and horror made Cirrus beg again, but Huohuo was clearly in a trance now. She kept chanting "Prajna Pamakong" while swinging the flag with such force that talismans and formation papers flew out like confetti.
By pure luck, the plunger jabbed Cirrus directly.
At that moment, Huohuo felt a different feedback through her hand.
She was terrified, but the BGM, the miraculous spell, and the distant voices of Pei Guang and Stelle gave her a tiny bit of courage.
Meanwhile, Tail, seeing the scene, burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Today, let this great Tail lend you a hand!"
Under the combined boosts, at the moment Huohuo's banner stabbed into Cirrus, Huohuo shoved her arm forward hard, pinning Cirrus onto the flag and then began swinging it with all her strength.
If Huohuo had opened her eyes, she would have seen Cirrus impaled on the flag, being swung around wildly. But in Tail's eyes, it looked like something else entirely.
He saw Huohuo holding a toilet plunger, with Cirrus stuck to it, swinging it around disdainfully. Even though some talismans flew out with the swings, it didn't stop Tail from filling in the blanks with his imagination.
And with just a little imagination, Tail felt the entire Heliobus rejoice.
"Yes! That's it, harder! Stab it in! Then pull it out, hahahahaha! Wonderful, wonderful, I must invite everyone to witness this spectacle! Everyone must see it!"
In Tail's view, the plunger was wriggling and thrashing against Cirrus, and under this constant spiritual assault, Cirrus gradually blacked out.
After swinging for a long time, Huohuo finally stopped when she felt exhausted.
Keeping her eyes tightly shut, she asked in a small voice, "Tail... is it safe now?"
Tail laughed and replied, "Safe? Of course it's safe. Open your eyes, you've subdued the Heliobus."
"Eh? Really?" Huohuo said.
She cracked her eyes open a tiny bit and, upon seeing the Heliobus stuck on the flag, gasped sharply. But when she noticed it wasn't moving, she grew a little bolder.
"I... I captured a Heliobus?" she asked.
"That's right! You succeeded," Tail confirmed. "But honestly, right now, I really want to possess you and have a little fun..."
Watching that whole scene, Tail really wanted to mess around a bit, but considering Pei Guang was still nearby, he decided he'd better behave. Tail wasn't stupid: just looking at the state Cirrus was in, he could tell Pei Guang was definitely trouble, especially with that absurd weapon effect.
Even though it wasn't the right time for possession, in Tail's eyes, the scene was simply too hilarious. This joy made him feel that being alive was truly great.
At this moment, Huohuo was gazing at the impaled Cirrus on the flag with sparkling eyes—a perfectly normal scene.
But in Tail's view, it was very wrong: Huohuo was staring at the Heliobus stuck to a toilet plunger, her eyes shining with pure happiness.
"Hahahahahahaha! I can't take it, I can't!" Tail rolled on the ground, pounding it with his fists. He decided right then: after all this was over, no matter what, Huohuo had to get a camera.
Such a magnificent moment had to be recorded.
Huohuo had no idea how she looked right now, but seeing Tail so happy, she couldn't help smiling too. "Mr. Tail, did you see? I really caught a Heliobus! I really caught it, wuwuwu! I—"
"Pfft! What are you crying for..." Tail said.
Tail wanted to act serious, but seeing Huohuo crying over the Heliobus on her plunger, there was no way he could stay serious. But watching this scene, Tail also realized something important.
"Ahem! I'm happy you caught a Heliobus, but I have to warn you. That weapon effect Pei Guang gave you: it's way too dangerous. Remember! Never use that weapon outside unless you're facing a Heliobus and in real danger, got it?"
"Eh? Why?" Huohuo asked.
"Just listen to me," Tail said firmly. "If you overuse that weapon, you'll become too reliant on it. What if one day it's gone? What then? Are you going to fall to your knees crying and begging?"
Huohuo looked at the flag that Pei Guang had enchanted, her eyes shining with hope. "You're right, Mr. Tail. I can't rely on it too much. I promise you, I'll only use it when I'm really in danger."
Tail held back a laugh that almost made him rupture something, and said seriously, "Ahem! That's the spirit. Just remember: don't use it in front of those judges or the other Trailblazers. It's too strong, too terrifying—pfft~"
Just then, Pei Guang and Stelle arrived. Seeing Huohuo happily holding her flag, Stelle spoke first: "Oh? You caught this Heliobus, Huohuo? That's amazing."
Hearing Stelle's praise, Tail curiously asked, "Eh? Don't you think... something's wrong?"
"Ah? Something wrong?" Stelle tilted her head.
She carefully looked around and then back at Huohuo. "Nope. Is there something wrong with Huohuo catching a Heliobus? I don't see anything off. Ah Guang, what about you?"
Pei Guang frowned at Huohuo. "Something wrong? Actually, yeah. We've already caught the Heliobus: so why hasn't the ghost loop disappeared yet?"
As for the Heliobus stuck on the toilet plunger, Pei Guang didn't feel a thing. Compared to the plunger, some mere purple glow effect wasn't enough to stir him at all.
Besides, when it came to his companions and friends, the weirder the weapon, the better, right? Pei Guang was perfectly happy with Huohuo's bizarre weapon. After all, in all sorts of games, true experts always had their own signature style.
Thinking about it, Pei Guang suddenly had the idea of giving Huohuo an Albinauric headgear too.