As the intro played, Pei Guang stood straight, closed his eyes, formed a strange hand sign, and started chanting.
"No kids cry every day, no gamblers lose every day, Idle Death Gamble, activate!"
At that moment, the music kicked in completely, and Pei Guang's body started moving.
At first, when the music started, the people around didn't understand what was going on. Pei Guang's moves were just simple warm-up motions.
But when the rhythm changed and the lyrics "All my people" played, Pei Guang's real moves began.
Pei Guang clenched his fists, bent his arms, raised them above his head, closed his eyes in enjoyment, and swayed his waist left and right with the music. It was a very simple and repetitive move, and for the experienced Stelle, it was something she could learn just by watching once.
Seeing this, Stelle took a deep breath. Making sure there were no other moves, she walked over to Pei Guang's side under Huohuo's shocked gaze.
Recalling Pei Guang's earlier moves, she made a completely different hand sign.
"No kids cry every day, only Pei Guang loses every day, Idle Death Gamble, activate!" Stelle began swaying along with Pei Guang, matching the rhythm of the music.
At that moment, Huohuo was even more dumbfounded. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. Off to the side, Tail and Cirrus looked like they had seen a ghost.
Dancing so passionately inside a labyrinth crafted by a Heliobus... for a moment, they really didn't know whose brain had the problem.
Maybe Pei Guang's brain had a problem, but they couldn't beat him. But if it wasn't a problem, what kind of normal person would start dancing here?
Cirrus said, "Are they insane?"
Cirrus still wanted to say more, but Huohuo's expression suddenly turned serious. Her intuition told her that this dance might actually work. So she took a deep breath and, under the shocked stares of Tail and Cirrus, walked over.
Tail cried out, "Wait! Don't go! Don't go over there! I don't want to die of shame!"
Tail had thought Huohuo was just watching, but when he realized she was walking toward Pei Guang, he panicked. He tried to stop her, but at that moment Huohuo grabbed Tail with a force like thousands of Newtons and dragged him over.
Huohuo gripped the flag in her left hand and Tail in her right. Holding tightly to both, she stood on Pei Guang's other side.
She didn't understand the meaning behind Pei Guang's movements, but seeing Stelle join in, seeing the lively scene, Huohuo didn't want to be an outsider. Besides, she wanted to boost her luck.
She was tired of her fate. Changing it might sound ridiculous, but she had heard a little about Pei Guang and Stelle's deeds: if these two, who had defeated a Lord Ravager, were dancing, how could they possibly be tricking her?
Even if it didn't boost her luck, dancing with them wouldn't be embarrassing.
Thinking this, Huohuo gathered her courage and followed along, earnestly mimicking Pei Guang's moves.
Huohuo said, "No Huohuo crying every day, no gambler losing every day! Idle Death Gamble, activate!"
Tail cried, "Don't pull me along when you activate! Stop swaying! I'm getting dizzy!"
Now, with the flag in her left hand and Tail in her right, Huohuo danced along to the beat with Pei Guang.
Inside this eerie space, Cirrus swallowed a non-existent gulp of saliva. Normally, Heliobus scared others. But this time, Cirrus was scared.
Watching the three of them dancing to the pounding music, seeing the surrounding terrifying environment: it gave Cirrus the distinct feeling that it was about to be sacrificed.
"All my people."
"All my people."
At this moment, the three of them danced passionately to the music. Huohuo felt an overwhelming sense of peace. She felt so safe. If she could, she would have liked to keep dancing to this rhythm forever, basking in that sense of security.
But the music eventually stopped. The moment it did, and their dancing stopped, all three turned at once toward the same bronze mirror.
In unison, they pointed and said, "That mirror is the exit!"
They glanced at each other, and Pei Guang was the first to speak. "Oh? You guys actually joined in too? And all three of us chose the same mirror?"
Stelle grinned. "Of course! Seeing you dance made me want to dance too. But Ah Guang, your dance is still so flashy~"
Pei Guang said proudly, "Thanks for the compliment!"
Huohuo explained nervously, "I don't really know what happened, but my instincts told me that following you guys would definitely lead to something good. Master Tail, look! The three of us picked the same mirror~"
Tail slumped. "(:з」∠)"
Right now, Tail felt an unprecedented inner peace.
Honestly, being dragged into dancing by Huohuo had been kind of fun. Weirdly, he even felt like his luck had improved. But as a Heliobus, he still had his pride: how could he just join them so easily?
Tail coughed and muttered, "Ahem! It's... okay."
Pei Guang said, "Forget it, ignore him. Since we picked the same mirror, let's head toward it!"
Stelle and Huohuo shouted, "Let's go!"
The three of them, with Tail in tow, prepared to dive into the mirror. But just before they entered, Huohuo suddenly remembered something. She ran to Cirrus, grabbed her flag, and stuck Cirrus onto it before rejoining the others.
To Huohuo, this was her first trophy. It had seemed scary before, but now it didn't feel that bad anymore. After going a little crazy with Pei Guang and Stelle, she even felt a bit inflated with pride.
Meanwhile, Cirrus almost exploded in rage. "You guys have gone too far! I'll show you what I'm made of!"
Huohuo replied, "Ah Guang once said something I think makes a lot of sense. If you could really beat me, you would've already done it, right? The fact you didn't means you can't beat me, right~"
Cirrus roared, "You little—!! You—!!! ****!!"
Cirrus wanted to curse, but it really had no strength to resist. When Huohuo planted the flag in it, it instantly felt weak and powerless. It could do nothing. At that moment, Cirrus swore to itself: if it ever escaped and completed its grand plan, it would eat Huohuo first!
But then Cirrus realized something terrible: if she ate Huohuo, who was holding a plunger… it would be completely...
In the end, Cirrus was carried by Huohuo's flag to the mirror. Watching this, Tail again felt a strange sense of calm.
The group dove into the mirror they had chosen together. After going through, they found themselves once again in the same space as before.
Stelle said, "Did we fail?"
Huohuo shook her head. "I think we succeeded. Look, these bronze mirrors have talismans on them—those are my talismans. It proves we're getting closer to the exit."
Pei Guang clapped his hands. "If we're getting closer, it means our method works! Let's keep going!"
Stelle said, "Let's keep going!"
Under Pei Guang and Stelle's influence, Huohuo's fear completely vanished. She showed a bright smile, the kind that fit her age perfectly. "Let's keep going~ Mr. Tail, you're joining too!"
Tail cried, "Huh? Join? I don't even have hands or feet!"
Pei Guang said, "Doesn't matter, as long as the spirit's there! Come on, say the chant with us! Idle Death Gamble…"
Stelle, Huohuo, and Tail all shouted together, "Activate!!!"
Pei Guang looked at Tail. "Didn't you just say it was just okay?"
Tail snapped, "Who cares? I'm happy! I want to activate! Activate! Activate!"
Seeing Tail like this, Huohuo didn't even notice that her fear had completely transformed into smiles. Meanwhile, not far away, Cirrus, who had been watching the whole time, was gripped by a deep, deep terror.