The Gamer who traveled to Honkai: Star Rail

Sushang had always been simple and straightforward in her thinking. Pair that with Pei Guang, whose mind operated on a completely different wavelength, and somehow, the two of them still managed to have a decent conversation.

And now, thanks to Pei Guang's persuasion, Sushang had begun learning how to dance.

The moves Pei Guang taught her were the simplest ones—requiring no particular flexibility, just raw energy and motion. Yet, under his guidance, Sushang's movements turned out unexpectedly elegant.

He taught her everything he knew that suited her, and while the dances looked impressive, Pei Guang still felt like something was missing.

Even though he had that nagging feeling, March 7th, who had been watching the whole time, clapped and praised Sushang, "Not bad! Sushang, you look great, and your dancing is just as nice!"

Hearing the compliment, Sushang scratched her head in embarrassment. "Huh? Really? My friends always told me I had no artistic talent—that singing and dancing weren't for me. But now… maybe I actually do have a knack for it?"

Pei Guang smirked. "Of course! As long as you've got arms and legs, you can learn whatever I teach. Besides, you Cloud Knights guys picking up dance is actually a great thing—it even gives buffs to your teammates! What's not to love?"

The moment Luofo got wind of this "buff-through-dancing" phenomenon, they wasted no time spreading the news to the other Xianzhou ships. The mechanics behind how the buff worked remained a mystery—almost like some kind of divine intervention. If you were part of the Cloud Knights, you could use it; if you weren't, you couldn't. 

As a result, many special forces units began slapping "Cloud Knights" onto their names just to get in on the benefits.

After all, a 10% increase to all attributes was simply too good to pass up. In a game, 10% might not seem like much, but in reality, it was a whole different story.

Especially on the Xianzhou Yaoqing, where their general was practically dying to personally invite Pei Guang over. Even setting aside the buff, just his methods for 'dealing' with Abundance Aberrants were enough to drive many of Yaoqing's women into a frenzy.

On the surface, Pei Guang's actions didn't seem all that different from those of the Abundance Aberrants. One hunted Aberrants for materials and equipment, while the other absorbed the gifts of the Abundance faction to grow stronger.

But fundamentally, there was a key difference. Abundance Aberrants couldn't survive without their Abundance power. Pei Guang, on the other hand? He didn't need their power—he didn't even want it. He was just hunting them for fun.

In simple terms, the difference was that one was an Abundance Aberrant, and the other was just an Aberrant in name only. And since the Xianzhou Alliance only cared about killing Abundance Aberrants, not regular ones, Pei Guang was in the clear. Besides, he wasn't an Aberrant—he was a friend of the Xianzhou Alliance!

Encouraged by Pei Guang and cheered on by March 7th, Sushang diligently practiced her moves. Once she had gotten the hang of it, Pei Guang decided to add some background music to her dance.

But the moment the BGM kicked in, something felt… off.

No matter how he adjusted it, the music just didn't seem to fit.

Pei Guang: "March, come take a look. The moves are all correct, and the timing is on point. So why does Sushang's dancing still feel a little off?"

March 7th had been watching Pei Guang train Sushang the whole time. From a technical perspective, Sushang's movements were already solid. As a Cloud Knight, she wasn't naturally inclined toward song and dance, but after Pei Guang's guidance, there weren't any major issues.

March 7th: "Yeah, something does feel a little weird… It's like—the song is the song, and the dance is the dance. They're not really coming together. But to be fair, Sushang's dancing is great! She's got real talent."

On the other side, Mingxi shared her thoughts as well. "There is a slight disconnect, but overall, Sushang's dance is stunning. Not only could it be used for promotion, but she could even enter dance competitions with this level of skill."

Hearing the compliments, Sushang lowered her head in embarrassment. "It's all because Ah Guang taught me well… Honestly, I'm pretty slow. If it were someone else, they'd probably do it even better."

Pei Guang shook his head. "No, this isn't about you. Aside from true prodigies, most people don't have that much of a gap in talent. The fact that you can pull off these moves and keep up with the rhythm means your talent is just fine. Maybe the issue isn't you—it could be that I picked the wrong background music. Or rather… maybe this song just doesn't resonate with you deep down.

Ah! I've got it! Since Xianzhou's culture is so similar to my homeland, then…"

March 7th: "Ah Guang, what did you come up with?"

Pei Guang: "Oh, I definitely thought of something! Time for me to plagiar—wait, I've already plagiarized so many times at this point. One more wouldn't change anything"

He pulled out a massive case filled with various electronic devices. Digging through it, he finally fished out a music player and started adjusting the settings, looking for a song he had recorded.

This was a song Pei Guang had reconstructed from memory using the technology aboard the Star Destroyer. Back then, just for fun, he had asked the Herta Puppets to save a copy so he could listen to them sing whenever he wanted. But now that the puppets weren't around, he had to pull out a backup, searching for a song that could really get Sushang hyped and make her instinctively move to the rhythm.

Meanwhile, far away on Earth, where Pei Guang's tech trees were being used to develop an interdimensional super civilization by a Herta Puppet, that very puppet suddenly had a strange, ominous feeling. It was as if that Trailblazer was thinking about her…

Back in Aurum Alley, Pei Guang finally picked out a few familiar tracks. The moment he hit play, the music began to fill the air.

As the exhilarating music played, the singer's voice struck Sushang's heart like the hammer of Qlipoth, sending chills down her spine. It wasn't fear—it was pure awe.

The song Pei Guang had chosen was none other than Chinese Kung Fu. The moment the lyrics and melody kicked in, Sushang felt an overwhelming urge to find an Abomination of Abundance and punch it three times.

To her, this was the epitome of a Xianzhou-style song. As for the song's meaning? Well, her knowledge of politics, geography, and history was questionable at best—she just knew the song sounded amazing, fired her up, and made her want to start swinging her sword. Everything else? Completely irrelevant.

Seeing the fire in Sushang's eyes, Pei Guang knew he had picked the right track. Given that Xianzhou Luofu already had a cultural aesthetic similar to his homeland, using a song in that style was the perfect choice.

Truthfully, he had wanted to sing these songs himself, but then he remembered March 7th's warnings… and the undeniable fact that he was completely tone-deaf. Sure, he sang with feeling, but the damage was too great. In a private setting, it was fine for fun, but if he belted out a note in public, he'd probably drive even more people away from Aurum Alley.

But this was just the appetizer.

The moment Yellow People played, Sushang instinctively gripped her weapon with both hands, ready to fight.

If the first few songs had only ignited her fighting spirit, then Loyalty to the Country pushed her over the edge—she grabbed her sword and was ready to charge out.

Sushang wasn't particularly bright. Even her teachers jokingly called her "Sleepy Sushang" due to her habit of dozing off in class. She could read and write, but only barely.

But as a warrior from the Xianzhou Yaoqing, her heart burned with martial virtue. Combined with Pei Guang's song selection, she rediscovered the feeling of true battle passion.

If she didn't go and cut down a few Abominations of Abundance, her hands would start itching.

Pei Guang: "Wait! I played these songs to help you dance… Never mind. These aren't dance songs at all. They're clearly battle themes. Fine, let's scrap the dance performance for the promo video. How about we just use your combat footage instead?"

Sushang: "…Huh?"

Pei Guang: "'Huh', what? Songs are all about setting the right mood. These tracks don't match a delicate dance at all. They're better suited for facing powerful enemies in battle. I'll find you some Abominations of Abundance or Voidrangers from the Antimatter Legion, and you just cut them down while I record!"

Hearing this, Sushang hesitated. "Wait, is that even okay? Can a promotional video like that attract tourists?"

Pei Guang: "Who's the vendor here, you or me? Who's the marketing expert, you or me? Do you even know how to run a business? Listen, I've done it all—from small-time street vending to managing entire cities, all the way up to ruling a galactic think tank. Trust me, you won't go wrong with my plan."

Pei Guang's confidence was sky-high… until March 7th's next words completely shut him up.

"Ah Guang! All the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus have either been killed or captured. Every Abomination of Abundance has been turned into materials by you, and Bailu already sealed the Ambrosial Arbor. Where exactly do you plan to find more Denizens of Abundance to fight?"

Pei Guang paused. "Oh… right. Damn, what a shame. I was hoping for a rematch… It's a real problem when you sew everything together, but you can't challenge past enemies or bosses again. This isn't a perfect patch job at all!"

He said it casually, but March 7th's expression suddenly turned serious.

"Ah Guang… You don't actually not know about this, do you?" She stared at him in disbelief. "The powerful enemies we've defeated before? We can challenge them again."

"…What?"