"Pop—plop!"
Silver Wolf had been happily blowing bubbles when the scene on her secondary screen made her jerk in surprise, causing the bubble to burst right on her face.
Firefly's golden silhouette merged with SAM in the surveillance feed, achieving a peculiar fusion as streams of golden light—1000% synchronization—flowed into the distant mech.
Wait, since when did I program this function?!
This all traced back to before Firefly left for Jarilo-VI. That day, she'd shown up at Silver Wolf's door clutching a limited-edition game cartridge, her eyes brimming with tragic despair—"If Little Silver Wolf doesn't help her big sister, big sister will simply perish!"
Silver Wolf had never seen Firefly like this. Stunned, she nodded dumbly, only for Firefly to immediately brighten up with a radiant smile.
"So... could you add a remote monitoring mode to SAM? Ideally, one that allows some level of coordination between two transformation devices." Firefly bit her lip, slightly embarrassed. "Think of it as... duo mode?"
Her cheeks flushed pink. This had been an unrealized fantasy back in Gramr, but with current technology, it might actually be possible!
Firefly had always dreamed of piloting the Molten Knight together with Anming. Now, that dream could become reality.
It's all up to you, Doraemon-Wolf!
"Hold on—I'm a hacker, not an electrician!" Silver Wolf finally processed the request. What Firefly wanted was more like consciousness-projection piloting, akin to an AI assist program—except with Firefly's consciousness at the helm. Technically feasible, but...
Since when did Firefly want to 'duo pilot' with someone?!
The Firefly in Silver Wolf's mind: Cold, elegant, devoted wholly to the Stellaron Hunters.
The Firefly in love: Giggling at her phone, rolling around bed making embarrassing noises, fussing over her bangs' curvature.
This wasn't a Stellaron Hunter—this was a lovestruck schoolgirl!
In the end, Silver Wolf didn't implement the consciousness-control feature—not (just) because she feared Firefly abusing "duo mode," but because the tech needed more R&D.
Yet somehow, Firefly had gone ahead and installed it herself! When did she even—
Wait. She actually gave SAM away?!
That was Gramr's last legacy—the universe's sole remaining Molten Knight! Just... handed over?!
...Well, Silver Wolf wasn't that surprised. Firefly had already given herself away. At least she hadn't included the entire Stellaron Hunters as dowry.
Ugh. Love-struck idiots.
Silver Wolf could only pray things didn't escalate further. Kafka should've reached the Luofu by now. With Firefly providing covert support, retrieving Blade was practically guaranteed.
Tch. Why does Elio never give Firefly scripts? How does she get so much free time for dating?!
Poor overworked Wolf. As the Hunters' sole tech specialist, she was stuck on every mission.
Sometimes, Silver Wolf marveled at her own sanity. Anyone else would've already tornado-kicked a space station, then Elio-airplaned into Nanook for a flying elbow drop.
Legs crossed, she hummed a tune and deadpanned at the live-streamed rom-com unfolding before her.
Luofu — Battlefield
"Anming~"
"Firefly?!"
The familiar voice made Anming jolt. He turned to see Firefly's holographic face smiling from SAM's side display—just her delicate features and pale neck visible; the screen was too small to show more.
When SAM's speakers projected Anming's startled "Firefly?!", Fu Xuan's already simmering rage boiled over.
Firefly giggled, peering past SAM's interface. "Little Xuan'er's aggression is quite intense, huh~"
Anming's soul nearly left his body. Why does SAM lack a mute function?! This was internal comms failure at its finest! SAM—trash!
And since when was Firefly this devious? Opening with "Little Xuan'er" was a nuclear-level provocation!
Regret flooded him. Should've never absorbed Blazing Ember—getting stabbed by Fu Xuan would've been preferable!
"This... this one swears to grind you and SAM into soybean paste today!" Fu Xuan's voice trembled with fury. Her first impression of Firefly had been bad—now it was catastrophic.
Firefly blinked innocently at Anming, deciding not to escalate further. A few more words might trigger Fu Xuan's Aeon Mode.
Six-Star Destruction is already broken—must we add godhood?!
Current Fu Xuan was terrifying enough. A few more taunts, and the Luofu might spontaneously manifest a Hunt or Erudition Emanator—though Destruction was more likely.
Anming was drenched in cold sweat. Fu Xuan's aura had morphed into a waking war deity's, her twin swords radiating violet-crimson energy as if an ancient beast had awakened.
Oh great—full Mara-Struck Fu Xuan!
"Blackened" really does mean tenfold power boost?!
Anming suddenly missed the gentle, clingy Xuan'er from his memories—the one who'd watch him train with a soft smile by the window, blissfully unaware of Starburst Stream.