Inside a small dark room, the Stellaron Hunter Silver Wolf was eating hot pot and listening to music while watching a live feed through Sam's point of view.
This time, though she couldn't directly participate, by using her Aether Editing and Sam's unique structure, she could perfectly access Sam's perspective, experiencing the expedition firsthand.
Just moments ago, when she saw Firefly transform into Sam, she couldn't help but comment:
"Well, damn… fighting yourself? That's a new one."
For Silver Wolf, this was pure entertainment: just sitting back, watching the show, enjoying the chaos.
After all, as long as she was seeing things through Sam's perspective, she'd get front-row seats for the best part.
Why not join in? Please—any proper gamer knows that besides grinding and exploring, watching live streams is part of the fun.
At first, watching Sam's retreat was nothing special for her: it was amusing, sure, but nothing worth fussing over.
That changed the moment she heard Pei Guang's offhand remark through the feed.
"What's that supposed to mean? Asking me to betray my teammate? As if. Ah Guang, Firefly: since you want Sam to drop more loot, fine, I'll grant your wish."
Originally, she had no interest in Sam's dramatic exit.
But after hearing Pei Guang's joke about "farming" him for drops, she decided to give them a surprise: a proper demonstration of what Sam could really do.
Could she actually control Sam? In the real world, that would be tricky. Sure, she could hack into him if she wanted to, but she wouldn't. Sam was her teammate's armor, and she wasn't in the habit of hacking her friends' gear.
Besides, even if hacked, Sam could still be manually piloted.
But here, inside a dream, it was different.
Before the mission, she'd been given partial override access in case Firefly ever disconnected from Sam. In that case, Silver Wolf would temporarily take over limited control within the dream.
And thanks to the nature of the dreamworld—
"Heh. Good thing you left that command behind, or I wouldn't be able to move it. All right then, since you guys are so eager for another round with Sam… let's play. Don't get kicked out of the dream too early, yeah~?"
Not one bit of regret for Sam's earlier "defeat." The one stepping up now was Sam, but piloted by Silver Wolf!
At that moment, Pei Guang's group was still waiting in the grand hall for the others to regroup. While they waited, Pei Guang suddenly looked up.
Firefly also stood abruptly, her expression sharp and alert. Only Stelle seemed confused, glancing between them. "What's up with you two?"
Pei Guang: "Check your minimap."
When Stelle looked, she saw something shocking: a red marker labeled "Sam," the same one Pei Guang had kicked away earlier, was now streaking back toward them at high speed.
Instinctively, she looked up and saw a blazing red meteor hurtling straight toward them.
Seeing that fire-red streak in the sky, Firefly clenched her fists. She immediately realized what was happening.
She could stop Sam's assault at any time, but just as she was about to, she caught sight of Pei Guang and Stelle's eager, almost excited faces.
Neither of them saw Sam as an enemy. To them, he was… a plaything? A game boss to mess around with?
Then again, thinking about it carefully: that logic made sense here. Aside from Something Unto Death, nothing in the dream posed real danger.
Even if they got "killed," they'd just wake up safe and sound in reality.
Seeing how thrilled those two were, Firefly decided not to intervene.
Fine! If they wanted to play, she'd let them play to their hearts' content. Besides, in the dream, Sam's actions didn't drain her energy at all.
So, why not?
[Power Output: Maximum]
The incoming Sam received a new command.
Sam now fully understood: Firefly was treating him as part of her "entertainment."
Meanwhile, Pei Guang grinned, pulling out his Heliobus Transformation Device: "Heh! Looks like our Stellaron Hunter friend isn't taking that loss too well!"
Stelle: "Didn't he just retreat gracefully a minute ago? Why's he suddenly so fired up?"
Pei Guang analyzed seriously, "He probably realized this is a dream. Even if he kills or gets killed, it's all fine, he'll just wake up with no consequences. So now he wants to cut loose a bit. As for why…"
He understood that feeling.
The dream felt too real—so real that even knowing it was a dream, people couldn't help treating it like reality, carrying over all their real-world instincts and habits.
Pei Guang: "Looks like he's trying to send us all back to reality, huh."
Stelle: "So what do we do?"
Pei Guang: "Do? We fight! He hasn't dropped any loot yet—time for a proper farm run. Besides, dying here just means waking up. So come on, let's…"
Firefly raised a hand to stop him. "It's fine. Leave this to me. I want to see for myself just how strong Sam really is."
She knew Sam's strength well. But since this was a dream, and Silver Wolf was behind the controls, this was the perfect chance to test what Sam could really do at full power.
Firefly pulled out the Heliobus Transformation Device again and transformed once more, preparing to engage. But just before she charged forward, Pei Guang caught her arm.
"Wait! Don't rush in. Look—Sam's running hot. If you jump in now, you'll just get smacked around."
Firefly: "It's fine. This armor's power… it's strong enough."
Pei Guang shook his head. "Not at full potential yet. If he's going all out, you can't go in half-buffed. Hmm… we'll save the crowd-control items for later—those are better for Something Unto Death or a real boss. But even without that…"
Pei Guang turned his head toward Stelle. Stelle didn't say anything but gave a knowing nod.
Pei Guang calmly took out a speaker, and Stelle curiously asked, "So, what are we dancing to this time?"
He replied, "Whatever! But I already know what I'm going to do. I'm just putting on some background music—it always feels off without it."