"Target locked. Execute immediately."
With those emotionless words, a single strike of Supernova Overload crashed into the center of the battlefield. Instantly, fire and explosions engulfed all enemies. Seconds later, Firefly found herself pulled out of the Dimensional Rift and back into the real world.
She glanced at the System's Iron Cavalry completion progress, which had skyrocketed to an absurd sixty-five percent. Two days had passed since she declared her neutrality, and in that time, she had been frantically farming Dimensional Rifts, causing her progress to surge forward at breakneck speed.
To think, Firefly had only been in this world for about a week. Her progress was immeasurably faster than Robin's initial pace. Yet, a grave problem loomed before her.
The Dimensional Rift she had just cleared was the last one in international waters—possibly the last one on the entire planet at that moment. She had exhausted every single leveling spot!
If Firefly wanted to continue grinding her Iron Cavalry completion rate, she would have to wait for new Dimensional Rifts to slowly generate. The biggest problem was that she had no idea where or what type these new rifts would be.
Moreover, SAM currently only had the authority to freely intervene in Dimensional Rift Incidents within the territory of the European Union. Negotiations with other countries had yet to be completed.
"Forget it. Time to call it a day and head back," Firefly muttered, returning to the beach. Tourists had come and gone in waves, but after lingering there for so long, the local vendors had begun to recognize her.
As she approached, a barbecue vendor grinned. "The usual, right?"
"Yup," Firefly nodded. She had frequented this stall several times—the barbecue was delicious and reasonably priced. Best of all, the vendor was Chinese-American, allowing Firefly to converse with him directly in Mandarin.
"I probably won't be here tomorrow," Firefly remarked casually, fiddling with her phone while waiting for her order. "I've been playing for days. Time for a break."
"That's right," the stall owner chuckled. "You've been here for days. Even the most beautiful beaches can get tiresome after a while. As long as you had fun, that's all that matters."
Fun, Firefly mused. Strictly speaking, she had enjoyed herself these past few days, though not in the way the stall owner probably imagined. Instead of splashing in the waves or building sandcastles, she'd been piloting her mecha through endless Musou-style battles.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed. The group chat she frequented had sprung to life. She tapped to check the messages:
Today I Want to Eat Soup Dumplings: "Hey, Shu Cat, Invincible Bro, Red Cape Hero, and Peace Dove—didn't you guys all say you were in Longcheng?"
Shu Cat: "Yeah, what's up?"
Today I Want to Eat Soup Dumplings: "I need to go to Longcheng soon for some business. Wanna meet up? You've all been freeloading off my spicy pics for ages—it's time to show some hospitality and treat me to a good meal!"
Shu Cat: "The Group Owner's coming to Longcheng? When?"
Today I Want to Eat Soup Dumplings: "Probably leaving within the next couple of days."
Shu Cat: "Sounds good to me!"
Shu Cat's reasoning was simple. He had worked with Invincible Bro and Red Cape Hero (Lü Heng) before and knew them well. Besides, the Group Owner was right—since Peace Dove had gone to the trouble of coming all the way to Longcheng, they should treat him to a meal and show him around.
Of course, there was another reason. Shu Cat was genuinely curious about what Peace Dove looked like. After all, he was the benefactor who had introduced him to his current job—his lifeline. He was a bit disappointed that he hadn't shown up at Robin's concert last time, even though he was supposed to be Robin's colleague. But no matter, this was his second chance!
Shu Cat quickly tagged everyone in the group.
Peace Dove: "Huh?"
Invincible Bro: "Huh?"
Red Cape Hero: "Huh?"
Free Eagle: "Huh?"
Free Eagle: "A meetup?! I'd love to join, but sadly, I'm not even in the country. Sigh."
Though all four responded with the same word, their tones were clearly different. Firefly's was surprise, the two men behind her were shocked, and Free Eagle was just repeating the question.
Invincible Bro had recently joined Zhong Wanhong's team as its seventh member. He and Lü Heng now sat facing each other in the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations, exchanging bewildered glances.
Meeting up in person wasn't the problem. The real issue was that they couldn't call him "Peace Dove"!
They couldn't imagine what kind of expression Zhong Wanhong would give them if they ever met face-to-face.
"No, wait!" Lü Heng suddenly realized. While they would be incredibly awkward if Captain Zhong found out, the same applied to him!
In fact, Captain Zhong would probably be even more embarrassed. After all, they were just young guys looking at some spicy pictures—perfectly normal! But for an old man like Zhong Wanhong to be into that kind of stuff? Now that was a bit weird, wasn't it?
If we don't act embarrassed, he'll be the one who's awkward!
Lü Heng declared, "This is the perfect chance to get some serious leverage on Captain Zhong!"
With that thought, he immediately typed into the group chat:
Red Cape Hero: "I'm in! Sounds great! @Peace Dove"
Invincible Bro: "I'll follow @Red Cape Hero's lead. He's right."
Invincible Bro's approach was clearly opportunistic. He appeared to support Lü Heng, but if things went south and Captain Zhong flew into a rage, he could easily shift the blame.
"Better you than me, buddy. Sorry, bro."
With everyone agreeing to meet up except Peace Dove, the pressure suddenly shifted to Firefly.
If they find out I've been hanging out in my own NSFW group, chatting enthusiastically with those weirdos every day... would I have to flee the planet?
Wait a minute. Firefly suddenly realized something. A week ago, when she was "just" Robin, this would have been a death sentence. But now, she could meet them as Firefly!
As for the "Robin's colleague" persona she'd been using, she could easily dismiss it as online banter. After all, isn't the internet full of half-truths and exaggerations?
If anyone asked how she got Shu Cat the job, she could simply say she was good friends with Robin. If necessary, she could even arrange for Robin to confirm it later. Perfect!
Besides, the Dimensional Rifts were almost completely cleared. After days of hard work, a little break wouldn't hurt.
With this in mind, Firefly typed:
Peace Dove: "When?"