"Aaahhhhh—!"
The moment Firefly took control of Sam and rocketed into the sky, a blood-curdling scream erupted right beside her.
Stalling for a heartbeat, Sam hovered in mid-air. She turned to look at the wailing Su Xiaoxiao and asked:
"Didn't you say you weren't afraid of heights?"
Why did it sound like she was being murdered?
"I... I'm truly not afraid of heights..." Su Xiaoxiao's eyes brimmed with tears born of sheer agony. Her voice trembled, punctuated by sharp hisses of pain. "But... I think my arm just got yanked out of its socket..."
...I forgot about that.
Following Su Xiaoxiao's words, Firefly glanced at the hand she was gripping. Sure enough, the sudden force of the takeoff had caused a dislocation.
It was fortunate that she had intentionally lowered the initial acceleration, fearing Su Xiaoxiao wouldn't adapt to the altitude. Had she accelerated at her usual combat speed, a dislocated shoulder would have been the least of the girl's problems.
It was a pity Cifera wasn't here, or she could have provided some quick healing.
"This counts as an industrial injury. I'll reimburse your medical expenses when we get back."
"Deal! This much is nothing! It's not like I've never been hurt before!"
At the mention of "reimbursement," Su Xiaoxiao instantly perked up, though the residual tremor in her voice remained.
Seeing her regain her spirit, Firefly looked away and began flying toward the destination. However, since she was carrying a passenger, she significantly throttled her speed.
Even slowed down, it was still fast by any other standard. In a short while, Firefly spotted her mission objective.
A massive swarm of mutant beasts.
"We have arrived," Firefly said, hovering in the sky.
"Got it! Let me see what Big Brother Sam's target is..."
Su Xiaoxiao immediately peered down, trying to identify which species made up the swarm. But as she looked, her entire body stiffened in the air.
"Wait, this isn't right! Why is this a mixed swarm? And why are there several A-rank and A- rank beasts in there? Big Brother Sam, just how high is the rank of this commission?!"
"S- rank."
"Um... so, Big Brother Sam, how about I refund you eighteen hundred? I don't even want the medical fees anymore. I never imagined in my wildest dreams this was an S-rank job! I thought it was A- rank at most!"
Su Xiaoxiao cried out, feeling like she was on the verge of tears. If it were A- rank, she felt she could contribute, but at S- rank, she was nothing more than a snack for those mutant beasts.
"I already told you I do not need your help with the commission."
"I just need you to point out which ones in that swarm have high value."
Su Xiaoxiao reached a sudden realization. "Oh, I see. But... why not just use the terminal to take a photo and use image recognition? Isn't that faster?"
...She couldn't exactly say she had completely forgotten that was an option.
"I don't want to. Are you looking or not?"
"I'm looking!"
Su Xiaoxiao turned her attention back to the ground, squinting to identify the beasts.
"That one is an A-rank Giant Mutant Snake. The Xenocrystal can sell for 1.5 million. Its skin—"
She was interrupted before she could finish.
"Just give me the total value. Don't bother mentioning anything below a million unless it's something unique."
"Oh, okay. That snake is worth 2 million Credits. That A- rank Mutant Jackal is 1.5 million... This B- rank Mutant Tortoise has a very valuable shell, total price 1.2 million. Oh, and that Mutant Chicken—it's a special case. Even though it's only C- rank, its mutation path is rare and bizarre. It can sing, dance, rap, and play basketball, so it's worth 250,000 Credits."
After rattling off the list like a waiter reciting a menu, Su Xiaoxiao paused to catch her breath. "Those are pretty much all the valuable or unique ones down there."
Firefly's mouth twitched. The others were within her expectations, but that last one was a complete curveball.
Why was the "Kun-ge" meme ubiquitous even in another world?!
Taking a breath to steady her nerves, Firefly flew down and dropped Su Xiaoxiao on the ground several kilometers away from the swarm.
"Wait here. I will complete the commission."
With a sudden sonic boom, Sam vanished from the spot. Su Xiaoxiao massaged her aching arm, staring at the empty air.
"Just what kind of person did I run into... completing an S- rank job alone. This has to be an S-rank powerhouse..."
★ ★ ★
Returning to the sky above the swarm, Firefly instantly locked onto every beast Su Xiaoxiao had named.
Two A-ranks, three A- ranks, seven ranging from B- to B+, and one C- rank.
"Fine. Time for a quick warm-up."
Flames erupted from behind Sam. In the next heartbeat, she appeared directly in front of the giant snake. Before the creature could react, Sam threw a punch. The snake's head instantly detonated into a mist of blood.
Despite the immense power, her control was precise. Aside from the head, the body and the Xenocrystal remained perfectly intact.
After stashing the remains in her system backpack, she turned her gaze toward the other snarling beasts. It didn't take long for the rest of the identified targets to be handled in the exact same fashion.
Except for the C- rank Mutant Chicken, which she simply grabbed and tossed toward Su Xiaoxiao's location.
With the high-value targets processed, Firefly looked down at the swarm, which hadn't actually thinned out much.
"The high-value targets are done. Now for the rest."
Intense fire began to radiate from Sam. Against the backdrop of the setting sun, this glow was as blinding as a second sun.
Just as she was about to strike, a sudden shout interrupted her.
"What are you doing! This is a forest! You dare release such massive flames here? Do you wish to face the Forest Wrath?!"