Firefly slowly descended from the sky, her face filled with the joy of a long-awaited reunion.
Lu Jiang was captivated by this dreamlike girl before him, and almost unconsciously reached out his hand to her.
He then took Firefly's hand and gently pulled her close.
Firefly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, then smiled and asked him,
"Pioneer, you look much younger."
Firefly looked down at Lu Jiang's face.
At this moment, Lu Jiang looked only about ten years old, and standing next to Firefly, he looked even more like a child.
After all, Firefly was a warrior of the Grammer Empire, possessing the best genes.
Therefore, she was taller than the average girl.
Lu Jiang's height wasn't short among his peers, but standing next to Firefly, he appeared somewhat inferior.
Lu Jiang stared at the girl before him, lost in thought.
At the same time, he was immersed in memories.
Firefly, a member of the Iron Cavalry created by the Grammer Empire during the Universal Insect Plague.
One of the main fighting forces against the Fate of Reproduction.
However, due to genetic modification, these girls are born with entropy loss syndrome.
Their bodies undergo irreversible, chronic dissociation.
Even so, these strong girls have never bowed to their fate.
They don their armor and become the sharpest blades protecting their star system.
This is Liu Ying, a gentle yet resilient perfect girlfriend!
From the moment Lu Jiang met Liu Ying, he understood why the official portrayal of her as the pioneer's girlfriend.
Isn't she far superior to Ning Rongrong, that spoiled and arrogant young lady?
Whether in appearance or personality, Liu Ying is the clear winner, right?
Lu Jiang pulled himself out of his reverie and began to ponder what Liu Ying had just told him.
She called him a pioneer? It seems she considers him a protagonist in Honkai Impact 3rd.
He shouldn't have ever been to the Collapse Iron Universe, let alone met Liu Ying. He was just a die-hard fan for a while in his previous life.
So, it seems the system might have given him a unique "identity" background.
That makes things much easier.
After all, Liu Ying's affection for the protagonist was maxed out from the start.
There's no need to worry about her betraying him like Ning Rongrong did.
Lu Jiang was about to explain his current situation to Liu Ying when a system pop-up suddenly appeared before him.
[Congratulations, host, you have successfully unlocked the character card: Liu Ying]
[Rewards: Liu Ying's exclusive Light Cone (Where Should Dreams Return?) and exclusive relic (The Iron Cavalry that Eradicates Plague and Fire Lotus Lantern Forging Palace)]
[Additional Reward: Soul Power Level Increased to 20]
[Note: Continue accumulating card slot value to continue drawing cards and unlock new character cards]
Lu Jiang's eyes slowly widened.
He hadn't expected that even the Collapse Iron Universe's character development system had been brought over?
However, directly giving away a complete set of Light Cones and relics was quite nice.
More importantly, drawing cards could even return Soul Power?
Isn't this basically like getting a free gacha pull?
Such a good thing?
Soon, Lu Jiang realized something was wrong.
His talent wasn't high; even without feeding his card slots with his cultivation over the past few years, his soul power couldn't possibly reach level 20.
At most, he'd break through to around level 15 in the Soul Master realm.
This system's rebate was even faster than his own cultivation!
Lu Jiang was extremely satisfied. He had been worried that if his cultivation lagged behind, he might become a high-attack, low-imitation summoner, and if his summoned creatures couldn't protect him, he'd be doomed.
Now it seemed all that was unnecessary.
His cultivation speed was even faster than a Soul Master with twin full soul power!
Just as Lu Jiang was about to close the system panel, a pop-up window suddenly appeared.
[Ding! Detected that this is the host's first time pulling cards, a newbie gift pack is hereby awarded.]
A newbie gift pack?
Lu Jiang didn't even think about it and immediately clicked to claim it.
Then, he felt all his soul power being mobilized, and his Martial Soul appeared before him.
Martial Soul: Blank Card.
Simply put, it's an ordinary card, even less useful than Blue Silver Grass.
Lu Jiang's cultivation speed is so slow because of the limitations of his Martial Soul, and its upper limit is almost locked.
He'd be grateful if he could even reach level 30 in his lifetime.
But why is the system summoning his Martial Soul now?
Just as Lu Jiang was wondering, the card suddenly burst forth with a dazzling golden light.
[Martial Soul Evolution: Host's Martial Soul evolves into a God-level Martial Soul—Phantom Card Godly Guardian!]
[System successfully bound to Martial Soul.]
[Characters summoned by the host in the future can be sealed with the Martial Soul to restore their Soul Power and can be summoned at any time. Maintaining a character's actions requires Soul Power. Characters can automatically store the host's Soul Power, but once the Soul Power is exhausted, continuing to fight requires consuming the host's current Soul Power.]
[Note: Summoned characters cannot leave within 1000 meters of the host, otherwise they will automatically return to the card.]
This Martial Soul is interesting; it can actually be bound to the system?
Lu Jiang summoned Liu Ying's panel and, sure enough, found his Heartbeat Value.
[Character Card: Firefly]
[Action Points: 100/100]
"Pioneer... Pioneer?"
Firefly's voice pulled Lu Jiang back from his thoughts.
He then scratched his head somewhat sheepishly.
Firefly sighed and said,
"Pioneer, ever since you disappeared, I've been piloting Sam, searching for you throughout the universe."
"Now we've finally reunited."
"But... where is this?"
Firefly looked around curiously.
Lu Jiang explained to her that they were currently in another world.
"Another world?"
"Isn't the original universe enough for you to explore?"
Firefly's face showed surprise, then she subtly inquired,
"Can you go back?"
Lu Jiang knew that what she really wanted to know was whether he could go back.
So, he slowly approached Firefly and reached out to smooth her wind-blown hair.
It was the first time Firefly had seen Lu Jiang so closely, and her heart began to flutter.
Like an innocent high school girl, she lowered her head, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"Pioneer. (ω)"
Then, Lu Jiang said to Liu Ying,
"Don't worry, as long as I'm still on the path of pioneering, we'll eventually go back."
"Until then, we can only share the same boat for a while."
Liu Ying's face turned even redder. Sharing the same boat with the pioneer...
Was this a subtle honeymoon invitation?
"However, I've encountered a very troublesome situation. I've been kicked out of my current place."
"The owner of this place doesn't like me, so I can't stay here any longer."
"Would you be willing to wander with me?"
Liu Ying gave him a warm smile and said,
"As long as I'm by your side, I'll go anywhere."
Lu Jiang's heart, tormented for over a decade, suddenly skipped a beat.
What a perfect girlfriend!
After calming down, Lu Jiang sat back on the bed and began to think about where to go next.
He definitely couldn't go to Shrek Academy or the main characters.
Perhaps he should go directly to visit Qian Renxue; after all, she shouldn't have become a god yet, so there was still time.
But before that, getting two spirit rings is the most important thing.
(End of Chapter)