Out in the wild, Firefly watched Su Xiaoxiao panting heavily as she struggled to catch up. She said with a touch of helplessness:
"We have only covered this much distance and you are already exhausted? Are you certain you are a B-rank ability user?"
"Fi... First of all, my ability is a support type. While it strengthens my physical fitness slightly, it is only a tiny bit!"
Running up to Sam, Su Xiaoxiao leaned against a nearby tree, gasping for air. She continued:
"And besides, I suggested testing this in the wild, but I never said we had to run over ten kilometers! This distance is hardly short!"
'Hmm... only ten kilometers. That is indeed quite short...'
After a silent internal retort, Firefly continued:
"Fine. Since there is no one around, release your ability on me."
"Okay!" After answering, Su Xiaoxiao immediately began backing away from Sam. She did not stop until she was roughly a hundred meters away.
Watching this confusing series of maneuvers, Firefly felt puzzled.
"What are you doing? I thought you were going to release your ability?"
"I am afraid you will charge at me the moment I cast it! I want to maintain a safe distance so I don't get beaten to death before I can even retract my power!"
"..."
Firefly was struck silent once again.
She really wanted to tell her that with Su Xiaoxiao's current strength, it was impossible to truly affect her. Even if it did work, a distance of a hundred meters was no different from a single meter to her.
But looking at the naive, student-like sparkle in Su Xiaoxiao's eyes, Firefly ultimately decided not to say anything.
"Then... I am starting?"
"Mn."
Hearing Su Xiaoxiao's voice, Firefly nodded, signaling her to proceed.
Following that, she saw a beam of light—white shot through with a hint of red—erupt from Su Xiaoxiao's palm. A second later, it merged into her body.
Then...
Nothing happened.
"Eh? You are actually fine?"
Seeing Sam standing perfectly still, Su Xiaoxiao, who was hiding in the distance, exclaimed in surprise.
"Normal."
Firefly gave a simple reply to the exclamation before she began to sense the power within her body.
To be fair, this power did feel unique.
As the energy flooded her, Firefly felt her emotions flicker slightly. However, in a mere instant, the influence was automatically purged by her own strength.
Although it was only a momentary fluctuation that failed to impact her combat capability, it was enough to make her feel a bit surprised. She had assumed there would be no change at all.
At this point, Su Xiaoxiao began approaching Sam from a hundred meters away, talking as she walked:
"When I used this ability on others before, they all went insane instantly. They started venting their rage on everything around them, and their eyes looked terrifyingly fierce. It was very scary."
"I never expected you to have no reaction at all, Big Brother Sam. I thought she was the only one who wouldn't be affected by this influence..."
"She?"
Catching the keyword, Firefly turned her head toward Su Xiaoxiao. This ability could influence even her slightly; yet someone existed who was completely immune?
Was their strength immense? Or did they possess a specific ability to negate such mental effects?
Noticing Sam's confusion, Su Xiaoxiao began to explain:
"She is one of my teammates. The injured one I mentioned is her."
"The two of them said they were going to seek revenge. Since I lack combat capabilities and don't share their grudge, they ran off without telling me. When they came back, she was severely injured because of Overclocking. My other teammate had to support her just to get her back!"
At this point, Su Xiaoxiao stomped her foot in frustration.
"They talk about protecting me, but they can't even protect themselves! If they had taken me along, she probably wouldn't have been hurt that badly!"
'A familiar script. Normally, the teammates would all die in an event like this, leaving her grief-stricken until she awakens a hidden power to seek vengeance against the killers, right?'
Listening to the description, Firefly—having consumed countless novels and games—unconsciously drifted into a "what-if" mode.
But it was only a passing thought. Soon, Firefly spoke to the frustrated-looking Su Xiaoxiao:
"Your ability is strong. At least in my view, its potential far exceeds B-rank. You simply have not fully awakened it yet."
"Really?" Su Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up. "I don't know if you are being honest or just comforting me, Big Brother Sam, but thanks anyway!"
"Let us go. It is time for the mission."
Ignoring the girl's comment, Firefly turned and continued toward the target location. They had already traveled over ten kilometers; there were roughly twenty more to go before reaching the destination.
"Oh, right. Coming!"
Seeing Sam turn to leave, Su Xiaoxiao bent down to rub her calves before hurrying to catch up.
★ ★ ★
"You are too slow."
After another few kilometers, Firefly stopped and looked back at Su Xiaoxiao.
While she was currently bored enough to walk step-by-step and enjoy the scenery rather than flying straight to the objective, that didn't mean she wanted to stop and wait every few paces.
"Sor-sorry... my constitution really isn't that good..."
Su Xiaoxiao ran toward Sam, drenched in sweat. "But... I still want to ask... roughly how much further is it?"
"Estimated twenty kilometers remaining."
"...Big Brother Sam, how about I refund you eighteen hundred Credits? You can finish the mission and I will be your guide when you get back..."
Upon hearing there were still twenty kilometers left, Su Xiaoxiao's face instantly collapsed into a look of despair, her voice sounding like she was on the verge of tears.
"Are you afraid of heights?"
"Huh?"
The sudden question caught Su Xiaoxiao off guard, but she reacted quickly and shook her head.
"I am not afraid of heights. Why?"
"Good. As long as you are not afraid."
Firefly did not answer. Instead, while Su Xiaoxiao was still dazed, Firefly directly grabbed her hand.
Suddenly, crimson flames erupted from Sam's lower legs. In the next instant, Sam vanished from the spot.