"That's quite a big boast you've got there."
"Believe it or not."
Bai Luan had been greatly swindled by Aha once before, so he didn't bother wasting more words on this matter.
"It's fine, old Sampo won't blab. Just tell me, what's your purpose for being here?"
"My purpose, huh…"
Bai Luan thought for a moment, then leaned closer to Sampo, who cooperatively brought his ear over.
"I'm here to find uncivilized primitives, then fool them into thinking I'm a professional photographer with a rocket launcher."
"…"
Sampo looked at Bai Luan with an expression like he was seeing a god.
"Now I'm starting to think there's a reason why the God of Joy looks at you that way."
"Hahaha, just kidding, just kidding. I'm not here to cause trouble. On the contrary, I'm very friendly. If you don't believe me, go ask Natasha."
"Or, would you like to see my true face?"
Saying this, Bai Luan ripped off his mask, revealing his face.
"Just ask whatever you want, I'll tell you directly."
"Friend, you weren't talking like this to Hook just now."
"You say what suits the person you're talking to."
"Hey! I like that. It seems you, like me, old Sampo, are an honest and good person."
Bai Luan looked at Sampo, who had uttered that sentence with a straight face.
But just as Bai Luan had said—you say what suits the person you're talking to.
Bai Luan also showed a smile.
"Do you believe me now?"
"Of course, how could old Sampo lie? Since you're new here, you can come to me if you need anything, after all…"
A sharp glint flashed in Sampo's eyes.
"We are both Masked Fools; it's only right that we help each other."
"I'll remember that, but there's one thing I still need to make clear to you."
Bai Luan corrected him with a serious expression:
"I'm really not a Masked Fool."
After saying this, Bai Luan said no more, turning and leaving.
Sampo watched Bai Luan's retreating figure and murmured to himself:
"There are so many outsiders recently. It seems Belobog is about to undergo some changes…"
He had been in Jarilo for so long, done so many things, and Elio still hadn't made a move.
It seemed that what he had done hadn't significantly affected the script.
Then he should be a little bolder.
Soon, Bai Luan made up his mind.
He was going to repair the Creation Engine and see if he could directly seize control of it.
Come on, as a normal man, how could he give up the chance to pilot a giant mech?
When the Trailblazer and Cocolia went to fight, and Cocolia used the Blazing Lance to control the Creation Engine… the giant Creation Engine would start moving!
It would stand up!
It would raise its fist, as big as a sandbag!
And then—
Under his control, it would smash its fist into the unsuspecting Cocolia!
Hahaha!
Just thinking about it was fun!
Thinking this, Bai Luan walked towards the direction of the Restricted Zone.
Since there were Silvermane Guards stationed at the front, Bai Luan chose to take a slight detour.
He considered it a walk to enjoy the snow scenery.
Suddenly, a powerful BGM rang out in Bai Luan's mind.
Bai Luan had a very deep impression of this BGM, because it was the BGM that played when Firefly appeared.
The next second, a humanoid mech crashed in front of Bai Luan with a burst of crimson flames.
The scorching flames evaporated the surrounding snow, creating wisps of water vapor. A mechanical hand reached out from the mist, parting it to reveal its full form.
"You must stop here. You cannot go any further."
Blocking Bai Luan's path was none other than the Stellaron Hunter—SAM.
Or rather, Firefly piloting the SAM mech.
Honestly, Bai Luan could understand why Firefly was here.
But he couldn't understand where the BGM in his head came from?
And it was still playing.
What's going on? Is Harmony acting up?
『Oh, I provided the BGM.』
...Crazy.
『Just tell me if it sounds cool or not.』
Alright, no argument, it was indeed cool.
Bai Luan pulled his attention away from the system and looked at Firefly in front of him.
"So, Elio sent you?"
Firefly didn't reply, only repeated:
"Stop here. It's better for both of us."
Bai Luan chuckled softly, and nano-armor surged, instantly encasing his body.
It was a good opportunity to collect more data and upgrade his mech.
"What if I insist on breaking through?"
Firefly saw Bai Luan's mech, which was very similar to her own, and paused for a few seconds.
Then she silently adopted a combat stance.
Two silver-white mechs, like mirror images, confronted each other silently on the boundless snowfield.
The next moment, they both vanished from their original positions, leaving only the suddenly shattered snow pits.
Their specific forms were difficult to catch in the sight, only when their fists collided and limbs clashed fiercely, would two blurry outlines briefly solidify in the swirling snow, erupting with a dull, thunderous roar.
After a few punches, Bai Luan had collected the necessary data. With data collection complete, close combat became pointless.
Just as Firefly's next heavy punch tore through the air, Bai Luan's eyes sharpened.
A portion of the nano-armor covering his body suddenly detached, instantly extending and transforming into twelve agile, sharp floating cannon units.
The floating cannons, as if possessing a will of their own, darted towards Firefly from various incredibly tricky angles!
Firefly's combat experience was rich; the punch aimed at Bai Luan's main body abruptly halted.
The heavy punch changed its trajectory with incredible speed, precisely knocking away the first three incoming floating cannons!
Bai Luan widened the distance while continuing to control the floating cannons.
The knocked-away floating cannons immediately returned to position, six units like silver venomous bees, continuing to entangle and thrust with various strange arcs, tightly locking down Firefly's evasion space.
And the other six were already high in the sky, their muzzles gathering a heart-pounding energy glow, the scorching high temperature vaporizing the surrounding snowflakes before they even got close!
Up, down, left, right, all escape routes seemed to be completely sealed off.
Once struck by this poised concentrated light spear, even Firefly would inevitably fall into a subsequent barrage of attacks like a furious storm.
Whoosh—!
The floating blades shrieked through the air, and the heavenly beam, like a spear of judgment, also shot out!
Just as this deadly situation formed in the nick of time—
Boom!!!
An unimaginably scorching stream of flames suddenly erupted from Firefly's center!
Crimson flames, like a raging beast escaped from its cage, roared as they devoured everything around them!
Bai Luan instantly activated a full-power force field shield.
The ethereal blue barrier violently trembled, barely deflecting the destructive flame blast.
However, those precise floating cannons were not so lucky.
They were quickly ignited and melted in the monstrous flames, disappearing.
Crimson flames rolled, and the violent heat instantly dried up all the snow within dozens of meters around.
In a pure white landscape, a charred, ugly patch of ground was abruptly carved out, the soil even cracked and melted from the scorching.
And SAM stood in the center of this scorched earth.
Blazing flames surged from the energy core in his chest, wrapping around her armor like living things, interweaving into two majestic and violent rings of fiery light.
Bai Luan glanced at the imposing SAM, then checked the mech data collection progress.
Hmm, it was almost enough.
Enough for him to upgrade his mech once; otherwise, if the other side ignited the Stellaron, he would be in trouble.
So Bai Luan put away his weapon.
"Firefly, stop."
Hearing the name Firefly, Firefly paused slightly, then the flames on her body quietly extinguished.
"How did you know?"
"Everyone has one or two little secrets."
After Firefly put away the flames, the quickly ignited scorched earth was soon extinguished by the heavy snow.
In just a moment, a thin layer of snow had already covered the scorched earth.
A flash of crimson, and Firefly disengaged from the SAM mech, then raised her hand, catching a snowflake in her palm.
She felt the snowflake melting in her palm.
Bai Luan was somewhat surprised. He also disengaged from his mech and, with a hint of curiosity, asked:
"Why do you trust me so much, disengaging your mech directly?"
"I can tell, you were just testing me. The output power of those floating cannon beams was just for show."
Firefly watched Bai Luan disengage his mech, smiled, and said:
"You remind me of a comrade I once fought alongside. I never thought I'd meet another Iron Cavalry in this way…"
"I should pay you royalties for the appearance of my mech."
Firefly didn't pick up on Bai Luan's comment, but instead said:
"I've actually been observing you for a long time."
"How long?"
"Let me think…"
Firefly pondered for a moment, then replied:
"From when you broke through this planet's atmosphere and arrived here."
So that was the entire duration?
"In my script, Elio gave me three chances to stop you. The first was at the Mechanical Settlement, the second at the clinic, and the third is now."
"Why didn't you act the first two times?"
"Because you were doing good deeds. If I had a choice, why would I stop you?"
"If you really believe I'm a good person—"
Bai Luan took out his extraction gun, twirling it in his hand, looking at the traces of Entropy Loss Syndrome already starting to appear on Firefly's face.
"How about I try to cure your illness?"