"May I ask, how much do you know about me?"
Glamoth Iron Cavalry, the Empire of Deception, weapons of war to be discarded after use.
Firefly's past flashed through Bai Luan's mind.
"I feel that bringing up your past would be too cruel for you."
Firefly smiled at his words.
"You really are a good person, just as Silver Wolf said."
"I didn't expect her to evaluate me so highly; normally, her opinion of me wouldn't be this good."
Hearing this, Firefly recalled Silver Wolf's brief introduction of Bai Luan before Silver Wolf herself left with the script.
Sometimes, genuine emotions, inevitably tinged with exasperation, made her smile, thinking of her friend's annoyed expression.
"The script says that I will get what I want this time."
Bai Luan shook the extraction gun in his hand at her words.
"So, do you want me to cure you?"
"I have nothing to fear, but I need to remind you, the script says that this treatment might encounter some unexpected incidents."
"Oh?"
Bai Luan raised an eyebrow, asking curiously:
"Did it say what kind of incident?"
Firefly shook her head and said:
"The script didn't explicitly say, but I think this incident is very likely not something I will bear. The subject of the incident might be you."
"Why warn me?"
"Because I think it's better to have more good people in the world."
"Alright, Miss Firefly, no need to worry about me."
Bai Luan bowed to Firefly.
"No matter what, I am still #85 of the Genius Society. If I were afraid of mere incidents, I would be devaluing myself too much."
"That's good."
Firefly stepped forward and extended her hand to Bai Luan. She had been away from the Firefly mech for too long, and patterns of entropy loss had begun to appear on her hands.
She looked at Bai Luan and said with a smile:
"Regardless of success or failure, thank you for being willing to take the risk to save me."
"This is to make up for the owed royalties."
Bai Luan took out an S-grade bullet, loaded it, and then aimed the gun at Firefly's arm.
"It's also for a firefly that yearns to live."
Bai Luan said no more, diligently staring at the extraction gun in his hand. The cyan substance, symbolizing entropy loss, was gradually filling the bullet.
The patterns of entropy loss on Firefly's body gradually faded. A look of pain appeared on her face, but she endured it, making no sound.
She didn't want any factors to interfere with this treatment.
The extraction speed was unusually slow, taking a full twenty minutes to extract the entropy loss.
Now, that bullet was emitting a cyan glow, the same color as the entropy loss patterns on Firefly's body.
Bai Luan took out that bullet.
『Curio: Extraction Gun Bullet (Entropy Loss)』
『A deliberately designed genetic defect, used to destroy weapons that have lost their purpose』
"It's a pity Glamoth has perished. Otherwise, I would definitely shoot this bullet into the bodies of those who created it."
Bai Luan put away the bullet and looked at Firefly, only to find her face pale and somewhat unsteady.
"What's wrong?"
"I... I'm fine. Is the treatment... over?"
"Yes, it's over. Congratulations, Firefly, you've recovered."
Firefly smiled at his words, then her body fell backward.
A portion of the nanobots on Bai Luan detached and supported the falling Firefly.
He glanced at the unconscious Firefly, noting the characteristics of the extraction gun.
Some treatments cause pain to the patient.
After noting the characteristics displayed by the extraction gun, Bai Luan looked at the unconscious Firefly.
He finally understood what the 'incident' in the script was.
After receiving treatment, the unconscious Firefly was Elio's shackles to restrain him from interfering with the script.
Bai Luan couldn't just abandon Firefly in the freezing cold, and in this wilderness, he couldn't find someone to care for Firefly in a short time.
Even if he did try to find someone, various unexpected 'coincidences' would likely interfere with him.
Perhaps the incident Firefly mentioned wasn't just her fainting; it might also be Elio's warning to him through Firefly.
If he continued to cause trouble, the incident would come.
That is to say, among the choices he could make, no matter what he chose, the time it would take him to settle Firefly would probably be just enough for Stelle and the others to deal with Cocolia.
If he used the Anywhere Door to go to the Space Station, some curio there would probably go out of control, causing chaos.
If he went to Natasha's, a large number of fracture creatures would probably attack.
If he went to the train crew, it was hard to say whether an asteroid with mysterious power would suddenly appear and punch a hole in the train.
If he chose to entrust Firefly to someone else's care, it was likely that all sorts of futures that would delay him would appear.
Heaven knows how many brain cells Elio sacrificed to prevent him from interfering with the script.
Well, since you've gone to such lengths, I'll comply.
No interference it is.
Anyway, the ending is good, so there's no need for me to intervene.
Bai Luan used nanobots to support Firefly and began searching for a temporary shelter... After an unknown period, Firefly slowly woke up.
Upon waking, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling, and she was lying on a wooden bed, thoughtfully covered with a quilt.
Firefly rubbed her head and sat up from the wooden bed. The quilt slid off her, and she looked around with a slight bewilderment.
It was a simple wooden cabin in the snow, not very large, with only a wooden bed and a burning fireplace.
This cabin hadn't been used for a long time, but it had clearly just been cleaned.
"Awake?"
Bai Luan's voice reached Firefly's ears, drawing her attention.
He leaned by the window, looking into the distance through it. Outside, the cold wind howled, ruffling his clothes and blowing snowflakes into the room from the window.
The snowflakes melted into the air the moment they entered the cabin.
This certainly couldn't be achieved by that small fireplace. The main heating here was Bai Luan's nanobots.
As for the burning fireplace, Bai Luan lit it merely for the ambiance.
A wooden cabin in the snow without a lit fireplace always felt like something was missing.
The location of this small cabin was good; he could see the engine of creation standing up.
Not long before Firefly woke up, the engine of creation lay back down again.
Presumably, by now, things on Stelle's side have settled, right?
Everything went as planned in the script. The Aeon of Preservation glanced at Star, and incidentally struck the anvil, pushing the Amber Era forward by another era.
As Bai Luan expected, as soon as Stelle's side was complete, Firefly woke up.
Firefly looked at her hands; even after sleeping outside like this, no symptoms appeared on her body.
She... was truly recovered.
Firefly looked at Bai Luan, who had cured her, and asked:
"How can I repay you?"
"It's simple, just answer one question for me."
Bai Luan didn't turn around, continuing to look at the snowy scenery outside the window.
"How do you feel after recovering from your illness?"
Although Firefly had put a lot of effort into this matter.
Yet, at this moment, upon truly recovering, she still felt a strong sense of unreality.
"Very at peace, very relaxed, very comfortable, very..."
She remembered the Swarm.
She remembered countless Iron Cavalry falling.
She remembered that scorched earth filled with corpses.
Of the Glamoth Iron Cavalry, who could contend with the Swarm in numbers, only Firefly ultimately emerged.
She gently pressed her hands to her chest, feeling her heart beat strongly and steadily, the vitality of life surging through her veins.
A genuine smile finally bloomed on her face:
"It wasn't easy..."
"Indeed, it wasn't easy."
Bai Luan chuckled at her words. This was the answer he wanted to hear.
His tone carried a hint of emotion:
"Heh, the position Elio arranged for me is quite good. To think... he let me witness two rebirths at the same time."
But very quickly, Bai Luan added:
"He knows what I like to see."
Firefly laughed at his words.
"You really are a good person, just as Silver Wolf said."
"A good person?"
Bai Luan looked up at the snow slowly falling on Jarilo, extended his hand to catch a snowflake, and watched it melt in his palm.
"Perhaps I just know that being sick is very painful..."
Bai Luan showed a smile.
He was in a very good mood now.
He knew that illnesses would heal, and snow would stop.
And today was a day worth remembering.
Because today.
On Jarilo, new lives were born.