Firefly walked quickly through the alleyway.
As the distance increased, her pace unconsciously quickened until it gradually turned into a light run. While running, she reached out with her slender hand and grasped at empty air. Green fireflies scattered outward as a metallic transformation device shaped like a chrysalis appeared in her palm. Its surface was covered in translucent wings as delicate and thin as a cicada's shell.
"Hoo…"
The familiar cool texture spread across her fingertips. Firefly's gaze instantly sharpened like a blade leaving its sheath.
Without slowing down, she lifted the chrysalis horizontally before her chest. The folded wings slowly unfolded. Countless specks of glowing firefly light drifted outward as metallic patterns along the edges gradually lit up, radiating deep blue and pale golden light within the dark alley.
Crisp footsteps echoed continuously.
The scattered lights quietly rose like drifting stardust.
Then, beginning from her feet, the fireflies rapidly spread across Firefly's entire body. Within the brilliant glow, the Firefly-IV Armor instantly overlapped with her running figure.
"Target confirmed: Anime Convention incident site."
The moment her voice fell, Sam leaped into the air.
Boom!!!
Flames erupted violently from the armor's thrusters. In an instant, her figure transformed into a blazing meteor, dragging a dazzling tail of light across the night sky.
…
Meanwhile, at the Anime Convention.
Meng Xingyao had her eyes tightly shut, her cheeks flushed red all the way down to her neck.
Just moments ago, she had felt nervous, embarrassed…
And perhaps just a little expectant.
Then—
A warm, faintly fragrant touch gently landed on her forehead.
Meng Xingyao: (๑•̌.•̑๑)ˀ̣ˀ̣
The touch was fleeting, like a dragonfly skimming across water. That was all.
Finding that nothing else happened afterward, Meng Xingyao continued pretending nothing was wrong, quietly hiding inside Cipher's embrace while waiting patiently.
But as time slowly passed, there was still no further movement.
The anticipation in her heart gradually turned into torment.
Unable to hold back anymore, she secretly opened the tiniest slit of one eye.
Then she froze.
What greeted her was Cipher's calm and utterly indifferent face.
Seeing that the cat girl truly had no intention of continuing, Meng Xingyao's expression instinctively revealed the disappointment she failed to hide.
Meng Xingyao (ﾟρﾟ): "So it was only a forehead kiss…"
Cipher (•᷄ࡇ•᷅): "Wait a second. Why do you sound disappointed?"
Although Meng Xingyao never said it aloud, Cipher clearly caught the disappointment flashing through her eyes.
After realizing what the silly girl had been thinking about, Cipher curled her finger slightly.
Then—
Thump!!!
"Ow?!!"
"No, Little Princess, were you thinking about something weird just now?"
"I-I wasn't! Besides, it's because you suddenly did something so misleading!"
As if finding the perfect excuse, Meng Xingyao instantly switched into victim mode.
Seeing the girl clutching her forehead while shrinking pitifully in her arms like some wounded little animal, Cipher subconsciously looked away with slight guilt. Even the tips of her cat ears turned faintly red.
Thinking about it carefully…
She really hadn't considered this possibility earlier.
After all, her original intention had simply been to save this silly girl.
And besides, they were both girls.
Was a forehead kiss really that big a deal?
Cipher (｡ŏ_ŏ): "Now that I think about it… am I actually the unreasonable one here?"
"You're clearly the one overthinking things, you precocious little dummy! Can you act serious for once? This Cat was saving your life!"
Even while defending herself confidently, Cipher somehow felt a tiny bit lacking in conviction.
Meanwhile, Meng Xingyao puffed up her cheeks angrily like a steamed bun, glaring resentfully at the shameless cat who clearly refused to admit fault.
Meng Xingyao (*ﾟﾛﾟ)!!: "How can there be such an unreasonable cat? You kissed me and now you're pretending nothing happened!"
As for Cipher's explanation afterward, she selectively ignored it.
Cipher rolled her eyes helplessly after seeing straight through her thoughts.
"Haven't you realized your thinking is gradually becoming muddled?"
Only then did Meng Xingyao finally notice something was wrong.
Seeing her reaction, Cipher lightly snorted before continuing.
"That ugly thing carries severe Mental Pollution. It's not just visual contamination. The auditory effects are dangerous too."
As if proving her words true, a warm sensation suddenly spread beneath Meng Xingyao's nose. A trace of blood slowly dripped downward. At the same time, her thoughts became increasingly chaotic and sluggish.
"Cat Sister… I… my head feels dizzy…"
With Meng Xingyao's mental strength, enduring for this long was already impressive. Now, however, she had finally reached her limit.
Her body softened helplessly inside Cipher's arms.
"Relax. I already applied my divine Power to you. It can resist Mental Pollution. According to my calculations… it should already be working."
Cipher carefully tightened her hold around the girl while speaking confidently.
Meng Xingyao's mind was too muddled to think about what "divine Power" even meant.
But gradually, she really did feel a cool, refreshing sensation spreading through her consciousness.
The soothing comfort made her unconsciously let out a soft murmur.
"Mmm… ahh~"
…
Meng Xingyao: (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)
Cipher: (●—●)?
That suggestive sound completely exceeded Cipher's expectations.
For a second, she even wondered whether there was something wrong with the Power itself.
Or perhaps there was something wrong with this girl instead.
In the end, Cipher decided not to think too deeply about it.
As long as the effect worked, that was enough.
"Ahem. See? This Cat wasn't lying to you."
In reality, the effect had activated successfully from the very beginning. Cipher simply enjoyed acting mysterious. A sly smile appeared at the corner of her lips as playful amusement flickered through her eyes.
Meanwhile, Meng Xingyao's face had already turned completely crimson. She didn't even dare raise her head anymore.
So… I really misunderstood Cat Sister.
I even suspected she had improper intentions toward me…
Could it be that the problem is actually me…?
And do I really… feel that way toward Sister Cipher…?
As if discovering some terrifying secret, Meng Xingyao immediately buried her burning face directly into Cipher's chest.
Cipher: (๑˙ー˙๑)?
"…?"
While the two remained wrapped up in their own little world, they completely failed to notice the growing dissatisfaction nearby.
By the time Meng Xingyao finally recovered her senses, they had already been surrounded.
The Strange Fleshy Worms that had previously been blown apart had completely regenerated.
Not only had the one pierced by Cipher's gold coin recovered, even the shattered flesh pieces scattered across the battlefield had independently regenerated into new individuals.
The only difference was that the newly formed Flesh Worms were smaller now, each roughly only half a body larger than an adult human.