Stelle's eyes widened, her face filled with shock as she exclaimed, "It's Firefly—she came out of the SAM armor?!"
A trace of amazement flashed through Kafka's eyes. "Ruan Mei's technology really cured her... is this what it means to be a genius?"
Blade said nothing as he watched the scene, but the slight flicker in his gaze revealed his joy at seeing Firefly able to walk freely in the outside world.
Only Elio fell into deep thought as he looked at Firefly. The reason was simple. In the futures he had seen, Firefly's Entropy Loss Syndrome was impossible to cure... because it was an inherent flaw of the Path of Propagation itself.
And yet now, Firefly was walking in the outside world with her own body.
Was this truly Ruan Mei's cure?
It shouldn't be... because in none of the futures Elio had seen did Ruan Mei successfully heal Firefly.
That meant the true reason Firefly's fate had changed—the reason she had been genuinely saved—was the intervention of an unknown variable in fate... Herta.
As this thought formed, Elio's gaze toward Herta became increasingly strange.
Silver Wolf, on the other hand, was delighted about Firefly's recovery. At the same time, she realized a crucial point:
Now that Firefly's condition had been treated by both Ruan Mei and Herta, her lost senses would likely return. When that happened, if she played games against αWolf again, she would have to face a fully restored, massively buffed Firefly.
In that situation, victory would obviously belong to Firefly.
...
At this moment, Herman also noticed the Stellaron Hunters' astonished expressions. He gently said to Firefly, who leaned against him, "Go on—greet your companions."
"Mm."
Firefly nodded and raised her hand with some effort, waving at them. "Stelle, Kafka, Elio, Blade, Silver Wolf—my illness has been cured by Miss Herta and Miss Ruan Mei. I can now walk through the cosmos with my own body, experiencing its beauty firsthand... instead of relying on the perspective of the SAM armor."
Stelle beamed with joy. "That's amazing! Congratulations, Firefly. From now on, we can travel the world together."
Firefly smiled. "Then it's a promise."
"Wait..." Silver Wolf suddenly interrupted from a distance. "That might not be such a good idea. We're all wanted criminals by the IPC. Even I, the newcomer, got on their wanted list not long ago. I even made a fortune by kidnapping myself and selling myself to them."
Firefly blinked. "That's... true."
Stelle rolled her eyes. "The IPC is after SAM. What does that have to do with Firefly? Her current appearance has never been exposed."
Silver Wolf held her forehead. "Then what about you?"
Stelle frowned. "Me? That is a problem..."
Silver Wolf immediately suggested, "Exactly. So you can't go traveling with her. You should just stay and play games with me instead."
"I want to play games, and I want to travel—I want everything," Firefly said with a bright smile. "I want to experience all the beauty of life. Not just that—I want to go shopping with Kafka for leather coats, taste Blade's cooking... instead of living on nutrient solutions forever."
Kafka gave a thumbs-up. "Sounds good."
Blade nodded. "No problem."
At that moment, Elio cleared his throat. "Firefly, it's a good thing that you've been cured. With your condition improved... you should be able to better fulfill the future script."
Inwardly, he added:
If the Four Apocalypses arrive, Firefly must live to the very end—becoming the final survivor of the universe. Only then can there be a sliver of hope for all existence.
With her Entropy Loss Syndrome suppressed and her full strength restored, Firefly would undoubtedly be capable of completing this task.
After reaching that conclusion, Elio turned to Herta and Ruan Mei. "Thank you, both of you. Without your help, Firefly would never have been able to stand before us in her own body."
"If you truly want to thank me, how about letting me study your eyes?" Ruan Mei stared directly at Elio. "Those eyes that can see fate—I would very much like to research them."
Elio's fur bristled instantly as he shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't agree. My eyes are deeply connected to Finality. If you obtained them, forget research—even merely witnessing those countless tragic futures would cause a mental collapse, leading you into nihilistic death..."
"My mental resilience is strong," Ruan Mei replied calmly. "I can endure it."
"It's not the same. My eyes are tied to the level of an Aeon. If you want to study them, you'd need to advance further—become an Aeon yourself... or perhaps even create one."
"..."
Hearing this, and seeing the seriousness on Elio's face, Ruan Mei fell into thought.
Elio—the Destiny's Slave—truly believes that only an Aeon-level consciousness can bear the futures he sees.
That means he is not merely connected to Finality... he may very well be a fragment of the Aeon of Finality itself—an incarnation of will descending from the future.
With that hypothesis, Ruan Mei's interest in Elio only grew stronger.
The Aeon of Finality...
If she could capture and study even a fragment of such an existence, her chances of reaching the pinnacle would increase dramatically.
But there was a problem.
If the suspected incarnation of Finality was unwilling... could she obtain research material at all?
Ruan Mei calculated silently.
The probability was 0%.
Even ignoring Elio himself, just Silver Wolf—who could transform into a magical girl for three minutes—would already be extremely difficult to handle. And beyond her, there was Kafka.
From what Ruan Mei knew, the Stellaron Hunter with the highest bounty was not the newly joined Silver Wolf, but Kafka.
She might very well possess methods capable of rivaling an Emanator.
After weighing everything, Ruan Mei abandoned the idea of forcefully subduing Elio and instead attempted persuasion.
"If not your eyes, then any other part will do—even just a bit of fur."
Elio shook his head repeatedly. "I'm sorry, Miss Ruan Mei. I cannot provide any part of my body. My essence is extremely special. The reason I appear as a harmless black cat is due to the influence of the Aeon of Beauty."
Hearing this, Herman's thoughts stirred.
The missing Aeon of Beauty had influenced Elio's outward form?
That made sense. Regardless of anything else, Elio was an incarnation of Finality's divine body—one of the most special kinds. If he represented the end, then his true nature could never be something as harmless as a black cat...
It had to be something far more terrifying.
However, this terrifying essence had been distorted by the cognitive interference of the Path of Beauty, turning it into a harmless black cat.
And it wasn't just Elio who had been affected by the Path of Beauty. There was also the Astral Express' conductor, Pom-Pom. After the train's fall, it had continued to exist—its true nature was undoubtedly extraordinary, and its real form could never be something as simple as a cute plush doll.
The cognitive distortion of the Path of Beauty might already be subtly influencing countless things across the universe.
Herman's thoughts spiraled outward as he considered all of this, feeling as though his perception had sharpened to an entirely new level.
At that moment, Stelle, Blade, Silver Wolf, Kafka, and the others stepped forward to thank Herta and Ruan Mei for curing Firefly.
"It's nothing," Herman waved it off. "Firefly and I hit it off immediately—we're already friends. Treating her wasn't a big deal."
I've known Firefly for a long time... ever since my past life playing Honkai: Star Rail. I've always wanted to cure her.
Ruan Mei also spoke calmly, "While treating Firefly, I was able to study Entropy Loss Syndrome and gain a deeper understanding of the Path of Propagation. It has been quite beneficial to my biological research."
After saying that, she glanced at Elio. "Of course... it would be even better if I had the opportunity to study the Destiny's Slave."
Elio immediately shrank his neck back slightly, but then quickly realized something important. "Firefly's Entropy Loss Syndrome has been suppressed... which means she has found a swarm again. What exactly is her swarm?"
Ruan Mei snapped her fingers in response.
In an instant, at the entrance of Ruanruan, a group of cat cakes came bouncing in.
Their color scheme was white and green, resembling Firefly in cat cake form. As they hopped forward, they continuously let out cheerful meows:
"I heard the Creator's summons, meow!"
"Miss Ruan Mei is calling us—and the Queen Firefly is here too!"
"All hail Her Majesty the Queen! Long live Firefly, meow!"
...
The cat cakes surrounded Ruan Mei and Firefly, cheering enthusiastically.
Silver Wolf's eyes widened. "So these are your subordinates? A bunch of soft, cat-like... oversized pastries?"
Stelle added, "They actually look pretty tasty."
Kafka smiled faintly. "They're calling you 'Your Majesty the Queen.' So Firefly... you really became their ruler?"
Firefly nodded. "Yes. They are my subjects. It's precisely because of them that I've been able to temporarily escape the effects of Entropy Loss Syndrome."
Kafka immediately caught the key point. "Temporarily? What do you mean? Didn't you say you were cured?"
"Entropy Loss Syndrome is a flaw of the Path, not a normal illness. Naturally, it can't be truly cured so easily. Right now, Firefly has simply regained a swarm—she has become the Queen of the cat cakes, allowing her to temporarily suppress the condition."
Ruan Mei explained seriously, "But if something happens to these cat cakes—if the swarm disappears—then Firefly will once again be afflicted by Entropy Loss Syndrome."
Kafka understood, though her brows still remained slightly furrowed.
At this moment, Firefly instead showed a relaxed smile and reassured her, "Being able to walk freely in this world is already wonderful. From now on, I just need to protect the cat cakes. I believe Elio can handle that—after all, his eyes can see the future."
Hearing this, Elio glanced at the group of cat cakes, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Me? Protect this bunch of cat cakes? That's not a future I've ever seen.
After a moment of silent contemplation, Elio finally nodded. "They can come with us to the Stellaron Hunters' headquarters. I'll take good care of them."
"Thank you, Elio!" Firefly smiled brightly. Using her Queen's authority, she informed all the cat cakes that Elio would now act as their caretaker—responsible for their daily needs in her place.
The cat cakes' eyes lit up as they turned toward Elio.
"It's a cat!"
"But why does it look completely different from us?"
"Look! It walks on four legs instead of hopping like we do!"
"What a strange cat. Real cats should be like us!"
They chattered noisily among themselves.
Listening to their meowing, a vein throbbed on Elio's forehead as he thought helplessly:
I'm not a strange cat... and real cats definitely don't look like you either.
Didn't Ruan Mei give you any common sense when she created you?
After a long internal struggle, Elio sighed. "All of you, gather behind me."
"Yes!"
The cat cakes obediently bounced behind him.
At that moment, Firefly steadied herself and stood up on her own, taking a couple of breaths before saying, "Stelle, Kafka, everyone—Miss Ruan Mei and Miss Herta didn't just treat my Entropy Loss Syndrome. They also upgraded my transformation device and enhanced my combat abilities."
This immediately drew everyone's attention.
Kafka voiced her thoughts. "Upgraded your transformation device? Could it be that Miss Ruan Mei—or Miss Herta—obtained Glamoth's technology and improved upon it?"
Elio's gaze unconsciously shifted toward Herta. Did she recently explore the ruins of the Republic OF Glamoth? That shouldn't be possible... she didn't have the time.
At that moment, Herman spoke up. "This was all thanks to Ruan Mei. Without the biological gene data of the Propagation Swarm Queen she provided, I wouldn't have been able to upgrade Firefly's Glamoth transformation device."
Ruan Mei shook her head as well. "And without Herta converting the Swarm Queen's genes into a super gene, I wouldn't have been able to implant it into the device and complete the upgrade—allowing it to evolve into the Empress Transformation Device."
Super swarm genes? Dark Plane? What even was all that?
And what exactly was this Empress Transformation Device? It sounded incredibly powerful.
In the next moment, Firefly raised her hand and silently called out in her mind:
Come!
In an instant, space split open.
The sound of wings beating echoed through the air.
A red-and-green, glass-like insect-shaped transformation device flew out from the distance and landed in Firefly's hand.