"You just need to fill out a registration form."
Having said that, Lu Jianyi took out her terminal and tapped it a few times. Firefly looked down as a file titled [Mercenary Association Registration Form] appeared on her screen.
The required information was concise: codename, specialty, rank, and contact info. Firefly scanned it quickly and began typing.
Codename: Sam. Specialty: Annihilation Operations. Rank: S. Contact: xxxxxxxxxxx.
"S-rank?"
Lu Jianyi spoke the words aloud as soon as she received the data. Her expression turned solemn. She looked up at Sam.
"Mr. Sam, are you certain? If this rank is accurate, we will issue you a commission with a danger rating between A+ and S- rank. Your rank evaluation will only be considered 'passed' if you complete it. Of course, the commission reward will be paid in full."
"Understood. What is the objective?"
Firefly nodded. She came here to earn Credits, after all. This was a win-win; she could get paid while letting the Mercenary Association verify her combat standing.
"Very well. Please wait a moment. In the meantime, allow me to escort you to the lounge to rest."
Lu Jianyi stepped out of the room first.
★ ★ ★
On the fifteenth floor of the Mercenary Association building, inside a VIP lounge, Lu Jianyi originally opened separate rooms for Firefly and Ye Yunzhi. However, Ye Yunzhi departed early, mentioning she had companions downstairs to look after.
The moment she entered the private suite, Sam scanned the surroundings. Finding no surveillance devices, Firefly deactivated the armor.
"Phew... acting cool is such hard work."
Sinking into the sofa, Firefly let out a long sigh as she felt the actual physical softness against her body. To maintain Sam's cold, badass persona, she felt like she had been stifled into a mute!
She wondered how the Firefly in the original story managed to be one person inside Sam and another when she was just herself...
Thinking of this, she sighed again. She caught her reflection in the dark screen of her terminal—the face of Firefly.
"Well, at least I landed in a world where the power scaling isn't too insane. If I had ended up in the actual Honkai: Star Rail universe, it would be a hellish start."
Even with demigod or planet-bursting strength... it sounded powerful, but in the face of the endless cycles of Amphoreus or the Swarm Disaster, that power still felt fragile.
Her feelings toward the Star Rail world were always a mix of curiosity and longing, yet tinged with deep dread.
She wondered: if she appeared before the Express Crew or the Stellaron Hunters as "Firefly," how would they view her? As a surviving clone of the Empire?
She also wondered: if she stepped onto the soil of Amphoreus as "Cifera" with Bartholos, what would the original Cifera and Bartholos think?
If she truly reached Amphoreus before the main plot started, would she have the ability to end the torture of the 33,550,336 cycles of the Great Calamity? After all, she wasn't just data simulated by the Emperor's Scepter... there should be hope, right?
She longed to rewrite the script, to mend the tragedies and regrets, and lead the story toward a better ending. But beneath that longing was a persistent fear—the fear that in that grand, terrifying worldview, her strength was a mere speck of dust. If she truly dove in, could she still be as relaxed as she was now?
"Forget it, stop thinking about that!"
Feeling herself slip into another bout of melancholy, Firefly rubbed her cheeks hard to break her train of thought.
"Why do I always get all sentimental whenever it's quiet? Besides, if I ever get the chance to go to the Star Rail side, I better pull Acheron first."
Thinking of that, her mind played back the scene where Acheron cleaved Penacony in half with a single strike.
"If I run into trouble then, I'll just let my 'Nothingness' do the talking!"
She took a deep breath to stabilize her emotions. Then, she picked up the tablet-like terminal provided in the VIP suite to browse available missions.
"Eliminating mutant beast threats, raiding Heterozone Cult branches, clearing Forest Wrath cells, escorting teams through the deep woods, retrieving lost cargo... the tasks here are so much richer than in the Pit Bottom District. Most rewards range from a few thousand to several hundred thousand Credits."
Firefly muttered to herself as she scrolled. When she was Cifera, she had checked the missions back there; the highest rewards capped out at a few thousand. She hadn't seen a single one worth ten thousand.
Was this just the sheer gap between a border city and the slums?
"Wait... I think I see something incredible."
As she scrolled rapidly, a familiar name caught her eye. She stopped instantly and scrolled back up. Soon, the familiar commission appeared before her.
[High-Value Bounty]
[Target: Cifera]
"I actually have a bounty on my head? Did the Backcurrent Alliance post this?"
Driven by intense curiosity, she tapped the file.
[Issuing Organization: Backcurrent Alliance]
[Reason for Bounty:
The target, Cifera, conducted an act of sabotage against Experimental Base 036 belonging to this organization within the borders of the United States of Pacific Pit Bottom District, resulting in irreversible damage to core experimental data.]
[Target Danger Profile (Verified):
Ability: Possesses stealth and phasing capabilities.
Inference: Ability type is Physical Intangibility.]
[Bounty Terms and Amount:
Capture Alive: Deliver a fully intact and living Cifera.
Reward: 3,000,000 Credits.
Confirmed Kill: Provide conclusive evidence that target Cifera has been eliminated.
Reward: 1,000,000 Credits.]
[Mandatory Requirement:
Identity Verification: Regardless of how the mission is completed, irrefutable evidence must be provided to prove the target is Cifera herself.]
[Identification Evidence:
Attached Image: A token associated with the target (a one-eyed cat coin with a wide, grinning smile).]