(Heads-up: This is a yuri fanfic, single female lead Firefly. Not your thing? Better skip it.)
(Brain check-in counter, right here.)
"Hey, Clara, your bounty poster's been updated again. And again."
In a cozy room, Silver Wolf blew a bubble with her gum and handed a sheet of paper to the dark-haired girl in front of her.
The girl's skin was pale as jade, her features delicate as a painting. Her black hair, deep as the night sky, cascaded like a waterfall down to her waist. Her crimson eyes shone like deep, dazzling rubies.
"Huh? My bounty's been updated again?" The girl named Clara took the wanted poster from Silver Wolf and glanced at it with a placid expression.
But soon, after seeing the string of numbers on the poster, her composure shattered instantly.
"How… how much?!"
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands… holy mother, grandfather, ancestor…"
"Ninety-nine billion nine hundred ninety-nine million… am I seeing this right?!"
Listening to Clara, Silver Wolf calmly found a seat and sat down. A holographic screen materialized before her, and with a flick of her finger, she pushed it toward Clara.
"You're seeing it right, and the IPC isn't mistaken either. Ninety-nine billion, nine hundred ninety-nine million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine."
"That's your current bounty. Beats mine plus Kafka's plus Blade's plus Sam's by several times."
"Thanks to you, all us Stellaron Hunters' bounties got a nice boost. Mine's up to eight billion, Blade's at ten billion, Kafka's at fifteen billion."
"Truly, only you could single-handedly inflate the market value of our entire crew."
Silver Wolf said this with a perfectly serious face, giving Clara a thumbs-up.
Clara: …
"And that ninety-nine billion is just the base reward. Anyone who captures you not only gets the credits but also becomes an Honorary Consultant for the Interastral Peace Corporation, enjoying the highest authority the IPC can grant across the universe."
"Plus, if someone provides a verified tip about your whereabouts, they get a cool million as a bonus."
"Clara, you're a real celebrity across the cosmos now. If I had to guess, aside from the few factions holding grudges against the IPC, most Galaxy Rangers are probably already out hunting for you."
"Pfft." Silver Wolf spit out her gum, unwrapped a fresh piece, popped it in her mouth, and started chewing.
Her relaxed demeanor showed not a trace of worry for Clara, despite the Galaxy Rangers being on the move.
"I only did a few little things… Is the IPC really that petty?"
"Little things?" Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow. "You mean nearly blowing up the entire Interastral Peace Corporation, hijacking a shipment of materials meant for the Preservation Aeon, and critically injuring one of the Corporation's Emanators… those are 'little things' to you?"
"What's not little about them?" Clara instantly bristled at Silver Wolf's words. "'Nearly' blowing it up means it didn't actually blow up, right? Since it didn't, doesn't that make it a little thing?"
"As for the materials for the Aeon, Qliphoth wouldn't even miss them. They've been piling up across who knows how many planets. Me taking some to help clear out space is actually a good deed, isn't it? I didn't even ask them for a service fee."
"And about that Emanator—she threw the first punch, okay? I was just defending myself. Can you blame me for that?"
"Blame her for being weak, getting critically injured from one slap."
"Save that speech for the IPC." Silver Wolf didn't bother responding further. She pulled out her game console and started playing on her own.
"How boring."
Clara kicked her legs out and slumped back into the sofa. Gazing at the framed group photo of the Stellaron Hunters on the wall, she couldn't help but smile.
Who knows how long it's been since she crossed over into this world. In her previous life, her parents died early, she had no sisters, no home, living like an animal.
But luckily, while crossing the street one day, a big truck sent her straight into the world of Honkai: Star Rail.
As her favorite game, arriving here filled her heart with joy. But after the joy came a wave of anxiety.
Anyone who's played the game knows how dangerous the world of Star Rail can be for a normal person with no power. Without some special twist of fate, for Clara, it would have basically been dying all over again, just in a different place…
But luckily, after crossing over, I caught the attention of Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance. Fuli offered me a deal—the power of an Emanator of Remembrance in exchange for my memories of my past life.
Faced with such an offer, back then, as a mere mortal, Clara had no reason to refuse. She nodded frantically in agreement.
Just like that, Clara went from an ordinary human to one of the most powerful beings in this universe.
Right after she was basking in the joy of gaining such power, the Aeon of Elation suddenly appeared and inexplicably bestowed His power upon her.
Clara didn't dare to ask or question it. Whatever the Aeon of Elation reasons were—whether a passing whim or just for fun—as long as He gave her power, He was a good person… well, a good god.
And so, Clara became the only being in the universe to wield the power of two Eminators.
After that, Clara wandered the cosmos for a time and, by a twist of fate, joined the found family known as the Stellaron Hunters.
She was more than satisfied with this family.
Whether it was 'Mommy' Kafka, 'Grandpa' (scratch that) Blade, 'Little Sister' Silver Wolf, or 'Wife' (scratch that) Firefly Sam—each of them made her feel the warmth of home, something she couldn't help but sink into.
Then, due to the… unique reputation of the Stellaron Hunters across the universe, after appearing time and again under their banner, Clara inevitably found herself with a bounty on her head.
At first, her bounty was only around Silver Wolf's level. But after the [Interstellar Peace Corporation Bombing Plan], the [Amber Lord Material Heist Incident], and [Slapping a Preservation Eminator into Critical Condition]…
The strength and actions Clara displayed led the Interstellar Peace Corporation to firmly believe she was the leader of the Stellaron Hunters—the ultimate big boss—and they issued the highest-level bounty across the cosmos.
"Ah…"
Thinking of this, Clara let out a sigh. 'I'm just a "mere mortal under heaven, one who reaches the skies," why treat me like this…'
"Oh, Silver Wolf," Clara suddenly stood up, turning to Silver Wolf. "Where did Kafka and Firefly go? I haven't seen them around lately."
"Oh, they're on a mission," Silver Wolf said casually, eyes glued to her handheld console, fingers tapping away rapidly as if engaged in an intense battle.
"A mission? What mission? How come I didn't know?"
"Tch."
As Clara spoke, Silver Wolf's fingers stopped moving, and she let out an annoyed click of her tongue—though it wasn't directed at Clara.
Silver Wolf set down her console, grabbed a bag of chips made by the Interstellar Peace Corporation from the table, tore it open, and popped a chip into her mouth with a satisfying crunch.
"To quote Elio," she began between crunches, "'If that Clara found out you were on a mission, she'd be trailing after you in a heartbeat. And if she tagged along, the script would go completely off the rails.' So, Elio told us not to tell you."
Clara: …
"Want some chips? Mexican chicken flavor, really good," Silver Wolf offered, noticing Clara's stunned expression, and held the bag out to her.
Clara reached in, grabbed a huge handful, and stuffed them all into her mouth. Instantly, the room filled with the relentless crunching of chips being demolished.
"I've decided!"
After finishing the chips, Clara stood up as if pumped full of adrenaline, her expression deadly serious.
"I'm going to the Interstellar Peace Corporation!"
Hearing this, Silver Wolf looked at her skeptically.
"Turning yourself in?"
"No." Clara shook her head.
Silver Wolf breathed a sigh of relief. If Clara really turned herself in… well… it wouldn't be that big a deal anyway.
"I'm going to turn the Interstellar Peace Corporation into the Interstellar Nuclear Peace Corporation!!!"
Silver Wolf: ?
…
Silver Wolf: About Clara
If Clara were a game character, she'd be that little girl you meet in the starting village—innocent, dreamy, pure, embodying everything good about a young girl.
But when you reach the final act, you realize the mastermind behind the entire game… is that same little girl.
…
(Space Opera. May this book bring you a moment of delight.)
…
I have completed the author to TL pipeline, 2 chapters per day. 20-30+ chapters in advance on patreon.
patreon.com/intraneer
Give power stones please I survive solely off of number go up.