"I take back what I just said. I've certainly amassed more than 10 million."
Looking at the additional twenty million Credits in her terminal account, Firefly murmured to herself.
She currently stood in a deserted alleyway. The silver-white Sam armor had already been deactivated, returning her to the form of the seemingly harmless young girl, Firefly.
After discussing the commission for the Forbidden Zone, Lu Jianyi proceeded to purchase the mutant beast remains Firefly had hauled back. The haul sold for a staggering fifteen million Credits. Combined with the five million Credit base reward for completing the previous task, her assets had suddenly surged by twenty million.
She had stepped out of the association, found a random alley, and reverted from Sam after confirming no one was watching.
"Why do I suddenly feel like I can't even be bothered with that three-million bounty anymore?"
Thinking about how Cifera had to pretend to be captured tonight just for three million Credits made it feel like a huge hassle.
But she quickly realized there was a flaw in her thinking. Since when did she start feeling like three million Credits was a small amount?
"No, no, I cannot let money warp my perception. These S- rank commissions do not come around every day. This was just a sudden windfall for Firefly, while Cifera's side should be the stable source of income."
After forcing her train of thought back onto the right track, Firefly headed toward the best-rated hotel in the city as recommended by Lu Jianyi.
The hour was late. She planned to check into the hotel and then use her primary identity to bring Cifera to justice. Once she collected that three million, she could resume siphoning funds from the base.
★ ★ ★
"Xiaoxiao! How did you get hurt? What were you doing this afternoon?!"
The moment Su Xiaoxiao returned home, she was met with Ye Yunzhi's worried interrogation.
The reason for Ye Yunzhi's distress was obvious: Su Xiaoxiao's right hand was wrapped tightly in bandages, giving off the painful illusion that her arm was nearly broken off.
"I... went to do a mission. This injury happened during the commission..."
Confronted by Ye Yunzhi, Su Xiaoxiao had prepared herself mentally, yet she still could not entirely hide her guilt.
"You..." Ye Yunzhi looked helpless. "You are a support-type user with practically zero combat ability. Why did you suddenly run off to do a commission? Even if you take one, you have to group up with others. Besides, your ability has such heavy restrictions; it is a miracle anyone even grouped with you. Even if they did, you would not get much of a cut. If those people do not look out for you, you will just get hurt. Your medical bills will end up costing more than the commission fee. It is not worth it."
Ye Yunzhi pointed at the bandages on Su Xiaoxiao's hand.
"Spit it out. What happened here?"
"My arm was dislocated... A powerhouse accidentally yanked it out of the socket..."
"Yanked out of the socket? By whom? Why? if you were intentionally harmed by a teammate during a party, you can report it to the Mercenary Association to have them punished, even if they are a powerhouse."
Ye Yunzhi frowned. She had assumed a mutant beast injured Xiaoxiao, but to find out it was man-made changed everything!
"No!" Hearing this, Su Xiaoxiao immediately realized there was a misunderstanding. she frantically waved her uninjured hand. "It was a powerhouse. Because the mission site was quite far, he grabbed my hand and flew to get me there quickly. However, my physical constitution is not very good, so my arm dislocated during takeoff..."
"And he even paid me five hundred Credits for the medical fees. That powerhouse is actually a very good person..."
"Oh..."
After hearing the explanation, Ye Yunzhi was speechless. She had thought Su Xiaoxiao was bullied while partying with strangers, but it turned out to be nothing more than a blunder.
"Just be more careful next time. Do not go out and group with strangers so recklessly."
Ye Yunzhi sighed and continued, "I am going back to look after Rin. I put food in the microwave; heat it up if you want to eat."
She turned to head toward Rin's room.
"Wait!"
Seeing her leave, Su Xiaoxiao hurried to stop her.
While Ye Yunzhi looked on in confusion, Su Xiaoxiao began operating her terminal with one hand. A notification pinged from Ye Yunzhi's pocket. She pulled out her device to check.
"Two thousand two hundred Credits? Xiaoxiao, where did you get this much money?"
Looking at the sudden transfer, Ye Yunzhi looked up and questioned her again.
"I earned it myself to help pay for Rin's medical expenses!" Su Xiaoxiao tucked her terminal away and tilted her head up proudly. "I helped that powerhouse a bit, and he gave me two thousand Credits. I can earn Credits too! I am not as much in need of your protection as you think!"
But after saying that, Su Xiaoxiao felt strangely guilty. After all, the "help" she provided could have been done by any ordinary person who knew about mutant beasts. And while she still had to be a guide for Sam tomorrow, the truth was that the entire situation was not worth two thousand Credits—five hundred at most.
Despite her inner guilt, she maintained a strong front. To an outsider, she looked quite impressive.
But who was Ye Yunzhi? She was a friend and companion who had lived in the same house with Su Xiaoxiao and Rin for years. There was no way she would miss Su Xiaoxiao's telltale signs of guilt.
Sensing something was off, Ye Yunzhi continued to frown and ask:
"What kind of help did you give a powerhouse that resulted in two thousand Credits?"
"That..."
Su Xiaoxiao was stumped. She felt that if she told the truth, Ye Yunzhi would never believe her, but she couldn't think of a better excuse.
"I just... helped him identify which mutant beast species were more valuable while he did the mission, and then I have to be his guide tomorrow to show him around Greenshade Source..."
Under Ye Yunzhi's stern gaze, Su Xiaoxiao stammered out a rough outline of the "help" she provided.
"Just that?"
"Just that."
"..."
After a period of silence, Ye Yunzhi asked again, "You are not lying, are you?"
"I am not lying!" Su Xiaoxiao became frantic. "After being rejected by so many people at the South Gate, he was the only one who did not turn me away! I fought for this myself!"
"..."
Another silence followed.
"You are going to be a guide for that powerhouse tomorrow, right?"
"Mn..."
"I have to come along to see what is going on. I suspect the reason that powerhouse is so generous is because you are cute and he wants to hit on you. Do not end up getting tricked into someone's bed just for two thousand Credits!"
"Huh?"