It was mealtime. Other matters could not be allowed to disturb her meal.
So after merely glancing at him, she stopped paying attention.
Ace Ukiyo, however, seemed to have sensed something. He turned his head and glanced at Firefly. Though the girl before him was beautiful, he did not know her at all.
Maybe it was just a coincidence!
He felt that he was being overly sensitive. She had merely looked at him once.
After all, before witnessing Firefly transform into Stellaron Hunter Sam with their own eyes, it would be difficult for anyone to connect the two.
Whenever Firefly had appeared before Ace Ukiyo and the others before, she had been in Sam's form.
She had nothing in common with how she looked now.
"Stellaron Hunter Sam..."
Who exactly was he? Did he have something to do with Mother?!
Thinking of that Stellaron Hunter again, Ace Ukiyo frowned and racked his brain, but he had no clue at all.
The information Sam had revealed before left him deeply concerned and conflicted.
He wanted to find Stellaron Hunter Sam and ask him face-to-face, but putting aside whether Sam would tell him anything, simply finding him now would be difficult.
The Grand Prix had suddenly been suspended before, and there had still been no word from the DGP management.
He had no idea what had happened afterward.
While Geats was at a loss here, Firefly happily ate the food that had been served. Once she was nearly full, she patted her little belly and went to pay the bill.
She noticed that Ace Ukiyo was still there. The food in front of him had already gone cold, yet he had barely touched it. What a waste of food!
Suddenly, Firefly had an idea—something she had considered before.
Without hesitation, she turned and vanished from the restaurant. When she appeared again a few minutes later, she had an ordinary USB drive in her hand, its contents freshly copied.
It was the most common kind, not worth much.
Come to think of it, although Ace Ukiyo was no longer the Star of the Stars of the original story, he still lacked nothing materially.
Though he had not done any serious work over the years and had basically been farming rookies in the Kamen Rider reality show, earning money was effortless for someone with a thousand years of memories.
It was simply not his focus. For him, having enough money and financial freedom was enough.
Seeing that Ace Ukiyo had not left, Firefly walked straight toward him.
"..."
"If you missed her so much, what were you doing before?"
She slowly approached Ace Ukiyo's side and found that he did not seem to notice her at all. He was merely staring blankly at the gold coin in his hand.
It was the only item Ace Ukiyo's first mother had left him.
It was also the honorary reward he had received for becoming a Desire God as the winner of that DGP Grand Prix.
What Is Your Mother Worth?
"Hmm?"
Hearing a voice beside him, Ace Ukiyo quickly clenched the gold coin in his hand and put it away before turning to look at the newcomer.
It was the girl who had been eating nearby earlier.
But her words caught Ace Ukiyo's attention. They sounded as though she knew about his affairs.
It was somewhat unbelievable. Aside from himself, no one should have known about his mother. Even the DGP management did not know much.
"Were you talking to me?"
Ace Ukiyo asked softly, wondering who the girl before him was.
"There shouldn't be anyone else here."
Firefly had not planned to take the initiative to approach Ace Ukiyo anytime soon, but since they had met now, she did not mind giving things a push.
Although she was not afraid of the DGP at all, taking on the DGP alone would be a little too dull.
Ace Ukiyo and the DGP management had an unavoidable conflict as well.
His first mother, whom he cared about so deeply, was merely a tool of the DGP management—a consumable whose Creation Power was about to run out.
Once Ace Ukiyo learned this, he would undoubtedly become enemies with the DGP management.
"Who are you?"
"And what did you mean by that?"
Firefly's answer made Ace Ukiyo rise to his feet, his gaze fixed firmly on her.
Though she had not said it outright, it was obvious that this unfamiliar girl knew a great deal about him.
She was no ordinary person!
"Who I am isn't important."
"But I do have something you might need."
As she spoke, Firefly took out the USB drive she had prepared and placed it before him.
"What is this?"
Looking at the USB drive before him, Ace Ukiyo did not reach for it immediately.
"Something you've been searching for, something you've always wanted to know."
Without being evasive, Firefly sat down across from him and calmly revealed what the USB drive contained.
That was right. She had gone out just now to casually buy a USB drive from the roadside, then copied part of the footage about the Creation Goddess from the Vision Driver onto it.
Because of her interference, Firefly had no idea when the fox before her would otherwise uncover the secrets of the DGP management.
Since that was the case, she did not mind giving him a push.
It would be much more interesting if Geats clashed with the DGP management ahead of schedule.
Though Ace Ukiyo might not yet have the ability to deal with the DGP management. After all, he did not possess even the Red Fox form yet, let alone the Nine-Tailed Fox form.
But Firefly believed that only under such circumstances could he unleash the Creation Power within him.
To be honest, Firefly really wanted to fight the Fox God. Otherwise, there were not many people in this world capable of making her use her true power and form.
Besides, defeating Geats in his Fox God state would certainly yield no small achievement reward.
It would also prepare her for the worlds to come.
No one knew what the next world would be like or whether it would be extremely dangerous. With enough Points, she could reduce the danger to a minimum.
Of course, if Ace Ukiyo failed to awaken his Creation Power and was truly killed by the DGP management, Firefly would not feel too guilty.
At most, she would regret losing the Fox God achievement.
But as a child of miracles, Geats surely would not disappoint her. Not to mention Top Supporter Gene was backing him.
"...Something I want?"
Looking at the utterly ordinary USB drive before him, Ace Ukiyo naturally did not believe her just because of a single sentence.
How could someone he had never met know what he wanted?
But recalling Firefly's very first words, he could not help but feel concerned. Could there really be information about Mother inside?
Was the girl before him truly connected to the DGP management?
Or was she simply one of the DGP management's people?
"A thousand years of reincarnation, and the person you never forgot."
"Don't you want to know where she went?"
Seeing that Geats clearly understood what she meant yet deliberately played dumb, Firefly did not waste any more words with him and went straight to the point.
"What?!"
"How do you know about this?"
"Are you one of the DGP management? Where is she?!"
Ace Ukiyo could no longer sit still. Though he had lived for a long time and was as cunning as a fox, he could not conceal his feelings when it came to this matter.
He slammed both hands heavily onto the table, his eyes fixed on Firefly as he demanded the answer he wanted.
"I told you, everything you want to know is in there."
"You don't need to know anything else."
Ignoring Ace Ukiyo's agitation, Firefly spoke as calmly as before.
"..."
Hearing this, Ace Ukiyo gave Firefly a deep look. He did not waste any more words and reached for the USB drive, but Firefly stopped him first.
"What do you mean?"
Ace Ukiyo immediately frowned, his gaze locked onto the girl.
"You didn't think you could just take it, did you?"
Firefly tilted her head at him. Her beautiful eyes made Ace Ukiyo fall silent.
"...What do you want?"
After thinking for a few seconds, Ace Ukiyo still chose not to use force and instead asked Firefly what she wanted.
"Money."
"Huh? Money?"
Ace Ukiyo froze at that answer, completely caught off guard.
He had thought she would have some other motive related to the DGP Grand Prix, but she wanted money!
For a moment, he even wondered whether the girl before him was deceiving him and actually knew nothing at all.
But what she had said confirmed that she truly knew about him and knew he was searching for his mother.
"How much do you want?"
Though somewhat speechless, Ace Ukiyo still agreed.
"You decide. How much do you think this is worth? Or rather, how much is your mother worth to you?"
Firefly answered casually.
At the moment, Ace Ukiyo had nothing on him worth coveting. She only asked for money because she did not think she should simply give him this information for free. It was not her main purpose.
"..."
Ace Ukiyo fell silent for a few seconds, realizing that he truly could not understand the girl before him.
But he still agreed. Without the slightest hesitation, he transferred all the cash he could access to Firefly. To Ace Ukiyo, money was truly just an external possession. If he wanted it, he could quickly earn enough again.
His mother was what he cared about most.
"If this isn't enough, I can sell the real estate under my name after some time and make up the difference."
After the transaction was complete, Ace Ukiyo added this, worried that she might not be satisfied.
"It's enough."
"Then, pleasant doing business with you."
After glancing at the transfer notification, Firefly readily handed the USB drive to Ace Ukiyo.
She had not expected him to hand over all his money.
A few million would have been enough, though she certainly did not mind getting more.
As for real estate, forget it. Too troublesome.
Creation Shrine!