Starting with Firefly, Speedrunning the World — Part 24

The Gaze of 0.o

Firefly hurriedly rubbed her cheeks and looked over the results of this ten-pull. They seemed pretty decent this time.

Much better than those useless gold-rarity items.

The points hadn't been wasted this time. Nice and easy.

[(Purple) Light Cone Concert for Two]

[(Blue) Jingliu's Blindfold]

[(Blue) Ever-Talking Parchment "Fragment"]

[(Blue) A Small Bottle Containing Bailu's Saliva]

[(Blue) One of Silver Wolf's Game Accounts]

[(Blue) Uncertainty Casket "Fragment"]

[(Purple) Embark on the Path]

[(Blue) Seele's Scarf]

[(Purple) The Gaze of 0.o]

[(Blue) Acheron's Umbrella]

"Light Cone, Path, Nihility..."

"And Curios."

There was quite a lot included, and they were all pretty good things. They just didn't seem particularly suitable for her.

That purple Light Cone would be better suited to Robin.

She could use it as well, of course. This wasn't a game, and even in a game, it wasn't completely unusable—just not the best fit.

Reality was the same. It simply wouldn't feel as natural in her hands.

As for the others...

[Embark on the Path]

Description: Designate one person to embark upon the Path, allowing the target to awaken to the Path most suited to them and become a Pathstrider.

Note: Based on the potential awakened when embarking upon the Path, the target can obtain power up to the level of an Emanator.

This seemed extremely useful. Many people possessed determination and achievements no less impressive than anyone in Honkai: Star Rail, or even the Aeons themselves, but because this world lacked the rules of the Paths, it was all meaningless.

But with this item, things would be different.

If it were in Honkai Impact 3rd, and she designated Kevin or Elysia, there was no doubt they would embark upon their respective Paths and directly gain Emanator-level power.

If this thing hadn't merely been purple rarity, with its limit set at Emanator level, they might even have become the Aeon of their respective Path in one go.

In short, it was a good item, no worse than the gold-rarity items from before.

Sure enough, you couldn't judge these pulls by rarity alone. The important thing was still their effects and uses.

Then there was the final purple-rarity item, [The Gaze of 0.o].

Description: The Nihility Aeon 0.o is watching you. You are destined to embark upon the Path of Nihility, walking ever farther down the road to self-annihilation, unable to turn back.

"0.o...?"

"Uh..."

Though the mismatched eyes were cute, this item was a little too extreme. Being watched by an Aeon was not necessarily a good thing, especially when it was IX, the Aeon of Nihility.

IX was already an anomaly among Aeons. They did not interact with other Aeons and firmly believed that the essence of the multiverse was nihilism, making existence utterly meaningless.

The moment you embarked upon Nihility, perhaps your ending had already been decided.

This item couldn't be used carelessly either.

Aside from those three purple items, the blue-rarity items also included many more useful things this time. They were no longer so worthless.

There were even some strange Curios among them, though Firefly basically had no use for them.

After organizing her newly acquired items, Firefly put them away. They might come in handy someday, after all. So no matter the rarity, she had never thrown anything away.

Besides, they could be stored in the system's built-in space, where they took up no room at all.

Once she had finished dealing with them, Firefly resumed her work. She still had to make money.

She didn't know how much time had passed before the door was pushed open and a familiar voice came from outside.

"I'm back."

It was Kurama Neon, though she didn't sound very happy. She seemed troubled.

"Welcome back, Neon."

Firefly closed the webpage on her computer, stood up, and responded to her. The concerned look on her face made her seem exactly like a little girlfriend waiting at home for someone important.

Noticing that Kurama Neon's expression was off, Firefly poured her a glass of water and carefully asked, "Neon, what's wrong? Did something upsetting happen?"

"Nothing."

Kurama Neon did not want her worries to affect the adorable Firefly, so she shook her head.

She had been happy after checking her fans' comments once she finished recording today's video, but then... her mother had demanded in the comments that she return immediately.

It was not as though she completely disliked her parents.

It was just... this was not the kind of love she wanted, nor was it the kind of happiness she wanted.

She often wondered whether her mother would not treat her this way if she were not the daughter of the Kurama Family, but simply from an ordinary household.

She could not even remember the last time she had gone shopping with her mother.

When had things become like this?

In short, she was troubled. She could not bring herself to completely cut ties with her family and stop caring about her parents, yet she did not want to go back to how things used to be.

She had the right to pursue her own happiness too.

"Didn't we say we were going to the mall? It's getting late."

Seeing that Kurama Neon did not want to say more, Firefly thoughtfully refrained from pressing her and changed the subject.

Firefly's tone was also very gentle, soothing the sadness in the listener's heart.

"Firefly-chan is right."

"Then, let's head out now!"

Kurama Neon grabbed both of Firefly's hands, no longer thinking about the things troubling her. At least, she should not think about them at this moment.

Having Firefly-chan by her side was already enough to make her happy. At the very least, Firefly sincerely cared about her.

Firefly was also her only friend—her most sincere friend.

"Okay."

At that, Firefly smiled at her.

The two left the room together and boarded a nearby train.

In this area, trains were undoubtedly the most convenient and popular means of transportation. The alternatives were either expensive or far slower than trains.

After so many years of development, the railway network had reached every corner.

Especially in this international metropolis—Tokyo.

There were quite a few people on the train. Just as Firefly was about to move, Kurama Neon pulled her into a corner and shielded her inside like an older sister.

It was hard to know what to say about that!

However, in this day and age, those "delightful" incidents that happened on trains were practically impossible.

Japanese law was especially strict in punishing such matters. No one would gamble away the rest of their life over it.

"I thought a rich young lady like you wouldn't take the train."

Firefly looked over Kurama Neon before her. For this outing, Neon had changed into an extravagant and fashionable outfit.

It was completely different from Firefly's style.

When Firefly first saw her after she changed clothes, she had been somewhat surprised.

Despite being the daughter of a conglomerate, Kurama Neon never acted high and mighty. Instead, she was much like an ordinary girl.

Sometimes, it was easy to forget that she was the young lady of the Kurama Conglomerate, capable of directly ordering around Tokyo's officials.

Shopping with Neon

Even though the Kurama Conglomerate could directly command Tokyo's officials only because its president was a sponsor of the Desire Grand Prix.

Before the DGP's operations, even Japan's officials did not dare show the slightest resistance and could only cooperate unconditionally.

But for that very reason, once the DGP organizers withdrew from this world and other Jamato began affecting public safety, Tokyo's officials immediately made Kurama Kosei, the conglomerate's president, the scapegoat.

"Do you really think I'm that kind of flashy rich young lady? Besides, Firefly-chan, I'm running away from home right now, so naturally I need to save wherever I can."

Kurama Neon answered as though it were only natural.

Her mother had already frozen her bank card. She had anticipated it long ago, so she had prepared plenty of pocket money and valuable accessories.

But if she did not restrain herself, she would soon spend everything. More importantly, she was not someone who could not endure hardship!

"That's not what I meant."

Firefly hurriedly waved her hands. She wanted to say something more, but hesitated and gave up, instead asking about their destination.