Unlike the busy 'professional substitute player,' Mr. Jiang Qiao, the original owner, Ms. Firefly, continued to live a pleasant and relaxed life.
However, her journey was no longer confined solely to the Elysian Realm.
Although even the dreamlike Elysian Realm was an unattainable luxury for the Firefly of the past, people, once satisfied, always desire more, seek more. For Firefly, having tasted the sweetness of the 'dream,' what remained was a yearning for reality.
Even if this was a different world from her own, it didn't matter—or rather, for the person she used to be, the difference in environment held no real significance. After all, the Glamoth Iron Cavalry were just cheap weapons manufactured solely to exterminate the Swarm.
Wanting contact with the outside world was restricted by Entropy Loss Syndrome; even breathing fresh air was an extreme luxury for her.
But now, it was no longer so difficult. After all, in her current body, Firefly didn't feel those constraints.
It was currently summer, the air hot. Compared to the built-in 'thermostat system' inside the Firefly armor, the real environment wasn't actually that comfortable; traces of sweat even began to appear on her skin's surface.
However, for her, this experience felt more like a form of enjoyment.
"A bit hot... but... not bad..."
Closing her eyes slightly, feeling the sensations of her body merging with the natural environment, [Jiang Qiao]—Firefly—broke into a radiant smile. The sea breeze was slightly salty, carrying scents from afar.
"Mm, it really has been a long time since I felt the outside air~" A sweet, yet somewhat childish voice sounded beside her. A pink-haired, extraordinarily cute, miniature girl, dressed in Flame-Chaser attire but looking decidedly chibi, sighed with similar sentiment.
This was naturally Elysian Realm Elysia, and not just the 'Fairy Elysia' who merely held memories, but the actual Elysian Realm Elysia residing within the Realm. Klein's spare parts allowed her to appear in the outside world in this 'Mini Elysia' form.
"Although I've experienced this feeling through bad Jiang Qiao, sure enough... experiencing it firsthand is much more real," she said, her smile laced with carefree ease.
Elysian Realm Elysia certainly didn't lack experiences of the outside world. Whether through the remnants left by the original Elysia or the 'public grain' she 'extracted' from 'bad Jiang Qiao,' she had plenty of 'vicarious experiences.'
But Elysian Realm Elysia herself had never actually set foot in the real world.
What belonged to others always lacked that touch of personal reality. In the past, she clearly understood she was just a shadow left behind by Elysia, destined to remain in the past, unable to accompany others into the future.
Knowing this, Elysian Realm Elysia understood her place and never desired more.
But... ever since meeting him, Elysian Realm Elysia suddenly discovered that she, a memory construct supposedly immutable, had developed an emotion previously unknown, something that shouldn't belong to Elysia—unwillingness.
It seemed Elysia's true self had been mixed with something else, becoming less pure. Or perhaps, had it become more pure? Strange, but... not a bad thing.
Setting foot in the present world was a response to this emotion, an attempt to explore it.
"Big Sis Elysia..." Firefly began.
"Mm~ You should call me Little Sis Elysia~ After all, look how tiny I am! Calling me Big Sis looks weird, doesn't it?" Seeing 'Mini Elysia' with her hands on her hips, deliberately acting cute, the thoroughly 'influenced' Ms. Firefly corrected herself: "...Elysia, where should we go next?"
"Oh dear, why did you become more distant? Now you sound just like Mei."
"But, where to go next..." Faced with this question, Elysian Realm Elysia was also stumped. In the past, as a wanderer, she just randomly popped up all over the map. After joining the Fire Moth, it was doing missions, or failing that, hanging out with friends.
But now... after staying in the Elysian Realm for over fifty thousand years and finally coming out, even Elysian Realm Elysia was momentarily unsure about her next destination.
"How about we go find Jiang Qiao?" she suggested.
"Uh..." Firefly paused at the suggestion, hesitating briefly. Honestly, she did kind of want to go back and see.
After all... although she hadn't believed the slander from a certain Sparrow group member, Ms. Firefly was still a little concerned about what had become of her body in his hands.
However, she felt like this might be walking right into a trap. If she went looking for Jiang Qiao, they might swap bodies back... and she was still reluctant to give up this feeling of being able to touch the outside world.
But then Firefly reconsidered.
She couldn't just keep borrowing this body forever; she wasn't that kind of shameless freeloader...
Also... while this body was comfortable, ever since returning to reality, unable to maintain her form through mental projection, Firefly had to fully accept 'everything' about this body.
And for Ms. Firefly, who previously, as Glamoth Iron Cavalry, had little concept of such things, this was torment.
A boy's body... so weird!
Blushing slightly, Firefly nodded.
---||---
Traveling between worlds required the chat group. Originally, such travel should have been limited to group members.
But the chat group, though seemingly inactive, had actually been quietly updating, now filled with numerous features. For example, the once bare-bones point shop now offered many strange items.
Things like 'World Announcement,' allowing a message to be seen by everyone in a world. Things like 'Flowers,' meant to make others happy. Things like 'World Residency Change,' which, as the name implied, allowed changing one's fixed world residency.
And regarding travel, the chat group had introduced various special offers like 'Buddy Tickets' and 'Group Buy Half Price.' A standard 10-point travel ticket could be bought as a Buddy Ticket, allowing one to bring a non-group member along, with a discount of a whopping '5% off.'
Firefly: @Jiang Qiao, um, we want to visit my world.
No response for a long while.
"He didn't reply..." Firefly looked weakly at Elysian Realm Elysia.
"Then he must be busy with something, probably didn't see it. Isn't there someone else from that world in your group? You can ask her for world permission too."
"Hmm... Is Qingque from the same world as me?"
After contacting her and getting the details, Qingque, currently buried in work, replied helplessly.
Qingque: You're mistaken, you and I aren't from the same world... Well, not exactly. But that annoying guy seems to have gone to my world several decades ago, so it probably doesn't count as the same timeline. I can't give permission from here.
Yunyun: Um... If you want to travel without permission, there's actually a way. At the very bottom of the shop, there's a 'Forceful Crossing' item.
Yunyun: [Image.jpg]
Item Name: Universal Gatecrasher!
Item Description: Still worried you can't visit your desired world without a member's permission? Not 998, not 888, just 99.8 points, and you can force any unwelcoming world to open its heart (and borders) to you!
Qingque: Huh? There's an item like that?
Ms. Qingque, drowning in paperwork and likely facing a life sentence of it, saw the item Yunyun posted and her eyes widened. Damn it, why didn't I notice this thing in the group before!
If she had known earlier, couldn't she have forcefully traveled back decades ago and changed her miserable fate?
But glancing at the mountain of files before her, Qingque instantly gave up and lay flat. Damn it! Where would I find the time?!
The more she thought, the angrier she got. Gritting her teeth, Qingque suddenly had an idea. Firefly was going to that world decades ago... Her eyes lit up.
Qingque: @Firefly, please, I'm begging you! If you go to that world, please make a trip to the Xianzhou Luofu! Tell the naive me! Absolutely do NOT believe pies fall from the sky, and absolutely, positively DO NOT let anyone cover her shift!
Qingque: Ah, spit, no! Tell her to resign from the Divination Commission immediately! Don't, don't ever go down the wrong path!
Firefly: [Sweating_Nervously_Emoji.jpg]
Qingque: Sis, please!
Firefly: Alright...
Though it felt a bit strange, seeing Qingque like this, she nodded. It was just relaying a message, anyway. She was also quite curious about the Xianzhou Luofu.
---||---
A short while later, with all procedures completed, Ms. Firefly, accompanied by 'Mini Elysia,' forcefully barged into her old home world.
However, while forced crossing allowed users to enter worlds without permission, lacking permission also meant lacking specific coordinates. Unlike normal travel, they couldn't appear directly in front of a specific person, only arriving in a general vicinity.
"So this is your world." Elysian Realm Elysia looked around curiously, her eyes wide with wonder. "What a prosperous place!"
Everywhere she looked, towering skyscrapers reached for the heavens; everything seemed incredibly futuristic. Even in Elysia's past world-traveling experiences, she had never seen such a sight.
"...Hmm... I think so?" Firefly looked around, somewhat confused and uncertain. As a Glamoth Iron Cavalry, she had been rootless ever since drifting through space with her unit, simply chasing and fighting the Swarm.
This led to her feeling completely unfamiliar with such a thriving place.
Making matters worse, she was currently using Jiang Qiao's body. Without her Firefly armor, she couldn't use its various systems to determine her location.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "That's!"
Firefly stared intently at a silver figure standing guard not far away, her face filled with joy. Isn't that my Firefly armor?!
Wait a moment...
"This armor..." She felt something was off. As Glamoth Iron Cavalry, every soldier cherished and knew their Firefly armor intimately—it was their weapon, and in a way, their 'home.'
But that Firefly armor... for some reason, lacked all the familiar details, looking brand new, fresh off the factory line.
"Maybe he polished it?" Though feeling something wasn't quite right, Firefly subconsciously explained it away. After all, she knew she was the last Glamoth Iron Cavalry.
That essentially meant her Firefly IV Assault Armor was the only one left. It couldn't possibly have just popped out of thin air, right?
Therefore, Firefly concluded Jiang Qiao must have meticulously maintained the armor while using her body, causing this change. Not dwelling on it, she rushed over, excited, calling out with a wide smile, "Jiang Qiao..."
"Hm?"
A familiar mechanical voice responded. The Firefly IV Assault Armor turned, looking strangely at Firefly, who wore [Jiang Qiao]'s appearance.
Elysian Realm Elysia, who had followed, also smiled. Hehe, surprised ya, didn't we!
Then... the armor seemed to be confirming something, while Firefly and Elysian Realm Elysia waited for a response.
The next moment...
"Detected two stowaways entering Imperial territory without permission."
The cold mechanical voice rang out, instantly stunning the two expectant girls.
"Eh?"
"Eh? Eh? Eh?" Elysian Realm Elysia looked utterly incredulous, then put her hands on her hips, protesting indignantly, "Hey! I'm Elysia! Elysia! I might be a bit small, but there's no way you don't recognize me, right? If you say you don't recognize me, I'll get angry!"
"Pretending not to recognize someone isn't fun at all!"
"Elysia? Never heard the name."
"Illegal stowaways, cease resistance. No one will get hurt. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee your safety."
A massive metal fist pointed directly at the two, accompanied by the cold, synthesized mechanical voice. The chilling tone instantly told the battle-hardened Firefly that this unit was serious!
Ms. Firefly's face was a canvas of question marks; she couldn't understand the situation at all. She subconsciously wanted to fight back, or perhaps grab Elysian Realm Elysia and run.
But after the Firefly armor's undisguised declaration of 'illegal stowaways' rang out, it was like kicking a hornet's nest. It instantly drew the attention of everyone nearby, including machines. They stopped whatever they were doing and slowly converged on their location.
"You two are under arrest!"
And so, completely bewildered and utterly clueless as to why, Ms. [Jiang Qiao]-Firefly and Ms. Elysian Realm Elysia, found themselves handcuffed by patrolling Glamoth Iron Cavalry, destined to sing the jailhouse blues.