"Herta, you absolute bleep! She wiped all my game accounts!"
Silver Wolf's fingers danced furiously across the holographic keyboard, but with Herta's systems fully restored, all her backdoors had been sealed. For Firefly's love, she'd sacrificed too much. At least the girl hadn't ignited the ship's core in her emotional outburst.
The radar blipped with increasing enemy signatures. Silver Wolf clicked her tongue. Normally, she'd relish tangling with the Antimatter Legion. But now...
She wouldn't put it past Herta to have tipped off the IPC. Lingering meant risking planetary bombardment.
The seat beside her shifted. Firefly's eyes refocused, glowing with an unfamiliar softness. Silver Wolf did a double take. Since when does Sam smile like that?!
"Good chat?"
"Yes. Thank you, Silver Wolf."
Firefly gazed at her ring, joy radiating so brightly even a blind man could see it.
"Ah, young love."
"Ah, little boyfriend."
Silver Wolf sighed deeply. How could romance compare to gaming? At least games never betrayed you!
Her lament over lost accounts almost made her compose an elegy titled "I Mourn the Departed".
"Let's wrap this up," Firefly said, detaching her transformation device.
"Wait, you can't—"
"I shall ignite the sea!"
Before Silver Wolf could stop her, azure flames engulfed the ship's rear. Sam's movements carried unprecedented vigor as she carved through the Legion like a comet.
"Back to base?"
"Not going to your boyfriend?"
"We can text." The flames dissipated, revealing Firefly's starry-eyed expression as she stared at a new friend request notification.
The name read: Anming.
Silver Wolf pinched her nose. "Tell me you're not a love-struck fool."
"I'm perfectly rational."
"Uh-huh."
Silver Wolf failed to see rationality in Firefly's dreamy smiles and constant ring-gazing.
Love was terrifying.
Lovesick girls? Even worse.
...
"March, it hurts."
"I know. My heart hurts more."
March 7th and Stelle spied on the unfolding drama from a hidden corner. Despite her claims of indifference, Stelle's wide eyes betrayed intense interest.
"Cybergirlfriend? Was Anming telling the truth..." March blinked. Did dreams really deliver girlfriends now?
"As a love expert, I declare this true love spanning millennia!"
"Too many sci-fi romances, huh?"
March rolled her eyes. At this rate, Stelle would usurp her role as the Express's chief snarker!
"Look, Anming's crying again." Stelle elbowed March.
"Hmm..."
March pondered before gasping. "Last time was widower tears. This must be wife resurrection tears!"
Stelle blinked. Resurrection seemed too casual without dramatic chants like "Return to me, my ()"
Anming kept his eyes closed, basking in phantom warmth.
Though the kiss was virtual, the love was real.
In that moment, all doubts dissolved. No explanations needed. Their eyes conveyed everything.
They were each other's universe, hearts eternally synchronized.
The station's unstable signal—or Herta's countermeasures—caused Firefly's projection to glitch violently before vanishing.
Where she stood, a small holographic doodle remained: a chibi Silver Wolf pointing at a string of digits.
Anming instantly recognized it as Firefly's contact ID. He input the numbers, sending a friend request to the firefly avatar.
Instant acceptance.
A Pom-Pom heart emoji appeared.
Wait... were Pom-Pom stickers universal?
Anming replied with a Pom-Pom thumbs-up, his lips curling into an unconscious smile.
Nearby, March and Stelle gaped.
"Is this what cyber love does to men?" March whispered. "Terrifying..."
Stelle sighed. "Why don't I have mom's contact?"
"That's even more dangerous!"
March glared. With Stelle's naivety, Kafka would swindle the Express's secrets in minutes!
"Stay away from dangerous women!"
"Mom wouldn't trick me!"
Stelle pouted, clearly unconvinced.
"Ladies," Himeko's voice made them jump, "save the chatter for the Express. We're departing soon."
March chuckled nervously. "Right! I'll fetch Anming!"
Stelle nodded eagerly. "Me too!"
They charged toward Anming like warriors facing Lu Bu. Himeko sighed.