Warfare Augmented Intelligent Frame Unit

Chapter 101 - Star Catcher

Chapter 101 - Star Catcher

After thirty minutes of relentless grappling hook drills—each swing a blur of motion and mechanical hiss—Professor Bao finally lifted her megaphone to her lips, her voice booming across the rooftop training ground like a judge delivering a sentence.

"Listen up, WAIFUs and support units! Our practical exam today is called Starcatcher!" With a few deft taps on her tablet, a cascade of shimmering holographic stars blinked into existence above the surrounding skyline, like constellations reborn over an urban jungle.

"For this exam," she continued, pacing with the gravity of a field commander, "you will use your grappling hooks to traverse the cityscape and collect those stars. Yellow stars are worth five points. Blinking red ones? Ten. First to a perfect hundred ends the practical exam. WAIFUs, to the red line. Wait for the whistle."

The Frame Units snapped into formation, boots clanking as they lined up behind the red boundary, the late afternoon sun gleaming off their polished armor plates.

Fei's Frame Unit turned its head toward me. The gesture was subtle—barely a tilt—but unmistakable. She wanted to say something. Maybe apologize. Maybe explain. But I looked away. 

"On your marks..." Professor Bao raised her arm like a referee ready to drop the flag. "Get set... Go!"

The whistle shrieked through the air. Grappling hooks fired in unison, a storm of cables and hissing recoil. Frame Units zipped off like mechanized spiders, scaling walls and flinging themselves through the sky. Meanwhile, the support units shouted strategies and directions, voices overlapping in a tangled chorus through the comms. The [Minimap] flickered with moving dots—WAIFUs in motion, stars blinking as they were claimed.

I stood still, hands by my side, eyes trained only on one dot—Fei's. I said nothing. Offered no guidance. No backup. I wasn't here to help her—I was here to watch her. After all, if the rumors were true—if Fei really was the Red Meteor, the rogue killer of KAWAII WAIFUs—I needed to see her raw, unfiltered performance. No training wheels. No distractions.

She was lagging behind. Her movements were clean but hesitant, like someone calculating every step to avoid missteps. In contrast, Myrrh surged ahead like a white comet—two yellow stars snagged with two effortless swings. Cindy followed close behind, her trajectory bold and aggressive. Then came Trish, weaving between buildings with razor precision.

And Fei? She remained in the rear, her path shadowed by hesitation... or something else entirely.

Fei zipped through the air, her grappling hook propelling her toward the nearest skyscraper like a bullet on a string. Just a few meters ahead, a glowing yellow star pulsed softly near the top ledge—within reach. Her hand stretched out, fingers just about to graze the holographic light—

But then, with the grace and brute force of a jungle predator, Cindy came swinging in on her own cable, hollering like a wild gorilla. She snatched the star right from under Fei's fingertips, landing with a cocky skid and a triumphant grin.

"Haha! Better luck next time, Fei!" Cindy laughed, her voice echoing through the urban maze.

"Cindy!" Fei cried out, her voice high and exasperated. But rather than sulk, she shook it off and scanned the skyline, her gaze sharp and searching.

Moments later, her eyes locked onto something—just above the next building's antenna, a blinking red star shimmered like a ruby signal flare. "Oh! That's the special star! I will—"

Before she could finish, a white and gold blur streaked through the air.

Myrrh.

In one swift motion, Myrrh swung past Fei like a comet, caught the blinking red star mid-flight, and sailed onward, her skirt fluttering in the wind.