Under Topaz's numb, toothache-stricken gaze, Asta—having had a thoroughly good time—hummed a tune and skipped lightly over to Stelle and Silver Wolf.
"Congratulations on passing the trial!"
Asta's smile was radiant as she handed over two Herta badges in a purple-and-black color scheme—symbols of Herta Space Station's highest recognition—one to each of the two victors.
"Thanks."
One badge dropped into the hands of Stelle·I-Didn't-Cheat·Core Sprite.
The other was caught steadily by the Wolf King.
"Only true masters can earn Madam Herta's recognition, you know."
Asta winked mischievously:
"You two are only the third and fourth people ever to get one!"
By the way, the first two to tuck this precious badge into their pockets were none other than Battle-Through-the-Heavens Caelus and Haxxor Bunny.
As for the other, ordinary contestants?
Even if you fielded a top-tier lineup of all Overlord-class Aether Spirits, in front of the pink little rich girl's swarm deck—an experimental product of Madam Ruan Mei—so long as your rate of exterminating the bugs couldn't keep pace with the swarm's breeding rate, you were ultimately doomed to be utterly drowned beneath an endless, kaleidoscopic sea of bugs.
Of course, the kind of expert who could force young Miss Asta to abandon her elegant aesthetics and break out this swarm tactic—one so out of character, even a little damaging to her image—was itself exceedingly rare.
On Aether Front's player forums, Herta Space Station had long been marked a blood-red high-danger zone, with a consensus reached:
This was the ultimate trial ground that only elite players and achievement-hunting maniacs dared to challenge!
Ordinary players?
Just come here and obediently collect a few of the specialty Aether Spirits. As for that Herta badge, symbol of the station's highest honor?
Why go looking for a beating?
Asta was rather satisfied with this.
This was befitting of Madam Herta's status, after all~
Having successfully claimed the badge, Stelle chatted briefly with Asta and Topaz, then trotted off to Herta's office to see if there was anything novel worth "developing" (read: swiping).
Unfortunately, Herta herself was immersed in the data and projects Bronita had brought over, too busy to spare even a single glance for the Stellaron spirit.
Stelle wasn't bothered, though—she simply turned and strolled off to Ruan Mei's laboratory.
Blissfully, she listened for a few moments as the Jiangnan-graceful, qipao-clad big sister called her an intimate "darling~" in that cool yet bone-meltingly tender voice.
Ruan Mei naturally knew the secret that Stelle and Caelus were essentially one and the same.
It's just...
this delightful special treatment didn't last long before Ruan Mei would naturally steer the conversation toward Caelus-cub.
Stelle felt her cheeks flush a little; her nose really ought to have a red ball fitted to it.
It wasn't that Ruan Mei treated her badly—to be addressed so intimately by this mad genius of a scientist, Stelle was probably the second being in the entire universe to hold such an honor—but Ruan Mei was clearly more interested in Caelus-cub.
Stelle felt a bit indignant. The indignation lasted three minutes before it popped like a punctured bubble.
Hmph, whatever, whatever!
Why compete with her own cub?
After all, Caelus-cub was her—so even if big sister Ruan Mei wanted to deeply explore the mysteries of the universe and the true meaning of life with Caelus-cub, even personally practice-research certain subjects of grand vital harmony, she'd have a share in that too!
Forget being jealous—Stelle had already thought up how to help Caelus-cub set up the assist afterward.
This was, after all, "herself"!
Soon Stelle's attention was captured by a soft, squishy, bouncy Cat Cake that gave off an alluring aroma and looked strikingly like a mini trash can. Sensing Stelle's gaze, the Cat Cake began pacing on its little short legs, trying to slip away.
"Little~ ba~ by~~~"
Stelle's eyes instantly turned into stars, and a nearly obsessive purr rose from her throat.
She dropped onto all fours, using hands and feet together like some deep-sea creature whose joints could invert 360 degrees, and in a twisted yet abnormally swift posture, she went whoosh—lunging straight at that panic-stricken trash-can Cat Cake!
"You can't get away~~~"
Stelle's voice carried a hair-raising fervor as she crawled at high speed in pursuit, pressing her face close to the trembling little wretch and taking a huge sniff:
"So cute—you were born to be eaten up by mama~ Resist?"
She giggled, her tone abruptly dropping low and dangerous:
"Resistance is futile~!"
The trash-can Cat Cake was so frightened its little short legs churned even faster.
"Run~ run to your heart's content!"
Stelle shadowed it from behind, her twisted crawling posture like a scene straight out of a horror film, yet her face beamed with a perverse, feverish blush:
"If mama catches you... heh heh heh~ I'll 'heh heh heh' you right up~~~"
It fled; she chased.
It couldn't escape even if it sprouted wings.
In the end, Stelle caught the trash-can Cat Cake at the Cat Cakes' gathering spot.
There she saw over twenty Cat Cakes of varying shapes and flavors clustered together, and the one they all surrounded in the center had a golden crispy shell with a white filling, decorated with iris flowers on its crust—it looked especially refined and gorgeous.
The blond, iris-flower Cat Cake slowly swayed its cute little tail, seemingly in the middle of a speech—and, astonishingly, Stelle could actually understand what it was saying.
"Meow~~ You truly no longer have Ruan Mei, but you still have me. I can absolutely become the guiding leader of your Cat lives, can't I?"
Gazing at this Cat Cake, Stelle suddenly stopped kneading the trash-can Cat Cake:
For some reason she didn't understand, she really wanted to gift-wrap this Cat Cake and send it to Uncle Yang.
"I feel like Uncle Yang would definitely love it. Decided—after the Championship Tournament's over, I'll haul it back to Uncle Yang!"
Cradling the trash-can Cat Cake, Stelle had just stepped out of the Cat Cake gathering spot when she caught sight of a familiar figure.
Silver Wolf stood with her arms crossed, leaning lazily against the wall at an angle, her eyes fixed on Stelle.
"Yo, auntie?"
Stelle blinked, her tone a touch teasing:
"How are you still here—haven't left yet?"
Silver Wolf's brow twitched flat once as she suppressed the urge to snark: "Waiting for you, obviously."
Setting aside the matter of the title—whatever absurd names these two abstract goofballs called her, she seemed able to accept them all and couldn't be bothered to correct them.
"That lump in your arms... what is it?"
Silver Wolf was drawn to the oddly shaped Cat Cake in Stelle's arms:
"I gotta say, this little thing is ugly-cute."
"Ruan Mei's experimental creation—a Cat Cake."
Stelle gave a simple introduction.
"Let me hold it!"
Silver Wolf's interest was piqued, and she reached out her hands.
Stelle handed the Cat Cake over, while at the same time putting on a stern face and gravely warning:
"Here—be careful, some of Ruan Mei's creations are downright dangerous."
"I just ran into a super aggressive one!"
Stelle added, still shaken.
"Aggressive? These things?"
Silver Wolf cupped the soft little creature and poked its bouncy cheek with a finger, disbelief written all over her face:
"How could it possibly attack? Gnaw with its teeth? Scratch with its claws?"
"Bite people? For that kind, I'd just treat it to some free dragon fruit with a bat. No—it attacks in another, far more vicious way."
"Just now, one Cat Cake glared at me and cursed, 'Next time you pull a gacha, you'll hit the 179-pull hard pity!'"
Stelle's voice was actually trembling:
"...And it! Came! True!"
"Holy crap!"
Silver Wolf was so startled she nearly flung the Cat Cake in her hands straight out:
"That terrifying?"
"Mm!"
Stelle nodded solemnly, resentment toward the hard-pity Cat Cake still lingering on her face:
"So, auntie—you waited specially for me. Is there something you need?"
"..."
The leaping thoughts and conversation left Silver Wolf's mouth hanging open; she froze for a solid two seconds before recovering her train of thought. She stuffed the trash-can Cat Cake back into Stelle's arms, cleared her throat, and said seriously:
"Ahem, there's something I want to ask you."
"Do you know 'Haxxor Bunny'?"
Silver Wolf got straight to the point.
"Haxxor Bunny?"
Stelle tilted her head, her tone matter-of-fact:
"Yeah, I know her—it's Bronie."
"You know her?!"
Silver Wolf's brows instantly knitted tight.
"Of course I know her."
Stelle held the Cat Cake, her tone as casual as if discussing the weather.
"Not just know her—she's actually a new member of our Express crew now."
"Wha—at?!"
Silver Wolf's pupils abruptly contracted, her whole body as if struck by a high-voltage current. The brow that had merely been furrowed a moment ago now nearly twisted into a single knot.
That rabbit!
She actually—she really—joined the Astral Express!
Doesn't that mean... she gets to be with Seele day and night, morning to night?!
The pavilion nearest the water gets the moonlight first?!
No way!
This absolutely would not do!
A tremendous sense of crisis mixed with fierce competitiveness ignited within Silver Wolf in an instant. Her hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and through gritted teeth she squeezed out a resolute declaration:
"I have to come out swinging with heavy fists!"
"Hm?"
Stelle, holding the Cat Cake, wore a blank expression, clearly failing to follow Silver Wolf's sudden logic of war.
"Where is she right now?"
Silver Wolf ignored Stelle's confusion, her tone grave, carrying the urgency of a hunter tracking prey.
"I'll ask."
Stelle pulled out her phone, preparing to message Bronie.
Silver Wolf rose onto her tiptoes, tilting her little head swiftly and precisely to lock her gaze onto the Haxxor Bunny contact ID displayed on Stelle's screen.
"Hmph!"
Silver Wolf sneered inwardly, and almost in the very instant she made out the ID, her hands were already slicing swiftly through empty air.
A holographic operation interface unfurled in an instant, her slender fingers trailing afterimages across the virtual keyboard—her goal clear: to hack directly into Haxxor Bunny's account.
Bam!
As expected, a sturdy data firewall popped up instantly, the ghostly blue barrier flickering with warning runes.
This reaction was within Silver Wolf's expectations—the opponent was a hacker; it'd be strange if her account protection were lax. But it wouldn't stump her!
However, the cracking technique Silver Wolf was about to deploy came to an abrupt halt, her expression betraying shock and bewilderment.
This defensive architecture...
The nested logic of the core encryption protocol...
And that dynamic honeypot algorithm used to lure intruders...
Why... did it look so familiar!?
A powerful sense of déjà vu slammed into Silver Wolf—this exquisite, distinctive style was practically like... like one she'd made herself before.
An utterly absurd notion surged up beyond her control:
Had that rabbit cracked her own firewall and stolen techniques right off of her?
No freakin' way!?
If she had the ability to crack it, then she should have the ability to optimize it.
Yet the firewall before her—while some parts were indeed different from the one she'd designed—had a main framework and core algorithm for its protection system that were roughly the same.
It was as if someone had learned the essence and then adapted it to their own style.
What was going on here?
"Bronie's about to finish collecting all the badges too. After that she'll head back to Jarilo-VI."
Stelle informed Silver Wolf of Miss Haxxor Bunny's whereabouts, having no idea that when Haxxor Bunny was "learning" Aether Editing and hacking techniques from Caelus—
every single time, Caelus would, with utter smoothness and zero psychological burden, pass the problems on to the true expert—Silver Wolf herself.
In a sense, it really was Silver Wolf who had been remotely tutoring this potential "romantic rival" all along—she just happened to have no clue about it herself.
"Auntie, was this you?"
Stelle suddenly thrust the phone up in front of her, leaving Silver Wolf baffled—until she saw the notice on the screen.
"Holy↓ craaap↓!"
A tone signifying pure indignation.
...
"Invincibility~ is so very~ very lonely~"
Caelus's waist twisted like liquid as he kicked and hopped through a demonic dance, humming an off-key but supremely commanding BGM.
In the room, a broadcast echoed:
"Welcome to the Interastral Peace Express·Aether Front Special Report. Good evening, dear viewers."
"After thirteen standard calendar cycles of intense preparation, the 'Interastral Showdown Gala'—which has recently ignited the attention of the entire universe—is about to hold its grand opening on Jarilo-VI!"
"Currently, the star region where Jarilo-VI is located has activated the highest level of transit control. The organizers offer a warm reminder: non-participating contestants and non-essential personnel are requested to refrain from traveling to that star region for now, to avoid causing congestion or safety risks."
"Next, we bring you several pieces of tournament-related news:"
"One: The Aether Front Official Operations Center has issued a notice: recently, some participating Aether Spirit information was found to have abnormal entries or missing data. The officials express deep apologies for this and state they do not rule out the possibility of technical malfunction or rule-violating operations... Stellaron Hunter Silver Wolf has claimed responsibility for this incident."
"Two: Regarding the matter of numerous players filing real-name reports against the contestants 'Battle-Through-the-Heavens Caelus,' 'Haxxor Bunny,' 'Stelle·I-Didn't-Cheat·Core Sprite,' and 'Wolf King' for suspected rule violations and demanding their disqualification. After strict verification, the Competition Arbitration Committee has officially responded: upon investigation, the above contestants' participation procedures and Aether Spirit registration information all comply with current rules, and their eligibility is retained."
"Three: Concerning the widespread controversy over whether contestants using Guardian-class Aether Spirits is compliant. The organizers reiterate their rules stance: on a moral level, we do not encourage the use of over-spec Aether Spirits that may disrupt combat balance, but on a practical level, tournament rules cannot forbid contestants from using any Aether Spirit they legally own."
"Four: Regarding the questions of public concern—'Can Guardian-class Aether Spirits be captured?' and 'Why has no past event database ever recorded the Guardian-class Aether Spirit information held by contestants Battle-Through-the-Heavens Caelus and Stelle·I-Didn't-Cheat·Core Sprite?'... Stellaron Hunter Silver Wolf once again claims responsibility for this."
"Five: ..."
Clunk!
Caelus pressed down the button, switching off the radio that was broadcasting the news.
He looked toward Topaz across from him, who had returned from Herta Space Station to take part in the finals, his smile sunny:
"Does Silver Wolf know she did all these things?"
"Who knows?"
Topaz cradled Numby:
"The IPC just wants a scapegoat, and Silver Wolf fits the bill perfectly—after all, she really did hack into the IPC's game database a while back."
Caelus blinked.
The business of recovering the account... well then!
This time Silver Wolf really was like mud falling into your crotch—if it wasn't crap, it was crap all the same!
"I think I've figured it out—every single one of you is packing some secret skill~"
Topaz crossed her full, shapely legs as she looked at Caelus, applauding in praise.
One after another, they were either cheating, or the organizers couldn't even figure out what was going on.
Haxxor Bunny and Silver Wolf really were cheating, but surely the IPC couldn't just say that because the underlying technology was Aether Replication, there was no way to stop them at all, right?
As for banning the accounts?
That, at least, was doable.
But the opponents were two super hackers—what if the IPC banned them and they just unbanned themselves?
If other players saw that, wouldn't the IPC lose all face?
Anyway, with Star Rail around, even two cheaters might not necessarily take the championship.
So they might as well just leave it alone.
____
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉