"Ladies and gentlemen, my dear audience!"
The host, dressed in a crisply pressed IPC uniform, stood atop a small airship commentary platform hovering in midair, straining his voice hoarse in an attempt to ignite the atmosphere:
"After contestant Luka's two rounds of… uh, extremely valiant offense, contestant Haxxor Bunny's mysterious Aether Spirit has finally finished charging!"
He forced his voice higher, trying to conjure the tension of a climactic showdown, but the reality was…
On the main stage, that colossal mechanical behemoth known as Crusher Bunny 19C merely, and rather symbolically—with a hint of utter boredom—leaped high into the air, then came crashing back down.
KA-BOOM——!
Smoke and dust billowed everywhere, and the alloy stage floor groaned under the unbearable strain.
When the dust settled a little, all that remained where Luka's once-imposing Aether Spirit lineup had stood were a few pitifully scattered, flattened mechanical fragments, crackling with electric sparks.
"Contestant Luka… has been eliminated!"
The host's announcement carried a touch of awkwardness.
An instant kill.
And a crushing, utterly one-sided instant kill at that.
There wasn't a single clap from the stands—only bewilderment and shocked expressions of 'That's it?', so close to shouting 'WTF, give us our money back!'
The host wiped away a nonexistent bead of cold sweat.
This mood… simply couldn't be roused!"
In the center of the stage, Miss Haxxor Bunny strode off with a brisk, dashing gait, leisurely and at ease, utterly indifferent to the surrounding gazes—shocked, or puzzled, or 'that cheat is way too damn blatant, holy crap!'
"Aether Spirits are creatures a player has encountered, stored via Aether Printing technology."
Facing the cutely blinking indigo-blue girl and everyone in the contestants' lounge, Haxxor Bunny put on a serious face, as though emphasizing the rigor of her logic:
"So then—I, as a traveler from a parallel world, bring out an Aether Spirit that the people of this world have never laid eyes on…"
She spread her hands, expression innocent yet matter-of-fact:
"That's perfectly reasonable, isn't it?"
Haxxor Bunny flicked the Aether Coin in her hand, her tone becoming as smooth and eloquent as a museum docent's:
"It was once a forbidden alien creature imprisoned in the underground space of Shencheng Tech. No one knew where it came from. A pyramid-shaped structure towered at the center of Arc City, and atop it a shattered, broken sun—that was the Shadow of the Broken Sun—the Broken Sun Bunny, though I'm used to calling it the Crushing Bone Bunny."
"Oh! So that's how it is!"
Seele's expression was pure and guileless, her hands clasped together at her chest, her sea-deep eyes brimming with longing and adoration.
That little-fangirl pose went straight to Haxxor Bunny's head!"
"I'm a fictional historian, and this is fiction-crafted history."
After hearing this elaborate, self-important backstory, Caelus very cooperatively nodded vigorously, offering his highest affirmation.
If this thing had appeared in Arc City, that tiny run-down town, along with its pitiful little foundations, would've been gnawed away until not even scraps remained!
It was obviously a super-broken monster she'd sculpted herself by cheating with Aether Editing, yet she insisted on putting on airs and spinning stories in front of Seele.
"Heh, now that really is 'legit.'"
Silver Wolf's tone dripped with sarcasm.
Fooling little Jié is one thing, but don't go fooling yourself!
Did she really think I couldn't tell that was a thing sculpted by cheating with Aether Editing?
Silver Wolf was about to mercilessly expose the true nature of Haxxor Bunny's cheat-made creation right in front of Seele, and viciously crush her arrogance!
However, the venue's broadcast opportunely rang out once more.
"Ahem! That last duel was truly… uh, one-of-a-kind!"
Standing on the airship, the host worked hard to stir up the atmosphere that had gone somewhat cold after the instant kill, against his conscience upholding his professional standards with forced praise:
"Next, let us welcome another highly anticipated marquee battle!"
"About to take the stage is another legendary contestant who has never tasted defeat—the Wolf King! And her opponent is a sword prodigy from the Xianzhou Alliance, famed from a young age—Yanqing!"
"Silver Wolf jiejie~ good luck~!"
Seele, of course, would never forget her beloved Silver Wolf jiejie~
That soft, sweet cheer was like a heavenly melody. She waved her little fists, her indigo-blue eyes full of trust and anticipation.
That single cheer instantly injected boundless energy into Silver Wolf. She shot Haxxor Bunny a provocative look, thrust out her ever-so-slightly curved chest, and strode onto the main stage head held high.
"Watch closely, bunny! This is what real strength looks like!"
Now it's my turn to show off in front of Seele!
On the stage, the pale-golden-haired youth—clad in bronze-adorned armor and a light robe patterned with clouds and bamboo—was surveying his surroundings, gripping his blade and fixing his gaze firmly upon that long flight of steps.
"Kid."
Silver Wolf executed an extremely stylish Quantum flicker, her figure appearing at the center of the stage, arms folded across her chest:
"This is the Aether Front, not the Forbidden Court of Madness. Did you wander into the wrong place?"
"My apologies."
Yanqing cupped his fists in a standard Xianzhou salute, very courteous:
"Yanqing enters this competition solely to seek out and cross swords with humanoid or alien Aether Spirits of superb swordsmanship, to refine my Way of the Sword."
"You, it seems, specialize in mechanical constructs. The two of us may simply battle as normal."
As everyone knows, Yanqing only fights peak-tier matches!
"What are you getting at? Looking down on mechanical types?"
Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow.
As a veteran mecha connoisseur, Silver Wolf declared she'd stan the mechanical type to the end.
"Who says a machine can't use a sword?"
Silver Wolf dug at her ear, then flicked out an Aether Coin. She gave a crisp shout, as if summoning a divine weapon:
"Sword——come!"
Aether data projected forth, and a humanoid mecha—streamlined, painted in silver-white, its design the epitome of cool and precise beauty, of normal build—coalesced into form amid firefly-light.
In the mecha's hands were gripped, plain to see, two flame-blades dancing with jade-green firefly glow.
"W-wife?"
Caelus gazed at that familiar-yet-unfamiliar mecha and rose to his feet.
Though he'd never played Penacony's storyline, through countless fan-made videos he'd been spammed and brainwashed by the mecha girl Firefly—possessing the invincible attribute of a heaven-sent childhood sweetheart.
Damn!
That Silver Wolf gal got hold of Sam's data?
And it's a freaking enhanced version at that!
"What a badass mecha!"
Stelle watched with sparkling eyes, unable to hold back her admiration.
At the same time, the stands instantly erupted into an uproar.
"Holy crap! What kind of Aether Spirit is this now!?"
"Wait! That mecha… that flame… it's Sam! Sam of the Stellaron Hunters!"
"It's confirmed! I said 'Wolf King' had to be Silver Wolf of the Stellaron Hunters!"
"5.2 billion credits, brothers! Anyone forming a team to go catch her?!"
"…Brother, don't splatter your blood on me."
Regarding Silver Wolf's near-open-hand identity, the organizers said—there was truly nothing they could do!
Ban her account and she cracked it back in a second; revoke her qualification and she re-added it in a second. The tech department head had already gone bald yanking his hair out in the back office.
In the end, the marketing bigshot slapped his thigh:
Ride it! Ride the traffic and pump up the hype!
And so, all the skeptical threads about a Stellaron Hunter competing had their throttling lifted, while the paid posters swarmed out in full force.
Look! How fun is our"Aether Front"?
Even the lawless Stellaron Hunters are hooked on it, unable to pull themselves free!
Silver Wolf remained wholly oblivious to the clamor behind her—or rather, couldn't care less.
She raised her hand, coolly pointing at the stunned young swordsman across from her, and issued a command to the silver-white mecha before her:
"Sam, show this kid what real—swordsmanship—is!"
Yanqing's deck, reconstructed with the aid of the Divination Commission, featured several Xianzhou overlord-tier Aether Spirits: the indestructible Aurumaton Guard, the ethereal and otherworldly Dew-Receiving Celestial, the vibrant Abundance spirit-creature Changyou…
In the eyes of an ordinary player, this was simply a whale's top-tier lineup!
Wait!
Caelus and Bronie, who possessed Aether Editing ability, sensed something off.
There was a problem with Sam's Aether data.
That Silver Wolf gal hadn't just copied Sam's data—she'd freaking dragged Firefly's very consciousness over to control it for real!?
Haxxor Bunny, standing in as a substitute, gritted her teeth:
"A stand-in! A blatant, bare-faced stand-in!"
"I'll take you down!"
A jade-green firefly cape rose and bloomed behind Sam like the wings of a moonlight butterfly, propelling the mecha to charge up into the high heavens like a meteor flying in reverse.
The next second.
BZZZT!!!
The entire sky over Belobog was ignited in an instant!
Roiling, boiling emerald flames poured down like an inverted heavenly river, drowning everyone's field of vision.
The sky, the earth, the buildings, the crowds… everything the eye could see was illuminated through by this firefly-light that burned the heavens to ash!
"Ignite the Sea of Hearts!"
How should one put it, this Sam Aether Spirit that Silver Wolf had buffed by cheating with Aether Editing?
Though there's a ceiling to the enhancement, it was roughly equivalent to a 6+5 Firefly—running the corresponding three-star equation unfolded in the Simulated Universe—landing a big ol' chop on a material-farming stage boss.
Instant kill!
And you still owe me a few bars of HP on top of it!
"Good grief, what—what kind of cyber-swordsmanship is this?"
March 7th couldn't help but snark:
"She cheated, right? She definitely cheated!"
Stelle turned her head and glanced at the pink-haired girl. Even the dopey Ah Qi's wife could tell—Silver Wolf, you're not even bothering to fake it, absolutely shameless!
"You flatter me."
Silver Wolf's voice came through the loudspeakers, so flat there wasn't the slightest ripple in it.
She didn't so much as glance at Yanqing standing dumbstruck on the arena, his face practically written with 'Who am I? Where am I? Where are my Aether Spirits?', nor did she pay any mind to the countless pairs of eyes in the stands filled with green flame, left with nothing but blankness and bewilderment.
She merely, with utter naturalness and a 'standard maneuver, don't sweat it' composure, turned dashingly on her heel and walked straight off the arena.
An absolute dead silence blanketed the entire venue for over a dozen seconds—then, like a lit powder keg, an enormous wave of sound exploded thunderously!
"Holy crap! What the hell even is that?!"
"Organizers! Referees! Do something about this!"
"Poor Yanqing… his psychological trauma is bigger than Jarilo-VI itself…"
"Uh, well…"
The host's professional composure, forged through a thousand trials, completely gave way at this moment!
The hand gripping his mic trembled slightly, the professional smile on his face frozen stiff as a slab of plaster, while inwardly he roared like a madman.
Sis!
At least put on a bit of an act!
Can't you let me figure out some way to smooth it over, damn it?
The host summoned every ounce of skill in his life, pitching his voice to the most fervent, effusive key, trying to drown out the awkwardness both at the venue and in front of the screens:
"Dear audience! Let us calm our hearts for a moment and turn our eyes to the next peak showdown!"
He flung his arm out with force, pointing at the big screen:
"About to take the stage is—one of the heroes who saved Jarilo-VI, a favorite to win this tournament, the Trailblazer of the Astral Express—Stelle·I-Didn't-Cheat·Core Sprite!"
The spotlight snapped onto Stelle. She grinned, waved at the camera, and greeted Kafka, who was surely watching the match.
"Mommy, Mommy, watch my livestream!"
"And her opponent is—the legendary champion of last year's celebration, Director of the Strategic Investment Department at the IPC, beloved by countless fans—Miss Topaz!"
Another spotlight precisely captured Topaz as she calmly walked into the arena, a smile on her face.
"Topaz! Topaz! Topaz!"
The vast Topaz cheer squad, composed of IPC elites, roared in perfect unison, their momentum majestic, as if to blow the dome off the venue!
And then.
Under countless focused cameras, beneath the host's hope-filled gaze, at the very moment the fans' mountain-shaking, sea-toppling cheers reached their peak…
Topaz, having walked to the center of the dueling ground, came to a halt.
She struck no combat stance, summoned no Aether Coin, merely shrugged easily and, in a clear, calm, even matter-of-fact tone, lightly tossed out two words:
"I forfeit."
Screech!
The entire venue seemed to have its mute button pressed; the deafening cheers and shouts of a second ago instantly turned into utter dead silence.
The members of the Topaz cheer squad were as if collectively petrified, their raised arms frozen in midair, the fanatic smiles on their faces congealed into disbelieving stupor.
The host gripped his mic, mouth slightly agape.
Topaz sneered inwardly.
Fight my ass!
Stelle's cheat was no weaker than Silver Wolf's—if anything, stronger. On the Herta Space Station she'd reduced Topaz's painstakingly raised Piggybank Legion to dust in a single exchange!
Get instant-killed in public all over again, on a finals stage broadcast across the entire Galaxy? She, Topaz, was a cadre of the Strategic Investment Department, not a comedian!
A hopeless fight that only invited self-humiliation—whoever wants to fight it can go ahead!
Forfeiting decisively and preserving her dignity was the optimal strategy!
Topaz flashed a refreshing 'mission accomplished' smile at the host, who didn't know what to say, then gracefully spun around and briskly walked back into the contestants' passage, achievement and fame buried deep.
But honestly, the audience could understand.
Everyone watching in the finals arena was a diehard fan of the game, well-informed on the championship favorites and the latest hot news.
There was nothing shameful about conceding to those two contestants, 'Stelle·I-Didn't-Cheat·Core Sprite' and 'Battle-Through-the-Heavens Caelus'—you could only say it was bad luck to run into that pair of divine-beast scumbags.
Stelle felt a little let down—why did Topaz just give up?
Weren't we supposed to show no mercy when we met in the finals?
Go back to how you were a few days ago, come on!
The host felt his palm gripping the mic drenched in cold sweat, his fingertips icy. The on-the-spot experience accumulated over his entire career had shattered into powder.
But his professional composure was like a final shackle, dragging desperately at his teetering sanity. He forced the corners of his mouth to move, pulling out a warm, effusive smile.
"Ahem… ahem ahem! My dear audience friends! This is truly a development full of surprises! Ha… haha!"
"The competition must go on… uh… let us gather up our excited spirits and shift our gaze to the next duel!"
"Next up! By one of the heroes who saved Jarilo-VI, another championship favorite of this tournament… Battle-Through-the-Heavens Caelus…"
As he mentioned that name, the corner of the host's mouth visibly twitched, as though the name had scalded his tongue.
"Versus..."
He drew a deep breath, as if about to pronounce a name that could bring salvation:
"The legendary champion of last year's celebration, one of the distinguished sponsors of this celebration, JOJO!"
Caelus, and Giovanni—dressed in an exquisite suit and wearing a red-black-and-white mask—walked in from opposite sides toward the main stage under the spotlights, and exchanged a smiling look.
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