Herta Space Station, Control Room.
"Where's the Stellaron?"
Kafka felt something was off. The journey had been too quiet. The closer they got to the core of the space station, the more Voidrangers they should've encountered.
Especially that corridor they passed through—it was spotless, like it had just been cleaned.
"The simpler the trick, the harder it is to spot. Watch closely."
With Silver Wolf's deft maneuvers, the relic in the control room was successfully hacked. As the two prepared to pass through the holographic image on the light screen, a languid voice interrupted them.
"Messing up the control room like this… I hope Herta doesn't come after me when she's back."
A man appeared silently behind them. Kafka instantly drew her gun and fired, but the bullets had no effect on him.
"Not bad instincts."
"Kafka, use this!" Silver Wolf pulled out a Rating Pistol and aimed it at Adrian.
"Relic No. 752. It rates any creature in its line of sight. Ever played with one?"
Silver Wolf pressed the gun to Adrian's forehead, winking playfully.
"The genius hacker's rating test!"
As soon as she spoke, the gun's closed eye snapped open, spinning rapidly before fixing on Adrian with ill intent.
After a few rotations, its eye widened in terror. "8 points! Unable to measure! 8 points! Unable to measure!" Exhausted, the eye shut again.
"Two results?" Silver Wolf tapped the now-closed eye of the Rating Pistol. "Boring." She tossed it to Adrian.
"Not curious about its rating criteria?"
"Pfft, who cares about Herta's relic collection?"
Seeing this, Kafka instantly knew the man's identity. "Ah… you're Silver Wolf's friend, the Pathstrider of [Eternity]."
"Indeed." Adrian greeted Kafka. As the saying goes, your reputation is what you make of it when you're out in the cosmos.
He couldn't tarnish the image of [Eternity]. Who knows, he might even sway her to his Path.
"She's the Kafka I told you about, and he's the Adrian I mentioned," Silver Wolf said, introducing them.
"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kafka. This must be our first meeting. I've only seen you on wanted posters before," Adrian said.
"I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Adrian," Kafka replied with a smile. Elio's script never failed in its ultimate outcome. Now that they'd found the Stellaron and Adrian was here, there were only two possibilities.
Enemy or ally.
Given his rapport with Silver Wolf, likely the latter.
She figured Silver Wolf's joining the Stellaron Hunters—aside from that clash with Screwllum—probably had something to do with him.
"Not surprising. I try not to be too famous," Adrian said.
"Want to chat inside?" Silver Wolf gestured at the holographic image on the light screen.
They entered a new space, where the Stellaron sat prominently. For Herta, a Stellaron wasn't just any collectible—it was protected by a dedicated security system.
"Can you extract it?" Adrian asked Silver Wolf, beating Kafka to the question.
"Of course. In the hacking realm, even the genius Herta's no match for me."
"Good, good, good. Remind her to secure her gaming account," Adrian whispered to Kafka.
"I can hear you."
"Heh, prep the vessel first."
With another flurry of Silver Wolf's operations, the Stellaron's protective barrier was disabled, and a gray-haired girl appeared before them.
"Perfect, it's the Stellaron Essence."
"Pfft!" Silver Wolf burst out laughing at the term.
"Why not call her Little Gray?"
"Alright, alright, she has a name: Stelle," Kafka said, taking the Stellaron and approaching the gray-haired girl.
"How much does she… remember?"
"At least she'll remember you."
Kafka chuckled softly, lifting the unconscious girl gently. Holding the Stellaron close to her chest, she whispered like soft jade in her ear:
"Time to wake up."
The Stellaron glowed with dazzling golden light, seamlessly merging into Stelle's body.
Kafka gazed tenderly at the still-unconscious Stelle, saying nothing, quietly awaiting her awakening.
"Even though the shining Stellaron was stuffed into Stelle's body, I can't help but see the glow of maternal love radiating from Kafka," Adrian remarked.
"I think so too," Silver Wolf nodded. "So, is Herta's puppet any good at gaming?" She was checking if Adrian had a new gaming buddy.
"The Genius Society might as well be renamed the Gaming Club."
Adrian hadn't seen those geniuses game. Herta was always researching this or that, occasionally simulating debates with Nous.
"Good to know you haven't gamed with Herta's puppet. That's a relief," Silver Wolf said, her worries eased. With Herta's personality, how could Adrian possibly get along with her? She'd overthought it.
"Forget Herta. She's not important. I've got a question," Adrian said, leaning closer with a kind smile.
"Can you tell me… why you sent five Doomsday Beasts? Are you trying to wreck this place?"
He couldn't even imagine the scene of five Doomsday Beasts blasting beams at Stelle in unison.
"What are you talking about?"
Silver Wolf tried to play cute to dodge the question. She didn't know anything~
Ugh, that was so cringe. Fine, cards on the table!
"You know why. The script wasn't clear, and I didn't want surprises, so I added a few extra."
"Think about it—when we're tackling a dungeon or pushing a storyline, don't we always bring the highest-level team to avoid accidents?"
"Not only that, giving the Astral Express crew a challenge now and then toughens their resolve, teaches them to rise to the occasion! Plus, it boosts their character levels."
Adrian couldn't find a flaw in Silver Wolf's logic.
"Besides, with you, an Emanator-level Pathstrider, holding the fort, five Doomsday Beasts almost feels like too few."
"Now that's what I like to hear," Adrian said, pleased.
Heh, she's grown up.
"So you didn't take out all five Doomsday Beasts, did you?" Silver Wolf countered, flipping the situation.
"Nah, I respect you Stellaron Hunters—[Finality] and all. Plus, don't you think you're overestimating me? I'm just an ordinary Immortal's Delight Tea shop owner."
Adrian deflected, not wanting to draw too much attention and invite trouble. He just wanted to slack off.
"I see through you—you're playing the pig to eat the tiger," Silver Wolf called him out without hesitation. "An Emanator who can't handle five measly Doomsday Beasts? I don't buy it."
Adrian didn't respond, glancing at the still-unconscious Stelle, head tilted slightly, lost in thought.
He wiped his face and said to Silver Wolf:
"Next time I've got a moment, I'll game with you for a bit."
"Really?!" Silver Wolf spun around, eyes gleaming with excitement. She pulled out her gaming phone. "Let's start a match now!"
"Sure."
…
After some time, the girl opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, but she saw a purple-haired woman gazing at her gently, exuding a familiar, comforting warmth.
"Kaf… ka?" she murmured the woman's name.
"That's right, you remember me."
Kafka's tone carried a rare trace of joy and relief.
"Let's start the match—I got one-shotted by the enemy as a support!"
"Coming, coming!"
Two unfamiliar voices rang out. Stelle shifted her gaze slightly to the left and saw a sight she'd never forget.
Beyond Kafka, the silver-haired girl… was gaming with a muscular trash can.
______
30 advanced chapters on ko-fi@com/edgeofsky