As the most socially active top-tier hacker among the Stellaron Hunters, Silver Wolf often surfed the web intensely using a multitude of alt accounts.
So, the recently viral Astral Express fan game naturally couldn't escape her notice.
Silver Wolf simply downloaded it to give it a try.
She didn't expect much, but playing it gave her quite a shock.
Although the game wasn't that difficult, the characters were truly interesting.
"Hmm... turning all sorts of real people into game characters? How bold."
"Even Blade is in the gacha pool. I wonder what face he'd make if he knew."
"But is this current rate-up character missing something? Let me see..."
Silver Wolf held a tablet in each hand and confidently donned her sunglasses.
But.
After fiddling for a while, her hands, which were moving so fast they left afterimages, suddenly froze.
Silver Wolf grimaced. "Tsk..."
"Strange, why is this game's firewall so advanced? I can't hack in?"
"I was planning to see if I could make a cracked version."
Silver Wolf had set records in countless games across the galaxy that remain unbeaten to this day.
Thus, she could naturally tell at a glance that there was something off about the characters in Xu Qiong's honkai: star rail.
And she was right; Aglaea wasn't the complete version. After all, Xu Qiong had only made the 3.0 version and hadn't created previous characters like Sunday, the sub-DPS, supports, or healers.
Having noticed the issues, Silver Wolf wanted to see the upcoming content while also thinking about teaching the Author a lesson.
But apparently, she failed?
Silver Wolf sighed and flopped down. "Kid, you use the Stellaron Hunters' images for a game, but won't let a Stellaron Hunter play?"
"You'd better hope I don't catch you online."
"But speaking of which..." Lying on her stomach, Silver Wolf held the tablet above her head and pulled up Xu Qiong's account. "Amphoreus, and this PV, just what..."
Click-clack—
Just then, the sound of high heels clicking against the floor echoed from behind her.
"What's wrong, Silver Wolf?"
She turned around.
Standing behind Silver Wolf was a mature woman wearing a black coat over a white shirt, black leggings, purple stockings, and sunglasses perched on her head.
Her magnificent red lips curled into a faint smile.
"Oh, it's Kafka."
Silver Wolf stood up, brushed the dust off herself, and handed over the tablet. "Here, this is it. See for yourself."
"This?"
Kafka took the tablet and began browsing while Silver Wolf explained.
"A new Astral Express fan game came out recently, and it's quite popular. The core gameplay is roleplaying the Astral Express's Trailblaze, and it includes many people we know."
"However, the location of the Trailblaze is... Amphoreus..."
"By the way, look at that one. Doesn't it look like you?"
Before officially entering Aha Star, Xu Qiong had released several PVs, which unfortunately included the Stellaron Hunters.
Even more coincidentally, Blade was implemented today.
"Amphoreus? That is indeed interesting."
"If I recall correctly, we're preparing to head to Amphoreus, aren't we?" Silver Wolf spread her hands toward Kafka.
Clearly, both knew exactly what the other was implying.
"Let me tell you some even scarier news. Did you see that PV? That's Firefly."
Silver Wolf's expression remained largely unchanged as she spoke.
On the surface, there seemed to be nothing wrong with those words.
But...
Think about it.
How did the game Author know about Firefly's existence?!
Hearing this, Kafka's hand paused as she swiped the screen.
Exactly. Although Xu Qiong and the Stellaron Hunters knew, Firefly could only operate within a mecha in the outside world due to Entropy Loss Syndrome.
In other words... she had never met anyone in her true form, and most who had seen her were dead.
Even the Interstellar Peace Corporation's wanted posters list Sam, not Firefly!
Yet, the game not only featured Firefly's name but even replicated her image perfectly in the PV.
At this moment, others might be confused, but the Stellaron Hunters wouldn't mistake her.
"Silver Wolf, that joke of yours did give me a fright." Kafka shrugged helplessly.
"I'm not joking, Kafka."
"I actually wanted to ask you, what does Elio's 'Script' have to say about this?"
Kafka: "?"
The Stellaron Hunters act according to the Script, and within the Script, there are basically no deviations.
Or rather, any deviations have already been cleared away by them.
So, for such a sudden, almost prophetic game that would make one's hair stand on end, it didn't affect Silver Wolf that way.
After all, it was still within the controllable range of the Script.
After a moment of silence, Kafka walked past Silver Wolf and looked out through the floor-to-ceiling window at the distant starry sky.
"The prelude to the war of the gods is about to unfold."
"In this scene, we are merely spectators. Fortunately, the Astral Express has moved in the most correct direction among various possibilities."
"But now, something strange has been added?"
Silver Wolf frowned and took back her tablet. "Something strange has been added."
"Are you saying Elio's Script made a mistake?"
"Elio's Script never makes mistakes." Kafka's voice was so calm it seemed she was stating something trivial. "Unless... it didn't provide a prophecy."
Elio's Script certainly wouldn't make a mistake.
However, it's possible for it not to provide a prophecy, like with this game.
Just as a gentleman doesn't lie, but may remain silent.
Silver Wolf, on the other hand, felt like she hadn't learned anything. "So what does that mean? You seem pretty calm."
"Hmm... rather, I don't think this interlude is much of a threat, even if the other party seems to know something."
To be honest, this game truly was terrifying.
The moment Silver Wolf saw Firefly, she had cross-referenced the game Author's identity in her mind hundreds of times.
Unfortunately, there were still no suitable candidates.
But regardless, as long as Elio's Script was there, no major deviation from the course could occur.
After talking with Kafka, her attitude was clear.
In truth, the Script doesn't record everything.
Only major events are written into the Script. So, if this game didn't appear in the Script, it's either because Elio didn't provide a prophecy, or the matter is too minor to be included.
It's not like they haven't encountered similar situations before.
Kafka clearly leaned toward the latter.
"There are many strange things in the universe; people who know Sam's identity might even exist."
"But I don't think a little bit of mystery-mongering can have any impact on the Script."
However, one thing is one thing, but making Firefly's identity public...
"But, to dream of gaining something from the Stellaron Hunters, or to provoke us..."
"Outside of the Script, I think we can do something—like making him pay the price for his actions~" Kafka wore a gentle yet dangerous smile.
Sitting in the audience of Amphoreus, the Stellaron Hunters were not participating in this event.
But if this game Author wasn't in the Script either, then what they did would depend entirely on their mood.
Conveniently, Kafka also wanted to verify her own hypothesis.
"I think I get it," Silver Wolf said, half-understanding. "Leave it to me then. Since it's the internet, nothing is airtight. I'll use some other methods and find a way to track this guy down."
"And when the time comes, it'll be up to you and Sam."
Kafka nodded.
Her words trailed off.
Immediately after.
Behind them came the sound of steel footsteps treading on the floor...