The Herta Space Station.
Through the transparent hull of the station, the swarming Antimatter Legion tore through its defenses like locusts, with dark, destructive flames of negative particles igniting the void.
Amid this scene of devastation, two graceful figures—one tall, one short—walked side by side.
The purple-haired beauty, adorned with a delicate coat and round glasses as accessories, drew all eyes with her shapely thighs encased in black stockings. The crisp click of her high heels merged seamlessly with the explosions.
The renowned Stellaron Hunter of the galaxy—Kafka.
Beside her, a girl sported goggles as a fashion statement, dressed in light attire that left her ivory-white thighs strikingly exposed by her short shorts, evoking endless imagination.
The famed super hacker—Silver Wolf.
The invading Voidwalkers within the station's chambers posed no obstacle to their advance; dealing with such low-level foes wasn't even enough to count as a warm-up.
Guided by the information Silver Wolf had hacked from the station's database and the script provided by Elio, the two deciphered a puzzle left by the absent station master in the surveillance room and smoothly entered the artifact chamber where the Stellaron was sealed.
"Oh? There's even an independent defense system…"
Silver Wolf, her hair tied in a single spiral ponytail, blew a bubble with her gum while her hands manipulated a holographic projection. "Disabled."
"That fast? I'd expect nothing less from you."
Slightly impressed by Silver Wolf's efficiency, Kafka gazed at the ethereal, glowing object before her.
Her amethyst eyes reflected its radiance as she reached out and grasped this ancient, mysterious entity.
"Of course. In the realm of hacking, even the genius Herta is no match for me."
Humming lightly with a smirk, Silver Wolf continued tapping on the pale blue projection.
Screens shifted rapidly, finally displaying a circuit-like pattern with a square interface at its center.
Silver Wolf looked up at Kafka, who was holding the Stellaron in one hand. "Hand over the vessel."
"Mm."
Maintaining her ever-present, serene smile, Kafka reached into her coat with her other hand, retrieving a cube from a concealed spot inside her white blouse.
As her peach-purple eyes rested on the cube, a faint, genuine ripple of emotion stirred within them.
Games and reality are different—this isn't just an empty statement.
In the game, Kafka's choice of a vessel was purely a narrative device to allow players to select a gender.
In the real world, no such choice existed.
Or rather, the branching of the worldline had been determined long, long ago.
The Stellaron, known as the cancer of all worlds, was no plug-and-play shenanigan.
Even Herta had to construct an entire massive space station just to contain the Stellaron. The difficulty of using a single body to bear and seal its terrifying power was unimaginable.
The "vessel" in Kafka's hand was the result of immense effort by the Star Hunters, including Elio, and had been altered by the power of an Aeon.
There was only one.
This artificial body, created to house the Stellaron, had been entrusted to Kafka long ago by Elio for protection and nurturing.
Kafka taught her basic knowledge, common sense, and combat skills, and even gave her a name—Stelle.
To ensure Stelle survived until now, Kafka had gone to great lengths, even paying a considerable price.
"Quit staring. I think, no matter what, she'll at least remember you." Silver Wolf crossed her arms, blowing another bubble.
"I hope so."
The pink-purple gloves patterned with spider silk clenched slightly. Kafka gave a noncommittal smile and gently tossed the carrier in her hand to Silver Wolf.
"Here."
"Leave it to me... Pfft!"
Silver Wolf raised her hand to catch the carrier but froze the next second. The bubble gum she was blowing popped with a snap, sticking to her lips.
The carrier, which had been tracing a graceful arc through the air, paused inexplicably mid-flight before growing blurry and transparent. Then, as if undergoing a quantum effect, it split into two.
"What's going on?"
Catching one carrier in each hand, Silver Wolf stared blankly at Kafka.
"I... don't know." The same bewilderment appeared on Kafka's face.
The carrier split in two? Wait!
Could her Star have turned into 'Sun' and 'Life'?
At this thought, Kafka's perpetually calm and smiling expression shifted slightly, revealing rare, almost imperceptible traces of anxiety and panic.
"Silver Wolf, unlock the Ether Editing seal first," she said quickly.
"...Okay."
Silver Wolf retracted the bubble gum into her mouth with her tongue and nodded.
She extended a finger, loading both carriers into the projection's interface one after another, then began typing on the keyboard.
Accompanied by video game sound effects, reality's data transformed into editable code. Two bodies materialized from the void as if 3D-printed.
Seeing the gray-haired girl suspended mid-air with all limbs intact, Kafka inwardly sighed in relief.
Then she shifted her gaze to the figure floating beside Stelle.
A jacket coat primarily black with gold trim, paired with a white T-shirt underneath—this outfit was one Kafka had picked for Stelle.
But now, wearing these clothes was a gray-haired young man who bore an uncanny resemblance to Star.
"What's happening? How did the girl split into two? And even change genders?"
Silver Wolf stared wide-eyed at the gray-haired young man, scanning him up and down. When her gaze reached his lower body, the corner of her eye twitched involuntarily.
The young man's attire was an exact copy of Stelle's—complete with the matching short skirt and eye-catching blue thigh garters.
As a male, his legs were naturally slightly thicker than the girl's, causing the blue garters to dig into his flesh.
Though his exceptional looks prevented it from being an eyesore, it was still bizarre!
So weird!
Let me look again!
"Is this... an extra twin brother?" Kafka furrowed her willow-leaf eyebrows slightly.
"No, not twins."
Her hands flew across the virtual screen as torrents of data streamed forth. Silver Wolf's face showed unconcealed astonishment and strangeness. "This is the log from when the carrier was just unsealed."
"An inexplicable force—untraceable and beyond my comprehension—suddenly appeared. It altered the carrier's reality state, putting it into some kind of superposition before collapsing into two entities."
"I'm not sure exactly what happened."
With her talents focused on hacking, Silver Wolf could only roughly infer from the 'log' when it came to advanced scientific concepts.
"All I can confirm is that both of these individuals are Stelle."
"Both are 'Stelle'?" Kafka's expression turned subtle.
"Yeah, both." Silver Wolf nodded.
"I see." Kafka gazed thoughtfully at the gray-haired young man.
Silver Wolf suddenly looked up at Kafka as if struck by a thought. "Didn't Elio's script mention this?"
If it were truly a significant event that could affect the future, Elio would surely have included it in the script.
Kafka fell silent for a moment, her violet eyes glimmering. "When Elio gave me the script, he mentioned that unexpected events might occur during the mission."
Silver Wolf couldn't hide her surprise. "You said... 'might'?"
Elio's script depicted a future that was bound to happen—no matter how it unfolded, whether it aligned with common understanding or not, it was, in a sense, absolutely predetermined.
Since joining the Stellaron Hunters, this was the first time Silver Wolf had heard the word "might" appear in the script.
"So, what do we do now?" Silver Wolf glanced at the system time on her interface. "We don't have much time. The Voidrangers I lured won't hold off the Astral Express crew for long."
Kafka looked at the Stellaron in her hand, then at the gray-haired young man and girl floating before her. Her gaze was tender and doting, like a mother lovingly watching her children.
After a brief hesitation, she walked toward the girl with the Stellaron.
"Let's proceed according to the script."
"Elio said that even if the future is overturned by unpredictable variables, we must seize the part we desire."
Kafka pushed the glowing Stellaron directly into the girl's body.
"Time to wake up."
She whispered softly.
And so, the gears of fate began to turn.
"Huh?"
Before Kafka could recite her lines to the girl, she suddenly raised her head as if sensing something, her willow-like brows slightly furrowed. "Silver Wolf, did you hear laughter?"
"Laughter?" Silver Wolf blinked, focusing intently, but heard nothing. "No, I didn't."
A shadow of seriousness crossed Kafka's face as she held her breath and concentrated.
She could hear gunshots, explosions, clashes, and cries from the various chambers of the space station outside—but no laughter.
With time running short, Kafka cast a glance at the unconscious gray-haired young man and began her final farewell to the half-awake girl.
...
The moment the Stellaron entered the girl's body, it felt as if someone had placed a 10,000-lumen light bulb in front of a sleeping person—more jarring than being doused with a bucket of cold water.
Caelus's eyes snapped open.
Damn!
Where the hell has this stroke of luck brought me?
Is this even still my country?
"Hahaha~! Hahaha~!"
Before Caelus could take in his surroundings, he heard a clear, piercing laugh that seemed to tear through the darkness.
Responding to the unrestrained laughter was a deep, majestic, and layered voice, reminiscent of a powerful figure's tone.
"Throughout the ages, across all heavens, one system reigns supreme; with the source code unleashed, it holds up the sky."
"At the pinnacle of the void, proud among mortals, with my system, there is heaven."
"Fool, you descend with the flow, targeting my host—this is but a minor ripple. Dare to take one step further, and heaven and earth will be overturned!"
Hearing these overwhelmingly domineering words, Caelus—who was clutching his eyes as if they'd been filled with chili powder, rolling on the ground in agony—felt completely numb.
They were all twisted classics!
But... system?
Hearing the word clearly and recalling how his stroke of luck should have ended in death, a guess naturally formed in Caelus's mind.
The mental leaps and acceptance of reality by an otaku in this regard are just that swift.
Proving his speculation was actually quite simple.
Caelus struggled to open his tear-filled eyes, barely able to make out the masks trembling with laughter.
They were strikingly similar to the character illustrations he remembered, combined with the system's designation for the other party.
Without a doubt, that mask belonged to the Aeon of Elation, the ultimate god of revelry, Aha!
In fan creations, no matter how he was portrayed or how absurd his actions, he never broke character.
A dimension-traveler from outside the tree entering the galactic universe—this was an unprecedented spectacle. And to top it off, there was also a system, even rarer than the dimension-traveler himself.
Of course, the Aeon of Elation rushed over immediately to observe this rare specimen!
Hearing the system's threat, that absurd, gleeful laughter didn't diminish but instead grew even more frenzied.
"Ahem, is it not a joy to have friends come from afar?"
An exaggerated, comical tone emerged from the pitch-black figure surrounded by masks, feigning seriousness.
"on behalf of Aha, THEY welcome the arrival of both of you."
The feigned seriousness lasted only two seconds before he burst into laughter, clapping his hands as the ball and playing cards beside him embraced each other.
"How about making friends while we're at it? Aha has always been sociable, hospitable, and finds joy in helping others."
"If your mask would just stay a bit farther away, I might be able to pretend to believe you..."
The muttered complaint, too weak to be a proper retort, abruptly silenced the atmosphere.
The system quickly snapped back to attention, layering on its grand, majestic special effects once more. Its tone shifted from the loose, powerless style of a comic relief character to something aloof and domineering.
"Leave now, and no one gets hurt. Otherwise... hmph."
"Once you return to reality, tell the other Aeons that it was the system that sent you on your final journey!"
What the hell!
His eyes still tearing up from the earlier blinding brightness, Caelus's expression fell.
You're copying lines from *Zhetian*? Fine, but why copy the locals too?
Though he didn't know the plot of Penacony, Caelus had seen fan-made videos of Firefly and recognized the origin of that line.
"Oh, I'm so sad."
Aha suddenly turned sorrowful, his mask whimpering in pain as fake tears streamed down. "Aha just wanted to be friends with you. Why must you dislike me too?"
Caelus watched Aha's performance with a blank expression, but he soon couldn't hold back his disbelief.
"Ahem, well, you don't have to be so upset. As long as you don't pull any tricks, I—we—could still be friends with you."
He bought it!
He actually bought Aha's act!
Was this system raised in a hedgehog cat kindergarten?!
Using such a domineering, emperor-like voice to say something like that?
Caelus stared in stunned disbelief, his face a picture of incredulity.
"Really? That's wonderful! Let's get along lovingly then~!"
Aha retracted his pitiful tears, enthusiastically spreading his arms wide as he moved to embrace Caelus.
Holy crap!
Stay away from me!
Startled, Caelus tried to step back, only to realize that Aha's target wasn't him—or rather, not entirely him.
It was the system interface, visible only in Qi Qiong's field of vision.
At first, the system screen seemed slightly shy when Aha hugged it, but it soon sensed something amiss.
"Wait, Fool, what are you doing?"
"Not bad, quite sturdy."
"How old are you, still so shy?"
Aha's mask pressed against the system screen, like a fingertip tracing a cheek.
Perhaps because his soul was bound to the system, Caelus felt a chilling sensation, as if an imaginary third limb had been touched by a rogue.
Yet he was utterly powerless to intervene in what was happening.
"What—what are you trying to do!?"
The system completely abandoned loading voice effects, and started panicking.
It had intended to put on a show in front of its host to earn a bit more respect in their future interactions, but things had somehow spiraled into this mess.
"Gah! Damned fool, I'll fight you to the death!"
Seemingly provoked by Caelus's despondent gaze, the system's light screen shed its outer glow, revealing the source code composed of unknowable entities within.
The source code erupted like stardust particles, completely illuminating Caelus's soul space.
The intense light forced Caelus to raise a hand to shield his eyes.
To his astonishment, even Aha was unable to resist the transparent, unknowable torrent and was expelled in a thoroughly crushed state.
For real?
This system actually has some tricks up its sleeve.
In Caelus's mind, his evaluation of the system was upgraded from Hedgehog Cat Kindergarten to Hedgehog Cat Elementary School.
Why Hedgehog Cat, you ask?
Isn't it obvious?
If this were a system from a certain Lu, Aha, who had entered Qi Qiong's soul space, would have been detained on the spot, transformed into a white-haired, red-eyed little loli, and turned into Caelus's star slave!
"Ahem..."
Caelus cleared his throat lightly, catching the system's attention. "System, are you okay?"
His words seemed to trigger a pressure release button. The system immediately burst into tears like a wronged young wife, entering a teary-eyed phase.
"Waaah, host, I'm broken..."
Caelus: "..."
Caelus: "???"
--------------------------------
Caelus in Stelle's clothes...
I tried to get rid of the Chinese elements but when I tried replacing them with other things, I couldn't think of something or I felt like it didn't fit so I kept it as is