Stelle had roughly understood the situation.
Herta and Screwllum were arguing about whether to keep the simulated universe.
Screwllum believed the simulated universe project was unlikely to meet expectations and proposed terminating it; Herta strongly opposed his proposal and eventually left in a huff.
Then how was she supposed to track down that curio targeting the simulated universe?
Fortunately, Screwllum also had access rights to the simulated universe and could help Stelle track down Silver Wolf.
Over the next period, they entered the simulated universe to investigate.
As time passed, Silver Wolf appeared and confessed that she had been playing along, using them to find the curio, which finally gave her an opportunity.
The Punklorde Mentality was an Aether Cartridge, and it had now fallen into Silver Wolf's hands.
However, Screwllum informed her that she had only obtained a copy of the Aether Cartridge within the simulated universe.
The real Punklorde Mentality had been transferred right at the beginning when Herta set her plan in motion.
The so-called plan was just a performance for her, including the scene where they argued in the office.
They had intentionally told her that the simulated universe was about to be shut down, so if she didn't act now, she would have no chance of getting the curio she wanted.
Thus, the current standoff occurred.
Upon learning the truth, Silver Wolf was furious; she had actually been played by Herta.
She had worked so hard, lurking in the Space Station for so many days just for this moment, and it turned out Screwllum said Herta had been on guard all along?
Damn it!
"Aren't you afraid I'll attack the Space Station again?"
Screwllum was noncommittal, saying calmly, "That has nothing to do with me, but I must point out: it is predicted that someone will step forward to stop you."
"Then... what if I destroy the simulated universe right here and now?" Silver Wolf threatened, unwilling to give up.
"Apologies, you cannot do that. Aether Editing is not omnipotent and cannot destroy a universe." Screwllum pointed out the fact.
"What is this? You went to such great lengths to set a trap, yet you don't intend to do anything?"
"The game you went to such pains to prepare has fallen short, has it not? As long as there is no fun, the game has no meaning."
"So boring!" Silver Wolf pouted.
"Herta felt the ending was too gentle and wanted to add a few touches."
The mechanical face of Screwllum, which showed no expression, was flickering with an inexplicable light.
"For instance... by reverse hacking, she located all your Interastral Network accounts, totaling 76—a very impressive number."
...Time backtracked slightly.
"That brat provoked me and offended me, coming and going as she pleases. That's fine, this genius allows it, but how can she leave without paying a price?"
Himeko was busy, and only Qi Zhimu and Herta were in the Parlor Car.
Herta's bored expression finally showed a hint of interest, and she curled her lips as she looked beside her.
"Lord Zhimu, can you do something for me?"
"Speak."
"Contact that Yelena from the IPC and have her permanently ban all 76 of these accounts." Herta sent all the account IDs to Qi Zhimu.
"...With your status, it seems you don't need to go through me to get the IPC to do things..." Qi Zhimu's expression was strange.
Herta picked up her wine glass and took a sip, her expression leisurely.
"When that woman finds out later that doing things for you was actually doing things for me, her momentum will naturally fall a notch below mine."
She listens to you, and you listen to me—the difference in status is immediately clear.
Qi Zhimu finally understood what was going on and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"But you're already many heads above her, and she and I don't have an intimate relationship."
Herta actually had... well, in short, a side that could be described as childish.
In matters like this, she had to have a confrontation to determine the winner.
Qi Zhimu inexplicably imagined a future scenario.
Herta was #83 of the Genius Society and an Emanator of Erudition; it was hard to say if anyone could suppress her, even among other geniuses.
Suppose he reunited with people with whom he had established deep bonds in earlier cycles—how much would they suffer at Herta's hands?
...The fire didn't know how big it would burn, and it wasn't easy to extinguish.
After all, he had an agreement with Herta not to interfere in the struggles that might exist between them in the future.
"The IPC possesses the most wealth in the entire universe; do you think they would ever be satisfied?"
Herta first answered irrelevantly, then said with a half-smile, "Just because there is no intimate relationship now doesn't mean there won't be in the future, right?"
"...I'll contact Yelena right now."
Qi Zhimu knew that if he kept talking, he would only be asking for trouble, so he cleanly took out his phone.
Yelena didn't expect that not even half a day had passed, and Qi Zhimu had actually taken the initiative to contact her.
"Don't tell me you missed me too?" Her tone was cheerful, and she was clearly in a good mood.
"I want you to help me with something."
"The last five words were really unnecessary..."
"If it's inconvenient, then I'll ask someone else."
"Then just say it! Honestly, it's not like I said I wouldn't help. You know that as long as I can do it, I won't refuse you."
"Help me ban all the accounts in here." Qi Zhimu sent the relevant information over.
"Let me see..."
Yelena did a quick search and found that these accounts were basically all game-related.
She knew that Qi Zhimu played games.
Competitive games are always filled with conflict, like cheating.
And believe it or not, these 76 accounts, whether used for competitive games or single-player puzzle games, had almost all cheated!
Good grief... they couldn't play without cheating?
After pulling up some game records, Yelena reached a conclusion.
—How are they so bad at this?
They were a hardcore gamer, with terrifying playtime, and were very passionate about games in both the broad and narrow sense.
But when not cheating, their skill level wasn't high.
Looking at the match records of some competitive games, it wasn't hard to see that once this person got tilted, the probability of their operations falling apart was almost over 80 percent.
In short: they panicked.
After panicking, they would enter the phase of 'A little cheat doesn't count as cheating, and if I didn't get banned, does it mean I'm still cheating?'
Very well, there was no need to hesitate at all about banning them.
"I've already handed it over to the game security operations department and told them to ban all 76 accounts."
"As expected of you, little Yelena, your efficiency is truly high."
"Then as a reward, next time we meet, accompany me to a movie, or listen to a concert—how about Robin's? I can get the best tickets in the viewing area."
"Maybe next time."
"Next time, next time, next time—it's always next time after next time. Be a human for once, will you?"
"Can't help it. Who told me to be a galactic drifter? I'm busy, aren't I?"
"I don't believe a word of it. By the way, whose accounts are those? The security operations team reported that even the real-name verification has major issues."
Hearing this, Qi Zhimu immediately looked at Herta.
The latter directly projected Silver Wolf's portrait.
As a top-ten wanted criminal of the IPC, Qi Zhimu naturally knew her.
"They belong to Silver Wolf of the Stellaron Hunters."
"Huh?" Yelena let out a surprised sound.
"Anyway, be careful of being hacked by Silver Wolf. Thanks for your help. That's all for now, bye."
Qi Zhimu hung up the call, and then felt a wet sensation on his face, accompanied by a hint of purple lily fragrance.
"A reward from a genius."
Herta put away the lipstick in her hand.
Qi Zhimu touched the mark on his face and couldn't help but smile.
Time to go to work and be a corporate slave again. Please support with love~~~
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