Clatter-clatter-clatter!—
The keyboard rattled loudly, its neon-bright lighting washing a soft glow across the girl's snowy, delicate face.
She had a petite, almost doll-like figure. Curled up on her gaming chair like a cat, she had her beautifully proportioned legs stretched high across the desk, lightly swinging in the air.
The thigh strap pressed softly into her flesh, while tight shorts and black fishnet ankle socks accentuated the long curves of her legs and the supple softness of her body.
How should one put it...?
She was clearly only standard "four-foot shrine" height, yet somehow sexy as hell!
With a figure so perfectly balanced and that faint, effortless air of seduction, if she ever logged onto Luofu Miscellany, she would probably win a legion of admirers.
...Of course, the girl herself had no intention of seducing anyone. She was plainly dressed—"normal fashion, no improper implications"—and wore a faint smile on her face, smiling like a child at play.
Box weapon in use!
"Hmph..."
"Still slandering me? Just because I didn't turn it off means I'm cheating?"
The corners of Silver Wolf's lips curled upward as her fingertips tapped lightly in the air.
[IP: Herta Space Station]
"Hm?"
That looked kind of familiar...
The swaying tip of Silver Wolf's foot stilled. Her arch tensed slightly, her tender sprout-like toes pressing against the edge of the monitor.
"..."
"Hm?"
With practiced ease, she hacked into the interstellar network, traced the signal of "Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero," and effortlessly hijacked the other party's computer—
Aether code injected, webcam silently activated, and in the next moment she was just about to get a good look at his face—
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: My turn first!
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Are you Silver Wolf from Punklorde?
Silver Wolf: Punklorde profanity! Doxxing!
Silver Wolf's whole body jolted.
What the hell was going on!?
He was faster than me... No, that wasn't it—Prometheus hadn't reacted at all, and the firewall protocols were still completely intact...!
She had just been thoroughly probed by him without noticing a thing...!
Silver Wolf: What else do you know about me!?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: A player from Punklorde, a legend in the hacker world, the Stellaron Hunters' newest recruit, a wanted criminal with a 5.1 billion credit bounty from the IPC, a Rating Pistol score as high as 110, someone who once clashed with Screwllum of the Genius Society in the data domain and got away in one piece...
Silver Wolf: ...
Silver Wolf: There isn't room for that many people on one body!
Her smile vanished.
Silver Wolf lowered the foot she had been resting on the desk and sat up cross-legged—
She had to sit properly for this one.
But before that—
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Anyway, Wolf Auntie...
Silver Wolf: Wolf Auntie?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: It's me, Wolf Auntie. You even held me when I was little, remember?
Silver Wolf: Who the hell held you?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: No? Maybe it was Kafka. Anyway, you were there when I was "born," weren't you?
Silver Wolf: Hm?
Silver Wolf: Wait a second...
Silver Wolf: Huh!?
Silver Wolf nearly fell right out of her gaming chair.
She clamped her legs together, but her plump, rounded toes—like tender flower buds—slammed into the corner of the desk, making the girl let out a pained little cry.
"Ugh..."
Clutching her foot, face twisted in pain, she pursed her lips and looked back at the chat window.
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Wolf Auntie?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: You there?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Stubbed your big toe?
Silver Wolf: How did you know...
Silver Wolf: No, wait, how do you still remember me?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: How could I possibly forget you?
Silver Wolf: ...
That sounded kind of mushy...
No, more than that—it was just plain weird.
Blushing bright red, Silver Wolf turned her gaze away, then stole another look at the screen and asked:
Silver Wolf: What exactly do you mean by calling me Wolf Auntie?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: They say living things imprint on the first thing they see after opening their eyes and treat it like their mother...
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: The first person I saw was Kafka, and then you, so...
Silver Wolf: So I'm your dad.
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: ?
A Wubbaboo sticker with a giant question mark over its head came from the other side.
Silver Wolf curled her pale pink lips into a faint smile and chuckled softly.
She lowered the toes she had just banged up, slipped her feet into her slippers, and blinked those beautiful silver eyes.
Silver Wolf: Do you still remember all that happened before?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: All that happened before... you mean the past?
Silver Wolf: ?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: I remember you. I remember Kafka. I remember Elio. I remember Firefly... and Blade too.
Silver Wolf: How do you remember that much?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Probably because I still remember my experiences on Earth...
Silver Wolf: Huh?
Silver Wolf: Who exactly are you?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Don't you already know who I am?
Silver Wolf: I'm asking what your real identity is.
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: shocked.jpg
A shocked Wubbaboo sticker came over.
Without letting it show, Silver Wolf quietly hacked into Caelus's webcam and stared at that familiar face.
...Yeah. His face really was properly handsome. How irritating.
Rare dark-gray hair, golden eyes, sharp brows as though painted in by hand, lashes long enough to belong to a girl, a straight nose, and clean, striking features...
The soft breeze of the air conditioner drifted through the background.
Caelus lifted his head slightly, his hair floating a little, as if he were sinking into thought.
"What exactly is my essence... that really is a profound question."
"Mmm..."
"Honestly, I have no idea."
"A question this profound will require some serious thought..."
The air-conditioning breeze lifted the hair across his forehead.
Beneath the tousled fringe were a pair of bewildered eyes, and Caelus sighed deeply.
"Who... am I, really...?"
Silver Wolf: ...
Silver Wolf: All right, enough. You don't need to say any more.
This was Caelus, all right.
"Elio's script is never wrong..."
"Which means anything not written in the script doesn't matter..."
Silver Wolf's fingertips paused for a moment. In the end, she decided to let Kafka worry about that kind of troublesome issue.
Silver Wolf: Perfect timing. I'm bored. Come play games with me.
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: At your service.
Silver Wolf: Hmph. It's not like you have the right to refuse anyway.
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: That domineering?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Weren't we supposed to duo queue?
Silver Wolf: Hmph...
Silver Wolf: True enough. With your level, you'd need another two Amber Eras before you'd qualify to be this genius gamer's opponent!
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: ...
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: speechless.jpg
A speechless Wubbaboo sticker.
Inside Asta's secret room, Caelus found it rather amusing.
He had not expected to establish contact with Silver Wolf so easily...
Perhaps this was what they called the bond of one's maternal family. The phrasing felt a little weird, but it was close enough.
Caelus recalled the scene from the moment he first opened his eyes: the gentle, lingering gaze of the purple-haired beauty; the concern hidden within her instructions; her reluctance to part; and the silver-haired girl beside her, silent, quietly sighing...
[Listen to me: remember how this moment feels. As long as your heart has a direction, you will surely reach the ending of the story.]
[That's exactly the kind of you I like.]
[When the chance comes for you to make a choice, don't let yourself regret it...]
Buzz buzz—buzz!
A series of urging vibrations rang out.
Caelus blinked and looked back at the screen.
The other side had already completely let her guard down; the chat window was now filled with a long string of stickers and emoticons.
Silver Wolf: (ᗜ˰ᗜ)
Silver Wolf: Stop spacing out! I'm about to crawl through the network cable and kick you!
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Coming, coming.
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: What are we playing?
Silver Wolf: What games do you know? Uh, more importantly, what do you still remember having played?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: I'm an expert at Three Kingdoms Kill.
Silver Wolf: ?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Just pick some kind of MOBA.
Silver Wolf: What do you mean by MOBA?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Uh...
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: A game where multiple players each control one character, work together on a single map, push towers, teamfight, and eventually destroy the enemy base... roughly.
Silver Wolf: You're confident in that kind of game?
Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Isn't that what I have you for?
Silver Wolf: Hmph.
Silver Wolf: True enough.
Silence—
Caelus chuckled softly, suddenly finding Silver Wolf's self-absorbed little act incredibly familiar.
The two of them made brand-new accounts, added each other as friends, opened voice chat, and queued into the game in the pure state of newborn rookies.
Very quickly—
Caelus realized something was wrong.
"No, wait, Silver Wolf, how do you even whiff a rising dragon slash?"
"What rising dragon slash?..." Silver Wolf's voice was lazy with a trace of sweetness to it, unmistakably that of a young girl. Then she cried out in panic, "Hey! You saw me whiff my ult, so get over here and help already! I'm about to die! Their push is way too aggressive—what, are you scared to come over or something..."
"Heh! What have I to fear?" Caelus laughed softly. "With the two of us joining forces, how could mere bandits pose any difficulty?"
"What are you even babbling about?"
Silver Wolf did not understand a word.
All she understood was that she was about to die. The enemy closed in to finish her off. On the interstellar map themed after the Swarm Disaster, the fleet representing the IPC faction unleashed a sky-blotting barrage of light cannons.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Ranger faction character Silver Wolf controlled wielded a katana. The character looked agile, and each dazzling, flashy "rising dragon slash" was swift and beautiful—yet every single one veered just slightly off and landed on jungle monsters instead...
Boom!
A passing Stingspawn exploded into a burst of powder like fireworks.
Silver Wolf fumbled in a panic, her HP already little more than a candle in the wind. At the critical moment, Caelus's cybernetically enhanced cowboy-style Galaxy Ranger character charged forward. The shadow cast by a descending starship covered the two isolated figures below.
Domain expansion!—
Caelus caught an enemy wanted poster blowing in the wind. Yellow sand filled the sky, and the hidden IPC character lurking deep within the enemy fleet was forcibly revealed. The enemy recoiled in shock, and gunfire rained down in a violent storm.
Boom—!
His precious little IPC darling got "loved" to death with a single shot.
"Huh!? ...Punklorde slang! ...You're insane! Your reactions are so fast! You can actually pull off combos like that!"
"A new brain really is convenient."
"?"
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