Herta Space Station.
"Pfft—! I'm dying! There's even a little Herta figurine."
The Quantum phantom of Silver Wolf—dressed in a cropped, off-the-shoulder white T-shirt and fishnet hot pants, her whole look cool and trendy—pointed at the exquisitely dressed little Herta puppet standing behind Stelle in its dainty, adorable maid outfit, and burst into mocking laughter as though she'd just stumbled onto something hilarious.
"Is that the Aether Spirit edition of Miracle Nikki? Stelle, are you seriously over here playing dress-up dolls?"
Silver Wolf—coached in her movements by the famous Teacher Tom—laughed with undisguised teasing in her voice.
"Say what you will."
Stelle planted both hands on her hips, her expression unusually serious:
"She's really pretty!"
"Tch~!"
Silver Wolf curled her lip, indifference practically overflowing from her—yet her eyes couldn't help sneaking another glance at the puppet, which stood about as tall as herself:
"Passable… I guess she's alright to look at."
She crossed her arms, tilted her head, and a playful, wicked little smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth as she jerked her chin at the maid-dressed little Herta:
"Hey, since you're a maid, how about calling me 'Master'? Let me experience what it's like to be a lord for once?"
However, what answered her was not an obedient greeting.
Across the puppet's exquisite little face surfaced a cold, condescending disdain utterly at odds with its cute appearance.
"Hah. A snot-nosed brat who hasn't even grown all her hair in yet—what nonsense are you babbling on about?"
A scornful, contemptuous tone laced with a touch of authority—this was not the will of the real Herta come in person.
Every little Herta puppet came pre-installed from the factory with a "Personality Mapping Module," plus standard-issue extras like the "Utterly Unreasonable Module," the "Refuse-to-Cooperate Module," and even the "Indiscriminate Verbal Assault Module"—all sorts of these inexplicable, godforsaken presets.
Luckily, the Star Rail crew had been granted administrator privileges over the Herta puppets and could check off, cancel, and adjust the AI.
"A mere puppet, and it dares to defy me!"
Silver Wolf's competitive streak was ignited by that contemptuous tone.
One-handed, she tapped and dragged across a holographic control panel that popped up out of thin air, quick as lightning. Streams of data-light, like living chains, sank into the Herta puppet's body.
Neon data streams flickered within the puppet's amethyst-like eyes.
The next second, its arrogant posture became smooth and graceful, as if a program had been reset. Of its own accord, it lifted the hem of its maid dress and performed a textbook-perfect bow in Silver Wolf's direction.
Its little lips parted, and what came out was no longer a cold, haughty scolding, but a voice squeezed out with all its might—so cloyingly sweet it was sickening:
"Goshujin-sama~?"
"Hahaha! Even when an old woman goes all soft, her voice still sounds pretty nice~"
Silver Wolf spread her arms and laughed most maliciously:
"Making the illustrious Herta herself call me 'Master'—can anyone else pull that off?"
"Of course they can!"
Stelle immediately retorted, reaching out to knead the soft little cheeks of the Fengta puppet beside her, pinching that exquisite little face into all sorts of shapes:
"I'm Fengta's true master! Come on, Fengta, call me Master!"
The Fengta puppet's beautiful eyes brimmed with frustration and indignant humiliation, its little face squished out of shape. It wanted to curse, but could only stammer out, word by word, the vocabulary Stelle had preset:
"Mas… ter… Baka! Hentai! Urusai!"
And then it watched a near-blissful look of enjoyment spread across Stelle's face.
"Mmm~ curse me a few more times?"
"…What a nasty little fetish."
Silver Wolf shot Stelle a withering look.
Still nuzzling Fengta, Stelle asked:
"By the way, why'd you come all the way to Herta Space Station too? You're not here to provoke Herta again, are you? Aren't you afraid that game account you finally clawed back is gonna get banned for another hundred years?"
"Tch!"
Silver Wolf snorted disdainfully, confidently swiping her thumb across the tip of her nose:
"There's absolutely no way it flops this time! Last time I just got blindsided by an information gap from that old woman Herta."
She patted her barely-there chest, swearing up and down:
"The instant my account got unbanned, I set up the highest-grade triggers. The moment even the slightest bit of abnormal data flow tries to touch my account, the alarm goes off straight to me. Herta wants to try another sneak attack? Not a chance!"
"As for why I came here?"
Silver Wolf blew a pink bubblegum bubble and popped it with a "pop":
"Obviously because Herta Space Station is one of Aether Front's Showdown Paradise zones! This place's badge is the only one I'm missing—get it, and I'll have unlocked the ultimate achievement, [Total Badge Domination]! How about that?"
As she spoke, Silver Wolf even shot Stelle a look that said, 'Your big sis Wolf is amazing, right?'
Looking at Silver Wolf's "hurry-up-and-praise-me" expression, Stelle shrugged, her tone carrying just the right amount of perfunctory, monotone flattery:
"Amazing, amazing, just what I'd expect from you."
But her eyes clearly regarded Silver Wolf's love of showing off as childish.
And the blatant disdain in that gaze made it look exactly like she was watching a childish brat who'd snatched up all the building blocks in kindergarten and just had to brag about it.
Show-off!!
Mainly because whenever they teamed up to play games, Silver Wolf—just to flaunt her plays in front of Seele—would pull all sorts of stunts feeding Stelle to the enemy during team fights!!
And in multiplayer battles she'd fancily grandstand at Stelle's expense too.
Stelle had all these accounts logged, mind you!!
Stelle changed the subject, her expression turning serious as she pointed at Silver Wolf and demanded righteously:
"Cut the act! I was just browsing the Interstellar Entertainment section and saw the IPC's official broadcast!"
"That absurdly fast full-badge collector going by the ID 'Wolf King'—that's you, isn't it? Confess! Have you been cheating again?!"
"What do you mean, 'again'? I collect badges on pure skill… that's called crushing them with technique!"
Silver Wolf craned her neck and retorted.
Whose fault is it that the IPC used Aether copy principles to make the game?
Her eyes shifted evasively for a moment, then she righteously puffed out that barely-curved chest again, lowering her voice with a "you-know-what-I-mean" undertone:
"And besides… if there's no lock to pick, can you even call it cracking?"
"At most, this counts as… reasonable utilization of environmental resources! It's all to uphold fairness and justice in the game environment, to punish those bastards who are actually cheating!"
At the words "punish the cheaters," a blazing fire of justice instantly ignited in Silver Wolf's eyes, and she added through gritted teeth:
"Like that player called 'Haxxor Bunny'!"
Silver Wolf was ten-thousand-percent certain:
"She's absolutely cheating!"
Otherwise there was no way she could keep pace with her own badge-collecting speed!
"Besides that…"
Silver Wolf narrowed her eyes, drawing out her tone, and pointed a finger through the air at Stelle:
"There's you and Caelus! You two can whip out Aether Spirits that are that far off the charts… you're definitely cheating too, right? You've got to be cheating?! Don't even try to deny it!"
"Don't go slinging false accusations! I'm not shameless like you."
So said Stelle·I-Didn't-Cheat·Core Sprite.
Chatting all the while, the two of them headed deeper into the dueling paradise together.
Normally, one would frequently run into other players along the way, and the moment two players locked eyes, they'd wordlessly kick off an Aether Spirit duel.
But when it came to Stelle and Silver Wolf—
"Buhao, it's that demon king!"
"Budui! And the Wolf King too!"
"Kids, run for it!"
Seeing the two's game IDs, the players scattered and fled in all directions—one a divine-beast girl, one a cheating sister, both too much to handle, too much to handle.
Only true powerhouses dared to challenge the pair—only to watch their prized, overlord-class main Aether Spirit get blasted to smithereens by a single Ultimate-tier Blazing Cannon from DanteMon, then stand there stunned, watching the grey-haired girl cheer and hop with joy as she gobbled up the points, frozen on the spot questioning their entire existence.
"And you still say you're not cheating?"
"Get your facts straight—stats and mechanics being a smidge-times-a-hundred-million stronger is fundamentally different from cheating."
Stelle argued.
As long as everyone cheats, it's the same as no one cheating.
Unfortunately, along the way only two kind souls came to feed her points; everyone else, the instant they made eye contact with Stelle, immediately buried their heads and played ostrich.
Buried deeper than students avoiding eye contact when the classroom teacher calls on someone.
Helpless, Stelle had no choice but to give up farming points, and together with Silver Wolf she arrived at the final stage of Herta Space Station's Showdown Paradise to find the champion candidate stationed there.
The IPC had originally intended to invite Madam Herta to spare some time as the gate guardian—countless people would swarm in just to catch a glimpse of her, even a puppet version.
But Herta, with a brief direct link to Bronita and Nous in hand and countless research topics waiting, had no time to play this kind of game with the IPC.
And so, the station's champion candidate turned out to be—
"Asta, how is it you? Topaz, why are you here too?"
Stelle greeted the two acquaintances before her.
"Stelle, and this Wolf King here… hoh, never thought the two of you, whose fame has been rising lately as top cheater-players, would show up together. Do you two know each other?"
Topaz looked at the pair before her—the IPC's forum boards and customer service hotlines had practically been blown up!
All of them complaint calls!
Star Rail crew, the Wolf King, and Haxxor Bunny—every last one of them absurd beyond belief!
"Even if my opponent is Stelle, I won't go easy on you~"
Asta said with a smile.
It was Madam Herta who had pushed her into the gate guardian's seat, and to avoid tarnishing Madam Herta's prestige and taste, Asta had specially called in Topaz, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the previous grand finals.
As a Heavenly King, Topaz held the qualification to advance directly to the Showdown Tournament with no need to collect badges, so warming up here as a gate guardian wasn't a bad deal.
Of course, the main reason was still Asta's invitation.
"To give the players a proper trial, I went to great lengths to acquire this precious Aether Spirit from Madam Ruan Mei." Asta pulled out an Aether Coin.
"Since it's not much to look at, I normally never use it, but seeing as my opponents are you two, I've got no choice."
Asta aimed the Aether Coin at the empty dueling arena, and several strands of data manifested into reality.
They assembled into a colossal insect—the True Sting-Bug.
The mature specimen possesses the ability to summon Larval Sting-Bugs and Lesser Sting-Bugs, strengthening its own attacks through reproduction during battle.
Not only can the powder it generates when beating its wings send intelligent creatures into hallucinations—more terrifying still is that by the time you see a single True Sting-Bug, there are already countless bugs all around you.
Like a copy-paste, even an Aether Spirit, with the aid of an unknown chip, endlessly releases swarm pheromones, seizing the initiative to breed ever more of its own kind.
The swarm is a calamity for planets and even the whole universe.
"I'm going all out too!"
Topaz's gaze sharpened as her Aether Coin traced an elegant arc.
Several beams of dazzling, iridescent light burst forth, and from within them leapt an array of Dimensional Piggy Banks of every shape, radiating strange spatial ripples.
Some were clad in starlight armor, some held space rifts in their mouths, others were wreathed in warped force fields. These little fellows with their marvelous abilities quickly formed ranks, erecting a piggy-bank defensive line.
Stelle and Silver Wolf exchanged a glance, and each pulled out an Aether Coin.
"[Aberrant]-type again?"
A that's-just-what-I-wanted curve tugged at the corner of Stelle's mouth as she tossed her coin high:
"Then it's decided—it's you!"
Vwomm! Vwomm! Vwomm!
That heart-stoppingly familiar pure-white radiance erupted once more—Power Type Tiga, Sky Type Tiga, Goss·Luna. The shadows cast by the Ultramen's massive bodies instantly blanketed more than half the arena!
"Hey, you can't be serious—a genuine master of counter-typing?"
Silver Wolf couldn't help clutching her forehead and griping.
But her hands weren't idle either—a special coin, flowing with data-light, was activated.
Accompanied by a soul-shaking wolf howl, a colossal wolf-type war beast tore through the void and descended, its body no less immense than an Ultraman, entirely sheathed in dark-silver streamlined armor, ghostly-blue energy gushing from its joints!
Its form faintly bore the silhouette of Silver Wolf's Prometheus armament—and as for how it could take such a shape?
Don't ask; if you ask, the answer's a hacker's technical prowess!
Commonly known as: cheating.
"Then here's two more of the same type."
Stelle casually flung out two more coins.
A bone-chilling ice storm swept out—Mother of Deception·Cocolia descended astride a throne of frost, her cold gaze looking down upon all living things.
Abyssal shadows and the stench of sulfur spread wide as Ultimate-level·DanteMon's ferocious clown visage split into a cruel grin, its enormous bat wings blotting out the sky.
Asta: "…"
Topaz: "…"
Gazing at this lineup rivaling a mythic battlefield made manifest, the two ladies' composure gradually spiraled out of control.
Bail, bail, bail!
They really weren't putting on the slightest act!
"My turn—draw!"
Stelle raised her palm high with the ceremonial flair of declaring an ending, and a virtual chip projection radiating an ominous dark-purple glow instantly loaded onto DanteMon.
[Non-Circulating Limited Chip: DanteMon·Soul-Devouring Pact]
Effect: When DanteMon slays a target, it devours the target's core data, permanently siphoning 5%–10% of its core attributes—HP cap, energy strength, base attack power, and so on. Recommended enhancement peak: 1000%.
[Insertion Complete! Protocol In Effect!]
"DanteMon, use Miasma Eruption!"
Stelle folded her arms and issued the command.
"Kekeke—!"
DanteMon let out a spine-chilling shrieking laugh, its cold crimson eyes locking onto Topaz's piggy-bank legion.
The gigantic, sky-blotting bat wings behind it beat abruptly.
Whoooo—!!!
A sky-swallowing, purple-black miasma laden with corrosive and dark energy, like the waters of a burst Styx, swept toward the colorful Dimensional Piggy Bank legion in an instant, carrying an all-devouring aura of terror.
She was giving Asta's True Sting-Bug time to breed.
Three minutes, and it had already bred into a swarm.
Then, with the assistance of the Ultramen and the Mother of Deception, it was devoured by DanteMon and grew.
Another three minutes passed, and the battle was over.
"Cheating! A hundred percent she's cheating!"
The one shouting this was neither the defeated Asta nor Topaz, but the dumbfounded—wolf-struck—Silver Wolf.
She gritted her teeth and grumbled irritably:
"This bunch over at the IPC's Aether Front tech department is truly useless!"
It was normal that they couldn't detect her cheating—but why couldn't they detect even Stelle's cheating either?
Silver Wolf immediately hacked into the IPC's database to inspect Stelle's Aether Spirit data, her expression gradually shifting.
Why?
She couldn't detect it either?!
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