That first sweeping victory gave little Silver Wolf a much-needed boost of confidence.
However, because the win had been so effortless, she found it hard to believe Cipher when she claimed the opponent was a formidable hacker.
She secretly suspected Cipher was just humoring her, perhaps spinning tall tales to keep her spirits up for the sake of her elder sister.
Watching Silver Wolf's skeptical reaction to her debut triumph, Cipher was momentarily at a loss for words. She could only conclude that the blame lay squarely with 'Silver Wolf' for upgrading the Aether Editing technology to such an absurd degree.
She hadn't the faintest clue what 'Silver Wolf' was thinking, boosting the tool to such god-tier levels of brokenness before casually handing it over to a kid like this.
Even as a Digimon and a Pathstrider of Elation, Cipher found this "Pro" version of Aether Editing quite a handful to wrap her head around.
To the current world of Punklorde, this wasn't just a competitive edge—it was a full-blown dimensional strike.
Cipher shook her head, already imagining the sheer despair awaiting the local hackers.
Because the techniques of Amphoreus inherited Zandar's legacy and insights from Madam Divine Herta, they operated on a completely different logic than the hacking culture of Punklorde.
Thus, even when Cipher was busy stirring up trouble and trouncing experts across the planet, the locals mostly saw it as a provocation from an outside faction.
By now, the struggle between Cipher and the hackers had evolved into a technical clash between rival schools of thought.
But Silver Wolf was different.
Silver Wolf was Punklorde through and through, and the tools she wielded were the direct evolution of their native Aether Editing.
During an engagement, it was easy to sense that her methods shared the same roots.
Yet, here was a hacker of their own blood, poised to bring a "little" high-tech shock to the old guard with overwhelming momentum.
It would be one thing if Silver Wolf had iterated this new tech herself.
But if these hackers ever found out that this brand-new Aether Editing Pro originated from the Savior of Amphoreus... that with just a slight nudge, THEY could turn a girl under ten—with less than a month of training—into one of Punklorde's elite?
Their "Dao of Hacking" would likely crumble into dust.
Cipher pursed her lips, fighting back a smirk. "Setting aside the strength of your opponent, how did you feel about your first op?"
Cipher wasn't in a rush to move to the next target. Instead, she sat on the edge of the rooftop, gazing out over the city where neon lights bled across the landscape.
Beside her, little Silver Wolf gave a small pout. "Not bad. It's actually pretty interesting."
Though the actual confrontation had been underwhelming, the preparation, the planning, the waiting, and the execution—the whole process was genuinely fun.
At the very least, Silver Wolf felt like she was having a blast. That was precisely why she'd been so disappointed when the "boss fight" she'd looked forward to turned out to be such a letdown.
Cipher let out a sudden laugh. "Well, I hope you still feel that way later."
"If the next bunch are as pathetic as the last, I probably won't," Silver Wolf replied.
She had intended to nod in agreement, but remembering how hard that last boss had flopped, she hesitated and walked back her bold claim.
She didn't mean to look down on other hackers. She just wanted to protest to Cipher: Stop giving me these small fry. Constantly bullying noobs was a one-way ticket to stagnation.
"Ha~ I can't guarantee that. You have to realize that even on Punklorde, most hackers aren't as strong as you think they are."
"..."
Silver Wolf remained unconvinced. After all, it had only been half a month since she first touched Aether Editing.
She still saw herself as a total rookie, unaware that she wasn't using standard Aether Editing at all, but a heavily optimized "Pro" version.
She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind for now. It didn't matter if she only ran into small fry at first.
As long as she leaked enough data and displayed enough skill, the experts would come looking for her even if Cipher didn't seek them out. That was just how Punklorde worked.
"So, when does the next job start?"
"Oho, such passion! We start right now then. Keep up!"
With a light chuckle and the crisp chime of a bell, Cipher vanished from Silver Wolf's sight. The duo resumed their operation.
As for Bartholos... it had always preferred acting alone and clearly had no interest in babysitting. Besides, in its current form as a Digimon-like "Koromon," it wasn't exactly equipped for childcare anyway.
In any case, once little Silver Wolf intentionally leaked her own intel to bait the masters into the ring, a massive shockwave ripped through Punklorde's network.
"Did Punklorde just give birth to a traitor?!"
"Does it count? Her Aether Editing was taught by the boss of that Amphoreus thief, wasn't it?"
"Is this really the time to argue about being a traitor? The real question is whether the intel is true—did she really start learning half a month ago and then just start wiping the floor with us?"
"What else could it be? Are you suggesting a top-tier hacker has been living under a rock for years just to wait for an Amphoreus invasion to flip sides?"
"..."
When that conclusion was voiced, the entire hacking forum fell into a momentary, paralyzed silence.
As ridiculous as the theory sounded, the facts were stubborn.
Whether the culprit was a local or from Amphoreus, they had left zero digital footprint prior to the Phantom Thief's appearance. That meant they were a fresh debut.
A rookie had used Aether Editing to dismantle a whole legion of veteran hackers.
Not only that, but the rookie's teacher was from Amphoreus.
They had cracked Aether Editing in a staggering amount of time and apparently "tuned" the technology itself. This was a hard pill for the hackers to swallow.
"By the way, for those of you who actually fought her... did it feel off? The tech she's using... it feels like there's a generational gap."
"Yes."
"Absolutely!"
A flood of hackers, their confidence shattered, began to recount those crushing defeats.
Truth be told, everyone who had faced Silver Wolf felt the same way, but they had all assumed it was a hallucination born of losing so badly.
Now that they were comparing notes—good grief! It wasn't just them.
Consequently, an even more terrifying theory began to circulate.
Someone had modified, or rather, upgraded Aether Editing, optimizing it to an impossible height. So high, in fact, that a novice could effortlessly trample the old guard.
In an instant, the atmosphere among the hackers shifted entirely. Some were struck by fear, others by excitement, and some were driven to the brink of madness.
A mere hypothesis, unsupported by evidence, had completely ignited Punklorde. A generational leap in Aether Editing tech? To a hacker, that was nothing less than a Holy Grail.
Many hackers who previously had no interest now turned their eyes toward the wandering Amphoreus Phantom Thief crew.
Thus, like a swarm of locusts, countless hackers—driven by a cocktail of conflicting emotions—surged toward the trail Silver Wolf had intentionally left behind, as she prepared to challenge the entire world.
On the other side, having sensed the brewing chaos early on, Cipher and Bartholos kept a close watch on the audacious brat.
Bartholos roared with laughter, praising Silver Wolf's boldness and sincerely hoping she would flatten the whole planet.
With 'Silver Wolf' as a safety net, Bartholos wasn't worried in the slightest—it just wanted to see if the kid actually had the guts to take on the world.
Cipher, however, wasn't quite as mischievous. "There are too many of them. I can't let you handle it all alone; your sister wouldn't allow it."
But more than that, Silver Wolf, realizing things had spiraled beyond her expectations, finally voiced the doubt she'd been harboring.
"...Is my Aether Editing really different from theirs?"
If she had known this from the start, she wouldn't have played it this way.
The problem was that every opponent she'd faced had shattered at a touch before she could even process the gap. Combined with her own shallow understanding of the "Pro" version, she hadn't been able to feel the nuances.
Hearing the news now, Silver Wolf herself was the most bewildered of them all.
Cipher looked at Silver Wolf's holographic projection and gave a soft laugh. "You'll have to ask your sister about that. How should I know?"
"..."
Silver Wolf didn't really want to ask. If she opened her mouth, her recent antics would definitely be exposed.
Though, given her current strength, she suspected her sister had been watching her every move anyway.
But that was a separate matter. For a young girl like her, admitting it to her sister's face was still a bit too difficult.
Cipher saw right through her.
She leaned down and said seriously, "Your dear sister might not be staying here much longer. If there's something you want to say before she leaves, you might not get another chance for a very long time."
"..."
Silver Wolf's entire body gave a sudden jolt. She looked at Cipher in disbelief, her eyes searching for any sign of a lie. Unfortunately, it was the truth.
In an instant, the holographic projection beside Cipher flickered and vanished. Silver Wolf's consciousness returned to her familiar underground arcade.
She looked around. There were a few customers in the arcade, but her sister wasn't there.
Ignoring the patrons, Silver Wolf leaped down from Project Bunny's arms and sprinted out the door, desperate to find that familiar figure.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL