The issue with the game cartridge had been resolved.
Bai Ming, acting as Silverwing, naturally didn't waste any time.
However, as a Stellaron Hunter, Silverwing felt that she couldn't afford to keep too low of a profile. After all, the purpose of this operation could be understood as a sort of debut performance.
Of course, there might have been deeper meanings behind it, but Elio hadn't elaborated. Silverwing decided to prepare as if this were her first time on the big stage.
And so, on the first day, Silverwing didn't launch an immediate intrusion. Instead, after cracking the firewall of Planet Screwllum, she left behind a formal notice of invasion.
To be honest, as the stronghold of a member of the Genius Society, Planet Screwllum had always been a focal point of intense scrutiny.
Combined with the fact that Screwllum was a gentleman—or at least, he presented himself as one—the number of people attempting cyber-intrusions on Planet Screwllum was by no means small.
However, almost without exception, they were all intercepted by that absurd firewall. In recent years, Screwllum had upgraded it several times, making the already immovable wall even more impregnable.
But today...
The firewall had actually been breached. Although the intruder took no further action after the breakthrough, the mere feat was enough to capture Screwllum's full attention.
--+--
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Bai Ming had returned to the Simulated Universe space station with Kiana and Silver Wolf in tow.
Although the Simulated Universe had come to life and now sported Herta's massive head as its exterior, Bai Ming still habitually used the place as a base.
Kiana, though it wasn't her first time seeing it, still found the sight bizarre. After all, using one's own giant head as the design for a space station was a concept that was perhaps a bit too "forward-thinking."
Especially considering the station itself had gained sentience and become a member of the Genius Society, Kiana's impression of the place was... nuanced.
There were simply too many strange things in this world.
Over the past month, she had seen plenty, but there were still many more oddities she hadn't yet had the chance to witness. Kiana had never imagined a space station could possess self-awareness.
For Silver Wolf, however, a different piece of news held far more appeal.
According to the Simulated Universe, Planet Screwllum's firewall had been breached by a hacker who left a "crime notice."
Although Screwllum didn't know where the opponent came from, the ability to crack his current firewall was something he took very seriously. He temporarily withdrew his attention from the Simulated Universe, deciding to handle the showdown with this hacker first.
As for Silver Wolf—
"How did someone challenge him before me?! Dammit, I was supposed to be first! No way, I'm the most genius hacker here, I'm jumping in too!"
Silver Wolf was itching for a fight. She wanted to crash the party on the day mentioned in the notice. She didn't just want to challenge Screwllum; she wanted to take on this unknown hacker as well.
Standing to the side, Bai Ming listened to Silver Wolf's declaration of war with a very subtle expression.
This is actually enough to fire her up?
The notice sent over only mentioned that a hacker wanted to challenge a genius.
How Silver Wolf managed to interpret that as a battle for the title of the universe's number one genius hacker was beyond her.
Still...
Silver Wolf's current level had just passed 90; she was still quite a way from being maxed out. However, in terms of hacking prowess, she was roughly equivalent to an original Aether Editing level of 300. That level would make her a powerhouse anywhere.
But against Screwllum, it clearly wouldn't be enough. Even against the Screwllum of the past, winning would be difficult. Going in to challenge him now, her chances of victory were slim.
Yet, Bai Ming didn't stop her. Silver Wolf loved a challenge and lived for strong opponents.
Although the Lv.999 Silver Wolf had a more wicked personality, the two were essentially the same at their core. Both pursued greater power—a trait forged by the background of Silver Wolf's childhood.
Aether Editing was Silver Wolf's greatest source of confidence, so she took hacking very seriously. A loss was a loss, and a win was a win.
Bai Ming wasn't worried that a single failure would break her. She was simply wondering how she'd have to coax the "kid" after she lost.
And...
If the day ever came where Silver Wolf realized that the "Silverwing" identity was just Bai Ming's Persona, she wondered if the girl would be angry at her.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Following the notice, Silverwing launched her intrusion on Planet Screwllum exactly on time.
She bypassed the firewall again with practiced ease. Even though Screwllum had upgraded the security during those three days, it still posed no problem for Silverwing.
Soon, Silverwing captured Screwllum's signal. Clearly, the opponent had been waiting here early, eager to meet the rival who could so easily dismantle his defenses.
The two sides clashed almost immediately.
Through the power of Aether Editing, the confrontation on the data network manifested as a semi-physical display.
Just as Elio had said, the current Screwllum was even more unfathomable.
A level 150 might have been able to go back and forth with the old Screwllum, but now, she clearly couldn't gain even a slight advantage.
Screwllum's progress was even higher than Silverwing had anticipated.
If he had improved this much, then Divine Herta, who likewise resonated with the Erudition Equation, must have reached an even more staggering level.
But now wasn't the time to worry about that. Because...
Silver Wolf joined the battlefield.
Silver Wolf's sudden appearance caused Silverwing and Screwllum to call a temporary truce, both turning their attention toward her.
"Heh heh, looks like I timed this perfectly!"
Silver Wolf was ready to go, her lock-on cursor hovering between Screwllum and Silverwing, hesitating over who to strike first.
Screwllum and Silverwing didn't move. Silverwing, naturally, wanted to use this chance to test Silver Wolf's skill.
As for Screwllum, he recognized Silver Wolf. After all, she was the young girl Bai Ming had brought back, and she had mentioned wanting to interfere while at the Simulated Universe a few days prior.
Screwllum's impression of her was that she was young, possessed incredible hacking talent since childhood, and was somewhat clingy toward Bai Ming.
To anyone other than Bai Ming, she was rather blunt, possessing that characteristic "fearless" attitude of youth.
But she wasn't a bad kid at heart.
Screwllum surmised that Silver Wolf hadn't come to help him, but rather to start a three-way free-for-all.
He didn't mind. On his home turf, as long as the opponent didn't vastly outclass him, he was confident he could win. Having one more person make the situation more chaotic wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
So, both of them stopped, waiting for Silver Wolf to fire the first shot.
After a moment of hesitation, Silver Wolf finally pointed her spear at Silverwing. It wasn't for any deep reason; primarily, Screwllum was at least a friend of her "sister."
Meanwhile, this Silverwing person was a rival coming to steal her title as the genius hacker. Obviously, she had to take out the rival first before dueling Screwllum.
With a surge of excitement, Silver Wolf charged at Silverwing. Seeing this, Screwllum immediately followed suit. In a brawl, Screwllum wasn't about to just stand by and watch.
Seeing the two of them temporarily allied against her, Silverwing didn't mind, quickly launching a counterattack. She merely sighed inwardly; with Silver Wolf joining in, she would likely lose even sooner.
Elio had forbidden her from using too much power. It was a destined loss to begin with, and with Silver Wolf added to the mix, the end would come even faster.
Silverwing shook her head helplessly and met Silver Wolf head-on.
A loss was a loss, but since things had come to this, she was going to give Silver Wolf a proper "tutorial battle" to make sure the girl understood exactly where her flaws were.
The moment they made contact, Silver Wolf froze.
Through the data signals, Aether Editing allowed one to easily capture the opponent's personal image. The key was that the opponent wasn't trying to hide at all.
And that face...
It actually looked just like her. No, not exactly the same—it looked like a grown-up version of herself.
"Whoa, okay. Not only are you a hacker like me, you even look like me? You don't happen to be named Bronya too, do you?"
Silver Wolf's eyes flickered toward Silverwing's chest. Seeing the very obvious curves—which could even be described as quite substantial—her lips twitched slightly before she quickly composed herself.
However, that little glance didn't escape Silverwing's eyes. She immediately laughed.
"It seems you're still just a child. But don't be discouraged—you'll grow to be as big as me one day~"
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Silver Wolf's face flushed red, and she launched a barrage of attacks like a violent storm.
Screwllum, conversely, settled into a support role. Watching the two of them trade blows, he felt as if the hacker known as Silverwing was actually... mentoring Silver Wolf.
Could there be a connection between this young Stellaron Hunter and Silver Wolf?
Screwllum wasn't in a hurry to attack, instead observing the scene carefully.
He had heard that Madam Bai Ming once had a decent relationship with the Stellaron Hunters; perhaps that was the link?
Still, the Hunters had certainly done their homework to find someone who looked the same and also used Aether Editing.
Crucially, Screwllum couldn't detect the power of Finality from her. This meant she wasn't a "future" conjured by Elio through Finality.
How interesting. To think that in this world, besides Silver Wolf and Madam Bai Ming, there was someone else who could wield Aether Editing to this degree.
Screwllum couldn't help but feel that this young Hunter was likely connected to Madam Bai Ming as well. He just couldn't guess the specific nature of that relationship.
Silverwing's tutorial battle for Silver Wolf was a success. Because Screwllum was being a perfect gentleman and hadn't gone for a killing blow—focusing instead on providing stable support—the result was...
Naturally, Silver Wolf's defeat.
Silver Wolf didn't blame Screwllum for not helping her double-team the opponent; after all, they weren't exactly planned teammates. She just bared her teeth at Silverwing before being kicked offline.
"Silverwing, was it? I've got your name memorized! You just wait! Next time—next time, I'm definitely taking you down!"
Silverwing waved at Silver Wolf with a blooming smile. "See you next time, my little defeated opponent~ Make sure you don't go home crying and throwing a tantrum."
"Dammit! I would never—"
Before Silver Wolf could finish her heated retort, she was disconnected.
Silverwing then turned to Screwllum and offered a graceful, ladylike bow. "You truly are a gentleman. I thought for sure you would have struck just now."
"You were teaching Silver Wolf. Why would I interfere with a pedagogical moment between hackers?"
Screwllum tipped his hat and returned the bow.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL