Star Rail Impostor! - 331
--+--
Finally, she managed to break free from 'Qingque’s' clutches.
Qingque covered her flushed little face, glaring at her in a huff.
“I’m just a tiny diviner. I don’t have to fight, and I’m not climbing the ranks anytime soon. Even Lady Fu Xuan’s protection is more than enough—why would I need the protection of an Aeon?”
Though she didn’t say it outright, Qingque had already completely confirmed the identity of the person standing in front of her.
At first, she had considered whether she should show some respect, but the moment this person came up, they started rubbing her cheeks like kneading dough, all while wearing a mischievous grin right in her face.
It was really hard to maintain any sense of reverence under those circumstances.
“And more importantly, I can’t play tiles anymore!! Now the entire Luofu knows that the new diviner from the Divination Commission, Qingque, is actually Boss Que. There’s nothing ‘behind the scenes’ about it at all!”
When it came down to it, Qingque didn’t actually care about anything else.
Whether she had to work hard or become a boss didn’t really bother her. Since it involved something she liked, she didn’t mind spending the energy.
But now, after doing all that work, she had lost the chance to play cards with her friends at the card shop.
That was something Qingque simply couldn’t accept.
She would rather give up the big company and powerful backing altogether.
All she wanted was to slack off at work during the day, play cards after work, and continue studying the art of being a seasoned workplace slacker.
Facing Qingque’s resentful gaze, 'Qingque' simply smiled and shook her head.
“Sigh, young… far too young. I already told you—you’ve got backing now. For something this small, why not just ask me? I’d solve it for you.”
“Huh? You can fix something like that??”
Qingque blinked in obvious surprise. She clearly hadn’t really thought about what an Aeon could actually do.
Especially one who wielded the power of multiple Paths.
'Qingque' crossed her arms, lifting her chin proudly.
“Of course! You’ve still got a chance, you know. If you beg me nicely, I’ll grant you a golden finger that lets you play cards without trouble.”
Qingque really wanted to complain about what kind of ridiculous name “golden finger” was, but the moment she thought about returning to the card table, she shoved all those doubts aside.
With a smooth sliding motion, she dropped to her knees and hugged ‘Qingque’s’ leg.
“Boss, I want to play Celestial Jade! Please, I’m begging you~”
So she could change faces that fast for the sake of playing cards, huh.
'Qingque' raised a finger and poked Qingque right on the forehead.
Thinking she had annoyed her with the leg-hugging, Qingque instinctively shut her eyes. But then she suddenly felt something soft and warm press against her forehead.
With a soft smack, a tile shaped like a salted fish stamped itself onto her forehead.
She felt her consciousness link tightly with the tile, and then two different streams of power flowed from her forehead into her body.
Qingque opened her eyes and watched as 'Qingque' withdrew her finger. The salted fish tile slid off her forehead under gravity.
She hurriedly reached up and caught the Celestial Jade tile.
The salted fish design on its face was the very tile pattern she was most proud of, and this tile had been imbued with power by an Aeon.
Just how strong that power was, Qingque didn’t know. But she did know the special abilities contained within the tile were exactly what she needed to solve her problem.
One of them came from the Path of Elation—a clone ability.
The salted fish tile could split into four. Besides the one in her hand, the other three could each manifest a clone of herself. 'Qingque' had modeled this ability after Sparkle’s cloning technique.
But unlike Sparkle, who used masks to split into entirely different personalities, Qingque’s were just simple clones.
They could merge back together at any time, and the clones were very unlikely to develop their own consciousness.
The other ability came from the power of Remembrance.
It could subtly interfere with the perceptions of people around her. When someone recognized Qingque on the street, they wouldn’t react with the same excited frenzy as before.
Instead, they’d just think, Oh, that’s the famous Boss Que, and then carry on with whatever they were doing.
With this, Qingque could go out to play cards in the future without being surrounded by curious onlookers like today, unable to even sit down at the table.
Sure, she had wanted to tease little Qingque a bit, but 'Qingque' wasn’t a devil. A little teasing for fun was fine—there was no need to take away the simple happiness Qingque found in her ordinary life.
As for the power level of the ability—
She hadn’t given Qingque much. Mostly because Qingque herself didn’t really care.
All she wanted was her laid-back daily routine of slacking off.
Compared to what Fu Xuan had received, the energy output was greatly reduced. At the same time, 'Qingque' added a trigger-type mark inside the salted fish tile.
If Qingque ever had the impulse to test things out recklessly, the tile would send her a message first.
At that time, depending on the situation, she might even promote Qingque to become her Emanator.
Looking at Qingque holding the tile like it was a precious treasure, 'Qingque' asked with a grin, “So? Still think it’s bad?”
“Hehehe~ Thank you, Boss! Boss is the best in the whole universe! I pledge my loyalty to Boss!”
Seeing Qingque act like this—as if anyone who let her slack off and play cards was automatically the greatest person in the universe—
'Qingque' simply smiled.
Though honestly, Qingque’s attitude toward life really was quite healthy.
“Alright, go have fun. Oh, right—later on, recruit more people for the company. I’ll be putting a few more games into the Originium. Future updates will depend on them.”
“Got it, Boss! I’ll definitely find the most reliable designers for you!”
Up to this point, their company only had two people.
They definitely needed to hire more.
Qingque planned to test out the abilities of this new role—leave a clone here to recruit workers while her main body went to the Artisanship Commission to oversee the production lines.
Judging by the traffic at the card shop, if she went back now, there was no way she’d get a seat at the table. She’d only be able to play online.
But for Qingque, playing online Celestial Jade would only ever be something to do while slacking off during work at the Divination Commission.
If she truly had free time to play cards, she would absolutely choose to play face-to-face with her card buddies, not queue alone online.
“But besides Celestial Jade, Boss, do you have any other interesting games?”
“A few. You’ll find out later.”
'Qingque' felt that since the company had officially been established and the gaming platform had begun developing, having only one game sitting there would look a little shabby.
So she planned to handcraft a few more games to upload.
Thinking back to some event modes she had played in games during her previous life, there was one involving capturing creatures and battling them.
'Qingque' decided to recreate the entire Pokemon series inside the Originium.
Follow the story, capture creatures, and battle other players.
The battles would be high-realism, real-time combat—not purely turn-based.
Among the achievement rewards in the Pokemon series, the more unique ones were redesigned by 'Qingque' so that players could manifest their favorite partner as a real living being.
At the same time, she also planned to include the accompanying Pokemon trading card game.
And besides the Pokemon card game, she also intended to add Hearthstone as a separate standalone game.
Of course, the amount of content she remembered from the Pokemon and Hearthstone games in her past life was limited.
Once she finished recreating everything she remembered, future expansions would have to rely on designers in this world.
That was exactly why she had Qingque go recruit people.
After all, she didn’t plan on spending every day making games.
Though for her, creating a game was extremely simple and fast.
She only needed to extract memories, use them as a blueprint, materialize them through the power of Elation, patch up any gaps, and then load them into the Originium.
Compared to the original versions from her previous life, 'Qingque' naturally made some small adjustments to the games.
But those were mainly improvements to the gameplay experience. The overall framework remained unchanged.
--+--
Elsewhere.
While 'Qingque' continued uploading Pokemon and Hearthstone into the Originium and thinking about additional achievements, Fu Xuan finally began to slowly wake from her deep sleep.
The throbbing pain in her body was gone, and after such a long-awaited, incredibly comfortable sleep,
she found herself momentarily dazed and confused when she opened her eyes.
For a moment, she even thought she was still dreaming.
After all, in Fu Xuan’s subconscious, the constant ache in her forehead had always been proof that she was awake.
But as her awareness gradually sharpened and her rational mind returned,
Fu Xuan slowly remembered everything that had happened the previous night and realized it hadn’t been a dream.
She had truly become the Emanator of the Arbiter of Myriad Distinctions. Not only had the hidden dangers within her body been resolved, but the power of her Third Eye had been greatly enhanced.
Curled beneath the blankets, she stretched lazily and wriggled around in the sheets.
The unfamiliar comfort was almost impossible for Fu Xuan to resist, but just as she was about to get up, her body suddenly froze.
Her hand brushed through her loose long hair, then touched her body—now clothed in nothing but her undergarments.
Fu Xuan’s face instantly turned bright red.
And the Third Eye on her forehead, strengthened by the power of Elation, quickly gave her the answer.
Last night, after Fu Xuan had fallen asleep, so that she could sleep more comfortably, 'Qingque' had personally removed her outer clothing, leaving only her undergarments untouched out of courtesy.
Even so—just thinking about how her idol had taken care of her like that, even helping undress her, leading to such an unintentionally intimate moment…
Fu Xuan felt like her brain was trembling, her pupils shaking, her entire face burning hot.
Thankfully, 'Qingque' had been polite enough not to sleep in the same bed.
If Fu Xuan had seen, through her Third Eye, that she had spent the whole night sharing a bed with the person she admired…she probably would have had an even harder time staying calm.
Even so, because of her admiration and longing for ‘Qingque’, Fu Xuan’s emotions were impossible to settle anytime soon.
…No wonder she helped me take the entire day off. In my current state, there’s no way I could face anyone.
Blushing furiously, Fu Xuan pulled the blanket back over herself.
This was definitely the kind of emotional turmoil that needed some time to sort out.
Either way, there was no way she could go outside and see anyone today.
--+--
Star Rail Impostor! - 332
--+--
After obtaining the ability to create clones, Qingque adapted to her newfound busy lifestyle with surprising speed.
After all, her true self could slack off and head out to play tiles while the clones handled the heavy lifting.
As for the games that 'Qingque' kept stuffing into the Originium, Qingque had tried them out herself.
She found the competitive card games quite entertaining, though she didn't have much patience for the single-player stories about collecting pets to become a champion.
However, while the plots didn't grab her, she was genuinely taken with the little creatures themselves.
Qingque had scrolled past a video of a fan-fiction writer who had been granted a wish and asked for a real Pokémon.
Now, the author had abandoned writing entirely to post daily videos of the cute pet, and their popularity was through the roof.
She thought it was adorable and planned to get one for herself when it was her turn to make a wish.
It wasn't just Qingque, either; the newly hired designers felt the same.
Once they realized the characters and pets they meticulously designed had a chance to manifest in reality as their companions, the team became possessed.
They burst forth with two hundred percent enthusiasm, working as if they’d been injected with chicken blood.
It honestly gave Qingque quite a fright. She knew for a fact she could never summon that level of professional passion.
As for the games being hosted within the Originium—meaning no top-ups and no direct revenue—one might wonder how Celestial Sparrow Entertainment intended to turn a profit...
That was where the Interastral Peace Corporation came in.
The Strategic Investment Department had sent representatives to fold Celestial Sparrow Entertainment’s accounts directly under their own banner.
According to the Head of the Strategic Investment Department, Qingque was free to spend the Corporation's credits however she liked. In fact, the more she spent, the better.
Such sheer, unadulterated wealth made it very difficult for Qingque to keep her cool.
Had her self-control not been legendary, she’d likely have submitted her resignation to the Divination Commission already to retire into a life of leisure at Celestial Sparrow.
Still, there was something undeniably nice about walking down the street and hearing people call her "CEO Qingque."
The only issue was back at the Divination Commission, where her colleagues had started calling her "Boss" to follow the trend. That was a bit awkward.
What's more, Qingque had expected Lady Fu Xuan to give her a lecture about neglecting her duties, given the massive stir she was causing.
To her surprise, Fu Xuan hadn't scolded her at all; she’d actually encouraged her to do a good job.
It made Qingque’s instincts prickle.
She had the nagging sensation that she was being watched. But since nothing unusual had happened yet, she simply tossed the thought to the back of her mind during her happy tile-playing hours.
One day, Qingque followed her usual routine: sending a clone to slack off at the Divination Commission while her true self slacked off at Celestial Sparrow.
As she wandered aimlessly through the building, she found herself at the door of ‘Qingque’s’ office.
Over the past few days, she’d realized that this deity who had barged into her life—bringing such drastic changes—was actually quite easy to get along with.
Combined with Qingque’s natural social grace, the two had become fast friends.
Their bond might not have been deep just yet, but they certainly enjoyed each other's company.
Qingque cracked the door open and peeked inside. She found the other "her" playing cards—not Celestial Jade, but a different game they’d developed recently.
Honestly, seeing another version of herself standing there in the flesh was a surreal experience. Once the initial fear had faded, it felt more like having an older twin sister.
With more employees joining the company and the workload being distributed, a stray thought occurred to the now-idle Qingque.
Rumor had it that when the Arbiter of Myriad Distinctions took on someone’s form, it wasn't always a perfect replica of their current self; sometimes, it was a version of them from a future timeline.
Even though 'Qingque' looked identical to her right now, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of person she might become in the future.
Inside the room, 'Qingque' noticed the head poking through the doorway. "What’s up?"
"Nothing, just passing by. Then a question popped into my head." Qingque walked in, closed the door behind her, and pulled up a chair directly opposite ‘Qingque’.
Seeing her sit down so deliberately, 'Qingque' shifted her attention away from Hearthstone and looked at her with curiosity. "What's the question? You look so serious."
"Well, I heard that when you turn into someone, Boss, there’s a chance you take on a future form?"
"That does happen. Though it’s not necessarily 'the' future, but rather a possibility—one that likely won't even happen."
Being a diviner, Qingque understood the concept.
She pointed at herself, her eyes practically overflowing with curiosity. "Then... what about me? Is the way you look now... is this the current me, or some version of me from a different possibility?"
'Qingque' let a mischievous smirk play on her lips. "Do you really want to know?"
Watching that expression, Qingque felt a sinking feeling that this wasn't going to be good news. But curiosity won out. She gave a cautious nod. "Is my future... something terrible?"
"No, not at all. In fact, you’re quite successful."
"Phew... Boss, don't scare me like that. I thought the path ahead was all hidden daggers and gloom." Qingque let out a long sigh of relief.
She had celebrated too early. 'Qingque' pressed her lips together, trying to stifle a grin. Suddenly, a wheel-like apparatus resembling peacock plumage quietly unfurled behind her.
The Kālacakra Skyplume manifested right before Qingque’s eyes. As Qingque stared at it in wonder, 'Qingque' spoke slowly.
"This is the Spiritus passed down through the Xianzhou Yuque: the Kālacakra Skyplume. And my current identity happens to be the General of the Yuque... General Qingque."
BOOM!
The words hit Qingque’s ears like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Her ears had to be broken. She must have misheard something absolutely absurd.
"General of the Yuque, Qingque"? What kind of nonsense was that?
Haha... she definitely misheard. It was her ears, right?!
Qingque’s silly smile froze, then slowly vanished, only to reappear on the face of ‘Qingque’.
With a look of disbelief mixed with a faint sense of spiritual death, she stared at the smirking ‘Qingque’, searching for some slim hope of a "truth" that wasn't this.
Unfortunately, the truth is often cruel. Whether Qingque accepted it or not, it existed as an objective fact.
Qingque couldn't fathom what kind of trauma she would have to endure to jump from a lowly diviner of the Luofu to the General of the Yuque.
With her personality? Leading a Xianzhou ship? To her, it sounded like a fairy tale.
'Qingque' sat back, enjoying the "existential crisis" written all over the other woman's face. She wasn't in a hurry; she quietly continued her card game, giving Qingque time to process.
It wasn't until the match ended that Qingque managed to snap out of her shock. Then, an even more terrifying thought hit her.
"Boss! About this... 'General of the Yuque' thing... General Jing Yuan and the Master Diviner don't know about this, do they?!"
Qingque felt like her heart was going to leap out of her chest. If news that she might become a General reached the ears of people like Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan, she could already imagine her future.
She had only just adjusted to being "CEO Qingque."
If the high-ranking officials of the Xianzhou started grooming her with "expectations," then even with clones, she could kiss her life of slacking off and playing tiles goodbye.
Then, she saw the curve of ‘Qingque’s’ smile, and her heart sank.
"They already know, don't they...?"
"Well, Jing Yuan has the Lightning-Lord, so he naturally senses the Spiritus’ bestowed by the Reignbow Arbiter. Besides, when I took your form, I gave The Hunt a heads-up. Don’t worry, even the Aeon of The Hunt knows your name now."
"..."
Qingque felt the sky collapsing. Her vision went dark, and she slumped into her chair, her neck tilting at a hopeless angle.
What had her life become lately? All she did was find an ancient manual on Celestial Jade in the archives, try to restore the game, and look for new ways to slack off.
How did that turn into becoming a CEO of a massive company and being scouted by the Luofu’s top brass because she "might become a General"?
No wonder the Master Diviner had been looking at her strangely lately.
She hadn't thought much of it then, but now it was clear: that was the look of someone who had found a prime candidate for "intensive training"!
Was it too late to resign, leave her hometown, and fly to the other side of the galaxy?
Qingque looked at 'Qingque' with utter despair.
Boss, you’ve really done me in this time...
'Qingque' laughed, her grin widening at the sight of the girl's misery. "Look on the bright side—didn't I give you the ability to clone yourself?"
"But I still have to control the clones! It doesn't save any mental energy; if anything, it doubles the strain!" Qingque shook her head and sighed.
Sending one clone to work while her true self went to the parlor was fine; multitasking under ‘Qingque’s’ blessing was smooth enough. But controlling three bodies was a stretch, and four? She’d collapse. Even if she could manage it, it was still her brain doing the work.
"There is a way to make clones that don't require your mental focus," 'Qingque' offered, "but there's a chance they’ll become independent. You might end up in a power struggle with yourself over who the 'real' one is."
"...That’s even scarier! I’d have to play 4D chess against myself?" Qingque shot that idea down immediately.
She had no desire to go to war with Qingque No. 2 and No. 3 in the future.
"Boss..." Qingque said, struck by a sudden, desperate thought. "Do you think I could lead Celestial Sparrow Entertainment on an expedition to the galactic market? Like, right now?"
--+--
Star Rail Impostor! - 333
--+--
Hearing Qingque’s sudden, whimsical burst of inspiration, the 'Qingque' standing before her wore a complicated expression as she stared back.
"Given the current state of our company, do you really think there’s any need for the boss to personally head out and expand our borders?"
"..."
Qingque was speechless.
When the Interastral Peace Corporation is already rushing to hand over money—literally giving away the hardest-earned credits in the universe for free—there really is no point in seeking further expansion.
And so, with the dull, lifeless eyes of a dried fish, Qingque slumped back into her chair. At the mere thought of what lay ahead, the light seemed to vanish from her eyes.
To think, she was the great Qingque! Since the day she’d gained wit, she had lived by the 'Way of the Golden Mean,' making it her life's creed throughout her early years.
Being too excellent draws unwanted attention and the weight of unnecessary expectations. That's exhausting.
Being too pathetic leads to being loathed and buried under infamy. That's tragic.
So, staying right in the middle, stepping perfectly on the passing line—not too good, not too bad, but always managing to scrape by—that was the ecological niche meant for her.
Yet here she was. A latent potential she’d never shown—one she herself found unbelievable—had been discovered by Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan.
On top of that, she’d been handpicked by a deity who entrusted her with power and a company guaranteed to never lose a credit.
On the surface, her life was soaring. But without a doubt, this ran completely counter to the 'ordinariness' she craved.
"Sigh... I’ve spent my life walking on thin ice. Boss, do you think I’ll ever make it to the other shore?"
Though 'Qingque' didn't know every detail of her life, she knew exactly what kind of person she was. After considering what she knew about the various Generals, she spoke up:
"Qingque, tell me... is it possible that your 'steady' mindset is precisely the deciding factor in why they chose you?"
"...?"
A mental question mark popped up over Qingque’s head. She struggled to lift her gaze toward the deity sitting across from her, her lip twitching.
"If the selection criteria for the Generals were based on my kind of character, then I’m afraid the Xianzhou Alliance is truly doomed."
"Little Qingque, I won’t allow you to insult yourself like that."
"Sigh..."
Qingque didn't have the energy to argue. She just let out another long, heavy sigh. She didn't even have the heart to go find other employees for a few rounds of Celestial Jade.
"Look on the bright side. Even though you’re exposed, you’re holding the reins of a cross-galactic mega-corp. If you ever want to stay far away from the typical workplace in the future, you’ll have a perfectly legitimate reason."
"...This company of yours won’t stay 'reasonable' for long if it keeps growing like this."
Even if Qingque didn't understand business, she at least understood how bright the brand of an Aeon shone.
More importantly, her big patron—the one backing little old Qingque—was clearly not a deity who liked to sit still.
It had only been a few days, and already several games had appeared within the once-empty Originium, and every single one was quite interesting.
Heaven only knows how much more stuff this person is going to cram into it next.
Aside from everything else, the mere fact that a producer can make a wish to turn their hard-earned work into reality after completing achievements... that alone would drive producers across the entire universe mad.
As long as 'Qingque' willed it, Originium would be stuffed to the brim with high-quality creations.
"What do you mean 'mine'? This is clearly Boss Qingque's big company."
Hearing those words, Qingque’s expression suddenly shifted.
She asked seriously, "Boss, will you come back after you leave?"
"Well, do you want me to come back, or do you not want me to come back?"
"Don't joke around at a time like this."
Qingque looked weakly at the smiling 'Qingque.' She had finally managed to be serious for once, only for the person opposite her to keep teasing.
Seeing this, 'Qingque' chuckled. She moved around the desk, walked up to the girl, and unceremoniously reached out to rub the top of little Qingque’s head.
"If you’re going to miss me, just say so. Since when did little Qingque become such a dishonest little tsundere?"
Without giving her a chance to retort, she reached out and scratched Qingque under the chin.
"Celestial Sparrow Entertainment is fairly important to me. I’ll definitely be back often to inspect your work. If you don’t do a good job, I’ll reveal your true talents to Jing Yuan and recommend you to the Yuque."
"Anything but that!"
Qingque, who had instinctively squinted her eyes while having her chin scratched, was suddenly miserable again.
If she actually ended up at the Yuque, it would be the end of the world.
After teasing little Qingque for a while and satisfying herself, she let the girl go off to play cards. As for 'Qingque,' she strolled over to the Alchemy Commission.
She only went there to say hello to Hyacine; she didn't go to see Dan Shu.
After all, she wasn't that close to Dan Shu, and after everything that had happened, being around each other would probably be a bit draining.
Hyacine was the same as ever, like a sponge soaking up biological knowledge from the Xianzhou.
At the same time, using her identity as a Digimon, she was experimenting with all sorts of novel yet effective medical treatments. With that level of drive, she probably wouldn't be heading back to Amphoreus for a long time.
As for Hyacine’s teacher, Dan Shu—ever since her sight was restored, everything was fine, except her relationship with her best friend had become increasingly close.
They were practically inseparable. It was only because they both held high positions in the Alchemy Commission that things weren't even more... intense.
After getting a brief update on the situation, 'Qingque' strolled over to the neighboring Artisanship Commission.
She didn't have any acquaintances here, but she still took the time to find the Luofu’s new High Elder.
The last time she’d been to the Luofu, she’d only met him once during the incident with the Ambrosial Arbor's roots; they hadn't had much interaction otherwise.
However, considering he was quite familiar with Dan Heng, and since Dan Heng was actively distancing himself from these friends of his past life, she figured since she was here, she might as well bring him some news.
It was a strange world. The original Yingxing, after being resurrected, should have been unable to seek death, joining the Stellaron Hunters and chasing Dan Heng across the universe.
Now, they were worlds apart, living their own lives without interfering with one another.
One could only wonder if Dan Heng's state of mind was much better now without being hunted across the stars.
Unfortunately, Dan Heng was a man of few words; they weren't close, so there was no way to compare.
When 'Qingque' found him, Yingyue seemed to sense something and looked straight over.
The moment he laid eyes on her, Yingyue felt as though he was hallucinating.
She looked like nothing more than a short young girl, yet for some reason, for a fleeting moment, he felt as if he were facing the Permanence itself—the Ancestor Dragon.
The feeling vanished as quickly as it came. Yingyue simply assumed he was mentally exhausted from his recent sleepless research into smithing.
He decided then and there to give himself a day off to rest. Otherwise, a lapse in concentration while working would lead to a disastrous loss.
"You are... Madam Bai Ming, I presume."
Yingyue thought for a moment before making his guess.
He had seen the real Qingque—the one who came to the Artisanship Commission to order a massive amount of Celestial Jade tiles and tables. Though they looked identical, their temperaments were worlds apart.
Combining that with recent rumors, Yingyue suspected he was standing before the Arbiter of Myriad Distinctions herself. He just didn't know why she was looking for him.
"It’s me. I didn’t expect you to recognize me so quickly."
'Qingque' smiled as she walked up to Yingyue. This guy looked quite similar to 'Blade'—even their clothing styles were the same.
Aside from the addition of dragon horns and a tail, there wasn't much difference.
"Does Madam Bai Ming require something to be crafted?"
"Not really. I was on my way to the Alchemy Commission and remembered I hadn't met you yet, so I stopped by to take a look." 'Qingque' waved her hand with a smile, stating her purpose.
"And, I thought I'd bring you some news. Dan Heng has ended his hundreds of years of wandering. Not long ago, he boarded the Astral Express. He has a place to call home now."
"..."
Yingyue fell silent.
Jing Yuan hadn't told him any news regarding Dan Heng, and given his own unique status, it wasn't convenient for him to leave the Luofu as he pleased.
Thus, he had always assumed Dan Heng was still wandering somewhere, lost.
But, the Astral Express... That small faction had only recently been revived, and who knew how many eyes were currently fixed on it.
If conditions allowed, he truly wanted to help Dan Heng out.
Yingyue could guess why Jing Yuan hadn't told him. It was because he was already pondering over forging a better spear for Dan Heng and finding a way to send it to the Express.
An act like that could be seen as minor or major; at its most serious, it could be called the Luofu’s High Elder secretly contacting a major Xianzhou criminal. It was only natural for Jing Yuan, as General, to have reservations.
But while he understood, Yingyue had no intention of giving up.
"Thank you for the news, Madam Bai Ming. I am deeply grateful."
"It looks like you have something in mind?"
Yingyue nodded, then seemed to weigh his words for a moment before saying, "I want to forge a better spear for Dan Heng... no, for the others as well. The weapons from hundreds of years ago can no longer keep up with the times. I plan to replace them all with something better."
Originally, Yingyue only wanted to make a new weapon for Dan Heng. But then he thought, since he was already set on it, he might as well make new ones for everyone.
Jing Yuan’s long blade, Jingliu’s sword, and Baiheng... he wasn't sure what weapon Baiheng used now; he’d have to ask around.
At the thought, the urge to work reignited within him, and his plan to rest was forgotten.
'Qingque' wasn't a person of the Xianzhou, so she had no such reservations. "And can you even get in touch with the other three?"
"I’m not sure. Perhaps Jing Yuan has a way."
As she spoke, she curiously performed a quick divination on how this would turn out.
Surprisingly, the hex indicated it would actually succeed, and it seemed Jing Yuan would play a major role in making it happen.
This caused 'Qingque,' who had intended to help, to drop the idea. Since the divination put it that way, she’d leave the headache to Jing Yuan.
Seeing Yingyue’s eager-to-work expression, 'Qingque' didn't disturb him further. After a few more words, she took her leave.
While strolling along the path, she sent a quick message to Baiheng and Jingliu.
Their reactions were quite consistent: both first worried about Yingyue’s situation on the Luofu, then expressed that if such weapons were truly made, they’d be happy to accept them.
As for Dan Heng’s side... she had no interest in getting involved in the entanglements between those two complicated men.
Compared to that, she was more interested in seeing who she’d pull in her next gacha roll.
--+--
Star Rail Impostor! - 334
--+--
‘Qingque’ had spent the last few days adding several new games to the Originium.
After that, she found herself with nothing left to do.
The Interastral Peace Corporation was rushing to provide funding, and the Xianzhou Luofu, under Jing Yuan’s instructions, had sent personnel to manage the operations.
There were also renowned designers arriving from all over, drawn by the project’s reputation.
With the real Qingque sitting right there to oversee things, there wasn’t much else for ‘Qingque’ to do except continue enriching the Originium with more games.
Of course, she had come here purely for a vacation. She never intended to keep the wheels spinning relentlessly every single day.
So, having nothing to do was perfectly fine; ‘Qingque’ wasn’t in any hurry to leave just yet.
Besides, the atmosphere on the Luofu was quite comfortable. Every day, she could head to the parlor to play some tiles, or hop online for a few rounds of Hearthstone and some Pokemon battles.
While a life of complete mental vacancy wasn't sustainable forever, it felt pretty good to just space out for a while.
Naturally, since no one except herself and Aha could modify the current internal programming of the Originium, ‘Qingque’ had to leave something behind at Celestial Sparrow Entertainment before she departed.
She needed to ensure those designers could continue with regular updates.
But that was a story for later.
For now, ‘Qingque’ decided to pull some gacha.
Thanks to little Qingque’s recent emotional roller coaster, she had provided ‘Qingque’ with a substantial amount of Mood Points.
--+--
[Roleplay System]
[Name: Bai Ming (Qingque)]
[Lifespan: ∞ + 14 days (Roleplay)]
[Transformable Characters: Big Herta, Acheron, Celenova, Jingliu, Ruan Mei, Sparkle, Hertatomb, Lord Ravager - Jingliu, Young Herta, ‘Robin’, Artoria, ‘Cipher’, Georios, Cyrene - Fuli (Charging: 23.5%), General of the Yuque - Qingque (Active Roleplay)]
[Available Pulls: 11 (38.2%)]
--+--
The number of pulls had risen from eight to eleven.
The Mood Points provided by Qingque were roughly a fifty-fifty split with those harvested from other sources.
It was a classic win-win: ‘Qingque’ got her entertainment, and she got her points.
This time, she planned to start with a single pull to test the waters.
As for which character to set as her Path next...
Originally, ‘Qingque’ had planned to pull for Aglaea to get her hands on the Beauty Equation.
But recently, a new idea had taken hold: Hysilens, representing Nihility.
While Nihility already had an Aeon, that particular Aeon was a complete hands-off type.
Even if ‘Qingque’ used the Nihility Equation to completely seize that Path, that big dark shadow—IX—probably wouldn’t even bother to acknowledge her.
The reason for choosing this Path wasn't because ‘Qingque’ coveted the power of Nihility.
In fact, she had always gone out of her way to avoid it.
What she really wanted was to set Acheron free.
Acheron’s life story was simply too bitter.
She was all alone, yet she had burdened herself with the duty of guarding the horizon of Nihility.
‘Qingque’ understood that these actions were Acheron’s way of resisting the void, but if possible, she wanted Acheron to be completely free from its influence—to actually enjoy life for once, rather than forever walking a path destined for sorrow.
Then again, while Acheron’s personality seemed easygoing, she could be quite stubborn when it came to matters of the Path.
Acheron might not necessarily accept ‘Qingque’s’ help.
She’d have to discuss it with her later.
But again, that was a story for another time.
She still hadn’t finished the Abundance-related content within the Permanence Equation she currently held.
‘Qingque’ figured she’d wait until her vacation ended before starting on that.
Going to consult with Acheron would be a matter for next month at the earliest.
But for now?
Let’s just see what this pull brings.
With that thought, ‘Qingque’ selected the gacha.
The familiar star rails and the Astral Express appeared, bathed in that unmistakable golden light as it sped toward her.
As the gold faded, the character standing before ‘Qingque’ was a grey-haired girl with pixel-style accessories and a single drill-ponytail.
"I actually pulled Silver Wolf? Wait... how old is she even supposed to be right now?"
‘Qingque’ fell into thought as she looked at the youthful character art.
If she remembered correctly, Silver Wolf was quite young when she joined the Stellaron Hunters, though that happened after she grew up and reached the peak of Punklorde.
But considering her talent, she probably cleared all the leaderboard records in that basement long before she hit adulthood. Conquering the rest of Punklorde likely didn't take her many years after that.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have caught Elio’s eye.
Elio was very picky about his recruits.
Furthermore, given how Kafka and Blade treated her—almost like they were looking after a kid—‘Qingque’ guessed that while the game never explicitly said it, Silver Wolf was probably in her early twenties during the main story. Maybe even younger.
Working backward from that...
At this point in time, Silver Wolf was likely still gaming in the basement of that tiny fast-food joint.
She might even be a little pipsqueak.
"Well... let’s put her aside for now. Maybe I’ll swing by Punklorde when I have time; little Bronie should be pretty cute."
The thought that current Silver Wolf might be at that "bratty kid" age made ‘Qingque’ hesitate to visit.
Especially given her environment, the odds of her being a little terror were much higher than her being a little angel.
Later, then.
‘Qingque’ quietly tucked the character card away, having no immediate plans to use it.
Aha hadn't done much lately.
Mainly because whenever THEY wanted to do something, ‘Qingque’ caught THEM and shut THEM out.
Aha had been quite frustrated that THEY hadn't managed to assimilate ‘Qingque’ into THEIR own kind last time.
If THEY failed then, the difficulty of turning her in the future would be on a completely different level.
Still, THEY had been keeping an eye on what she was up to.
Aha didn't quite understand why she was using the Originium to build a gaming platform.
If it was just to give those mortals a bit of hope—dangling a carrot, so to speak—there were obviously much more efficient ways to do it.
But not understanding was exactly the point!
If Aha could easily understand her, THEY wouldn't appreciate ‘Qingque’ nearly as much.
As for the fact that ‘Qingque’ was constantly trying to get the beings of the universe to analyze the Path of Elation...
Aha felt she had the right idea, she was just a bit too restrained.
The Phantasmoon Games was only in Planarcadia, and its scale was limited to a single planet. Plus, they only picked eight contestants, so the scale of conflict shrank even further after the preliminaries.
In contrast, ‘Qingque’s’ games invited the whole universe to play, and the rewards were bold.
To Aha, the only issue was that there were too many rules.
There wasn't enough room for "creative expression."
Specifically, there wasn't enough room for cheating.
This made Aha feel that ‘Qingque’ was still too young.
If it were THEM, THEY guaranteed things would be a hundred times more chaotic than they were now.
Regrets aside, Aha continued to monitor the leaderboards.
THEY even tried to sneak a few "spices" into the mix, only to be punched by ‘Qingque’.
Aha expressed THEIR disappointment, then proceeded to tweak and fiddle with THEIR Simulated Aha avatar, slapping on a fresh disguise.
THEY planned to have THEIR "mask" join the fray once ‘Qingque’ stopped watching so closely.
‘Qingque’ was naturally unaware of whatever scheme Aha was cooking up.
She was just living her leisure days on the Luofu.
Eventually, she set up an input port at the Celestial Sparrow Entertainment headquarters, plugging it into the IPC servers.
This way, after the other designers created content, they could upload it directly to the Originium through the company port.
It saved ‘Qingque’ from having to be the delivery girl every time.
Once she confirmed that the company could run normally without her, she became a total hands-off boss.
Not that she had been much of a manager to begin with.
With her remaining time, she occasionally visited Fu Xuan at the Divination Commission, harassed Hyacine at the Alchemy Commission, or teased Little Ica.
When she was truly bored, she researched the Permanence Equation.
The frantic mindset she’d had before had finally smoothed out into peace.
Right up until the time limit for her roleplay was about to expire.
"Boss, are you planning to leave?"
Qingque had somehow developed a sharp intuition; even though it had never been mentioned, she suddenly brought it up.
Looking at Qingque’s serious gaze, ‘Qingque’, who had intended to make a joke, could only nod and smile.
"Pretty much. Things are on the right track here anyway. You can contact me anytime if something comes up—use your phone or your Celestial Jade tiles."
"Sigh, it’s just not the same. When you’re here, Boss, I feel like no matter what happens, you’ve got it covered. But if you go back, it’s just going to be me."
Qingque sighed, looking a bit uneasy.
"Listen to yourself. You’re the CEO of Luofu’s Celestial Sparrow Entertainment now. Everyone in the world knows the famous CEO Qingque. You have starskiffs clearing your path and reports guarding your flank, with billions flowing through the company every minute. What’s there to worry about?"
"...Oh, please stop. It’s cringe even when I hear it."
Qingque covered her face with her hands.
When her boss started hyping things up, it was truly embarrassing. When did she ever have bodyguards?
And this company didn't even have a proper profit-making project yet—the cash flow was just the IPC swiping their cards. Does that even count?
So, Qingque decided to change the subject immediately.
"But Boss, since you're about to leave, is there any chance I could see your real face?"
"You haven't seen it? Isn't there video footage on the Luofu?"
"That’s different. Plus, you were wearing a mask."
Qingque smiled and mimicked a mask over her face.
She had seen the recordings of the other’s ascension to godhood, of course, but the mask had covered half her face.
Besides, how could a video compare to seeing it in person?
‘Qingque’ thought about it and realized she was right.
This was her number one employee, after all; it wasn't right for her to have never seen her boss's face.
And so...
Glancing at the few seconds left on the countdown, she chose to cancel the roleplay.
And then, Qingque watched in despair as her boss’s height suddenly shot up by a good few dozen centimeters!
--+--
Star Rail Impostor! - 335
--+--
Because her boss spent every day walking around wearing her face, Qingque had long since gotten used to the two of them seeing the world from the same eye level.
When she’d tried to imagine what her boss’s real appearance might be like just now, she had indeed figured the woman would probably be taller than her.
But the problem was that Bai Ming’s true body wasn’t just tall and slender—she was also wearing high heels.
With that added in, her height was practically pushing toward one meter eighty.
Standing in front of her, Qingque’s head barely reached Bai Ming’s chest.
The difference in perspective widened so suddenly that Qingque had to tilt her head all the way back just to see her boss’s face.
And she had to literally face that very… well-developed figure.
That massive height difference, combined with such a striking physique, left Qingque completely speechless.
Deep down, Qingque couldn’t help feeling a little envious. If only she could just whoosh—grow taller like that and turn into a stunning beauty too.
Sure, she didn’t like being in the spotlight, but who wouldn’t want to look better?
Sadly, the long-life species of the Xianzhou were stuck with the appearance they were born with. Once it was set, it was set for life.
Even the slightest shift of Qingque’s gaze landed straight on that full, upright curve.
Especially since her boss was wearing a low-cut evening gown, making that particular area impossible to ignore.
Even though Qingque was a woman, she still felt a little dizzy under the pull of her boss’s looks and presence.
“Boss… you’re really pale.”
She meant it.
With silver hair and a white gown draped over her body, the outfit didn’t make her complexion look yellowish or dull in the slightest, but it wasn’t the sickly kind of pale either—it was vibrant, full of life.
No matter how you looked at it, there was only one conclusion: Perfect.
Meanwhile, Bai Ming watched Qingque’s gaze slide away from her face… and settle right onto her chest, followed by the comment, “Boss, you’re really pale.”
She instantly lost her composure.
What the hell was going on in that girl’s head?
She lifted a hand and flicked Qingque sharply on the forehead.
Smack—
“Ow… ow ow ow!”
Qingque clutched her forehead, puffing out her cheeks as she glared up at Bai Ming.
Before, it would’ve been fine—but now she had to crane her neck just to glare. And honestly, even Qingque herself felt like she looked less like she was protesting and more like a little girl pouting at her big sister.
So before she could even get two words of complaint out, her face flushed bright red. Her eyes darted away, not daring to look at Bai Ming’s teasing smile.
Perhaps finding Qingque’s reaction amusing—
Bai Ming suddenly felt a bit itchy in her hands.
She raised her arms, pulled Qingque into a hug, and pressed the girl straight into her chest.
Qingque’s round, soft face disappeared into that warm valley.
Visible steam practically rose from the top of her head.
Even the tips of her ears were red enough to look like they might start dripping blood.
This time Bai Ming finally burst out laughing.
And Qingque completely lost it in embarrassed fury. Scrambling out of Bai Ming’s arms, she spun around and bolted away, shouting loudly as she ran—
“Boss, stop messing with me—!!”
Bai Ming twitched the corner of her mouth.
She really wanted to say: if you shout like that, everyone in the company can hear you.
She was leaving soon anyway, so it didn’t matter to her—but Qingque, the boss here, still had to stay and work in the company.
Unfortunately, Qingque ran ridiculously fast, as if she feared Bai Ming might grab her again and trap her in another suffocating hug if she slowed down.
So that shout of accusation echoed almost across the entire floor.
Bai Ming didn’t even get the chance to warn her.
Of course, she could erase that bit of memory from the employees’ minds.
But it felt kind of entertaining, so in the end she decided not to bother.
--+--
Just as Bai Ming was about to tidy up and head toward the Boundary of Nihility—
A small wish-maker suddenly caught her attention.
The whole business of granting wishes had already been handed over to the Mask she possessed.
Since she could grant Qingque the ability to create clones, Bai Ming herself could naturally do the same, but compared to Qingque’s version—which required manual control—Bai Ming’s clone was far more convenient.
Of course, compared to Sparkle’s far more dangerous personality-splitting clones, Bai Ming’s method was much safer.
Put simply, it was like a highly disciplined AI that handled small matters like miracles and wish fulfillment for her.
Bai Ming only needed to glance briefly at what kind of wish had been made.
And this time—
The wish itself wasn’t particularly special, but the person making it definitely caught Bai Ming’s attention.
Because that tiny girl sitting in a basement, with curly silver-gray hair—
If that wasn’t Silver Wolf, then who was?
Especially since the world she was in was Punklorde.
There probably wasn’t a second girl in the same world who was a gaming prodigy playing in the arcade basement of a fast-food shop.
How old was she this year? Six?
Observing through Originium, Bai Ming studied the little girl. Her round cheeks suggested she was eating fairly well on a daily basis.
Though she was definitely short.
Silver Wolf was an orphan with no legal identity, no legal name.
She didn’t know where she came from. All she knew was that her memories began here—in this fast-food shop and the arcade in its basement.
She didn’t even know the owner’s name.
She’d simply been told to call her “Boss.”
And the boss called her Silver Wolf—a nickname that wasn’t particularly cute, though Silver Wolf herself quite liked it.
Most of the arcade machines were old, but on Punklorde there was never a shortage of people who loved classic retro games.
And the Originium device Silver Wolf had—
Had been given to her by the fast-food shop’s owner, who simply said it contained free new games she could play for fun.
So when Silver Wolf logged into Originium, she discovered a much wider world.
Because during this period, Bai Ming had uploaded a batch of classic retro games into Originium.
There weren’t many, but for Silver Wolf—whose world had been limited to that small arcade—it was an entirely new universe.
The shop owner never expected that an achievement most adults—and even many hackers on Punklorde—found absurdly difficult…
Would be completed within just a dozen days by a child like Silver Wolf.
There had been some luck involved, sure, but it was enough for the owner to realize this little girl wasn’t someone destined to remain in a tiny place like this.
Her future wouldn’t be limited to this fast-food shop.
Nor even to the world called Punklorde.
Watching the mask appear out of thin air from the Originium device, the owner forced herself to suppress the shock on her face, but Silver Wolf had no time to notice the owner’s expression.
All her attention was focused on the Originium interface.
“I want to play more games!”
Faced with this incredibly precious wish opportunity, Silver Wolf simply voiced the thing she wanted most right now.
Games.
More games.
More interesting games.
At this point in time, Silver Wolf hadn’t yet reached the stage of chasing high scores.
Though she hated losing, the tiny girl was still mainly enjoying the pure fun of gaming.
And it was precisely that pure joy that allowed her to complete the hidden achievement and earn a chance to make a wish.
Hearing her wish, the owner felt a little regretful—but also thought this was exactly the sort of thing Silver Wolf would wish for.
But very quickly—
The helplessness in her eyes turned into shock.
Because the mask floating in midair suddenly rose higher.
Then, right before their eyes, a person began growing out of the mask.
At first, as light flared, the owner assumed the figure that would appear would be the elegant woman she’d once seen in the sky—wearing a pristine white gown with long silver hair.
Unfortunately, the figure emerging from the mask looked nothing like what she imagined.
Instead—
She looked almost identical to Silver Wolf.
As if they had been cast from the same mold.
Silver Wolf glanced at her interface.
--+--
[Roleplay System]
[Name: Bai Ming (Silver Wolf)]
[Lifespan: ∞ + 30 days (Roleplay)]
[Available Transformations: Big Herta, Acheron, Celenova, Jingliu, Ruan Mei, Sparkle, Hertatomb, Lord Ravager - Jingliu, Young Herta, Robin, Artoria, Cipher, Georios, Cyrene - Fuli (Charge: 23.5%), General of the Yuque - Qingque (Charge: 0.2%), Silver Wolf (Currently Roleplaying)]
[Available Draws: 12 (25.2%)]
--+--
[Settlement Reward: An outstanding performance—even achieving that dreamlike accomplishment and becoming the famous “Boss Qingque” of the Xianzhou Alliance! Reward: Complete Kālacakra Skyplume!]
--+--
Over the past half month, the number of draw chances hadn’t decreased—instead, they’d risen again. Not a bad gain.
And the earlier roleplay settlement reward had directly left her with the Kālacakra Skyplume—that Spiritus.
Though it wasn’t especially powerful, it was still a fairly useful functional item, and it deepened her connection with the Path of the Hunt.
Originally, Bai Ming had planned to wander somewhere else.
But because of Silver Wolf’s wish, she directly used the character card and—using Originium as a locator—appeared in Punklorde.
But accordingly—
The Hunt sensed this strange change.
According to THEIR impressions, this strange existence occasionally pulled out bizarre identities, but each one would disappear after a certain cycle.
So when THEY saw that the Eye of the Hunt had been created by her before, Lan hadn’t paid much attention.
After all, it would vanish after a cycle.
At most, it just meant she carried a bit more power from the Path of the Hunt—something Lan was more than happy about.
That way, if ‘Silver Wolf’ ever decided to go cause trouble for Yaoshi, Lan could respond and provide support as quickly as possible.
But even though the power remained—
Lan discovered something odd.
Why had the Spiritus itself stayed behind this time?
And leaving it behind was one thing—but this person hadn’t even bothered to change appearances…
Lan never said it outright, but the fact that THEY granted the Xianzhou Alliance seven fixed Pseudo-Emanator seats—each general personally approved—showed THEY cared deeply about the Xianzhou.
So suddenly seeing another symbol of a Xianzhou general appear…
Looked a little strange to THEM.
Thus—
The Aeon of the Hunt cast his gaze directly upon Punklorde.
The presence of an Aeon pierced through all barriers.
The residual might spreading unconsciously from that gaze was enough to intimidate the entire world.
Ignoring the world itself, Lan’s sight passed through the concrete skyscrapers—and fell directly upon the ‘Silver Wolf’ who had appeared in that basement.
--+--
Star Rail Impostor! - 336
--+--
"——"
A strange murmuring echoed in her ears.
It was a mode of communication unique to the Aeons, carrying information incomprehensible to bystanders, funneled directly into 'Silver Wolf’s' mind.
Then, 'Silver Wolf’s' face contorted into a rather marvelous expression.
This guy had made a special trip just to remind her to change the appearance of the Kālacakra Skyplume.
Lan, you bastard...
Are you really that bored??
She had initially thought it was something of dire importance. For a split second there, 'Silver Wolf' had even started considering how she’d have to throw hands.
As it turned out, this guy had come all this way just to nag her to hurry up and hand-craft a skin for the Spiritus.
It was honestly a bit much to take.
I mean, yeah, it looks exactly like General Yao Guang’s Kālacakra Skyplume, but did Your Lordship really need to drop by in person for that?
'Silver Wolf' let out a couple of awkward, dry chuckles.
It was clear that Lan really looked after the Xianzhou Alliance—looked after them in every sense of the word. A direct intervention like this to solve a problem probably wasn't a first-time occurrence, either.
The Alliance itself might not even realize that Lan’s appearances were for their sake.
One could only say there’s a reason the Xianzhou Alliance, with its mere eight thousand years of "young" history, managed to leapfrog into becoming one of the top powers in the cosmos.
It was just like Amphoreus now.
Even though Amphoreus’s own level wasn't quite there yet, it was backed by Divine Herta, supported by two Emanators—Khaslana and Demiurge—and watched over by an Aeon like herself behind the scenes.
Amphoreus was currently standing right at the precipice of a meteoric rise.
But she was getting sidetracked.
After finishing THEIR reminders, Lan muttered one last thing before taking THEIR leave.
This time, however, the nagging actually counted as serious business, because Lan mentioned Yaoshi.
The gist of it was: if 'Silver Wolf' ever wanted to seize the Path of Abundance and integrate it into the Path of Permanence, she could call on THEM anytime.
It was a blatant, open hit-list move against Yaoshi.
To this, 'Silver Wolf' expressed a lack of understanding and had no intention of following through—at least, not for a long time.
Setting aside the fact that Idrila the Beauty was right there, practically waiting to be swallowed up, there was still the Path of Nihility waiting for her to deal with it.
There was no way a living Aeon would be next on the chopping block; Yaoshi hadn't even done anything to offend her.
Rather than plotting against Yaoshi, she figured it was better to think about how to guard against Aha suddenly pulling some massive prank on her.
--+--
While 'Silver Wolf' was busy overthinking all this nonsense, the entire network of Punklorde had absolutely exploded.
Though these hackers had never ventured beyond their world, they knew a thing or two about the happenings of the universe through the interstellar network.
They knew exactly what kind of existences the Aeons were.
And when they truly came face-to-face with the overwhelming majesty of an Aeon...
Every single one of those hackers, to a man, fell dead silent.
Because... the Aeon who had descended wasn't Aha, nor was it Nanook. It was Lan, the one who represented Vengeance and The Hunt!!
Given the social climate of Punklorde, anyone with even a shred of status began trembling, mentally tallying up their sins. They wondered if they had somehow managed to offend a native Galaxy Ranger.
Of course, the chaos belonged to them.
Inside this dim, underground game parlor, both the owner and the young Silver Wolf realized one thing clearly:
That Aeon’s gaze had been fixed on the older sister who had just crawled out of the Originium.
While 'Silver Wolf' herself was of average height, the childhood Silver Wolf was noticeably tinier.
Little Silver Wolf tilted her head back, staring up at the older girl before her with a look of pure confusion.
"She looks just like me?"
For a pint-sized squirt like her, she didn't really grasp the whole "Aeon" thing.
Besides, since there were no outsiders around, she just thought it looked cool. She figured if she could get an Aeon to look at her one day, that’d be pretty badass.
Then, she tossed the matter of the Aeon to the back of her mind and focused her attention on this older sister who looked so much like her.
'Silver Wolf' gave a light huff and smiled.
"Heh heh, yep. And not just the face. Look at the hair, the eyes... what kind of relationship do you think we have?"
She was intentionally trying to tease the kid. She folded her arms, leaned down, and gave little Silver Wolf a playful wink.
In response, the little sprout tilted her head, thought about it for a good long while, and then shouted:
"Mama—!"
Cough...!
'Silver Wolf' lost it, breaking into a fit of harsh coughing.
In all her wild guesses, she had never imagined a day where Silver Wolf would call her "Mama."
It was a bit too much to handle.
So, she reached out and pinched little Silver Wolf’s cheeks:
"What 'Mama'? Call me Big Sister."
"Mwuuh... Shi-shister."
After obediently chirping "Big Sister," Silver Wolf was finally released.
She raised a hand to rub her cheeks. She didn't know who this woman was, but she remembered that this sister had crawled out of the Originium right after she made her wish.
The mask in the lady's hand was still there.
So, little Silver Wolf looked up, her expression a mix of expectation and demand, and held out a small hand toward Bai Ming.
"You're here to grant my wish, right? My game."
The combination of those chubby cheeks and that little expression was actually quite cute.
Bai Ming couldn't resist reaching out to ruffle the little girl’s head a few more times.
"Don't worry, I’ll definitely help you fulfill your wish."
Silver Wolf had every intention of resisting, but unfortunately, as a mere tot, she stood no chance against the hands of an adult.
As she spoke, Bai Ming raised a hand and gave a gentle tap behind Silver Wolf.
The power of Elation transformed into threads of light, rapidly sketching the form of a humanoid robot in mid-air.
Bai Ming modeled it after Bronya’s Project Bunny, using the color scheme and design from the Herrscher of Reason. Of course, it couldn't turn into a motorcycle. Children aren't allowed to go street racing, after all.
Beyond basic guard and combat functions, the biggest feature of this Project Bunny was its network connection—complete with a "Youth Protection" clause, naturally.
It would allow Silver Wolf to play many games unavailable on Punklorde while filtering out websites unsuited for children.
As a giant gaming rig, Project Bunny could swap control schemes at will—be it controller, keyboard and mouse, VR, or full immersion. If she wanted it, it could do it.
Soon, as the armor plates solidified and the unit fully activated, Project Bunny registered Silver Wolf as its sole master.
Then, right before their eyes, it cloaked itself, even hiding its physical volume.
If it weren't for the solid link established with Silver Wolf, allowing her to clearly sense its presence, she would have thought her eyes had played tricks on her.
Kids are easily distracted. With such a novel, massive toy suddenly appearing, Silver Wolf’s attention was instantly snatched away, causing her to forget all about having her head rubbed.
Seeing Silver Wolf expertly hop onto the massive mechanical palm and start tinkering, 'Silver Wolf' finally turned her attention to the adult who had been silent this whole time.
"You the owner of this place?"
"I am."
"Get me some of your specialties. I’d like a taste."
As 'Silver Wolf' spoke, she started heading toward the stairs of the basement, acting as if she were the one who owned the place, leading the way back up to the shop floor.
The fast-food joint wasn't large. Including Silver Wolf, it was just the owner and one employee. Since it wasn't mealtime yet, there were no customers at all.
Watching 'Silver Wolf' pick a seat to wait for her food, the owner opened her mouth to say something, but ultimately just turned toward the kitchen.
'Silver Wolf' looked out the glass window of the diner. A chaotic, dilapidated street filled with gaudy neon signs met her gaze.
Old skyscrapers practically blotted out the world, and dazzling light pollution flooded her vision. Just looking with her eyes, it was impossible to tell what kind of place this really was.
Punklorde.
A world that was, relatively speaking, somewhat insular. It wasn't that it was cut off from the world, but rather that the resources to step off the planet and into the cosmos were tightly controlled.
The runaway growth of information technology coupled with a lagging physical industrial system meant that native hackers mostly spent their lives fighting one another on this world, creating Punklorde’s unique hacker culture.
However, 'Silver Wolf' didn't have much interest in this stereotypical cyberpunk world.
It was just boring, honestly.
Truth be told, Punklorde’s hacking techniques, paired with Aether Editing, were incredible. If they could step onto the galactic stage, they’d definitely go far. It would be a lot of fun.
But the tragedy lay in the fact that because of the extreme wealth gap, the vast majority of hackers could never leave their own world.
The boundary between data and reality was indeed blurred here, but not everyone could just hand-craft a long-range wormhole whenever they felt like it, like Silver Wolf could.
And based on the legendary figures mentioned in Silver Wolf’s character stories, the only one who could likely open wormholes and run around wherever they pleased was Silver Wolf herself.
In that case, the title of the universe’s number one genius hacker probably wasn't just hyperbole.
While 'Silver Wolf' was lost in thought, a steaming burger combo was placed on the table.
A classic set: burger, fried sides, and a soda. The presentation wasn't exactly refined, and the cooking was just okay.
'Silver Wolf' took a bite of the burger. The sauce was laid on thick, and the flavor was decent enough; for a roadside dive, you couldn't ask for much more.
The owner didn't leave after serving the food, though. Instead, she sat down across from 'Silver Wolf.'
She looked at the girl before her. The resemblance to the little brat she’d taken in was uncanny. But this girl hadn't come from anywhere else; she had crawled out of that Originium.
If Silver Wolf hadn't specifically wished for a game, she would have suspected the kid’s wish was for a family member.
But then again...
The moment this lady appeared, she had drawn the gaze of the Aeon of the Hunt.
That forced her to be on guard. That was the Hunt—the god in charge of Vengeance. Having such an Aeon linger here, glancing at this girl... heaven only knew what that would bring upon Punklorde.
The fact that the owner wasn't shaking like a leaf was a testament to her nerves of steel.
--+--
Star Rail Impostor! - 337
--+--
The shopkeeper stared intently at 'Silver Wolf', her gaze flickering back and forth between the mask resting on the table and the woman's face.
She recognized that mask; it was the same style worn by the Aeon of Elation during their ascension.
Coupled with the fact that this woman had crawled out of the Originium, the shopkeeper reasonably suspected she had some connection to that Aeon.
Perhaps she was an emissary of the divine?
"Who... who are you? And why did the Aeon of The Hunt cast a glance here? Don't tell me... you've come to Punklorde to settle a score?"
Given the shopkeeper's shallow understanding of the Aeons, she could only interpret the meaning of "The Hunt" in its most literal sense.
Thus, she surmised that the girl before her possessed an extraordinary background and had arrived seeking vengeance.
'Silver Wolf' really wanted to say it was all just an accident. After all, she hadn't expected that simply gaining a Spiritus would be enough to make The Hunt drop by twice.
By that logic, if the Lightning Lord of Propagation from last time hadn't been dealt with, The Hunt probably would’ve shot an arrow through the place by now.
Pushing those stray thoughts aside, 'Silver Wolf' swallowed a mouthful of burger and spoke:
"Don't overthink it. It's just that this is the first time someone has made a wish for such pure Elation, so they decided to pop in for a look."
'Silver Wolf' wasn't lying.
So far, fewer than ten people had made wishes, and only Silver Wolf’s wish was born of a desire for pure, unadulterated fun. As for the others, there was always some lingering greed or ulterior motive mixed in.
Not that 'Silver Wolf' denied the nature of desire—everyone has stray thoughts, after all. But it was rare to see something so untainted. Plus, since it was Silver Wolf, she’d chosen to come take a peek.
"As for that glance from The Hunt just now, it’s no big deal. I don't have any enemies in Punklorde anyway, so don't worry about me flipping the place upside down."
"..."
'Silver Wolf' intended it as a comfort, but to the shopkeeper, the words carried a terrifying weight.
The woman was truly just an ordinary fast-food shop owner.
She might have enough grit and skill to keep her shop safe in this district, but her "power" was only marginally better than any other commoner's.
To an ordinary person, the physical act of overturning all of Punklorde was an unimaginable feat.
The problem was that the person saying it was someone who had just been acknowledged by the Aeon of The Hunt.
This forced the shopkeeper to wonder if the statement was a hyperbolic joke or a literal threat.
On the other hand, this woman’s origins were clearly anything but simple.
Putting the danger aside, to the shopkeeper, 'Silver Wolf's' words were practically equivalent to saying: The child you raised has been chosen by a god.
That was why she was here.
She swallowed hard, forcing herself to stay calm, and asked, "Are you going to take her away?"
"Take her away? Where to?"
'Silver Wolf' paused mid-bite, her peripheral vision catching a glimpse of little Silver Wolf peeking from the basement stairs.
"You shouldn't be asking me that; you should ask her. Besides, if she really wanted to leave, she wouldn't need my help."
'Silver Wolf' glanced at the fortune hovering over the shopkeeper's head.
It wasn't exactly booming, but it wasn't bad either. It was the kind of luck that suggested a long, peaceful life.
The original Silver Wolf’s fortune, however, was burning bright—which made sense, considering her future exploits.
This was why 'Silver Wolf' had little interest in changing the girl's current situation. Silver Wolf’s life wasn't bad right now, and if she took her away, she wouldn't even know where to settle her.
"I think you've misunderstood. I only came here because I wanted to meet little Silver Wolf and grant her wish. Even if she is 'favored,' I have no intention of taking her away or meddling in things I shouldn't."
"..."
The shopkeeper didn't know how to feel.
She felt a wave of relief that the girl she raised wouldn't be leaving, yet a pang of regret that she could never provide a better environment for her. After a long silence, she asked one final question.
"Your appearance... are you blood-related to her?"
"Does it matter?"
"..."
The shopkeeper nodded silently. It truly didn't matter.
In a place like Punklorde, a biological connection you’d never seen before wasn't worth much—at least not to those living at the bottom of the ladder.
The shopkeeper stopped talking and stood up to leave, leaving 'Silver Wolf' alone by the window to finish her fast food.
When she was done, it was actually little Silver Wolf who ran up from the basement to clear the table.
Apparently, the shop's cleaning robot was broken and hadn't been fixed yet, so the manual labor fell to her.
She was wearing an oversized staff T-shirt and a baseball cap. She scurried over with a look of [ᗜ˰ᗜ] on her face, her hands moving with practiced ease as she cleared the mess.
It was obvious she desperately wanted to go back to her games, but as the only employee, she had to play the part of the busboy.
However, when Silver Wolf looked at this older sister who looked so much like her, the expression on her face softened. She even offered 'Silver Wolf' a small smile as she nimbly packed the trays.
Instead of heading straight back down, Silver Wolf stood before 'Silver Wolf', holding up her piece of Originium and asking curiously:
"Aren't you going back?"
"Back where?"
"Into the Originium. Aren't you the genie who grants wishes?"
Silver Wolf had categorized the woman as an NPC tied to the Originium. She hadn't expected the NPC to stick around for a meal, let alone stay after finishing.
'Silver Wolf' smiled at the innocent child. "Who said I was a wish-granting genie?"
"Then who are you?"
"Hmm..."
'Silver Wolf' pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. She really didn't know how to introduce herself.
Saying "I'm an Aeon" felt a bit weird, and a kid this age probably wouldn't understand what an Aeon actually represented anyway.
"You can just think of me as a relative... or an elder."
"...You aren't actually my mom, are you?"
Little Silver Wolf’s face was a mask of confusion and skepticism.
Before making her wish, she had actually thought about another wish in her heart. But the Originium never said it could grant two wishes at once, right?
Even if the adult Silver Wolf was cool and carefree, the current Silver Wolf was just an adopted orphan.
She didn't necessarily need a mother, but she certainly fantasized about her parents appearing one day. It was the kind of leap in logic only a child would make.
Compared to the awkwardness she felt the first time she heard it, 'Silver Wolf' found the girl's expression quite amusing this time around. Still, she had to set the record straight.
"If you really want to call me something, call me 'Big Sister'."
Of course, while she refused the title, 'Silver Wolf' decided she could probably extract the memory of little Silver Wolf calling her "Mama" and turn it into a Light Cone.
Then, when Silver Wolf grew up to be a cool, wanted criminal, she could show it to her.
Ha, the look on her face then would be priceless.
"Oh..."
Silver Wolf nodded, looking a bit disappointed, but she didn't push it.
Being a little clerk in this shop, she had developed the professional discipline not to throw a tantrum. While she was let down, it wasn't the end of the world.
She had so many interesting games waiting to be conquered. Any lingering sadness would be forgotten as soon as she started playing on Project Bunny.
'Silver Wolf' didn't go anywhere after eating. In a place like Punklorde, all the interesting stuff was in the virtual world. The physical reality was drab and boring—not nearly as fun as Greek-themed Amphoreus.
So, she headed to the basement, intending to try out the retro arcade machines and experience the local flavor of Punklorde’s data-scape.
Once the cleaning was done, little Silver Wolf dived straight into Project Bunny’s system, intending to work her way through her game list one by one.
The two Silver Wolfs—one big, one small—immersed themselves in their games in the empty arcade, ignoring the rest of the world.
The arcade was quiet, with no customers in sight.
According to little Silver Wolf, the place didn't get lively until after dinner, and the rush would last until midnight. She would go to bed before twelve, leaving the shopkeeper to handle the late-night crowd.
As 'Silver Wolf' marveled at the little one’s disciplined routine, she linked her mind to the data-scape of Punklorde.
She was momentarily stunned by the sheer contrast between reality and data.
Compared to the dilapidated, suffocating physical world, the digital realm was beyond prosperous. A volume of data far exceeding Punklorde's physical limits surged through the virtual world.
'Silver Wolf' surmised that the legendary hacker who pioneered Aether Editing must have done something to this planet.
She could clearly sense traits unique to Elation within the Aether Editing techniques.
There was a high probability the creator was a Pathstrider of Elation; she just didn't know their exact level or if they were an Emanator.
She didn't intend to pry too deeply, though. She just thought that, by this logic, Silver Wolf could be considered a Pathstrider of Elation.
It was quite a fascinating thought. Back when she played the game, she never would have pegged Silver Wolf for the Path of Elation.
As 'Silver Wolf' continued to explore this virtual world built by generations of hackers, a string of data completely at odds with Aether Editing forced its way in from outside Punklorde.
To 'Silver Wolf', this discordant data was strangely familiar. It looked exactly like Digimon code.
But the Digimon race only existed in Amphoreus. Why would someone from Amphoreus travel halfway across the universe through the network just to reach Punklorde?
'Silver Wolf' watched the data entity darting through the digital world, throwing the virtual realm into chaos in mere seconds.
With a casual flick of her hand, she reached out and pulled the intruder right in front of her, completely undetected.
--+--
Star Rail Impostor! - 338
--+--
Having just fished that Digimon-like creature over to her side, before she could even say a word—the data body transformed into the appearance of Cipher, blinking rapidly at her as if wondering which of these unfamiliar hackers might be willing to help.
“It’s me, Bai Ming.”
Cipher froze for a moment when she heard that. The tail behind her shot happily upright, and her ears twitched. With a bright smile, she leaned closer.
“What brings you to Punklorde? Did the hackers here offend you too?”
Cipher didn’t have any special ability to confirm whether someone was real or fake, but considering that their savior was now an Aeon…
It was hard to imagine anyone in this universe being stupid enough to pretend to be a god.
That wouldn’t just be courting death—it’d be asking for it.
“I’m here for another reason, but… oh? Did some hackers pick a fight with you?”
Cipher nodded immediately.
“Of course! Those overconfident idiots didn’t stand a chance. The seamstress took them out in no time. But they dug up some intel—apparently they still have accomplices here on Punklorde.”
At that point, Cipher threw ‘Silver Wolf’ a playful wink.
“So I volunteered to come here and teach these hackers a lesson. Let them see what happens when they mess with the wrong people.”
'Silver Wolf' curled her lips into a faint smile.
“Just a lesson?”
“Yeah~ what else?”
“Then why did I find traces of Bartholos here? He got here before you, didn’t he?”
As she spoke, ‘Silver Wolf’ gestured toward a certain direction.
Cipher immediately puffed up her cheeks.
“That’s part of the plan! If you’re going to teach someone a lesson, the best way is to steal their treasures right in front of them. That way they’ll never forget.”
“…Just stealing treasures?”
“…Okay, fine. I was also planning to swipe a few interesting local specialties while I’m at it—and leave behind the legendary name of the Coin of Whimsy. But that’s really just a side thing, I swear!”
Cipher puffed out her chest proudly and raised four fingers to swear in front of ‘Silver Wolf’, which only made her want to laugh.
“Alright, alright. I’m not blaming you. Just be careful. Punklorde isn’t as weak as you think.”
After all, those clueless hackers had been the ones to provoke Amphoreus first.
And once they already knew she was basically a Digimon and still dared to hack in, they had to have been prepared to get traced straight through the network.
“Relax. My whole life philosophy is moving like the wind—bold but careful!”
Cipher grinned and patted her chest. Then she rubbed her hands together and revealed a slightly mischievous smile.
Her whole body swayed closer like a boneless fish as she leaned in and said with a giggle,
“Besides, now that our savior is here overseeing things, what’s there to worry about? I was a little nervous before I came, but now… the ones who should be scared are those hackers.”
Even though she didn’t say it out loud, Bai Ming could tell—her sudden appearance had made Cipher want to go bigger with this stunt.
“Take it easy. Don’t do anything reckless, or I’ll leave right now.”
“Alright, alright—I promise I’ll take it easy. At most… I’ll just become a legendary hacker. Nothing too excessive.”
The moment she heard that her biggest backer might leave, Cipher immediately backed down.
All those dangerous plans in her head were tossed aside in favor of something a little more reasonable.
Seeing the seriousness in Cipher’s expression, 'Silver Wolf' finally nodded and agreed to keep an eye on her so she wouldn’t crash and burn.
After that, 'Silver Wolf' brought Cipher to the underground arcade.
Emerging from the equipment as a stream of data before reconstructing into a physical form, she instantly caught the attention of the real Silver Wolf.
She snapped out of the virtual screen she’d been looking at and studied the suddenly appearing Cipher with great interest.
“How’d you do that? It looks like data turning into a physical body… a hologram?”
Before Silver Wolf could even step closer, Cipher had already moved over.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the Project Bunny Silver Wolf was sitting on. No matter how she looked at it, the thing didn’t resemble anything native to Punklorde.
“Hey there, kid. What’s this thing?”
“A game console. Got it from a wish.”
“…Uh…”
Cipher, who had been intrigued just a moment ago, suddenly froze. She turned to glance at ‘Silver Wolf’, only to find her watching with a faintly amused expression.
So Cipher blinked innocently and stuck out her tongue at ‘Silver Wolf’, trying to play it off.
Meanwhile, Silver Wolf had Project Bunny scan the catgirl in front of her.
And discovered that she wasn’t a hologram at all.
So how exactly was she switching between data and physical form? It didn’t even look like the way her sister appeared.
“Did you come here with my sister too?”
Cipher blinked.
She had wanted to say it earlier—Bai Ming’s current appearance looked surprisingly similar to this girl.
Could it be that Madam Bai Ming’s maternal instincts had suddenly kicked in and she’d decided to raise a kid out here?
And the girl was calling her “sister,” too.
They seemed pretty close.
Thinking that, Cipher nodded, then shook her head.
“I came here for something else. Just happened to run into your sister, so I stopped by on the way.”
Silver Wolf nodded and didn’t ask further.
The arcade was old, and Project Bunny couldn’t move anyway. Cipher quickly lost interest.
Still, she quietly memorized the address—and the silver-haired girl in front of her.
“Madam Bai Ming, will you be staying around here for a while?”
“Mm. If something special happens and you can’t reach me online, you can come find me here.”
“Got it~ Then just wait and see. The Titan of Trickery, the Coin of Whimsy—Zagreus—is about to make a comeback on Punklorde!”
With that said, Cipher was just about to leave—when she suddenly seemed to remember something.
From who-knows-where she pulled out a piece of Originium, grinning as she leaned closer to 'Silver Wolf' again.
“Hehe… um, since I’m technically one of the founding veterans, could you let me have one free wish?”
“…What are you planning?”
“Hehe, same as last time. I just want to make a wish and see if I can restore the Authority of Trickery.”
'Silver Wolf' snorted softly and reached out to grab the little thief cat’s tail, giving it a few strokes.
Restore the Authority of Trickery, huh? If that actually happened, she’d end up far stronger than most followers of Elation.
One wish definitely wasn’t enough to accomplish that.
The moment her tail was grabbed, Cipher’s entire body trembled.
Then she heard 'Silver Wolf' huff.
“You sure dream big. No games played, no missions done—just wishing all day. And not only that, you’re asking for the moon. I think Aglaea’s been way too gentle with you lately. You ought to be tied up with golden silk and hung from the Marmoreal Palace to reflect on your behavior.”
Cipher immediately panicked.
Playing around was one thing—but how did it suddenly turn into tattling?
Even if you’re a savior, an Aeon, she couldn’t just swallow that kind of injustice!
“Dumb, dumb—Cifera, you wouldn’t want Agla—”
“Stop, stop! That tone of yours is getting really weird!”
Cipher hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth. She had seen that kind of phrasing plenty of times while browsing the interstellar internet.
She knew exactly what kind of stories that line came from.
Sure, covering an Aeon’s mouth might be a little rude—but dragging Aglaea into that kind of meme? Cipher absolutely could not handle that.
'Silver Wolf' brushed her hand away, staring at Cipher with an amused smile.
“So you do understand. Looks like you spend plenty of time surfing the web.”
“We’re all adults who’ve lived for tens of millions of years. Watching adult stuff is perfectly normal!”
“Oh? Does Aglaea know her little kitty likes watching that?”
“Cough—cough—!”
Cipher raised both hands in surrender.
The opponent opened with an unbeatable move right out of the gate—what kind of fight was that? Might as well surrender, meow.
'Silver Wolf' chuckled and flicked the bell tied at Cipher’s waist, hanging by her left thigh.
Jingle—
A crisp ringing sound echoed as a power belonging to the Path of Elation flowed into it.
Cipher, who had just been surrendering a second ago, suddenly stiffened. Her eyes widened in disbelief and delight as she looked down at the bell hanging from her waist.
Then she lunged forward and hugged 'Silver Wolf' tightly, rubbing against her enthusiastically.
“Boss, I love you! You’re the real savior! From today on, I, Cipher, will be your most loyal little kitty!”
“Really?”
“Absolutely! I swear on Bartholos' reputation!”
“I’ve already recorded that with a memory bubble. I can send it straight to Aglaea right now for her to see.”
Thud.
Cipher immediately dropped into a smooth sliding kneel, clutching ‘Silver Wolf’s’ leg as she looked up with watery eyes.
'Silver Wolf' laughed softly.
Seeing the pair of cat ears finally within perfect reach, she shamelessly stretched out her hands and gave them a thorough, merciless rub.
Only after that did she send off the red-faced Cipher, who was clutching her ears.
“Alright, alright. I’ve had my fill of ear fluffing. Go do whatever you came to do.”
“…Hmph.”
Face flushed red, cheeks puffed out, Cipher ground her teeth while glaring at Silver Wolf.
But in the end she chose to endure the humiliation, huffing as she turned and left.
Jingle—
With another soft ring of the bell, Cipher transformed into a streak of light barely visible to ordinary people and dashed away at incredible speed.
The power of the Path of Elation had granted her an ability similar to extreme acceleration.
At the same time, it removed the flaw that required her to flip a coin—replacing it with the ringing of the bell instead.
No one knew exactly how this little thief cat intended to carve out her legendary path, but one thing was certain—it definitely wouldn’t be anything quiet or well-behaved.
For the next while, Punklorde was probably about to get a lot more lively.
--+--
Star Rail Impostor! - 339
--+--
'Silver Wolf' had been wondering exactly how Cipher would choose to announce her arrival.
It didn't take long. In fact, the day hadn't even ended, and 'Silver Wolf' hadn't even found time for her second meal yet.
The customers trickling into the fast-food joint brought with them a startling piece of news.
A few hackers who had been acting particularly bold in the digital world recently had suddenly tripped up in a big way.
Without a single clue or a trace left behind, their Aether Cartridges had been snatched away.
For a hacker, that device is a second set of eyes, a second heart. It records a hacker’s entire life and carries the bulk of their capabilities.
To put it bluntly, an Aether Cartridge makes performing Aether Editing significantly easier and smoother.
Of course, getting your hands on a cartridge in Punklorde is easy enough. The hard part is that every single one contains data unique to its owner.
Now, with their cartridges—and all the private secrets within—stolen, it meant their entire lives were laid bare before the thief.
Forget hackers; even for an ordinary person, having your personal info and data completely leaked is a death sentence.
In Punklorde, cartridges are everywhere. It’s just that not everyone can master Aether Editing, and not everyone can become a hacker.
Consequently, most Punklordians wouldn't even dream of stealing one. Even if they did, they’d be looking to siphon the data inside, not taking the physical hardware itself.
So, this time, the fact that several hackers had outright lost their physical Aether Cartridges was enough to make them the laughingstock of Punklorde for the rest of their lives.
It became the talk of every street corner and back alley.
The shop owner was the one who told her. She also mentioned that every hacker who lost a cartridge found a black-gold cat coin left in their pocket.
"..."
She couldn't be certain before, but the moment she saw the images of the cat coin spreading like wildfire across the network, she knew this was Ciphers's handiwork.
It was classic Cipher—starting things off with a little lighthearted theft.
And her choice of targets was interesting: the Aether Cartridges that were so ubiquitous in Punklorde. Because they were everywhere, no one ever paid them much mind.
Thus, after that collective stumble by the well-known hackers, the name of the Coin of Whimsy, Zagreus, spread rapidly alongside this rare Phantom Thief case.
Many were speculating about where this high-level expert had come from.
To take down several famous hackers in one go without touching any valuable data, only taking the cartridges to humiliate them—it was definitely a bit of a twisted sense of humor.
Supposedly, this Phantom Thief had another quirk: she liked to ring a bell near the victims while working. Every victim reported hearing a chime just before their cartridge vanished.
The hackers took this as a blatant provocation.
All in all, thanks to these absurd yet highly skilled crimes, the hype was through the roof.
'Silver Wolf' spent the evening in the basement arcade, grinding away at a classic retro game.
Once the crowd thinned out, little Silver Wolf was so tired she was practically nodding off, her head dipping like she was fishing for dreams.
Though 'Silver Wolf' had intended for the girl to go straight to bed, for some reason, the drowsy little thing wandered over and collapsed against her, falling fast asleep.
When Cipher quietly slipped inside, she was met with this heartwarming scene. She really wanted to joke that they looked like a young single mother struggling to raise her child alone.
But Cipher didn't dare say it.
She still remembered the feeling of being outplayed by 'Silver Wolf' earlier—having her own ears toyed with after practically handing them over. For now, at least, she wasn't about to poke the bear.
Bartholos, however, clearly didn't get the memo.
He slithered out of the data channel with a shifty look. Upon seeing 'Silver Wolf', he immediately put on a bizarre, flattering smile and approached while rubbing his hands together like a fly.
"Whoa! Big-Big Sis, you're a mom now? The kid’s grown so much already! Aww, look how close they are. You can tell this kid is a sharp one just by looking!"
"..."
Cipher twitched her lip and looked away.
There was no way she was telling Bartholos about how her ears had been played with that afternoon.
She just hadn't expected him to be so "brave"—daring to voice the very tease she was too afraid to whisper.
'Silver Wolf' was also a bit speechless.
She began to reflect on whether it was actually a good idea to use the Silver Wolf character card and come looking for this little Silver Wolf, who was still in the single digits, age-wise.
She’d only been here a day, and how many times had she been called "mom"?
And that was just the people saying it out loud. Every customer in the fast-food joint or the arcade would freeze for a second when they saw her, shift their gaze to little Silver Wolf, then back to her.
Finally, they’d look at the owner; once she shook her head, they’d sigh and go back to their business.
Becoming a painless mother before even having a wife was a bit much.
Granted, once Silver Wolf grew up, turning these memories into a Light Cone to show the Stellaron Hunters would surely elicit a delicious reaction. But being treated like a young mom looking for her kid all day was... a bit hard to describe.
Forget it, let’s set that aside for now.
Thinking this, 'Silver Wolf' reached out and snatched Bartholos.
Just as he was about to make a sound, a comical 'X' appeared over his mouth, sealing his voice.
Then, with a quick rub of her hands, she kneaded the black, jelly-like digital beast into a round, white, bouncy ball-like creature.
"Mmph?! Mmph—?!"
Before Bartholos even realized what was happening, he found himself without limbs, unable to fly, and even unable to speak. He looked at Big Sis, then at Big-Big Sis, completely bewildered.
Seeing this, Cipher smiled and shook her head with a sigh.
"Oh, Bartholos... I can't help you there. Our Big Boss isn't even married yet, and you go around saying she's raising a kid? Who else would she punish but you?"
"—"
Bartholos felt his soul wither. If he had hands, he’d probably slap himself across the face. Why did you have to go and open your big mouth?
Looking at the dejected Bartholos, 'Silver Wolf' handed him over to Cipher and said, "Stop looking so miserable. If you can manage to evolve once from this state, your strength will evolve right along with it."
"!!!"
Bartholos’s eyes widened as he looked at 'Silver Wolf'. If he could talk, he’d definitely be asking if she was for real. Even Cipher looked over in surprise.
"Really?"
"As a small punishment, I’ve regressed him to a Fresh-stage Digimon. However, I’m not so cruel as to wipe away his power entirely. So, you can view this as a penalty, or as an opportunity to become even stronger."
'Silver Wolf' wasn't a tyrant; she wouldn't truly ruin someone over a single comment.
Simply put, it was a lesson for Bartholos and his loose tongue.
By regressing him, his movements would be restricted for a while, but by retaining his actual power level, it meant he could achieve a massive leap in strength through much easier evolutions.
In the short term, it was a punishment, but in the long run, it was definitely a boon.
Cipher felt like giving her a hug.
Though she didn't say it, after working with Bartholos for so many years—especially after reclaiming the data from so many cycles—the bond between these two generations of Trickster Titans was clearly very strong.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have tackled a job as dangerous as a solo expedition to Punklorde together.
Even though Bartholos looked quite silly as a white fluff-ball, Cipher was happy for him.
Bartholos was even worse; if he had arms or legs, he’d probably be clinging to her boots.
As it was, he was already teary-eyed, looking moved to the point of sobbing. Whether he was faking it or not was anyone’s guess.
Cipher tossed the sniveling Bartholos aside with a look of feigned disgust and flicked her wrist. Several Aether Cartridges clattered onto the nearby table.
"Hehe, I noticed little Silver Wolf hasn't started Aether Editing yet. She can have these to play with."
"Aren't you worried the data on those will be a bad influence?"
'Silver Wolf' casually picked up a cartridge.
To her current self, Aether Editing held no secrets across any dimension. She quickly imported the data into Project Bunny, deleted and blurred the useless personal logs, and kept only the hacker-related records.
This would serve as a perfect "Introduction to Hacking" for little Silver Wolf.
Aether Editing in Punklorde is a subject that relies heavily on innate talent. But this was Silver Wolf. There was no need to worry about talent. She’d learn it, period.
As for a cartridge for Silver Wolf herself? She had Project Bunny. A construct built from the power of Elation was more than qualified to serve as a hacker's Aether Cartridge. If anything, it was overkill.
"Alright, I'm heading out first," Cipher said, gathering the now-empty cartridges as if planning to recycle them.
"Not staying the night?"
"Nah, I might as well strike while the iron is hot. I've been annoyed with those folks in the Oasis Zone for a long time. Today, the legendary thief who robs the rich to help the poor makes her grand return to the world! Bartholos, let's roll!"
Cipher raised her arms and gave a long, hard stretch. Her slender waist curved at an exaggerated, graceful angle that almost made one worry it might snap.
The two thieves vanished back into the data channels, likely off to cause a headache for the elites of the Oasis Zone.
None of that mattered much to 'Silver Wolf', though. Right now, she just had a mischievous urge to see little Silver Wolf sitting stoically on Project Bunny, shouting, "Project Bunny 19C!"
--+--
Star Rail Impostor! - 340
--+--
She carried the already sound-asleep little Silver Wolf into her own small room and laid her down.
The room wasn’t large. The furniture inside was clearly old, but everything had been kept very clean and neatly arranged.
Whoever had set up this room had done it with care.
'Silver Wolf' felt a bit curious about the shop owner who had taken little Silver Wolf in.
A place like Punklorde wasn’t exactly somewhere where random acts of kindness usually worked out well.
Yet this owner not only adopted Silver Wolf—judging from how the shop operated, the customers who came by were fairly well-behaved too.
At the very least, no one tried to set their sights on the little girl.
Well… teasing kids was a different matter.
All in all, 'Silver Wolf' didn’t know anything about the owner’s past, but from what she could see so far, the woman seemed like a decent person.
The only question was whether the owner was a hacker.
Who knew.
'Silver Wolf' could easily uncover any secret if she wanted to, but sometimes it was more polite—and more interesting—not to.
Unless something urgent came up, she usually avoided acting like some all-knowing being.
Still, whether the owner was a hacker or not didn’t really matter.
It didn’t stop her from teaching little Silver Wolf how to play with Aether Editing.
Consider it a way to pass the time, and at the same time, she could watch just how far that Cipher girl intended to take things.
Those hackers Cipher had stolen from earlier—based on the data stored in their cartridges—were basically accomplices or associates of the group that had tried to invade Amphoreus.
All she could say was: they had it coming.
But it was obvious Cipher had no intention of stopping there.
And from 'Silver Wolf's' observations, those hackers who had lost their cartridges—humiliated so badly they’d become the biggest laughingstock in Punklorde history—weren’t planning to let it go either.
It looked like they intended to expose Cipher’s identity.
According to the information circulating on Punklorde’s network…
Amphoreus, as the birthplace of Digimon, seemed extremely attractive to the people of Punklorde.
So unless something unexpected happened, once Cipher’s identity was revealed, she was bound to be hunted by nearly every hacker on the planet.
After all, what hacker wouldn’t want a Digimon?
Something that could freely move between data space and the real world, and even evolve differently depending on what data you fed it.
Only now did 'Silver Wolf' realize just how irresistible Digimon would be to this crowd of data-obsessed hackers.
So irresistible that they’d dared to invade Amphoreus despite the enormous risks. But if these hackers still couldn’t recognize reality, then next time it probably wouldn’t end with theft.
Next time, the Land of Light’s combat squads might be the ones showing up.
Divine Herta’s pettiness and her habit of paying back every grudge wasn’t something to joke about.
Given Punklorde’s situation, the Land of Light—being outsiders—couldn’t easily interfere in a civilization’s internal affairs, and Aether Editing, something even civilians could access, did help keep this cyber world from becoming too oppressive.
But if someone was foolish enough to provoke the Land of Light’s allies…
Well, then the Land of Light would be more than happy to teach them a lesson about the “critique of weapons.”
Thinking about all that, 'Silver Wolf' tucked the blanket around little Silver Wolf.
Just as she was about to stand up and leave—
She suddenly realized the child had somehow grabbed hold of her belt.
When she stood, she almost dragged the little girl right off the bed.
Not only that, her already low-waisted shorts were nearly yanked halfway down her hips.
The shop owner happened to pass by the doorway and glanced inside.
Her expression turned… complicated.
That ungrateful little brat. She fed her, gave her a place to live, and never once had the kid been this clingy with her. But this big sister she’d known for less than a day gave her one oversized toy—
And now she wouldn’t even let go of it in her sleep?
The owner gave a quiet snort, unsure whether she should feel happy that the kid was finally acting a little more like a child…
Or disappointed that it wasn’t directed at her.
Then she simply walked past the door, pretending she hadn’t seen anything, which meant 'Silver Wolf' didn’t even get the chance to ask for help.
Come to think of it… this owner didn’t mind a complete stranger staying in her house?
Even sharing a room with the kid she had adopted?
'Silver Wolf' couldn’t help thinking the owner might be a little… simple-minded.
When she looked back, little Silver Wolf had tightened her grip even more.
Her whole body had curled toward where 'Silver Wolf' was sitting.
Pretty cute.
So 'Silver Wolf' casually produced another Light Cone and stored it away, planning to send it to the grown-up Silver Wolf later as embarrassing blackmail material.
Then she reached out and gently poked the girl’s forehead.
Using the faint power of Remembrance, she lightly brushed against the child’s thoughts within her dreams.
Only then did she realize—the body she was using right now was Silver Wolf’s future self.
So to little Silver Wolf, 'Silver Wolf's' presence naturally gave off a familiar, trustworthy feeling.
When she was awake, that instinct wasn’t very noticeable, but once she got sleepy, when rational thought faded away…
Instinct took over.
That was why earlier, when she got drowsy, she had instinctively burrowed into 'Silver Wolf's' arms, and even now, asleep, she clung to her and kept inching closer.
Of course, little Silver Wolf couldn’t possibly understand the concept of “her future self.”
So subconsciously, she was treating her like family.
Whether that family member was supposed to be a sister… or a mother…
'Silver Wolf's' expression turned awkward.
Just how starved for motherly affection was this kid?
Wasn’t the shop owner a woman too? After taking care of her for years, the kid still didn’t see her as a mom?
“…Whatever.”
'Silver Wolf' clicked her tongue.
Thankfully Herta and the others didn’t know about this.
Otherwise the whole “becoming a mom without pain” situation would probably be mocked for ages.
The bed in the room wasn’t big, but 'Silver Wolf' herself wasn’t tall either, so squeezing in beside a child was still fairly comfortable.
After taking off the annoying outer layers of clothing and lying down, she didn’t actually go to sleep.
Instead, she closed her eyes and continued studying the Permanence Equation.
As for Aether Editing…
Honestly, she only needed to glance at it twice to understand everything. There was no need to study it.
--+--
The next day.
Little Silver Wolf, who felt like she’d had an incredibly comfortable sleep, woke up at least two system hours later than usual.
When she groggily regained consciousness, she realized she seemed to be resting against a very warm, comfortable embrace.
It felt just like sleeping beside her mother.
So instinctively, she burrowed deeper into it.
Only after her brain cleared a little did she suddenly remember—
She always slept alone.
Where would a mother’s arms come from?
Forcing her eyes open, little Silver Wolf lifted her head.
That was when she saw the big sister beside her, eyes closed, seemingly still asleep.
“…”
For a moment, she almost thought she had really met her mother, but she knew better.
This was the sister who had come out of the Originium—she just looked very similar to her.
She wasn’t actually family.
Even so…
Silver Wolf pressed her lips together, then buried her head again.
'Silver Wolf' opened her eyes briefly when she felt the movement.
Seeing the girl who had already woken up lying back down again as if she planned to keep staying in bed, she said nothing.
Especially when she noticed the little hand gripping her tank top tightening even more.
So she quietly closed her eyes again.
Then she raised a hand and gently placed it on Silver Wolf’s head, softly stroking her hair.
By the time little Silver Wolf finally got up, the fast-food shop downstairs had already reached the lunch rush.
Without even having time to wash up, she had her hair quickly tied into twin drill-tails by ‘Silver Wolf’, wiped her face, and rushed into the dining area to help out.
As for 'Silver Wolf'—
She took the chance to check the state of the network world again, and sure enough.
Those victims had directly exposed the truth:
Cipher and her accomplices were Digimon from Amphoreus.
The news caused an enormous uproar across Punklorde.
At the same time, ordinary people finally learned why those hackers had been targeted.
Turns out these lunatics had formed a group and invaded Amphoreus.
The ones who went were wiped out or trapped there.
The ones who hadn’t made it in time were now being hunted down.
Although the general public condemned the reckless hackers…
Condemning them didn’t mean other hackers weren’t tempted.
More victims began appearing, and this time it was worse.
Not only were their Aether Cartridges stolen—Cipher had dismantled their entire defense systems with hacking techniques.
The equipment they relied on to survive was completely destroyed.
Even the cybernetic implants inside their bodies had been swapped out for old models incapable of connecting to the network.
The blow—psychological and physical—was devastating.
To the point that calling Punklorde’s network world a tangled mess today wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Thanks to Digimon’s natural hacking talent, combined with the fact that both Cipher and Bartholos happened to be Pathstriders of Elation…
Aether Editing, which ordinary people found incredibly difficult to learn—was almost trivial in Cipher’s eyes.
Even when there were parts she couldn’t accomplish normally, she could simply force the result through the power of Elation.
A full-on dimensionality strike.
By the afternoon, work at the fast-food shop temporarily slowed down.
With some free time, Silver Wolf opened her game like usual, but compared to before, she seemed distracted today.
Lost in her thoughts, the little girl would occasionally sneak a glance toward ‘Silver Wolf’.
The two adults present naturally noticed the obvious behavior, but by unspoken agreement, neither of them pointed it out.
And right around that moment—
Cipher quietly slipped back into the basement and walked up to ‘Silver Wolf’, wiping nonexistent sweat from her forehead.
“Whew~ Those hackers are seriously insane. Shaking off their tracking wasn’t easy.”
“So what exactly are you trying to do?” 'Silver Wolf' asked.
“Don’t tell me you’re just planning to bully every hacker on the planet?”
“Of course it’s not that simple.”
“But the final step of my plan… I might need your help, Big Sis.”
Cipher blinked at her mischievously, clearly trying to keep the suspense going.
--+--