[Returning Wolf King: My bad, my bad, this one's on me!]
[Returning Wolf King: I got a little carried away playing ranked with Seele, and the task in the script was so simple I could do it anytime, so I forgot to tell you.]
Pier Point, in a small hideout belonging to a certain super hacker of the cosmos.
Three holographic screens floated in front of the girl with the silver, single-ponytail.
The one on the left was a recording of last night's ranked match with Seele. It was a game specifically developed for couples, with rich content including PVE and PVP modes. One of its mini-modes was similar to It Takes Two.
For some time, Silver Wolf had been wanting to invite Seele to link their accounts for some sweet couples' duo queuing. She guaranteed she would carry Seele and boost her rank hard. No one could stop her from carrying a girl to victory!
Except Seele herself.
Seele would decline, saying her gaming skills couldn't keep up with 'Big Sis Silver Wolf' and that 'Big Bro Caelus' was a more suitable duo partner for her.
Even when Silver Wolf called upon her 'Godfather' to act as a wingman and provide support, and Seele agreed, she didn't seem interested in the game. Forcing Seele to play would defeat the whole purpose.
But unexpectedly, Seele had actively invited her to play this couples' game last night. Silver Wolf was overjoyed.
She quickly and efficiently finished her short part in Elio's script—interfering with the communications between the group heading to the Luofu and the crew remaining on the Astral Express—and then promptly tossed the task to the back of her mind to start happily playing the couples' game with Seele.
Silver Wolf had intended to tell Caelus right after she finished, but once she started playing with Seele, she forgot.
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: Seele smiling sweetly.jpg]
Silver Wolf sat bolt upright as if from her deathbed. The bubblegum she was chewing popped with a snap. Her fingers flew across the virtual keyboard as she groveled and apologized at the speed of light.
[Returning Wolf King: Godfather!]
Silver Wolf sent a series of crying Silver Wolf cat-head emojis, even changing the chat background to 'Snow in June' to make the cat-head sticker look exceptionally tragic.
[Returning Wolf King: I'll gift you the collector's edition of 'The Legend of Tilda: Breath of the Cosmos'! Plus, I'll help you grind the spring, summer, fall, winter, and anniversary events on all your accounts, as well as the ranked matches for twenty-five new games!]
Grinding events for all four seasons simultaneously sounds a bit ridiculous, but this was the interstellar era. It was perfectly normal for different planets to have different seasons and calendars.
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: Ah, the weather is so nice today. Wolfie, when can you get your accounts back? Daddy will keep carrying you to boost your rank.]
Upon receiving his compensation, Caelus instantly developed amnesia.
After all, it only affected communication with the Express. Not a big deal!
[Returning Wolf King: Ugh, don't even mention it.]
Caelus could clearly feel the immense resentment coming from the other side.
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: What? Is the firewall at the IPC headquarters that tough?]
[Returning Wolf King: The IPC headquarters' server is definitely something else, it's got some tricks, but it's far from being able to stump me! The problem isn't getting the accounts back.]
[Returning Wolf King: That old hag Herta used Screwllum's Difference Engine to lock my accounts!]
Crack!
The lollipop in Silver Wolf's mouth was crushed to bits as she seethed with rage.
[Returning Wolf King: If I don't remove the lock first, even if I get the accounts back, she can just ban them again in no time... Aaargh! That old hag Herta is seriously inhuman! Damn it!]
Using a planet-sized megastructure supercomputer to lock game accounts, what kind of sane person does that!?
Caelus could almost hear a wail from Silver Wolf even more agonizing than when she first got banned.
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: LUL.jpg]
His good bro had her accounts banned and was being relentlessly targeted. Such a tragic fate would sadden those who hear it and make those who see it cry. Caelus laughed so hard he cried.
If anyone else had laughed, Silver Wolf would have definitely shot back with 'What the hell are you laughing at?!' and then banned all of the provocateur's game accounts in retaliation!
She'd show them the meaning of 'extreme joy begets sorrow'!
But faced with her Grand Strategist, temporary Big Bro, temporary Godfather, and the owner of the account she was currently playing on—Caelus—Silver Wolf could only send a sticker.
[Returning Wolf King: Chibi Silver Wolf heart pierced by an arrow.jpg]
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: Don't cry, Wolfie, don't cry. When we get back, I'll beat that old hag Herta until she's kneeling on the ground to get revenge for you!]
[Returning Wolf King: Make her your Star Slave! Break her! Humiliate her viciously!]
Silver Wolf grabbed the closest of her two-heads-tall virtual friends, Little Yuan, and vented her frustration by grabbing her head and kneading it like a stress ball.
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: By the way, how's that investigation I asked you to help with?]
Caelus operated his phone screen with his gaze, a function that allowed him to control the system interface with his eyeballs, which seemed to have already existed in his original world.
A few seconds later, his phone vibrated with a new message.
[Returning Wolf King: Investigation in progress. I've already found a few things.]
Silver Wolf tossed Little Yuan aside, letting her get back to work.
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: Oh, you've found something so quickly? You're the best! Seele thumbs up.jpg.]
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: Spill the tea.]
Caelus, who had been resting his head on Stelle's long, pale legs, got up and switched to Bronya's plump, rounded thighs.
[Returning Wolf King: First, about that merchant guild vessel. The navigation logs in its internal system show signs of deletion and modification. Except in extremely special circumstances, very few people would delete a ship's navigation log, especially not a commercial vessel.]
Private vessels aside, commercial ships almost always keep navigation logs, which serve as a record of their journey.
It's similar to an employee taking a company car on a business trip; they need to get reimbursed for fuel costs when they get back.
[Returning Wolf King: After I restored the deleted data, I found that the vessel had stopped for a considerable amount of time in an uninhabited star system far from the Xianzhou.]
[Returning Wolf King: Using that star system as a focal point, I launched an investigation into the surrounding planets and interstellar factions that have civilizations.]
[Returning Wolf King: And guess what? Someone claimed to have seen a Lord Ravager descend upon that star system.]
Lord Ravager.
Upon seeing those two words, Caelus's eyes narrowed slightly as he turned his head to look at Tingyun, who was piloting the starskiff up ahead.
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: And then?]
[Returning Wolf King: It's said the Lord Ravager may have attacked a vessel. My worker drones are verifying this information, but I think the report is probably true.]
Caelus thought for a few seconds, then typed with both hands.
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: The Blazing Prairie Fire Merchant Guild's returning ship... does the number of disembarking crew members match the number of crew members who departed?]
If Phantylia had replaced Tingyun during her business trip, how would she have dealt with the other people accompanying her?
If she killed them all, she definitely wouldn't be able to explain why her entire trade delegation vanished after one trip when she returned to the Xianzhou.
Modifying their memories to control them, then.
The Heliobi are formless energy beings that can parasitize and control flesh-and-blood bodies. With the power of an Emanator-level being, Phantylia could undoubtedly do it.
But given the disposition of an Emanator of Destruction, she would probably just kill them all, perhaps leaving just enough survivors to file a report. She could easily brush off the others with an excuse like 'they stayed behind with the client for subsequent cooperation'.
[Returning Wolf King: That's our guy! Figured it out so quickly.]
[Returning Wolf King: It's precisely because the numbers don't match that I thought something was very wrong. Far fewer members of the trade delegation returned.]
Caelus fell silent, thinking.
Did Phantylia eliminate the accompanying trade delegation and parasitize Tingyun?
[Returning Wolf King: Also, I found out that after the incident, another vessel passed by and lingered for a long time. Based on current information, it's possible there were survivors from the attack.]
When it came to helping her Godfather, Silver Wolf was very diligent. Well, diligent in cracking the whip to make her Four Heavenly Kings work 25-hour shifts.
As for the consequences of her actions, in Kafka's words, anything Elio doesn't write in the script is irrelevant!
As long as she completed her part of the script, she could do whatever she wanted with everything else.
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: Oh? An unknown vessel, and potential survivors!]
Caelus's interest was immediately piqued.
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: Who?]
[Returning Wolf King: Not clear yet, there are very few clues. The Demon King is hacking into the information stations in that star system. I'll notify you if I find anything new.]
[Wants-to-Have-the-Same-Surname-as-Sis-Asta: OK, Seele thumbs up.jpg]
A cosmic-level hacker for you, that's efficiency!
With Silver Wolf around, unless the Interastral Peace Corporation got Screwllum to personally intervene, they had no chance of tracking the Stellaron Hunters.
To motivate his dear child to work hard, Caelus sent over many 'candid' cute photos of Seele's daily life.
After organizing the current intelligence, Caelus's gaze shifted to the purple-haired beauty sitting not far away.
No longer feigning unconsciousness and just bound by a double set of restraints, Kafka looked slightly disheveled.
"I told you I wouldn't resist. Was all this really necessary?"
With a smile that betrayed no thoughts, Kafka's voice was soft and a little lazy.
"Hmph."
Fu Xuan glanced at Kafka's resigned expression. "You are a wanted criminal known for using Spirit Whisper to manipulate people's minds. You're free to say what you want, but I have no interest in your words."
"Kafka, drop your little tricks. I am not the General. The General may be careless enough to let a Stellaron Hunter escape, but I will not be!"
"Well, can't be helped then," Kafka said with a shrug and a smile, falling silent.
"Hehehe~ Mommy looks beautiful even when she's tied up!"
Looking at Kafka, who couldn't move with her hands bound, Stelle grinned like Crayon Shin-chan, wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, and lunged forward.
"Mommy, it's time to replenish my missing motherly love!"
Stelle hugged Kafka, burying her head in her chest and rubbing it vigorously.
Through their shared senses, Caelus could clearly feel the soft warmth against his cheek, and a milky fragrance mixed with the scent of flowers.
"Ehehehe~"
Stelle continued her crazed antics, still hugging Kafka.
Both Fu Xuan and Kafka stared at the gray-haired girl in silence.
For a moment, Fu Xuan thought that locking Kafka in the Shackling Prison would be less effective at breaking her spirit than locking her in a room with Stelle.
However, I, one of the Six Charioteers, the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission, am standing right here.
Are you sure you don't want to hide your attitude towards a major criminal of the Luofu?
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