["Huh? Why don't you believe me? I already said right, right!"]
[Under Silver Wolf's repeated insistence, the left path was simply blocked off completely. With no choice, Stelle had to follow Silver Wolf down the right path to the end.]
[Along the way, Stelle noticed that Screwllum seemed very familiar with Silver Wolf—not just with her hacking techniques, but even with her personality and temperament.]
["You seem to understand her quite well?"]
["Just a brief encounter." Screwllum nodded. "I once had a confrontation with her—Herta was present as well. She may have mentioned it to you."]
[Stelle vaguely remembered that Screwllum had won, but he denied it. "In my view, that was not a victory. It was more of a probe than a duel. She attacked, I defended—no clear winner, both sides held back. She failed to breach the Differential Machine Sphere's defenses, and I failed to stop her from leaving freely."]
——
Hunter × Hunter.
The setting sun dyed the sky orange-red, a gentle breeze rustling through the grass. Gon sat cross-legged under a tree, hands behind his head, looking up at the girl's phantom on the Celestial Screen.
"Killua, you think..." He suddenly spoke, his voice carrying a rare thoughtfulness. "That girl named Silver Wolf looks about our age, right?"
Killua was fiddling with a coin, his silver hair swaying lightly in the wind. At the words, his fingers paused, and the coin went "ding" as it was flicked into the air.
"Hm... looks maybe three or four years older? You can't judge humans in the cosmos purely by appearance." He casually caught the falling coin. "What, jealous she can hack into the Simulated Universe?"
Gon shook his head, eyes still gazing into the distance. "A little jealous... That Mr. Screwllum is a genius acknowledged by an Aeon. To match him in skill and not fall behind... she must have put in a ton of effort behind the scenes, right?"
Killua turned his head, looking at Gon's profile outlined in gold by the setting sun. This guy who was always so straightforward—when he occasionally showed this serious expression, it always reminded Killua of crystal-clear lake water.
"Hey..." Killua gave a helpless smile. "The way you say it makes it sound like you're terrible and don't work hard at all. To save Kite-san, you put in plenty of effort yourself, didn't you?"
"Besides, compared to Silver Wolf, I think there's something even more special about you." Killua said seriously.
Gon turned his head in surprise, meeting Killua's smiling blue eyes.
"What special thing?"
"It's just..." Killua looked toward the distant forest, then suddenly changed the subject with an unrelated question. "Gon, do you remember the people we met during the Hunter Exam?"
"Of course I do!" Gon laughed brightly, counting on his fingers. "Leorio, Kurapika, Hisoka... and tons of other people."
Killua's lips unconsciously curved upward.
That's it... he thought.
Everyone can't help but be drawn to you—even a freak like Hisoka is no exception. The most unbelievable part is that even someone like me, who came from darkness, gets pulled in by your light.
Maybe... you've never realized just how dazzling you are?
——
[As they spoke, Silver Wolf had already arrived at the next room.]
["Finally almost at the end. Lol, there's even a little Herta figure here." Silver Wolf leaned in to examine Herta's puppet closely. "This one's so narcissistic, huh? The entire space station is covered in her face—paintings, sculptures, a ton of projections."]
[The Aether Cartridge was in the next room, but Stelle felt a strange sensation.]
[Screwllum: "Yes, this sense of incongruity runs through the entire thing. She may have come for the Stellaron, yet she also showed strong interest in the curio. And after we realized the Aether Cartridge's existence, she conveniently appeared in the Simulated Universe."]
["It's as if we're not the ones tracking her—but rather she keeps appearing on the path we're taking."]
["It reminds me of a story. I hear that in Punklorde, graffiti is a special kind of symbol. Hackers view reality as one grand game, pursuing the 'clear condition' of life."]
["Whether for victory or for joy, they leave their marks wherever they go—one pattern after another, linking together long journeys, scripting out the game of life." Screwllum gave a soft chuckle. "Doesn't it feel quite similar to the current situation? Perhaps she went through all this trouble just to play a childish game with us."]
[Following Silver Wolf into the final room, Stelle saw the Aether Cartridge sitting perfectly intact right in front of Silver Wolf and felt something was off.]
[Screwllum also read the confusion on Stelle's face, noting that there was still an out-of-place third party here.]
["If the Silver Wolf we are seeing is a past recording, she could not possibly have reached this point—otherwise the cartridge would not still be intact. So assumption and reality are in contradiction."]
[Thus he believed Silver Wolf had indeed hacked into Herta's office but did not linger. Faced with the vast sea of data in the Simulated Universe, to locate a specific target in such a short time—unless...]
["Unless there was a suitable guide."]
[Silver Wolf suddenly turned around and spoke leisurely.]
——
Honkai Impact 3rd.
"Leonard, Stelle, Screwllum, Herta... as expected." Bronya cleared her throat and began imitating Blade's ultra-magnetic bubble voice:
"There are five people, but only three actors. Stelle... you are not one of them."
"Pfft—Hahahaha!" Kiana couldn't hold it in and collapsed laughing onto the desk, her twin tails flailing wildly. "Br-Bronya... you nailed it way too well!"
"I didn't expect Silver Wolf to act so naturally. Looks like besides hacking skills, she has a bit of talent in other areas too." Himeko smiled faintly.
"Of course. You think whose alternate self she is?" Bronya proudly lifted her chin.
"Hey! Isn't your alternate self the Great Guardian in Belobog? The one who just got hounded by the Company for debt repayment not long ago!" Kiana lodged a dissatisfied complaint. "How come you get two alternates all by yourself? And I don't have even one! Mei doesn't either! This isn't fair!"
"But that's just how it is."
Bronya gave a sly smile. "Compared to that Great Guardian, Silver Wolf's personality clearly suits my tastes better. Whether it's her nickname or her hacker identity... this Ms. Silver Wolf is obviously much more like me."