"Kafka..."
Silver Wolf looked at the woman focused on piloting the skiff from the main cockpit and couldn't help but call out her name.
"Hmm, what is it? Little Wolfie? Did you decide to be a good girl after this operation?"
Kafka remained focused on flying the skiff but didn't forget to tease Silver Wolf.
"No..."
Silver Wolf silently shook her head.
"I wanted to say... give up. You can't beat him, in every sense of the word..."
CLANG...
The moment Silver Wolf's words fell, the entire skiff vibrated noticeably. Looking at Kafka, she still wore that same nonchalant expression.
"Oh? Is that so? But we were never in a competition to begin with~ Wouldn't you agree, Little Wolfie?"
Kafka turned her head with a faint smile, her gaze fixed directly on Silver Wolf.
"Hiss... Okay, okay, you're right, you're right! Just don't look at me like that, it's super creepy!"
Silver Wolf quickly whipped her head to the other side, unconsciously rubbing her arms, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"My, my, Little Wolfie is ignoring me. I'm quite hurt, you know."
"Tsk... a woman with this much jealousy is terrifying..."
Silver Wolf muttered quietly to herself, then picked up her game console and started grinding a new account from scratch.
Originally, she had wanted to go to the Corporation's headquarters in person to get her accounts back, but after this lesson...
She felt that as a hacker, it was better not to risk her own skin. At critical moments, it was more important to use her brain.
Gazing at the Herta Space Station as it grew more distant, a mischievous smile appeared on Silver Wolf's face.
"Old woman, you dare to collect a video of me being embarrassed! I'll give you something big in return!"
---o---
The crowd at the party was still praising Wende's unparalleled cooking when, in the blink of an eye, the entire space station was plunged into darkness. The only lights remaining were the emergency indicators and the glow from Screwllum's electronic eyes.
"What's going on? Why did the power suddenly go out? Where's the backup power?"
Asta calmed the slightly panicked staff members, then turned to an equally bewildered Arlan.
"Miss... I..."
Arlan also looked lost, with no idea what had happened.
"Asta, do not be alarmed. It is merely a small surprise left for us by a little hacker."
As Screwllum's voice fell, the lights in the space station flickered back on, and the hearts that had been suspended in the darkness could finally rest.
"It was merely the simplest form of electronic interference. It seems that being physically present... can indeed cause more trouble than remote manipulation."
Gazing out the porthole at the cosmos, Screwllum gently shook his head.
"Hmph... Just a child. Isn't it normal for them to want revenge after throwing a tantrum?"
Herta's voice spoke to Screwllum, her tone laced with disdain.
"But her little plan fell through, didn't it? The Simulated Universe's power supply doesn't come from the space station..."
Inside her office, Herta's puppet stared at the Simulated Universe before her and silently lowered its head.
---o---
"Aah, I'm so full!"
March 7th patted her stuffed belly with great satisfaction. That was a truly gratifying meal!
"Hic..."
Stelle let out a quiet burp.
"Ahem..."
Beside them, Dan Heng very consciously and discreetly stood behind Wende.
"Sigh, Little March, binge eating is not a good habit. How about you start losing weight with me tomorrow? A cup of coffee in the morning... plus..."
"Stop! Sister Himeko, I don't think a diet is reliable at all! I'll start exercising with Wende tomorrow!"
The moment she heard the word "coffee," March immediately cut Himeko off... It was a well-known fact that everyone on the Astral Express suffered from Himeko Coffee PTSD!
However... March glanced at Himeko's perfect figure. Could it be that drinking her own coffee actually had a positive effect on her?
"We should hurry and bring this food to Uncle Yang. It's so late, and he still hasn't had dinner," Wende said helplessly, holding the packed food. Why did the topic always turn to coffee?
But... why was he the one carrying things in the end again?
Just as Wende was about to complain, he suddenly felt his left hand lighten. Dan Heng had taken half of the items and nodded at him.
"Mm."
"Thanks."
Wende nodded in response. Perhaps this was the tacit understanding between men...
---o---
"You're back."
Welt put down the book in his hands and greeted the group.
"Yup! And we brought you some delicious food!"
March handed the packed items from Wende's hands to Welt.
"Thank you."
Welt placed the food to the side, his expression somewhat serious.
"We've received news from the Xianzhou. The route to the Alchemy Commission is about to be cleared, but there are some new problems within the Xianzhou itself. The Cloud Knights are short on manpower, so..."
"So they want us to go be their part-time workers again, right?"
Stelle crossed her arms, speaking to Welt with an expression that said she was used to this.
"Yes... General Jing Yuan said."
"That there will be great rewards in the future?"
March 7th raised an eyebrow, striking the same pose as Stelle.
"Correct, and..."
"Let me guess, did he also say that the Xianzhou will never forget the Express crew's kindness, and since we're already here, we might as well take a stroll?"
Wende also crossed his arms, looking as if he had seen through it all.
"Uh... more or less."
"Hmph..."
March turned to Stelle with a deadpan expression. Stelle then looked at Wende, and finally, Wende stared silently at Welt.
"I'm really starting to feel like we're just free labor," Stelle said as if all the air had gone out of her. She had just finished a job at the space station...
"As expected of General Jing Yuan, his ability to draw a big cake is second to none... Didn't Qingque say before that Jing Yuan managed to string along that Master Diviner for over a hundred years with this exact skill?" March said with a look of admiration.
"This is... the Xianzhou way..."
Himeko laughed awkwardly.
Dan Heng (turns head away).
"Sigh, can't we at least stay on the Express for one night before we go?" March complained.
"I bet the route won't actually be fixed for a while, and we're just going over there now to be laborers, believe it or not," Wende said, looking as if he had seen through everything.
"Is that so... then why don't we just let Stelle go by herself!"
Stelle: "???"
---o---
"...My Lord... he has appeared..."
"The message... Simulated Universe."
"...Yes..."
"It is done."
"Let the Balance..."
The universe was always like this, brilliant and dark, fraught with crisis yet full of opportunity, light and shadow, good and evil, order and chaos... and within it all, there was Yin and Yang.
There were always those who hid in the dark corners of the universe, for the sake of Balance...