Herta Space Station.
Through the transparent hull, the Antimatter Legion swarmed like locusts, tearing through the station's defenses. Flames of black negative particles, symbols of destruction, flared to life.
Amidst this portrait of annihilation, two figures—one tall, one short—walked side-by-side.
The taller was a purple-haired beauty clad in an exquisite coat, wearing round glasses as mere decoration. Her well-rounded thighs, wrapped in black stockings, were incredibly eye-catching. The crisp click of her high heels striking the floor merged with the distant sound of explosions.
This was Kafka, the Stellaron Hunter renowned throughout the galaxy.
Beside her, a younger girl wore goggles as accessories, her attire light and revealing. Ivory-white thighs were starkly highlighted by her short shorts, sparking the imagination.
This was Silver Wolf, the infamous super hacker.
The Voidrangers infesting the station's corridors couldn't impede their progress in the slightest; dealing with these small fry hardly even counted as a warm-up.
Following information Silver Wolf hacked from the station's database and guidance from Elio's script, the pair navigated a maze left by the station's absent master in the monitoring room. They smoothly entered the Curio Room where the Stellaron was sealed.
"Oh? There's actually an independent defense system..."
Silver Wolf, her hair tied in a single spiral ponytail, blew a bubble with her gum while her hands danced across a holographic projection. "Disabled."
"That fast? Impressive, as expected from you."
Momentarily surprised by Silver Wolf's efficiency, Kafka gazed at the dreamlike, glowing object before her. Its radiance reflected in her purple eyes as she reached out, grasping this distant, mysterious entity.
"But of course. In the world of hacking, even the genius Herta isn't my match," Silver Wolf hummed, a smirk playing on her lips as her fingers continued to tap on the light blue projection.
The screen flickered through various displays before settling on a circuit-like diagram with a square interface at its center.
Silver Wolf looked up at Kafka, who held the Stellaron in one hand. "Give me the vessel."
"Alright."
Maintaining her seemingly perpetual, serene smile, Kafka reached into her coat with her other hand, retrieving a cube from a hidden spot beneath her white shirt.
As her peach-purple eyes focused on the cube, a genuine ripple of emotion subtly disturbed their calm depths.
Games and reality are different—that wasn't just an empty phrase.
In the game, Kafka's choice of vessel was purely a plot device allowing players to select a gender.
In the real world, there was no such choice.
Or rather, the divergence in the worldline had occurred long, long ago.
The Stellaron, known as the Cancer of All Worlds, wasn't some plug-and-play Sharingan. Even Herta had constructed an entire massive space station just to contain one. The difficulty of using a single body to bear and seal the Stellaron's terrifying power was immense.
The 'vessel' in Kafka's hand was something the Stellaron Hunters, including Elio, had gone to great lengths to obtain, modified by the power of an Aeon.
There was only one.
An artificial body, created solely to accommodate the Stellaron. Elio had entrusted her to Kafka's protection and care long ago. Kafka taught her basic knowledge, common sense, and combat skills, even giving her a name—Star.
Kafka had expended considerable effort, even paying a significant price, to ensure Star survived until now.
"Stop staring. No matter what happens, I think she'll at least remember you," Silver Wolf said, crossing her arms and blowing another bubble.
"Let's hope so."
Kafka clenched her gloved hand, adorned with spider-silk patterns, and offered a noncommittal smile before gently tossing the vessel to Silver Wolf.
"Here you go."
"Leave it to me... Pop!"
Silver Wolf raised her hand to catch the vessel, but froze abruptly the next second. The bubble she'd blown burst with a soft pop, sticking to her lips.
The vessel, tracing a graceful arc through the air, inexplicably paused mid-flight. It then blurred, turning transparent, before seemingly undergoing a quantum effect and splitting into two identical cubes.
"What is going on?"
Catching one cube in each hand, Silver Wolf looked at Kafka, utterly bewildered.
"I... I don't know." The same astonishment appeared on Kafka's face.
The vessel split into two? Wait!
Her Star hadn't turned into '日' (Sun) and '生' (Life/Birth), had she? [Translator's Note: This is a visual pun; the character 星 (Star) is composed of 日 and 生]
The thought caused Kafka's usually serene expression to shift, a rare, barely perceptible flicker of anxiety and panic crossing her features.
"Silver Wolf, undo the Ether Editing seal first," she said quickly.
"...Alright."
Silver Wolf nodded, using her tongue to deftly roll the burst gum back into her mouth.
She extended a finger, loading both vessels into the interfaces on the projection one after the other, then tapped rapidly on the virtual keyboard.
Accompanied by game-like sound effects, real-world data transformed into modifiable code. Two bodies materialized from the void as if 3D printed.
Seeing the grey-haired girl suspended mid-air, body intact with no missing limbs, Kafka let out a silent sigh of relief.
Then, her gaze shifted to the figure floating beside Star.
It was a young man, his grey hair uncannily similar to Star's. He wore the same outfit Kafka had picked out for Star: a jacket primarily black with gold accents over a white T-shirt.
But now, this outfit was worn by him.
"What's happening? How did this thing become two? And the gender changed?"
Silver Wolf's eyes widened as she stared at the grey-haired young man, scanning him up and down. When her gaze reached his lower half, the corner of her eye twitched involuntarily.
The young man's attire was an exact copy of Star's, including the short skirt matching the jacket and the eye-catching blue leg ring.
Naturally, as a male, his legs were slightly thicker than the girl's, causing the blue leg ring to bite into the flesh.
Even with his extremely high looks preventing it from being truly offensive to the eyes, it was still incredibly weird!
So weird!
She took another look!
"Is this... an extra twin brother?" Kafka frowned slightly.
"No, not twins."
Silver Wolf's hands flew across the virtual screen as waterfalls of data streamed down. Her young face held unconcealed shock and strangeness. "This is the log from when the vessel was unsealed."
"A power I can't trace, can't even comprehend, appeared suddenly. It altered the vessel's state of reality, forcing it into some kind of superposition before collapsing into two."
"I don't know the specifics of what happened."
Her talents lay primarily in hacking; delving into profound scientific fields, Silver Wolf could only make a rough guess based on the 'log'.
"All I can confirm is that both of these individuals are Star."
"'Both' are 'Star'?" Kafka's expression was complex.
"Yes, both," Silver Wolf affirmed.
"Is that so." Kafka looked at the grey-haired young man thoughtfully.
Suddenly recalling something, Silver Wolf looked up at Kafka. "Didn't Elio mention this in the script he gave you?"
If this was truly a significant change impacting the future, Elio couldn't possibly have omitted it from the script, right?
Kafka fell silent for a second, her purple eyes glinting. "When Elio gave me the script, he did mention... that unforeseen accidents might occur during the mission."
Silver Wolf couldn't hide her surprise. "You mean... 'might'?"
Elio's scripts depicted futures that were certain to happen. Regardless of how they came about, or whether they defied conventional understanding, they were, in a conceptual sense, absolutely predetermined.
Since joining the Stellaron Hunters, this was the first time Silver Wolf had ever heard the word 'might' appear in a script.
"So, what's the plan now?" Silver Wolf glanced at the system time on her interface.
"We don't have much time. The Voidranger fodder I attracted won't hold off the Star Rail Crew for long."
Kafka looked at the Stellaron in her hand, then at the floating grey-haired young man and girl before her. Her gaze was gentle, doting, like a mother lovingly watching her children.
After a moment's hesitation, she walked towards the girl, Stellaron in hand.
"Let's proceed according to the script."
"Elio said that even if the future is overturned by unpredictable variables, we must seize the corner of it that we desire."
Kafka pushed the radiant Stellaron directly into the girl's body.
"Time to wake up," she murmured softly.
And so, the gears of fate began to turn.
"Hm?"
Before she could recite her lines to Star, Kafka suddenly looked up, sensing something. Her brow furrowed slightly. "Silver Wolf, did you hear laughter?"
"Laughter?" Silver Wolf blinked, listening intently, but heard nothing of the sort.
"No."
A flicker of deep thought crossed Kafka's face as she held her breath, concentrating. She could hear the gunfire, explosions, sounds of fighting, and cries from various cabins throughout the station, but absolutely no laughter.
Time was short, leaving no room for contemplation. Kafka glanced at the unconscious grey-haired young man, then turned to begin her final farewell to the half-awake Star.
The instant the Stellaron entered the girl's body, it was like someone shone a 10,000-lumen bulb directly in front of a sleeping person—more jarring than having a basin of cold water dumped on them.
Qi Qiong snapped his eyes open.
Damn it!
What kind of messed-up luck brought me here?
Am I even still in the country?
"Hahaha~! Hahaha~!"
Before Qi Qiong could get a clear look at his surroundings, he heard sharp, clear laughter tearing through the darkness.
Responding to that unrestrained laughter was a deep, majestic, layered voice that sounded like some powerful entity.
"A system spanning the myriad heavens of antiquity; with open source code, it supports the sky."
"Atop the peak of vanity, reigning proudly over the world; where my System exists, there is Heaven."
"Fool! You followed the path down and locked onto my host. That's not a huge disturbance yet, but if you dare take one step further, the heavens and earth will be overturned!"
Hearing these incredibly imposing words, Qi Qiong, clutching his eyes which felt like chili powder had been poured into them, writhed on the ground, rubbing them furiously. His mind went numb.
These were all modified classic quotes!
But, System?
Hearing those two words clearly, combined with the fact that he should have died from his 'lucky' accident, a guess naturally formed in Qi Qiong's mind.
The mental leap and acceptance of reality for an otaku in this situation were just that fast.
Proving his guess was actually simple.
Qi Qiong forced his teary eyes open, barely making out the laughing, vibrating masks. Highly similar to the official art he remembered, plus the System's term of address for the entity...
Without a doubt, those masks belonged to the Lord of Joy, the ultimate cosmic troll god, Aha!
The kind of entity who could do the most outrageous things in fan creations without ever being out of character (OOC).
A transmigrator from beyond the Imaginary Tree entering the galaxy was unprecedentedly hilarious fun, especially one accompanied by a System—a rarity even greater than a transmigrator.
Of course the Aeon of Elation would immediately rush over to observe this precious specimen!
Hearing the System's threat, the wild, unrestrained laughter of Joy didn't diminish but instead grew, becoming even more frenzied.
"Ahem, isn't it delightful to have friends coming from afar?" A comically exaggerated, overly serious tone emerged from the dark figure surrounded by masks.
"Aha, representing Aha alone, welcomes you both."
The mock seriousness lasted only two seconds before He burst out laughing and clapping, the balls and playing cards beside him embracing each other.
"How about we become friends while we're at it? Aha has always made friends far and wide, being hospitable and helpful is my joy."
"If your masks kept their distance, I might pretend to believe that..."
A soft, exasperated mutter killed the mood, plunging the room into silence.
The System quickly recovered, reapplying the deep, majestic effects to its voice, its tone shifting from the weak, complaining one back to aloof and domineering.
"Leave now, and no one gets hurt. Otherwise... Hmph."
"After you return to reality, tell the other Aeons that it was the System who sent you on your final journey!"
What the hell!
Qi Qiong's face fell, tears still streaming from the earlier blinding light.
Ripping off quotes from Shrouding the Heavens is one thing, but why are you copying the locals too?
He didn't know Penacony's full story yet, but Qi Qiong had seen Firefly fan videos and knew the origin of that line.
"Oh, I'm heartbroken."
Aha suddenly became sorrowful, the masks weeping mournfully, shedding false tears. "Aha only wanted to be friends with you. Why am I so disliked?"
Qi Qiong watched Aha's performance expressionlessly, but his composure soon crumbled.
"Er, cough, actually, you don't have to be so sad. As long as you don't try any funny business, I... we aren't opposed to being friends with you."
It bought it!
The System actually bought Aha's act!
Did this System crawl out of some bargain-bin webnovel site's kindergarten!?
You're using the Heavenly Emperor version of your domineering voice to say that?
Qi Qiong stared blankly, dumbfounded and utterly incredulous.
"Really? That's wonderful! Let's be the best of friends~!"
Aha retracted the pitiful tears, opening His arms wide with exuberant warmth, moving to embrace Qi Qiong.
Holy crap!
Don't come over here!
Alarmed, Qi Qiong tried to step back, only to realize Aha's target wasn't him—or rather, not entirely him.
It was the System's light screen, visible only within Qi Qiong's field of vision.
The light screen, initially slightly shy upon being embraced by Aha, quickly sensed something was wrong.
"Wait, Fool, what are you doing?"
"Nice build, quite sturdy."
"How old are you, still so bashful?"
Aha's masks pressed against the System screen, like fingertips brushing across a cheek.
Perhaps because his soul was bound to the System, Qi Qiong felt a phantom chill, like his little brother was being groped by a pervert.
But he was completely powerless to intervene.
"Wh-what do you think you're doing!?"
The System completely dropped the voice effects, panicking like A-Wei caught by Brother Jie (Translator's Note: A popular internet meme reference).
It had wanted to put on a show for its host, hoping to gain more respect in their future interactions, but it had ended up like this.
"Gah! Damn you, Fool! This System will take you down with it!"
Perhaps spurred by Qi Qiong's dejected gaze, the System's light screen shed its outer glow, revealing the source code within, composed of some unknowable substance.
The source code erupted like stardust particles, completely illuminating Qi Qiong's soul space.
The intense light forced Qi Qiong to shield his eyes.
He was astonished to see that even Aha couldn't resist the torrent of transparent, unknowable material, being forcibly expelled as if crushed.
Seriously?
This System actually has some tricks up its sleeve.
Qi Qiong mentally upgraded his assessment of the System from 'bargain-bin kindergarten' to 'bargain-bin elementary school'.
As for why 'bargain-bin'?
Was there even a need to ask?
If this were a System from that other webnovel site, the Aha entering Qi Qiong's soul space would have been instantly captured, transformed into a white-haired, red-eyed loli, and become Qi Qiong's personal 'Stelle'!
"Um..."
Qi Qiong coughed lightly, drawing the System's attention. "System, are you okay?"
Qi Qiong's words seemed to hit a release valve. The System suddenly burst out crying like a deeply wronged young wife, entering a teary-eyed phase.
"Wuwuwu, Host, I'm broken..."
Qi Qiong: "..."
Qi Qiong: "???"
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