The rolling Trotter charged toward the pair again. The sheer force of its approach made the entire space tremble violently, as if caught in an earthquake.
"Stelle, hold on tight."
Wende shifted Stelle onto his back, then switched to his five-star template.
Silver Wolf magnified the scene before her. Seeing Wende's sudden transformation, her expression, which had been one of detached amusement, changed in an instant.
"Kafka never told me he could transform…"
Muttering a complaint about Kafka, Silver Wolf increased the magnification on her goggles for a better view. Fresh chapters posted on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝕟𝕖𝕥
Tsk, tsk, tsk… that Xianzhou-style outfit, and that utterly shameless… damn it, you show this to a child?
Gazing at Wende's nearly bare chest, Silver Wolf turned her head away, her face flushing red with shame. But then, for reasons unknown even to herself, she turned her head back.
"Hmm… just observing. I'm only observing."
With a single leap, Wende carried Stelle high into the air, soaring above the Trotter.
"Go!" Wende nodded to the girl on his back.
Stelle, seemingly understanding Wende's intent, carefully drew her Fire Lance in mid-air. Then, with Wende's help, she dove from above, charging down at the Trotter on the ground.
A flame fell from the sky like a meteor, a sharp glint of light flashing at its tip.
Stelle descended, lance in hand, augmented by the Yin-Yang energy Wende had channeled into her at some point.
A mushroom cloud instantly enveloped the ground. The intense blast and high temperature melted the surrounding ice and snow in an instant. A pillar of fire soared to the sky, completely submerging the Trotter's form within it.
With one last, unwilling howl, the Trotter's massive body dissipated within the flames. As it vanished, the entire space began to fracture like a shattered mirror, gradually dissolving into fragments.
Wende and Stelle's consciousness began to detach from the Simulated Universe. Just before leaving, Wende looked quizzically at the Silver Wolf NPC in front of him.
When did this little NPC get over here? And why is her face practically pressed against me?
Completely unaware that her position had been forcibly dragged to the results screen as the simulation collapsed, Silver Wolf was still wondering why the magnification on her goggles was set so high.
But before she could even take them off, she was completely disconnected from the Simulated Universe.
"You're out already? I thought you were going to keep causing trouble in the Simulated Universe."
Kafka, lounging nearby with a book on her lap and her head propped on her arm, looked at the just-disconnected Silver Wolf. A faint smile played on her lips as she nonchalantly flipped through the pages, speaking to the girl beside her.
"Tch… I was played. I'm going to the Herta Space Station myself!" Silver Wolf said, grinding her teeth. She had decided to stop with the so-called pranks. She was going to show that old woman Herta what a real hacker could do.
"Mhm, go ahead. I won't be joining you. There's still much to do on the Xianzhou side."
Kafka seemed to remember something. She closed the book on her lap and looked up toward where Silver Wolf had been, only to find the spot empty.
"My, my… you're in such a hurry… Little Wolfie, don't you go getting tricked by a certain big brother…"
Kafka smiled nonchalantly. A corner of a photograph peeked out from the book in her hands. If one looked closely, the gray hair in the picture… seemed to belong to a certain old acquaintance of hers.
"Haha! They're gone! No more fun to watch!"
"Clang… Clang… Clang!"
"There is no need to remember this time."
Within the Simulated Universe, seven voices echoed silently. Then, the entire universe was reset.
"Phew… finally back."
Wende removed the immersion device and turned to look at Stelle, who seemed to be fine.
"Thank you for your hard work testing this time. We found quite a few bugs, so the Simulated Universe will be shut down for a while. The payment has already been transferred to your company's account."
The Herta puppet next to the Simulated Universe launcher slowly raised its head and spoke to Wende and Stelle. Then, as if losing its sentience, its gaze turned vacant once more.
"Mhm, thank you, Miss Herta."
Wende gave the Herta puppet a slight bow, then led Stelle out of Herta's office.
"Well, our funding issues should be solved for now. So, what do you want to eat? As long as it's not related to mung bean soda or Himeko's coffee, I'll make it for you."
"Hmm… I'll have to think really hard about this…"
Seeing Stelle fall into a state of indecision, Wende smiled.
"How about we buy some groceries on the station, then call Himeko back to the Express? Dan Heng and March are still on board. We can also give Mr. Yang a call and tell him to stop locking himself away building automatons and come back for a meal, what do you think?"
Stelle nodded sensibly, having no objections.
After all, everything worth rummaging through on the space station… she had already rummaged through…
"Sister Himeko? Where are you? We've got money now! We don't have to do takeout anymore!"
I Really Want to Drink Coffee~
"Really? Where's Wende?"
"Wende went to buy ingredients on the station. He said we should all get together for a nice dinner tonight. I still have to go call Mr. Yang."
I Really Want to Drink Coffee~
"I see. I'll let Asta know right away, then we'll head back to the Express."
And so, that day, under the reluctant gazes of the Herta Space Station staff, Wende left with a large pile of ingredients.
"Err… it's not like I'm never coming back. Is this level of farewell really necessary?" Wende turned to look at the staff members who had just lined the path to see him off, asking Himeko beside him with a puzzled expression.
"Mhm, perhaps they're just reluctant to part with your cooking? After all, from what we know so far, there's probably no one who cooks better than our Wende, right?" Himeko teased him with a radiant smile.
"Sigh, Sister Himeko, please don't make fun of me. All my cooking skills, don't they end up benefiting our Express in the end?"
"True. If only Stelle were half as clever as you."
Stelle, who was standing nearby and deep in thought about what to eat that night: "…"
Catching strays even when I'm not saying a word…