Meanwhile, Herta, controlling one of her puppets, smiled at the emoji Silver Wolf had sent. "I don't care what happens on the station, but anyone who dares provoke me will pay a hundredfold. Silver Wolf, Silver Wolf… how will you handle my next move?"
Silver Wolf felt relieved—people from the Genius Society always kept their promises. If they said they'd wipe out your family, they would, without exaggerating. So, with Herta promising no interference, she was confident the PvP with Pei Guang would go smoothly.
"If that's the case... I can finally have some fun this time, right?"
But just then, Herta personally opened a betting pool through the Interastral Peace Corporation.
Herta: "Genius Society member #83, Herta, officially opens a betting pool under the supervision of the Interastral Peace Corporation."
"Silver Wolf of the Stellaron Hunters will face the mysterious player Pei Guang in a game showdown at my space station. Everyone across the galaxy who receives this message, regardless of your identity or background, is welcome to place bets on the outcome of this match. I guarantee the contest will be fair and just, but to protect the privacy of the competitors, the event will be concealed. If you believe there's foul play, feel free not to participate."
Interastral Peace Corporation: "We will sponsor Ms. Herta with a whole star system! Our officials will assist Ms. Herta in certifying the fairness of this event. However, we advise all participants to treat this as an entertainment event. Don't gamble away your fortunes, and we will reject anyone with debt records from joining."
As soon as the Interastral Peace Corporation released its statement, people started placing bets enthusiastically.
Patron from a bar: "I announce that Ms. Herta is correct. I'm placing 50 billions on Silver Wolf to win."
Another patron: "I sold my pants and bet 100 billions on Silver Wolf! Who's Pei Guang? Trash. My take is he's not on Silver Wolf's level. She's the best player in the universe!"
Masked man: "As five-star general MacArthur once said, 'No one in the universe can beat Silver Wolf in a game.' I sold all my property and bet 100 billion—Silver Wolf wins."
At this moment, planets across the galaxy began searching for who MacArthur was, but couldn't find any information on him.
Masked man B: "Oh, that's Silver Wolf of the Stellaron Hunters. Every Stellaron Hunter has the power to destroy planets. The company's been hunting them for so long, and they haven't been caught. How could some ordinary guy win? 75 million! I sold my only house, Silver Wolf wins!"
Asta: "I bet 10 billion. Pei Guang will win! Go for it, I believe in you."
A general from the Xianzhou: "Anyone who dares to mess with the Stellaron Hunters deserves our support. I'm personally betting 5 million on Pei Guang."
While a few rebellious people supported Pei Guang, most knew how formidable the Stellaron Hunters were, so the majority bet on Silver Wolf to win. Whether they genuinely believed she would win or just wanted to watch the chaos, who could say?
A Stellaron Hunter: "I bet 100 billion on Silver Wolf winning. Our super hacker once fought Screwllum to a draw."
Meanwhile, Pei Guang's group also received news of the galaxy-wide betting event Herta had set in motion.
March 7th shuddered as she looked at her phone and saw the enormous galactic wagers. "This is terrifying. The entire galaxy thinks you're going to lose, Pei Guang."
Pei Guang pulled out his phone, sincerely put a bet on Silver Wolf winning and then turned to Stelle and March 7th. "I told you! I'm betting everything on Silver Wolf winning! I'm absolutely certain she will. Whether we complete the mission doesn't matter. I refuse to believe that with me throwing the match, I can still lose the bet. But you two should probably avoid betting—there's a saying: 'Betting small can be fun, but betting big ruins lives.' I'm only betting because I've already accepted that I don't need this money. I've had fun talking with her, so I don't really care about the outcome."
March 7th and Stelle exchanged glances.
Stelle patted her chest: "I won't bet either, but I'll still put 10,000 on you winning, Pei Guang."
March 7th followed suit: "That's right! I'll bet 5,000 on it being a tie."
They weren't gambling recklessly. After all, Pei Guang's legendary "always loses bets" curse was as powerful as any "always wins" buff. Such a buff was just too tempting to pass up without a little wager.
Of course, both Stelle and March 7th were rational. Neither of them was trying to get rich—they were just curious to see if Pei Guang's unlucky streak in gambling was as bad as it seemed.
As for Herta? She was playing a transparent game. Since Silver Wolf had dared to provoke her, Herta would use this opportunity to make Silver Wolf famous across the galaxy—famous for losing, that is!
The universe's most notorious hacker, the one everyone assumed would win, defeated by a so-called "ordinary person." Anyone hoping to make a fortune would end up losing everything. Silver Wolf would lose, the gamblers would lose, and those who blindly followed the crowd to place bets would lose too!
Even if Pei Guang technically lost, Silver Wolf wouldn't get off easy either. Herta planned to capture Silver Wolf's humiliating defeat and broadcast the footage, ensuring Silver Wolf's social demise.
Additionally, Herta had another reason for doing this—she wanted to test her theory about Pei Guang. If her suspicions were correct, then things were about to get even more interesting, and Herta might just have to back Pei Guang after all.
For those folks, nothing was more enticing than chaos. What could be more fun than a galaxy-wide betting event? Regular people participating, bankrupt gamblers, a few who'd strike it rich and a handful of lucky winners.
Even though the Interastral Peace Corporation limited indebted participants from joining the event, Herta was certain that some would find ways to bypass the restrictions, risking everything on the gamble.
Watching bankrupt gamblers, watching ordinary people get rich overnight—that's the kind of universal-scale chaos they thrived on.
And the buzz around the galaxy leading up to Pei Guang and Silver Wolf's showdown? That alone was enough to bring them immense joy.
Herta watched the galactic networks buzzing with excitement and confirmed her theory. "Heh heh, interesting, very interesting! Is it really just you? If it's only this much, there's no way you could've avoided so much attention. What are your real motives? Why are you doing this?"
As a top-tier hacker, Silver Wolf was naturally keeping an eye on the betting involving her. But she wasn't too bothered by it. However, when she saw Kafka had publicly bet 1 trillion on her winning, and then secretly placed another 5 trillion on Pei Guang winning under a different identity, Silver Wolf started to feel uneasy.
Looking at her chat history with Pei Guang, Silver Wolf muttered, "I feel… like I've been set up. But… whatever."
As a hardcore gamer, there was nothing better than finding someone she could really connect with. And Silver Wolf also noticed that some rather "special" individuals were getting involved in the betting.
Silver Wolf: "Interesting, interesting. So many people think I'm going to win? Heh, do you think I'll throw the match? You underestimate my resolve. But you all want to see me fail for your amusement…"
Being a genius, Silver Wolf easily saw through what Herta was doing. But since Kafka had given her free rein, she figured this was her chance to fully let loose and enjoy competing with another player.
And she was sure Pei Guang wouldn't want NPCs watching their fun, because that was the pride of being a player.
Silver Wolf looked at her phone: "See you all in five days!"