After it was finished.
Zeig stood with hands on hips, very satisfied as he admired this work of art.
He pulled out a camera from his pocket again.
"Click——!!"
"Click click——!!"
From every angle, he captured this scene of Herta deeply trapped in the goblin den.
Beside him, Silver Wolf silently tapped a few times in the air with her finger, seemingly copying something as well.
Screwllum: "…"
After the two quieted down, Screwllum spoke appropriately:
"The data of the Ether Cassette is in the next room. Our tracking is almost at an end."
"Huh?" Zeig frowned:
"I still wanted to play a bit longer."
"Mr. Zeig, have you heard a certain story?"
"?"
"In Punklorde, graffiti is a very special symbol. Hackers view reality as a grand game, pursuing the clearance of life."
Screwllum's tone was distant:
"Whether for victory or for joy, they leave their marks wherever they pass—one pattern after another, stringing together a long…"
"I don't understand any of this. I'm out."
"…"
Zeig and Silver Wolf stepped into the final scene. It was another catwalk, and standing above was a sturdy humanoid Rift Creature.
While Zeig was slacking off, in the end that Rift Creature was still taken down.
The Ether Cassette lay quietly at the end of the path.
It emitted a faint azure glow, as if waiting for the arrival of someone fated.
Screwllum's voice came through his ear again:
"Look, we've found it. The Ether Cassette is right here, completely intact."
Zeig silently glanced at the Silver Wolf beside him.
"Mr. Zeig, just as you thought—if the Silver Wolf we're seeing is footage from the past, she could never have reached this place, or the cassette wouldn't be unharmed. So the assumption contradicts reality."
Screwllum's tone was distant:
"I believe she did indeed hack into Herta's office at the time, but she didn't stay there for long."
"After all, the Simulated Universe's data is far too vast. Even a genius hacker like Silver Wolf couldn't locate a specific target in a short time—unless…"
Zeig interrupted:
"Unless she lets a noob network engineer discover the traces, then guides him step by step right to the specific target, right?"
Finally, the Silver Wolf beside him turned around and chuckled lightly:
"Heh, what's wrong with finding a suitable guide?"
Zeig stared at Silver Wolf and couldn't help complaining:
"I knew that guy's skills weren't up to par. Those graffiti of yours—you deliberately let him crack them?"
Silver Wolf let out a disdainful chuckle:
"Otherwise?"
Screwllum's voice rang out again:
"Graffiti acts like a bidirectional data channel. You can trace back the marks she left through them, and she can detect your progress through the appearance and disappearance of the graffiti."
"Mr. Zeig, I know you've always been unhappy about being used by Herta and me, but forgive me for not being able to tell you the truth earlier."
"Herta forbade me from revealing any information in advance. She said that in this entire plan, what's important isn't wisdom—it's ignorance."
"The less you know, the better. But the fact that you could already infer the rough truth from the clues is already quite remarkable."
Zeig narrowed his eyes:
"I want more money."
Screwllum's voice rang out again: "Of course, no problem. Didn't we already agree on that before you entered the Simulated Universe?"
He turned toward Silver Wolf, his tone distant:
"So, are you satisfied, Miss Silver Wolf?"
Silver Wolf—who had been listening to the two the whole time—scoffed disdainfully:
"Tch, so you figured it out long ago."
She stared straight at Zeig, her delicate brows slightly furrowed:
"I knew it—he deliberately said he wanted to go to the bathroom the moment he came in!"
At this moment, Screwllum's figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
"And you." Silver Wolf stared at Screwllum coldly:
"All that idle chatter along the way—it was actually meant for me to hear, wasn't it?"
Screwllum placed a hand over his chest, slightly bowed his head, and said politely:
"Crossing paths with you once more brings both joy and honor. Herta said this cassette could hook a big fish from the galaxy—her judgment is always accurate."
Silver Wolf crossed her arms, her tone full of disdain:
"So all that talk about shutting down the Simulated Universe, the argument with Herta—it was all an act just to fool me?"
Screwllum explained:
"That depends on your interpretation. Herta and I have always spoken frankly—such sharp confrontations are quite common between us. Calling it entirely a performance wouldn't be accurate."
"Hmph." Silver Wolf let out a cold snort.
At this point, Zeig was sitting on the ground, poking the floor with a small stick, looking extremely bored.
This had nothing to do with him anymore.
Cooperating with Screwllum and leading Silver Wolf here could be considered a perfectly completed mission.
"I wonder how Leonard's doing with cleaning up the graffiti." Zeig muttered casually.
Silver Wolf glanced at Zeig:
"Hmph, I didn't leave that many graffiti behind."
Zeig suddenly looked up:
"You're actually kinda nice."
Screwllum chuckled lightly:
"Mr. Zeig, see—Miss Silver Wolf is indeed a brilliantly talented hacker. She calculated everything, leaving plenty of variables and contingencies."
"Oh? She still has contingencies? But I only see two hands?" Zeig raised an eyebrow.
"Heh."
Hearing this, Silver Wolf couldn't help but chuckle lightly:
"Screwllum, do you know how excited I was the moment you appeared?"
"To me, you're a worthy opponent. How long has it been since I enjoyed this kind of fun? The Antimatter Legion are just primitives, the Interastral Peace Corporation is nothing special—only the Genius Society can give me any real thrill!"
Screwllum said calmly:
"Are you certain you can leave unscathed?"
"Hmph, of course—and… taking this with me!"
Silver Wolf raised her hand and tapped a few times in the air. Suddenly, a strange sound rang out.
Zeig didn't quite understand this.
But Screwllum just smiled lightly:
"Oh? A copy?"
A smug expression gradually appeared on Silver Wolf's face:
"You think I was really chatting with you for fun? Everyone's just stalling for time. My guess is Herta's in some corner right now, trying to reverse-hack through my intrusion channel."
She laughed:
"I'm really looking forward to it—what exactly are you planning to use to stop me? Turn the Simulated Universe into a prison? Or team up with the Interastral Peace Corporation for an interstellar siege against me?"
"Screwllum, can I finally see your real strength?"
"Today, there can only be one winner!"
Right at the peak of Silver Wolf's laughter, Screwllum said:
"I'm sorry, Miss Silver Wolf. None of what you're expecting will happen. Now, you may leave."
"Hah?"
Silver Wolf seemed not to have heard clearly.
She turned to look at someone sitting in a wooden tub taking a bath behind a curtain of mist: "What did he just say?"
From amid the hazy steam came Zeig's voice.
"Your hearing's bad? He said you can go now."
"Ahem… where'd my soap go?"
"Screwllum, where's my soap."
Screwllum: "…"
…