*Chapter 25: Smug Little Brat Silver Wolf Begins Her Taunting ! (Part 1 )*

The space station screamed.

Silver Wolf stood on the simulated walkway of the space station, a gray metal wall before her, enormous floor-to-ceiling windows to her side revealing the boundless, false sea of stars outside. At the far left of the space, a crack had opened, just large enough for two people to pass through.

“Silver Wolf: Stellaron Hunter member, Punklorde hacker, wanted criminal by the IPC with an extremely high bounty.”

"That's me. What about it?" Silver Wolf scoffed. "I even watched Kafka put you to sleep on the station before, and I personally teleported you somewhere else."

Thinking about it, encountering Stelle in the Simulated Universe was practically a high-probability event. Most likely, Herta invited Stelle here, which is why she was at the space station.

She had seen Stelle before, but figured Stelle probably had no memory of her now. Judging by her earlier tone, she'd likely only seen Silver Wolf's wanted poster.

Well, that's fine too. Probably be scared out of her wits in a moment.

She sized Stelle up, her gaze lingering for a moment, a playful curve forming on her lips. "Tsk. What era is this? Still using cold weapons?"

There was no real point in bringing this up; she was just looking for trouble.
Got a problem? Come fight your 'little auntie' then.

While Silver Wolf mocked, Jiang Liang carefully observed her.

A face with a touch of baby fat, chewing bubblegum. Gray eyes peered through black sunglasses, filled with undisguised ridicule. Various trinkets and a game console hung from her waist.

Kid.
Rude.
And a wanted criminal who loves to taunt.

These keywords directly synthesized into a character trait he'd encountered not long ago: tsundere smug little brat (雌小鬼 - cī xiǎo guǐ).
Smug brats need to be taught a lesson. A smiling smug brat isn't a good smug brat. A crying, screaming smug brat is the good smug brat.

"What are you doing here? What's your purpose?" Jiang Liang asked, his voice calm through Stelle's mouth.

"I'm just a lost gamer... Pfft ! Sorry, that excuse really is lame," Silver Wolf chuckled. "What about you? Standing here holding a sword doesn't seem normal."

Pixel fragments rained down from the Simulated Universe, landing on Silver Wolf's jacket and instantly dissolving into tiny bits of garbled code. Seeing Jiang Liang remain silent, she pouted slightly and turned her gaze back to the weapon in his hand.

A pitch-black long sword. The hilt was sunken with dark red accents. Shaped like a tachi but longer, more slender, and more ominous. The blade didn't reflect light; instead, it seemed to actively absorb all the surrounding distorted light. A very fine, deep red energy line, like congealed blood, pulsed faintly down the center of the blade, emitting a heart-palpitating chill.

Not bad.
A decent weapon.
No idea what it does, but it looks kinda cool. For a gamer, cool means everything.
Should I try to get my hands on this thing?

The tip of the pitch-black tachi still pointed diagonally towards the ground. Jiang Liang remained silent, but the oppressive aura emanating from him intensified as the Simulated Universe environment continued to collapse.

Unconsciously, the Simulated Universe, which had been tending towards stability, began to glitch with garbled code again.

Seeing Jiang Liang seemingly staring daggers at her, Silver Wolf clicked her tongue. "Tsk. Hey, you wanna fight?"

The opponent looks like they want to fight too. Although time is tight... if it's to turn that pitch-black tachi into a trophy, then spending a little time is acceptable.
Sigh, but if I mention this when I get back, Kafka will start lecturing again.

"Why aren't you talking? Cat got your tongue?" Silver Wolf put one hand on her hip. Seeing Jiang Liang open his mouth but produce no audible sound, she pointed with her other finger. "Just gonna stand there looking cool, huh?"

"Whatever. You look like you can fight, anyway.正好本高手 (zhènghǎo běn gāoshǒu - luckily, this expert) has been itching for a fight lately. Let me warn you beforehand, don't disappoint me. If I take you down in just a few moves, it'll be too boring. But losing to me is perfectly normal. Hand over the sword afterwards, and I'll let you go."

From Jiang Liang's perspective, Stelle remained impassive, but her muttered self-talk grew louder. "You confirmed you've only seen her in passing, like in reality, but neither you nor your friends know her? I can do whatever I want."

Hearing this, Silver Wolf's gum-chewing paused. The pink glob was gently bitten between her teeth. She tilted her head slightly, assessing the weapon in Jiang Liang's hand. Beneath her previously relaxed expression, her eyes sharpened, quickly evaluating him and the continuously deteriorating environment.

If a fight really breaks out, she's not afraid.

However, Silver Wolf misjudged Stelle. The Stelle in her eyes was someone with memory loss, practically just born, a child with no combat capabilities. Children could only be lectured by adults who had lived longer. But the Stelle at this moment wasn't an infant; she was a blade about to be unsheathed.

She is the blade. He is the one wielding the blade. Neither really matters, because as long as they can kill the person before them, any means are justified.

That sentence was the final moment before the explosive attack.

Drawing the sword was solely for pouring all strength into the offense. Jiang Liang drew the blade, and its edge was instantly upon Silver Wolf.

The blade practically grazed past her waist.

Chiii-la !

The sound of tearing fabric was distinct.

Silver Wolf felt a coolness at her waist, followed by a burning pain. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her stylish short jacket, along with the camisole underneath, had been sliced open by the sharp sword qi, revealing the delicate skin beneath. Even the short fishnet stocking on her left leg was caught by the sword wind, tearing a sizable hole.

Her eyes flashed with shock and provoked anger.
Damn it ! Almost got cut in half ! This girl's attack hitbox is ridiculous !

Numerous thoughts flashed through her mind, but outwardly she forced a calm demeanor, even curling her lips into a provocative smirk. In a tone mixing annoyance and excitement, she spoke, "Tsk. Pretty accurate hit. Almost saw red health. But you can't win games just by having good gear !"

Aether Editing generated a repulsive field beneath her feet, instantly blasting them apart. The distance between Silver Wolf and Jiang Liang widened again. The slight upturn of her lips instantly vanished. The pink bubblegum stopped moving in her mouth. She quickly and discreetly scanned the crumbling, reorganizing surroundings and the ominous weapon in Jiang Liang's hand.

The tip of the pitch-black tachi pointed diagonally at the ground. As Silver Wolf steadied herself, maintaining a low center of gravity with one hand on the ground, the whistling wind once again carried that unnerving sharpness.

Tsk. What a silent type. Quick and decisive when fighting, though.

She quickly complained internally, but her feet didn't dare slacken. Tapping the ground with her toes, she attempted a rapid backward leap – the optimal solution ingrained by muscle memory from countless ambushes in games.

His dash speed far exceeded her expectations. The tachi felt as light as a willow leaf in his hand, its sweeping trajectory carrying the sharp sound of tearing air. His stepping speed and the angle of his strike were too cunning; her backward leap wasn't enough to completely evade this lightning-fast slash.

So fast !
I have to abandon evasion !

Her pale gray pupils contracted briefly in surprise. Almost instinctively, in a split second, she twisted her waist and hips, forcefully converting the backward momentum into a sideways deflection, trying to avoid vital points by the narrowest margin. But the blade followed like a shadow, its pressing chill already raising fine hairs on the skin of her waist. Silver Wolf could even clearly see the ominous dark light flowing on the blade's surface – not simple metallic reflection, but something alive, filled with malice.

Can't block it head-on !

Author’s Note: This is the first update. Started an unlimited recommendation ticket bounty. Will add more chapters for recommendation tickets. Currently accumulated two extra chapters.
As the title says. O Lord Readers who get free recommendation tickets daily, please give some, oh please, I beg you for my whole life.