*Chapter 28: Smug Little Brat Silver Wolf Wants a Counter-Kill ! (Part 4 )*

Damn it ! This bastard ! How dare he? !
Wait... according to the usual crappy game tropes, what usually happens after defeat? Experience reset? Equipment drop? Or... is there a more humiliating punishment phase, like... spanking? !

This absurd thought shot through her brain like an electric current. Silver Wolf suddenly recalled some trashy games she'd played before, those with惡趣味 (èqùwèi - bad taste/sick humor) punishments.
Damn it ! Why am I actually scared of this kind of punishment? ! Silver Wolf, get a grip ! But getting spanked would be too humiliating ! Absolutely not !

Her body reacted faster than her brain.
No !

Silver Wolf's cheeks flushed so red they looked like they could bleed. Sweat mixed with tears streamed down her face.
Her eyes widened immensely with shame.
No, no !
I can still turn this around ! I can still counter-kill !

Silver Wolf suddenly remembered.
Wait ! This is the Simulated Universe ! A world of data ! What am I afraid of? ! I'm Silver Wolf ! Stellaron Hunter ! The invisible emperor of Punklorde ! I have Aether Editing ! And this is still the Simulated Universe ! I can directly move, teleport, escape !

The return of this realization was like re-inflating a deflated ball.
Her pale gray eyes, previously dim from shame and exhaustion, suddenly lit up, sparkling with excitement, cunning, and intense confidence. She could even feel her heart accelerating, not from fear, but from the thrill of the impending counter-kill and escape.

Pfft !

An irrepressible chuckle escaped Silver Wolf's lips, breaking the tension. She no longer maintained that shameful collapsed posture but slowly, and with ample provocation, stood up straight. Although kneeling made her knees a bit numb, and the torn clothes at her waist swayed with her movement, revealing the fair skin beneath and the wound from the earlier slash, none of this could diminish her currently soaring arrogance.

She even stretched languidly, loosening her slightly stiff body, letting out a few comfortable hums, completely ignoring the two menacing figures before her.

"Aiya ~ You almost scared me there," Silver Wolf said in an extremely light and cheerful tone, as if the tense person worried about her precious behind moments ago wasn't her at all.
"Acting is so tiring ~ Almost forgot where this place was."

Her gaze first turned to Jiang Liang, the one who had defeated her. The curve of her lips widened further, filled with undisguised mockery. "Hey, you over there with the sword ! Fought for so long without even a decent line. Don't tell me you're some unfinished test dummy? Performance isn't bad, though. Quite strong, almost chopped this young lady's waist off. But well, the game's over, time to exit the stage, understand?"

She completely disregarded her previous defeat, instead sounding like she was evaluating a passable game, her tone full of condescending judgment.
Silver Wolf's demeanor was now completely different from before. The flush on her cheeks hadn't fully faded, but it wasn't from shame; it was the flush of excitement and provocation.

Then, she shifted her gaze to Stelle beside him, her attitude even more brazen, even teasing. "And you, go back and practice more. Aiya, don't look at me like that ~ Was I wrong? Don't let me see you looking like this next time."
"Oh right, although I'm leaving, I have something to say to Herta. Tell her, for me, Silver Wolf, this entire Simulated Universe is just a slightly larger sandbox game. Firewall full of holes, I can come and go as I please. Tell her not to be so narcissistic, spending all her budget on self-portraits."

She paused, the smile on her face broadening, filled with the glee of a successful prank. "What? Don't believe I can leave? Want me to demonstrate right here? Guaranteed to blow your minds. Don't thank me ~ I'm just that helpful."

As her voice fell, swirling purple pixel blocks appeared around Silver Wolf, abruptly becoming denser and brighter over time. A faint sound of tearing data filled the air. With a confident smile, she looked provokingly at Jiang Liang and Stelle, awaiting their reaction, seemingly certain she could escape at any moment.

Stelle raised her baseball bat, ready to charge, but Jiang Liang stopped her with a hand gesture.

"Alright. You can go," Jiang Liang said calmly.

"Hm?"

Silver Wolf scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. "Still think I'm bluffing? Do you know what Aether Editing is? Didn't think so. I can come and go as I please. This is just a warning for you two. Don't mess with the Stellaron Hunters in the future."

"Then hurry up," Jiang Liang gestured invitingly.

Seeing Jiang Liang's complete lack of reaction, Silver Wolf felt a twinge of unease, but still acted as if victory was assured. "Fine, I'm leaving ! Remember to tell Herta, that old hag. Her Simulated Universe is trash ! Easily messed up like this by me ! Too bad I couldn't graffiti her self-portrait. Maybe next time I'll doodle on her puppet instead !"

Finished speaking, she gave a small wave, a victor's smile plastered on her face. "Aether Editing, activate !"

...Nothing happened.

The mockery on Silver Wolf's face instantly froze.

Habitually, she raised her fingers again, tracing trajectories in the air, trying to invoke the previously infallible Aether Editing, attempting to force a logout from the Simulated Universe. In her experience, no firewall or system restriction was more than a flimsy barrier before her.

However, the expected space-tearing data stream did not appear.
Her fingertips met only empty air, as if her commands had vanished into the sea without even causing a ripple.

"Eh?"

Silver Wolf's mouth twitched slightly, her gray pupils contracting sharply in disbelief. Refusing to accept it, she tried again, fingers tapping the void even faster, invoking deeper permission codes.

Failure.
Still failure.

Cold sweat, fine, icy beads, almost instantly broke out on her smooth forehead.

She could clearly feel her heart starting to race uncontrollably, thudding against her ribcage, almost leaping out of her throat. Her hacking skills, always invincible, had completely failed in this godforsaken place.

What did this mean? !

Panic flooded her mind like an icy tide. She subconsciously took half a step back, losing her balance.

"Impossible..." she muttered distractedly, her voice trembling in a way she didn't even realize. Silver Wolf snapped her head up, looking at Jiang Liang standing there calmly, her eyes filled with shock, suspicion, and ill-concealed fear. She forced herself to sound calm, shouting, "Hey ! What did you do to my system? !"

Even to her own ears, this bluffing question sounded utterly lacking in confidence.

"Who knows?" Jiang Liang replied evenly. "Are you prepared to take responsibility for the words you just spoke?"

This is the fourth update. Started an unlimited recommendation ticket bounty. Will add more chapters for recommendation tickets. Accumulated two chapters, now repaid those two 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.