Undoubtedly, the two found common ground when it came to traveling together.
Jiang Qiao was motivated by the inherent desire of [Firefly]'s body, and from his personal perspective, Silver Wolf was indeed an excellent teammate.
With her help, the vast universe became accessible, perfectly solving the previous dilemma where, despite possessing considerable power, he lacked clear direction in the cosmos... In fact, this was a problem that plagued most factions in the universe. When scaled up to the cosmic level, the locations of various factions weren't just points on a flat map.
They were coordinate systems, perhaps even more complex—like their current location, Punklorde, existing at the boundary between reality and illusion.
As for Silver Wolf, her longing for companions and friends was no less intense than [Firefly]'s.
She would leave Punklorde sooner or later.
After being subtly manipulated by Jiang Qiao, Miss Silver Wolf was already looking forward to the sea of stars.
But adhering to the principle of seeing things through, she wasn't planning to leave Punklorde so abruptly.
At the very least, she had to clear the game first.
Therefore...
"Hey, once I deal with the people over there, I'll go with you."
Atop a skyscraper in Neon City, the girl in a tank top and hot pants sat on the ledge, her ivory-white legs dangling over the edge. Her silver pupils reflected the Central Tower not far away—a structure overflowing with light pollution, the most dazzling existence even in Punklorde, a world defined by light pollution.
"That's fine, but do you have some grudge against them?"
"Hmph, I'm just a fast-food employee from the slums. What right do I have to hold a grudge against those big shots?" Faced with Jiang Qiao's question, Silver Wolf hummed, shrugging.
"But basically, all the famous hackers who left Punklorde before went through this step. So naturally, I have to challenge it too."
"Didn't you already fight most of the hackers in this place before?"
"Well, yeah, but that doesn't count."
"After all, I wasn't fully prepared and took quite a hit. How can that be called a victory?"
"Besides, my fellow hackers haven't even gone all out yet."
"See that tower?"
"Punklorde's Central Tower, the gathering place of Punklorde's elite?"
"Hmm?"
"I haven't been completely idle either. Although I'm still unfamiliar with this Aether Editing popular here, I have my own methods. You know."
"Oh, then you should know already." Silver Wolf understood, then continued:
"There's something called the 'Aether Core Central Editor' in that tower. You can also call it the 'Aether Engine'."
"Is something wrong?"
Noticing the strange expression on the silver-haired girl beside her, Silver Wolf was puzzled.
"Nothing, just reminded me of a building from a certain game."
"Game? What, what, what?"
"It's nothing, just a management strategy game... In that game, this thing is used for... probably used to achieve ascension, with the side effect of destroying the galaxy?"
"Sounds pretty interesting! Let me play it later!" Silver Wolf, deeply interested in games, was excited.
"No problem."
Jiang Qiao didn't refuse. Although that game didn't exist in this world, for him...
Recreating things from the past was an effortless task.
If he wished, he could not only replicate it perfectly but also implement an exponential 'super update'.
Guaranteed to be so perfectly refined that the original game developers would be utterly astonished.
"I'll be waiting then."
"But the effect of the game you mentioned does have some relevance to what those elites cooked up."
"Of course, they didn't make this thing to destroy the universe or achieve ascension or anything. It's for... editing the world."
Silver Wolf's 'life is a game' attitude wasn't accidental.
It was a very normal perspective subtly nurtured by living in Punklorde, this zone where reality and illusion intertwined.
Like the magical Aether Editing technique itself, the people of Punklorde believed everything in the world could be edited.
Thus, after Aether Editing hit a bottleneck, some imaginative individuals further researched and developed the "Aether Core Central Editor," or 'Aether Engine' for short.
Its original purpose was to completely break the boundary between reality and illusion. They imagined that if this goal could be achieved, the limitations of Aether Editing would disappear entirely.
At that time, even beings of great power like the Aeons might not be unattainable.
Unfortunately, this idea seemed a bit too fanciful.
Not only were there technical problems, but... the act itself inherently clashed irreconcilably with certain Aeons.
For example, Qlipoth of [Preservation], Ena of [Order], and even HooH of [Equilibrium]... Although the Aeons wouldn't personally intervene, hmm, that wasn't entirely true.
At least, back when Ena was still around, Punklorde received a warning.
They naturally didn't dare oppose an Aeon, so they could only put the project on hold.
However.
Ena of Order had already perished during the Swarm Disaster.
And this undoubtedly meant the shackles that once restricted Punklorde had disappeared.
The research and construction of the 'Aether Engine' were undoubtedly back on the agenda.
"Although if this thing succeeds, the universe might become more fun, but... given the nature of these guys, if they really achieve their goal, it will definitely be a disaster."
"So, you're trying to save the universe?"
"Haha, how could that be? I just think it would be really interesting and fun to see the looks on those masters' faces if the project they poured tons of resources into fails," Silver Wolf laughed heartily, blowing a bubble, looking cheerful.
Clearly, she wasn't the typical 'good person'. While she might do good deeds based on her own whims, like bleeding the Interastral Peace Corporation dry...
She wouldn't intentionally go out of her way to do such things.
For Silver Wolf, as long as something was interesting, felt right to her, and didn't pose a problem, she could do it.
Just like a game.
"Well, need my help?"
The silver-haired girl blinked, asking.
But Silver Wolf just pursed her lips and tilted her head up proudly:
"Hmph, this time I don't need any external help!"
Although the place she was about to attack was Punklorde's most heavily defended location, potentially even more difficult than before...
Because of the time crunch, those hackers couldn't bring their full strength to bear previously.
But Miss Silver Wolf was rather dismissive of that.
Hmph, just a bunch of defeated opponents.
Did they think I went all out either?
Before, it was because I lacked experience and got distracted by this [Firefly] person that they gained a temporary advantage.
Now that I'm fully prepared for another round... these losers are all trash!
I, Silver Wolf, don't need cheats!
Bring it on, all of you!
"Alright then."
Jiang Qiao had no particular thoughts about Miss Silver Wolf's confidence.
After all, given her skill level, nothing unexpected should happen, right?
Therefore, he relaxed and started browsing this world's network—the universe-connecting internet built by the Interastral Peace Corporation in collaboration with the Genius Society.
Then, he sent a photo he 'happened' across to the chat group.
Jiang Qiao: [Image.JPG] Kinda cute.
On the other side, Qingque, buried under a mountain of paperwork and looking half-dead with heavy dark circles under her eyes, glanced casually at the chat, and then... immediately saw the photo of a green-clothed girl with two braids.
Qingque: Ha, what's that supposed to mean? Even if you compliment me, I won't forgive you!
That's right. For the current Miss Qingque, Jiang Qiao—no, anyone surnamed Jiang—had been added to her newly created 'unforgivable' list.
After all, thanks to a certain someone, the diligent Acting Master Diviner Miss Qingque had, in this short period, done decades' worth of her past diviner career's workload multiplied several times over.
She felt like she was processing documents even in her dreams, desperately wanting to hand in her resignation to the Master Diviner the very next day.
Celestial Jade... Celestial Jade... Qingque couldn't even remember the last time she had visited Central Starskiff Haven to play.
Compared to her 'gratitude' towards Jiang Qiao, the photo itself didn't bother her much.
After all, her views on such things were quite casual.
"Huh, why does this photo look kinda familiar."
Qingque suddenly paused, staring closely at the photo in the chat group, her expression strange.
This photo... the person in it was definitely her, but this photo...
It looked like it was from over ten years ago?
Although native Xianzhou people aged slowly, with lifespans easily reaching thousands of years, making a decade seem like nothing, Qingque had an excellent memory, especially for her own past.
"If I remember correctly, this was taken right after I joined the Divination Commission..."
"Wait, didn't I delete this photo long ago?"
Qingque suddenly realized something, looking at the photo in astonishment.
Over ten years ago, she hadn't fully evolved into the unshakeable slacker she was now. She was quite excited when she joined the Divination Commission.
After all, her parents had been nagging her constantly, making her hold quite high expectations for the position.
She even took a selfie to commemorate the occasion.
But when she discovered that life in the Divination Commission was practically inhumane, she deleted the picture.
Qingque: Where did you get this photo?
She was confused. Qingque figured she wouldn't be able to retrieve this photo without deliberately contacting the Jade Abacus's operating company or using some special means. How did it end up in this guy's hands?
Jiang Qiao: Found it digging around. Took a look at your profile on the Luofu Net and saw it right away.
Jiang Qiao: Speaking of which, I hadn't seen this one before.
Jiang Qiao: [Screenshot.JPG]
The screenshot naturally showed Qingque's profile page he had found.
You dare mention 'before'.
Qingque gritted her teeth, wishing she could grind a certain someone into paste with Celestial Jade tiles right then and there and stuff him into the Matrix of Prescience.
However, after looking at the screenshot, she was instantly stunned.
This date...?!!
Qingque: ...Don't tell me you went back in time?
Although time travel sounded a bit fantastical...
For the members of this chat group, it wasn't that hard to accept.
In fact, even Qingque herself didn't find it particularly strange.
Because similar concepts existed in Honkai Star Rail.
For example, the Aeon who only lived in legends, Terminus, the Finality, who moved backward through time.
Even their own Lan, The Hunt, was a classic example.
For instance, Lan's arrows could ignore distance and cross time to reach their target.
Jiang Qiao: Uh... Seems like it.
Furina: You can really go back in time...
Furina: Feels so magical.
Hu Tao: +1, kinda miss grandpa.
The other group members chimed in one by one.
Qingque, meanwhile, felt a mix of emotions, then suddenly froze.
Eh?
This Jiang Qiao guy went back in time?
Then... if some 'changes' were made...
Couldn't I...
Glancing at the mountain of scrolls, Qingque's eyes lit up.
Chat Group.
Qingque: @Jiang Qiao @Jiang Qiao @Jiang Qiao, Please, I'm begging you, can you go back and tell that ignorant past me NOT to become the acting Grand Diviner?!
Of course, if she weren't trying to be subtle, she would have preferred to say: Onii-chan, past me, please don't believe a word that guy named Jiang Qiao says!
If she could choose again, Miss Qingque wished she could go back to that day, pin this workaholic to the ground, and decisively take back her body.
All gifts come with a price tag already marked in fate.
Looking at her current painful professional life, Qingque felt she had truly achieved enlightenment regarding this phrase.
However...
Mr. Jiang Qiao did not see this message—of course, it wasn't that he selectively ignored it, really.
It was simply because Miss Silver Wolf beside him seemed to be having a small problem.
She had thought she could easily handle these small fries.
If nothing unexpected happened, that should indeed have been the case.
Because using the power of Truth during the previous battle against those hackers had already compensated for Silver Wolf's original weaknesses, prematurely advancing her to the future 'Cosmic Wolf' famed throughout the stars.
Even with the Central Tower's specific equipment providing buffs, giving Punklorde's hackers an advantage in defense and Aether warfare, facing the 'winner takes all' rule of Aether Editing, they were still somewhat outmatched by Silver Wolf.
But, as mentioned... as long as nothing unexpected happened.
Faced with an increasingly desperate situation, the elites in the Central Tower, after receiving notification from the hackers that they could only delay, finally made a decision.
"Quickly, go get Screwllum!"
Without a moment of mourning for the hackers of Punklorde, arriving on the scene was...
The ruler of Planet Screwllum, Screwllum!