""Leave? Why? Aren't you going to capture me, shackle me, and throw me into a distant land of exile?" Silver Wolf probed tentatively.

Screwllum: "Your imagination is amusing. However, your grievances with the Herta Space Station have nothing to do with me. Logic: I will not stop you."

"Then I'll take this cartridge," Silver Wolf said with a slight smile.

"That was merely a copy. Correction: not only the one in your hand, but also the one stored here. The true wondrous item was transferred at the beginning of the plan. Conclusion: You are free to share this data."

Silver Wolf's expression gradually turned serious. She threatened to attack the Herta Space Station again and destroy the Simulated Universe, but both threats were mercilessly refuted by Screwllum.

Although Silver Wolf's methods were superb, Aether Editing was not omnipotent and could not destroy a universe, especially not under the watchful eyes of two geniuses.

"What is this? You spent so much effort setting up a trap, but you're not going to do anything?" Silver Wolf found the other party utterly unreasonable.

Screwllum admitted generously, "Yes. Now, the game you painstakingly prepared has utterly failed, hasn't it? As long as there's no fun, the game loses all meaning."

"Silver Wolf, I know your demands. The Company's shackles cannot hold you, and a prison is merely another stage for a game. Herta and I have reached a consensus: we will no longer indulge your needs."

Silver Wolf immediately felt utterly disheartened: "Hmph, how boring..."

"However, Herta felt this outcome was too gentle and wanted to add a few more strokes. For example… at this moment, through reverse hacking, she has located all your intergalactic network accounts—a total of 76, a very objective number."

"How about letting the Company freeze them all? Along with all the game records within them."

Silver Wolf's expression instantly froze.

The most dangerous hacker in the entire galaxy finally showed the expression of a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"What! Hey, wait—"

——

Overlord.

After failing to understand terms like "game records," "accounts," and "hacking," Demiurge, uncharacteristically, showed a confused expression to Anz-sama.

As NPCs created by other Supreme Beings, Demiurge, Shalltear, and others could not fully comprehend these modern terms. Anz-sama, however, was well aware of the meanings behind these words, so when he heard that Silver Wolf was about to have 76 accounts instantly frozen, he couldn't help but gasp.

All game accounts? These two are really ruthless...

"Anz-sama, please forgive this humble subordinate's ignorance," Demiurge respectfully bowed. "Judging by Anz-sama's reaction, do you perhaps know something about 'game accounts' and such?"

"Hmm."

Anz-sama did not intend to deceive them on this point, but he certainly wouldn't explain terms like "online games" one by one, so he opted for a metaphor that Guardians could better understand.

"You can think of those accounts as... 'World Class Items'."

In Anz-sama's view, his own game accounts were even more important than World Class Items—after all, when he fought in "YGGDRASIL" back then, precious items were merely part of the game data. But the problem was that Guardians were completely unaware of his thoughts.

He had no idea how much of a stir his casual metaphor had caused. Although a few Guardians managed to maintain their composure after he spoke, some had already started to lose their footing.

The entire Throne Room fell into a dead silence.

Anz-sama, sensing the unusual atmosphere, immediately realized the impropriety of his metaphor, but at the moment, he couldn't think of a more suitable one.

"An-Anz-sama... 76 World Class Items, this, this must be a joke, right?" Mare's face turned pale with fright, and he said timidly, clutching his staff.

One must know that the Great Tomb of Nazarick only housed 11 World Class Items.

If Silver Wolf truly possessed 76 such powerful "items," how could her strength be measured? And how terrifyingly abnormal must Herta and Screwllum be to casually freeze 76 items?

"This is just a metaphor, or perhaps I should rephrase it..." Anz-sama's mind was in a turmoil as he tried to correct himself, but at the moment, he couldn't come up with a more reasonable explanation.

At this moment, Demiurge stepped forward.

"Anz-sama, this subordinate completely understands your meaning."

"Is that so? That's good then."

"To make that infamous Stellaron Hunters so nervous... surely these 76 accounts refer to 76 extremely destructive weapon items, right?" Demiurge said confidently. "The reason Miss Silver Wolf can traverse the universe freely, besides her Aether Editing technology, is that these 76 weapon items are her trump cards, the very foundation of her existence."

"Uh..."

So he didn't understand at all?!

——

"Silver Wolf's phantom disappeared with a'snap'."

"...She quit, so impatient," Screwllum said meaningfully. "A game in a child's eyes is naturally happy, but for adults, games are not the only way to solve problems."

"As soon as Stelle exited the Simulated Universe, she heard Herta's triumphant voice: "Hmph, a complete victory—little one, now you know how formidable Herta is, don't you?"

"As expected of Herta-sama!"

"It's good that you know." Herta proudly raised her chin. "I don't care about the Herta Space Station's affairs, but anyone who dares to provoke me, I will repay a hundredfold. I've already had the Company's guys freeze all the accounts. I bet that little girl is crying her eyes out with her computer right now, haha!"

"..."

"Meanwhile, on a certain planet."

"Silver Wolf was holding a game console, watching gray prompt boxes constantly pop up on the screen, grinding her teeth."

""It's all gone, all gone..." Her fingertips jabbed fiercely at the screen, her nails scratching against the glass with a harsh sound. "They didn't leave anything at all... It's too much, too much!"

"The rare equipment, hidden achievements, and limited skins she had spent countless hours grinding for—all vanished into thin air."

""Alright, stop crying and making a fuss, you're not a child anymore." Kafka sat on a nearby railing, her words more like a taunt than comfort.

""...I'm not crying and making a fuss."

"Kafka helplessly spread her hands: "Yes, yes, so what are you going to do next? Hack into a nearby Company branch to retrieve the accounts?"

""Sigh, one or two would be fine, but this time it's a bit too big, basically all of them are gone. A branch probably won't do, I'll have to go to Pier Point."

""That's the Company headquarters, just you alone?" Kafka raised her eyebrows.

""Just me. Don't worry, I already have an idea—look, there's a restaurant two kilometers away, and a few temporary workers from the Building Materials Logistics Department just went in. I'll go make some friends with them."

""You're leaving already? I thought you'd experience the cartridge you've been longing for first."

""I said, I haven't been longing for it."

"Silver Wolf tucked the game console into her jacket pocket and walked briskly towards the White Cloud Restaurant in the distance. Who knew what kind of game lay ahead, but it certainly wouldn't bore her too much, because when it came to games..."

""Just play while walking!""