Zao Wu’s Major Crisis!
19: Chapter 19 – Kafka’s Daughter?
Zao Wu’s Major Crisis!
“Zao Wu… are you alright?” Just as Zao Wu was lost in thought, Silver Wolf suddenly leaned in close.
Her arms braced on either side of his waist, her entire body was poised like a cat’s, kneeling on the floor as she drew near.
She seemed completely unaware that her fair, soft knees were turning red from the pressure of the cold floor.
The sweet, candy-like scent of a young girl wafted over, enveloping Zao Wu’s body and soul.
He blushed and turned his head away.
From his perspective, he could just catch a glimpse of what was revealed by the slightly open collar of Silver Wolf’s loose top… A flash of snow-white skin.
Sister Silver Wolf, this is just too foul… “Why do you ask?” The boy’s voice was as clear and bright as ever.
“Because your hand… is trembling.” Hearing this, Zao Wu’s pupils instantly constricted, the light green of his irises deepening to a somber jade.
He looked down at his right hand, which was still gripping the Xianzhou longsword, and discovered that it was indeed quivering incessantly.
Quivering with excitement.
Although the movement was slight, Zao Wu’s perception, sensitivity, and speed of thought were all far beyond those of an ordinary person.
Logically, he shouldn’t have failed to notice it.
Unless—his body had adapted to and was enjoying all of this.
Slaughter and destruction.
Constant slaughter, constant destruction.
There was no need for meaning.
He only needed to know that “fighting… feels good.” A worried look covered Silver Wolf’s face, because she had actually seen this kind of reaction before!
On Blade.
“Don’t tell me you’ve picked up Blade’s bad habits!
Have you been tainted by something dirty!?” The girl’s tone was anxious.
At that moment, she seemed more concerned about Zao Wu’s condition than the mission Elio had assigned.
But it shouldn’t be possible.
It didn’t make sense.
How could a good child like Zao Wu, a pure and flawless boy, possibly walk the same Path of Destruction as Blade?
It wasn’t as if learning someone’s sword style would cause you to be influenced by them.
Zao Wu tightened his grip on the hilt, suppressing the impulse in his heart.
His eyes darted away for a second.
Then he raised them again, looking brightly at Silver Wolf before him.
The boy and girl’s eyes met, causing a long-absent flutter in Silver Wolf’s heart.
This posture, this situation.
If this were in a movie, a TV show, or a game cutscene, not having a kiss would be totally unbelievable!
Indescribable images ran wild in Silver Wolf’s mind.
“Don’t overthink it, Sister Silver Wolf.” “Hey!
I wasn’t—” “It’s just that there were a few too many Voidspawn, and this is my first real battle.
It’s normal to be nervous.” So, he was just responding to her earlier question.
Silver Wolf coughed, feeling a little guilty.
“…Is that so.” Silver Wolf couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong, but something felt off.
But Zao Wu wasn’t the kind of bad kid who would lie.
So, she chose to believe him.
The girl stood up again in the station corridor, patting the dust off her knees.
They were red from kneeling… But Silver Wolf didn’t mind.
She extended a hand to Zao Wu.
He had rested long enough and took her hand, letting her pull him smoothly to his feet.
The unexpected interlude passed without further notice.
One behind the other, the two proceeded deeper into the mysterious corridor of the space station.
Along the way, Zao Wu felt a strange sense of familiarity with his surroundings.
He had certainly never been here before.
But it was as if he had been to a place very similar to this.
How strange.
Before long, Silver Wolf and Zao Wu passed through the corridor and arrived at one of the Curio collection rooms inside the station.
But after a thorough search, Zao Wu couldn’t find the Curio that Sister Silver Wolf had mentioned.
When he looked back at her in confusion, the girl had already completed her hack into the station’s systems.
“Done, Zao Wu!” As soon as Silver Wolf spoke, every screen surrounding them—filled with complex data and partial surveillance footage from the station—was instantly overwritten, each one displaying Silver Wolf’s unique victory logo.
“Now, we just need to find a terminal that wasn’t affected.” Silver Wolf said with brimming confidence.
Zao Wu followed her instructions and, sure enough, found an unaffected computer terminal not far behind him.
“What’s the principle behind this?” “Elio’s script didn’t mention the Stellaron’s specific location, which means that in the future he saw, we didn’t find it by physically moving to it.” “That’s why we had to find the ‘Curio’ that could take us to the place where the Stellaron is stored.” “But it’s not like it would be placed out in the open for intruders like us to find.” “So, Herta must have used something to hide it, right?
Like another Curio?” “Exactly!
As expected of you, Zao Wu, you can always keep up with my thinking.” “There’s so much weird stuff in the Herta Space Station.
Using a Curio to hide a Curio is a classic Herta move.” (“It’s like one shell hiding another.
If you don’t realize that and change your search target, you’ll never get past the tricks Herta sets up.”) (“And Herta’s collection is definitely independent of the main system.
So, once I hack the system, the only thing unaffected will be the gri—”) “Ahem, will be the target.” “That’s brutally simple.” Zao Wu smiled faintly.
“Hey, as long as it’s effective.” “So, this Curio is?” “‘Curio No.
211: Blind Spot.’ It’s a simple light-refraction field that makes things in an area hard to notice.
But once everything else becomes less conspicuous, it sticks out.” Silver Wolf stepped forward and retrieved the Curio.
Instantly, the world around them changed dramatically.
A portal, shimmering with chaotic, multicolored light, appeared before them.
Without hesitation, Silver Wolf started to step through.
But she noticed Zao Wu’s hesitation.
“What’s wrong, Zao Wu?
Elio’s script didn’t say we’d bite it here~” “Relax and just charge in recklessly.” “But—” Before Zao Wu could finish, Silver Wolf had already passed through the portal.
“But… Elio never gave me a script.” Of course, looking on the bright side.
This meant that no matter what Zao Wu did, it wouldn’t affect the final outcome of this script.
Though confused, and not wanting to be left behind, Zao Wu finally grit his teeth, reached out, and touched the curtain of light.
He let it swallow him whole.
When he came to his senses, the boy was standing before a brilliant golden core that constantly radiated a twisting, ethereal light.
Silver Wolf had her goggles on and was attempting to break through the independent protection system guarding the Stellaron.
“Is this… the Stellaron?” “By the way, what are we going to do with it?” “What are we going to do with it?” “It seems your script didn’t mention anything about her,” Silver Wolf replied while breaking through the protection system.
Multitasking was a basic skill for a genius.
“Her?” Seeing that she had piqued Zao Wu’s curiosity, Silver Wolf suddenly had a mischievous idea.
“That person…” “It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call her Kafka’s daughter, you know~” “!?!”