“Hah…
hah…” Although it was still a bit of a struggle, in the end, the boy had done it!
A look of excitement surfaced in Zao Wu’s eyes, sparkling brightly.
Along with the beads of sweat on his cheeks, it served as a dazzling testament to his effort.
Zao Wu looked toward Blade, who stood a short distance away with his sword in his arms, his expression a mixture of shyness and anticipation.
However, the man’s expression had barely changed from beginning to end.
Noticing Zao Wu’s gaze, he offered his evaluation with a slow, deliberate cadence.
“The idea is good, but it’s all flash and no substance.” “…” At these words, a blush of shame crept onto Zao Wu’s cheeks.
He lowered his head, looking just like a well-behaved student listening attentively to their teacher’s critique.
“However, there is another sword technique that descends from the heavens.” “It is both gorgeous and deadly.” “Do you…
want to learn it?” Blade’s tone was calm.
But what Zao Wu didn’t know was that this sword technique was still carved into Blade’s heart in the form of an indelible scar.
Day and night, it reacquainted him with that person’s swordsmanship through cruel, unrelenting pain.
Light returned to Zao Wu’s eyes.
“I do!” The boy expressed his feelings with the simplest, most direct words.
“Then stand your ground, and watch this sword closely.” Blade raised his sword, holding it level before his chest.
He ran his fingertips along the edge, heedless of the blood that dripped freely, heedless of the pain from the wound.
A crimson blood-moon materialized high behind him.
In the next moment, the black-clothed man leaped into the air, flipping with the grace of a swift.
The tip of the Shard Sword bloomed with the ultimate sword-light, his eyes filled with the ultimate destruction!
He unleashed a torrent of blood-red waves, a veritable tempest that rained down upon Zao Wu!
In that instant, Zao Wu truly believed he was going to die!
But for some reason, he remained standing right where he was.
He let the cold sweat soak his entire body.
He let the wind from the blades blow his white bangs back, whipping them into the air.
He did not move, did not waver.
Finally, the sword-light carved a terrifying fissure in the ground before him, several feet deep and many yards long.
Zao Wu trembled, but his pale jade-green eyes remained wide open, trying to comprehend the profound sword intent within the technique.
After the demonstration, Blade landed as lightly as a quiet autumn leaf, his dark, traditional clothes fluttering in the wind.
“Why didn’t you dodge?” Zao Wu quietly swallowed.
“…Because, Brother Blade told me to stand my ground.” “Are you not afraid of betrayal?” “Not afraid that comrades and sworn friends of the past, that any intimate bond, can be broken, turning them against you as bitter enemies!?” Blade was usually a man of few words; it was unlike him to say so much.
“I…
don’t know.” Zao Wu’s voice was timid.
Hearing this, the ferocity and malevolent energy in Blade’s pupils gradually receded.
He looked down at his sword, at the wounds on his fingertips that were already beginning to heal, the flesh growing back with unnatural speed.
“Then I hope you never have to know.” “Pick up your wooden sword.
I will now teach you this technique.” It had a beautiful name.
—Fleeting Blossom, Celestial Cascade.
—o— From the day Kafka found Zao Wu, he had been living at the Stellaron Hunters’ supply base.
Although he couldn’t remember anything about his past, no matter how he tried, it was enough that his present—every moment of his daily life—was so peaceful and happy.
During the day, the boy practiced swordsmanship with Brother Blade.
At night, he was captured by Sister Silver Wolf to play games.
Sometimes, they were two-player single-player games, like the once-popular “Cosmic It Takes Two.” In the game, Silver Wolf and Zao Wu played a couple facing a mid-life crisis, embarking on an adventure across multiple planets to find their “runaway” daughter.
They experienced fun gameplay and a moving story, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying.
Other times, it was an online game that was wildly popular across the entire universe.
Silver Wolf was a high-ranking player on the ladder, having once even reached the number one spot on the all-universe server, letting the name “Silver Wolf” shine at the top of the leaderboard.
But given her unabashed habit of exposing her real-world identity, quite a few people suspected…
she was using hacks.
After all, who was “Silver Wolf”?
A super hacker who treated the universe as her personal video game.
No matter how tricky the security system, she could crack it with ease.
Her data-war with Screwllum of the Genius Society had become the stuff of legend in hacker circles.
For such a “Silver Wolf,” casually modifying a few in-game data points or developing some undetectable cheating software would be all too easy.
Silver Wolf never paid any mind to what the outside world thought of her.
The one and only time she ever responded was with a taunt.
—”What?
Not banned means I’m hacking?” Under her direct tutelage, Zao Wu quickly became familiar with the game, and his skill level skyrocketed at a visible pace.
It went from Silver Wolf carrying him at the beginning to him being able to hold his own, slaughtering his way up the cosmic ladder.
Gradually, even famous intergalactic esports clubs took notice of him, sending him invitations for tryouts.
Unfortunately for them, Zao Wu never replied.
Because he had more important things to do.
For example, tidying the room for his…
Sister Kafka.
Tonight was no exception.
Even though Silver Wolf clung to Zao Wu, pitifully begging him to play just a few more rounds with her, Zao Wu could only politely decline.
Although Silver Wolf seemed to be the cool and aloof type of girl, once you got to know her, and especially with Zao Wu being her own age, she was clearly much more lively and playful than most people imagined.
Just like now, as she joked with him.
“Wuwu, you heartless boy, you just play with me and then run away!” Zao Wu’s mind was quick, sensitive, and intelligent, but he was clumsy with words.
He was often no match for Silver Wolf and could only defend himself in a weak voice.
“I did not…” Only after enjoying the sight of the boy’s blushing face was Silver Wolf satisfied enough to let him go.
—o— In the hallway leading to Kafka’s room, Zao Wu let out a deep breath.
It was worth mentioning that he was currently dressed as an elegant butler.
Kafka had previously joked about him being the base’s little manservant.
He must have heard it somewhere, because he had taken it upon himself to make such an outfit.
He hoped Kafka would like it.
In fact, Kafka did like it, but she still teased him about it.
“My little Zao Wu has learned how to dress up~” “Whose attention are you trying to catch, hmm?” Zao Wu remembered how his face had turned beet red, how he had lowered his head, unable to say a word.
Then, as if by magic, Kafka had plucked a white rose from thin air.
She had pinned it to his tie, a perfect match for the boy’s white hair.
“…” Shaking his head slightly, Zao Wu forced himself back to the present instead of lingering on the sweet memory.
He approached the door, raising his hand with a mixture of trepidation and anticipation to knock gently.
Knock, knock.
There was no response.
Nothing at all.
The boy’s keen senses noticed that the door was unlocked; a light turn of the knob would push it open.
So…
Sister Kafka went out and left it unlocked on purpose, to make it easier for me to tidy up?
A faint sense of disappointment washed over Zao Wu’s heart.
But he quickly pushed it aside.
The boy pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The motion-sensor lights turned on automatically.
They illuminated the room, and the first thing he saw, lying on the sofa, was a woman’s discarded, crimson silk stockings.
—o—