"Are you kidding me?"
Silver Wolf's tone was full of doubt.
Although she was always going out of her way to mess with the geniuses of the Genius Society, and she'd even crossed hands with Screwllum before, she wasn't bold enough to attack their home turf.
Since she hadn't crossed their taboos, she naturally hadn't suffered their insane retaliation.
If they really followed the kind of contest Levi was talking about, not to mention whether they could successfully hack the sentient machines, if Screwllum found out afterward, she'd probably end up being wanted across the entire universe.
Bounties from the Company were just credits, nothing that strong figures across the universe cared about.
But if Screwllum pulled out some Genius Society–exclusive nonsense, Silver Wolf didn't even dare imagine how many people would come rushing after her.
Under Silver Wolf's gaze, Levi wore a mysterious smile.
'That guy probably can't even take care of himself right now.'
To break through his defenses faster, Screwllum had used his own computing power.
That meant he exposed himself to the network and got invaded by a virus Levi had carefully designed.
Right now, Screwllum should've turned into a humanoid broadcast device, spreading beautiful music all over Herta Space Station.
"As long as we're fast enough and clean up properly, he won't notice."
Not noticing = nothing happened.
Silver Wolf naturally understood that point, but…
"Do you really think a contest like this can be finished 'very quickly'?"
The corner of Silver Wolf's mouth twitched slightly. She felt she really ought to give Levi a proper crash course on how hard it was to hack sentient machines.
They weren't mindless programs with no intelligence or adaptability.
Even changing a single piece of data or a single character, they'd detect it almost instantly.
When it came to issues with their own bodies, they were far more sensitive than carbon-based lifeforms.
You'd never see a situation where they were critically ill and didn't notice it themselves.
To control them, unless the hack was completed the instant they detected something wrong, it was a failure.
And a failure on one sentient machine meant the entire planet would go on alert.
The difficulty of hacking would increase geometrically.
This kind of difficulty was not something that could be wrapped up quickly.
By Silver Wolf's conservative estimate, it would take at least two or three days.
"Are you sure you can keep Screwllum tied up for two or three days?"
Levi shook his head. Although he was very confident in his own abilities, the people of the Genius Society couldn't be underestimated.
There was no guarantee they wouldn't crack his virus within those two or three days.
Guinaifen muttered to herself from the side, "Why do I feel like we've walked straight into a wolf's den…"
'What these two were discussing sounded like the kind of thing that could trigger an interstellar war!'
Should she try to stop them? If she succeeded, she'd basically be saving the world.
But clearly, she didn't have the ability to stop them.
Recalling the strength she'd just observed from the two of them, Guinaifen decisively dragged Sushang farther into a corner, straight from the heart.
———
[Inside the Room]
Silver Wolf and Levi sat down together.
The two of them tacitly hacked into the Company's backend to warm up.
Looking at the familiar interface in front of her, Silver Wolf flexed her fingers, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile.
"Since you're this crazy, why would I refuse? I'll go crazy with you properly!"
Starting today, her record could add another entry.
Controlling the sentient machines of Planet Screwllum and causing panic among a machine civilization.
And among the hackers she'd defeated, she could add yet another name.
"Levi! You will eventually become my defeated opponent!"
Silver Wolf licked the corner of her mouth. Her ten fingers flew across the keyboard, excitement shining in her eyes.
Compared to her, Levi looked much calmer. "Oh, I'll be waiting."
He pulled out a USB drive from his pocket and plugged it into the terminal interface.
In an instant, massive amounts of data poured into the terminal, and at the same time, the voice of Wage Sl*ve rang out.
"Boss, good afternoon. How can I help you?"
Hearing the sound, Silver Wolf couldn't help looking at the terminal in front of Levi, then glanced at her own tech gun.
After checking, she realized the artificial intelligence inside had really been reduced to just three.
When did he swipe Wage Sl*ve from her?
"Give it back to me."
Silver Wolf puffed up her cheeks and stared at Levi's profile. "Give my Wage Sl*ve back to me."
That was her stuff. The four of them had to be neat and complete, none could be missing.
"Heh heh, talk after you win!"
After that, neither of them spoke another word and immediately began the so-called contest.
It was just that the things they were doing were different.
Silver Wolf was figuring out how to remotely control a physical intrusion, while Levi was searching for curious sentient machines, using them as stepping stones to spread the virus to sentient machines across the entire planet.
While the two of them were hard at work, Qingque and Bailu behind them had already started eating.
After all, it was already noon, anyone would be hungry.
When Bailu saw the two cups of Immortal's Delight Tea, her eyes immediately lit up and she reached out to grab one.
But Qingque stopped her halfway.
"Wait a second."
She was afraid Levi had poisoned it, like using soda-bean juice disguised as Immortal's Delight Tea.
These two cups were obviously bought for her and Levi.
And based on her understanding of Levi, there was a very high chance he'd poisoned them.
Qingque placed the two cups of Immortal's Delight Tea on the floor, planning to test which one was normal after Levi was done.
Since there were two cups and he had to drink one himself, there was definitely one normal cup of Immortal's Delight Tea.
Planet Screwllum.
This was home to a massive population of sentient machines, a paradise for machines, unsuitable for carbon-based life.
At the same time, it was the hometown of Screwllum, a member of the Genius Society.
As a genius renowned across the universe, Screwllum was also the ruler of this planet.
He protected his homeland very well.
Across the cosmos, few people would risk angering a gentleman just to spy on Planet Screwllum.
Of course, the most important reason was that Planet Screwllum really didn't have anything other people needed.
Or rather, whatever benefits it might offer weren't nearly enough to outweigh the cost of angering Screwllum.
Normally, no one dared come to Planet Screwllum to stir up trouble at the cost of offending Screwllum, just the price alone was enough to make them suffer.
But there was a certain group of people in the universe who feared no cost.
As long as something interested them, they would try it.
Just like the Aeon they believed in, willing to disguise themselves as humans and lie low somewhere for an entire year just for some purpose.
"Ahahaha… I smell the scent of fun!"
A comical mask abruptly appeared in the starry sky, its eye sockets gazing toward the planet ahead.
After watching enough performances by fools, watching some fun from non–Path of Joy people wasn't bad either.
Levi never imagined that his contest with Silver Wolf would attract the Aeon of Elation as a spectator.
"Way too restrained!"
Watching Silver Wolf and Levi's actions on the sentient machines, Aha complained that they weren't cutting loose enough.
They'd only gained control, and then… nothing else.
'How could that be called delicious, mouthwatering, unforgettable fun?'
'Looks like I have to step in myself!'
Amid laughter, the mask vanished into the starry sky, and an unknown Path's power began to shroud Planet Screwllum.
Far away on the Luofu, Levi and Silver Wolf suddenly furrowed their brows.
Looking at the information on their screens, the two exchanged glances.
"Something has intervened."
"The program I deployed to control the sentient machines has gone out of control."
"..."
Silver Wolf & Levi, "We're screwed!"