If You're Bad, Practice More; If You Can't Handle Losing, Don't Play / The Missing... Stellaron?

To avoid polluting everyone's minds, only one excerpt was included here.

At dawn, the CEO sprang up from a ten-square-kilometer golden nanmu bed and walked across a twenty-kilometer-long carpet. He took an elevator from a room on the twenty-thousandth floor to a depth of ten thousand meters underground, then boarded the underground streets the CEO's family had built for convenient travel and to connect the world.

He drove to welcome his cousin back.

The moment he saw her, the CEO recognized her at a glance. His cousin was only three years old, yet she had already grown to three meters tall. Her twin ponytails, each over two meters long, reached straight into the clouds, while ultraviolet, infrared, X-rays, and gamma rays radiated from her brilliantly colorful black eyes, making the CEO's heart race.

I was still kindhearted. I hadn't written anything about forty-two abdominal muscles or keeping the Pacific at a constant temperature.

But with the thought of dragging someone else into the pit and making them suffer as I had, Kiana did not throw the book away or burn it. Instead, she stored it in her space as well.

The other book leaned more toward school life—or rather, before the snow and ice descended upon Yarilo, it told the love story of two sisters who met, came to know each other, and fell in love at St. Mikael Girls' Academy.

Even Kiana, with her personality, could not help blushing at the bold descriptions inside. When she reached the climax, she hurriedly closed the book and put it into her space.

"Too... too stimulating. No, I'll read it when I get back. I'm becoming strange."

However, her brazenly reading in the street still made many girls glance sideways. Although the book, titled Flower Kiss, was not forbidden, no one casually read it on the street.

Only a small number of girls bought it out of curiosity or because their friends recommended it, then secretly enjoyed it in their rooms.

So they did not know whether they had any kindred spirits. When they saw Kiana openly reading on the street, many girls lit up with delight, especially after seeing her appearance and the way she combined elegance with sharp competence, like a fairy-tale prince, knight, and princess all rolled into one.

Many of the girls felt they had received the favor of fate.

"Thank you for the gift, King Amber."

At first, only a few brave girls wanted to ask Kiana for her name and address. They claimed to be readers of the book as well and wanted to discuss it with her.

Kiana handled them fairly easily, even tossing out flirtatious lines that made the girls sway with laughter.

But as more and more people gathered, some went beyond merely talking. Taking advantage of Kiana being surrounded, many pretended to be jostled, then pressed against her or lightly traced a fingertip across the exposed back of her hand.

Some even said things like, "My cat can do a backflip. Want to come to my place?"

Feeling that the situation was getting out of control, Kiana made an excuse and escaped the crowd.

"As expected of the snow-covered capital of lesbians. Truly terrifying."

"Capital of lesbians? What kind of name is that?"

Kiana whipped around at the familiar voice and found that Silver Wolf had appeared beside her at some point.

"It's you!"

"That's right, dance, I'm the fa—"

"Silver Wolf, the first hacker across the galaxy and the invisible ruler of Punklorde, whose game accounts have been banned seventy-six times!"

"Queen of the gaming world! Damn you, Herta."

Silver Wolf had originally wanted to introduce herself properly, but Kiana had struck her sore spot at once. If she had not needed to find Kiana for something, she would have thrown this person who had exposed her embarrassing secret onto an uninhabited planet and made her take responsibility for her words.

As Aether Editing modified the data of reality, Kiana and Silver Wolf vanished from where they stood. In the next instant, the two appeared inside a room.

However, it still appeared to be Belobog. Through the window, Kiana saw that the girls who had surrounded her earlier were still searching for her.

Silver Wolf returned and sat down angrily to one side, while Kafka merely smiled and said nothing.

"Kiana, this should still be our first time meeting, right?"

"Yes, Mama Kafka."

"Mama Kafka?"

Even Kafka, with her temperament, could not help freezing at the name.

She feared nothing, having been teased by her hometown group as the New Babylon—but even a beautiful killer who always wore a faint smile could not remain completely unruffled after being called "Mom" by a young girl.

Silver Wolf, who had been sulking, was drawn in by Kiana's words. She looked at Kiana, then at Kafka, her voice full of teasing.

"Kafka, when did you become a mom? Why didn't you tell me? Don't tell me this White-haired ball of fluff is your daughter. You kept us in the dark for so long."

Chapter 35: If You're Bad, Practice More; If You Can't Handle Losing, Don't Play

Looking at the stunned Kafka, Kiana suddenly understood what "the meaning of joy" was.

Watching Silver Wolf tease Kafka while playing a game, Kiana suddenly remembered a fan-made parody.

"Silver Wolf, you're about to lose. Elio said so."

"Me? Lose? That's hilarious."

Hearing Kiana, Silver Wolf instinctively retorted.

"Wait, you know Elio? Could you be one of our companions? Elio never mentioned you."

Silver Wolf kept talking, but her hands never stopped moving. In the next instant, a data anomaly appeared on her phone.

After Silver Wolf used her methods to log in again, she discovered that she had already lost the game.

"Kiana!"

Remembering the power of Kiana's mouth, Silver Wolf blamed her loss entirely on Kiana and lunged over with claws bared.

However, her companion Kafka stopped her.

With Kafka backing her up, Kiana became even more emboldened.

"If you're bad, practice more. If you're bad, practice more. If you can't handle losing, don't play."

"Then was then, and now is now."

Three—

"If you still treat then as now, then you're ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bad."

Faced with Kiana's taunts, Silver Wolf instantly bristled.

"Kafka! Don't stop me. I'm going to teach this brat a proper lesson and show her the price of offending me."

"Silver Wolf, listen to me. Don't forget our plan. Go play your game."

Whether Kafka's words had worked or she had used Spirit Whisper, Silver Wolf actually stopped making a fuss.

However, when she returned to her seat, she still glared at Kiana resentfully, as though she wanted to memorize Kiana's appearance and teach her a lesson later.

"Mama Kafka, look at her! She glared at me."

For the first time, Kafka felt she truly had the potential to be a mother. At least when it came to raising children, she seemed genuinely capable.

After calming Silver Wolf and pulling Kiana farther away so the two would not argue again, Kafka suddenly felt exhausted.

"Kiana, listen to me..."

"No listening, no listening. The tortoise is chanting scriptures."

Silver Wolf had just calmed down and opened her handheld console to start a new game. When she heard Kiana's words, she immediately turned to look at Kafka.

She also wanted to know whether Kiana's mouth was truly that powerful.

Of course, it was not because she wanted to see Kafka turn into a tortoise.

Naturally, she had already picked up her phone and started recording, completely contradicting the explanation in her heart.

But apparently, nothing happened.

Until she looked down at her handheld console.

"Ah! What the hell? How can my console get a virus too? Why is there a tortoise chanting scriptures?!"

To stop Kiana from saying more nonsense, Kafka chose to seal her mouth in her own way.

Countless threads appeared and wrapped around Kiana's limbs, pinning her to the seat and preventing her from moving around.

Kafka's gloved fingertip lightly touched Kiana's shoulder, slowly tracing along her delicate collarbone toward her neck before pausing at her throat.

But when she noticed that Kiana was not nervous in the slightest and even seemed somewhat excited, Kafka hesitated over whether she should continue.

Kafka's fingertip finally landed on Kiana's lips. With her other hand, she lifted Kiana's chin and stood before her, looking down at her from above.

Kafka considered her method flawless, but she had overlooked one problem: she was not fierce enough. Although she was infamous as a galaxy hunter, in Kiana's eyes, Kafka was also a beauty capable of haunting anyone's dreams.

With Kaslana family blood flowing through her veins, Kiana felt no fear at all. Instead, she became somewhat excited.

Just as Kafka was about to use Spirit Whisper to make Kiana shut up and listen properly, she realized that Kiana had vanished from the seat.

Then Kafka felt the space around her waist go empty. When she turned around, what she grasped was not the familiar long blade or the firearm she used for mid-range combat, but a pair of warm hands.

"Kafka, lower your guard and sit down so we can have a proper talk."

By the time Kafka came to herself, she had already returned to her seat.

The only proof that what had happened earlier was neither an illusion nor a dream was the weapon Kiana was now holding and playing with.

"All right. It seems we should have a proper talk. But I have a question. May I ask you something?"

"Of course. As a Kaslana family warrior, it is my honor to answer a beautiful lady's question."

Silver Wolf, who had been eavesdropping nearby, could not hold back. She used too much force, causing the controlled character to move in a bizarre manner and making her lose her first match on the new account.

Kafka, however, did not care and directly asked her question.

"You're not a Pathstrider, are you?"

"I don't know. At least I don't feel that I've obtained the power of a Path. Or rather, I don't really understand what the power of a Path is."

Kiana's eyes were crystal clear, without the slightest impurity. Kafka suddenly felt the urge to stain them with color.

"I don't know why Herta or the Express crew never told you. Since we happen to be here, let me explain it to you."

"The birth of every Aeon signifies the opening of a Path. When a mortal's will overlaps with that Path, they can be regarded as walking upon it.

"If their will is sufficiently strong, they can draw upon a small amount of power from the Path. Thus, they are called Pathstriders. A Pathstrider's power surpasses that of an ordinary mortal, but they are still very weak.

"Once a Path is opened, it cannot be closed. Even if the Aeon who governs it falls, the Path remains open."

Kafka finished reciting the official definition of a Path. This was the truth acknowledged by the vast majority of people in the universe.

"However..."

Kafka changed the subject. Silver Wolf also stopped playing. Instead, she operated the virtual screen and used Aether Editing to isolate the room from the outside world, ensuring that no one else could learn what was happening inside.

"As you can see, the Stellaron Hunters have never hidden what we seek. However, the Stellaron on this planet seems to have undergone some changes, and you are the least controllable factor in Elio's script. So, could you do us a favor?"

"What favor?"

Kiana had assumed Kafka wanted her to settle down and return everything to its proper course. But Kafka's next words left her stunned.

"Find the missing Stellaron, then seal it."

Chapter 36: The Missing... Stellaron?

"The missing... Stellaron?"

Kiana's expression stiffened as she looked at Kafka and Silver Wolf. Unfortunately, their expressions were perfectly controlled, and Kiana had no ability to read minds.

But her instincts told her that the two had no reason to lie.

At the very least, Stelle was still her companion. The Stellaron Hunters and the Express crew would not be at each other's throats.

Besides, to be honest, Kiana's combat ability was not strong right now. She was only suited to winning through surprise, and her mouth only worked some of the time. If they wanted to manipulate her, they did not need to go to such lengths.

If the situation was genuine and the Stellaron had truly vanished, then something serious had happened.

But...

Would Kiana really act according to the script and Elio's wishes?

"I believe you. And if the Stellaron really has been lost, that would indeed be terrible for us. We might even end up trapped here."

Kafka and Silver Wolf thought the matter was settled and that they could return to rest, but then Kiana suddenly changed the subject.

"But I refuse! One of the things I, Kiana Kaslana, love most is telling self-important people, 'No!'"

"Are you crazy? Didn't you just say we might get trapped here? Find the Stellaron, and everyone wins. Why are you refusing?"

"I believe you're more anxious than I am. Why should I become a sucker and work for free? Besides, I already knew about this planet's Stellaron situation. I only acted that way earlier because it was fun. Now you want me to work for you, even though it's no longer fun and there's no reward. Why should I exhaust myself?"

Kafka and Silver Wolf frowned when Kiana began speaking. But when she reached her final sentence, their furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and sweet smiles appeared on their faces.

They had noticed the key point in Kiana's words. Since working was no fun without a reward, they only needed to give her a reward.

However, neither of them could think of anything that would attract her.

The most direct reward was money. But when they thought of Kiana's wealthy guardian, the heiress from a prestigious family, they realized that Kiana was hardly short of cash.

Other items would require appealing to her preferences. Still, money could solve ninety-nine percent of problems, while the remaining one percent only meant there was not enough money.