Aha Really Has No Face, Aha Really Has No Face

After confirming that Chen Anshun had truly fallen asleep, Silver Wolf teleported to Windchaser (Kawaba Mutsumi)'s home.

A flash of blue light flickered, and Silver Wolf appeared exactly where she had been last time.

Kawaba Mutsumi was sitting on the bed, eyes wide as she stared at the Silver Wolf who had suddenly appeared.

She covered her chest. "Ah! Seriously, could you give me a warning next time?"

Silver Wolf lowered her head and glanced at the time. "It's almost eight." She swept her gaze around the room. "Why aren't you logging in?"

Kawaba Mutsumi pointed outside the door. "I just finished dinner. My sister won't let me play."

Silver Wolf looked at the game pod on the floor beside them. "She's right. You shouldn't lie down immediately after eating."

She slowly walked to the bedside and sat down, looking at Kawaba Mutsumi. "You haven't used the Cartridge I gave you?"

"I haven't had the chance..." Kawaba Mutsumi summoned the Cartridge Silver Wolf had sent her. "If I suddenly got out of bed, everyone would definitely be shocked."

Silver Wolf leaned against the bed. "And then? They'd suspect your illness had suddenly recovered and that something was going on?"

Kawaba Mutsumi fell silent. "Maybe."

Silver Wolf curled her lip. "So what if they find out? Are they going to arrest you and cut you open for research?"

Kawaba Mutsumi hurriedly shook her head. "Of course not."

"It's just..." She lowered her head and looked at her hands. "I'm still a little worried."

Silver Wolf looked at her without saying anything.

She knew that this worry wasn't about someone actually researching her.

It was about being afraid of change—afraid that, after discovering she could become like some of them in reality too, she wouldn't know how to face her true self.

"Suit yourself."

Silver Wolf waved her hand. "It's your choice."

"However..." She paused. "Vernacular Poet sorted out quite a lot of things."

Kawaba Mutsumi rubbed her hands together and glanced at her phone. "Wolf Venerable, did you make him go rest?"

"Oh? Did he report in before going to sleep?"

"Yeah."

Silver Wolf nodded. "That's right. I made him. You haven't seen what he looks like in person. If he's energetic in the game, then he's haggard in reality. I was genuinely worried he'd drop dead in front of me and then extort a huge sum from me."

"That exaggerated..." Kawaba Mutsumi covered her mouth and looked at Silver Wolf in astonishment. "But Sunken Crow doesn't log in at night either."

Silver Wolf blinked. "This... Did our three-person team get disbanded because of me?"

"No, no. Sunken Crow was worried about Vernacular Poet, so he decided to go find him offline." Kawaba Mutsumi hurriedly explained.

"Not bad. That's brotherly affection."

Silver Wolf gave a thumbs-up.

Kawaba Mutsumi looked at Silver Wolf, then at her Cartridge. "Wolf Venerable, do you think I can use the Cartridge in the game?"

Silver Wolf looked at her. "Why wouldn't you be able to?"

Kawaba Mutsumi fell silent, but in the end, she still asked curiously, "How exactly did you do it?"

"Because the Cartridge has already merged into your soul and partially merged into your bones."

"What's that?"

"It's complicated. To put it simply, the soul is your consciousness, the bones are your existence, and the flesh is your shell."

"That sounds like some kind of system."

"You guessed right. These are the three elements of a human being. None of them can be missing."

"What a strange set of three elements. Is that a classification unique to your side, Wolf Venerable?"

"No. It's basic knowledge where we come from." Silver Wolf had no intention of explaining the origin of this conclusion further. "Skipping the complicated part, are you coming tonight?"

"Sorry, I wanted to come today too, but my sister said there was a special situation."

"Oh? What special situation?"

"I don't know. My sister's been in a hurry these past two days. She hasn't even gone to level up."

Silver Wolf stroked her chin, sensing a hint of mystery. "All right, then. Tonight will be Wolf Venerable's great adventure all by herself."

She turned around and prepared to leave, but before she did,

Silver Wolf's finger moved lightly, and an almost imperceptible stream of data settled beside Kawaba Mutsumi.

The omnipotent Aether Editing activated.

As the stream of data flickered, her figure disappeared.

When she appeared again,

the scenery before her had already changed.

A huge white city wall, towering clock towers, and statues of the Radiant Law Temple lined both sides of the streets.

This place was completely different from the Emerald Giant Forest. If the Elf Tribe was like a secret hidden in the forest, waiting to be unearthed,

then Ostorli was the center of this world—sunlight, order, and faith.

Everything was in perfect order.

Silver Wolf walked among the crowd without immediately beginning her investigation.

"Hmm... There are fewer players than I expected."

She glanced around. From time to time, she saw a few players.

But the vast majority were locals.

The elderly prayed toward the temple, while merchants traded along the streets.

Knights patrolled, and Court personnel maintained order.

Everything was normal.

So normal that it didn't seem like the Abyss was active.

Silver Wolf narrowed her eyes as she stared at the Radiant Law statue's palm. "Interesting."

Just then, a voice came from behind her.

"Miss Silver Wolf."

Silver Wolf turned around.

A white-haired young man stood there, wearing white-and-gold light armor with the Judgment Sword hanging at his waist.

Information appeared above his head.

[Player ID: Yanlin White Tower]

[Level: 74]

[Class: Arbiter]

[Guild: Platinum Courtyard]

Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow. "Second on the rankings?"

Yanlin White Tower smiled faintly. "I didn't expect Wolf Venerable to know who I was."

"I've looked at the rankings."

Silver Wolf answered naturally.

Yanlin White Tower gave a slight bow. "Sorry. I was occupied with other matters and failed to welcome Wolf Venerable at the first opportunity."

He then straightened his black gloves.

"Allow me to formally introduce myself."

"I am Yanlin White Tower, an Arbiter. It's a pleasure to meet you, Wolf Venerable."

Silver Wolf looked him up and down. "Skip the pleasantries. What are you doing here?"

"It concerns Ostorli. I believe we may have a common objective."

Silver Wolf looked at him. "The Abyss?"

"Mm." Yanlin White Tower nodded. "Before Vernacular Poet was assigned to you, he told me about his deductions."

Silver Wolf nodded. "So you're his boss?"

Yanlin White Tower was silent for a moment. "Not exactly. We're all family on the same boat."

Yanlin White Tower did not reveal too much right away. He merely took out a recording crystal.

"Besides that, I've had a transaction with the Radiant Law."

Silver Wolf's eyes shifted slightly. "Oh?"

"Mm." Yanlin White Tower looked toward the distant temple. "It was a trivial transaction, but I agreed."

"The condition was..." He paused. "If She disappeared, I would have to return to Ostorli and investigate with all my strength."

Silver Wolf fell silent. "She actually encountered her own ending?"

Yanlin White Tower nodded. "Previously, I thought She was nothing more than a string in the code. Now that I know the truth, I believe the gods each have their own plans."

Neither of them continued the subject.

They both knew there wasn't enough information.

There was no point discussing it here.

Yanlin White Tower glanced at the time. "I'll continue investigating the area around the temple."

"Let's meet at the tavern in the south of the city at nine and exchange information?"

Silver Wolf looked up at Yanlin White Tower, who stood 1.9 meters tall. "Sure. Remember to accept my friend request."

"No problem."

The two parted ways, and for the rest of the time,

Silver Wolf began investigating alone. She did not go looking for the Abyss.

She stared at the statue. From the very beginning, she had been curious about one thing: there was a black card in the palm of the Radiant Law statue.

The Ace of Spades. It was unmistakable.

Silver Wolf stared at it.

"..."

She turned her head. The passersby showed no reaction.

The knights showed no reaction.

The temple personnel showed no reaction.

Silver Wolf slowly approached and scanned it with her goggles.

['Elation' detected]

[Holy Infant's Tear]

Silver Wolf's brows furrowed at once. She stared at the notification in shock. "Elation? Holy Infant?"

Without hesitation, she used Aether Editing to teleport the card into her hand. She touched it lightly. Its texture was that of an ordinary card.

Looking closely, it was the Ace of Spades.

"What does this mean?" After conducting a deep scan, Silver Wolf examined the card again.

[Ace of Spades]

[Holy Infant's Tear]

[What sort of drama is created by endless sorrow and joy?]

"Something's wrong..." Silver Wolf's pupils trembled. She knew what it meant when a question mark like this appeared last time.

There was only one possibility: the God of Fun, the culprit behind all possibilities, the Game God who governed joy and sorrow, had left a message.

"What exactly is going on?"

Silver Wolf began studying the card alone. "Prometheus, analyze its composition."

Prometheus: "Analysis complete. It contains 100% Abyss."

"How much?"

Silver Wolf stared at the Ace of Spades in shock, rotating it and examining it repeatedly. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't see any so-called Abyss on it.

"Analyze its relationship with Elation."

"Analysis complete. It contains 1% of the power of the Elation Path."

Silver Wolf took the card and headed to the tavern in the south of the city ahead of time. She also opened a private room. "Elation... a card? The Ace of Spades? What does it mean? God of Fun, don't tell me you aren't using me for amusement—you're using me to clean up your mess?"

"Prometheus, search for anything related to 'Elation' again."

[Current items containing Elation: Moon, Ace of Spades, Diamond Sword.]

"'The moon?'"