Meanwhile, Silver Wolf was growing impatient. The horror game had been terrifying, but after she'd finished it, she was left with a strange sense of exhilaration. She was actually eager to play it again just for fun.
If the horror game was that good, Cat Mario had to be equally entertaining, right?
Pei Guang's Cat Mario was designed to be ruthless. The game had eight stages in total, and there were no save points. You could only start the next level after clearing the previous one. Pei Guang had made sure to keep the game's original brutal difficulty intact so Silver Wolf could enjoy the full experience.
Silver Wolf kept an eye on the time, noticing that Stelle was silently fuming as she played, her body moving as she swayed with the game's motions. Watching Stelle struggle gave Silver Wolf a good feeling. The game had to be fun.
With confidence surging through her, Silver Wolf was ready.
As soon as the ten minutes were up, she eagerly started the game. The charming background music and the silly, cutesy character on-screen filled her with excitement.
The moment she opened the game, Herta sent her a message.
Herta: "The live stream is starting!"
Silver Wolf: "No problem. Watch me show everyone what true skill looks like."
She booted up the game, and the rough, pixelated graphics greeted her. For puzzle games, Silver Wolf was very forgiving—visuals didn't matter as long as the gameplay was solid.
The clouds, round enemies, green pipes and shining coins all painted a picture of a classic platformer.
In her mind, Silver Wolf was already strategizing. She figured the game was about collecting coins, breaking question mark blocks, and tackling various traps and puzzles to reach the end of the level.
Silver Wolf: "Heh, a game like this? If an experienced player can beat it in twenty minutes, I'll clear it in thirty, tops."
Silver Wolf knew she was being watched live. The horror game may have embarrassed her, but everyone could understand being scared by a horror game—especially a virtual reality one. Horror novels, films, and even simple horror games had the power to make anyone scream. In that context, her reaction was perfectly relatable.
But this time, she was determined to redeem herself by breezing through Cat Mario.
However, that didn't stop the viewers from poking fun at her. Naturally, as a seasoned gamer, she understood this kind of reaction. That's why she was determined to redeem herself in this second game.
At this moment, the entire galaxy was eagerly anticipating the live broadcast of Silver Wolf's next game challenge.
As Silver Wolf began playing, the livestream commenced. Unlike the previous faceless knight avatar, this time Herta made a small upgrade to Silver Wolf's appearance in the stream. Her head was replaced by a pixelated version, and any identifiable features like her hair and eyes were blurred out with mosaics. However, her expressions were left intact, allowing the audience to enjoy Silver Wolf's "joyful" reactions and her love for the game.
The live chat was exploding with comments from viewers across the galaxy.
Some were going wild with excitement, while others were fervently praying for Silver Wolf to win, having placed massive bets—some in the tens or hundreds of millions. A simple 10% payout was on the line if she won, which, compared to year-long investment products offering a maximum of 8%, was an easy profit if she could pull it off.
Of course, there were few others betting on Pei Guang to win, and seeing Silver Wolf take the first game had left them in agony.
"This is rigged! Absolutely rigged!"
"C'mon Pei Guang! It's all on you now, we need that payout!"
While some were consumed by the betting frenzy, there were others who were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.
A certain Xianzhou general commented: "Watching a Stellaron Hunter make such expressions is quite amusing."
A certain Stellaron Hunter added, "I'll second that!"
And from a certain space station, "Hehe~ you guys watch the stream, I've got front-row seats to the real thing. Let me tell you—it's absolutely hilarious."
The same general remarked, "Oh? The game is starting again. Maybe this time she'll relieve some of my stress~"
Back on the Xianzhou Luofu, Jing Yuan, having completed all his preparations and now simply waiting for the outcome, calmly watched the livestream. As for the crisis on the Luofu? All the necessary arrangements had been made, and now it was just a matter of waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite, waiting for the "surprise cavalry" to arrive. And in the meantime, watching the Stellaron Hunters stumble provided some much-needed relaxation.
As the whole galaxy watched in anticipation, Silver Wolf dove into the game.
Pei Guang's Cat Mario was a culmination of all the most frustrating elements from difficult games, stitched together into one experience.
But Silver Wolf wasn't going to be thrown into the chaos right away. The game started with a small, easy section to let her get used to the controls. Right now, she was just getting accustomed to the game.
"Hm… the controls are pretty simple. And this enemy here, I bet I can stomp on it. Let me try—yep, easy!"
The livestream audience watched as Silver Wolf confidently moved her character—a goofy-looking white cat—around, jumping and squashing a white blob. Her success in the first few seconds filled her with a sense of accomplishment.
In that moment, Silver Wolf felt a bit overconfident. "Seems like the combat system in this game is super simple. Oh? A question-mark block up ahead—let me try hitting it."
She had her character jump and hit the block. Upon contact, the block flew upward slightly.
"Huh?"
Silver Wolf blinked, a bit confused, but instinctively pressed the jump button again, causing the block to soar even higher. She glanced over at Pei Guang, who was watching her with a mischievous grin.
"Really? You're so full of yourself," she muttered, then moved on.
There were two more question-mark blocks up ahead. She hit the first one, but nothing came out. The second one produced another white blob, which Silver Wolf easily stomped on.
"This is it? This level of puzzle solving is way too easy for me."
Even as she spoke with disdain, Silver Wolf deftly controlled the character, squashing the blob and speeding up to jump over a green pipe ahead. But just as she jumped, a white figure zoomed by, and the game's death screen music played. The camera zoomed in on her character's demise.
Her triumphant expression froze. One second she had been saying "This is easy peasy" and the next, she was dead.
"What?"
While Silver Wolf stood there in shock, the livestream audience erupted in laughter.
A certain Luofu general: "That's it? That's all she's got?"
A random viewer from a tavern: "That's it?"
Another viewer: "Noob!"
Random viewer: "+1!"
Despite knowing they'd probably fall into the same traps, the viewers couldn't resist mocking her.
With two lives remaining, Silver Wolf restarted from the beginning. But instead of getting frustrated, she smiled. "Hmph, interesting. I admit, you've got some clever tricks up your sleeve, but now that I've figured out your first trap, I'm about to speedrun this!"
This time, Silver Wolf showed what it meant to be a professional gamer. She quickly dispatched two white blobs, grabbed a couple of coins, and approached the first green pipe cautiously.
After luring out the flying white fish enemy, Silver Wolf grinned. "Is that all you've got? Hmph! This is just a basic trap using mental shortcuts. I've already figured out the pattern! I bet the next pit has a trap too."