When Rita caught a player killing a chanoid—and saw that the chanoid’s Player Relic vanished along with it—she knew she had no choice but to follow the rules.
She asked calmly, "What’s your condition?"
Y128 suddenly pointed toward L175246, who was hiding behind a tree with its tiny violin on its back, nervously peeking at her.
"Kill L175246," Y128 said, "and I’ll return your Player Relic."
Rita repeated softly, "As long as I kill L175246, you’ll give BS-Rita her Player Relic back?"
"Yes," Y128 said coldly. "I don’t play word gas."
Rita nodded.
Her hand, which had been resting lazily on her knee, lifted slightly. Two fingers extended, aid straight at Y128. And in the brief shock that crossed Y128’s eyes, Rita triggered two skills in rapid succession.
The first was a skill she had stored in her Send the Link cart—Outside the Program. She had only been able to save it after confirming 7777 had successfully altered the Happy New Year item’s ownership.
She used Outside the Program to change Y128’s ID.
The second skill was The End of the Story.
Y128 collapsed.
Or rather—Y128, who now bore L175246’s ID, collapsed. A soft crackle of dying sparks fizzled inside the cube, then faded to silence.
Rita opened the tal case on the ground. Her gem-ring Player Relic lay inside. She picked it up, blew off imaginary dust, and the red gemstone briefly reflected a tiny shadow of a cube-shaped figure.
She slid the ring back onto her left index finger, twisted it lightly until it rested exactly right.
Then she looked toward L175246—who was still peeking timidly from behind the tree—and gave the little robot a warm, brilliant smile.
She beckoned. "Co here~"
L175246 imdiately dashed toward her, its tiny steps pattering across the sand. As it passed Y128’s fallen body, it paused to look.
"BS-Rita~ you already got your Player Relic back?"
Rita chuckled. "Mm. And you?"
L175246 inched closer and, after confirming she didn’t mind, leaned comfortably against her leg. "I haven’t returned his yet. I wanted to ask whether you need anything. Then I’ll go make my demand."
By now, the entire ga zone had turned chaotic. After one player got punished for killing a chanoid, everyone else stopped attacking. Instead, each chanoid now had a smiling player trailing them, trying to negotiate.
Rita looked at the player behind L175246—a stranger, soone she had never seen before.
But the silver hair and the vines crawling around his body were unmistakable.
He just stood there quietly watching.
L175246 asked, "Do you know him? That’s Dawn-Spring Guest."
Rita barely glanced before turning away. She didn’t know the person—but the ID matched a tier 16 player.
She reached a hand toward L175246, but before she could say anything, a voice cut in.
"I want to know what was going through your head when you struck."
Rita wasn’t surprised. When she used The End of the Story earlier, the curse tir only showed a seven-day duration. That ant Y128 clearly had a resurrection chanic.
Soone who transported valuable cargo through the universe would reasonably be granted revival permissions by the gods.
Rita patted L175246’s head. "Go handle your task. I don’t need anything."
The little robot nodded obediently and scampered off.
Rita turned her gem-ring, watching the shifting shadow inside as she answered honestly, "I was thinking that it’s always best to remove potential threats and annoyances early."
Y128 finally sat up. It stared at her and demanded, "But when L12185511 offered to modify my program for you, you refused. You said you didn’t want fake devotion. I thought you felt guilty."
Rita’s tone cooled. "No. That wasn’t guilt. That’s the generosity of soone who has already won. Between you and , I’ve always been the one who benefited. I’m the victor."
That was why she liked winning. Only winners could afford generosity, dignity, nobility—and the power to refuse false loyalty.
She finally looked away from her ring and t Y128’s gaze.
There was a trace of gentleness in her eyes when she said, "So. Want to partner with for the battle royale?"
"You’re not worried I’ll betray you?" Y128 asked.
"That’s why we’ll sign a contract," Rita replied. "Then have B8017913 add an unbreakable failsafe."
"...Why risk being betrayed by instead of choosing another chanoid who actually likes you?"
"Because victory is more important than affection. And rumor says you’re the best. That makes you worth the gamble."
Y128 fell silent.
After a long while, it muttered, "But you stole so many of my valuables. And you just killed ."
Rita flicked her ear. The constant You Are Being Watched prompts were noisy today.
She said casually, "Do you know why B8017913 partnered with ?"
"To escape this place?" Y128 guessed.
Rita crossed her arms and shook her head solemnly. "No. To ignite soulfire. Sadly, after all this ti with , it still hasn’t succeeded. But L12185511 did."
"You might not know this," she continued, "but I t both of them on the sa day..."
Rita quickly summarized their story—their first encounters, the conflicts, the choices. She ended with B80’s dramatic vow of vengeance.
"So," she concluded, "hatred and suffering are the sparks that ignite soulfire. Keep your anger and resentnt toward , Y128. The next one to ignite soulfire will be you."
The tiny black dots on Y128’s cube-face widened. A flash of revelation glimred inside them.
"I... is that really how it works?"
Rita answered with absolute seriousness, "Ask any chanoid who knows what happened. You’ve known long enough to analyze my personality. I never lie to manipulate soone’s emotions... So? Will you fight alongside ?"
Y128 sat frozen for a long mont.
Then it stood with a clang, voice ringing with conviction. "I will!"
Inside the pet space, B8017913 and Nivalis watched the entire exchange in dead silence.
A few eavesdropping demons nearby also fell utterly speechless.
...
[Ashveil]: The moral of the story: if you ever want to kill BS-Rita, do NOT let her speak.
Deceitful Bloom: Is the Y-series defective? Their brains seem too simple.
[Boiling Orange]: Wait wait. If "being persuaded by BS-Rita" ans simple-minded... then aren’t we all—
[Foolishness]: @Deceitful Bloom boorang.
[Hearthsmoke]: @Deceitful Bloom boorang.
[Ashveil]: @Deceitful Bloom boorang.
Deceitful Bloom: Who are any of you to judge? After I ca back from the team-building trip swearing to skin her alive, the rch I designed sold out instantly.
[Ashveil]: That... sohow sounds worse.
[Boiling Orange]: Exactly. She hasn’t even started sweet-talking us and we’re already lted!
[Ironclaw]: What do we do?
[Stonefang]: What do we do?!
[Ashveil]: At least Deceitful Bloom is standing in front of us taking the hits. Biggest temper, makes the most rch.
[Foolishness]: Let’s all say it—thank you, Deceitful Bloom~
[Boiling Orange]: Thank you, Deceitful Bloom~
[Hearthsmoke]: Thank you, Deceitful Bloom~
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