Rita smiled back at Pine Bloom, but she didn't speak right away.
The ga instructions appearing in the center of the room saved her. More pressing matters were at hand, and as expected, Pine Bloom shifted her focus away from her.
The ga's explanation was brief:
In one hour, the food street will open, and custors will start arriving. A map was provided, marking the marketplace and its operating hours.
At the sa ti, four job options appeared in the air:
[Chef] [Cleaner] [Cashier] [Supplier]
Beneath them, a countdown began: 00:59:58.
Clearly, they had one hour to prepare and had to choose their roles before the restaurant opened.
The floating words shimred like stars, yet the language used had nothing to do with any of their races. Instead, it was in Squid-Sa.
Rita happened to understand Squid-Sa, and after glancing at her teammates, she realized they all did too. The ga had thoughtfully chosen a universal language that all of them could read.
The four players exchanged glances, each silently evaluating the ga's setup.
Among them were an Owl, a Sky-Crab, and an Autumn Bear—all races whose languages Rita understood. She didn't even need B80234615 to translate.
However, instead of rushing to speak, she turned her attention to Marmang-Crab, the highest-ranked player present at Stage 17.
Pine Bloom and Black SpringMud Bears did the sa.
It was a sign of respect for the strongest player, just as players in BS had respected and feared her.
Even Shadow.Q, despite joking with her, was always carefully observing her reactions. The mont Rita showed any displeasure or reluctance towards friendly teasing, Shadow.Q would imdiately back off.
While she had fought against Marmang-Crab, Black SpringMud Bears, and Pine Bloom, she had never actually spoken to them before.
Marmang-Crab raised his crab claws, gesturing in sign language as he spoke in Sky-Crab:
"Do you all understand Sky-Crab language?"
Black SpringMud Bears didn't understand the words, but after years of World Battlefield missions, he guessed what Marmang-Crab ant.
He shook his head and replied in Autumn Bear language: "You already know, I don't understand Sky-Crab."
Rita kept her peripheral vision on Pine Bloom.
She didn't see any cube-shaped accessories on her, but Pine Bloom was wearing an erald-green diamond earring.
After Black SpringMud Bears spoke, Pine Bloom said in Owlspeak:
"I don't understand Sky-Crab either."
Rita found Pine Bloom's response both surprising and unsurprising.
The chanical race chip could only translate spoken languages, not allow them to speak unfamiliar ones.
So in cases where they understood a language but couldn't speak it, both she and Pine Bloom were in an awkward position.
If you didn't actually know a language, it was often safer to just say you didn't understand—to avoid raising suspicion.
After the other three players finished speaking, Rita finally spoke up in Sky-Crab:
"I understand."
Then, she repeated in Autumn Bear language and Owlspeak:
"I don't know many languages, but I happen to know Autumn Bear, Sky-Crab, and Owlspeak."
All three strong players turned to look at her.
Marmang-Crab pointed a claw at Rita.
"BS Rita—I rember you. For the next three days, you'll be translating for us. No tricks. I have a lie-detection skill."
Rita imdiately agreed. "Got it."
Being grouped with three powerhouses, all she needed to do was survive and she'd be carried to victory.
And now, she had landed the most crucial role—translator.
Marmang-Crab, full of enthusiasm, declared, "Let's get to work! Who's good at cooking?"
Rita quickly translated his words into Autumn Bear and Owlspeak, then answered:
"My cooking skills are decent."
She had carefully considered her decision.
The four job choices were [Chef] [Cleaner] [Cashier] [Supplier], and none of them were particularly easy.
Both cashiering and cooking had hidden pitfalls in her ga rules:
For example:
"If you create a dish with a deliciousness rating below 15%, you must eat it yourself." "You can only eat food made by your teammates."
These rules clashed—aning if she ever made a bad dish, she would imdiately violate the second rule.
To make matters worse:
Rule 10: She was a vegetarian. Rule 11: She couldn't serve food with sugar to custors.
The kitchen was full of traps.
But cashiering wasn't any better.
"You cannot be rejected by the sa custor more than three tis." "If a custor insults you, you must respond with a happy laugh."
These rules hinted that the custors might be incredibly difficult to deal with.
She would rather control her fate in the kitchen than risk dealing with unknown, possibly overpowered custors outside.
As for supplying, that was even more uncertain.
Looking at her teammates, all of them were Stage 15 or above.
This ga zone was likely a high-level player area.
If she left the restaurant to gather supplies, she might never co back.
And cleaning? It seed the simplest—but Rita had a bad feeling about it.
The easiest job was often the one with the most hidden pitfalls.
Neither Black SpringMud Bears nor Pine Bloom competed for the chef role.
They both nodded in agreent.
Black SpringMud Bears knew his claws weren't suited for delicate cooking. He could grill at, but he lacked the patience for fine cuisine.
As for Pine Bloom—it was even more obvious.
She stood elegantly in her dark green battle robe, arms crossed.
Despite her commanding presence, she radiated a delicate, aristocratic charm.
That gentle charisma softened her overwhelming beauty, making people instinctively want to approach her.
Her dark clothing and thick erald-green hair made her pale skin stand out even more.
Unlike Maple Syrup, who had a powerful and athletic physique, Pine Bloom was slim but not fragile—like a noblewoman raised in luxury.
Soone like her, placed in a greasy kitchen, was like a fine erald dropped into a mud pit.
Just imagining it felt wrong.
And it wasn't just an image—Pine Bloom had never cooked in her life.
Before becoming a player, she had eaten food cooked by her family.
After rising to power, all her als were prepared by S-rank divine chefs.
Pine Bloom tilted her chin toward the bar counter outside:
"I'll handle the custors."
Rita paused, then translated:
"Lania Kaia Pine Bloom said she'll take care of the cashier job."
Black SpringMud Bears checked the food storage.
There were ingredients, but he wasn't sure how long they'd last.
He chose supplier, figuring he might be able to fight so battles and collect resources on the way.
Marmang-Crab noticed the cleanliness tric and decided:
"I'll handle dishwashing and keep the place clean."
He had never cooked either. Back in Marmang World, he always ate at restaurants.
Even if Rita hadn't volunteered for chef, she would've ended up with the role anyway—because she was the only one who knew how to cook.
As their roles were confird, the glowing star-like job titles floated down over their heads.
[Chef] settled above Rita.
The others also had shining titles above them.
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