Marmang-Crab leaped onto the table, his voice booming across the restaurant.
Rita wasn't the least bit moved. She could already guess exactly what that crab was about to say.
"Give us the money!!" Marmang-Crab roared.
Rita scoffed. She knew it. Not a single soul in this restaurant had a shred of integrity.
She was about to use Master Thief Dragon to escape, planning to rewind ti and hide in the kitchen before custors arrived.
But before she activated her ability, she cast a skill on the octopus-like custor carrying her—[I Just Want to Improve So Badly].
Until now, she hadn't used this skill on any of the custors.
These cosmic beings were too unpredictable—so were formless, others radiated toxic energy from a distance, and so didn't even display basic information like health or mana.
When stealing, the most important thing wasn't just getting the loot—it was getting away afterward. And right now, she had nowhere to run.
She had been holding back to avoid drawing unnecessary trouble to the restaurant. If she wrecked their business, the other three teammates would absolutely hunt her down for payback.
But now, she had nothing to lose.
As for ti manipulation…
That was where B80234615 ca in handy.
More than once, while she was busy working, B80234615 would suddenly warn her, "The tistream just rippled. Soone used a ti skill."
And it wasn't rare. The ga had only been running for half a day, and it had already happened over twenty tis.
With so many high-level players in the sa area, it was inevitable.
Even though ti skills were incredibly rare, with tens of thousands of divine players gathered in one place, the number of users wasn't small.
She didn't even have to bet on it—just like what had happened in her fight against Jason. Back then, too many ti abilities had been used at once, creating a chaotic tiflow that eventually locked out all ti skills.
That scenario was bound to repeat itself.
B80234615 had been invaluable in helping her track these fluctuations. The only downside was that it refused to reveal which players had ti abilities.
"This concerns the privacy of Divine Ga players," B80234615 explained. "I can't give you a direct list. However, when you encounter divine players, I can help you scan their information and provide knowledge about the World Battlefield. But I can't just hand you nas. Do you understand the difference?"
Rita understood.
One option was directly sharing a database. The other was searching through available data when necessary.
She asked, "Even though you're my pet now?"
"Even though I belong to you now," B80234615 replied.
"Great. That's just great."
B80234615 simply responded, "Yes."
At the very least, this ant that other chanical race chip users also couldn't access her private information.
And the fact that B80234615 could detect when ti abilities were being used in her vicinity was already a huge advantage.
Just from this, Rita had decided—unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn't use her ti skill. The less she used it, the shorter the duration of any ti-lock penalties in case of another tiflow disruption.
But right now was absolutely necessary.
She attempted [I Just Want to Improve So Badly] nine tis in a row—but every single attempt failed.
That almost never happened.
It was clear that sothing was interfering.
Rita didn't mind, though. The robe Pine Bloom had given her was constantly healing her, so it wasn't like she was losing anything.
anwhile, Marmang-Crab had already started counting the money. Holding a handful of ancient-looking fossils, he carefully confird that they were valid currency that could be registered in the restaurant's revenue.
Satisfied, he waved his claw at the octopus custor. "Please co again."
A mont later, Marmang-Crab was also tied up.
"…Huh?"
Rita was about to abandon her skill and activate Master Thief Dragon when B80234615 spoke up in her mind.
"The tistream has rippled again. Not just once."
She paused. "You an multiple people are using ti skills at the sa ti?"
"Not just multiple players—so are using it repeatedly."
"How many players just used ti skills? What's the highest number of tis soone used it in a row?"
"In the last ten seconds, 31 players activated ti abilities. The highest repeated usage by a single player was seven tis."
Rita's thoughts moved at lightning speed.
She imdiately abandoned the idea of using ti skills.
Sothing major was happening. That many high-level players wouldn't all be rewinding ti at the sa mont unless the situation was critical.
Of course, it was possible that so of them were clueless—players who had never encountered a tiflow disruption before and didn't realize that ssing with ti too much would trigger consequences.
But the odds of that were slim.
For the first few hours of the ga, players had been extrely conservative with their ti abilities. In total, ti skills had only been used a little over twenty tis.
And now? Over thirty in just ten seconds?
She had to assu the worst.
Rita completely relaxed, deciding to just ride this out with the octopus custor.
If it hadn't eaten her imdiately, then she still had room to maneuver.
And besides, Marmang-Crab was here too.
Turning to the crab, now tied up beside her, she smiled. "What a coincidence. Shouldn't you be asking for money too?"
Marmang-Crab, who had been cursing nonstop, froze for a mont—then imdiately yelled at the octopus, "PAY UP! THROW THE MONEY ON THE TABLE! OR I'LL DIE RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF YOU!"
The custor, already several ters away, suddenly stopped walking.
Then, to Rita's utter shock, it actually turned back and dropped so money on the counter.
Not only that, but it even set up a protective barrier around the paynt.
A silver thread rose from the shield, linking itself to the painting on the restaurant wall—a picture of a crab and a little human figure.
B80234615 quickly explained, "That barrier can only be opened by the creator of the painting."
As Rita processed this, she started to get a feel for the octopus custor's personality.
She decided to test sothing.
Switching to Sky-Crab language, she asked, "Senior, since you've taken with you, does that an I'm your employee now? Shouldn't you pay a salary?"
Marmang-Crab stared at her with an expression that could only be described as pure bewildernt.
The octopus didn't respond right away.
Then, after a few seconds, a small pouch of fossil currency floated into Rita's hands.
At the sa ti, the tentacle wrapped around her loosened slightly, only restraining her legs now while freeing her upper body.
Catching the bag, Rita confird her suspicions.
This custor was stubborn and domineering, but it wasn't completely unreasonable.
And it probably wasn't planning to eat them.
Marmang-Crab snapped out of his shock, instantly raising his claws and shouting:
"BOSS—!!!"
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