A few minutes later, Pine Bloom stood at the entrance of an empty restaurant, holding an armful of ingredients. Her gaze fell on the money left on the table, and she frowned in contemplation.
She couldn't help but ask the voice in her mind. "Y1148, did you really wipe out my teammates that fast?"
"No," Y1148 replied. "In this lifeti, I only counter you."
"…You don't have to be that dedicated."
"Ti's river has shifted again. That's the 91st ti."
Pine Bloom chuckled. "It's getting lively."
"Are you going to find them?"
"I'll respect fate. I'll wait for them to die and co back on their own." She paused, then added, "By the way, does BS Rita have a ti skill?"
"Unable to detect."
Pine Bloom narrowed her eyes. "Where did she even co from? Is BS really that lucky?"
"About as lucky as Forest Sea was back in the day. But based on my analysis, BS most likely consolidated their luck into a single entity."
"…What?"
"Back then, Forest Sea's fortune was split among three Owl Sovereigns—Maple Syrup, Peach Crown, and you. But BS has bet everything on BS Rita."
Pine Bloom scoffed. "What about the Moon Fox clan? Did they distribute luck wholesale to all nine Moon Emperors?"
"I admit, Snow Village took a gamble. But didn't they win?"
"Did they? Moon Fox only survives because of Mistblade. Flowering Edge and Burn Cup barely count as half each, and the rest of the Moon Emperors only cling to their divine player status. If not for that, they wouldn't even bother stepping into the World Battlefield."
She sneered. "The mont Mistblade dies, Moon Fox will fall apart."
Y1148's voice was smooth as ever. "Lucky you, baby, you don't have that problem."
Pine Bloom stiffened. "…"
"…You…"
"Hmm? Baby, you're not upset, are you?"
"I'm fine. I'm totally fine. I'm not upset at all."
"You're so strong, baby. You carry half of the Owlspeak clan on your back."
"…I swear to god, you really need to stop talking…"
She slumped lazily into the high chair behind the counter and began counting the money.
She wasn't sure where her teammates had been dragged off to, but judging by the protective enchantnts on the currency, it had likely been left behind by the entity that took them.
Not bad. So, teammates could be sold for money? Too bad Black SpringMud Bears wasn't listed for sale in ti.
Just then, an explosion echoed from the far end of the food street.
Though fights had been ongoing since the start of the ga, this one was different.
Along with the explosion ca an official ga notification.
[Player-Created Dishes: 1,000,000 – Requirent t]
[Food Street Visitor Count: 100,000 – Requirent t]
[Player Deaths in Food Street: 10,000 – Requirent t]
[All conditions t. Special Event Unlocked: "Is This Even Your Restaurant?"]
[Event: "Is This Even Your Restaurant?"]
[A chef is the heart of a restaurant. In two hours, Food Street will host a mandatory cooking competition for all restaurants.]
[Visitors currently in Food Street may also enter if they bring a chef with them.]
[At the end of the competition, restaurants will be reassigned based on rankings. Each restaurant may have no more than four employees.]
[All current team formations have been reset. Initial job selections remain the sa.]
[Registration opens in one hour. Each team may have up to four mbers, including at least one chef.]
[Current Restaurant Count: 12,745]
[Current Players: 50,980]
[Current Visitors: 49,325]
Pine Bloom's eyes widened.
Wait. Visitors can fight players for restaurant ownership?!
She bolted upright. "Where's my chef?!"
Y1148 taunted, "Respect fate."
Ignoring its sarcasm, Pine Bloom threw up a massive barrier over her restaurant and soared into the air to search for BS Rita.
If soone stronger than her ca to steal her restaurant, the barrier wouldn't hold for long. But most high-level players had their own sense of pride. They wouldn't go after an abandoned restaurant—it would look pathetic if soone caught them in the act and broadcasted it on the World Battlefield chat.
Pine Bloom herself would rather fight a restaurant guarded by a strong player than waste ti looting an empty one.
However, the situation was far worse than she expected.
She had planned to use the tracking enchantnt on BS Rita's Ballroom Formalwear to locate her, but sothing had severed her connection to it.
Annoyed, she pulled up the World Chat while flying and finally decided to do sothing rare—call out for her chef.
It turned out she wasn't the only one looking.
[Sakura·Lizi]: Who would've thought?! My chef got kidnapped by a custor!
[Lania Kaia·Pine Bloom]: BS Rita, where are you?
[Lania Kaia·Maple Syrup]: Oh?
[Lania Kaia·Mistblade]: Oh?
[Lania Kaia·Fat Goose]: Oh?
[Ball Li·In Ti]: Wait, Pine Bloom actually uses World Chat?
[Tingo·Green Bean]: She always could, but ever since so player tracked her location through it, she barely speaks here.
[Winter Sea·Whale Full]: Who the hell did that? That's so next-level stalker behavior.
[Nuclear Flash·NightFury]: .
[Ridge Tea·Ikyo]: Winter Sea Whale Full, rest in peace. ∠(°ゝ°)
[Lania Kaia·Fat Goose]: Winter Sea Whale Full, rest in peace. ∠(°ゝ°)
[Tingo·Green Bean]: Winter Sea Whale Full, rest in peace. ∠(°ゝ°)
[Black Spring·Mud Bears]: What happened?
[Lania Kaia·Pine Bloom]: She got bought.
[Black Spring·Mud Bears]: ???!!! What about the competition?! Where's Marmang-Crab? He didn't stop it?!
[BS·Rita]: He got bought too. He even asked the custor to leave the paynt on the table.
[Marmang·Crab]: I just wanted to leave my teammates with so final wealth!
[Lania Kaia·Pine Bloom]: So it was too strong for him to fight off?
[BS·Rita]: The mont the custor offered to buy him, he didn't even dare reject it loudly.
[Marmang·Crab]: I refused! I firmly and respectfully refused!
[BS·Rita]: Pine Bloom, are you still coming to find us?
[Lania Kaia·Pine Bloom]: 15-stage Abyss Squad recruiting [Chef] and [Cleaner]. Interested players, fly into the sky and cast three consecutive ice-elent skills.
[Black Spring·Mud Bears]: 15-stage Abyss Squad recruiting [Chef] and [Cleaner]. Interested players, contact Lania Kaia Pine Bloom.
[BS·Rita]: …
[Marmang·Crab]: …WE'RE NOT DEAD YET!!!
[Lania Kaia·Pine Bloom]: There's not much difference, baby.
[Lania Kaia·Pine Bloom]: …Never mind. Forget I said that.
[Lania Kaia·Maple Syrup]: Sure thing, baby.
[Lania Kaia·Fat Goose]: Sure thing, baby.
[Ridge Tea·Ikyo]: Sure thing, baby.
[Marmang·Crab]: Pine Bloom… please don't talk like that. I'm scared. Just find new teammates, it's fine, baby.
[Lania Kaia·Pine Bloom]: (Logging off.)
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