Rita's expression was serious. With 73% fuel, she had enough for now.
But if the fuel station entrance was hidden behind a glowing box, that meant she wouldn't know when she would next get to refuel. This round, she could skip buying fuel, but just to be safe, she needed to gather enough kart coins. That way, when she found the next fuel station, she could stock up on fuel and some necessary parts while it was still a safe zone.
Repairs to the kart were also essential. Even if her character's health was restored, the damage to her kart didn't disappear.
Rita released the brake, and the kart started moving again. She let Nivalis take the wheel, as they searched for the parking lot's exit. Meanwhile, Rita opened the leaderboard to check which players were online.
This game was one she had to play, but she was already planning to leave early. Once she found the exit, she returned to the stone monument, and the countdown on it had only 17 seconds left.
When the timer hit zero, the words "BS Rita" disappeared from the kart's data. She and her kart were temporarily unlinked.
At the same time, the stone monument emitted a loud bang. A firework shot up from the monument, and in the blink of an eye, it shot high into the sky.
Rita and Nivalis watched as the firework exploded overhead, forming a line of silver mist in the shape of words: "I once walked into the marriage hall with my sister-in-law's younger sister."
It wasn't entirely wrong, but it didn't feel entirely right either.
They had indeed gone in, but still...
Rita glanced around. All the players were looking at her with strange expressions. Surprisingly, no one attempted to control her kart, but Rita immediately activated the left-turn signal and started nodding—furiously nodding.
The phrase, while awkward, was technically correct.
The players' expressions shifted from cautious and skeptical to even more strange, as if they had just encountered something bizarre.
Rita sighed with relief. She was surprised that no one had crashed into her kart. She couldn't tell whether they were wary of her [Ancient Curse] or if they feared she might steal their divine skills like she had stolen [Ancient Curse].
But soon, Rita learned the truth—another kart slowly rolled up beside her and stopped.
It was an unmistakable move, showing they meant no harm. Rita didn't dodge. She furrowed her brow and looked over, frozen in place.
Nivalis turned to glance, unable to suppress a "ah-oh" sound.
The figure sitting in the mini-kart was a towering figure of nearly 1.9 meters tall, an owl-like creature with orange-red wings outstretched. The owl's long legs barely fit in the kart, which seemed like a toy compared to its large frame. It was as if an adult was trying to fit into a child's toy car.
This was Rita's first time seeing Maple Syrup since leaving High Tower, and she was momentarily stunned.
The Maple Syrup she saw now was far more imposing than the one she had known in High Tower. She radiated an aura of power, much more confident and assertive—this was the Owl King, not the playful Maple Syrup.
However, when Maple Syrup smiled at her, Rita was reminded of the time they had all sat together at the forest cabin, eating and chatting. The warm, familiar feeling hadn't changed at all.
Maple Syrup placed a hand on Rita's leg that was pressing the accelerator, giving her knee a few light taps. Each tap caused Rita's health to drop by 0.1%.
When Maple Syrup hit it for the third time, her smile twisted in realization. The taps were part of [Absurd Story]!
She looked at Rita with a mix of shock and caution, her smile unwavering, but she asked, "Didn't know there was such a thing? When did you and Maple Burn go to the Four Seasons City bird's nest? How come you didn't invite me to witness it?"
Rita awkwardly replied, "…Nothing happened. We just went for a stroll. We're clean."
Maple Syrup knew better. She glanced at Rita's orange-red wings and chuckled lightly. She didn't press further but patted Rita's leg again.
Rita, watching her health drop to 99%, couldn't bring herself to speak.
While they were chatting, the current round of the game came to an end.
The center button on the steering wheel silently displayed the silhouette of a kart coin, similar to the gas canisters—likely something that would pop out when pressed.
Rita didn't rush to retrieve it. She wanted to save the kart coin for when they reached the next fuel station, so she could refuel during the safe zone period.
Kart coins were silently appearing, but no player reacted. However, at least half the players had already begun positioning themselves near weaker players, subtly closing in.
The battle was about to begin.
The next round started!
As the fireworks exploded, the parking lot transformed into a bumper car arena. This time, the firework landed above Maple Syrup's head, showing: "Yes, I admit, I deceived her sister-in-law's feelings."
Under the two "she" arrows, one pointed directly at Rita, who was still sitting next to Maple Syrup, with her leg being patted.
At this moment, all the players were distracted. High-powered players surrounded and hunted down the weaker ones, smashing their karts, while the weaker players tried to escape, occasionally stealing a glance.
But at that moment, everyone couldn't help but glance at Maple Syrup. It was beyond their imagination.
For Rita, who was spared from the battle for now, she simply muttered: "…Deceived? I guess. But it seems like a mutual thing. That Su person seems content with it…"
Maple Syrup also saw the message hanging in the air above her, and her smile froze.
That day, the once cheerful Owl King became strangely quiet and reserved.
Meanwhile, Rita had already noticed that several players were parking their karts at the edge of the battleground, repeatedly clicking something in the air.
She opened the global battle chat channel, and sure enough, the gossip started rolling in.
—— "Oh my god, BS Rita, the one who stole Winter Sea Frenzied Shark's [Ancient Curse], her sister-in-law, Maple Syrup from Lania Kaia, deceived her feelings!" —— "Is this true?!" —— "No way, it can't be." —— "Maple Syrup, don't butt in, didn't she say you're BS Rita's mother?" —— "But BS Rita married Lania Kaia's Maple Syrup's daughter, she admitted it during the game, and the system verified it—this news is true." —— "By the gods, what kind of family is this?" —— "Is Lania Kaia Mistblade still around? Do you know about this?" —— "I don't know them." —— "Liar! You two teamed up with Lania Kaia Maple Syrup last time to beat me! Mistblade, are you the sister-in-law?" —— "Could be." —— "...Can you keep quiet, Maple Syrup? Don't drag me down with you." —— "Calling each other so close, and yet you say you don't know each other."