B80234615: "So… what does Nivalis usually do in her free time?"
Rita led it to the living room and turned on the gaming console. "Can you play? Does it drain your energy?"
B80234615: "I can play. It doesn't consume much power—about 1% every eight hours."
Rita glanced at its energy levels. Despite all the activities since they left Dragon Island, B80234615 had only used up about 2%. It seemed like moving around didn't drain much energy at all.
Maybe the heavy energy drain in the Diamonds Miner game was because it had to constantly analyze and scan player data.
She selected the game Nivalis had been hooked on recently, created a new account for B80234615, and handed over a controller. "Here. This is what Nivalis spends most of her time on."
Two thin electric currents extended from B80234615, connecting to the controller. A second later, the game screen started moving.
Satisfied with her arrangement, Rita turned to leave—only to hear B80234615 speak again.
"I thought you'd make me go into standby mode to conserve energy."
Rita sighed. She was realizing that this mechanical lifeform had an endless stream of questions. Anytime her actions didn't align with its probability models, it had to ask about it.
She replied, "You said it only takes 1% power every eight hours. If it were 8% per hour, I'd have already knocked you out."
B80234615: "Oh. I don't believe you. That's just an emotional outburst."
As it spoke, the in-game characters had already started interacting with the NPCs.
She had a feeling that the household just gained another game addict.
Rita had no intention of missing the Divine Game on May 15th.
After Nivalis returned home, she spent time preparing enough buffed meals for their upcoming journey and got some sleep. Early in the morning on the 3rd, she was ready to head to Lania Kaia.
As she came downstairs, she noticed that Nivalis and B80234615 had pulled an all-nighter playing video games.
Glancing at the screen, she saw they were playing a co-op dungeon-crawling game.
No wonder Nivalis seemed so calm.
There was no way she could outplay a mechanical race in gaming.
Nivalis yelled, "Quick! Quick! It's coming!!"
B80234615, completely composed: "Mm, no rush."
Weren't they arguing yesterday?
"B80234615, are you a girl?"
B80234615: "I have no gender. That kind of classification is meaningless to us."
Rita had only been curious, and she honestly didn't care either way. As long as it was useful, that was enough. "Alright, you two, wrap it up. We're heading to Lania Kaia. B80234615, make sure to mask your information. I don't want to deal with extra trouble."
B80234615: "Understood, master."
After making sure her Sleeping Dragon Eggshel hadn't changed at all, Rita adjusted her disguise, letting B80234615 take the form of a glowing cube earring on her right ear. Then, she and Nivalis casually crawled under the bed.
B80234615: "Why do you do this? Aren't you two the strongest in BS?"
Both Rita and Nivalis stiffened.
Nivalis, lacking confidence but making up for it with volume: "IT'S OUR HOBBY!"
Rita, keeping her voice steady and composed: "The drawings can be risky to place elsewhere. If a guest accidentally steps on them, that'd be a disaster. Under the bed is the safest choice—zero chance of mistakes."
B80234615, ever the considerate AI, decided to remain silent.
Its calculations told it that this was, in fact, the correct response.
With practiced ease, the two traveled through the hidden portal and emerged in the depths of Lania Kaia's ocean. Disguised as Wind Scythe, Rita headed straight for Dark City.
She delivered the 18 Treasure Ores to Apache. That teacher of hers had done a lot for her, and it didn't feel right to keep taking without giving something back.
Hearing about their properties, Apache had the exact same reaction Rita had when she first learned about them.
No strong emotional response—just an intense curiosity about their potential.
As Apache toyed with one of the ores, she casually asked, "So… did you piss off Pine Bloom again?"
When?! How?! Why didn't she know about this?!
"Is that what she thinks?" she asked, bewildered.
Does she know we're enemies now?!
Apache let her struggle for a bit, enjoying the way Rita's expressions shifted, before finally explaining with a smirk, "I was just messing with you. She's looking for you, though. Actually, more specifically, she's looking for your dragon."
Rita exhaled in relief—but her expression darkened slightly.
Strictly speaking, her feelings toward Pine Bloom were neutral.
Even after hearing Nivalis recount all the things she did to Lidian, Rita wasn't the type to assume someone was purely good or evil.
Complicated, tangled relationships often looked illogical when stripped down to a brief summary.
Dragons were highly sensitive to emotions. If Pine Bloom was entirely deceitful, Lidian wouldn't have been so willing to give everything for her. Judgment Hour—the fusion skill requiring trust and connection—wouldn't have been locked, completely unusable.
Unless Lidian was spectacularly stupid, which, after spending time with her on Dragon Island, Rita knew wasn't the case.
But it was precisely because of her conversations with Lidian that Rita's guard was up more than ever.
In Lidian's words, Pine Bloom was a brilliant military strategist, tactician, and politician.
But to Rita, Lidian had left out one very important word—opportunist.
From what she saw, Maple Syrup was the true definition of a military leader, a tactician, and a politician. She understood the big picture, yet never abandoned her core principles. She even gave up Four Seasons City over a single wish.
Pine Bloom, on the other hand, was overtly greedy.
She wanted the best city. The best pets. The best of everything.
Rita gently patted the tiny hamster-sized Nivalis on her shoulder and asked Apache, "Do you know what she wants?"
Apache answered without hesitation. "She's looking to buy dragon blood."
Before Rita could respond, Apache continued, "I already told her you wouldn't sell it. But she insisted that the only reason you won't sell is that you consider dragon blood to be your property. She thinks Nivalis should have the final say."
Rita remained completely unfazed.
"Oh yeah, totally. I absolutely consider dragon blood my property. Not selling."
Nivalis, still curled up on her shoulder, nodded vigorously in agreement, making it clear she had no issue with this arrangement.
Apache chuckled. "Well, that's between you two. She asked me to pass a message along, though."
Apache: "Tell Lidian to stop drunk-texting her."
Rita turned to Nivalis in their private chat. "I have lost all respect for Lidian."