Rita and B80234615 remained in tense silence for about five minutes before continuing their conversation.
Rita: "Is there a god named Spicy Chicken Wings?"
B80234615 didn't immediately answer with a "no," but instead responded, "I don't know all gods."
They continued their private conversation, both understanding the other's meaning.
Rita had been suspicious of certain statements because she clearly remembered asking B80234615 how many gods there were in this game before. At the time, B80234615 had jokingly responded that only a few were top-tier, and beyond that, it was hard to say. Given that B80234615 couldn't name every god, why was it so certain that there wasn't a god named Deceitful Bloom or White Boat?
However, White Boat might not necessarily be a god's name. Rita didn't think gods would craft figurines of their true forms with their names written on them and then give them to players as collectibles. She felt Deceitful Bloom had observed them, which might have made B80234615 hesitant to answer. She still wondered if Deceitful Bloom was Rabbit 1, or... maybe even Rabbit 3. Rabbit 4 wasn't impossible either, considering gods could possibly multitask.
Rita suddenly asked, "You mentioned before about your mutation and the Snowfield Pact, and you mentioned that one... that one..."
B80234615: "The Moon God is not a name, but a title. It doesn't matter if you say it; it won't disturb the god."
The Cooking Adventure segment ended, and Rita didn't steal any more skill icons from players.
B80234615 had been watching for half an hour before it couldn't hold back anymore: "Why do you only target those abyss-level bosses?"
Rita: "Why the sudden question?"
B80234615: "My data analysis suggests you're doing this on purpose."
Rita: "Yeah, I'm controlling it. I've gathered too much, and I wanted to let myself 'lose' a bit to balance things out. Does that help?"
B80234615 was silent for a long time, only faint electrical sounds filling the pause. After a while, it responded, "I'm not sure if it helps."
Rita wasn't disappointed. She leaned back against the transparent barrier in the kitchen, her eyes darting around, constantly on alert, ready to avoid any skills that might come her way.
She occasionally recognized some strong players but couldn't recall their titles. Whenever that happened, Rita quickly checked the Ladder Rankings. She spent a few moments analyzing the skills she had acquired during the day.
This Cooking Adventure had netted her 11 skill icons: 5 S-level, 15 SS-level, and 21 SSS-level skills.
All the skill icons were SSS-level, meaning she had acquired 32 SSS-level skills in total.
The only skills she had lost due to death were one Divine Gift Talent, 4 S-level skills, and 3 SS-level skills.
This was far more than what she had gained in earlier games like diamonds miners or Kart Racing.
She looked at the kitchen of the restaurant across Food Street. There were some players sitting at the kitchen counters, avoiding the residual skill waves from the main restaurant door. Their faces were somewhat familiar, and Rita vaguely remembered a part of their names.
She had likely memorized them a long time ago and then forgotten.
As she watched them, Rita realized that she had made the same mistake that Winter Sea Frenzied Shark had made once.
Rita could now recall how she had taken Midnight Exile from them, their surprise and fear—this was the price of underestimating weaker players. But now, as she looked up, she saw the abyssal players as distant figures, people she no longer regarded as significant.
Rita exhaled, reminding herself that when the closing time arrived, she would take another look at the Ladder Rankings and memorize all the player titles again.
Thinking of closing time, she remembered something. The closing time earlier in the morning had started at 1:00 AM, right after the cooking competition... but now that the Cooking Adventure had ended at 19:00, what about the time between then and closing time?
At 19:00, the last round of elimination began, followed by a series of system announcements.
["Cooking Adventure" segment officially ends.]
[Food Street enters its closing hours. All Divine Game players, players' pets, event gift packs, foodies' skills, items, and artifacts are all sealed. Players cannot attack one another.]
[Closing hours: 19:00 - 01:00.]
Ah, so it's a mid-break!
Rita was so moved she could almost cry.
She immediately called out to Nivalis, then collapsed onto her belly, completely relaxed.
As Rita peacefully closed her eyes, she felt something near her head. She lazily opened her eyes and saw a small rabbit, about the size of a chihuahua, staring at her.
B80234615: "Why do they always look for you?"
Rita: "Heh, I'm at the best investment stage now. You wouldn't understand."
Rita: "If I get stronger, I'll lose the nurturing value. If I take a step back, I'm no longer worth investing in."
The rabbit pointed at the large bone that Rita had placed on the ground: "Is this yours?"
Rita felt the familiar sensation of facing an angry party from whom she had stolen something. She shook her head, her expression serious, and replied firmly, "It's not mine."
The rabbit paused, confused by Rita's deflection.
Nivalis: "I can vouch for her. It's not hers."
Rita and Nivalis remained calm as they lay on the ground, watching the rabbit.
It wasn't hers—it was a bone from a Beast.
The rabbit, with reason, argued: "I saw you earlier when the game ended, and you were holding this bone."
A strange experience indeed! A god, lecturing her on logic! A divine being of the female genre, perhaps?
Rita turned over, facing the rabbit. She stared it down and asked, "Why are you looking for the owner of this bone?"
The rabbit sat down and replied, "I want to buy this bone from you."
Rita widened her eyes in disbelief and, cautious, asked, "Why?"
The rabbit replied patiently: "It knocked out my friend's front teeth, and my friend asked me to buy it back, along with the skin of the bone's owner."
Rita slammed her fist on the ground, exclaiming, "That's outrageous!"
The rabbit: "Name your price."
Rita turned away from the rabbit, muttering, "I told you, it's not mine!"