"So... where to next?"
Rita: "Food first, then we farm some loot."
It was only 3 PM. Her next stop was the It's Not the Craft That Sucks game at the 1March Theme Park.
And after clearing the 13Month version, she was planning to hit the 16Month one too.
No way she'd waste time just standing around in October. Every minute lost was, in her eyes, potential capsule machine material gone to waste.
She parked her airship in front of the Cake Roll food truck—there wasn't a single player in line.
While waiting for the Gingerbread Man chef to finish their order, she turned to B8017913. "Got anything going on later? Want a side job?"
The little robot looked at her with a strange expression. "I can't take jobs anymore."
Rita blinked. "What? Did you break a rule?"
B8017913 muttered, "No... They just don't want to play with me."
Rita clenched her fists. "They're isolating you?!"
She looked ready to storm the Mech faction HQ and file an official grievance on its behalf.
B8017913 sighed, "They said if you stop refunding your tickets, they'll let me play again. Otherwise, I have to go back home and scratch my bolts…"
What the hell… where does this thing learn its slang?
Turns out it wasn't really about the robot. It was about her. Classic.
She loosened her fists and handed the robot one of the coconut mango cake rolls with a smile. "Ahem. Next time, for sure!"
The robot chef who made the cake and the one handing it over both looked up in surprise. Was this… was BS-Rita really giving in that easily? Was the nightmare player of Month Theme Parks suddenly tame?
They spoke in unison. "For real?!"
Rita nodded solemnly. "For fake."
B8017913: …she's messing with them again.
Ever since she met the Diamond Miner, the little bot had noticed Rita loved messing with Mech-type units. And activity packs too.
She dodged a tray thrown at her head and grabbed the little robot's arm, sprinting away. The tiny bot, barely the size of a flag, fluttered through the air behind her, nearly horizontal with the ground.
From the wind came Rita's shout: "Hang in there, little B! We're just following our solo-slayer storyline…"
Mini Mech A: "Is B8017913 a volunteer pet, really?"
Mini Mech B: "Apparently. L2261 asked it, and it said it's very happy."
As they sat down at a table to eat, Rita gave B8017913 a new assignment.
"I need you to head back to October Theme Park and keep an eye on Sakura · Orange White. Last I saw, she was lining up for the Ferris wheel."
She was sure Sakura hadn't been on the ride for more than half an hour when she'd left.
Rita handed over a Teleport Ticket and two Single Simulation Tokens.
"Follow her. Use the simulation on every game she enters. If any of them aren't combat-focused, let me know."
B8017913: "Got it. I know what you're planning."
Rita: "Don't forget to claim the Blocks from your market sales. You'll need those to pay access fees."
B8017913: "Understood."
Once the robot left, Rita stayed by the vending machine a bit longer. When the fragment she'd listed with a "tiny Blocks only" condition finally sold, she took her pile of mini Blocks and queued for the It's Not the Craft That Sucks game.
Her energy was nearly full, and she still had two Buffet Tickets left. She was planning to roll as many times as she could.
Queueing was boring, but it gave her time to organize her capsule machine.
Except the activity pack in front of her kept glancing back.
On the seventh look, Rita asked, "You got a problem?"
The activity pack replied in BS-language: "Don't recognize me?"
Rita fell silent. How was she supposed to answer that? Rabbits at least came in sizes. All Fat Ducks looked the same.
But she didn't say that. "Give me a hint?"
Activity Pack: "Idiot Baby."
Rita went quiet again.
Maangmaang: "Say something!!" If you dare say you forgot, BS-Rita is done for.
Rita: "Uh… which Idiot Baby are you? The one who punched me? Or the one who told me 'six is a magical number'?"
Maangmaang: "The one who told you six is—wait…"
Realizing she'd been led in circles, Maangmaang swung a feathery fist straight at BS-Rita's face.
Rita had braced for it, but even so, she couldn't dodge. She didn't even see the punch coming. She let out a howl and dropped to the floor, clutching her eye.
Despite the grumbling, Maangmaang was genuinely happy.
Since Deceitful Bloom and Drummer had revealed themselves, the "activity packs are actually divine demons" secret had become an open one between them.
She'd once worried that being exposed would change how players interacted with her—make them cautious or overly respectful.
She didn't want to be a mentor to BS-Rita. She didn't care for admiration or reverence. She just wanted to have fun.
Thankfully, BS-Rita hadn't changed much.
Still a coward, but just as mouthy, and would rather die than skip a chance to talk trash.
When BS-Rita stood up, eye watery, and glared at her, Maangmaang leaned in and asked in a low voice:
"If the last fragment goes up on the market, and it's as overpriced as the eighth one, will you still buy it?"
Rita feigned ignorance. "Huh? What fragment?"
Maangmaang: "Relax, there aren't any players nearby who understand BS-language. You know… that one."
Rita stared at the three Fat Duck heads in front of them, all turned to look at her at once.
Maangmaang looked past the queue and saw another row of ducks craning their necks in unison to spy on their conversation.
Rita reached out and turned Maangmaang's head forward.
Maangmaang: "...Fine, forget it." Mostly because she thought she saw Stupidity lurking nearby...
Once the game started, Rita focused all her energy on farming.
Capsule machine materials were the main target, but the special materials used to craft rare capsules were also valuable.
The only problem—each entry into the crafting space only let her walk away with one type of material.
She stared at the cabinet filled with over a thousand types of ingredients and felt pure frustration.
Her experience as a player was still shallow. She didn't recognize at least a third of these materials. The rest she knew in name only—vaguely aware of where they came from or how they grew. With some research, she could probably figure out the rest.
But knowledge wasn't the same as resources. Where was she supposed to get the funding to collect all this?
She landed on another blank tile—no other competitors this time.
Inside the crafting room, after half an hour of capsule-making, she paused and activated a skill: