Sakura·Orange White's killing intent waned. "So what Divine Relics is it?" it asked. "How many Blocks per pull? What are the gacha rules?"
It wasn't just Sakura·Orange White who was interested now. The other players at this maze entrance began gathering around.
Rita skipped over the first question and answered calmly, "A full seven-piece item or treasure set can be exchanged for ten pulls. You have a game item I need to retrieve. If you hand over that fragment, you can get twenty pulls directly."
So blunt. Yet Sakura·Orange White's guard dropped a little more. It was known for being extremely cautious and conservative—last time it had only done five pulls with BS-Rita before backing out.
Rita's words were so direct that both Sakura·Orange White and the players who understood her paused for a moment. The rest, unable to comprehend, started asking questions in their own languages, but got no answer.
Sakura·Orange White asked first, "What fragment?"
Rita didn't reply. Instead, she activated a skill: Ultimate Technique—Mirage Creation.
A forged, incomplete version of the Dull Game—one with only eight pieces—appeared in her duck wing.
A white-and-red revolver shimmered into existence. She spun the cylinder, then held the Dull Game: Incomplete out toward Sakura·Orange White.
"You can try placing the final fragment. You'll have two minutes to test it out. Maybe you'll meet it again someday. Only the brightest, most extraordinary players can pull this trigger. Across all of Divine Game, there are fewer than ten such players."
Sakura·Orange White's pupils widened until the blue swallowed nearly its entire iris. It spoke with reverent excitement, "Can I try?"
Rita nodded, her tone soft, tinged with admiration. "Please do."
Sakura·Orange White pulled out the Dull Game fragment it had gotten from TingoAutumn Deer. It had once considered selling it—but now, it felt nothing but relief that it had held onto it.
The golden butterfly-shaped Block fit perfectly.
Standing on its hind legs, left paw gripping the incomplete Dull Game, Sakura·Orange White matched the fragment's magic pattern to the broken circuit on the revolver's barrel. It slotted in easily—right above the trigger, like a golden crosshair.
As soon as the butterfly was set into place, it began to dissolve, transforming into a radiant golden light, a butterfly without form or weight.
After reading the updated ability text, the cat raised the weapon and aimed—not at itself, of course, but at another player.
The targeted player bristled at first, ready to lash out. But then he noticed something—his HP and MP had both gone up.
Satisfied, Rita continued pitching the trade. She tried again to convince Sakura·Orange White to give her the Dull Game fragment in exchange for more gacha pulls.
But after experiencing the Dull Game firsthand, Sakura·Orange White refused flatly and without hesitation.
Unfazed, Rita pivoted and pitched her gacha to the other players instead.
Unfortunately for her, top-tier players weren't easily tempted. When the fifth minute hit and the system deducted a game item fragment for failing to land a kill, they stopped buying and left.
Still, her goal was already in motion.
Moments ago, she had set the trap: a flower that only players from the Sakura world would recognize—a unique item that would instantly draw Sakura·Orange White's interest. Other players wouldn't know its significance.
Sakura·Orange White was suspicious by nature, but with all game zones now unlocked and combat frequency about to spike, if it saw something valuable and could confirm its authenticity, it would absolutely take it.
She had also hidden a duck feather nearby, another bait. Top-tier players like Sakura·Orange White would never overlook something like that.
Rita silently counted the seconds, waiting for the moment when Sakura·Orange White would meet her "past self."
If she didn't get a prompt from The Free Stuff Always Costs the Most., she was ready to use her owl to shift the cooldown of Temporal Stroll, rewind time again, and intercept Sakura·Orange White while it was still waiting in line.
Drop an irresistible game item at Sakura·Orange White's feet...
Then—there it was. A voice in her mind:
"The Free Stuff Always Costs the Most."
Even though she already knew how it would end, Rita still couldn't stop the swell of joy in her chest.
She even knew why there had been a delay between Sakura·Orange White picking up the lisianthus and the moment the Dull Game fragment vanished—because her future self had deliberately made it so.
Waiting for that exact second. Waiting for the very moment the rival event bundle was about to claim the last fragment.
25 seconds… she's pitching the gacha to Sakura·Orange White.
12 seconds… the other players have finished buying.
9 seconds… the bundle appears at the fork.
6 seconds… it calls her bluff and offers a higher price.
2 seconds… Sakura·Orange White jumps in front of the bundle.
Rita entered the Balance Room.
The floor was scattered with dozens of items. She headed straight for the golden butterfly Block in the corner.
When her eyes opened again, she was holding it in her hand.
She had paid 700 attribute points.
The goal was finally achieved. But she couldn't stop the flash of fury in her heart. If not for that interfering bundle, she might have gotten this Block with just a cheap gacha pull.
Was this really necessary?
Shoving the anger down, she stashed the fragment into her gacha machine, activated her disguise with Teletubbie Camouflage, and finally pulled out the long-saved card:
I Don't Want to Play This Game Anymore.
Instantly, she was ejected from the maze.
Outside, the theme park had become a full-blown warzone. Solo duels, chaotic group fights—everywhere you looked, players were locked in battle.
Hidden by her disguise, she summoned Deep Blue Helm, spun the dial, and teleported to the gates of the 15th Month Theme Park.
She waited a few moments.
No sign of the Fat Duck following her.
Only then did she remove her disguise and take out the final Dull Game fragment, fitting it into place atop the revolver's barrel.
"Foolishness is not a sin."
Six bullet chambers. Spin the cylinder. Press the muzzle to your own head and pull the trigger.
The bullet named "Foolishness" erases a single wrong thought.
A blank bullet reverts the target's state to 120 seconds ago.
After shooting another target, your next shot must be aimed at yourself.
Each time the wielder makes a choice that goes against their instincts, the spent "Foolishness" bullet is reloaded.
When fewer than one special bullet remains in the chamber, Dull Game cannot be fired.
(Current bullets: Foolishness)
The complete Dull Game.
She flicked the cylinder. It spun freely.
The golden butterfly detached from the barrel, fluttering around the revolver in elegant arcs.
When it settled back atop the barrel, it did so at the exact moment the cylinder clicked into place.
This Dull Game now belonged to her.