Rita and B8017913 crouched behind a game stall, eyes locked on the entrance of Month Theme Park.
Right now, that entrance was the most crowded place in the game. After players respawned from the initial room, they'd all reappear just outside Month Theme Park. No matter how much someone tried to stall, they had to enter within three minutes, or else Divine Game would kill them instantly.
Campers, opportunists, bloodthirsty maniacs, AoE specialists—basically all the lunatics had gathered here.
On top of that, the chaotic presence of special event bundles had drawn nearly half the park's players to this spot. No wonder her game item, Blocks, wasn't selling anymore.
She sent a message to the group chat:
Nivalis: "Ready. I'm already at the entrance."
Rita: "Okay. Ten seconds from now, rush in. Remember to shrink down before you enter. Once you're inside, just fly straight in. Don't look back. B8017913 will be waiting for you near the popcorn cart."
Rita handed her ship to B8017913 and quietly moved to a corner of the maze. As the sound of waves from Deep Blue Helm filled her ears, she used [There's a Cat Here] and transformed into a cat.
With just three seconds left on the clock, she used Phantom Shift to teleport directly to the entrance of Month Theme Park.
Every player at the entrance froze mid-action and turned toward the cat.
That was the scene Nivalis saw as she ran into the park—a truly eerie sight.
Even though she knew it was the [Cat's Ideal] skill, witnessing it in action for the first time was still a shock.
But this wasn't the time to be applauding a succubus. Nivalis didn't look back and charged forward at full speed.
In those eight seconds, every player who noticed something off about the area rushed into the park without hesitation, eager to get away from the entrance.
Rita took a few steps away, distancing herself from Maple Syrup, who was grinning at her and trying to touch her feline butt.
On the seventh second, she meowed again.
Only after getting confirmation from the group chat that both pets were safe did Rita squeeze through the crowd. One final meow, and she bolted.
Maple Syrup watched the little Blocks cat disappear into the distance, speaking in a strangely soft voice, "Such a cute kitty."
Beside him, Pine Bloom, who had teamed up temporarily to farm Blocks, had the same dopey smile and sighed, "Isn't she just?"
A few seconds later, the skill effect ended.
Expressionless, Maple Syrup said, "...I hate cats."
Expressionless, Pine Bloom echoed, "...Same."
In a different disguise, looking like some random player, Rita found B8017913 and Nivalis behind a food truck.
Nivalis stared at her, looking weirded out. "Kitty?"
Rita snapped, "What?! I just saved your butt, got anything else to say?"
Nivalis muttered, "...You looked like you were kinda enjoying it."
Rita didn't even try to deny it. Watching all those normally arrogant players act like idiots really was satisfying.
Their little squad kept sneaking around and scavenging.
Right now, no one in Month Theme Park cared about past grudges anymore. No matter where they were or how far the fight had gone, most players would immediately focus fire on the largest target.
Easy to hit, and likely carrying good loot.
Faced with that chaos, Rita waited all the way until 23:50 before finally calling it:
"Let's build this thing!"
She activated [Unchanged Fate].
B8017913 and Nivalis jumped into action.
Rita leapt onto Nivalis's shoulder, pulled out her biggest Blocks, and began constructing the frame of a chestplate for Nivalis to slip inside.
Any damage dealt to the Blocks would count as hitting Rita, and thanks to [Unchanged Fate], Nivalis wouldn't take a scratch. After dozens of hours in February Theme Park, Nivalis's un-transformed body was at least two meters tall now.
Rita handed back all the Blocks she had teleported over from earlier. Even the Blocks Nivalis had given her with the gacha machine—Rita returned them all.
Nivalis cradled the massive pile of Blocks, complaining, "Can't I shrink back down?"
Rita replied, "Better not. What if the final tally cancels all skill effects? Don't worry, we've got enough Blocks. Just get in and make yourself look decent."
B8017913 stayed outside, guiding Rita through the mech assembly process. Its small size meant it could join the cockpit later—or worst case, shrink and hang off the mech as an earring.
From the moment they started building, Rita had no intention of staying hidden.
Nearby players quickly spotted her and rushed in to kill her. The commotion pulled in even more players. Once they realized it was BS-Rita, every single one of them made her their top priority.
Through the transparent Blocks, Nivalis saw the massive wave of players closing in and gasped, "Holy crap! You really have that much hate in Divine Game?"
Rita responded, "It's the starlight. Blame the starlight."
B8017913: "..." And yet she always acts like Nivalis and I are the ones flirting all the time…
Rita shielded B8017913 with her body. Ever since she began assembling the mech, divine punishments kept triggering.
Some were known penalties. Others were surprises.
She and B8017913 did their best to avoid them. For instance, one known rule: "No more than 20 Blocks may touch the ground." So they used the biggest Blocks just for the legs.
Assembly wasn't actually that slow. Back when they were organizing Blocks, she and B8017913 had already pre-built all the mech parts. All that was left now was putting them together.
She could've delayed even longer, but she wanted a buffer in case of accidents.
Amid a downpour of AoE skills, the towering 9-meter-tall mech was finally complete.
Rita picked up B8017913, sat cross-legged, and stayed put. No point in running.
She'd already shrunk one gacha machine and stored it inside her body. Another one, containing important gear, was shrunken and stuffed into her ear for quick access.
Rita activated [Unchanged Fate] again.
Seahorse: "...I'm exhausted. Seriously."
Verdant Whisper · Windrush: "Same."
Mistblade: "Want me to give it a shot?"
Seahorse and Verdant Whisper · Windrush immediately stepped aside, gesturing politely.
Without hesitation, Rita touched her right ear and pulled out [Cat's Ideal].
She wasn't stupid—why stay and let Mistblade "give it a shot"? Shot at what?
As soon as Deep Blue Helm appeared, she even gave the players a little wave.
Seahorse clutched his chest. "Nope. I'm going to find Crab and get revenge..."
Verdant Whisper · Windrush and Mistblade stayed silent for a while.
Seahorse patted them both. "What's wrong with you two?"
Mistblade: "Let me be. I've got a headache."
Verdant Whisper · Windrush: "..."
Seahorse patted Verdant Whisper again. "You?"
Mistblade: "Stop patting her. She's been gone a long time now."