The first to be eliminated were the players who had all once owned [Whale Falls in the Wind].

Now only BS-Rita and Tingo Autumn Deer remained at the table.

They had already tested each other thoroughly, and the game had entered the final stage—guessing the skill names.

Autumn Deer leaned forward, thoughtful. "Is it [You Didn't Even Drink the Potion]?"

Rita blinked. "???" She shook her head.

Now it was her turn. The most annoying part of this game was that while asking questions, you could easily give away clues about your own ability.

That was exactly how Pine Bloom, Crab, and NightFury had all gone down—hand in hand. They had used the same relic, with similar styles of skills, and were knocked out before their chairs even warmed.

So every time Rita guessed at Tingo Autumn Deer's skill, she deliberately avoided short names like [Let It Die]. She always used long, elaborate phrases, forcing him to overthink it. Whether he realized her strategy or not, his own guesses had become equally long—five or six words each.

She couldn't tell if he was dodging on purpose, but after over a dozen wrong guesses, his recent questions all seemed faintly tied to potions.

And she remembered that the relic [Delicious Funeral] released waves of warm, fragrant food aromas whenever it was used. Thinking for a moment, Rita finally decided to take a real stab at it.

"Aba?" [All Poisoned to Death]?

Tingo Autumn Deer froze, eyes widening, then dropped his head onto the table with a dull thud. The card before him popped out of the surface, flipped over, and landed face up.

Written across it in gleaming letters was exactly the name Rita had said.

She had guessed it right.

A familiar tray materialized in the center of the table, filled with Mahjong tiles. Rita, for once, felt her pulse quicken. There were no players waiting in line this time, so she spread out every tile she owned in front of her in a neat row before drawing her thirteenth one.

Another East Wind.

When she set all thirteen tiles in order, a glowing message box appeared before her.

[Begin matchmaking? Choose opponent type: Divine Game Player / Mysterious Player.]

She chose Divine Game Player. The line of tiles began to flash rhythmically with light.

Her current hand read:

East Wind, East Wind, South Wind, South Wind, West Wind, West Wind, North Wind, North Wind, White Dragon, White Dragon, Red Dragon, Green Dragon, Green Dragon.

Ah! Clear as day—Seven Stars.

She only needed one more Red Dragon to win!

But the tiles kept blinking for a long time without result.

Rita glanced at the silent host still watching from the side. "Aba Aba?" Did it actually start matching?

The white-and-pink-haired host replied flatly, "It's matching. You'll be notified when an opponent is found."

Rita looked down at her glittering tiles, fell silent for a long moment, then said gravely, "Aba Ba?? Am I… one short of three?"

For the first time since Rita had entered the room, the host smiled—an honest, amused smile. "Yes."

Rita: "..."

Her suspicion deepened.

One minute. Two. Five. Eight. Fifteen.

Fifteen minutes later, still one short of three.

She paced back and forth across the room, hands behind her back. [Let It Die]'s effect had ended eight minutes ago.

She'd considered switching to match with a mysterious player before her luck ran out—but come on, who didn't know who that would be? And after that, what kind of "game" would it even be?

She moved to the edge of the whale cloud's doorway, peering out at the drifting fog and the slow passage of cloud whales. There was no world chat in this zone… so the only option left was to shout.

She cupped her hands around her mouth. "One short of three! Any Lania Kaia out there—get on board already!"

From far off in the mist came Fat Goose's voice. "We're planning to wait you out!"

Rita: "..." She knew it. Being camped was her destiny.

Still, she suspected it was just Fat Goose's way of saving face—pretending they were playing the long game because they hadn't gathered enough World Graveyard pieces yet. If they truly wanted to lock her out, they could've just stayed outside her door instead of risking punishment in these mini-games.

That was also why she hadn't chosen to match with the mysterious player.

Behind her came that familiar monotone. "Players who have completed their games, please leave the room promptly to avoid interfering with others."

Rita glanced back. Only she and the host remained. The white-and-pink-haired girl was leaning lazily against the table, one eyebrow raised in a small, teasing smile.

Rita suddenly realized who this was.

Before she could confirm it, the system pinged.

[Player Lania Kaia Pine Bloom has joined the game.]

[Player Lania Kaia Mistblade has joined the game.]

Rita started edging toward the door.

Two meters. One minute.

Then—thunk. A sharp kick landed on her backside, sending her flying out the door.

Rita reacted instantly, using Flash Step to land on a nearby shard of rock. She turned back to glare, and there the white-haired host stood, lounging casually at the whale's open maw.

[Player Lania Kaia Maple Syrup has joined the game.]

[Match successful. Searching for game instance…]

[Game House ready.]

[Deployment begins in 30 seconds. Players, prepare.]

So she wasn't the one picking the game anymore? Interesting.

Then how were all those World Graveyard-consuming modes supposed to work?

At the phrase "30 seconds to deployment," Rita started counting in her head.

When it hit seven seconds, she suddenly spun on her heel atop the rock, facing the smirking host—and in the same motion transformed into her Orchid Mantis form.

Foolishness: "..." This feels ominous.

Orchid Mantis tilted her tiny head. "You got a rival team?"

Foolishness: "..." Not good.

Orchid Mantis struck a pose. "Then start recording."

In the next instant, she began cycling through poses like a manic photo shoot:

Scratching the back of her head and gazing skyward.

Holding her belly and staring at the ground.

Rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

Half-covering her eyes.

Stretching her limbs.

A mischievous smirk.

A bright, sorrowful look.

One-legged balance.

Wings spread wide.

A yoga stance.

Hands on hips, leg lifted.

Fist pressed to forehead.

Style. This was pure style.

Rita fully channeled her old life as a pre-game celebrity. The space around her became a magazine studio, her movements so fast they left motion blur in midair.

She even had lines.

"Remember my name, Foolishness."

"Foolishness is foolish because Foolishness is Foolishness."

The long seven seconds ended. The Orchid Mantis vanished.

Foolishness stood there frozen, shell-shocked by the sheer audacity of what she'd just witnessed.

...

[Gods & Demons Global Chat]

Deceitful Bloom: Foolishness blackscreen leak.

[OneCup]: Who's buying exclusive rights?

[Boiling Orange]: Stunning.

[Ashveil]: Truly stunning…

[Crispfang]: And people say Maple Syrup making me into a cookie was fan abuse? BS-Rita just redefined it.

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