Chapter 1017: 1017 Divine Game: Player Relic 20

Even if 7777 had suggested wiping Y128’s memories of her entirely, Rita might have been tempted.

But modifying Y128’s program so it would fight on behalf of her sworn enemy? That was something she would never do. That would be nothing short of humiliating it.

She had never regretted stealing Snowfield Pact from Y128. If Y128 were still carrying it right now, she would steal it again. She loved stealing that thing—she’d steal it for the rest of her life.

And if given the chance, she would kill Y128 without hesitation, or even control its corpse the way she controlled Black Jade. But she would never twist its will and force it to fight for her. That wasn’t mercy. It was simply a line she refused to cross with someone who, strictly speaking, had never actually wronged her.

Sitting on her shoulder, 7777 swung its legs back and forth happily. "All right, I won’t do it~"

Rita narrowed her eyes at it. "Was that... some kind of test?"

7777 answered in complete seriousness, "Not at all. If you wanted it, I would have rewritten its program for you. But your answer makes me very pleased."

Nivalis suddenly raised her head and asked, "What if she had agreed?"

Two deeply wrinkled eyebrows appeared across 7777’s cube-like face, as if offended she would even ask.

"If she agreed, then it would mean she’s decisive, ruthless, and has the aura of a sovereign. I would gladly become her loyal hound. Woof woof woof."

B80 pressed its hands together solemnly. "I admit defeat."

Nivalis tapped her wingtips together in a mock bow. "I sincerely invite you to visit my home one day. I want my mother to meet you."

Rita fell silent.

She suspected Nivalis just wanted 7777 to go home and permanently lower her mother’s moral baseline.

Shaking off the three ornaments clinging to her, Rita returned to studying her painting.

She picked up the brush and set it down again several times. She truly couldn’t think of what to modify.

B8017913 sat beside her leg, studying the artwork for a long while, before pointing to the White Bear and Orchid Mantis perched on Nivalis’s tail.

"Why did you only paint those two event-gift creatures?"

Rita frowned lightly. "Only two? There’s a third one."

All three little robots crowded over. After searching for quite a while, they still found nothing.

Rita tapped the boat-shaped cookie in Maple Syrup’s hand with the end of her brush. "Right there."

B80, who knew enough history to already vaguely understand, fell silent for a long moment before dryly praising her.

"...A stroke of genius."

Rita nodded with a smile. "I thought so too."

As for the constant stream of [You Are Being Watched]? She had finally learned to tune it out completely.

Satisfied she couldn’t improve the painting any further, she rolled it up again. It was time to talk to L175246.

She wasn’t choosing it out of sentimentality. She still needed to confirm its abilities. No matter how moved she was, she would never hand her victory over to something simply because it meant something to her. She had invited 7777 as her agent for one reason alone: its god–granted talent [Outside the Program].

Thinking about it again, perhaps Aria of the Setting Sun was indeed a better-fitting title.

No matter how gentle she could be, no matter how good she was at comforting others, she would never gamble her win, her ambition, or her future to please someone. Just like in GodDraw77, even if she wanted to give Lightchaser a true Lightchaser Moment, she would never hand over the decisive role of victory.

Even if the ship was sinking, the helm had to stay in her hands.

That thought hit her like lightning. She froze halfway through rolling up the painting, standing motionless as if her soul had left her body.

The robots and the dragon quietly retreated to the corner so they wouldn’t interrupt her.

Slowly, Rita unrolled the painting again and stared at it for a long, long time before putting it back on the stand.

She retrieved her two owl pendants from the game console. Their cooldowns were finally over. She had used them earlier to repeatedly transfer the cooldown of Waste Guide, allowing her to chain multiple time-stops in a short window.

Readjusting her paints, she tossed the hourglass gently onto the ground. It rolled twice before standing upright. The blue liquid lightning inside began to drip downward.

Another time-stop descended.

She was going to stretch those five minutes of modification time into something much longer.

A player who didn’t exploit bugs wasn’t really playing the Divine Game.

Rita began adding falling snow. Then she layered a thin sheet of ice across the river of time.

Her world lacked seasons, and this season was Eternal Winter.

It sounded tragic, but she never found it tragic. That cold was not a wound that never healed—it was a part of her bones now. She liked this unmelting version of herself. It made her feel indestructible.

When she stepped out of time-stop and the hourglass ran dry, the painting flickered.

Then quietly transformed into:

[????] (???)

For a moment, even the skill names shifted... then returned.

She didn’t know the painting’s final name yet, but she knew one thing for certain:

It would no longer be Aria of the Setting Sun.

Every stroke of white snow increased her weight in the painting. She was no longer Maple Burn beneath the tree, nor the half-hidden figure behind a window, nor the hand among the leaves, nor the wrinkled letter, nor the tiny silhouette riding the dragon’s tail.

Neither Falling Starry Sky, which used her perspective, nor Aria of the Setting Sun, which used the perspective of everyone else in the painting, could represent it now.

But why was it still unfinished?

She gently slipped the gem-ring relic onto her finger.

After saying goodbye to 7777, she took her two pets and headed to Trading District 621. According to 7777, L175246 was still there.

There were thirty-three minutes left before the third stage—the battle royale. Enough time for one more mini-game and to pick an agent.

But the second she found this district’s game stone and read the rules, her expression darkened.

Her left thumb pressed hard against her index finger—the spot where her relic ring had sat.

It was gone.

[Game: Did You See Me Steal Your Stuff?] (Countdown: 01:11)

Game Duration: 20 minutes

Upon reading these rules, a player’s Player Relic will automatically be lost. After the game begins, the Divine Game will randomly assign it to one of the Mechanoids in this district.

Before time runs out, players must locate the Mechanoid holding their relic and take it back.

Players who fail to retrieve their Player Relic lose all qualification for the battle royale.

Players who succeed will receive five minutes of free descent time at the start of the battle royale.

Current Player Count: 1753

Current Mechanoid Count: 1366 (More are being assigned. Please wait.)