Rita had only been flying for a few seconds after leaving the trade zone when her expression turned helpless. She glanced to her left, where Maple Syrup, Pine Bloom, and Syntax were keeping pace with her, then turned to her right—Dawn Cicada was flying there too.

She felt like a tour guide leading a group of troublemakers.

But she had no intention of avoiding them. Maple Syrup and her crew were clearly sticking close so they could sabotage her in the next game—or maybe wait for a chance to ruin her Player Relic once it was crafted.

That was fine. She was waiting too. Waiting for a trade zone game with a long duration and high difficulty—then she'd use Cat's Ideal to teleport away and lose these tagalongs for good.

A gust of wind carried sand past her. Rita looked back; the Oasis Town they'd left behind had already vanished, and even the desert's shape had changed.

Dawn Cicada, who had been silently cold for so long, suddenly spoke. "Do you deceive those event reward packs the same way you deceive Mechanoids?"

Rita's mind flickered. Maple Syrup, Pine Bloom, and Syntax all turned to look at her, subtle changes in their eyes.

Just as Pine Bloom hadn't forgotten how Dawn Cicada treated BS-Rita in the GodDraw77 game, Rita hadn't forgotten either.

Even when Dawn Cicada first spoke to her with the goal of taking Wrathful Moon, she already knew Rita had it back during GodDraw77. Why didn't she attack her then?

Maybe Wrathful Moon was part of the reason—but not the main one.

Her change in attitude had clearly happened after the Card Swap game. Something must have happened afterward.

And now, judging by her tone… was it because of divine favoritism?

Rita didn't reply, but Nivalis, perched on her shoulder, immediately got defensive. "She didn't deceive anyone! She just cheered it up a little! She didn't stay in that trade zone longer for its sake, and she didn't lie to it either."

B8017913 quietly added in Rita's mind—nor did she tell the little Mechanoid that cheering it up would trigger divine penalties.

Dawn Cicada's tone remained calm. "That's exactly what makes her frightening."

Rita blinked. What kind of fantasy had Dawn Cicada cooked up in that head of hers?

Maple Syrup joined in, curious. "Then which event pack did she supposedly deceive?"

Dawn Cicada didn't answer. Not until they were about to enter a new trade zone did she finally say, her voice flat and cold, "Just a worthless piece of trash."

Countless [You Are Being Watched] alerts flooded the minds of everyone present.

Rita and the others instinctively slowed their steps.

Dawn Cicada stopped walking. She turned toward BS-Rita and smiled.

It was a smile filled with mockery and scorn, with hatred and provocation—a smile so sharp in its malice that it almost made her look pure.

The expression shattered the fragile balance between holiness and darkness, melted her composed restraint, and blurred the stunning beauty of her face.

As if worried the late-coming gods might have missed her answer, she repeated it—slowly, deliberately. "Just a worthless piece of trash."

The white Vine that looked like a serpent's spine slithered up her arm. When it reached her collarbone, it coiled there, and a few thumb-sized black roses bloomed at her throat.

...

In both the Major Demon Group and Minor Demon Chat, silence fell. Not a single message appeared.

The last messages were still the flood of idiotic chatter from earlier, full of comments like, "It's over, L175246 has fallen for her."

At the Demon Tavern, Deceitful Bloom had just sat down when she broke the silence. "...Isn't it a bit too obvious?"

Foolishness, seated beside her, said, "I haven't heard anything. Guess I'm not in their idiot chat."

Hearthsmoke and Mischief both raised their hands. "We're not in it either."

Ashveil scooted over, clutching a glass of juice. After studying Deceitful Bloom cautiously for a moment, they said, "Aren't we just trying to figure out who Dawn Cicada meant?"

Boiling Orange squeezed in next to Ashveil. "It couldn't be you, right? She's always been one of your biggest admirers."

Neither of them dared connect Deceitful Bloom's name to the word "trash." But Foolishness had no such restraint. "Who else could it be but Deceitful Bloom?"

Deceitful Bloom rested her chin on her hand and stared out the tavern window at the starlit sky. After a moment, she laughed softly. "You're right. Who else could it be?"

...

By the time Rita, Maple Syrup, and the others reached the game stele of the 1239th trade zone, the storm that Dawn Cicada's words had stirred in their hearts had finally begun to settle.

The unease wasn't from Dawn Cicada's disrespect toward the gods—it was from the information hidden in her tone.

Why had Dawn Cicada suddenly set her sights on Lania Kaia and BS-Rita?

Which god had driven her to such madness?

And what could possibly have happened to make her hate that deity so deeply?

If it was jealousy over divine attention, shouldn't she resent herself, like Bone Shade once did? Why hate the god instead?

Something was missing. A few pieces of the puzzle were still lost—one crucial detail that would make everything make sense.

Rita pushed those questions aside and focused on the stele in front of her.

[Game: World Matchmaker] (Countdown: 02:31)

When the countdown ended, the trade zone would seal and transform into a game zone.

Game Duration: 10 minutes.

Once the game began, all players would be reshuffled and transformed into identical forms. During the match, players couldn't speak, use skills, or access any spatial gear, and pets would automatically return to their storage space.

Players had to find at least two others who shared the same world-exclusive game and join hands to confirm a match.

If the match was correct, those players would immediately end the game and be allowed to claim three units of materials from the trade zone.

If a player failed to form a correct match three times, or if time ran out before succeeding, they would be barred from entering any trade zones for the next thirty minutes.

[Current Players in this Trade Zone: 1292]

Rita was tempted to skip this one.

After reading the rules, she understood why so many players were leaving as she arrived—and why there were so few left inside.

The difficulty wasn't low, and the penalty was harsh.

Still, after weighing the pros and cons, she decided to stay.

She had spotted Lania Kaia players like Tender Pig, Flowering Edge, and Burn Cup here. Including herself, there were seven players whose world-exclusive game was Mahjong.

Might as well give it a try.

Even if she failed, that thirty-minute cooldown before she could enter another Oasis Town would be perfect for sorting through her alchemical supplies.

To her surprise, Dawn Cicada stayed too.

There were two other Vineborne from the Dawn world in this trade zone, and Dawn Cicada had already walked over to them, issuing quiet commands.

Watching from a distance, Rita asked B8017913 in her mind, "Why is it that every Vineborne I've seen so far has silver hair, but Dawn Cicada's is light gold? Is that common?"

B80234615 answered calmly, "Not uncommon. A Vineborne's hair color only changes under one condition—their companion Vine has been destroyed."

Rita's pulse quickened. "Then the one she has now?"

"It's a Divine Game reward. Only a god can create a second companion Vine for a Vineborne."

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