Chapter 1449: 1449: The Gunshot, a Bullet Named Romantic
Who would run Divine Game?
Rita looked toward the bewildered Ash Inspectors.
The moment she obtained the Eye of Surveillance, she gained partial control over the Ash Legion.
And after Rust Monument was sealed and fell into a deathlike slumber, she gained ninety-nine percent of that control.
She asked,
"Are you willing to become the programs that operate the game?"
"To formulate fair game rules, balance the combat gap between new and veteran players, favor no player, race, or world, and accept supervision from divine players?"
The light connecting the cube to the players dispersed.
New light linked the cubes in the chests of the Ash Inspectors.
This was the contract she issued.
One Ash Inspector after another signed the contract after a brief calculation.
They turned into points of light and flew into the night sky.
At last, they gathered into a galaxy that sometimes condensed, sometimes scattered, and swam slowly through the air.
With most matters handled, she lowered her eyes toward the River of Order.
Toward the river Rust Monument had created by sacrificing half of the Ash Legion.
Although the wind whales had done everything they could to catch the players falling from the sky, there were only twelve wind whales.
How could they catch everyone when so many deaths had happened at once?
Soul fire lit between Rita’s brows.
Her fingertip flicked through the air, as if plucking an invisible string of fate.
In the distance, on Quiet Mountain, the player corpses arranged neatly in rows were all loaded back to life.
Yet Rita’s gaze remained fixed on the river.
It was as though she could see the heroic souls who had died in battle and sunk to the riverbed, unable to be found.
As though she could see the damaged B80 lying at the bottom of the river.
The river passed through the piers.
The worlds hung above it.
This long river separated the worlds of the myriad races from Quiet Mountain.
She could not empty it or take it back.
Not only because Prisoner Codex was already nearing its limit.
But also because this river was an indispensable part of Starsea and Quiet Mountain.
Its existence isolated the worlds.
Disrupted time.
Narrowed the time gap between world and world.
While she had been carving the rules of the Third Epoch, many players had already landed on the river surface.
They were trying to salvage their fallen comrades.
Trying to use various skills to retrieve the players’ remains.
As long as they could recover the bodies, BS Rita could load them back.
She could return the dead to their side.
Mistblade had lit a cup of white snow.
A withered branch was stuck in the snow.
Holding that bottle of incense, she walked over the river, trying to find Flowering Edge and the other Moonfox who had sunk beneath the surface.
Maple Syrup flew back and forth above the river.
In her hands were two dim, lightless owl feathers.
She was looking for Maple Mu and Zoey.
Her maple-red curls were scattered messily behind her head.
Her spear had only half its shaft left.
Her cloak was in tatters.
Since leaving High Tower, this was the first time Rita had ever seen Maple Syrup look so battered.
If skills could be used after entering the river, this Owl Emperor would probably have dived to the bottom long ago.
"My victory does not require sacrifice."
That sentence seemed to still echo beside Rita’s ears.
A damaged cube appeared in Rita’s palm.
This was the B80 of the Twelfth Epoch.
Now that she had seized control of the Ash Legion from Rust Monument, she would not lack the authority to read B80’s archive.
But she knew this would inevitably fail again.
Even so, Rita still tried once.
Light shone between her brows.
[Read failed. Archive error.]
As expected.
There was no problem with authority.
The archive itself had an error.
Because the past B80 still slept at the bottom of the river.
So how could the future B80 appear?
Yet this was the river Rust Monument had created to kill her completely.
Space and time were disordered within it.
How was she supposed to anchor anything there?
At that moment, Rita suddenly blinked.
Her eyes widened slightly.
The cube was put away.
A golden bullet appeared in her palm.
[Romantic]
"Bet part of yourself that your treasure will return to your side. When the gunshot rings out, will you feel regret or anticipation?"
As long as she gambled any one of her personality traits, [Romantic] had a chance to bring her treasure back to her side, ignoring all restrictions of rules, time, and space.
But when the gun fired, if the bullet was not [Romantic], she would permanently lose the personality trait she had wagered.
She had once used this bullet to provoke Foolishness.
Because when an arrogant person considered whether to use this bullet, they were examining themselves.
Examining which part of themselves could be discarded.
What about her?
Which trait would she use to gamble for B80’s return?
Which part of herself would she wager to bring back her Unique Key?
The result would surely be good.
But how many gunshots would it take?
And which personality trait could she accept losing forever?
Her suspicion?
Her arrogance?
Her softness?
Her greed?
Stubbornness?
Restraint?
Calm?
Or caution?
She could not choose.
She simply could not choose.
She and Foolishness were the same kind of person.
That was why, back in the Toy Palace, she had been certain Foolishness could not discard any part of herself.
Because to arrogant and self-assured people like them, every personality trait was an indispensable part of the self.
There was no such thing as strengths and weaknesses.
The Sharp Imperfection in their souls was, to them, a sharp weapon used to clear obstacles.
Yet during that silent span of thought and hesitation, she had unconsciously taken out [Foolishness Game].
She loaded the bullet named [Romantic] into it.
Even when the gun barrel pressed against her head, she was still thinking about what she should give up.
Nivalis transformed into dragon form and guarded her side.
Of course she knew about the [Romantic] bullet.
She could clearly sense BS Rita’s struggle and hesitation.
But she could also sense that what this person was struggling over was not whether to use the bullet.
Foolishness also moved closer to watch the fun.
During the battle earlier, she had already seen those two bullets.
If she remembered correctly, BS Rita now had a full seven bullets.
Not only had she collected all six bullets, she also had the two most special ones.
[Past] and [Future].
Which one was she going to use now?
Foolishness stared at BS Rita with bright eyes.
Although her face was still stained with blood, her glasses were broken, her right hand holding the gun was still dripping blood, and even her white battle robe with blue patterns had disappeared at some point, Foolishness’ face was full of burning curiosity.
But soon, that curiosity was replaced by a faint smile.
Because she saw the anger, hesitation, and helplessness between BS Rita’s brows.
So BS Rita was going to use [Romantic] to bring B80 back to her side.
The only question was what personality trait she planned to wager.
Which part of herself would she gamble?
Bang!
The gunshot rang out so suddenly.
Even when the cylinder spun, the struggle in BS Rita’s eyes had not fully faded.
A golden shadow passed through her head and shot into the sky.
Then it curved in an arc and dove into the river.
Splash.
A damaged cube broke through the river surface and rushed straight toward BS Rita.
Although she tried hard to keep her expression steady, anyone could see the lingering fear and relief in her eyes.
She had won the bet.
One shot.
Her treasure returned to her side, and she did not lose a personality trait.
But she had still placed a wager.
Foolishness leaned in and pressed,
"What did you bet?"
Rita caught the damaged cube that rushed into her arms.
Then she turned around with her back to Foolishness, clearly refusing to answer the question.
At that moment, Maple Syrup teleported in front of her.
She reached out and tightly gripped BS Rita’s wrist.
Her voice was urgent.
"How did you do it?"
Rita glanced at the pendulum.
There were seven minutes left before this place was destroyed.
She did not brush Maple Syrup off.
She could tell that Maple Syrup’s voice had already been stretched to the breaking point.
Rita answered solemnly,
"[Foolishness Game]. Its bullets can ignore restrictions of rules, time, and space to retrieve lost treasures."
"Leave here first. After we get out, I’ll lend you Foolishness Game."
"The beings at the bottom of the river will not be destroyed by the bell. They also won’t be left in the past. Otherwise, it would become a paradox."
These words were not only for Maple Syrup.
They were also for every player currently looking at her with expectation in their eyes.
Maple Syrup released her hand.
Only then did Rita tighten her grip on the cube belonging to the B80 of the Third Epoch.
But the next second, she froze.
She had never saved an archive for it.
She could not "revive" the Ash Inspector she knew.
Her only choice was to use the authority she had obtained from Rust Monument to reboot it.
