The moment Rita stepped into this trade zone, she sensed something different. It was bigger and far livelier than the previous ones. Both the Mechanoids and the players were far more numerous, almost triple the usual number.

And every player's expression looked troubled. Was the game here that difficult?

She quickly located the game stele.

[ Game: Majority or Minority? ]

Countdown: 00:05

Entering this zone counts as joining the game. You cannot withdraw. Leaving the zone will immediately trigger game-failure penalties.

Game duration: 10 minutes.

After the game begins, you must do everything you can to make yourself part of the minority.

Every 30 seconds is one round.

At the end of each round, the majority group with the most shared traits will be eliminated on the spot.

Eliminated players will be thrown out of the trade zone, and their next game reward will be cut in half.

Whoever survives until the end may select seven units of material from this zone.

[ Current players in this trade zone: 11839 ]

No wonder everyone looked miserable.

Rita finished reading the rules just as the countdown hit zero. A few clouds drifted overhead, rearranging themselves into a new 30-second countdown.

Anyone who could fly shot into the air. Rita leapt onto a nearby tree and climbed to the top to observe.

Staying as she was clearly wouldn't work. After scanning the area, Rita activated the Heart of the Druid and shifted into a barbaric form—a panda—clinging to the tree trunk.

From what she could tell, this form would probably get her through seven or eight rounds.

Other players noticed her strategy and began transforming too—but most could not. The number of skills and items one could bring into the Divine Game was limited. Unless you specifically reserved a slot for shapeshifting, you were stuck.

Round one ended.

All players wearing mage robes vanished.

Round two.

All players with long hair vanished.

Round three.

All players wearing leather armor vanished.

…

By round ten, fewer than two thousand players remained, most of them in beast form.

After hanging on the tree for five minutes, Rita perked up again.

She saw several black-and-white animals below—and many on all fours. The shared traits could go in many directions.

Orchid Mantis form? But there were plenty of players with small bodies too…

She dropped her druid form entirely, reverting to the silver-haired disguise she had worn on entering the zone. Then she reached into the gacha machine and pulled out two capsules. Tugging open the front of her loose black cloak, she tucked both capsules inside and popped them open.

[Wrathful Moon]: …What an undignified life this has become.

[Cat's Ideal]: …Warm. Safe.

Rita ignored both relics' commentary and relaxed. Right now she was a humanoid player openly holding two god relics. How could she not qualify as a minority?

She settled in on the tree branch and watched the chaos below.

And then she felt it—the cold tickle on the back of her neck.

This sensation was familiar.

Upgraded familiar. Like a curse coming back for a sequel.

She turned her head very slowly.

A Mechanoid had somehow climbed up the tree and was now standing directly behind her, staring at her with wounded, mournful eyes.

The seams of its cube head glowed faint pink.

One thought flashed through Rita's mind—here it comes.

Relying on her current disguise, she feigned confusion and used the hoarse Owl language—the universal dialect for doing something suspicious.

"What is it?"

L12185511 spoke with complete certainty.

"You forgot me."

Rita wanted to keep pretending. Maybe it was bluffing.

But B8017913's warning hit her mind like a siren:

Be careful with it.

Words reached her lips. She hesitated. Then she spoke the very line L12185511 had once said to her, letting her real voice slip out.

"My program glitched earlier. I said something outside the script. Don't take it to heart."

The soft pink glow inside the cube steadied, flickering gently. The little robot moved closer and sat beside her.

"I thought you'd resist longer."

Rita answered honestly.

"No need. You caught me. Better to admit it—maybe then you won't be as mad."

The Mechanoid fell silent again.

Rita quietly activated the arcane version of [Fishing Master] to scan its data—nothing. Everything was locked.

Fine. She would take back control of the conversation herself.

For her, L12185511 was a special Mechanoid. She had personally witnessed intelligence sprouting from dead wood, colors blooming on blank canvas. That loss of control was something she could not ignore.

Ever since learning what had happened to L12185511, she had replayed every moment they spent together. She was certain she had never said anything that would "mislead it emotionally." If anything, once she realized it was changing, her tone grew colder. The only mistake was turning back at the end to pick it up and fly with it again.

She had treated these little robots the way one treats cute stray cats or dogs.

Keeping her eyes on the game below in case anything changed, she said,

"I heard you were looking for me. Well, you found me. And then?"

She paused, then continued,

"I didn't do anything special. I didn't give you anything. Maybe you idealized me a little too much."

L12185511 finally lifted its head and looked at her instead of the ground.

"You won't stop haunting me. Every day, in every rumor, someone is talking about your name, your stories."

Rita was speechless.

She nodded.

Fair enough.

That was her fault.

She was too famous.

B80234615 (lots in front not yet trimmed): She enjoys hearing that again...

[You Are Being Watched] [You Are Being Watched] [You Are Being Watched] …

Rita had grown used to ignoring these voices, but this time there were too many—almost like the day she became the BS-Adjudicator.

She still whispered, "Sorry."

Even if she hadn't meant to, she had influenced a Mechanoid. And according to that world's rules, awakened Mechanoids were destroyed.

L12185511 didn't respond to her apology. Instead, it asked a question.

"If I get destroyed and thrown into the scrap zone, will you come look for me when you learn of it?"

The pink light inside its cube stopped blinking and glowed steady.

It looked at her, waiting.

"Yes."

Rita answered without hesitation.

Then quickly added,

"Because getting into the scrap zone is easy for me. If I found out, I'd go check on you. Just like when I took you flying. It wouldn't cost me much. And you were… connected to me."

Her explanation—cold, logical, and far longer than the initial yes—hung in the air between them.

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