Everyone looked at Ningguang in confusion.
Only Beidou shot her an annoyed glare. "What's wrong with you? The game's already over—whatever you have to say can wait."
Ningguang smiled brightly and turned to her. "Captain Beidou, have you forgotten something?"
"…What?"
A bad feeling crept into Beidou's heart.
"Heh. You were among the first to be eliminated. There should be a punishment."
The moment she said it, several players reacted.
Right—there was supposed to be a penalty.
They had felt like something was missing earlier, and now it clicked.
"Oh, there's still a show?"
"And we can watch up close this time!"
"Come on, hurry it up!"
The crowd instantly grew lively, urging Valerius to get on with it.
"You… you just wait," Beidou gritted her teeth. "He already forgot, and you just had to remind him?"
Ningguang smiled even wider. "I'll be looking forward to your performance."
Seeing her reaction, she felt extremely satisfied. Not only had she gotten a reward, but she might even get to watch Beidou suffer a punishment—truly a perfect ending.
However, Valerius suddenly spoke.
"There won't be any punishment this time."
Everyone froze.
"What? Why not?"
"Didn't you say there would be?"
"You opening the back door here?"
Valerius shook his head. "The role disparity in this game was too large. It wouldn't be fair to enforce punishments."
Indeed, the gap between roles had been extreme. Not just Phantylia as the Demon King—even many other roles were far stronger than villagers who could only sit around waiting to be eliminated.
If punishments were enforced, it would almost certainly fall on those unlucky enough to be villagers.
As for Beidou and Diluc being eliminated early—it was simply bad luck. They had run into Raiden Shogun, who preferred capturing rather than eliminating.
"…That makes sense."
"Yeah, the balance was pretty off."
Many players nodded in agreement.
Beidou, on the other hand, was delighted.
She raised her chin smugly at Ningguang. See? Not happening.
Then she strode over to Valerius, threw an arm around his shoulders, and laughed. "Nice. I like your style. Come to Liyue sometime—we'll have a drink."
Her enthusiasm made Valerius slightly uncomfortable.
A true social menace.
"If I get the chance."
"Good. Let me know when you do."
In a great mood, Beidou chatted a bit more before choosing to leave. She was already planning to go back and edit the footage she had recorded—specifically, to make a highlight reel of Ningguang.
You wanted to mess with me? Dream on.
Ningguang sighed. Looks like Beidou got away this time. Worse, she had probably earned Diluc's displeasure as well—definitely not worth it.
With no other choice, she returned.
Back in the lab, Ruan Mei immediately noticed a fox-eared woman standing nearby, smiling gently.
"Miss Ruan Mei, how was the game?"
"We lost," Ruan Mei replied calmly, picking up a data pad. "How are you feeling lately?"
The woman placed a hand on her chest, her brows slightly furrowed. "It still hurts… but this is already much better."
"You'll likely have to coexist with that destructive power from now on. Best to adapt sooner rather than later."
"I understand," she nodded.
Then she asked, "I'm quite curious about that game. Could you tell me about it?"
Ruan Mei gave her a meaningful glance before nodding. "I can, though you may not like what you hear."
"That's fine."
After inviting her to sit, Ruan Mei recounted the entire game.
"…So the Lord Ravager is heading to Belobog?"
"Most likely."
"I see…"
The woman fell into thought, then looked up again. "Miss Ruan Mei, how does one become a player?"
"I'm not sure. But I can ask."
Since she herself had been selected from the start, and later only saw players from other worlds join, she didn't know the exact requirements. So she opened the chat.
[Ruan Mei]: Valerius, are you there? I need to ask something.
[Valerius]: Miss Ruan Mei, what is it?
[Ruan Mei]: Are there any requirements for new players to join?
[Valerius]: …Do you have someone in mind?
Valerius was puzzled. Who could Ruan Mei possibly recommend?
[Ruan Mei]: A girl from the Xianzhou I helped. She's interested in the game.
[Valerius]: Tingyun?!
He suddenly remembered.
Wait—wasn't she supposed to awaken much later?
[Ruan Mei]: Yes, her.
[Valerius]: Give me a moment.
Valerius quickly made adjustments.
[Notice: Tingyun has joined as a new player. Welcome!]
[Yukong]: Tingyun! You're alright?!
[Jing Yuan]: It seems so. That's a relief.
[Yanqing]: Miss Tingyun, you made it through! That's great!
[Tingyun]: Thank you all for your concern. I am well now.
[Fu Xuan]: We owe Ruan Mei a favor. I'll repay it in the future.
[Ruan Mei]: No need.
Even Phantylia was surprised.
[Phantylia]: She actually survived?
[Tingyun]: Your "care," my Lord, is not forgotten.
[Yunli]: Let me at her!
[Fu Xuan]: This debt will be settled eventually.
[Phantylia]: I've already left Destruction, don't come after me.
[Feixiao]: You really went through with it, huh…
Then Tingyun spoke again:
[Tingyun]: General, I heard the Luofu will be visiting Belobog. May I take on this task?
[Jing Yuan]: …Very well. You and Yukong will go together. Look after each other.
[Yunli]: Need protection? My greatsword is unmatched!
[Yukong]: Yunli, we're not going there to fight.
Yukong rubbed her temples.
She could already tell—
Tingyun wasn't going there peacefully.
And if things weren't handled carefully this time—
They might end up in trouble again.
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