This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 1148 Divine Game: Quiet Mountain 31

The silly child finally quieted down completely.

Deceitful Bloom led the way, with BS Rita following behind, intently flicking the coin, her wrists connected by the Vine. Deceitful Bloom wasn’t worried about losing her; she’d be able to sense if anything went wrong.

Nivalis and B80 popped their heads out from under the hood. Nivalis, confused, asked, "Why are we going to Midsummer?"

Deceitful Bloom tugged on the Vine, pulling BS Rita up beside her before answering, "She has a mutated elemental companion from the Celestialkin. When we reach Midsummer, she can practice resonating with other Celestialkin’s companion elements. The more Celestialkin she resonates with, the better her comprehension will be. Once she reaches a certain stage, she can combine abilities with another Celestialkin."

The difference between Uncharted Star Sea and Quiet Mountain was the approach to player development.

Quiet Mountain selectively nurtures the most promising players. As the victor of the previous era, it has the right to replicate the geniuses of Uncharted Star Sea. It doesn’t care about who they are—just pushes them to their limits.

Quiet Mountain is serene, but the players suffer.

Uncharted Star Sea, however, strives to create a relatively fair environment where excellent players can carve their own path. All the gods must follow the rules. They can give preferential treatment within the rules to their kin or favored players, but nothing more.

It’s only after The Bell Tolls that the gods will intervene to cultivate the player who will represent Uncharted Star Sea.

Uncharted Star Sea may be chaotic, but its players have order.

That’s the fundamental difference between the two worlds.

Right now, it wasn’t yet time for formal cultivation. Deceitful Bloom bringing BS Rita to Midsummer to experience resonance wasn’t against the rules. Uncharted Star Sea would probably be thrilled. After all, Uncharted Star Sea didn’t have many Celestialkin to work with...

After saying this, BS Rita showed no reaction, still focused on the coin, her eyes following it as it flew up and down.

Deceitful Bloom wasn’t upset. She knew BS Rita was in a unique state where complex communication was impossible, but this had its advantages. Once they reached Midsummer, she could give her a task, quick and efficient, without having to deal with the lingering issues between them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Deceitful Bloom saw the coin flip and disappear.

Under the hood, Nivalis and B80 were arguing about whose memory was more dominant in the coin. Nivalis claimed it was hers, but B80 had its own reasons—reasons that involved Y128 and 7777.

Such childish arguments.

But Deceitful Bloom, feeling a sudden impulse, connected with the Flower of Deceit in BS Rita’s eyes. In an instant, she and BS Rita shared a mutual understanding.

Images from the coin’s illusions flickered through Deceitful Bloom’s mind.

—"I told you I was right!"

—"Why didn’t you drink that seafood soup? Just like why I didn’t use [Ancient Curse]."

The coin flew again, but before she could see the rest of the image, it landed in BS Rita’s palm, and the image disappeared.

Was the food street a happy memory?

It should be. After all, it was her first major success.

Deceitful Bloom chuckled softly.

Then the conversation inside the hood shifted. Nivalis and B80 were now debating whether Deceitful Bloom would be in the sighs.

"No way, she definitely cut herself out of it!"

"Not necessarily. You know, sometimes when she gets stubborn, it’s terrifying. After all, Deceitful Bloom taught her for so long. She can’t completely deny her. Didn’t you notice that she always targets DawnCicada, but never really insults Deceitful Bloom?" B80 made a good point.

"What? Is DawnCicada a stand-in?"

Deceitful Bloom had long gotten used to the strange way the dragon spoke, but she had a new question. "How dare you two call me by name?"

There was a rustling in the hood before the conversation continued.

"Well, anyway, even though she’s risen to represent the entire Vineborne race because of what that unnamed Vineborne did, she has complex feelings about that unnamed Vineborne."

"That makes sense. But still, that unnamed Vineborne went too far."

Deceitful Bloom sighed inwardly. There was only one thing she could say: it was exactly what that guy’s pets would be like.

QM Rita stood atop the highest Mu tree in Forest Sea, overlooking the endless main city below.

Behind her, Quiet Mountain Maple Syrup, lounging in a rocking chair with her leg propped up, smoking a pipe, rocked back and forth. "You still have time to chase after her."

The other gods feared her, but Maple Syrup didn’t. From what she knew, Mistblade probably didn’t fear her either.

It was amusing. The two players who had betrayed QM Rita the most were also the ones closest to her in Quiet Mountain.

QM Rita was more concerned with another matter. "You said you saw the demon, Deceitful Bloom?"

"Probably not her," Quiet Mountain Maple Syrup said, her thoughts clearing after disengaging from the battle. "Could it be one of her summoning skills? Maybe a temporary request for divine help? If all of Quiet Mountain’s players are clones..."

The word prompted a cold glance from QM Rita.

Quiet Mountain Maple Syrup quickly corrected herself. "Alright, no more of that. If Quiet Mountain’s players are all clones of Uncharted Star Sea, then having two Deceitful Blooms isn’t impossible. It can’t be that the gods came down personally for SS Rita, right?"

But once she finished speaking, the balcony fell silent for a long while.

The sound of the wind through the trees filled the air as both of them thought the same thing: Why not?

Maple Syrup still lazily lay in her chair, not even sitting up. "So, what’s the plan? Are we going to gather everyone outside the game to hunt her down?"

Though it was said in jest, everyone knew it wasn’t possible. With the players of Uncharted Star Sea arriving, they were all busy finding their true forms. Getting into the Demon Game to help her ambush SS Rita was already the best they could do.

QM Rita obviously knew this as well, or she wouldn’t have offered a bargain. She turned her gaze away from the city below, looking back at Maple Syrup. "What about you? Aren’t you going to find the other version of yourself?"

"...No," Quiet Mountain Maple Syrup exhaled a puff of smoke, momentarily obscuring QM Rita’s gaze. These past few days, whether through pursuit or accidental encounters, she’d seen hundreds of players from Uncharted Star Sea.

Almost half of them, upon recognizing her, had the same reaction: shock and disbelief, followed by furrowing their brows as if to say: How could she look like this?

It reminded her of the little dragon earlier.

She didn’t know why she asked, but she responded, "Have you seen the Uncharted Star Sea me? How was she?"

"Like Forest Sea after a wildfire."

"...Can you speak plainly?"

"This is speaking plainly."

"Alright, then according to your ’plain speech,’ what about me?"

"You’re like Forest Sea covered by snow after a wildfire."

"Which one is better?"

"Compared to me, they’re both average."

Without warning, Quiet Mountain Maple Syrup tossed her pipe aside, but when she looked back, the balcony was empty.

Why is there such an annoying person?!