I was so scared that I put all my points into health.

The twelve award ceremonies in Elparan Square were staging a mass defection. I clutched the charred celebration schedule, watching the three-meter-tall statue of the Holy Goddess, masquerading as a roasted suckling pig, skewering sizzling rock lizard meat on a scepter—clearly the illegal cooking equipment confiscated by the Alchemy Guild last week!

System notification: Contamination with Faith Power detected.

"It is recommended to consume 6000 gratitude points to activate the purification process."

Current gratitude level: 5723

The second princess's maid, lifting her skirt, rushed past the rolls of Yeti dolls from *Eternal Frost Chronicles*, her gilded trophy spraying rainbow-colored frosting. "Lord Raine!" she shrieked, "The *Mechanicus* cosplayers have turned the awards stage into a barbecue conveyor belt!"

I turned my head and saw twelve gear-armored cosplayers using a clockwork mechanism to drive a rotating grill, with rock lizard steaks floating in mid-air landing precisely on each guest's plate. One of the tentacle cosplayers from "The Abyss Gaze" accidentally shot a Shadow Venom Dart at the grill, resulting in an alchemical reaction between the venom and the barbecue sauce, exploding in the air with purple smoke that seemed to dance a jazz dance.

"This is the real cross-dimensional feast!" Master Silas's voice came from inside the statue of the Goddess of Holy Light. I watched as lime-scented flames spewed from the statue's eye sockets, and the Abyss Monster Compendium, which was supposed to be unlocked in three months, was now appearing as a sugar-coated relief on the surface of a roast suckling pig.

A sharp crackling sound of shattering porcelain suddenly echoed from the VIP section. President Winnie set down her milk tea cup, now shattered into a star-track pattern, the starlight gathering at her fingertips binding the out-of-control awards stage into a cocoon-like shape. "Mr. Ryan," she said, the starlight dust on her dress forming question marks, "did you notice the Kronos Chamber of Commerce's booth... an extra phonograph that reads 'A Brief History of Time'?"

I looked in the direction she pointed, and there it was—an antique gramophone engraved with gear emblems—was playing "The Phantom of the Opera" in a tenor voice, with pocket watch parts spraying out during each chorus. A cosplayer dressed as a character from "The Phantom's Secret History" was trying to steal a gear using Shadowstep, but was instead turned into a puppet prince from "Swan Lake" by a sudden burst of piano keys.

The awards ceremony completely fell apart amidst the aroma of barbecue. As the old-school scholars of the *Hourglass of Time* cosplay group rode around the dessert area on pocket watches magnified fifty times, the sugar-inlaid spacetime magic circles suddenly began producing somersaulting cream puffs. I futilely waved the schedule and shouted, "Next up is the Best Costume Award..." only to be hit on the head by a meteorite model summoned by the *Starfall* cosplayers—that chocolate lava ball contained a dragon embryo that was supposed to be unlocked in the expansion!

Special Notice: Cross-version item leak detected.

"Immediate destruction is recommended, but it will cost 8000 gratitude points."

"Insufficient gratitude points. Activate backup plan."

I grabbed the roast suckling pig scepter from the statue of the Goddess of Holy Light, and suddenly a caramel-colored beam of light shot from its tip. The dragon embryo struck instantly expanded into a balloon, and amidst the gasps of the Druid Codex cosplayer, it floated into the night sky, exploding into a sky full of shimmering maple syrup constellations.

"Lord Raine!" A goblin from the logistics team ran over, a pot lid on his head. "The player forums are going crazy with compilations of the celebration mishaps!" The recording crystal he handed him showed the live stream of "Xuan Niao Ge"—the streamer was pointing a folding fan at the rampaging Holy Light Goddess statue and screaming, "Look, guys! This BBQ-savvy statue is definitely a reference to the famous raccoon barbecue scene from 'Avengers: Endgame'!"

By the time the seventeenth stage collapse was dealt with, the moon had already climbed above the spire of the clock tower. I slumped by the fountain, munching on a cold rock lizard skewer, when suddenly the emblem of the Gear Cult appeared in the water's reflection. The black-robed man with the bird-beak mask tossed a bronze hourglass into the water, and as the sand sank, it spelled out ancient Elvish characters on the bottom—"At the eighth sunset."

China·Xuan Niao Ge Live Stream Room

"Look at this magic lantern that sprays chili powder, babies!" The streamer "Nuomi Tuanzi" poked the floating device with a folding fan. "It's even more outrageous than the mechanisms in 'Joy of Life 2'! Just now, an old alchemist grandfather actually used a time accelerator to make jianbing guozi..." The screen suddenly shook, and a tentacle model of a cosplayer from "Dark Tide" was chasing after a Hanfu elf for an autograph.

American Steam Brotherhood

Mechanic Kevin cut up a cloak from Loki Season 2 to make a mage robe, and the live stream camera focused on a cosplayer making hamburgers on a gear grill: "Guys, this is way more exciting than a comic convention! I bet that dancing goddess of light statue uses the same algorithm as Tesla robots..." Suddenly, he was hit on the back of the head by a flying cream puff, and the cream exploded into a nebula pattern in front of the camera.

Japan's Cherry Blossom Samurai Group

"This BBQ goddess is amazing!" College student player Hideki, controlling his ronin character, cleaved through the flying macarons, each one exploding with Demon Slayer-themed fireworks. His teammate, who was using fire magic to create moving ukiyo-e prints in the night sky, was suddenly sucked into the pocket watch of an Hourglass cosplayer and teleported to the top of an Attack on Titan wall model.

Gratitude Points Lottery Announcement

List of unusual prizes for this period

1. Air conditioner odor jar (disguised as a pepper shaker)

2. Automatic cleaning cape (mixed in with cosplay costumes)

3. Memory Bubbles (mistaken for children's soap balls)

4. Voiceprint Imitation Necklace (hanging at the music box booth)

5. Anti-spoiler eye mask (stuffed inside a barbecue sauce container)

Special incident report

The Starry Crystal Trophy for the "Best Costume Award" was absorbed by the Abyss Core by a cosplayer of "Abyss Watcher," causing the stage manager to sprout rap-like tentacles. Solution: President Vinnie used the bottom of a milk tea cup to imprint a sealing magic circle, turning it into an automatic sprinkler system.

Next chapter preview: Chapter 200 The Space-Time Rift in the Milk Tea Cup

- The hourglass at the bottom of the water caused a dimensional oscillation

President Winnie discovers the mysterious equation for the formation of milk tea foam.

- Newcomer: Time-Traveling Repairman "Tick-Tock Grandpa"

- The key item "Rusty Pendulum" appears on the black market