Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

"...same as my last round, so why did it skyrocket this time?"

Skyrocketing?

Yu Man crawled across the wide bed like a dog, landed gently on the ground, and staggered to the computer.

After taking a moment to read the text, she gave a look of disbelief.

It wasn't that I was shocked by the huge prize money, but rather——

"... "Time", you... you are so... vulgar and shameless." Yu Man was already sober to the extreme.

Senior Cat was confused: "Why are you suddenly mentioning the strongest being in the old world, the most ancient of the Three Secrets? Xiaoman, this deity who holds the power of time is too terrifying. We are merely characters in the scroll in His hands. Just mentioning His name will bring us His curse—"

"Now I call her Bird Old Five."

"...W-What?"

Yu Man angrily scolded the guy for being shameless. "Ah, Bird Old Five. Anyway, Shi Guang came to be my teammate. She wants to earn money from the Spring Split to make a movie... so this week's Spring Split prize money has been doubled."

"????"

Ignoring Senior Cat's extremely confused face, Yu Man just continued to read the announcement.

By this calculation, each champion can get 200 million US dollars after tax... I hope Bird Old Five doesn't take kickbacks.

But Yu Man, who had already eaten and drunk well, had no concept of money. She just read more information.

"The competition system hasn't changed, but there are equipment requirements. To ensure the quality of the battle, all players need to have level 7 equipment... Sigh, that's too low."

"For ordinary people, this is an unrealistically high threshold! Even a normal person would struggle to obtain a single piece of tier 7 equipment! Stop smacking your tongue, you cheating eel... No, tell me what's going on with 'Time'!!"

Unfortunately, that couldn't be explained in a few words, so Yu Man just continued to read the announcement.

However, there is no more exciting content afterwards.

The in-game rewards that Yu Man expected did not appear here.

"After all, this is a competition that has been handed over to humans, and it can only bring tangible benefits..."

"Well, Xiaoman, so the Rainbow Crystal League at the end of the year is the only crown... Wait, what exactly is Bird Old Five?"

Yu Man rubbed Senior Cat's head and said, "Be careful, this nickname is probably only mine. If you say it, you'll be cursed."

"……That?"

"But—Mao Laoliu, don't worry, I will protect you."

"???"

……

This morning, the announcement of the spring season caused a stir.

People talked about the wealth of the oilmen and the guide to watching the game in Dubai.

Talking about various companies and capitals entering the market at lightning speed to form teams and provide large sponsorships...

People are also curious about whether "Xiankan" can make a comeback. Not only that, for Gamelan, who just signed a big contract, people are analyzing how to build a galaxy battleship around him.

As the first star player of the modern era and representing Southeast Asia, can Gamelan take home the huge prize money?

But the topic is not just that -

There are still many extremely famous top players who have not appeared in the professional arena.

For example, in the legend, there is the number one monster who has never been defeated in a one-on-one fight in the arena.

Or the mysterious legend of being the first conqueror of an epic dungeon, pushing the game into a new expansion pack overnight.

Will they enter?

……

In the morning, indoors.

After breakfast, Xiaolu mysteriously knocked on the door and visited Yu Man's room.

Yu Man was not lying on the bed or in front of the computer, but in the bathroom, accompanied by the sound of water and the meowing of cats.

"—Eel, I bring a warning."

Yu Man, who was only wearing a long T-shirt, was helping Senior Cat take a bath, and his whole body was wet just like Senior Cat.

Both she and the cat were quite surprised when the deer suddenly appeared at the bathroom door.

The fawn has a serious expression, as if it is a prophet telling of the coming pagans and plagues.

"Eel, terrible days are coming."

"...What, what happened, Boss?" Could it be that he was discovered talking to Cat Senior?

The cat meowed a few times and struggled in the bathtub to express his fear of water in order to increase the credibility of his identity.

And the deer declared:

"The house is too old. When the south wind comes, it gets all damp and makes me feel uncomfortable all over."

Oh, it means Hui Nan Tian is coming...

Alas, this is indeed the spring season for the Guangzhou people.

The deer knocked on the glass and reminded, "The south wind is coming soon. Remember to close the windows and use the dryer when washing. My husband will send over the dehumidifier soon. It will be difficult for the cat to dry. Be careful."

"……receive!"

"……Meow!"

After saying that, the deer still hadn't left.

Instead, he walked into the bathroom as if it was natural and asked the question in another language.

"——Is that new teammate also one of your little secrets?"

Old World language.

Although it is very awkward and the wording is not precise enough, I can still understand it.

Not only Yu Man, but Senior Mao was also surprised.

"Boss... have you mastered it to this extent?"

"Xiaobing and your assistant are both very good teachers. Plus, this language is much simpler than I imagined. Especially after I understood magic, I found that Old World Language is just another variant of magic, which is very easy to understand."

This terrifying talent... She can indeed grasp the essence of things immediately.

Looking at the surprised Yu Man, Xiaolu continued to ask: "So, you will keep your promise - right?"

"Ah."

Yu Man was very honest, after all, this was a promise he had made.

"Boss, when you are ready to understand, I will tell you everything you are curious about in Old World language, including the new teammate... and the other one."

"That's enough—see you at lunch."

The deer smiled softly, then waved and left.

When her footsteps completely faded away, Senior Cat sighed and said, "Xiao Man, are you going to give me away too?"

"There's no rule that these stories need to be kept secret."

"……Too."

Yu Man rubbed the shower gel into bubbles and rubbed the cat's fur.

Maybe this is the last time I give it a bath.

"Anyway, as I just explained, Time is now my teammate. Next, I plan to go to the "Land of the Branded Past" to test the strength of the team."

While taking a bath, Senior Cat had heard the whole story from Yu Man.

It was shocked, helpless and silent.

The powerful "Time", who was once thought to be out of reach, is actually Bird Laowu who personally participated in the competition for the bonus and also joined the "Snake Restaurant".

This was quite a blow to Senior Cat.

What's even more terrifying is that after the spring season that he has been looking forward to is over and he has fulfilled his promise with the "Three Secrets", he will return to the old world.

What he welcomed was not the glorious road of "going against all things", but he had to bear the more shameful name of "Cat Laoliu", join the same "Snake Restaurant", and become the younger brother of Deer Boss.

"Ah... never mind." Senior Cat said helplessly, "Anyway, Xiaoman, don't go to the 'Land of the Branded Past'."

"Huh? Why?"

Yu Man had long planned to go to the famous hidden dungeon "Land of the Branded Past" to integrate the team after forming it.

That place is very much like an underground black boxing match. Under the rules established by a god who loves competition, one can compete with the phantoms of many teams and strong men in the past.

But Senior Cat understood it better than she did.

"Xiao Man, think about it, what would happen if you took Time there?"

"what happened?"

"The deity who rules the "Stigmata of the Past" will realize that the "Three Secrets" are actually participating in the competition... even if they're playing with a small account. And that deity is no pushover, so they might even implement some bugs, causing a lot of strange players."

"……It really is."

"By then, your path to winning the championship will probably become extremely difficult." Senior Cat was worried.

Yu Man asked again, "Then there's no other place for us to hone our skills."

After shaking off the water, Senior Cat looked at Yu Man with a sad face, "Aside from the underground black boxing scene, are there normal arenas and various illegal PVP zones?"

"……It really is."

235·Competition·Sports·Field

In the eyes of the Rust Remover, Rumana Seti is a very, very wonderful island.

She visited more than once.

Every time you come, the island's magical power surges. Every time you come, the island reveals new horrors.

As a blacksmith, she saw this as a bit like sharpening a knife: from the raw material to being forged into a blank, and then polishing it into shape and a sharp edge.

The person who forged this island - Eel, is no longer a simple customer, but has a special identity.

The president of the "Migration Chamber of Commerce"...has long been an unattainable existence.

The Migratory Chamber of Commerce has recently emerged in the Old World and has many terrifying rumors surrounding it.

It was said that it was its president who personally destroyed the once-prosperous "Youshi Merchant Guild." He then gathered a large number of high-ranking artisans to form this new guild, aiming to unite artisans and free them from exploitation by merchants.

In order to commemorate the eels, they named it "Migration Chamber of Commerce".

By now, the Huiyou Chamber of Commerce had already taken over most of the businesses of the Youshi Chamber of Commerce, establishing a firm foothold in the Old World. Furthermore, thanks to the presence of eels, they had also established a good relationship with the major foreign guild, Xiankan, resulting in a mutually beneficial relationship.

One of the founding members, the "Rust Remover," has just arrived at Lumana Seti with a shipload of special cargo.

pier--

"Welcome." A mysterious being greeted the Rust Remover.

She simply raised her finger, and the vast magical power obeyed her.

Without the need for any dock workers, the merchant ship was guided safely to the shore by magic.

The Rust Remover could not see the details of the person in front of him, but he knew that she must have reached the tenth level.

These beings who possess divine power always exude a unique aura of isolation from the world, and even swallow up the air around them.

"You...you are?"

"Your president's assistant, the 'Fate Changer,' a mere scholar."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Fate Changer's fingers circled, and the island's magic power quickly constructed elemental spirits.

Dozens of them, stable ice elements and magic, snuggled together, as harmonious as lovers.

They have no human form, but have arms for doing things, looking both dreamy and practical.

Perhaps noticing the craftsman's vigilance, the "fate changer" parted his long hair and smiled.

"Don't worry, these kids are just there to unload the cargo."