NOVPUBNivalis didn't hesitate.
"I'll be the Overstocked Doll. Better I lose Blocks than you. Plus, I wanna mess with the Usage Instructions."
She moved to the side of Machine #2 closest to Machine #3. Rita flew over as well and used the borrowed [Substitute] skill on Nivalis.
One human, one dragon — their appearances swapped.
Rita became a Block dragon, and a notification rang in her ears: she had lost her Overstocked Doll status.
Nivalis, on the other hand, transformed into a Block-rich "billionaire" with over 200 Blocks, practically glowing with a neon sign that read "Overstocked Doll."
Rita started examining the skin she had swapped from Nivalis.
Nivalis had started the game with 63 Blocks. She earned 24 more in the last round, but after paying the first hour's play fee and the pirate ship entry, she only had 85 when entering the claw machine.
She lost 5 after being caught in Machine #1, got dumped into Machine #2 after failing to catch a Doll, then lost another 10 after being caught again. Thankfully, she succeeded in grabbing a Doll right after and earned another 10 Blocks.
So overall, she should've been down by 5 Blocks.
But when Rita counted the Blocks on this swapped skin, she found she had 4 more than expected.
That meant Nivalis had somehow gained 9 Blocks — likely by killing Hot-Selling Dolls.
Except… the arrangement of the Blocks was haphazard. Nivalis had lazily slapped them onto her back in spots that wouldn't hinder movement. No wonder Rita thought she'd been missing a Block when she saw her earlier.
"Not bad," Rita said. "You took down nine Hot-Selling Dolls?"
Nivalis: "Nah, I just stole them. Why waste the effort?"
Rita: "......"
It was over. She'd raised a crooked child.
Hard to teach good habits. Easy to teach bad ones.
Rita's vision went dark for a second. Images of dragons flashed through her mind — Holy Cup, Northyear, Snow Pile, Emperor Umbrella, Wind Shear… like a family reunion. All casting judgmental skills at her.
Lidian? Lidian was fine. If Rita ever disguised herself as Pine Bloom, Lidian might actually shield her from the rest.
She took a deep breath and reminded Nivalis:
"You're a dragon."
Nivalis: "Yup. A divine thieving baby dragon."
Rita: ...
Wait a minute.
Her brows slowly relaxed.
That's right!!
Nivalis' divine blessing included the title "Divine Thieving Baby Dragon." What did that mean?
It meant this child was born for their guild of thieves.
If she'd turned out this crooked, it was genetic. It was destiny. Had nothing to do with Rita!
Once she shifted the blame to fate, Rita felt a whole lot better.
She returned to killing Hot-Selling Dolls with zero hesitation. But at the same time, she kept a close watch on the few suspects she had flagged as likely Overstocked Dolls when she first entered.
A couple had dropped from suspicion due to frequent Block count changes.
But two still fit the profile perfectly.
Now that she had a moment to really look, something struck her — their Block counts seemed lower than before.
She circled both targets a few times, watching carefully.
No doubt about it.
They had fewer Blocks.
Her observational skills weren't what they used to be — they were far beyond. She wasn't the type to memorize every detail she passed, but anything she'd targeted, she noticed everything.
And these suspects? She'd been watching them for ages. She wasn't mistaken.
From the surface alone, one had lost 7 Blocks, the other 11.
One Hot-Selling, one Overstocked… Rita glanced up at the claw.
The only logical explanation for Overstocked Dolls losing Blocks? Something to do with the claw.
No time to dwell. With [Spring Scenery & Flowers] and [Fourfold Spring] still active, Rita jumped back into killing Hot-Selling Dolls.
Her theory wasn't confirmed until one minute before the game ended.
Nivalis: "Oh, I got a message. Says 10 Hot-Selling Dolls have been sold. Overstocked Dolls, overwhelmed by shame, lost 10 Blocks."
Exactly as she suspected.
A minute later, the floor beneath Rita vanished. She was sent sliding down the machine's chute, launching through the air and landing in the Doll Showcase Basket out front.
As she landed, a familiar payment box popped up in front of her.
Time for the park to collect the 2:45–3:45 play fee.
Rita had assumed she might have to pay mid-game, but she'd picked the claw machine because it wasn't high-stress — even if she had to pause to pay, it wouldn't be too disruptive.
Still, she was impressed. The game actually respected the player experience.
She plucked a Block from her body and tossed it into the payment slot, then flew out and landed on the platform beside the basket.
A few seconds later, Nivalis — still wearing Rita's skin — was flung out too.
Rita canceled [Substitute] immediately.
Moments later, a Block the size of a medium milk tea cup spun out of the chute, floating gracefully through the air before landing between Rita and Nivalis.
Just like Rita, her two companions also had payment boxes appear in front of them.
Both of them had earned profits this round — the payment was a breeze.
Rita turned to look at the tiny figure standing beside Nivalis… and didn't know what to say.
When B8017913 had entered, it had been barely 5 cm tall. A considerate little thing — it had rebuilt itself modestly, simple limbs and body, like a stick figure.
It had only improved its mobility and design a little.
Now?
It had tripled in size.
Its Block color scheme was harmonious, elegant — like a piece of art.
Rita was genuinely moved.
It was like finding out the troubled kid from a struggling family was actually top of the class.
She smiled warmly and was just about to praise it when—
Nivalis spoke first.
"Third Prince…"
Rita slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Nope. I don't want to hear it!"
Nivalis: "?"
Rita: "No more of those ancient meme jokes from grandma's era."
Nivalis: …Fine. Of all people, you're the last one who gets to say that.
She grumbled in the group chat:
"Fine, I won't say it anymore."
Rita released her and turned toward the street.
"Come on. Let's go process our Blocks."
Her two top employees followed without hesitation.
Behind her, Nivalis leaned in and whispered,
"Got taller again."
B8017913: "Mhm!"
Rita: "...…"
And in that moment, Rita finally understood the pain of a leader watching their subordinates get so close they start acting like they run the place.
