NOVPUBOne by one, players vanished from the field — and this time, even more than before.
It wasn't just because Rita now had 108 Blocks-worth of boosted stats. The bigger reason was that [Balanced Nutrition], with its homing bacon slices, had a much higher hit rate than her previous skill [Grand Opening Special], which relied on attack speed. Dodging was nearly impossible.
Only 19 bumper cars remained in motion.
B8017913 ignored the growing mountain of whole wheat buns in the car and dove into rapid Block collection.
Rita, on the other hand, left the bumper car entirely, flying across the field to gather as many Blocks as she could. Every couple of seconds, she would tap her foot against a bumper car to reset the game's internal timer — if she stayed off too long, she'd be penalized.
Moments like this, where so many players had been sent back to respawn, were the only chance she had to safely leave her car. Normally, she'd never risk it — she had to stay close to protect Nivalis and her own bumper car.
Thanks to the scramble, Rita grabbed 36 Blocks before they vanished. Nivalis and B8017913 added another 17 between them.
Twelve seconds later...
The horde returned.
But unlike last time — when players instinctively retaliated — this time, everyone did the same thing: run.
Seven different concealment skills like [Hide and Seek] were instantly layered on top of each other. The arena was plunged into a darkness so deep it felt like an eternal eclipse. Not even Rita's Flamewing Halo or the dashboard's magic notes glowed anymore.
This kind of skill hadn't been used before — clearly someone had finally cracked open their long-cooldown emergency abilities.
Rita: …Seriously?
They couldn't drive like this at all.
Nivalis brought their car to a full stop. She and B8017913 began scooping up the whole wheat buns littering the vehicle interior.
Each bun had a different healing value.
Rita had prepared them specifically in anticipation of a counterattack. Now they were totally unnecessary…
Or were they?
Rita cast [Lightning Cage], creating a net of electrified threads she flung out like a fishing net. Any player the web contacted counted as a "locked-on" target.
A few gasps rang out. Rita immediately used [I Just Want to Improve So Badly] to steal from them.
She could have activated [Family Bucket] again with another offensive skill to start slaughtering anew…
But there was no point. She couldn't see, couldn't target, and couldn't collect the Blocks that would drop.
Even if she cleared out half the arena, the others would just profit from the respawn mechanics. Why help the competition?
She decided to keep her gains to herself.
When her health dipped, she just snacked on the whole wheat buns.
Rita sighed.
If only [Family Bucket] worked with [I Just Want to Improve So Badly]. That would be broken — they were practically made for each other!
Someone should mod this.
She tossed a handful of buns to Nivalis.
"If you're willing to burn some Arcane Power, try locking onto someone while you eat and steal at the same time."
Nivalis: "See that? This is how I got corrupted."
B8017913: "Understood."
Rita chewed on buns like she was watching TV at home — relaxing, yes, but expensive in Arcane Power.
Sure, using skills to kill consumed Arcane Points too, but at least kills guaranteed Block drops — even if you didn't always pick them up.
Stealing? You could spend 8 Arcane Points and get nothing.
Rita: "If we land five more hits, that should light up the rest of our notes, right?"
Nivalis: "Yeah. Both the ninth and tenth notes only need two hits each to finish."
B8017913: "The eighth note's car isn't far. If they haven't moved during this blackout, it's at your 9 o'clock, 17.7 meters away. Can your [Side Hustle: Racer] still work in this kind of environment?"
Nivalis: "Of course it does!"
She popped a bun into her mouth, flicked the wheel, and slammed the accelerator.
—— Dala-laa~
A soft chime rang out as the eighth note lit up. A flash of white light matched the color of their car — then vanished into the darkness.
Nivalis: "Why does our car sound like a rusted gong while everyone else gets violins, pianos, or guzhengs…?"
B8017913: "The ninth car's last location is tricky — twelve o'clock, but there are thirteen cars in the way. Hard to get through. The tenth car, though, is more doable — only three cars in between."
Nivalis: "Let's go!"
Guided by B8017913's directions, they reached where the tenth car had been before the blackout — but it was gone.
Rita: "Do you remember what race the player in that car was?"
B8017913: "Yes. Lisu. Only one Lisu player here — it has to be their car."
Rita: "Alright. I'll try something. Listen carefully."
Most skills got visually swallowed by the dark the moment they were cast.
But [Top Chef], a hard crowd control skill, hadn't been tested yet.
It was time. Time to shed another disguise — or rather, time for evolution.
A dazzling glow exploded on Rita's arm.
The word "TOP," enlarged, glowing, and outlined in sparkles, lit up the pitch-black arena.
And just like that—
It was daytime.
"What? You're a Top Chef?!"
"What? You're a Top Chef?!"
"What? You're a Top Chef?!"
"What? I'm a Top Chef?!"
Three seconds later—
Darkness again.
B8017913: "1 o'clock! 13 meters!"
Nivalis gunned the engine.
A few seconds later, a deep gong echoed through the black.
Their bumper cars had made contact — but from the front.
Problem was, bumper cars couldn't go in reverse.
If Nivalis turned around to hit them again, the target would likely be long gone.
But just as the first hit registered, Rita launched herself forward and kicked the back of the other car with all her strength.
Her Flamewing Halo flared to full output.
Kicking, pushing, dragging — she shoved the car forward several meters.
The enemy driver caught on and hit the gas, trying to flee.
Rita yelled: "One, two—!"
Nivalis, already prepared, timed her move to Rita's countdown.
As soon as Rita hit "two,"
CRASH — second impact.
Tenth note lit.
Rita hopped back into the car. Nivalis spun the wheel and sped away — they'd completed their mission, and the others could track them too, after all.
Their team's progress was miles ahead of everyone else.
With Nivalis' top-tier driving and Rita's kill-stacking speed boosts, their pace was unmatched.
They weren't panicked.
But the other players were.
Two-thirds of the game had passed.
Most bumper cars?
Only half their notes were lit.
