After Sparkle, it was the next player's turn.
When the white-haired beauty walked into the room, even Valerius's eyes lit up.
Black and white.
Dangerously attractive.
Sure enough, the "crane-style" aesthetic was far more alluring than the "plain" type.
"Please sit, Miss Shenhe."
Shenhe sat down across from him.
"You may now choose three cards. I'll give you hints, and then you'll vote."
"Oh."
She nodded stiffly, her gaze wandering over the cards.
For a while, she couldn't decide which ones to pick.
"No need to be nervous. Just relax and take your time," Valerius said gently.
Seeing her hesitation, he tried to reassure her.
After all, her past was rather tragic, and he couldn't help feeling a bit protective toward her.
So he didn't rush her and simply waited.
Unexpectedly, Shenhe shook her head calmly.
"I'm not nervous."
"As long as I defeat everyone else later, I'll be first place."
[Ganyu: Pfft~~~~ Shenhe?!]
[Chongyun: Auntie???]
[Keqing: My goodness, she actually thought of that?]
[Ningguang: Well… it does make some sense.]
[Xiangling: But she can't beat everyone, right?]
[Raiden Ei: So that's an option… learned something new.]
[Jing Yuan: For someone so reserved to think of this… someone must have taught her.]
[Herta: Most likely.]
[Yanfei: Then… the person who taught Shenhe must be…]
[Hu Tao: When you think about it…]
[Gaming: Could it be Aunt Xianyun?!]
[Xianyun: Insolent! When did I ever teach that girl such things? She must have learned bad habits from this game.]
Even the viewers were stunned.
No one expected Shenhe to come up with something like that.
Valerius was speechless too.
He'd almost forgotten—this was a girl with very little common sense.
He quickly grabbed her hand.
"Wait, wait, wait—don't do that!"
This is a game, not a real-life battle royale!
Besides, she was strong, yes—but it depended on who she faced.
There were people outside who could beat her.
She'd just be walking into trouble.
When Valerius suddenly grabbed her, Shenhe shuddered and instinctively pulled back.
She wasn't used to being touched.
Yet… she felt strange.
Normally, if anyone dared touch her, she'd slam their head into the ground.
But just now, she hadn't felt angry.
She'd felt… flustered.
That was new.
"Then… alright."
She abandoned the idea.
Turning back to the cards, she focused again.
"This one."
She picked a card and handed it to Valerius.
"Oh, this one is the Double-A Power-and-Speed Girl."
Shenhe: "???"
What kind of name was that?
Why would anyone be called that?
She picked another.
"And this one is the Flashy Little Peacock."
Still didn't understand.
Another one.
"And this is 'Lingering Echoes.'"
Great.
Three hints, and she understood none of them.
"Alright, you may vote now."
After thinking for a moment, Shenhe decided to vote for "Lingering Echoes."
She didn't know who the others were.
But the word "echoes" made her feel vaguely uncomfortable.
She remembered once returning to her hometown.
A neighbor had told her her father had died by hanging himself.
Though her emotions were dulled, the word still left her uneasy.
It didn't feel like something good.
"I'll vote for this one."
"Alright."
Valerius wrote it down.
"You can wait outside now. And don't do anything strange, okay?"
"Oh."
She nodded stiffly and left.
[Sunday: What do you mean? Bullying my sister?!]
Unhappy.
He'd thought this white-haired immortal girl seemed decent.
Now he found her increasingly annoying.
[Kuki Shinobu: How is that bullying?]
[Keqing: Exactly… Only you're allowed to win?]
[Kamisato Ayato: As a brother, I despise this attitude.]
[Gepard: Big bro, I'm not siding with you this time.]
[Lyney: If your sister is a player, she should be treated fairly.]
[Sunday: What if it's your sister getting eliminated next time?]
[Kamisato Ayato: Whoever dares… I'll deal with them.]
[Gepard: Brothers protecting sisters is only natural.]
[Lyney: No argument… Villain, prepare to die!!]
[Kamisato Ayaka: ...]
[Lynx: ...…]
[Lynette: ...…]
[Yanqing: You people are unbelievable.]
[Hanya: I'm so jealous of sisters with brothers protecting them…]
[Xueyi: No need to envy. I'll apply to the Ten-Lords Commission for a male body.]
[Fu Xuan: That's unnecessary. Seriously.]
[Jing Yuan: Yukong, contact the Ten-Lords Commission. Don't let Xueyi change bodies.]
That was terrifying.
You can't just change bodies like that!
[Huohuo: L-Lady Xueyi, please don't scare me…]
[Sampo: Kinda looking forward to it, though.]
Outside, Shenhe rejoined the others.
They immediately gathered around her.
"So? Who did you vote for?"
"I don't know who it is," Shenhe shook her head.
"But the name was 'Lingering Echoes.'"
"Pfft—"
Yae Miko burst out laughing.
This girl was something else.
She'd actually voted for Robin.
"Wait…"
Miko suddenly realized something.
If Shenhe revealed her target,
then anyone who drew "Lingering Echoes" afterward would follow her vote.
After all, that was the safest strategy.
A guaranteed elimination.
"Nice. This girl's really reliable."
Miko felt much better.
Wasn't she Ganyu's junior?
Sure enough, people from Ganyu's circle were dependable.
She'd helped Miko a lot without even realizing it.
"Uh… this…"
Miko was thrilled.
But Robin was completely stunned.
"Lingering Echoes" was obviously her.
And now it had been exposed in public!
Wasn't that basically announcing her doom?
"No, I need to talk to Mr. Valerius later."
"This is basically cheating."
[Jade: Heh… this is getting interesting.]
[Sunday: What the hell?! Valerius, do something!]
[Ruan Mei: As if Valerius would intervene.]
[Sunday: Why not? This is cheating!]
[Screwllum: A question—why are players allowed to enter one by one, yet not isolated afterward?]
[Dr. Ratio: Conclusion: This is within the rules. In fact… it's part of the game design.]
[Topaz: Miss Robin… goodbye.]
[Black Swan: How intriguing. She'll be the second eliminated, won't she?]
[Stelle: Which means… punishment.]
[Sunday: Hmph. The game isn't over yet. Anything can happen.]
[Kamisato Ayato: Give up. As long as the others aren't idiots, they'll know what to do.]
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