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“3x Lucky Lottery Tickets. 5x Unique Random Equipment Crates. 15x Epic Random Equipment Crates. What kind of godly rewards are these? I’m so jealous… envious… and furious!”

Looking at the rewards for the Legendary quest, Yae-hime almost drooled with envy. If she had been allowed to participate, she had at least ten different ways to secure first place and walk away with the lion’s share of the rewards.

For example, she could spar with Alicia under the pretense of an evenly matched duel and claim the highest damage dealt. Or she could repeatedly injure herself. Or she could have members of the Hidden Kill organization take turns fighting her. After all, even traitors could contribute damage!

If she fought everyone in the organization from top to bottom, the total damage output would have been absolutely terrifying. Unfortunately, the system had automatically classified Yae-hime as a traitor, costing her the chance to exploit the event.

Staring at the scarlet word [Traitor] displayed behind her PvP status, she felt utterly depressed.

“Ugh… it’s so red it’s practically glowing…” Letting out a soft sigh, Yae-hime looked toward the pillar of light once more. By then, the enormous pillar was shrinking at an astonishing speed.

In the end, it vanished completely.

“The quest was released ahead of schedule, which means Alicia’s breakthrough was a complete success. That’s wonderful, Alicia.” Withdrawing her gaze, Yae-hime sighed with emotion.

For the Eldest Princess, this day had been far too long in coming.

“As for me, I’ve been waiting just as long. In no more than three days, I have a very good chance of becoming a man again!” Clenching her fists, she looked up at the star-filled night sky, her eyes brimming with anticipation.

As long as she completed Alicia’s story quest and obtained permission to use the Saint Demon Roulette, returning to her male body would no longer be just a dream!¹　

Beneath the same sky, Yunuen and Little Fairy stared at their status panels with peculiar expressions. Naturally, they had also received the system announcement. The problem was that they couldn’t accept the quest at all. For the same reason as Yae-hime, the system had classified them as traitors.

Seeing the scarlet [Traitor] suffix after their names, they exchanged amused smiles.

“Yunuen, it looks like we’ve become enemies of the Jade Empire,” Little Fairy said.
“Yeah… what are we supposed to do now?” Yunuen replied with a wry smile.
“When in doubt, ask the Princess,” Little Fairy said with complete seriousness.
“Good point.” Yunuen nodded before immediately sending Yae-hime a message.

After waiting only a few seconds, a reply arrived.

“Princess wants us to head to Aoma Village right away.” After reading the brief message, Yunuen turned to Little Fairy.

“Let’s go.” Little Fairy didn’t even ask why and answered without hesitation.

Abandoning their original plans, the two sprinted toward Aoma Village.

Meanwhile, every Novice Village across the Linhnan server became the hottest gold mine that night. Under the overwhelming financial offensive launched by the major factions, it didn’t matter whether someone was a seasoned veteran or a complete newcomer. Almost everyone was bought over.

They had only one mission. To help those wealthy employers graduate from the Novice Village as quickly as possible and reach Jade City!

“A lot of major factions have entered the game ahead of schedule.” Looking at a trending forum thread that had been pinned to the top, Yae-hime spoke with a solemn expression.

She clearly remembered that these major factions weren’t supposed to enter until nearly a year later.

“The future has changed drastically. Whether that’s a blessing or a curse, no one knows anymore.”

The advantage she had possessed as a reincarnator had already disappeared the moment she brought the City of Chaos into the real world. At this point, all she could do was take things one step at a time.

“That said, our entire guild has been branded as traitors.” Closing the forum, Yae-hime opened the guild chat channel, where countless private messages from the members were waiting. Every single member had become a traitor!

“How exactly does the system determine this? Yunuen and Little Fairy participated in the underground labyrinth expedition, so it makes some sense. But Nangong Lin and the others haven’t even set foot in Jade City before. Could it be that simply belonging to the same guild was enough to be implicated? Or was it because of me? Ha, as if!” Shaking her head, she casually closed the guild chat.

Nangong Lin and the others weren’t in Jade City, so they wouldn’t be affected. Only Little Fairy and Yunuen were in real danger, which was why Yae-hime had summoned the two of them.

“Hime!” Suddenly, a cheerful voice rang out from behind her. The next instant, a tiny figure shot toward her like a cannonball.

“Zerene, why are you still wandering around outside?” Yae-hime gracefully turned around and caught the little girl in her arms.

“I missed Hime, so I came running around looking for you!” Zerene replied with a beaming smile.

“Oh, give me a break.” Yae-hime flicked her lightly on the nose.

“Hehe, actually, that pillar of light from earlier woke me up. Never mind that, Hime. I’m a little hungry. Do you have anything tasty to eat?” Rubbing her stomach, Zerene put on an adorably pitiful expression.

In return, Yae-hime rolled her eyes. This little glutton was hopeless too!

“What? There’s something tasty to eat!?” At that moment, a flash of blue light appeared ahead, revealing an adorable figure. It was none other than another glutton, Little Blue.

“Your ears sure are sharp,” Yae-hime said, both amused and exasperated.

“Master, is there something delicious to eat?” Pretending not to have heard her remark, Little Blue’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Standing beside them, Zerene silently regretted mentioning food. She could have had Hime all to herself. Instead, just those few words had attracted a formidable rival.

“At this hour…” Yae-hime had originally intended to say there was nothing to eat, but when she looked around, the entire area was brightly illuminated. It hardly looked like the middle of the night.

“Let’s head to the church. Maybe the chefs over there haven’t gone to sleep yet.” She quickly changed her mind.

“Yay!” Hearing that, Little Blue immediately threw herself into Yae-hime’s arms, occupying half of her embrace.

Zerene was quite dissatisfied, but there was nothing she could do about it. She could only firmly claim the other half.

Putting on her mask, Yae-hime lightly tapped the ground with her toes and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Even at this late hour, the church’s followers were still kneeling in prayer, their expressions filled with unwavering devotion. It seemed they had misunderstood Alicia’s breakthrough as something else entirely.

Yae-hime silently slipped past them. The moment she reached the entrance of the exquisitely decorated dining hall, she ran into Priest Micha.

After hearing the situation, Priest Micha immediately sprang into action as though injected with boundless energy, summoning every member of the kitchen staff. Thirty minutes later, the two little gluttons were enjoying an exquisitely prepared midnight feast that was almost excessively luxurious.

As for the taste, Little Blue’s evaluation consisted of just two words. “Not bad.” It seemed this little foodie had become quite spoiled by fine cuisine.

Yae-hime gave her own portion to the two of them before opening the forum to check on the latest developments in Jade City. The first thing that caught her eye was the hottest thread on the forum.

«Want Gold? I’ve Put It Right Here. If You’ve Got the Ability, Come and Take It!»

The title contained no “shocking,” no “astonishing,” and certainly no “terrifying beyond belief,” which felt strangely unfamiliar to Yae-hime.

Opening the thread, she found it was the same old routine, spending huge sums of money to recruit players. The only difference was that this time, the price Taurus offered had doubled. The monthly salary had reached twenty thousand.

Of course, that treatment was reserved exclusively for contracted elite players. Ordinary players were still paid according to how much they contributed. The benefits weren’t particularly impressive, and the promotion path was extremely narrow.

Securing an elite contract was anything but easy. Even so, an overwhelming number of players still chose to join the guild. It was as though the tyrannical contract scandal had never happened.

“Humans never seem to learn from their mistakes.” Reading through the comments below, Yae-hime couldn’t help but let out a faint chuckle.