Greedy Wolf wasn’t slow.
Looking at the portrait, he could guess what it really was: a warning.
Rhine was telling him, “I’m watching.”
Greedy Wolf only found it amusing.
If anything, he liked the painting more after that.
He studied Zhuyuan Li’s face on the canvas, then smiled.
“Hang it,” he told White Lion.
Not because he cared about the woman.
Because he wanted the reminder.
A reminder that Rhine existed—and that Rhine had the nerve to reach into his palace and slap him across the mind without leaving a mark.
A trophy, too.
Greedy Wolf had never been the type to hide from a challenge.
If Rhine wanted his attention… fine. Greedy Wolf would give him attention.
He’d just return it with interest.
Tier 4 had brought him many changes, but one discovery made him laugh out loud.
His Talent—Plunder—could steal Divinity Fusion itself.
Not only items.
Not only “materials.”
Fusion.
Progress.
The thing every Player killed and bled for.
That meant he no longer had to start at zero when he entered the Mid-Ring.
He could start at 1,000 / 100,000.
All he had to do was plunder Rhine first.
***
Far away, inside the Shadowed Stranger’s independent space, Rhine’s eyes narrowed.
He could feel it now—Greedy Wolf’s intent, sharp and bright as a blade.
Not just a general hostility.
A very specific hunger.
He wanted Rhine’s Fusion.
Rhine didn’t look away.
He simply reached out with his Tier 3 ability—the one that had always felt like cheating.
Sense malice.
Erase intent.
And he erased.
***
Uranos Peak.
Greedy Wolf blinked, suddenly blank.
For a heartbeat, the world turned unreal. His thoughts vanished, like someone had cut the strings that held them in place.
The threads snapped back.
He understood instantly.
Rhine.
Greedy Wolf let out a low laugh.
“So you’re already above a thousand,” he murmured.
If Rhine could erase his intent so cleanly, Rhine’s Fusion had to be higher than Greedy Wolf’s. Which meant… the prize would be even better.
He leaned back against the throne, eyes half-lidded, voice soft.
“Fine. I get it.”
A warning.
A signal.
A promise.
Greedy Wolf didn’t fear the promise. He welcomed it.
Before the Mid-Ring opened, he would come.
And he would plunder everything Rhine had.
***
That night, Rhine returned to the Player World.
Huang Yanyan was waiting for him, her expression complicated—tired, but bright around the edges.
“You heard?” she asked.
Rhine blinked. “Heard what?”
She exhaled, then said it plainly.
“I’m the new queen.”
For a second, Rhine just stared at her.
He laughed once, short and real, and gave her a small nod. “Congratulations.”
Huang Yanyan rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I wanted to be a queen. The crown prince died, and everyone needed someone on the throne to keep their interests balanced. The seat is… too special. So they needed the ‘best fit.’”
She paused, then admitted, more seriously, “I refused at first. We’re not from this world. It’s hard to swallow monarchy as a concept.”
Rhine listened without interrupting.
“But then I realized—if I’m on that throne, I can actually change things,” Huang Yanyan continued. “Fix some of the worst laws. Reform the parts that don’t make sense.”
Rhine nodded. That sounded like her. She wasn’t chasing power for the thrill of it.
“And the governors?” he asked. “Did they accept you?”
Huang Yanyan snorted. “Of course they didn’t.”
“In the closed-door meeting, the island governors nearly tore each other apart. But Skye backed me.”
Rhine’s brow lifted.
Huang Yanyan shrugged like she was describing the weather.
“Skye told them no one was more suitable to rule the human kingdom than me. And if someone else took the throne… she’d choose war.”
Rhine inhaled slowly.
He pictured his troublemaking little cat-girl dragon—pouting one minute, threatening an island war the next—and suddenly his feelings became… complicated.