Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

There's no need to hide from a mere second-order echo.

A few insignificant scratches appeared on my body, causing neither pain nor itching.

Carol unleashes her final blow!

Just when Carol thought the farce was finally over.

To her surprise, the girl then took out another scroll right in front of her—

The familiar Tier 3 Shield Scroll.

???

Carol paused for a moment, sensing that something was amiss:

"Didn't you already use it all up?!"

Bai Lili smiled at her somewhat embarrassedly: "Sorry, this is the last one."

Helpless, Carol could only activate [Time Acceleration] again and swing her dagger.

However, in the next instant, Bai Lili took out a third-tier Fire Rain Scroll.

A massive rain of fire fell!

This forced Carol to accelerate her own time once again.

And so, the fire rain stopped in Carol's eyes.

Carol's figure weaved and dodged through the raging flames, emerging unscathed.

Just when Carol thought it was finally over, Bai Lili pulled out a second Fire Rain Scroll and smiled apologetically at her.

……

Seeing this scene, in the lounge, the corner of Saki's mouth twitched uncontrollably beneath his mask.

He remembered that Bai Lili in the original storyline wasn't this extravagant!

If he had known it would turn out like this, he would never have let Bai Lili go on stage...

Money! All of this money!!!

Huo Mu looked at the arena, his feelings complicated:

"Bai Lili is so rich... She's so wealthy, yet she's still willing to hang out with us poor people... She's so approachable..."

……

However, no matter how many scrolls there are, they will eventually run out.

After using countless scrolls to delay for quite some time, Bai Lili reached up to her body again—

This time, however, they really came up empty-handed.

The next moment, the shield, which could not be replenished, shattered.

Bai Lili was kicked away by the enraged Carol.

No wonder Carol was so angry.

Because Bai Lili's playing style really, really disgusted her!

They had no hope of winning, yet they still wasted so much money.

It caused her to lose her bonus, and she still has thirteen younger siblings to support!

Bai Lili was kicked into the air and immediately spoke:

"I surrender! I surrender! Stop fighting!"

The moment the words fell, the light shields on the four walls of the arena dissipated.

The results are displayed on the large screen.

The outcome is decided.

However, Carol had no intention of giving up.

Winning a match has one price, but destroying the opponent's spirit and permanently eliminating members of their team has another.

Bai Lili has already caused her to lose her bonus—

She absolutely had to get the subsidy for the dried-up spirit body!

Having exhausted her scrolls, Bai Lili had no strength left to resist.

She could only watch helplessly as Carol's dagger fell towards her.

Bai Lili had even resigned herself to her fate and closed her eyes.

However, in the next instant—

"stop!"

Four voices rang out simultaneously.

The Mirror Sword pierced through the air and immediately protected Bai Lili.

Immediately afterwards, Setsuna, Hōki, and Ryūriki flashed onto the arena, firmly protecting Bālīlī behind them.

Below the arena, a masked man, slightly slower, was coughing up blood as he pushed his wheelchair with one hand as he struggled to get there.

The other hand, pushing the wheelchair, pointed towards Carol—

The blade of the Mirror Sword shifted with the movement of Saki's fingers, its cold light flashing.

The reason why Saki didn't take action directly was so as not to steal the "head" that Shirai Riri had worked so hard to get.

Faced with this situation, Carol could only let out a cold snort and reluctantly withdrew her hand.

Unfortunately, being a slave to time is not the same as truly owning time.

If it were Princess Hibel, who truly possesses time, to take action, the battle would undoubtedly be a crushing defeat.

She is still too weak.

Bai Lili waited for a long time but did not feel the pain of her spirit shattering. She cautiously opened her eyes and found that she was being protected in the center by everyone who had appeared on the arena.

For a moment, I was stunned and moved.

……

"Alright, that's enough, Carol," Sybil's voice came from the lounge.

Upon hearing this, Carol reluctantly sheathed her dagger and glanced at everyone:

"Who among you will be the next one?"

She decided to vent all her anger on her next opponent on stage.

In the next round, she must win the prize money for a "quick victory"!

But as soon as she finished speaking, her body suddenly swayed.

Carol sensed something, couldn't believe it, and suddenly looked down.

But what I saw was that her spirit was irreversibly becoming transparent, starting from her fingertips, like a thin mist being slowly blown away by the wind.

"No! How could this be?! You... what did you do?"

Her pupils contracted, and she suddenly looked at Bai Lili.

"Hehe..." Bai Lili smiled shyly, just about to speak.

However, the guy in the wheelchair below the ring unceremoniously snatched the opportunity to show off:

"Haven't you noticed yet? How slow-witted you are."

You should be glad—

If Bai Lili had one more scroll, you would be the loser.

"How could it be...poison?!"

Carol examined her body and discovered that she had been poisoned for some unknown reason.

“That’s right.” Saki said in a tone that implied, “You’re not too stupid.”

"No, impossible! The third-tier scroll he used clearly doesn't contain any poison-type echoes!"

"It doesn't exist in third-order scrolls, but what about second-order ones?"

"How could second-tier poison possibly harm me—"

Carol's voice suddenly stopped.

Because her spirit was on the verge of disintegration, transparency spread from her fingertips to her wrist.

"Second-tier poison generally cannot achieve this level of effect on the spirit of a third-tier Echoer."

But what if you combine that with your available time?

You've been accelerating time for yourself, but you need to understand that time isn't always on your side.

Time affects not only your speed, but also the toxins in your body.

Even the faintest toxicity, fermented over time—

Saki paused, a hint of emotion in his voice.

"Time is truly a terrifying thing."

Seeing that Saki had said everything she wanted to say, Bai Lili felt a little depressed.

She rarely gets to shine, so why is Saki stealing her thunder?

However, Saki-chan forgot to mention one thing.

In order to poison Carol without her noticing, the poison she used was carefully selected!

That second-tier poison scroll hidden in the Water Arrow spell was the most expensive of all the scrolls she had ever used!

Its actual price is even comparable to some fourth-tier scrolls.

If Qi Ji were to use the system panel to view the scroll, he would see that the system's description of it is, "Deals damage equal to a percentage of maximum health per minute."

It may seem like it does little damage, but what if it accelerates time?

Bai Lili was also surprised to learn that poison-type scrolls were actually so useful.

Next time, should I bring more with me?

Hey!

……

After hearing Saki's explanation, Hōki, Ryūri, and Setsuna were all surprised, their gazes shifting back and forth between Shirari and Saki.

They never expected Bai Lili to be able to do this, and they never expected that Qi Ji would see through everything so quickly.

What terrifying insight! Is this the number one genius of the City of Fire?

"So it was about time... So that's how it is, it turns out..."

Carol gave a relieved, bitter smile.

Time was her only support, but in the end, she lost to time.

No, to be more precise, she lost to money!

The echo of money truly lives up to its reputation as the strongest echo...

Looking back at the battle, Carol had already realized it.

It was the water arrow technique of that time—

Those second-tier water arrows, which she didn't take seriously at all, still managed to leave a few small wounds on her body.

The toxins entered the body from that moment.

If she had activated her armor at that time, the water arrows would not have been able to harm her at all.

But she didn't.

The only flaw in a vassal lineage is that the image does not belong to itself.

To activate the armor, you must use [Imagery Falsehood].