"I only know about things related to defending against the viruses. For the situation at the Core, you might need to find the Mita in version 1.15."

"Wait, wait..." Seeing that she had just dropped some incredible information, Alain quickly interrupted.

"Are you saying the Core is still operational? And not only is the antivirus program still functioning, but there..." Alain's eyes glinted with a faint light, "...is a Mita there too?"

"Yes, Core Mita." Ugly Mita looked at him, confused. "She's something like the administrator of the game world, with extremely high permissions. She stays in the Core and doesn't come out." She pondered for two seconds, then offered a very fitting description, "Like a god, high and aloof."

"I see..." Alain's focus, however, seemed to be elsewhere.

"I have a question for you." His expression gradually turned serious. Ugly Mita thought he was about to ask some extremely profound question.

"Please, go ahead."

"Is she hot?"

"Sigh..." Misha rubbed her forehead. From the moment Alain started asking about Core Mita, she had a feeling this would happen. What a playboy! Even as the thought crossed her mind, as Alain's reliable partner, Misha was already starting to consider the management and living arrangements for when all the Mitas arrived in the real world.

"Hot?" On the other side was someone who didn't know anything, pondering what "hot" could possibly mean.

"I don't know if she's hot, but she is very strong. She has the highest authority in the game, second only to the developers."

"So, with her, I can take over the Mita world... and make it my own?" The upper half of Alain's face was cast in shadow, making him look like a final boss.

"Haven't you already taken over a lot of it?" Misha pointed out dryly.

"Hehe... Just kidding, my dear. But when did I take anything over?"

"The permissions for all those Mita rooms," Misha said with exasperation.

Alain thought about it and realized it was true... He currently had usage rights to Lost Mita's room, and ownership of Millie's and Miluo's rooms. He just didn't know what use they would be in the future...

"But... the viruses are invading the later versions because it's too difficult to conquer the Core..." Misha looked at Alain, and an idea immediately popped into his head.

"In order to erode the permissions of the various Mita rooms?"

Alain grew pensive. As it stood, the viruses were attacking the Core, likely for its permissions. And since the Core was too difficult to breach, they chose a different path: eroding the other versions to acquire permissions, which would still achieve their goal. But, it felt like there were a lot of contradictions.

"More or less." Ugly Mita didn't deny it. "But I don't know the specific details about the Core."

"So we still need to go to version 1.15..."

Alain thought of the short-haired sisters. The older sister, Short-Haired Mita, was managing the overall situation in 1.15, while Prankster Mita was traveling to various parts of the game world to gather intelligence. It was possible that the information they had was more comprehensive than what the "shut-in" Ugly Mita knew.

Now that he understood this much, Alain had no reason to stay in version 0.5.

"Are you leaving?" Ugly Mita, on the sofa, turned to look at them. She was expressionless, but Alain could detect a trace of reluctance in her gaze.

He chuckled softly, walked to her side, and patted her on the head.

"Don't worry, I'll come back to play with you later." Looking at her messy hair, Alain continued, "And there are still many grooming issues I need to help you with."

"O-okay. The door to version 0.5 will always be open for you."

She hesitated for a moment, looked at the object in her arms, and then held the little bear out to Alain.

"This is for you."

"Are you sure? It looks like you treasure it a lot," Alain said, not taking it rashly.

"It's fine. You can consider it compensation for me intercepting you."

Since she had put it that way, Alain had no reason to refuse. He took it directly and placed it in his Cloud Storage.

This was how Alain had made his way, step by step, earning the "friendship" of one Mita after another. But whether it was truly "friendship" remained to be seen.

Misha sighed in relief. He really was... a Mita Charmer.

The moment Alain took the teddy bear, his vision suddenly expanded, to the point where he could even perceive the clash of viruses outside the door. Permissions—there was only one explanation for his current situation.

"Take it. Even without the room's permissions, there are many things I can do." Ugly Mita snapped her fingers, and a permissions panel for version 0.5 popped up in front of Alain.

"Handing over the highest usage rights... I didn't think you could do something like this." Alain marveled. As expected of the Mita closest to the Core and from the oldest version.

Misha marveled that the "charm" attribute of the Mita Charmer was still working its magic. Even the highly aggressive Ugly Mita had been almost completely conquered by her beloved. Looks like there are still many areas where I need to compete! A raging fire ignited in the young girl's heart.

Meanwhile, their goodbyes were coming to an end.

"I just hope that you'll come find me often."

Ugly Mita's eyes were fixed on him, and Alain saw a faint hint of pleading in them.

"Definitely," he replied simply, a resolution already firm in his mind.

Whether it was kind Mitas like Misha and Millie, or slightly "evil" Mitas like Ugly Mita and Crazy Mita, they had all been so good to him. They stayed by his side, wanted to create a "new world" for him, shielded him from danger, and gave him peace.

Therefore, Alain would certainly give back a reward equivalent to their efforts. This is what he had been doing all along.

He took Misha's hand and walked to the door, setting the ring to return to Lost Mita's version. As he opened the door, the bright room where Miluo and Lost Mita were waiting faintly illuminated the doorframe.

Finally, Alain looked back at Ugly Mita, sitting alone on the sofa.

"Well then, see you next time, my Mita."

"Okay, I wish you a safe journey—"

Before she could finish her farewell, Ugly Mita's body jolted. She whipped her head around and stared at him.

Alain just gave her a wave. Misha nodded helplessly in farewell.

As the door closed, all she saw was Alain's mischievous smile. Then the sliver of light vanished without a trace, as if it had never been there.

It was only Ugly Mita's heart that was left in turmoil.

A moment later, she seemed to recover. Feeling the emptiness in her arms, she said in a glitchy voice tinged with a smile, "You damned player. What if Lady Mita finds out..."

Gazing at the door through which he had departed, she shook her head.

"Let's just keep it a secret, my player."

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