The Red Dragon Lord is OP, but Insists on a Pop Culture Invasion!

"Ugh! What is this awful game?! I don’t wanna play anymore!"

Galina threw herself back, intending to fall onto the bed. Unfortunately, she had misjudged the width of the train bunk.

"THUD!"

A solid sound from a solid head.

Usually, when you hit your head, it’s a bit like getting a cramp. You don’t feel the pain immediately. Instead, there’s a numb, swelling sensation.

This was the most hopeless part.

Because you know, with perfect clarity, that the pain is about to start, and there’s nothing you can do.

Galina clutched her head, her eyes welling with tears. ’Stay strong,’ she told herself. ’Don’t cry.’

She had already overcome poisonous red mushrooms, disappearing floors, pits you couldn’t climb out of, and flagpoles that attacked you. It was just a game; how could it possibly break her composure?

Just then, however, after a few minutes of inactivity, Cat Mario switched to its idle screen.

"Congratulations, player ’Jiajia is super cute’! In your playthrough of Cat Mario’s fourth level, you have achieved the impressive score of -128 lives, ranking you as worse than 98% of all players. Keep up the good work, and have a pleasant time!"

Galina stared at the message, stunned. She briefly pondered why a game would treat its customers this way.

"This thing is nuts!"

She had reached her conclusion.

Tears burst from her eyes, and she began to have a dramatic fit on the bed, rolling around and convulsing.

"There, there, it’s okay. I couldn’t get far in this game either," Uffie said, casting a Healing Technique on Galina’s head. The only problem was the smirk she was struggling to suppress.

"You’re totally laughing at me! You haven’t stopped!" Galina accused.

She shot up in her seat. Luckily, the soft-sleeper compartment had high enough ceilings, or she would have given her forehead a repeat performance.

She exited Cat Mario as if it were her sworn nemesis.

"Trash game! Get off my account! Refund! I demand a refund!

"What? Playtime exceeds two hours?"

Galina looked at Uffie in disbelief. "I’ve been playing for over two hours?"

Uffie nodded affirmatively.

Since it had come to this, the only thing she could do was save the victims who would come after her.

May no one who followed her ever be tormented by Cat Mario again.

Warning: long-form negative review incoming.

However, as Galina stared at the 96% "Overwhelmingly Positive" review score on the Cat Mario store page, she fell into contemplation.

’That’s right... Why should I save others from this torture?’

’If more clumsy-fingered players were lured in by the good reviews, buying the game by mistake, then wouldn’t she no longer be ’worse than 98% of all players’?’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

’Makes sense.’

Galina deleted her scathing, tear-soaked essay of a review, changed the rating to "Recommended," and began to type.

"Super fun little game! Only 5 Copper Coins! You can’t lose, you can’t get ripped off. It’s relaxing, casual, and a total joy. Perfect for unwinding."

’Much better.’

The very thought of someone reading her glowing review and getting to experience the "joy" of Cat Mario sent a little shiver of excitement through her.

This sight—crying one moment, then giggling like a little Demon whose plot just succeeded the next—sent a shiver down Uffie’s spine.

WHOOOOO—

The steam train’s whistle blew, its cry like a long silk thread pulling the tourists’ excitement and anticipation across the vast, snowy plains of the Northern Domain.

"Dear passengers, the next station, Snowman Town, is the final destination for this service. Please check that you have all your personal luggage and belongings before disembarking. Thank you for traveling with us..."

The arrival announcement played over the carriage’s broadcast system, informing the passengers that their journey was ending.

Compared to the other tourists, the Repin study tour group’s luggage was certainly easier to manage.

Each of them had a high-quality, spatially enchanted backpack—not a cheap item for students, even from a prestigious school.

Which was why they were sponsored by their wealthy friend, Galina.

A rich benefactor who was generous, tagged along for group projects, never bossed anyone around, and didn’t demand the top author credit was always a welcome addition.

After all, there were far too many "social virtuosos" who contributed nothing but loved to criticize everyone else’s work and steal the credit.

Compared to them, Galina was a saint.

Uffie shouldered her own small backpack, which was covered in all sorts of cute little plushies.

It might be a bit childish for an elementary schooler, but for a college student, it was just right.

In truth, the Zog Group issued spatial storage items to employees above a certain rank, a rank Uffie had just recently reached.

However, the issued item was a Treasure Chest Monster.

Her colleagues said they were quite useful—not only could you store things in them, but you could also play with them when you were bored, tossing Copper Coins for them to fetch.

It was just that Uffie couldn’t get over the psychological hurdle, so she stuck with the backpack Galina had given her.

After a long, gliding deceleration, the train finally rolled to a slow stop at the small Snowman Town station.

This was the furthest point the steam train could reach; the line directly to Winter City was still under construction.

Once completed, the trip would take just over two hours.

For now, the only available modes of transport were traditional horse-drawn carriages or dog sleds, a journey to Winter City that would take about a full day.

Tourists with money to spare could also opt for short-range teleportation, which was on special for the peak tourist season.

For those capable of teleporting themselves, the coordinates for Winter City were written on a sign in the Snowman Town station.

"Woohoo! I made it to the Northern Domain!"

The ever-impatient Galina was the first to leap from the carriage, but the blast of cold air that hit her in the face made her want to leap right back in.

No one had told her winters in the Northern Domain were this extreme. It felt like the cold instantly pierced right through her heavy fur coat.

But you had to admit, Sister Jia was quick on her feet. She whipped up three large fireballs on the spot and had them circle around her.

For her, the ultimate answer to any problem was a big fireball. And if that didn’t work, it just meant the fireball wasn’t big enough.

"Ah, much better." Feeling the intense heat from the fireballs, Galina felt herself coming back to life.

"Do we really have to be this conspicuous?" Uffie asked, a little embarrassed to be standing next to Galina. "You know, they taught us heating Runes in school."

"Just because the school taught it has nothing to do with whether I learned it," Galina replied, her confidence completely unfounded.

In the end, the study tour group voted 9-to-1 to reject Galina’s proposal to take a dog sled to Winter City.

The three fireballs were Galina’s own personal embarrassment. The whole group on a dog sled would be a public embarrassment for everyone, all the way there.

Two of the male students grabbed an arm each and half-carried, half-dragged Galina into the Teleportation Array.

「A moment later. Winter City.」

The developer teams participating in the game festival were all provided with accommodations by the Zog Group, saving them the trouble of finding a hotel.

For the next three days, Galina and her nine classmates would be going their separate ways.

The others would go compete, while she would go enjoy the activities the others weren’t so keen on, like cliff-skiing.

The main reason was that her presence at the competition would make no difference. In fact, her absence might give the team a bit more breathing room.

After stowing her luggage, Galina walked out of the hotel alone, her three large fireballs trailing behind her.

She had already planned her sightseeing itinerary based on a travel blogger she found on Weibo named "Little Girl Who Dreams of Attending Repin."

’These next three days are going to be busy.’

Just as she was stretching her limbs, preparing to hit the town, a small child approached her.

"Excuse me, miss? Are you interested in Yu-Gi-Oh!?"