This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

It was so painful for Rita to hold back her laughter.

She tried to recall the betrayal and deceit from her past life, the humiliation of nearly being enslaved through a contract, the agony of being hunted down with bounties on her limbs, the miserable times when her health dropped to 5%, with all her potions on cooldown as she hid under a bridge, desperately waiting for her health to slowly recover...

and the burning hatred from having her *Divine Gift* stripped away.

*So painful! Rita, think about those moments! How could you possibly laugh?!*

Rick complained, "She even said I'm cursed and bring bad luck to my partners!"

Rita stood up dramatically, her voice cracking as she shouted, "That's too much!"

*Whoa, that was close! Almost laughed out loud!*

Rick might have been exaggerating at first, but as he continued, it was clear that he was genuinely upset.

Life as a "rich son-in-law" was really rough.

If it weren't for Samuel constantly telling him how powerful and wealthy the Wilson family was back in the day, he wouldn't have had such high hopes for this lifestyle.

Rick continued to rant about the untold hardships of being a son-in-law in a prestigious family.

Rita: "What?!"

Rita: "How can they treat you like that?!"

Rita: "That's so unfair, way too much!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Rita: "I'm seriously getting angry now!"

Though her words were fierce, her posture was completely relaxed, sitting firmly on the couch, not budging an inch.

After about half an hour, Rick stopped to wet his throat, his mouth dry from all the talking.

Rita got up to stretch her legs—her thigh had gone numb from gripping it too tightly to stop herself from laughing.

Rick pleaded, "Sis, only you can help me now. If you help me get into the training camp, Zoey won't be mad."

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Rita didn't hesitate. "I don't have anything valuable enough to offer right now, but I won't leave you hanging. Here's what I'll do: Tell Zoey that if she takes you to the training camp, I'll give her one *Another Happy Day* skill crystal every time you fight the dragon. I can't directly hand them over due to my contract with the Special Affairs Bureau, but I can buy them from the Bureau.

It's easier for me to buy my own skill crystals than it is for you guys. For every dragon fight, I'll provide a crystal until you successfully contract the dragon."

Rick's lips trembled, unable to speak for a moment. He felt like Rita was the only person in the world who genuinely cared for him.

Rita watched as Rick's trust level rose back up to 87.

Rick hugged Rita. "Thanks, sis!"

Rita patted him on the back. "I'll help however I can. And if all else fails, just divorce her. I'll always have your back."

After a dinner together, Rick mentioned he wanted to visit their parents.

Rita waved goodbye. "You've always been more filial than me. Go on."

As soon as Rick left, Rita began plotting how to stir up trouble. There was no way she'd sit back and watch Rick and Zoey rise from adversity to success!

What, was she supposed to be their stepping stone?

Rita had agreed to help Rick because she was 70% confident she could sabotage the whole thing. She had already been planning to disrupt Zoey's training, and now, she'd just be adding Rick to the mix.

The rent from her dungeon would cover the training fees. She could ask Shadow.Q to buy her *Anonymous Letter* skill crystals, but she knew Shadow.Q would likely still be busy, and constantly relying on her would eventually raise suspicions.

After thinking it over, she decided to handle it herself.

*Yep, time to go find Brooks…*

By this time, Brooks had already gained some fame, and her reputation was mixed—people both loved and hated her.

Brooks had access to an incredible amount of information. Some even suspected she was the mysterious figure who could *Insight* a person's secrets through their blood. But soon, people realized from her actions that she wasn't that person.

Brooks would buy and sell any information as long as you paid, and she'd even help you dig up dirt. But her reliability was both high and low. If you paid 5 gold for a piece of information and someone offered her more, she'd sell you fake info, then come back and sincerely apologize for switching sides. Of course, she wouldn't refund your money.

She'd also sell the same info to multiple people at different prices! It seemed like she had a way of knowing how much money a person had and how wealthy they were.

There was even a thread on the forums where a few people who had bought info from Brooks compared notes and discovered that they'd all bought information on the same topic from her, but at different prices—one paid 1 gold, another paid 2, another only paid 30 silver, and someone else paid 1 gold and 21 silver.

In the end, everyone concluded that Brooks might have a *Divine Gift* called *Big Data* that could assess how much money someone had and set prices accordingly.

Since she became famous, Brooks rarely went to the black market anymore, afraid of being hunted. But as someone who had once fled for her life alongside Brooks, Rita knew her hideouts.

After waiting for her *Disguise* skill's cooldown to finish, Rita changed into an outfit that made her look like an elderly woman in her seventies or eighties. She woke up Nivalis, handed her a video game, and told her to alert Rita if anyone came by.

Recalling the analysis about Brooks' skill, she emptied her pockets of all gold, placing it into a chest for Nivalis to guard.

As if guarding treasure was Nivalis' hidden talent, the little dragon immediately enlarged herself, curling around the chest and abandoning her game to gaze at the gold with shining eyes.

Rita glanced worriedly at Nivalis, clutching the chest like a dragon guarding her hoard. Then, activating her *Invisibility* and *Phantom Shift*, she headed to the black market in Los Angeles.

After dropping her invisibility, she shuffled into a McDonald's across the street from the black market.

As Brooks had once said, she didn't sell information for the money—she wasn't particularly interested in it. She simply enjoyed the thrill of living on the edge, knowing she could be exposed at any moment. So, she quit the black market and took up a night shift at the McDonald's nearby, waiting for old clients or new "destined ones" to seek her out.

Rita approached the counter and asked the cashier, "Is Brooks here?"

The cashier gave her a once-over and said, "Wait a moment."

A few seconds later, the cashier returned, leading a young woman who looked clean and innocent.

As soon as the girl saw Rita, she covered her eyes with one hand, exclaiming, "Whoa! Flashy!"

Rita, with only 50 silver left on her: "…"

She remembered her first encounter with Brooks in her past life. Back then, Brooks had said, "Whoa! You look so broke!"

Rita suspected Brooks' *Divine Gift* didn't just tell her if someone was rich or poor—it might even reveal how much wealth they had in total. Even stashing her gold with Nivalis wasn't foolproof since, in a way, she and Nivalis were connected.