This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Nivalis sighed, "I get it now. Silence is also an answer."

Rita silently picked up her tablet from the nightstand, unlocked it—opened the video app—and then checked her watch history...

Hmm? It was all cartoons. Nothing seemed wrong.

She scanned the area around Nivalis and didn't see her phone. "What have you been up to lately?"

Nivalis turned over, presenting her back to Rita.

Rita, remembering how she'd given Nivalis a phone to get Scarlett to send her photos, asked, "Has my mom been teaching you something weird?"

Nivalis immediately lay down and pretended to snore.

Rita decided she'd ask Scarlett about it directly some other time...

Just as she was about to head downstairs for a midnight snack, she paused. Nivalis had so many skills, maybe she could help?

She quickly turned back, sitting on the edge of the bed, patting the dragon's back, and asked sweetly, "Our clever little Nivalis, do you happen to have a way to make others unable to see how much money your dear sister has~?"

Nivalis groaned, "Stop it. Even dragons get scared when you act like this."

A few hours earlier:

Rita: *Defeated dragon, no need to flatter.*

A few hours later:

Rita: "Hi, my sweet baby!"

Rita hugged the little dragon, offering her some jerky as a treat. "Sister has a little problem. Can you help me out?"

Munching on the jerky, Nivalis spoke with her mouth full, "Tell me what's going on."

Rita explained the situation about someone being able to sense her wealth and fortune.

Who would've thought being rich could be a liability?

Nivalis replied, "Oh, that's easy. I can add a layer of protection to your money pouch, like how I conceal my own Divine Gift. That way, others won't be able to see it clearly."

Rita, relieved that it could be solved, immediately handed the pouch to Nivalis. Without hesitation, Nivalis blew a puff of white mist onto the pouch, and a few seconds later, she let out a small burp. "All done."

Feeling satisfied, Rita put the pouch away. If the dragon said it was fixed, then it was fixed—no need to question it.

Rita asked again, "Do you know anything about mind-reading? Do you have any way to block someone from hearing your inner thoughts?"

Nivalis shook her head, "No, I don't know much about those sneaky types of skills."

Rita gently corrected her, "Mystical types. Say it with me, mystical types."

Nivalis nodded, "Oh, do you have a similar skill?"

Rita pinched Nivalis' mouth shut, "Shh, don't talk. I don't want to hear it."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Though Nivalis couldn't solve the mind-reading problem, Rita wasn't disappointed. Solving one issue was good enough.

Neither of them mentioned compensation—there was a certain unspoken understanding between them. Both were willing to help each other without forcing the other to do something they disliked. Sometimes, you didn't need dramatic experiences to build a strong bond. Daily interactions and learning each other's boundaries and personalities could be just as effective.

Rita's Disguise skill was still on cooldown, so it wasn't the best time to visit Brooks. She imagined Brooks was probably still scared out of her wits by now. Licking the knife's edge, huh? Bet you cut yourself this time!

...

While Rita was playing the part of the old lady and feeding Brooks potion in a midnight McDonald's...

Rick, after leaving Rita's house, went to visit Samuel and Scarlett. But as he stood outside the villa, he hesitated. He stood there for a long, long time.

He considered several possibilities, ruling them out one by one, until there was only one left: Samuel and Scarlett were having another child. They were bringing into the world a new, healthy, untainted child.

He thought about what to say, how to express his anger and sadness, but when it came down to it, his mind went cold. His thoughts were as silent as the villa district at night.

Rage and confrontation were useless. They wouldn't make someone who had wronged you feel guilty or remorseful. If people were that easily guilted, they wouldn't have wronged you in the first place.

Just like how Rita treated him so well—did he ever feel guilty for conspiring with Samuel to deceive her?

No, never.

He only thought that his sister was naive and easy to fool. At most, he decided to lie to her less in the future.

Rick stood there until the middle of the night. Finally, he sent a message in their family group chat to Samuel.

**[Family, I was wrong]**: If you still want me as your son, you need to get rid of the child.

Unsurprisingly, they were both awake, replying almost immediately—confirming Rick's suspicion.

**[Samuel, I never expected this]**: Rick… Your dad knows this was a mistake. This child was truly an accident. Once the child is born, we can tell them that you are their father. Is that okay?

**[Scarlett didn't want it either]**: Ah, right, it's my fault. I have a naturally fertile body. Find your next read on empire

**[Samuel, I never expected this]**: Rick, please try to understand your father…

**[Scarlett didn't want it either]**: Rick, forgive your mother. You'll always be my most beloved child.

**[Family, I was wrong]**: I'm giving you two weeks. Mom, the longer you wait, the more dangerous it gets for your health. Do it as soon as possible.

With that, he turned off his phone, taking one last look at the Wilson family villa before walking away.

...

The next day, Rita woke up early to grind for two hours in the dungeon, stabilizing her spot in the top 30 on the level leaderboard. Then, she rushed to Lania Kaia Star for an hour of classes. By noon, she was back on Blue Star, studying Moonfox materials, completing her rooftop orders, training in the afternoon, and cooking in the evening—most of her food ended up in Nivalis' belly.

Nivalis hovered in the air, munching on chips while watching Rita cook. "You seem to be busy every day."

Rita corrected her, "I always have things to do every minute of the day. It's called being productive."

Nivalis nodded, "Then I'm pretty productive too." Eat, sleep, play games, and pet cats.

Rita: No argument there.

Rita only felt secure when she was constantly improving herself, busy every second. It made her feel like she was making the most of her second chance at life. "Human lives are short. You dragons can live for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, but we humans only live a little over a century."

Even with the digitalization of human bodies, humans hadn't become immortal. In the third year of the game invasion, Blue Star researchers revealed how digitization affected human lifespan.

After the age of 80, a person's maximum health would begin to decline each year. This would show up as a portion of the health bar turning gray, meaning it couldn't be healed.

People with lower constitution lost more of their health, while those with higher constitution retained more. The lowest recorded threshold was 5%, meaning that theoretically, everyone could live to at least 100. During this time, if people increased their constitution, they could live even longer.

Of course, this wasn't the ultimate limit. After all, it was only the third year of the invasion, and players were only in their 20s level-wise. Even those in power who had help leveling up couldn't have gained that many levels yet.

At least, the top 100 players on the leaderboard weren't elderly. They were all young people grinding dungeons day in and day out.

They weren't grinding to live longer—they just genuinely loved playing.