This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

After sorting through the antiques, jewelry, and artworks she had collected from the Wilson estate, Rita picked out three items that she had seen Rick handle in her previous life—these three were likely to have mutated into equipment or items. The rest she stored in her backpack and set off for Vancouver.

In Vancouver, with its mixed crowd and where no one knew her, the influence of the Lopez, White, and Taylor families was irrelevant.

Upon arrival, she immediately dumped her items into an underground auction house. The commission was high, but it specialized in selling illicit goods. Buyers typically kept such items hidden rather than flaunting them.

Because there were so many items, she had to wait for authentication and auction, and she needed to find someone to exchange them for gold. Handling large amounts of gold was extremely troublesome. She had to be cautious of potential traps and those looking to capture her. Sometimes, she had to deal with the situation by using firearms and explosives she made with her engineering skills.

They really came in handy!

Rita left Los Angeles in mid-April and stayed busy until late May. She sold all the antiques and jewelry, then returned to Los Angeles with over 3,200 pounds of gold and 800 million Hong Kong dollars in her Vancouver account.

During this period, she wore the Chávez Eye, but she didn't encounter any players.

Over 3,200 pounds of gold could be exchanged for over 5,000 gold coins, even at the goblin merchants' inflated rates. If all went well, not only would she not worry about learning professional recipes, but she could also buy skill books in the game auction house.

The game has no fixed classes, so regardless of race or origin, players don't have specific skills. Instead, players are roughly categorized by their main attributes, such as healing, agility, magic, melee, and ranged. The core of every player's skills revolves around their divine talents. All skills are designed to complement these divine talents.

Of course, there are also free-form styles where players learn any skill they come across, and some of them work out surprisingly well.

Rita hadn't touched her 50 million yet. She intended to first see how much gold she could get from the gold before deciding on the use of the remaining money.

During this time, Samuel and Scarlett were frantically searching for her. Rita told them she was traveling in Italy, which left them speechless. She didn't understand why they were so eager to contact her. Was it really necessary for the step-son's family to interfere with the engagement?

In the days leading up to June 1st, Rita bought various items, from large appliances to small groceries and beverages. When she dragged a cart full of packages back to her villa, the security guard asked if the apocalypse was approaching.

Rita could only say she had just moved in, and the house was empty. She sent the guard away.

In the post-game invasion world, daily necessities were abundant and more varied than ever, so stocking up was unnecessary.

On the day of Zoey and Rick's official engagement, her game backpack was only half full.

Rita applied a modest makeup and wore a well-fitting but low-key blue casual suit. When she arrived at the hotel, she clearly saw the satisfaction in Zoey's eyes.

Competition between women!!

How naive do you have to be to think the protagonist's older sister would be fond of you?

With a smile, Rita shook hands with her brother-in-law-to-be and then put down the gift money. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she went to join Samuel and the others.

She felt she could barely recognize Rick anymore. How quickly had he changed from a shy, timid young man into a sullen one?

So what if he lost half his member? Was it really such a big deal?

As the protagonist, he was supposed to have an 18 cm standard; now he only had 9 cm, and he was gloomy? Such dissatisfaction!

But the Wilson genes were strong. His gloominess actually made him more attractive. In a fan fiction story, he might not even get out of bed.

Yet, in a step-son story, it was not bad either. Zoey looked at Rick with admiration.

Although Rita had been a star for many years, the attendees were either wealthy heiresses or socialites. No one approached her, and she enjoyed the peace and quiet. She had really gotten tired of killing in Vancouver.

She was too busy to kill anyone now.

Her killing had become so frequent that her demeanor had changed. She used to be a gentle, radiant moonlight; now, in a suit, she exuded an aura of someone not to be trifled with.

Samuel, with his eyes narrowed, watched her for a while, then approached and asked softly, "Why the big change recently? Did something happen? Tell me."

Rita quickly responded, "I met a mafia boyfriend in Italy and spent half a month with him. Doesn't that sound exciting?"

Samuel replied, "…" Such blatant jesting was best ignored.

Rita placed her hand on her mouth and whispered, "I got a real gun. Seventeen of various types, plus bullets. It's a shame I didn't take down their base; my firepower wasn't enough. I'll see it through when I have more skills."

Samuel's lips tightened. "Give it to me later; I'll keep it safe. Guns are illegal."

Oh, you want it? And it's illegal? If discovered, you'd take the fall?

Rita replied obediently, "Sure, I'll listen to Dad."

The engagement party was hosted by the Lopez family. The Wilson family members were all very subdued, with no speeches or interactions on stage. Rita noted Samuel's usual elegant and handsome professor demeanor.

As for Scarlett, although she could be temperamental at home, she was undeniably attractive, giving birth to a beautiful Rita and the now-castrated Rick. Scarlett's quiet smiles were quite intimidating.

During the meal, Rita was seated next to Zoey. Zoey accidentally spilled red wine on Rita, and although Rita appeared to react quickly, she hadn't managed to avoid it completely.

Zoey hurriedly apologized, and Rita smiled and waved it off, then went upstairs to quickly change.

With her agility at 18, Rita couldn't have missed it, and Zoey had clearly tested her reaction. Rita gave a normal reaction as a regular person might.

The minor incident, however, stirred unpleasant memories for Rita.

Rick was getting engaged on June 1st. She vowed to castrate him before June, so Little Rick could have a Children's Day without his father.

After dealing with Zoey, Rita went to her agency, announcing her intent to retire. The senior staff were incredulous, but Rita, sticking to her principle of avoiding trouble, stated she could issue a resignation statement immediately.

Friends who have committed murder know that those who have killed and those who haven't are mentally different.

Ordinary people resolve disputes with: "Maybe it's better to let it go."

Those who have killed think: "Maybe it's better to kill."

Rita was incredibly busy. The second game beta test was on June 6, and she needed to max out her proficiency in Alchemy and Engineering before then, and also level up Cooking, Fishing, and First Aid to intermediate level, ensuring she could learn intermediate skills in the second beta test.

She didn't want Rick to have an incident at the Wilson house. If the little brat immediately suspected the women at home after an incident, it would be easy to expose her.

However, considering Rick's situation, he was probably still training his skills and wasn't yet qualified to join the Lopez family.

A son-in-law with half his member removed—he and Zoey didn't even know who was calling whom 'wife.'

Rita only thought of a method as she left the estate.

Thanks to years of fleeing, she knew many escape friends. She hired several young men and women to act as Rick's illegitimate fan club, asking why he hadn't informed them of his marriage and creating as much chaos as possible.

She killed a small sparrow and used the "Only the Dead Obey" skill to make it fly to the Wilson estate and keep watch.

By April 2nd, the operatives hadn't even made it to Plan B. Rick moved to a nearby hotel on the evening of April 4th.

That same night, using an anonymous phone card she bought in Vancouver, Rita called a contact she met when buying gold there, providing Rick's phone number, WeChat, and email. She instructed the contact to send Rick constant inappropriate messages for the next month and to add him as a friend to ask about "H" activities, then listed his phone number on a gay website.

From that day on, Rick's phone became a nuisance.

The second beta test was set for June 6 at 6:06 AM.

At 3 AM on June 6, Rita arrived outside the hotel using her disguise skill. She turned into a narrow alley, drank a medium invisibility potion in a blind spot of the surveillance, and entered the hotel, climbing the stairs all the way to the 27th floor where Rick's room was located.