This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Rita wasn't entirely sure if a person's body could still contract diseases after being digitized… but poisoning them? That had potential. After all, what better way to bond the male and female lead than with a shared affliction?

She headed to the underground market and picked up some toxic substances. The vendor noticed her clumsy handling and lack of knowledge and cautiously warned, "If you've never dealt with this stuff before, now's the time to stop. You can still turn back."

Disguised as a 50-year-old man, Rita handed over the money casually and replied, "Oh, it's not for me. It's for someone else."

The vendor looked at her like she was the scum of the earth before completing the transaction.

Rita shot him a look of disgust, thinking, *You're worse than scum.*

With her new tools in hand, Rita mulled over her next steps. Having come this far, she wasn't going to just sit idle. She felt restless, like her bones itched when she wasn't doing something. She even went to a black market doctor to check if she was sick. The doctor, with no regard for bedside manners, glanced at her and said, "It's not an illness—it's just because you're cheap."

Rita: "…" *Damn, that's harsh. No wonder this guy isn't a real doctor.*

But it was the only clinic around, and they offered a variety of services. She left behind two strands of hair—one from when she was in disguise and one as herself—to check their DNA. While waiting for the results, she decided to search for mutated items in B City that she'd heard about in her past life.

She wasn't interested in large-scale items or those meant for the battlefield, nor did she care for personal treasures too valuable to their owners. What she wanted was something that had a story of misfortune attached to it, preferably belonging to someone she had a grudge against.

After finishing her coffee in a nearby café, she realized she couldn't think of any notable items that fit the bill. Most famous mutated items either drastically improved their owner's life or brought them significant misfortune—usually the former.

The country's order hadn't collapsed, so although there were dark undercurrents, society was still largely united against the alien invaders. Even that group that destroyed the pet hospital paid a heavy price for their actions.

Finally, she recalled one of the male lead's former friends, a guy named Julian.

Julian was someone Rick had known even before the game invasion—they were both streamers. After the third beta test, Julian moved to Los Angeles to seek refuge with Rick. At some point, he even pursued Rita romantically.

Back then, Rita had been puzzled as to why a guy who had nothing to offer would act so superior in front of her. He provided no real affection or care, just a lot of talk. When she turned him down, he acted as if she was the one at fault. To call his incessant pestering "pursuit" was an insult—it was harassment.

Rick never explicitly supported Julian, but he didn't stop him either. Looking back, Rita suspected that it was because they were both players and saw non-players like her as beneath them.

Julian's **Divine Gift** wasn't particularly strong—just an A-Rank, which was nothing compared to the S-Ranks that surrounded the male and female lead. Even Rita's A-Rank gift was better.

However, Julian had a mutated item that had changed after the game's invasion, allowing him to stay by Rick's side. It was a small figurine he'd always played with. After it mutated, it became his contract pet—a puppet that could fight and even use skills. It had 80% of its owner's stats and would revive upon death.

The best part? Like all bound equipment, the pet couldn't be stolen, even if its owner died.

Rita wasn't planning on stealing Julian's figurine. Though Julian was a jerk, he was more of an annoyance than a real threat. Sure, he was crude, had a bad attitude, ogled her inappropriately, and often complained to Rick about how she was treated too leniently. There were even times when, during raids, Julian's puppet would protect everyone except her. But none of that warranted killing him.

Rita prided herself on being a forgiving person.

She didn't kill people at the drop of a hat—she believed in retribution proportional to the offense.

So, she broke into Julian's home, found the familiar little figurine—a gaudy, sword-wielding figure—and pulled out her knife. She chopped off the figurine's tiny arms, shaved off its hair, and took the broken pieces with her as she left.

As she passed a nearby alley, she casually crushed the cute little arms, the sword, and the hair before dumping the remains into a trash can.

Sighing, Rita stood by the roadside, gazing at the streetlights.

"I guess I'm kind of like a living saint."

It was late into the night, but Rita's chaotic schedule left her wide awake. She appeared once more in Camila Taylor's room—only to find that Camila wasn't asleep at 2 a.m.?

Rita, hidden under **Phantom Cloak**, felt uneasy and chugged a bottle of invisibility potion just in case.

She watched as Camila angrily threw things around the room. Soon after, Henry Taylor entered, looking equally pissed.

"Any news?" Henry asked.

"No, only the two of us had our attributes reduced."

"Damn it… my hat's missing too! Someone must've stolen it. If I find out who, I'll skin them alive!"

"And what if they come back to steal more? We still don't know if we can recover the lost attributes…"

"We've checked with the Wilsons and the Lis—no one's experienced anything like this."

Rita felt elated as she watched their growing frustration. The more upset they were, the more she knew she'd done the right thing.

When they mentioned the Wilson family, Rita paused. *Could they be talking about Samuel's real family?*

But it didn't concern her. After all, she had confirmed through DNA tests after her rebirth that she was indeed related to Samuel, Scarlett, and Rick. The dream of being a "true heir" had long since been shattered.

Rita leaned against the wall, resting her eyes until Henry left. After waiting a bit longer to ensure Camila was asleep, she cast **Sleep Spell**.

It's always better if someone falls unconscious while already asleep. They'd just think they slept too deeply. But if they were awake, they'd remember passing out.

Following the method she'd learned from the shady vendor, Rita made sure Camila would have a "happy" time. She then went next door to repeat the process on Henry.

Rita spent a week in B City, waiting for her DNA results. It turned out that the DNA from her **Disguise**-altered hair only had a 99.5% match to her real DNA—about the same as the similarity between two strangers. That was a relief—she no longer needed to wear a swimming cap when using **Disguise**.

During her stay, Rita didn't idle. Every night, she visited the Taylor siblings like a personal doctor, injecting them with "happiness." She was meticulous, always applying a bit of healing potion to the needle marks to help them heal and wiping the area with alcohol swabs. Truly, it was a five-star service.

Once she was sure the poison had taken hold, she returned to Los Angeles.

She swore that from now on, she was going to be a good person! No more scheming or plotting—she would focus on studying diligently!

But the moment she arrived at the airport, she spotted Rick waiting for her…

Rita: "…"

Sometimes, she had to admire Rick's dedication. No wonder he could have three women fighting over him.

She had only mentioned yesterday afternoon that she'd be returning today, but Rick… There he was, slightly disheveled, sporting a bit of stubble, with tired but eager eyes, holding a McDonald's breakfast that had gone cold.

The details were clear: *"I didn't know when your flight would arrive, so I came early to wait for you."*

*Why the hell didn't you just ask me what time I'd land?!*