This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

After activating her **[Disguise!]** skill, Rita used cash to purchase various alchemy tools, weapons such as crossbows, long knives, and stun batons. That day, she also experimented more with the **[Only the Dead Obey]** skill.

When she commanded the thrush to stay still on the table without moving, it only consumed 2 mana points in 12 hours. However, the dead bird's body began to emit a faint odor. It seemed that while the skill could keep the deceased in motion, it couldn't prevent the natural process of decay.

That evening, Rita drove to a mall near Robinson's residence. In the restroom, she used **[Disguise!]** from her Thief God talent, changed into a different outfit from her in-game backpack, and stepped out of the stall. Seeing a completely unfamiliar woman in the mirror, Rita couldn't help but be amazed. The game talents were indeed beyond scientific explanation.

Not only had her height and facial features changed, but even her hair had become shorter.

Rita hailed a taxi, and in just seven minutes, she arrived at Robinson's apartment building. Her thrush had been following Robinson since he left his office, and although she didn't know why he hadn't returned to his villa, she didn't care.

After paying the driver in cash, Rita exited the car.

Three minutes later, Rita rang Peter's doorbell.

A sultry woman in a sexy nightgown opened the door and gave Rita a once-over. "Who are you looking for?"

Rita responded formally, "I'm here to see my boss, Robinson. I have some urgent work matters to report."

The woman nodded, opened the outer door, and let her in, her expression neutral. The sound of running water came from the bedroom, suggesting Robinson was in the shower. Rita asked, "May I wait for him in the study? Just tell him his agent has something important to discuss, and he'll understand."

The woman seemed agreeable and led Rita to the study, even pouring her a glass of water.

Rita stood behind the door, took a stun baton from her inventory, and gripped it tightly in her hand. She felt excitement rather than fear. Sometimes she wondered if she was naturally drawn to danger; after all, in her previous life, she had walked the line between life and death countless times, feeling nothing but a rush rather than pain.

Soon, the sound of water stopped, followed by the sound of conversation between a man and a woman. A few moments later, footsteps approached the study.

The door opened, obscuring Rita's figure. As the familiar figure stepped into the study, Rita shut the door with her left hand and pressed the stun baton against Robinson's neck with her right.

A few seconds later, Robinson convulsed and collapsed. Rita turned the stun baton to its highest setting and held it against his chest for five minutes until he stopped moving. She then attempted to use **[Only the Dead Obey]** on Robinson. The next moment, Robinson's eyes opened, though his gaze was vacant.

She commanded Robinson to stand up, then to escort her out of the study. Under the woman's watchful eye, Robinson said goodbye to her.

By the time Rita got into a cab heading back to the nearby mall, her disguise time had 17 minutes left.

She closed her eyes and commanded Robinson to bid farewell to the woman and send a text to Amelia, asking to meet her at the office.

...

Amelia was buying wine, contemplating where to take Rita the next day so that Robinson could act while she stayed out of the way.

Truth be told, Rita had always treated her well—high pay, good benefits, and even after Rita became popular, she didn't ditch her. But Amelia had never received a share of Rita's earnings. Top agents usually got a cut of their artists' income, but whenever Amelia brought it up, Rita refused.

Amelia hadn't wanted to betray Rita, but Robinson's offer was too tempting. If she could get Rita under control and keep her in line to please the company's partners, Amelia would not only get a share of Rita's earnings but would also be given a few promising new talents from this year's reality shows to manage...

As she fantasized about the future, Robinson's text message came through.

Amelia didn't think twice. Both she and Robinson were seasoned professionals; they would never leave a paper trail for their schemes, always discussing such matters face-to-face.

She grabbed her wine and handbag and headed back to the office. A dozen young employees were still working overtime. Amelia smiled at them and even ordered them some late-night snacks, then walked into Robinson's office amid their grateful thanks.

Rita had no interest in making a corpse perform any intimate acts with her enemies. The moment Amelia stepped into the office, she commanded Robinson to hand a knife to Amelia.

Amelia was confused: "?"

Then she watched in horror as Robinson, with cold, dead hands, tightly gripped hers and forced her to stab him in the stomach.

The extreme fear and panic left Amelia unable to scream. She stood frozen, watching the still-warm blood slowly seep from the wound, sliding over her hand.

As Amelia's mind struggled to process what was happening, Robinson suddenly clutched his impaled stomach and bolted out of the office. His eyes were wide with terror as he glanced back at Amelia, his mouth forming a terrified "Aaaah!"

Amelia felt like she was in a nightmare, unable to tell whether she was awake or dreaming.

Rita's mana was draining rapidly, almost a point per minute. She only had 3 points left, but that was enough.

After running past the dozen interns in the office, Robinson reached a window, checked to make sure no one was below, and then leaped out.

...

Rita held her head as it spun from mana depletion. Although she had plenty of mana potions, she was at home now and could wait for her mana to regenerate naturally. It would take just over three hours to fully recover, as mana regenerated at one point per minute. If she consumed meat, her recovery rate would increase to 5 points per minute, restoring both health and mana.

The next morning, Rita was awakened by the doorbell. She opened the door to find a security guard and two police officers, a man and a woman. Rita controlled the thrush to fly outside and wait while she feigned surprise and invited the officers in.

After offering them water, the police asked if she knew about Robinson and Amelia's relationship.

Rita bit her lip and remained silent, expressing reluctance.

At the officers' repeated insistence, she finally spoke, "I know, and I also know that Amelia was plotting against me."

She could have pretended not to know, but that wouldn't explain her recent strange behavior—taking three days off for the first time, behaving uncharacteristically haughty, and choosing to live alone in her villa rather than with her family. Whether or not the police had investigated her so thoroughly, she acted as if they knew these details.

The officers were well-trained and didn't let their expressions slip, but after about ten more minutes of questioning, they prepared to leave. At that point, Rita asked, "May I ask if they've been arrested for a crime?"

The officers gave her a standard reply, telling her to wait for further notice.

That afternoon, Rita received a call from Samuel. His voice was warm and caring as he asked if she was facing any difficulties and expressed concern for her well-being, suggesting she take a break if she was tired.

Having played many roles, Rita adopted a tone that was both tearful and determined, saying she was indeed exhausted and needed to rest. She mentioned that her agent and the company seemed to be in trouble, and all her money had been invested, leaving her under great pressure.

There wasn't even a pause on the other end of the line. Before the call ended, Samuel had already transferred a million yuan to her account: "Daddy has money. Take it and treat yourself, my sweet girl!"

After hanging up, Rita stood expressionless by the window, staring at the distant lake.

Samuel and Rick were like master anglers—they wanted the big fish, so they offered the best bait. Every now and then, they would let the line out a little, allowing the fish to relax its guard.