This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Zoey had an incredibly strong sense of possessiveness. Once she identified someone or something as hers, she didn't like others trying to take it away. If anyone dared to compete with her, she would become obsessively focused on that thing. Rick had often hinted to Zoey that his sister, Rita, might have feelings for him—just to trigger Zoey's possessive instincts.

So, after considering all the clues, Meow.Q seemed the most suspicious. The terms they offered and their identity were questionable. If she were in Zoey and Rick's shoes, she'd also likely find a connection to Shadow.Q, but since Shadow.Q wouldn't personally get involved, it made sense for Meow.Q to be the go-between.

Rita didn't bother to check other threads for analyses debating if she was being scammed. She simply turned off the comments on her post. If the next day Zoey really showed up, it would be proof of her sincerity. Rita swore she genuinely hoped Zoey and Rick could secure the dragon.

But if Zoey didn't show up, it would at least pressure her into action.

At noon, Rita activated her *Disguise* skill, transforming into a tall, slender dog-like figure standing at two meters. She donned a mask, sunglasses, a baseball cap, and gloves—fully committing to her role as someone trying to hide their identity. She even changed her in-game ID to "Han Shi" before heading to the location Meow.Q had provided.

When she arrived, Rita felt reassured.

There were only three people in the room: Meow.Q, Shadow.Q, and a fully armed, masked individual whom Rita instantly recognized as Zoey, even though others might not. The presence of Meow.Q and Shadow.Q clearly indicated that they were there to ensure Zoey didn't kill her.

Although Meow.Q hadn't explicitly mentioned the Special Affairs Bureau in their deal, they had brought Shadow.Q into the conversation. If something happened to the seller, it could implicate the Bureau.

Everything proceeded smoothly. After verifying the code written on the slip of paper from the previous day, Zoey took Rita to a small room next door, set up a soundproof barrier, and began to sing *Hope's Anthem*.

Rita had to admit, the song was truly beautiful. It consisted solely of a simple "ah" sound, but it was pure and clear, almost cleansing her soul.

By the time the song ended, Rita found herself a bit reluctant for it to be over. She opened her stats panel, and to her satisfaction, her available attribute points had increased from 0 to 1.

Rita, with her luck stat of 10, had succeeded on the first try.

Though her instincts as a player nearly kicked in and made her want to take action, she refrained from doing anything that might expose her. Showing signs of an injury, like losing health during a peaceful situation, would have been far too suspicious.

As the song finished, Rita stood up decisively. "We'll meet again in ten days."

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Zoey, her face calm, nodded in agreement. She didn't seem particularly concerned whether the person calling themselves "Han Shi" had succeeded or not.

---

The moment Rita left the room, she drank an invisibility potion and quickly fled the area.

After returning home for lunch, she spent some time studying the *Moon Fox Guide* that Apache had given her. Once that was done, she headed off to her training session at the Special Affairs Bureau's camp.

The camp was located at a golf course, with different sections and classes spread out across the grounds. After parking, Rita began her usual routine of strapping on weights, but when she glanced up, she couldn't believe her eyes—was that Zoey?

**Rita:** "Zoey's in the training camp? Isn't this place supposed to be for people who have deep partnerships with the Special Affairs Bureau?"

**Shadow.Q:** "Yep."

**Rita:** "So she's got a deep partnership now?!"

**Shadow.Q:** "She deeply paid for it."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

**Rita:** "… Thanks, I get it now."

**Shadow.Q:** "I knew you were smart!"

**Rita:** "Why didn't my brother come?"

**Shadow.Q:** "Not deep enough."

**Rita:** "…"

Rita immediately regretted asking.

Watching Zoey walk toward the service desk, Rita couldn't help but feel a sense of irony. Her enemy was finally striving for success. In their previous life, Zoey had everything handed to her; she never had to work this hard.

But now? Rita was already calculating how to keep Zoey down. There was no way she would let her enemy rise.

Zoey had to stay on her knees.

As for Ezra, even though he was suffering now, that suffering wasn't her doing, so it didn't matter. Sanchez? She knew she'd been forgetting something!

She had been so focused on playing the game with Rick's crew that she had completely isolated the young one.

She really needed to make a revenge schedule.

Rita considered approaching Zoey once she was inside, but quickly realized they weren't in the same training group. That made sense—her group was filled with lone wolves, while Zoey was likely surrounded by players involved in complex political factions.

As for why Rick wasn't here? The tuition was probably too high, and Zoey had likely left him at home. Rita figured Rick would come knocking soon enough. When a man couldn't rely on his wife's wealth, he turned to his sister.

After her training session, Rita returned to Lania Kaia, primarily to ask Apache about how to solve the language barrier issue.

Normally, language wasn't much of a problem. Communication was easy, and over time, she had started to ignore it. In Blue Planet, all the invaders could understand the languages spoken there. In her previous life, some invaders had explained that crossing the dimensional gate gave them a blessing, allowing them to comprehend all Blue Planet languages.

In Lania Kaia, however, the Twelve Saint Tribes didn't share a common language, and they used translation devices when communicating with each other. But if she were to transform into a Moon Fox and still need a translator to communicate, she'd be immediately exposed. Plus, the movements of her mouth wouldn't match the Moon Fox language.

Unfortunately, when she arrived, Apache wasn't there. Only Kayden was.

When Kayden saw Rita, she cheerfully waved. "Ravenclaw~! Why are you here so late today?"

Rita, already used to Kayden's bubbly greeting, calmly waved back.

Since Shadow.Q hadn't provided any updates on why she shouldn't turn into animals, Rita decided to try and get some information from Kayden instead.

Kayden wasn't interested in smoking or drinking, and she wasn't particularly passionate about games or toys either. Even alchemy didn't seem to obsess her—she liked it, but not to the point of being obsessed.

Kayden's interests were simple: she loved gold.

Her dream was to buy a small house in the Undercity, work at the alchemy shop, live there, and grow old—until she had to say goodbye to Apache. Apache, of course, had a lot of issues with Kayden's dream.

Rita, now in her goblin form, climbed onto a small stool behind the counter and stood next to Kayden. The two shorties stood side by side, watching the bustling streets outside the shop.

Rita pulled out some snacks and fruit, and after Kayden had eaten enough, Rita quietly handed her a gold coin, whispering, "You got any intel to sell?"

Kayden slipped the coin into her hand, not moving a muscle as she looked out at the street. She whispered back, "Selling it all. Clearance sale. Everything I know!"

Rita chuckled to herself. She had found the mole.

Rita asked, "Do you know why Apache told me not to turn into an animal recently?"

This information was clearly related to the conflict between Blue Planet and Lania Kaia.

Kayden's large eyes were especially noticeable on her thin, pale face. She stared at Rita for a long time before finally whispering, "The newly appointed deputy city lord has a talent that allows him to see the memories of any living creature from the past 30 days. He really, really, *really* loves small animals."