This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

After reviewing her most anticipated weapon, Rita didn't rush to count how many items had mutated. Instead, she curiously pulled out the durian shell she had bought in Sawadikap.

**[Durian Shell] (D-rank):** An ominous item emitting a strange fragrance. Every day, it produces one piece of fruit. Consuming the fruit reduces your Luck by 2 for two hours. The more you eat, the longer the effect lasts.

The palm-sized durian shell already had a plump piece of durian fruit growing from it, emitting a scent identical to that of the Musang King variety. Rita leaned in for a sniff.

Rick loves durian, she thought, wondering if the **-2 Luck** effect would show up on his character panel.

As she was pondering, the doorbell rang. Rita stashed the durian shell away, deciding not to reveal it to the Wilsons until she fully understood its effects. There would be plenty of opportunities to let them have a taste later.

Rita quickly headed to the backyard to put the cat bed into her inventory before running back to open the door for Samuel and Scarlett. On her way downstairs, she used her **Insight** ability to scan all the visible items in the house, confirming that nothing else had undergone a mutation.

As soon as Scarlett stepped inside, she started rambling, exclaiming, "Oh my gosh! Has everyone turned into players? Is money going to be worthless soon? Should we spend all our cash now?"

Rita went to the bar and poured two drinks for them, making herself a coffee before bringing the drinks to the living room.

Samuel had become more withdrawn since his depression set in. His previously gentle and refined demeanor had turned into that of a brooding middle-aged man. Scarlett even said she didn't let him go out much anymore, fearing that his new "princely charm" would attract younger women.

He sat silently, sipping tea and listening to Scarlett and Rita chatter, only occasionally offering a word or two. But Rita was sure Samuel had activated his lie-detection skill when he walked in, as his mana was slowly depleting.

Rita added the two to her friends list and then said, "If you still have any money left, you might as well spend it. I also think the currency system will collapse soon. I don't have much left myself—just over ten million, but I'll spend it all in the next few days."

Scarlett sighed in frustration and asked, "What should we buy to be safe? Equipment? Or maybe potions?"

Without hesitation, Rita answered, "Gold. If you have money, stock up on gold. People I know in the Special Affairs Bureau are trading gold for in-game coins. You can ask Rick too—Lopez family info will be more reliable than mine. Ask them what will hold its value."

Samuel furrowed his brow and asked, "Do you have any connections in the Special Affairs Bureau? Can you get us something more valuable, like skills?"

Smart, Rita thought. She didn't hesitate: "I can, but there'll be kickbacks, and they only accept gold. Are you willing to pay the price?"

Samuel's mana was down to 13%, so he pressed on, "How much would a decent skill cost?"

Rita gave a rough estimate: "C-rank skills range from 50 to 200 gold, B-rank ones go from 300 to 1,500 gold, and A-rank ones can go over 10,000."

"And how do we exchange for gold coins?" Samuel asked.

According to the contract, Rita couldn't trade large amounts of gold coins for other factions, but selling her own coins didn't violate the agreement. Still, she didn't want to exchange for Samuel, knowing he'd try to exploit her.

She replied, "The Special Affairs Bureau has exchange methods, but they take a cut. You can either lose 10% or 30% depending on the method. If you're interested, I can refer you to join the Bureau for better rates."

Scarlett immediately perked up, "Can I join?"

"Sure," Rita said. Although Scarlett's Divine Gift wasn't particularly special, the Bureau needed people, and once you signed the contract, you were one of them. Enjoy new stories from empire

Samuel's expression darkened as he shook his head, "No. Rick is with the Lopez family. It's bad enough you joined the Bureau, but if I join too, what would that make us?"

Rita wasn't surprised by Samuel's reaction.

He asked one final question, "Can you exchange gold coins yourself?"

"I can, but my method is expensive. Not worth it unless you have a lot of money," Rita replied.

At this point, Samuel's mana had run out. Regretfully, he canceled his skill and said, "We've saved up most of the money you and Rick gave us over the years. We have over thirty million."

Rita chuckled, not saying whether she believed him or not. "Convert it to gold first. My method is 300g of gold per gold coin. You should ask Rick if he knows another way, compare the options, and decide. But holding onto gold won't hurt you."

After making dinner and patiently chatting for another half hour, she finally sent them off.

Once they left, Rita closed the door and started reviewing her successfully mutated items and gear.

First were the three items she'd intercepted from the Wilson family's vault: a jade hairpin, a sapphire ring, and an emerald pendant. She had seen Zoey, Sanchez, and Camila Taylor wearing these in her previous life.

Sure enough, all three had transformed into equipment.

And they were rare, high-value accessories.

All three were legendary-grade and required a level of 10 or higher to equip. At level 10, purple accessories like these would easily fetch around 800 gold each, meaning she could sell them for at least 2,400 gold altogether.

While the attributes were decent, there was nothing special about these items, so she didn't plan to wear them. Selling them in Lania Kaia or even Earth would be easy, and letting Rick and Samuel find out would add to their heartache. But she wasn't willing to risk exposure just for that—there were plenty of ways to make them suffer without creating unnecessary trouble.

As for the eight iron pots from the Lopez family restaurant, one had mutated.

**[Old Iron Pot] (A-rank):** A pot that has witnessed the century-long rise and fall of the restaurant. Cooking with it has a chance to trigger a moment of insight, allowing the user to learn secret culinary techniques. There is also a 20% chance that the dish will be even more delicious.

She set aside the non-mutated pots, planning to destroy them later.

But the White family's grandfather statue—now that was a gem.

**[Ancestor Statue] (S-rank):** Praying sincerely while touching the statue increases maximum health and mana by 10% for 10 minutes. This effect can only be triggered once every 30 minutes. (Note: If the player's surname is White, they receive an additional 10% damage boost, and the duration extends to 15 minutes.)

Rita had never touched this thing in her previous life. She had only seen it used in raids, where it was strictly reserved for White family core members. But now, it was in her possession, and the grin on her face was unstoppable.

This statue was too special. There was even a biography of the ancestor carved into the base. If the White family didn't want to be laughed at by the entire Los Angeles player base, they would have no choice but to buy it back. And with such a powerful team buff, other players would be willing to spend big to get their hands on it.

The White family wouldn't stand a chance unless they were willing to bleed for it.

Unfortunately for them, now wasn't the time to sell. She'd let them grow a little richer first—no sense in selling it off too early and getting a lower price.