This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Rita had made up her mind: she was going to rob the Lopez family, her personal ATM.

Ever since selling them those thousand belts, she'd been keeping a close eye on the Lopez family's movements. She'd planted undead spiders not only in the Lopez mansion but also in Rick's office and car.

She didn't know how thorough their **Insight** skills or detection tools were, but the spiders were tiny, and the information displayed above them was barely readable, akin to the smallest line on an eye chart. Hiding in the corners, they were nearly invisible.

With her **Chávez Pocket Watch** allowing her to modify information on controlled objects, the spiders' statuses now read:

**[Rotten Little Spider] HP: 1/1 (Controller: Rick)**

If the spiders were ever discovered, she'd just leave it as a surprise for Rick.

On January 24th, the third day after the game's arrival, the world had already been turned upside down. Everywhere, people were racing to discuss the game. Even casual conversations at breakfast stalls revolved around **Divine Gifts**, the game, superpowers, and equipment.

The new era was a complete reshuffling of the social order—those who advanced first would soar to the top, while those who fell behind might never catch up.

The Lopez family had started preparing for this as early as after the second beta test. They, like many other families, had been stockpiling game-related resources. However, back then, players were rare and preferred to stay hidden, reluctant to reveal themselves. Even the Lopez family had only managed to locate a few hundred players, and even fewer were willing to trade with them.

After the third beta test, the family intensified their efforts, recruiting players and gathering intel. But as with any large ship, turning quickly was difficult. Liquidating assets and going through proper procedures couldn't be done in just a few months. Worse, anyone capable of taking over their industries knew the winds of change were blowing.

Those who didn't know were incapable of stepping in to help.

It was an awkward situation.

The Lopez family's wealth ran deep. When they were robbed of over four thousand gold bricks, it was less than half their reserves. Still, it was enough to sustain them for a long time. However, whether it was the belt and potion trades or the connections Rita had with the Special Affairs Bureau, none of the transactions accepted cash anymore—only gold. This realization spurred the family into action.

Over the past half month, they'd funneled large amounts of liquid capital into buying gold. Some of their industries were sold off at discounts, but they only accepted gold or equipment in exchange. Now, a hundred green-quality items could be traded for a property in Los Angeles.

Through her undead spiders, Rita overheard Su Langfeng advising Mateo to be cautious of enemies in the shadows:

*"You should personally oversee this batch of gold. Bring 20 extra men with you. Spread them out—each person carries a portion of the gold. Don't gather them in one place and risk getting wiped out in one go."*

Rita had to admire their caution.

But caution wasn't going to stop her. Her plan was to take them out all at once. Even if Mateo himself was cautious, Rita was confident she could eliminate him directly. Stay tuned for updates on empire

Upon hearing this news, Rita immediately canceled all her other plans. She stayed home, brewing potions and keeping tabs on the spiders. After hearing Su Langfeng's arrangements, she directed her spider out of the Lopez mansion and into the bushes.

The Lopez family's attention to detail in staff training was commendable. The moment a young master planned to leave, the driver would have the car waiting. No way was Mateo going to stand outside waiting for a car like he'd called an Uber.

Spotting the cars, the spider crawled into the middle one.

At the same time, the spider hiding in Rick's car emerged and randomly entered one of the vehicles.

Rita wasn't sure which car Mateo would take, but since the gold would be split among the vehicles, it didn't matter who she followed.

Unlike shady deals made at midnight in secluded corners, the Lopez family's gold exchange was set to take place in broad daylight at their busy city-center restaurant, during the peak of the lunch rush.

At noon on January 24th, Rita entered her safe house. She pulled out a wooden bow and softly shot six arrows into the corner, then used her **Disguise** skill to transform into a frail, bony old woman. Since there was a high chance she'd face a direct confrontation today, she used her **Chávez Pocket Watch** to modify her in-game ID to something plain and inconspicuous: "Ordinary Auntie."

After activating **Phantom Cloak**, she **Phantom Shifted** to the back kitchen of the Lopez family restaurant in downtown Los Angeles.

Mateo and his men were upstairs discussing business.

The restaurant was bustling, and with so many people coming and going, it was too risky to have the spiders move around. They'd likely get squashed in the chaos, so it was better to leave them in the car, continuing to monitor the group's movements. Ideally, the spiders would even catch a ride back to the Lopez mansion.

Rita didn't head upstairs. Instead, she stayed in the underground parking lot, standing near Mateo's designated parking spots, waiting patiently while occasionally sipping on mana potions or coffee to maintain her **Phantom Cloak**.

Half an hour later, Mateo and his entourage came down.

Rita blinked in disbelief—there were so many people it looked like a concert had just ended. The parking lot was packed with people.

What was going on? Weren't there only 17 players leaving earlier?

Now, nearly a hundred people were gathered, all flocking around Mateo as they headed toward the parking lot.

Rita was dumbfounded. Just how much gold were they exchanging?

The crowd split into smaller groups, with every four people getting into a car. It was clear they were planning to leave in a convoy.

They had spread out, but not too much. If one car got attacked, the others could converge quickly. And with the gold divided among them, it would be difficult to determine which car held the treasure.

Despite Mateo's smokescreen, Rita recognized two of his most trusted aides from the original group of 17 players. Both were standing on the outer edges, heading toward separate vehicles.

"Well, well," she mused. "Let the games begin."