This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 40: The Costume

Both **Sanchez** and **Zoey** were utterly furious, their faces grim with anger. It wasn't just the physical injuries they had suffered that enraged them; it was the fact that the assailant clearly treated them like pawns in a game, orchestrating a crude attempt to pit two victims and their families against each other.

The culprit was likely reveling in their turmoil, laughing at how easily they had been manipulated.

Recently, the **White family** had been focusing heavily on developing their involvement in the game, with all its members participating. After the latest closed beta, they had been actively searching for information about other players, specifically those with **Divine Gifts** related to divination. Evidence had disappeared, so they were forced to rely on the mystical powers within the game.

Finally, they managed to track down someone with such abilities—only to discover that they couldn't divine anything about the culprit.

As both families discussed, they concluded that the perpetrator must have had grudges against both the **Su** and **Liang** families. As for the driver who was killed, he was likely just a small accomplice who was eliminated after serving his purpose.

Thus, the elders began sifting through possible suspects with ties to both families, while the younger members worked together, using their **Divine Gifts** to seek clues.

This is why Zoey approached **Rita**, asking her to boost the luck of a divination-related player using her **Wheel of Fate**. They hoped it would help reveal something. But the results were clear—nothing came of it.

Although the buzz-cut youth didn't uncover anything through his divination, his luck took a sudden turn for the better. On his way home, he stopped by a lottery shop, bought a ticket on a whim, and won a prize. This immediately caught Sanchez's attention, who, during a conversation with Zoey, mentioned the remarkable effects of Rita's **Divine Gift**.

Rita's ability seemed like it could be useful in the future.

Sanchez had long known about the **Wheel of Fate** **Divine Gift**. After the first closed beta, she had **Chávez's Eye** and used **Insight** to scan every member of the White family, discovering **Daniel White's** **Divine Gift**. She didn't make this information public, instead reporting it to the family head and keeping an eye on Daniel to see if his newfound abilities would lead him to rebel.

However, before any suspicions were confirmed, Daniel was dead.

Even though she now heard of someone with a **Divine Gift** identical to Daniel's, Sanchez didn't connect the dots. After all, it was just a **B-rank Divine Gift**. To her, it was like a low-level skill that might get re-rolled back into the system after the original user died, or it could simply be that such lower-level gifts weren't unique.

Not everyone could be as fortunate as her to draw an **S-rank Divine Gift**. Out of the nearly thousand players in the **White family**, she was the only one with an **S-rank**.

More importantly, they had confirmed that **Divine Gifts** couldn't be stolen from their users by killing them, which is why she never considered that Rita might be involved.

That evening, Rita received a text from Zoey: "Looking forward to working with you again~"

Rita wasn't surprised by Zoey's reaction—after all, one million for six hours of boosted luck was a bargain.

The next day, Rita took her newfound wealth and rented a small yacht to sail out to sea. The ocean, she thought, would be an excellent place to use **Phantom Shift** if she ever needed to escape. It was as safe and discreet as any hideout, perfect for washing away evidence before returning to normal life.

Afterward, Zoey began reaching out to her regularly, requesting her to use her ability on various people. Naturally, Rita made no effort to hide her actions. She would've broadcasted it to the world with a megaphone if she could: "I just raised your luck to 10!" she would shout.

Soon enough, Rita's name started circulating in the wealthier circles. However, her rules also spread. She only granted good luck; she never brought misfortune.

She could've lied and said her ability only worked to increase someone's luck, but that would make her seem too "innocent" and "harmless," which might arouse suspicion. Plus, she knew she'd need her ability to lower enemies' luck when raiding dungeons, so she decided not to hide the truth from the start.

Her strict rules extinguished much of the ill intent people might have had toward her. Even when approached privately with offers of up to 20 million, Rita stood firm in her refusal to use her ability to curse others. Eventually, people came to trust her, seeing her as someone smart, cautious, and trustworthy.

Besides, with her ties to the Lopez family, no one wanted to risk making her an enemy.

Rita hadn't expected that the skill that had gotten her killed in her previous life would now be earning her money.

With the end of the third closed beta, Rita no longer worried about being outed as a player. The Lopez family and other powerful figures who needed her **Divine Gift** would protect her. After all, her ability wasn't dangerous but was still unique enough to be useful—like a divination tool. She was open about using it for business, making her a reliable resource rather than a target.

If there was ever a need for a scapegoat, she wouldn't be the first choice.

Even without a background, many other players posed a greater threat. No one would go out of their way to capture someone who had business dealings with all the major families.

Rita's income now far outpaced what she earned as a celebrity. Even though many of her clients could easily obtain rare weapons or gear, she preferred to receive money and buy what she needed herself. After all, if those items mutated after the game fully invaded, she didn't want anyone to claim that she had stolen their fortune.

Now, Rita spent two to three hours a day earning extra cash with her **Wheel of Fate**, saving her money for an upcoming trip to a strange country known for its mystical artifacts. She planned to stockpile items there in hopes of triggering some mutations.

But before that, she had another task—to retrieve a costume from her past.

When she first debuted, Rita had played a supporting role as a secret guard obsessed with the male lead in a low-budget historical drama. Dressed in black from head to toe for 35 of the 36 episodes, her character had garnered attention, and the show became an unexpected hit. This was the role that had propelled her from a rookie to a third-tier actress.

Like most hit shows, the production had sold off the main characters' costumes as part of a merchandising effort. A fan had bought her costume, but after her reputation was destroyed in her previous life, the fan had been heartbroken and sold it.

Later, after the game invasion, that very costume had mutated into a high-quality blue-tier piece of gear.