This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 44: The Value of the "Wheel of Fate

It wasn't just Rita who had grown accustomed to these dinners—so had Scarlett and Samuel. Each time, Samuel would bring out a bottle of his latest liquor, claiming, "This is the good stuff your uncle's been saving for special occasions. Since you're Rick's friend, I'll treat you like a son. Come, let's have a drink together!" The cups and the lines never changed.

As expected, when Rita entered the private room, she saw Julian, whom she had met not long ago in City B. But now, he looked worn out, as though he was about to break apart.

Although his eyes lit up briefly when he saw Rita, his mood quickly sank again. Lately, Julian had been incredibly unlucky—he hadn't won a single game, not even when the odds were in his favor. The situation with his fans had blown up, and the people he had offended in City B had come after him. Even staying home doing nothing, he would choke on his food...

When everyone sat down, Rick seemed more anxious than Julian himself, immediately pulling out a five-pound gold bar and handing it to Rita. "Sis, please help my friend out. He's had the worst luck recently."

Rita didn't bother with modesty. She was wary that if she refused, Rick might take back the gold brick without further insistence. She skillfully dodged Scarlett's elbow jabs, pocketed the gold bar, and then used her skill on Julian.

It didn't take much thought for Rita to realize what had likely happened: Julian had probably eaten food Rick had made, but hadn't paid for it.

With Rick's dishes, it wasn't just about skipping the bill—Rick secretly cooked and served people without letting them know they needed to pay! By paying Rita to boost Julian's luck, Rick was doing him a favor, adding a sweetener to build more trust and gratitude.

This was a tactic Rick had used on her in the past.

But now, seeing Rick manipulate a brother who had once been his trusted companion, Rita only felt validated in coming to this dinner—she could probably eat an extra two bowls of rice with this new insight.

Rita decisively boosted Julian's luck to 10, letting him experience the charm of **Another Happy Day**. From Rick's attitude, it seemed like Julian would likely become a regular customer of her services in the future.

Even when the game invaded reality, this skill would be a goldmine.

When defeating a boss and opening a treasure chest, wouldn't **Another Happy Day** be essential?

Although Rick, Rita, and even Zoey had maxed-out luck, it was important to remember that the trio were main characters—Rick and Zoey by birthright, and Rita by nurture, having developed her luck from 8 to 10.

Most regular people had a luck score around 5. Over the past months, Rita had adjusted the luck of many wealthy individuals and had used Chávez's watch to inspect many others. Even among the highly successful people she had only seen on TV before, their luck often peaked at just 7.

Of course, this made sense—these elite figures reached the top through a combination of intellect, connections, emotional intelligence, and hard work. Luck was merely a cherry on top.

But opening treasure chests in the game? That was all about luck—pure and simple.

The White family, for instance, had kept Daniel White's Divine Gift hidden to such an extent that they likely had a special artifact to mask his talent. Even Rita had heard rumors that the White family's loot drop rates were significantly higher after dungeons compared to others.

Unlike other families, including the Lopez family, where only Zoey could consistently draw rare items from chests, the White family seemed to always walk away with impressive rewards. Nobody knew why.

It wasn't until Daniel White had used **Wheel of Fate** against her repeatedly that Rita pieced together the nature of his Divine Gift. Later, when Daniel captured her, she begged him to confirm her suspicions. With nothing left to lose, Daniel admitted it—after all, she wasn't going to live long enough to spread the word.

Thinking back, Miss White had spared no expense trying to capture her, only for the Lopez family to snatch victory at the last moment.

Rita was now resolved to use her divine skill to benefit the players of Los Angeles! With careful management, she could use **Wheel of Fate** four times a day, becoming the ultimate winner while still avoiding burnout. Players would stay up all night gaming anyway!

The only issue left was deciding the pricing. It couldn't be as cheap as it was now, but it also couldn't be too outrageous, or she might attract too much attention and risk becoming a target.

The entire dinner, Rita was lost in her own thoughts, refining her plans for monetizing **Wheel of Fate** after the game's invasion.

At the dinner table, Rita was cold toward Julian, but he didn't dare complain. He hadn't fully experienced the effects of a luck score of 10 yet, and as a fellow player, he didn't know when he might need her Divine Gift. Despite any dissatisfaction, he swallowed his pride, only grumbling to himself about how this woman lacked proper manners.

Rita didn't care about his thoughts. Sure, she wanted to cultivate Julian as a customer, but this was a service he needed from her, not the other way around. She had no shortage of clients.

Rick, on the other hand, found no issue with Rita's attitude. In fact, this suited his plan perfectly—her indifference only highlighted how good a friend Rick was to Julian.

When Rita finally got home, it was late, but she still spent another hour preparing food for the cats in her yard.

The weather had turned colder, and more and more cats were seeking refuge in her yard. Rita had a custom pet house built, installed heated mats, and arranged it all inside. There were so many cats now that she couldn't bear to see the weaker ones freezing outside while the stronger ones slept comfortably.

She even installed a motion-sensor faucet, so any passing cat could have fresh water whenever they needed it.

That was as much as she could do for them.

Rita squatted by the floor-to-ceiling windows, facing the yard, where a calico cat was pawing at the door, wanting to come inside.

She wagged her finger at it, saying, "Not a chance."

—"Meow~"

"Impossible," she replied coldly, getting up and walking away.

Over the next few days, Rita continued upgrading the cats' backyard. She bought some cat toys and climbing frames and even installed a retractable canopy that could shield them from the rain while still letting in sunlight.

She justified her actions by telling herself that she was merely ensuring the cat bed would mutate after the game's invasion—not because she was softening up to the cats.

As she busied herself, she kept pondering the pricing for **Wheel of Fate**. The more she thought about it, the more she realized her paranoia was flaring up again. The skill was just as dangerous as **Roleplay**.

A Divine Gift that could alter luck and swap attributes wasn't rated **B-class** for no reason.