This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

After completing her setup, Rita finally focused on leveling up her professional skills until her current alchemy and engineering experience were maxed out.

The cat bed was placed in the front yard of her villa. Every day, she left a portion of low-oil, low-salt meat next to the cat bed, intending to build a bond with it starting today.

By early April, Zoey and Rick's engagement was officially set. The two families had a meal together, and as Rick's sister, Rita naturally attended, maintaining politeness and a smile throughout.

The Lopez family's manners were neither particularly good nor bad—basic politeness was present, but respect was lacking.

Originally, it was just a son-in-law. Frankly, Zoey was interested in Rick's genetic material. The child could be a bit dim-witted, but not ugly. Various prenuptial agreements were being signed, and the Lopez family was huge. Even if the Lopez elders and their three children were all dead, Rick, as a son-in-law, would never control the Lopez family.

Rita had attended a similar meal in her previous life, where the Lopez family was cold, and she felt sorry for Rick. This time, she focused on eating and smiling. After the Lopez family left, only Zoey stayed behind. Rita wanted to leave but was held back by Rick.

Rick looked at Rita with concern and tentatively asked, "Sis, are you unhappy about my marriage?"

Seeing Zoey's unusual expression, Rita wanted to ask Rick if he thought he was making himself look more attractive by making Zoey feel insecure. Why was he so petty?

She looked at Rick with a surprised expression and said, "Of course not! I'm happy for you."

Rick, with an expression of disbelief, said, "Then why have you been..."

Rita sighed, "I'm genuinely happy for you and Zoey. It's just that the company is having some issues, and I might be out of a job."

Rick was still skeptical, but Rita opened her bank app and showed him the thirty million in her account: "See this number? Doesn't it make you anxious?"

Rick's smile faltered. He wanted to accuse her of being dramatic, but Rita's sincerity was too apparent.

Zoey, however, believed it. This amount of money was just a month's worth of pocket money for her, so it was indeed concerning. Her doubts were entirely dispelled.

Rick noticed Zoey's reaction. He realized that he couldn't elicit Zoey's sympathy today. There would be other opportunities. Smiling, he pulled out his phone and started transferring money to Rita: "Sister, it's okay. I'll support you."

Just as Rita was about to smile, Zoey interrupted, pressing Rick's hand down. She took out her own phone, asked for Rita's bank account details, and transferred twenty million: "This is from Rick and me, a little pocket money for you."

Rita immediately withdrew her smile towards Rick and smiled at Zoey: "I have pictures of Rick from when he was little on my phone. I'll send them all to you later. Don't worry, I'll delete them from my side after sending them. You'll be the only one with them in the whole world!"

Zoey's smile became even more sincere.

Jealousy, huh? Female competition, huh? Treating me as a pawn in your game, huh?

Seeing Rick's smile growing more strained, Rita greeted Samuel and Scarlett before leaving with a refreshed demeanor.

...

Once her most critical skills were leveled up to maximum, Rita began to focus on her next moves.

She hadn't heard any updates about the White family, as she wasn't on their level. Even if the Lopez family knew, they wouldn't share with the Wilson family.

She wasn't going to wait any longer. Rick's thoughts had truly disgusted her.

Rick wasn't without work. If he had been jobless, Zoey wouldn't have been interested. He was a game streamer with good looks and skills, and a large fan base. He made hundreds of thousands each month just from tips.

He also had a small apartment dedicated to his work.

Rita didn't plan to handle Rick personally. She had met many escapees during her previous life. Following one escapee's advice, she found another city's underground network and used 50 kilograms of gold to hire a person to shoot someone's gun, ensuring no one was harmed—an extremely cost-effective transaction.

The gold had been taken from Samuel's study. Samuel's money had indeed been used against him—how clever.

Concerned that the hired person might be overshadowed by the protagonist's halo, Rita scheduled the action for the morning of April 5th, right after Rick left. She hoped not many people would see, as she still hoped Rick would marry into the Lopez family.

On the night of April 4th, Rita woke up at 6 AM and went to the Wilson estate to retrieve three luxury handbags she had purchased. She drank a basic invisibility potion along with a basic phasing potion and walked through walls to Rick's room, using **[Wheel of Fate]** to set his luck to 1.

The entire house was nearly unaware of her return. However, those who checked the neighborhood or elevator surveillance would have seen her arriving at 6 AM and leaving with three designer bags in less than half an hour.

By 8 AM, after selling the three bags to a nearby second-hand store, she heard seven gunshots from a street away. Rita paused, thinking, could it be that luck 1 couldn't even hit anything?

After a moment, she received a notification of mission failure.

"Damn it, what a nightmare. Seven shots and none hit. The person just dodged around randomly. Is this a movie or something? I'm a sharpshooter. Do you understand what a sharpshooter means?"

Could it be too cruel? Even with a luck of 1, the protagonist's halo might protect him? After all, the protagonist can survive near-death experiences and severe injuries, but not become a eunuch...

Rita sent another message: "Try using a knife instead. Don't be too harsh, just cut him halfway."

"?"

"Don't worry, the price remains the same."

"Why did he offend you?" The sharpshooter asked respectfully.

"Make it quick! Otherwise, I won't pay the balance. Remember to take away and destroy the severed parts."

Half an hour later, Rita received a call from Scarlett, who was hysterical and asked her to come to the hospital quickly, saying her brother had had an accident.

Rita, her face expressionless under her mask, spoke with feigned concern and panic: "What happened?! What happened? Hello? Mom?"

Samuel took the call, his voice exhausted, and gave her an address.

Rita was genuinely surprised; it was another escapee's black clinic from her past life!

By the time she arrived at the clinic, Rick had already been out of the operating room for a while.

In the dim, narrow ward, Samuel sat by the bed smoking, while Scarlett continued to cry. When she saw Rita, she started to scold her but couldn't come up with a reason to blame Rita for the injury, given the absurdity of the situation.

After a long, fruitless attempt to find words, she managed to say: "Why are you only arriving now?"

Then she resumed crying by the bed.

Rita, with a somber yet pained expression, showed disbelief and reluctance, putting her acting skills to the test: "This is impossible! Did he offend someone?"

Samuel, lost in thought, had nearly burned his fingers on the cigarette without taking a puff.

Scarlett shook her head between sobs: "He's so well-behaved, how could he offend anyone!"

Rita: "Can he be reattached?"

Scarlett: "The person had a gun. How much hatred could there be? Initially, he missed. The person then fired seven more shots! Later, they used a knife. It's truly heartless!

An animal..."

Rita: Nice! Fifty kilograms of gold well spent!!!