This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

As the fight continued, everyone noticed that the Flood Dragon seemed to target Rick. Whenever there was even the slightest delay in the tanking players drawing aggro, the Flood Dragon would immediately go for Rick.

The Special Affairs Bureau members, all bound by a contract, prioritized protecting Rick.

Rita asked Shadow.Q curiously, "You have to protect my brother? Does that mean I'm also on the protection list?"

Shadow.Q, while moving Rick to a safe spot, replied, "Oh, no, not you. He's a bonus. Initially, the contract only stated protecting Zoey. Later on, she felt like she was at a disadvantage, so I threw in a bonus to make her feel better."

As if summoned by the conversation, Zoey passed behind them while dodging to reflect the beam skill of *Prayer*. "I heard that, thank you," she said.

Shadow.Q responded earnestly, "Even if it's a bonus, we won't be careless!"

Zoey: "..."

Rita: "..."

Sliding to evade a poison arrow, Rick shouted as he passed in front of them, "I heard that too, thanks!"

Shadow.Q: "Tsk..."

*Why do this rich couple keep haunting us?*

...

From Black Jade's perspective, every time it attacked the man related by blood to the young dragon's owner, at least one healing skill would immediately land on him. Each time, someone would help him take the hit, and at least two Blue Star people were constantly protecting him.

This was treatment that most of the Blue Star people here didn't get.

It also overheard what they were saying.

So that woman named Zoey was the one trying to contract it?

She had no connection to the young dragon's owner. Eliminated.

Taken together, the man they called the "bonus" was the best choice.

In every way—both rational and emotional—Black Jade favored this person!

While Black Jade had a deep mind, it wasn't the type to suppress its destructive tendencies or thirst for violence. It was shrewd because it could analyze situations, calculate pros and cons, understand enemy boundaries, and figure out what it needed to do to protect itself.

But it was also violent, never restraining its desire to inflict destruction. Once it decided on a target, it would pursue its goal, pushing the limits and acting as it wished.

So Black Jade didn't hold back. It continued to use its ultimate moves, trying to score a kill—any Blue Star human would be a gain. After leaving the dungeon, it wouldn't be able to act so brazenly, and once contracted, it would have to negotiate peacefully.

Although the lineup of players in the Flood Dragon team had changed several times, none of those who increased overall survival rates were ever removed. To the Special Affairs Bureau, each of these players was a top asset for the Los Angeles Special Affairs Bureau. Losing even one of them was a huge setback.

Ezra, Aaron, Lincoln could die at will, but not the Special Affairs Bureau players.

The Flood Dragon's health dropped to 62%, but by now, all the advanced skills, potions, needles, medicinal tablets, and even bandages were on cooldown. The skill that could cut all players' cooldowns by 50%—a Divine Gift—was also on cooldown.

More importantly, it had been twelve hours since they started clearing the dungeon in the morning. It was now 9 PM, and everyone was tired.

Seeing that everyone was about to exhaust their cooldowns, the frontline male commander took out a bronze bell and hurled it at the Flood Dragon. The next moment, the bell's illusion grew large, trapping the Flood Dragon within it.

Two commanders quickly instructed everyone to rest on the spot, eat food to recover, and wait for critical skills to come off cooldown while recovering energy.

Some players took out illumination tools and began setting them up, while Rita handed over several advanced engineering landmines to a scout, instructing him to lay traps near the Flood Dragon. This was something that had been agreed upon when Rick had first asked her for help, and she didn't hesitate. The Special Affairs Bureau had also come prepared.

While eating, Rick, Zoey, and Rita sat close together, discussing why the Flood Dragon had been targeting Rick.

Rita said, "Back then, Nivalis was also very proactive with me. Before contracting, she'd always pester me for food."

Rick had never heard of this before. He glanced at the watch on Zoey's wrist—the hour and minute hands didn't move, and the second hand was still turning clockwise, indicating that Rita wasn't lying.

Zoey's heart sank. Had Rick's luck reached the point where even pets would prioritize him?! Was he some male protagonist straight out of a wish-fulfillment story?

She probed, "Nivalis actively asked you to treat her to food? And after you did, she agreed to contract with you?"

Rita responded without a hint of guilt, "She kept chasing me, asking me to feed her. Then I said I'd take care of her food and lodging, and she said, 'Really? I don't believe you.' I said we could sign an equal contract, and she said, 'Okay, bring on the contract.'"

As soon as Rita mentioned Nivalis, everyone around fell silent and listened in.

Upon hearing this, everyone fell into silence.

How could this sound like a fairy tale? Just like that? And the dragon followed her?

*The evil dragon will never be a slave—unless there's food and lodging?*

Zoey was also speechless. Was Rita the protagonist of a female power fantasy?

What was up with these siblings?

Rita concluded, "I don't know why the Flood Dragon is focused on you; every beast is different. Their personalities and thoughts vary, but I think staying cautious is always the right move."

At that moment, Rita subtly adjusted her clothing and crushed the first *We're Not Familiar, but That's Okay.* skill stone.

She didn't know why her future self would send her a second skill stone with the same name, but she decided to act as if she'd never received the second one.

She trusted her future self as much as her present self. They were both her, and she believed in every decision she made.

Originally, she'd planned to use it close to the contract moment. But she hadn't expected today's raid to be progressing so smoothly.

Influencing Rick now, during this quiet moment of rest, had its own advantages. During battle, guidance could help one instinctively follow their feelings, but giving Rick time to prepare meant now was a better opportunity.

Even if today's raid failed, the thoughts she planted would be hard to eliminate. If necessary, she could try again in the next round.

Moments after using the skill stone, Rita heard Rick's thoughts: *Why wasn't it me who met such a stupid dragon?*

Following what Brooks had taught her, Rita silently projected her thoughts:

*Could it be that even beasts have preferences and choose their own masters?*

*The Flood Dragon favors me. Could it be testing me?*

*Did my sister tell me to be on guard because she's overthinking things? Or is it because she doesn't want me to get the Flood Dragon?*

*If I get the Flood Dragon, can I stop being bullied by Zoey? Could this give me some standing in the Lopez family?*