This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Marmang-Crab leaped onto the table, his voice booming across the restaurant. Rita wasn't the least bit moved. She could already guess exactly what that crab was about to say. "Give us the money!!" Marmang-Crab roared. Rita scoffed. She knew it. Not a single soul in this restaurant had a shred of integrity. She was about to use Master Thief Dragon to escape, planning to rewind time and hide in the kitchen before customers arrived. But before she activated her ability, she cast a skill on the octopus-like customer carrying her—[I Just Want to Improve So Badly]. Until now, she hadn't used this skill on any of the customers. These cosmic beings were too unpredictable—some were formless, others radiated toxic energy from a distance, and some didn't even display basic information like health or mana. When stealing, the most important thing wasn't just getting the loot—it was getting away afterward. And right now, she had nowhere to run. She had been holding back to avoid drawing unnecessary trouble to the restaurant. If she wrecked their business, the other three teammates would absolutely hunt her down for payback. But now, she had nothing to lose. As for time manipulation… That was where B80234615 came in handy. More than once, while she was busy working, B80234615 would suddenly warn her, "The timestream just rippled. Someone used a time skill." And it wasn't rare. The game had only been running for half a day, and it had already happened over twenty times. With so many high-level players in the same area, it was inevitable. Even though time skills were incredibly rare, with tens of thousands of divine players gathered in one place, the number of users wasn't small. She didn't even have to bet on it—just like what had happened in her fight against Jameson. Back then, too many time abilities had been used at once, creating a chaotic timeflow that eventually locked out all time skills. That scenario was bound to repeat itself. B80234615 had been invaluable in helping her track these fluctuations. The only downside was that it refused to reveal which players had time abilities. "This concerns the privacy of Divine Game players," B80234615 explained. "I can't give you a direct list. However, when you encounter divine players, I can help you scan their information and provide knowledge about the World Battlefield. But I can't just hand you names. Do you understand the difference?" Rita understood. One option was directly sharing a database. The other was searching through available data when necessary. She asked, "Even though you're my pet now?" "Even though I belong to you now," B80234615 replied. "Great. That's just great." B80234615 simply responded, "Yes." At the very least, this meant that other mechanical race chip users also couldn't access her private information. And the fact that B80234615 could detect when time abilities were being used in her vicinity was already a huge advantage. Just from this, Rita had decided—unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn't use her time skill. The less she used it, the shorter the duration of any time-lock penalties in case of another timeflow disruption. But right now was absolutely necessary. She attempted [I Just Want to Improve So Badly] nine times in a row—but every single attempt failed. That almost never happened. It was clear that something was interfering. Rita didn't mind, though. The robe Pine Bloom had given her was constantly healing her, so it wasn't like she was losing anything. Meanwhile, Marmang-Crab had already started counting the money. Holding a handful of ancient-looking fossils, he carefully confirmed that they were valid currency that could be registered in the restaurant's revenue. Satisfied, he waved his claw at the octopus customer. "Please come again." A moment later, Marmang-Crab was also tied up. "…Huh?" Rita was about to abandon her skill and activate Master Thief Dragon when B80234615 spoke up in her mind. "The timestream has rippled again. Not just once." She paused. "You mean multiple people are using time skills at the same time?" "Not just multiple players—some are using it repeatedly." "How many players just used time skills? What's the highest number of times someone used it in a row?" "In the last ten seconds, 31 players activated time abilities. The highest repeated usage by a single player was seven times." Rita's thoughts moved at lightning speed. She immediately abandoned the idea of using time skills. Something major was happening. That many high-level players wouldn't all be rewinding time at the same moment unless the situation was critical. Of course, it was possible that some of them were clueless—players who had never encountered a timeflow disruption before and didn't realize that messing with time too much would trigger consequences. But the odds of that were slim. For the first few hours of the game, players had been extremely conservative with their time abilities. In total, time skills had only been used a little over twenty times. And now? Over thirty in just ten seconds? She had to assume the worst. Rita completely relaxed, deciding to just ride this out with the octopus customer. If it hadn't eaten her immediately, then she still had room to maneuver. And besides, Marmang-Crab was here too. Turning to the crab, now tied up beside her, she smiled. "What a coincidence. Shouldn't you be asking for money too?" Marmang-Crab, who had been cursing nonstop, froze for a moment—then immediately yelled at the octopus, "PAY UP! THROW THE MONEY ON THE TABLE! OR I'LL DIE RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF YOU!" The customer, already several meters away, suddenly stopped walking. Then, to Rita's utter shock, it actually turned back and dropped some money on the counter. Not only that, but it even set up a protective barrier around the payment. A silver thread rose from the shield, linking itself to the painting on the restaurant wall—a picture of a crab and a little human figure. B80234615 quickly explained, "That barrier can only be opened by the creator of the painting." As Rita processed this, she started to get a feel for the octopus customer's personality. She decided to test something. Switching to Sky-Crab language, she asked, "Senior, since you've taken me with you, does that mean I'm your employee now? Shouldn't you pay me a salary?" Marmang-Crab stared at her with an expression that could only be described as pure bewilderment. The octopus didn't respond right away. Then, after a few seconds, a small pouch of fossil currency floated into Rita's hands. At the same time, the tentacle wrapped around her loosened slightly, only restraining her legs now while freeing her upper body. Catching the bag, Rita confirmed her suspicions. This customer was stubborn and domineering, but it wasn't completely unreasonable. And it probably wasn't planning to eat them. Marmang-Crab snapped out of his shock, instantly raising his claws and shouting: "BOSS—!!!"