This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Every time Rita questioned whether she was being too cautious, fate would step in and push her back into line.

She had also noticed the cunning side of B80234615.

While it might have been trustworthy—after all, the information it sold was accurate—it never warned players about the potential traps. One could only say that the emotions and personality in its messages were far too one-sided.

It wasn't until Rita and Nivalis had mined 10 veins, at the cost of various resources, and tested out two new rules, that players from Special Commercial Area #1211 still hadn't said a word in the battlefield chat.

Moreover, the number of online players had dropped by over two thousand. While Divine Game was a game where players died constantly, the Diamonds Miner mode was different.

The mining area was vast, and the terrain was complex. Even if players encountered each other, avoiding combat was relatively easy.

The past hour had seen the highest number of player drop-offs since the game began.

Even Lania Kaia Mistblade couldn't help but call out for Lania Kaia Fat Goose in the battlefield chat, trying to get some information.

[Lania Kaia·Mistblade]: Fat Goose, are you alright?

[Lania Kaia·Fat Goose]: You actually have the nerve to ask about me???

[Lania Kaia·Mistblade]: Why wouldn't I?

[Lania Kaia·Fat Goose]: Did you take my account on Maple Syrup?

[Lania Kaia·Maple Syrup]: Who are you insulting?

[Lania Kaia·Mistblade]: This is the battlefield chat, don't embarrass Lania Kaia. Come on, tell me, what's going on? Did the Inspector really make you guys kill each other?

[Lania Kaia·Fat Goose]: Got it.

[Lania Kaia·Mistblade]: Are you out of your mind?

[Lania Kaia·Fat Goose]: Fine.

Lania Kaia Fat Goose was greeted with a flood of insults.

But the way she avoided answering and even joked with Lania Kaia Mistblade gave everyone an odd feeling.

All the high-level players began to sense the potential rewards hidden in this situation.

If the Inspector allowed punished players to kill those who hadn't been judged yet in order to transfer their criminal marks... that meant the special commercial area was like a cage, gathering a huge number of player resources in one spot. To high-level players, this was no different from free rewards.

No one would complain about having too many World Graveyards or S-level skills.

On the other hand, low-level players were shaken to their core. Most of the players casually wandering around the safe zone immediately decided to clear out their treasure mines and leave.

However, Rita found it strange…

Undeniably, the Inspector's actions added a certain divine fun to the game.

She still remembered the first newbie message when she entered Divine Game.

— Divine Game values the balance between fun and fairness.

Whether the intent of this rule was to allow the gods to enjoy more amusement through the players, it had provided Rita with much-needed comfort and courage back then, pushing her to start the game and keep going until now.

But the situation in Special Commercial Area #1211 felt too bizarre. The Inspector's judgment of fraudulent behavior, this special event, she could accept it as a "random accident"—because there were preconditions, players had cheated, and were then judged.

But the Inspector's later decision to allow players to kill each other to transfer criminal marks seemed highly unfair.

Even if the Inspector's judgment was random, or if players of varying strength levels were chosen for checks, it couldn't cover up how unfair this system was.

Because locking players of different strengths in a confined space was almost a death sentence for low-tier players. They had no way to escape and could only wait to die.

The players who had been chatting before, such as Lania Kaia·Fat Goose (15th-tier Abyss), Tingo·Green Bean (12th-tier Nightmare), Winter Sea·Whale Full (9th-tier Agony), Ridge Tea·Ikyo (5th-tier Player), and Blazing Flame·A-Pie (4th-tier Player), all represented that Special Commercial Area #1211 hadn't managed to divide players by their strength levels, like the initial Kart Racing mode, which switched between tracks and gas stations to create separation.

Maybe they hadn't had the chance, but Rita believed they just didn't do it.

She stomped her foot firmly on the ground and looked through the hole she made. She could see a new market area, obviously another safe zone.

In a game like this, where players could simply dig their way down to enter a safe zone, it was hard to create separation between them.

Each safe zone most likely corresponded to a mining area.

So…

Since this game wasn't fair, it stood to reason that the Inspector would eventually introduce a countermeasure to adjust the fairness.

For example… killing a player to transfer a criminal mark might be allowed, but what if continued killings led to new crimes?

After all, safe zones prohibited attacks between players. The Inspector gave players the reason and freedom to attack each other, but both the reason and freedom had their limits.

Rita couldn't shake the feeling that Lania Kaia Fat Goose had sensed the trickery, which was probably why she avoided answering directly, not wanting to say too much and draw attention from other players.

Rita glanced at the flow of players in the market below—there weren't too many. She already had 10 veins of ore, so she took Nivalis and jumped down to enter the safe zone. Your adventure continues at My Virtual Library Empire

The first thing they did, as usual, was to find the game monument.

[Game·Diamond Touch]:

This safe zone is a special commercial area and will not be converted into a battle zone. However, you cannot leave this safe zone until the game is completed.

[Game Completion Condition: You need to invest no less than 500 diamonds into a robot and help it make a profit 5 times within 30 minutes.]

[If the task is not completed by the end of the time limit, the investment will fail.]

[For each failed investment, you will randomly lose one S-level skill.]

[For each successful investment, you will gain 10 languages of all races and a profit share.]

[The more successful investments, the more precious the blessings you will receive upon leaving the commercial area.]

[Highest rule of this special commercial area: The robot will not lie to you.]

[Friendly reminder: Beware of thieves.]

[Current number of players in this safe zone: 713]

Another special commercial area.

Rita felt that Divine Game was filled with malice this time.

But the worst was yet to come.

She was about to go find the robot when, as soon as she turned around, she saw Winter Sea Frenzied Shark who had just walked around the corner.

And the latter happened to look over at her.

Nivalis: "I think I want to scream."

The next second, Winter Sea Frenzied Shark teleported right in front of Rita and Nivalis.

Rita showed no sign of retreat. With a slight flutter of her wings, she flew higher, ensuring she was at eye level with the two-meter-tall Winter Sea Frenzied Shark.

She couldn't afford to lose the momentum!

[Frenzied Shark 16th-tier 100%┃89%┃Furious·Controlled·Cautious┃Taboo: BS Rita┃Weakness: Hair]

After taking a deep breath to suppress his rage and hatred, Winter Sea Frenzied Shark summoned Hatred Thorns: "I've come to return the Dragon Blood."

Rita pulled Nivalis in front of her, preparing to absorb the Dragon Blood, and warned, "Don't try anything funny, or I'll curse you again."

Winter Sea Frenzied Shark sneered: "If I don't try anything funny, you'll stop cursing me?"

Rita fell silent.

Winter Sea Frenzied Shark: "…Can't you say something pleasant?"

Rita, her face full of helplessness and irritation, replied, "Can you stop being unreasonable? I'm busy trying to finish this task."

She could say they would reconcile, and she wouldn't curse him anymore, but did she really think Winter Sea Frenzied Shark would believe that?

Winter Sea Frenzied Shark: "…"

Though it was a calm sentence, for some reason, after hearing it, the fire he had been holding back suddenly erupted…