This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 231: [8Tong]

Mistblade handed Rita a gemstone, a notebook, and eleven bottles of perfume. Rita quickly put away the gemstone and perfume, then opened Mistblade’s notebook to examine it briefly. She found that the first half was filled with detailed explanations on processing herbs, extracting their essence, and removing unnecessary parts. The last three pages covered how to condense these herbal essences into gemstones. This was more than just a recipe; it contained a wealth of knowledge. Suppressing her excitement, Rita stowed the notebook and looked at Mistblade, signaling for her to continue.

For the A-rank skill, Mistblade only offered one choice: [Fog’s Arrival]. "This is a special technique of the Fogtail Clan. Once you learn it, you can transform into thick fog, with the area of effect determined by your intelligence. The fog is everywhere and hard to pinpoint. All tracking skills will lose direction within it, and most single-target skills directed at the fog will have reduced damage, as hitting the fog is like hitting only a small part of your body."

"This skill has its weaknesses, though. Any area-of-effect (AoE) skill can counter it to some extent. But of course, as with any skill, if the user is strong enough, there’s no such thing as a counter. As long as your defense is high enough to withstand AoE attacks, this skill has no real weakness."

Rita agreed without hesitation. Just as Mistblade said, with enough power, counters become irrelevant. Besides, the benefits of this skill were too enticing! She was quite satisfied.

Mistblade pulled out the skill book, and Rita practically snatched it from her hands. Without delay, she handed over [4Wan] to the Moon Emperor, Mistblade. Oddly, Mistblade didn’t look at it right away. Instead, she tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and ran her thumb over the tile’s markings, frowning and looking irritated.

Rita didn’t waste time watching her. She simply said, "Pleasure doing business," and turned to sprint toward the direction of Polar City. The fog hadn’t dispersed, which slowed her down considerably.

If she could, she’d rather save her escape gems. Those things hadn’t shown up in the auction house; they were simply impossible to buy, no matter how much money she had. With the Flame Spirit Ring, she was confident she could withstand any attack from Mistblade before using the gem, if it came to that.

Mistblade watched her disappear into the distance but didn’t pursue. Rita’s background was complicated, with unknown alliances, and one had to be wary of the Bull-Headed Shaman’s dirty tricks, not to mention the weight the dragons carried.

Moreover, Mistblade guessed that with someone as crafty as this goblin, she wouldn’t reveal their deal to anyone. With everything Rita had taken from her, she wouldn’t risk tarnishing their exchange—it would be hard to explain, after all.

Once she escaped the fog zone, Rita hung the pocket watch back around her neck, teleporting occasionally while running. As she dashed, she used the skill book for [Fog’s Arrival], relaxing only when the book turned to ash after she learned the skill.

After turning a few corners and ensuring she was out of Mistblade’s line of sight, she activated her Invisibility Spell combined with Shadow Step and teleported to the city’s teleportation array.

Before using the array, Rita gathered all her spoils from Mistblade: the mahjong tile, the notebook, two gemstones, and the ten bottles of perfume. She sprayed herself thoroughly with [I Really Don’t Have Time to Shower], even covering the soles of her shoes, used up [Spring Not Late], and then stored everything along with the half-empty perfume bottle.

She paid the teleportation fee and returned to Yaslan City. After leaving the city, she started teleporting toward the undersea volcano.

Once she was deep underwater, Rita finally had time to think about her new mahjong tile—[8Tong].

Two neat rows of acorns, four in each row, reminded her of the [6Tong] tile she had previously stolen from Mistblade Moon Emperor. Why were there so many tong tiles in Mistblade’s possession?

Recalling Mistblade’s look of disappointment and annoyance when she received [4Wan], Rita couldn’t help but chuckle. Was Mistblade trying to assemble a bomb or maybe a three-of-a-kind?

Looking at her own collection of tiles, though, Rita’s smile froze. She didn’t even have a pair…

Currently, Rita had four tiles:

- [6Tong] and [8Tong] from Mistblade Moon Emperor,

- [3Wan] from the seabed, and

- [5Wan] brought back by a cat from her cat house.

It looked like a lot, but together, they amounted to nothing… And if not for her Magician’s False Tooth, each tile would take up a separate slot in her inventory without being stackable.

Only now did she realize the system notification she had received when obtaining [4Wan]. Her honor points had increased by 10,000!

But then there were additional records showing that she gained another 10,000 honor points, only to have them deducted again.

This was likely a result of obtaining [8Tong] and then handing over [4Wan]. The honor points intrigued her even more, making her increasingly curious about the purpose of these tiles.

Though she still had over forty minutes left on her disguise, Rita didn’t dare linger in Lania Kaia any longer. She quickly returned to Blue Star and, after spending some gold, checked the time. It was still afternoon.

Realizing she had time to get something done before dinner, she opened her messaging interface and found her secretary, Shadow.Q.

[Rita]: Shadow.Q, want to grab dinner? I’ve got a big business deal to discuss with you. Find more chapters on novelbuddy.com

[Shadow.Q]: What kind of big business, Rita?

[Rita]: …I suggest you take back that cringe-inducing nickname. This deal could mean I tell you months in advance how to exchange gold for coins in Lania Kaia.

[Shadow.Q]: My queen, which restaurant would you like? Shadow.Q will make the reservation right away.

[Rita]: …

[Shadow.Q]: Shadow.Q is at your service, always. Just say the word.

[Rita]: I prefer your rebellious side.

[Shadow.Q]: That’s impossible! No matter how fierce I am outside, here, I am forever your Shadow.Q.

[Rita]: Enough… Enough… You’re giving me goosebumps. Just pick the restaurant; I’m not picky.

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[Shadow.Q]: At your command, my queen! ∠(°ゝ°)!

Closing the chat, Shadow.Q stood up, leaving the minor Special Affairs Bureau meeting. No need to waste time discussing why the person at the top of the wealth rankings had suddenly gained so many coins. It was irrelevant—no one was going to donate them. As for Rita’s honor points, if she didn’t want to explain, no one could force her.

Under the astonished stares of her sixteen colleagues, Shadow.Q looked at Landon and said, "Rita wants to meet with me. She says she can tell us how to exchange gold for coins in Lania Kaia ahead of schedule. Sorry, but I’ll have to cut this meeting short."

Landon’s frown immediately turned into a smile. "Go on, then. Don’t waste time here. Go, go."

Shadow.Q ran her fingers through her hair, giving a polite nod and smile to her stunned colleagues as she left the room with elegance.

[We Are Special Affairs Bureau’s Finest Mules] (17 Members)

"Landon’s mood changes faster than anyone’s…"

"I’m about to lose it!"

"Is her Divine Gift called [Bring It On, Try to Kill Me]?"

"No, it’s [Elegance Never Fades]."

"She shouldn’t be a ranged fighter; she should be a tank with those taunt skills!"

"Shadow.Q is so annoying…"

"Should we kick her out of the group?"

"She’s the group owner… She invited us all."

"Never mind, then."