This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Finding a suitable place for Black Jade was not easy.

First, they had to eliminate any areas near dungeons with active portals. Currently, places with portals for dungeons ranging from level 1 to level 8 were always crowded. In addition to players, there were street vendors, 24-hour convenience stores, and queue-for-you services—sometimes even more lively than city centers.

Aside from that, there were three types of secluded, less populated areas: rural villages, wealthy districts, and deep mountains or forests.

The deep mountains and forests were difficult to supervise.

The Special Affairs Bureau had also avoided rural villages. Even the most remote village was only a few minutes away from the city by Flood Dragon.

While Shadow.Q was still negotiating with Black Jade, the Special Affairs Bureau had already begun scouting potential locations. After thorough analysis, they concluded that the best option was to settle near a wealthy district.

This was because the wealthy families would always have their own teams of staff. If the Flood Dragon caused chaos, ordinary people would undoubtedly become food, but those with their own teams could at least fend off the threat until Special Affairs Bureau's larger forces arrived.

Of course, the Special Affairs Bureau had provided plenty of incentives to make this work. After all, these were wealthy people, not criminals, so it wasn't right to treat them poorly.

The chosen location was quite delicate—it was near The Lopez Family estate, only about twenty kilometers away. This place was also a manor, though it had been seized and was never sold. The Special Affairs Bureau directly purchased it using government funds for Black Jade and Rick to live in. In the future, based on Black Jade's contributions, they would even improve the living conditions further.

Rick was also required to live there, as Black Jade had made it clear that Rick would be responsible for serving him—his meals, daily maintenance, and even washing his scales while reading him the news.

Taking advantage of his time in the kitchen preparing lunch for the Flood Dragon, Rick opened his chat interface. Upon seeing Rita's message, he felt a rush of happiness, but the very next moment, the entire room seemed to darken.

Turning around, Rick saw through the kitchen's floor-to-ceiling windows a massive Flood Dragon head, almost covering the entire window.

Black Jade stared at Rick and asked, "Looking for your sister?"

Rick forced himself to stay calm and answered, "Yeah, she wouldn't just leave me alone."

Without warning, Black Jade shattered the window and, in Rick's terrified scream, devoured one of his fingers.

"You know why I contracted with you, right?"

Rick, clutching his hand and curling up in the corner, looked into Black Jade's eyes. He had a feeling, and he finally asked, "Why?"

Black Jade didn't mention how the first contract had mysteriously been nullified. "Because your sister has a dragon, and I need dragon blood."

Now, Black Jade was full of malice towards Rick. This human was close to his sister? Then Black Jade would destroy that bond.

The weight in Rick's chest fell. He thought he would feel hatred, but at that moment, he realized that what he felt was more a sense of helplessness. He was powerless to hate—because he needed Rita's protection.

What right did he have to hate the only person in the world who was willing and able to protect him?

He didn't have the right, nor the courage.

And then there was Zoey. Although the Flood Dragon didn't speak of it, Rick saw the scene where the first contract was easily undone, and his mind immediately went to Zoey's luck.

Zoey must have used the skill crystal Rita had given her. She definitely used the feather Rick had given her too. Full luck plus the fortune she had absorbed made her luck peak, which helped her avoid the disaster!

Otherwise, if the first contract had succeeded, Rick wouldn't have ended up in his current situation.

But even with Zoey, Rick no longer had the right to hate her... Zoey wouldn't even forgive him, let alone thank him for helping her avoid disaster.

He didn't dare to imagine how loudly Zoey would be laughing right now…

---

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Zoey, upon returning home, didn't head straight to Matthew's study but closed the door and spent five minutes laughing in her bedroom.

Was there anything funnier than her husband betraying her one moment and facing retribution the next?

Yes.

Not only did he face retribution, but he also helped her fend off the disaster.

Rick's betrayal of his wife to seize the Flood Dragon was also something Zoey had orchestrated.

Though Rick had indeed helped her avoid a disaster, it didn't mean Zoey would forgive his betrayal. Zoey's forgiveness was something that only applied to herself.

If it weren't for not wanting to offend Rita, Zoey could have been even harsher, but for now, she was biding her time.

Thinking of Rita, Zoey decided she would visit her someday.

She had investigated Rita for a long time and understood her well. Rita wasn't the type of person to go mad and sacrifice everything for her brother. She wouldn't neglect her own life just to support him, and she certainly wouldn't lose her sense of reason and morals for him.

As long as Zoey didn't actively target Rita, Rita would only protect her brother when he was in danger. Rita would never initiate any action against Zoey on his behalf.

After all, Zoey had been the one betrayed in the Flood Dragon incident.

If things hadn't gone wrong, if Rick hadn't suffered the consequences of his actions, Rita might even have been willing to compensate Zoey for her brother's shameless behavior.

Rita was a person of the highest integrity!

And Zoey also held onto a hope that, as long as she maintained a good relationship with Rita, she could rely on Rita's help when The Lopez Family faced problems. If they fell out, she would lose even the chance to offer a price.

Zoey realized that Rita's identity was no longer just "Rick's sister." It was something far more valuable after seeing Rita use Nivalis's power to deal 7% damage to Black Jade.

This was an extremely valuable connection.

Zoey could guess that using Nivalis's power would likely have serious side effects, but if Rita was willing to use it multiple times, who knew how much more useful it would be?

Not just Rita—Zoey believed the Special Affairs Bureau would also reassess Rita's strategic importance.

After all, Nivalis's final words almost sounded like an announcement that she would help Rita.

---

Back at the Special Affairs Bureau, after watching Nivalis and Rita enter S city, Shadow.Q and the others finished their work. They had collected all the Flood Dragon blood from the dungeon, and the matter was concluded.

However, before they could even get off the helicopter, they were called back for a meeting.

Shadow.Q immediately declared she was quitting! She was going to be a lone wolf!

Five minutes later, she received an email with bonuses for the Black Jade and Nivalis incidents—an D-level skill book, along with 10 bottles of intermediate energy potions.

Shadow.Q had tried these potions before. After drinking one, it felt like she had just woken up from a three-day sleep. She was so energized that she didn't want to sleep anymore. She wanted to work nonstop for three days and nights!

The email's content was as follows:

"You are the backbone of the Special Affairs Bureau, the lifeblood of the Special Affairs Bureau. We can't operate without you. If you miss even one hour of work, I'll feel uneasy."

—Landon

Shadow.Q: ...

She typed this message out and sent it to the group chat titled [We are the Special Affairs Bureau's Most Excellent Donkeys] (17 people).

"I got the same message. Exactly the same."

"Even the punctuation marks are the same."

"Not working for even one hour and you're not worthy of being called a Special Affairs Bureau donkey."

"Landon is really high EQ... The way he said that, I feel like I could work another 10 years for Special Affairs Bureau."

"You're easy to please."

"Besides the rewards, there are 10 bottles of energy potions."

"Same here... Exactly the same! Also got 10 bottles of energy potions."

"So the energy potions are just for me, the donkey, right? Oh, wait... seems like everyone got them."

"Another day of donkeys envying the lone wolf."

"…Bro, I'm not a donkey."

"Shadow.Q, huh, you came up with a name that's both irritating and impossible to refute."

"Hahaha... Totally forgot, oops!"