NOVEL WEB Chapter 345: You’re Still Young, Let’s Treat It Properly!
After finishing off the two most important enemies, Rita didn't leave immediately. Instead, she stayed in The Taylor Family estate, killing more people and stealing attribute points along the way. Since she kept having to pull out her storage box to stash all the junk equipment she'd stolen, she got frustrated with the hassle. Eventually, she made a detour to a nearby supermarket and conveniently "borrowed" a shopping cart.
Pushing the cart through The Taylor Family estate, she moved from room to room. Any stolen equipment went straight into the cart, making the whole process feel less like an assassination spree and more like a casual weekend shopping trip. Along the way, she uncovered a trove of secrets so juicy they made her brain spin.
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When the cart was full, she emptied it into her storage box and went back for more. Occasionally, when her health recovery skills and potions were still on cooldown, she would sit on the floor, take a break, and open up the auction house. All the stolen items were listed for sale anonymously, at a whopping 40% discount. She wasn't aiming for high profits; she just wanted them gone quickly.
With Blue Star still in its early stages of development, the market was starved for equipment. Even a 60% markup over Lania Kaia's rates could sell here, but Rita wasn't interested in wasting time on brokers for these low-value items. Selling directly to Blue Star's players would save her the trouble, and they could use the supply boost anyway.
Most of the equipment she stole was low-level green gear, meant for players around levels 8–10. Camila and her brother had better stuff, but even their items weren't anything amazing. The money she made wasn't worth mentioning. Frankly, it would've been more profitable to raid Wolf Fortress instead.
After cleaning out the main building, killing The Taylor Family members and the high-level players protecting them, Rita still felt a slight pang of regret—she hadn't encountered either Yu Qingshan or Scarlett. Undeterred, she smashed her way toward the family's vault. Several alarms were triggered along the way, but with everyone under the effects of her sleep-inducing skill, nobody woke up. Passwords? Potions? Who needed those? Rita grabbed a stolen iron hammer and smashed through every door in her way.
Shopping cart in tow, she walked in a straight line, hammer in hand, until she reached the vault. Inside, gold, equipment, and other treasures lay waiting for her. Everything—aside from the gold—was immediately dumped onto the auction house at a 40% discount. As for the antiques she didn't recognize, she made up prices and listed those as well.
Word of her clearance sale spread fast, and players rushed to the auction house, snapping up her listings almost instantly. The moment she put something up for sale, it was sold.
By the time she received a notification for entering the wealth leaderboard, Rita didn't even hesitate—she chose to remain anonymous. After one last look at the now-empty vault, she packed up her beloved shopping cart (which was surprisingly useful) and used Phantom Shift to teleport out.
By the time she left The Taylor Family estate, her gold count had increased by 1,795, and she'd gained a decent amount of attribute points: +6 Strength, +8 Agility, +5 Intelligence, and +9 Constitution.
The next morning, on the 15th, at nine o'clock, Rita was processing some materials for Spring Not Late. Since she didn't have all the required materials, she'd have to make a trip to Lania Kaia later. Still, the crafting process was so time-consuming that she decided to get a head start by processing the materials she already had. At the same time, she listened to Maple Burn explain the full version of Cheers and made her repeat the process for igniting the orange-red wings with lightning elements.
It was only after hearing the full explanation that Rita realized how incomplete the version of Cheers that Maple Syrup had taught her truly was. It wasn't just missing a few details—it was an anti-DIY version, deliberately designed to prevent anyone from mastering it. Critical points were left out entirely, making it impossible to go beyond the early stages. Even the instructions for igniting the orange-red wings were missing a key step.
While Rita worked, the gaming forums and social media were still ablaze with last night's fight between her and Zoey. The livestream thread had been going strong since midnight and hadn't lost steam by morning.
Aside from the livestream threads, analysis posts had also started appearing:
[Analysis Thread]: Betrayal of Humanity or New Skills & Skins? Why Did Zoey Kill The Lopez Family?
#1: Title says it all. Why did Zoey wipe out The Lopez Family? Did she defect or something? #3: And what about Rita? What's the deal with those wings? #11: Both of them are still human, though. Their race hasn't changed. #19: Look at Eclipse Vanguard. They haven't said anything. Plus, Rita protected their people. #26: OMG, check out The White Family heiress's latest selfie! She has wings too! Hers are a pale jade green. So elegant! #40: Eclipse Vanguard's official website just posted full-body pictures of three players with wings! They all look amazing! Where can I buy these wings? #48: Did Zoey actually die? Her game profile hasn't disappeared—it's just grayed out. #87: Shadow.Q's wings are so badass. I want those. #159: Fallen angel wings are lame. I want Rita's! They look just like Imperius's wings from Diablo 3. #203: These light wings are way more convenient than Oak Owl wings. No need to cut holes in your clothes. Seriously, every time I loot Oak Owl armor, I can't figure out if I should wear an undershirt.
The forums were buzzing. Rita opened the Eclipse Vanguard official website to take a look. Sure enough, there were full-body shots of three players with wings, one of whom was Shadow.Q. In her previous life, there had been no public knowledge of this—or perhaps she had simply been too far removed to know about it.
Just as she pondered how Eclipse Vanguard had dealt with the Moon Sand from Fate Out of Sync in her last life, a notification popped up. It was a message from Shadow.Q:
[Shadow.Q]: So, the six of us this time: Harriet from B City, Jaxon from X City, you, me, Zoey, and Sanchez. But last night, after Zoey massacred The Lopez Family, she was killed by a Good Samaritan.
Rita couldn't help but laugh at the phrase "Good Samaritan." Eclipse Vanguard was truly skilled at playing dumb. They hadn't asked why she was at The Lopez Family estate at that particular time, didn't mention her "accidental" attacks that killed a few people, and hadn't brought up Zoey's cryptic parting words: "Maple Burn, I'll be waiting for you in Polar Day City."
In her previous life, she had been the one ignored and forgotten. This time, the tables had turned—she was now the one forcing Eclipse Vanguard to turn a blind eye. The irony of it was both satisfying and absurd.
The name Harriet rang a bell. After thinking for a moment, Rita remembered they might be connected to Shen Yushi. As for Jaxon, she remembered him clearly—he was consistently ranked in the top five on the level leaderboard.
[Rita]: What about the other forty-something people?
[Shadow.Q]: Eighteen were saved when they fell from the floating islands. They're… not in great shape mentally. As for the other twenty-seven, some lost up to two-thirds of their skills. A few got lucky and gained new skills, but even they need psychological treatment.
[Rita]: And you? How are you holding up?
[Shadow.Q]: Love one day, hate the next. Move on and it'll be fine.
[Rita]: ???
[Shadow.Q]: Anything else you need? I clock out at noon. If you need something, let me know before 11:30.
[Rita]: …You know, the tower, the wings…
She couldn't bring herself to type the word "resurrection," but Shadow.Q understood.
[Shadow.Q]: I know.
[Rita]: You really know?
[Shadow.Q]: Doppelganger, early retirement, ha-ha.
[Rita]: I can send you potions to help with mental resilience. It's not too late. You're still young. Let's treat it properly!
After sending the message, Rita searched through her stash and mailed several potions for mental fortitude to Shadow.Q.
[Shadow.Q]: Thanks. Don't worry, I have a plan. Just give me some time. I'll turn that existence into my summoned creature. How about you? Need help?
For a moment, Rita was tempted. But then, she shook off the thought. She didn't trust anyone else with this. Having Maple Burn as a summoned creature wouldn't reassure her at all—it would feel more like having a spy constantly monitoring her. And besides, there was always the risk of Maple Syrup or Maple Cang showing up to strip her wings.
[Rita]: No need. Thanks. Here's to our success.
[Shadow.Q]: Here's to our success.