This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

[BS-Rita]: Two small capsules.

[Marmang·Crab]: Do you have any idea what your Block head is going for on the market?

[BS-Rita]: I don't want to know.

[Marmang·Crab]: Little Seahorse bought it for $120. Lania Kaia Mistblade offered $150 for it. Seahorse refused. Said he wants to use it as a stool.

Rita decided that if she ever ended up back in the starting room again, she'd list her own head on the Exchange Hall for $888.

[BS-Rita]: Anyone want intel? I'm at the space pirate ship entrance in January Theme Park. $500, I'll sell you one of the options from the high-tier capsule machine. I'll only be here for 10 minutes.

That price was her way of filtering. Any player still in the game and confident enough to be collecting high-tier capsule fragments wouldn't blink at the cost. Those who couldn't afford it wouldn't bother. And anyone too clueless to recognize the value of the information wouldn't show up.

As for the [30 star-sea year Capsule Machine Crafting Course], she wouldn't breathe a word about it. Even if another player had chosen it, without access to time-stop, they probably wouldn't have been able to keep up. And she wasn't about to share her advantage.

But the [45 Universal Fragments] and [Divine Gift Upgrade Method + Hint] were fair game to monetize.

One option should be enough to let other players gauge the value of a high-tier capsule. No way this wouldn't sell.

Ten minutes later, Rita had successfully closed three deals. She entered a game project, bought a ticket, listened to the rules, refunded the ticket, and moved the cooldown of [Stubborn Mule] to another title skill. Then she summoned the Deep Blue Helm and left.

Using the helm and her buy-refund routine, Rita revisited all of the Month Theme Parks she'd been to so far—March, July, October, 15th Month, 16th Month—and even swung by Nivalis's February Theme Park.

Game zones didn't always follow logic. Low-level players didn't necessarily have fewer Blocks than high-level ones. Same went for the remaining six high-tier capsule fragments. It was very possible they weren't in the hands of the big-name bosses at all.

After making her sales rounds, Rita used a [Teleport Voucher] to jump to 1March Theme Park.

As soon as she stepped in, a notification popped:

[Congratulations to player BS-Rita for becoming the first to complete the hidden Easter Egg: Choice Anxiety.]

[Hidden Easter Egg – Choice Anxiety: Visit 8 different Month Theme Parks.]

[Choose one of the following three items as your reward:]

[Tri-Color Paint Bucket / One More Play / Buffet Voucher]

The Tri-Color Paint Bucket allows you to change your Blocks' color. Unlimited use, but only three colors can be set.

One More Play lets you replay any project you've already participated in at a Month Theme Park.

The Buffet Voucher, which Rita had once pulled from the capsule machine, lets you directly trade Blocks for any food item sold in the Month Theme Park. Usable three times, even during games.

Each had its perks, but to Rita, the most valuable was clearly the [Tri-Color Paint Bucket].

She'd been stressing over whether her multi-colored final form would hurt her aesthetics.

Not many buyers in 1March Theme Park—only two. But thanks to B8017913's remote translation help, deals went smoothly even without a shared language.

All told, just from selling intel, Rita had made $4,000 in Blocks—far more than what she'd earned from grinding games.

1March Theme Park was territory for 13th-tier players. Rita found a quiet spot, assembled her new Blocks just like before, and stored them neatly in her capsule machine.

[Stubborn Mule] was still on cooldown. And since [Where's the Owl Already] had just ended its cooldown too, she couldn't shift it away. But judging from the info she'd gathered at other parks, she had a pretty good guess at this zone's level and wasn't worried.

She wasn't planning to crank up the difficulty. Her goal for this park was simple: replay Space Pirate Ship, Defend the Gacha, and Ferris Wheel once more before heading back.

It was already 3 a.m. She wasn't sure if Night Theme Parks had time limits, so her first stop was Defend the Gacha.

Unfortunately, she got stonewalled by a Gingerbread Man.

Gingerbread Man: "Not selling."

Rita: "??? Why not?!"

Gingerbread Man: "Doesn't matter if you change Theme Parks or use items. Each game can only be played a maximum of three times."

Rita regretfully pocketed her Blocks. "Fine. Being blocked from loot must be my fate."

Gingerbread Man: "..."

No use dwelling on it. Rita didn't waste time and headed straight for the Ferris Wheel.

The line was a bit long, but she waited. Finally, it was her turn. She handed over her Blocks—only for the Gingerbread Man to stare at her with suspicion.

No way. Again?

Rita explained, "I've only played it once."

But that wasn't the problem. The Gingerbread Man wasn't refusing her because of the cap. He just didn't want to take her ticket.

"You're not going to refund it again, are you?" he asked.

Wow, her reputation had tanked this fast? Another juicy bit of gossip on her record?

Forget it. All press is good press.

Rita shoved the Blocks into the Gingerbread Man's hand and looked at him like he was some poor, misunderstood child. "Don't believe those under-the-bed rumors!"

Then she hopped into the waiting area, summoned her shadow, handed over the real [Big World, Tiny Me], shrunk down to her smallest form, and stashed the magnifying glass back in her capsule machine.

As she jumped into the pod, the Gingerbread Man stared after her, dead serious, and asked the machine network: "What does under-the-bed rumor mean?"

B8017913: …

Was this caused by Nivalis, or Rita?

…

[Drummer]: If you don't have a capsule machine yet, you can come claim one from me or Deceitful Bloom.

…

[Deceitful Bloom]: Free to claim. All profit from sold capsule machines will go toward the owning faction's total score at the end of the event.

…

[Drummer]: Just find me or Deceitful Bloom's projection at any Month Theme Park. If you don't know where we are, just ask.

…

[Captain]: Still haven't realized it? No one bought them.

[Deceitful Bloom]: ...

[Drummer]: Tch. What a bunch of tasteless fools.

[Captain]: Honestly, it was overpriced.

[Drummer]: Not even the fools or casuals bought them?

[Captain]: Nope. Low-tier Theme Park players didn't even realize capsule machines were for sale.

[Maangmaang]: I sold one. Just now.

[Deceitful Bloom]: Who'd you sell it to?

[Maangmaang]: Uh… a player. But it ended up in BS-Nivalis's hands. That's BS-Rita's pet.

[Maangmaang]: She loopholed it. Got a level-4 player to buy the capsule machine from me, then traded two nine-piece fragments and twenty seven-piece fragments to get it from them.

[Deceitful Bloom]: ...

[Drummer]: ...

[Captain]: Whose idea was that?

[Maangmaang]: BS-Rita, obviously. She transferred the Blocks to Nivalis through the Exchange Hall.