This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Just as Rita was pondering over Sanchez's sudden silence, she received a private message from Shadow.Q.

**[Shadow.Q]:** "Take some time to check out the Special Affairs Bureau's website. We've taken the heat for you, so if anyone tries to buy skill stones from you, just direct them to our site."

Curious, Rita visited the website and saw that they had indeed posted a new announcement. It detailed the Bureau's cooperation with players, listing eight unique skill stones, including her own **[Another Happy Day]**. However, no player names were mentioned, and the specific details of the skills weren't provided—just their names, which made it difficult for others to deduce their effects.

The statement boldly declared that the players had entrusted the Special Affairs Bureau with the full rights to handle their skill stones, and anyone interested in purchasing them should contact the Bureau directly. It also assured that the Bureau would protect these players, and in the event of their deaths, the Bureau would use their Divine Gifts to track down and avenge them.

The announcement ended by encouraging other players with special Divine Gifts to collaborate with the Bureau, promising favorable terms.

Rita was quite pleased with the Bureau's efficiency. Not only would this deter people like Sanchez, but it would also reassure Zoey and Rick.

Indeed, Sanchez had seen the announcement, which was why she stopped wasting time trying to negotiate with Rita. Instead, she went to Zoey to complain, grumbling about how they hadn't secured Rita for the Lopez family sooner.

This prompted Zoey to check the Bureau's website as well.

It was only then that Zoey fully believed Rita's claims. Although the butler had previously confirmed that Rita hadn't lied, Zoey knew there were countless ways to twist the truth. She hadn't been entirely convinced—until now.

Turning to Rick, Zoey remarked, "It seems that luck really is everything."

Rick, who had always trusted Rita more than Zoey did, simply nodded in agreement.

Recently, Zoey had been buying gems to help Rick level up his **Jewelry Crafting** skill. Whenever Rick crafted jewelry, the attributes added were always at their maximum potential. For example, if the blueprint for **Bluebird Earrings** indicated that they could increase Intelligence by 2-3 points and Constitution by 1-2 points, Rick's earrings would always add 3 Intelligence and 2 Constitution.

Zoey had even compared Rick's work to that of a professional jeweler who had been in the trade for over ten years, someone she'd sent into the game during the second beta test. Despite the jeweler's skill and careful craftsmanship, his creations yielded truly random results—unlike Rick's, which always hit the maximum stats, even though his work was comparatively less refined.

Seeing this, Zoey decisively shifted all the family's jewelry-related resources to Rick. As for professions like alchemy, which didn't rely on luck, she wasn't as interested.

This caused some unrest within the Lopez family. A few members began resenting Rick more and more. Just before the game's official launch, Rick had arranged for the Lopez family to buy 1,000 green-tier belts—a deal that seemed promising at the time. However, after the game began, belt prices plummeted while other equipment held their value.

This led to murmurs within the family that Rick's short streak of luck was draining his future fortune. Even Mateo and Su Langfeng began to wonder if the family's misfortune was somehow tied to Rick. As a result, they restricted Zoey's ability to funnel resources to Rick, allowing her to use only her own share.

This only deepened Zoey's resentment toward the Lopez family, as she felt they were too harsh and too pragmatic. Rick was her partner, after all, and treating him poorly was a direct insult to her.

Rick, for his part, fully supported Zoey in all her decisions. He obediently followed her lead, whether it was training a specific skill or running errands for the family. He would even prepare meals for Lopez family members heading into dungeons, always mumbling to himself in a voice only he could hear that he was "treating them." He deliberately kept this habit random to avoid raising suspicion.

With his naturally high luck stat and the occasional "meal payments" from Lopez family members, Rick's fortunes seemed to improve. In fact, he suspected that his current success with Zoey had a lot to do with his good fortune. After all, how else could he have gotten away with Zoey discovering that half of him was missing? Any normal wife would at least demand answers, if not start a fight.

But Zoey wasn't just any wife—she had used the full version of him before.

Not only that, but every time Rick browsed the auction house, he'd stumble upon rare materials for his **Jewelry Crafting** at suspiciously low prices. Many of these were sold by people who had no idea of their value. Rick would then craft high-quality items and sell them for a profit, consistently earning more than the Lopez family members made from dungeon runs.

Seeing how lucky Rick was, the workers at his studio had become far more obedient, like loyal dogs.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Rick was growing more and more aware of how wonderful luck could be. As he downed another bottle of **Vitality Potion**, he stared at the single drop of blood on his status screen.

It had no effect.

Rick braced himself against the table, his head hanging low.

What was he supposed to do?

He was only at the first stage of his illness, but what if this "curse" evolved as the disease worsened?

His only hope now was that Zoey could use her family's power to find a cure. But then again, she was likely more focused on finding items that could disguise her status information. She might even be plotting to kill the person who had come to Lopez Manor to **Insight** his curse.

Hahaha. Stay updated with empire

Rick couldn't help but feel a twisted sense of joy as he imagined Zoey struggling with her own problems.

He gathered his things and left his workspace, following his routine of checking in on Aaron and having a short conversation with him. Just as he was about to leave, Aaron suddenly spoke up.

"I know of something that can restore my sight, and it's not too expensive. Could you help me get it, Xiao Yu? I promise to repay you."

Rick's interest was piqued. "What is it?" How had Aaron learned about this? Had Julian or someone else helped him find this information?

"A mechanical eye," Aaron said. "It can be crafted with Intermediate Engineering. I heard it only costs a few dozen gold."

Rick immediately checked the auction house. If helping Aaron would secure The Jones Family's support, a few dozen gold seemed like a bargain. But there were no listings for mechanical eyes—probably because the materials required for Intermediate Engineering were still too rare. He called Rita right in front of Aaron, putting the phone on speaker.

"Hey, Sis, you've studied Engineering, right?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Can you make a mechanical eye?"

"I'll check."

A moment later, Rita replied, "There's a blueprint for it. Do you need one? The materials are a bit much: 10 **Mechanical Parts**, 1 **Electronic Core**, 5 **Springs**, and 2 **Magic Crystals**. If you can find those, I can make it for you."

Rick searched for the materials in the auction house but couldn't find any. He sighed, then turned to Rita, still on the call. "Can you get your hands on these materials? I'll pay double."

Rita, ever quick-witted, instantly understood what was happening. Rick wasn't asking for himself—he was doing this for Aaron, who was sitting right there, listening in. She played along.

"Oh, are you helping that friend from The Jones Family?" she asked. "Alright, I'll ask around at the Special Affairs Bureau. It won't be cheap, though. I probably can't get it for double, but I'll see what I can do. You understand, right? People always want to make a cut."

"No problem, Sis. Would 80 gold be enough?"

"That should cover two mechanical eyes. No worries, if it's short, I'll cover the rest. By the way, did Lopez Manor pay The Jones Family back after we helped them out with that deal?"

"They did, but… well, you know."

"I get it. Your conscience won't let it go, right? Don't worry, I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Do you still need more materials for those vitality potions?"

"No, I'm good."

"Alright then."