February 22nd was a special date. In Rita's previous life, many people had anticipated it would mark the start of the fourth game beta. At that time, although Rita was still unaware of the game's existence, she knew about Rick's major moves—he had gathered a few people and established a small studio, composed of both players and well-connected non-players.
One of these non-players was **Aaron**, a wealthy second-generation heir with a privileged background.
Just two days before the game's official invasion, Rick had brought a group home for dinner. At that point in Rita's life, her career had been completely destroyed, and the resources Rick had introduced through the **Lopez** family were hardly beneficial. She spent most of her time at home, and she was there the night of that dinner. Among the guests were **Julian** and **Aaron**.
Judging by the timeline, it was probably around now.
With less than a week left before the invasion, Rita's schedule was packed. She couldn't care less about attending this dinner.
She used **Phantom Cloak** and **Phantom Shift** to arrive near Rick's small apartment. As a small bird, she flew to his window and peered inside. Sure enough, several people were huddled around their computers. She recognized **Julian**, **Aaron**, and a few other familiar faces. They weren't playing games—the screens displayed chat windows and forums.
It was clear that Rick was already in the process of building his team.
Rita didn't even wait for nightfall. She flew to the apartment's restroom and activated **Disguise**, taking on the appearance of a **White** family member she had seen before. After donning a mask and gloves, she calmly stepped out and walked right up to Aaron, who looked confused. Without hesitation, she grabbed his throat, swiftly pulled out a knife, and gouged out both of his eyes.
The nerve connections snapped with a satisfying sound, and once the eyeballs hit the floor, she stomped them into a mushy pulp.
She released the screaming Aaron, pocketed her knife, and turned away calmly. As she moved to leave, her gaze fell on a familiar figurine in the cabinet—it was the same one she had mutilated before by snapping off an arm and shaving its head. Either Julian had repaired it or bought a new one. She couldn't resist.
With a sharp turn, she smashed the glass with her fist, yanked out the figurine, and broke off its arm again. She then grabbed her knife and ruthlessly shaved off its distinctive spiky hair. The once-handsome figurine was now an abomination. She tossed it over her shoulder and left the apartment.
From the moment Rita appeared to when she gouged out Aaron's eyes, destroyed the figurine, and walked away—it had all taken less than 30 seconds.
Inside the apartment, everyone was left frozen in shock. They couldn't process what had just happened.
It was broad daylight, and someone had just strolled in as if they owned the place, gouged out someone's eyes without uttering a word, and then proceeded to treat a figurine with such cruelty... The audacity was beyond comprehension.
And where the hell did this person even come from?
Julian was the first to snap out of it, shouting in panic, jolting everyone else into action. Some scrambled to pick up the figurine, others rushed to help Aaron or call for an ambulance.
Rita, of course, wasn't surprised by their reaction. In her previous life, she had gained plenty of combat experience. After a relatively peaceful ten months following her rebirth, it had taken her some time to get back into the rhythm of fighting. She had spent days hunting low-level monsters just to regain her edge. These people, in contrast, were still green.
They might have become players, but they hadn't yet experienced the crucible of battle. They were like civilians handed guns—they didn't even think to use them when danger struck.
Rita left the apartment and downed an invisibility potion right in front of the security cameras. Then, she **Phantom Shifted** back to **Ranaya Kaia**, turned into a cat, and headed out of the city to grind some levels. She also used the chance to absorb life energy from nearby plants to fully charge her **Emerald Feast** skill.
Rick's connections were no joke. The **Lin** family might not have the same clout as the Lopez or White families, but they weren't weak by any means. Rita wasn't sure how they would react to this incident, but in her past life, the Lin family had bet on Rick.
Rita had figured it out by now. Rick had managed to gain influence within the Lopez, White, and **Taylor** families not just because of his abilities but because of his talent for balancing various factions. He had built a complex web of mutual interests and checks and balances around himself, centering the Su, Liang, and Han families around his orbit.
On top of that, he had the support of several smaller groups. He was not someone that could be easily targeted—if he were, why hadn't the Lopez family simply gone after him instead of targeting Rita's **Divine Gift**?
Throughout the day, as Rita leveled up, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She even made a trip to the **Treehouse Outpost** to trade gear, planning to gather a full set of agility-boosting equipment. Once she had it, she could rely on her high attack and agility to solo dungeons. Meanwhile, she set aside her constitution-boosting gear for group play.
She didn't bother hiding her newfound ability to teleport freely between **Earth** and **Ranaya Kaia**. **Shadow.Q** already knew how much gold she had, so it wasn't a big deal to buy a **Portal** skill. As for others who might be curious, Rita felt no need to explain. After all, when had a truly powerful person ever felt the need to justify their strength?
She preferred to keep some tricks up her sleeve, but that didn't mean she was afraid of anyone.
Once her **Disguise** skill had cooled down, Rita attended another lesson with her **Undead Mentor**. Following the lesson, her mentor suggested she buy a few old notebooks and alchemy texts, which cost Rita a small fortune in gold. Rita suspected the mentor was exploiting her, but she had no proof.
Still, with over 30,000 gold and 2,000 pounds of gold at her disposal, Rita didn't mind the expense. As long as it helped her grow stronger, she was happy to spend. After all, earning gold was easy, but opportunities to improve her strength were rare. Over time, she noticed that the mentor only seemed to offer lessons to her; other suspected players in the shop never received the same attention.
Evening came, and when Rita returned home to the Wilson estate, she noticed three missed calls from **Scarlett**. There were no messages in the family group chat, so she called her mother back while preparing dinner.
"Where have you been?" Scarlett scolded. "I tried calling you!"
"One of your brother's colleagues had his eyes gouged out. Oh, it was awful—right in broad daylight!"
"Your father and I rushed to the hospital. I just left, and I'm heading home now. That person seems dangerous. Your father thinks they might come after your brother next, but Rick wasn't even there at the time. Why blame him?"
Rita stifled a laugh as she reassured her mother, "Mom, no one's stronger than the Lopez family. Don't worry, everything's fine."
Scarlett seemed to agree. If her tone on the phone was any indication, she wasn't all that worried. She sounded more like she was gossiping than fretting. "You're right. No matter how strong they are, can they really be stronger than his wife?"