This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 210 The Acting Master—Rita

Shadow.Q spoke plainly: "Although we can't kill you, we can certainly lock you up."

In fact, that might even be better. The Flood Dragon's blood would undoubtedly be valuable for research.

She wasn't bluffing. The moment Black Jade reversed the contract, she had sent a report with text updates, but also used a device to sync the visual feed, so the Special Affairs Bureau could watch everything happening here in real time.

Meanwhile, outside the instance, Special Affairs Bureau's elite squad had already arrived via the teleportation portal, setting up an ambush around the perimeter. If talks broke down and Black Jade dared to make a move, the fight would commence immediately.

Shadow.Q gestured, and one of her team members stepped forward, placing a skill debuff on the Flood Dragon to prevent its automatic health regeneration.

Black Jade remained unfazed, his posture and expression relaxed, as if his health wasn't down to 9%.

He understood Shadow.Q's words, and even though he knew an ambush was waiting for him outside, he wasn't about to back down. He responded, "You can try your best to contain me, but if you lose the bet, I swear, by the dragon blood in my veins, I will wash Blue Star in blood before I die."

Could Shadow.Q and the Special Affairs Bureau take that risk? They couldn't.

Whether it was the triumphant laugh after the successful contract reversal, or Black Jade's unruffled composure despite his 9% health, or the way he had arrogantly reduced Rick's health to just 2%—every move he made was a psychological pressure on everyone around.

It was hard not to suspect that the entire contract had been part of Black Jade's scheme from the start. Perhaps, he had always planned to contract with a human from Blue Star and then leave the instance to live in Blue Star.

What was even more unsettling was that this boss fight had gone so smoothly—it might have been part of Black Jade's plan all along.

If that were the case, it was terrifying. Not because the boss was strong, but because, like humans, the boss could plan and manipulate.

The standoff continued.

Black Jade spoke again, "Actually, I don't want to be your enemy. I can promise not to kill anyone, but I want to live in the center of your Blue Star's capital. Every day, I demand one thousand pounds of holy beast corpses. If I'm in a good mood, I might even help you clear out the Lania Kaia 12 Holy Beasts."

Shadow.Q felt a deeper sense of wariness toward Black Jade.

She had encountered many boss-level beasts, and the Special Affairs Bureau had dealt with them before, even the infamous Nivalis. These beasts were intelligent and had distinct personalities, but none of them were as calculating and manipulative as Black Jade.

Living in the city center? With his ability to release poisonous miasma in vast areas, if Black Jade took residence in the heart of the city, the Special Affairs Bureau would never dare take action against him.

And the holy beast corpses? "Helping" to clear Lania Kaia beasts was more likely a way for Black Jade to level up.

Shadow.Q firmly stated, "That's impossible. You can live on the outskirts, and we'll provide you with meat. That's all."

In response, Black Jade lashed out with his tail, sending Rick flying several dozen meters. Rick's health dropped to just 2%.

"Then let's fight," Black Jade declared.

Rita, holding a bow, tightened her grip and shot a furious glare at Black Jade. Inside, however, she was shouting, *"Nice one!!!"*

The actress in her couldn't let this moment pass without acting. How could Rita, the master of the stage, not perform under such circumstances?

Despite the entire scene's focus on Black Jade, Rita knew she had to respond appropriately. This was part of her acting discipline.

After glaring at Black Jade, she quickly ran around in a panic, rushing to Rick's side. She gave him a healing potion, then grabbed the back of his collar, pulling him to a safer distance away from Black Jade and Shadow.Q.

Weapon in hand, she stood vigilantly, her gaze locked on Black Jade, positioning herself as a shield for her brother.

In that moment, she seemed like a towering figure, just like when she was a child, always standing in front of him, protecting him from harm.

Rick, shielded by his sister, felt a warmth seep into his cold heart.

It was still his sister!

Rita glanced at him, speaking with certainty, "Don't worry, you won't die." *You will wish you were dead*—she didn't add that last part out loud.

In that instant, her unhesitating action to stand by Rick's side made him trust her more than ever—his trust in her shot up to 95%.

Rita was satisfied.

She had figured it out. She had become one of the reasons why the Special Affairs Bureau couldn't act against Black Jade. She wasn't someone who inflated her own importance, but she wasn't blind to her own value either. She knew she was someone the Special Affairs Bureau needed to treat with care.

If she weren't important, they wouldn't have taken her with them when they set up the new base at the volcano.

But as much as she had calculated, there was no avoiding this situation. If she was going to deceive Rick, she had to deceive everyone, even sometimes fool herself. Otherwise, she would forget how to act like the perfect sister.

And even if she weren't here, Zoey was around. If the Special Affairs Bureau dared disregard Rick's life, Zoey would make sure to exploit the situation for her own gain.

After all, public opinion was a powerful weapon.

---

The situation surrounding the contract was filled with oddities, the most glaring being why Black Jade had chosen Rick over Zoey. Even stranger, when Zoey attempted the contract, Black Jade had rejected her, but when Rick made the contract attempt, Black Jade's tail eagerly accepted the contract scroll.

Shadow.Q, trying to buy time, asked the crucial question: "Why Rick?"

Black Jade's gaze shifted toward Rick, though it was clear he was looking at Rita. "I know you two are siblings. If you can provide me with true dragon blood to help me transform, not only will I spare Rick, but I'll also protect Blue Star."

Rita's breath caught. She had never expected this. Black Jade could really transform into a dragon? And he needed dragon blood?

More importantly, this was the real reason he had sought Rick?

No… no, that didn't add up. The *pet fragrance* had likely played a part, but the blood of a true dragon was the real key.

In her past life, Black Jade never asked for dragon blood. It wasn't mentioned on the forums either.

No… He had asked for dragon blood before, and he had succeeded.

The truth began to dawn on Rita: Black Jade must have sent someone to request dragon blood from Rick, which eventually led Rick to start selling it. But then Black Jade had stopped hiding, gone on a rampage, and fled, perhaps to find a place to evolve…

Rita knew that Rick would soon begin to hate her. And if he didn't just hate her, but also doubted everything she had done for him, the trust between them would be shattered.

Because if Black Jade's words about dragon blood didn't spur her into action, Rick would no longer trust her, no matter how much she tried to explain that Black Jade was after the bloodline of Nivalis, not his.

And there was something else that was even more dangerous—Black Jade's final words. The threat hung over Rita like a storm cloud.