This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Now that the game had fully merged with reality, her skill was effectively sold off as a skill stone through the Special Affairs Bureau, rendering her little white lie mostly irrelevant. But at critical moments like this, it was a potential landmine.

Her talent was so notorious that there was a good chance that, if things started going south for Rick, he'd mutter, "Maybe someone messed with my luck?" So, better to take the initiative.

Handing over the skill stones was a subtle way of offering them some control, letting them decide when to use it.

And to make things extra clear, she planned to overtly modify her luck to a value of 10 during the prep phase for the Flood Dragon raid. This way, anyone with insight into her stats would see the change.

*—Look, my "Another Happy Day" is off cooldown. You're free to believe whatever you want; just don't accuse me of anything.*

The only issue was… why wasn't Rick wearing his monocle with Insight powers? And Zoey—her Holmes-inspired earring that gave Insight was gone too. Both had changed their gear? Where were the new ones?

None of them were inspecting her anymore; her little mental preparation was pointless. *Was she shadowboxing again?*

… Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

As before, they quickly cleared out the smaller creatures and approached the Flood Dragon's domain.

Rick had felt uneasy since the night before, and in the morning, he almost didn't want to leave the house. However, Zoey was adamant about the importance of this raid, and without a convincing reason, she'd never agree to let him sit out. It was too late to find someone with the experience necessary for a Flood Dragon, and besides, Rick himself was invaluable.

Although his Divine Gift had been reduced, he still had a robust arsenal of skills: control, flight, immunity, and even some interrupts. And if they ended up in dire straits, with Rick there, Rita might push her abilities to the max; maybe she'd even call on her dragon for help.

Rick knew all of this and repressed his anxiety to accompany Zoey.

The unease persisted right up until they engaged the Flood Dragon, at which point it subsided.

By now, they had a solid grasp of at least half of the Flood Dragon's abilities. When it ascended, an air unit was ready to bring it down. When it spewed toxins, there was gear to contain the poison. Skills that could be interrupted were, and for those that couldn't, the tanks would draw it further away.

Even Rita's *Fountain of Light* was maximized with special containers the Bureau had prepared to hold and transport the water, making full use of the skill.

In no time, the Flood Dragon's health reached 70%.

The scouts in the field provided real-time updates on its health and status, sharing insights with players who lacked an *Insight* skill.

From above, Black Jade surveyed the Blue Star people below with its piercing emerald-green gaze.

Every entity from Lania Kaia received a blessing when entering Blue Star, allowing them to understand the language, and Black Jade was no exception. But after listening for a while, it still couldn't figure out who intended to contract it. If it hadn't overheard phrases like, "How do we make the contract work?" and "Even if we do, would it obey us?" it would've worried that they were here solely to kill it.

Then, Black Jade's gaze fell upon the young dragon's owner—the only person present it felt was a threat. And she was the only Blue Star person here who emanated dragon energy.

Previously, it had simply wanted to find someone influential to contract and tether its life to, allowing it to develop and survive on Blue Star.

But now, its motives had grown more complex. It needed a prominent Blue Star person to bind with, and it needed to be near that young dragon.

It released a toxic mist, forcing the Blue Star people back, and then cast *Bloodline Scan* on the young dragon's owner.

This skill was one it had learned during its evolution, intended to locate creatures with draconic bloodlines. Initially, it wanted to use it to detect any other creatures with dragon blood from a drop of dragon blood, but it had ended up with a bloodline search skill. So far, it was mainly useful for Lania Kaia's twelve sacred tribes and the beastfolk in finding their lost relatives.

But at the moment, it was unexpectedly perfect.

A red line only Black Jade could see extended from the young dragon's owner to a man in the field.

Among the Blue Star people present, this man was already a unique one. From the moment he entered, Black Jade felt an inexplicable affinity for him, almost as if he were somehow drawing it in. If it were to choose someone to bind to, this was the only Blue Star person it'd consider.

If not for its rational mind and extensive patience, it might've already rushed over to seal the contract with him.

Now, it felt even more drawn to the man.

It couldn't gauge the ages of Blue Star people, nor did it care about their exact relationship. But if there was a blood connection, this man was definitely the closest to the young dragon.

Now, it just needed to test his social standing. Contracting a Blue Star person meant reversing the contract and making them its servant.

If this person lacked status, he wouldn't be able to provide food or protection. The more established Blue Star humans wouldn't think twice about sacrificing someone of low rank. They would see its life as disposable and eliminate it on sight.

Having evolved from a snake to a Flood Dragon, Black Jade's journey had been harsh and filled with tribulation. Each evolution required an immense amount of energy to alter its genes and restructure its bones.

It had once reached level 57. Its lifespan far exceeded that of many higher-level beasts.

Black Jade was well aware that invading Blue Star wasn't an ideal mission. For the higher-level members of the Twelve Sacred Tribes and elite beasts, this was an opportunity because Blue Star's growth couldn't keep pace with their access to the outer realms.

But for the lower-level beasts and sacred tribes, the situation was different. The Blue Star people's development was rapid, and the weaker invaders were mere fodder.

Once it saw other creatures from its dungeon wiped out, it knew it couldn't simply leave the dungeon. Sure, it could defeat a hundred Blue Star humans, but what about thousands?

So, it not only needed to escape but also to secure a contract with a high-status Blue Star human who could escort it out. Then it could link their lives, ensuring its "harmless" integration into Blue Star.

This was the most crucial step in its hunt—*concealment.*

Even more importantly, due to the current rules, it couldn't harm the Twelve Sacred Tribes of Lania Kaia that had also descended on Blue Star. It needed a binding contract with a Blue Star human before it could break free from the rules, allowing it to hunt any of Lania Kaia's lesser creatures that crossed its path.