This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Invisible, Rita and Nivalis hovered mid-air—there was no truly safe space even up here.

Rita placed the peculiar stone near Nivalis' mouth, motioning for her to bite it open. With a crisp "crack," fragments fell away, revealing a dodecagonal token in Rita's hand.

The token was pure white, roughly palm-sized, and engraved with twelve scripts representing the twelve alien races of Lania Kaia.

Rita examined the token under the moonlight, raising it to eye level. As she tilted it, a faint human-shaped symbol flickered into view.

[Legion Token] (Special):

Form your own faction. Embark on the path you and your companions choose—be the heroes the world admires, or revel to your heart's content before the world's collapse.

This was what players commonly referred to as a Guild Token.

Rita carefully stored the token, deciding not to form her own faction. Instead, she planned to sell it to the Special Affairs Bureau (SAB). Blue Star's first player faction needed to be led by an official, law-abiding organization, one that would help maintain stability on the home front.

Nivalis, curious about Rita's plan, asked, "Are you working for them now?"

Rita stared blankly at Nivalis. Dragon attacks always hit where it hurts the most…

She couldn't refute it. She really did seem like an unofficial employee of the SAB.

If Hecipah was the "tailless moon fox," then she was undoubtedly the "temporary worker without benefits" of the SAB.

Next time, she thought to herself, I'll prioritize maximizing my own benefits!

Rita adeptly led Nivalis into the airplane's pressurized pet cabin, intending to hitch a free ride back to City S.

As they settled in, Nivalis began playing with the tail of a small dog in the adjacent carrier. She suddenly asked, "Why are we sitting here? I saw a bunch of seats up front for you Blue Star people. Are you here just to keep me company?"

Rita froze. Wait… yeah…

She could have just bought a proper ticket and returned comfortably. After all, this time, she had joined Shadow.Q and the others openly to attend Zoey's concert. She hadn't done anything shady or incriminating.

But out of habit, she'd turned into a cat and stealthily boarded the plane, seamlessly slipping into the pet section like a captain heading straight for the cockpit.

Habit really is terrifying…

Could she explain this to Nivalis? Absolutely not.

Still in her feline form, Rita turned her back to Nivalis, opened her game interface, and messaged Shadow.Q.

Rita:

I've got something good.

Shadow.Q:

What kind of "good"? Like Bear Cookies?

Rita:

At least the equivalent of an A-rank skill book.

Shadow.Q:

Wow~ What treasure is worth that much? Show me!

Rita:

[Legion Token]

One minute later.

Shadow.Q:

Where are you right now?

Rita:

On a plane.

Shadow.Q:

The 10:30 PM flight?

Rita:

Yep.

This was perfect. Once she landed, she wouldn't even need to call a cab—Shadow.Q, with her tact and efficiency, would surely come to pick her up.

But before Nivalis could finish her beginner Sudoku game, an announcement rang out. The flight was experiencing an emergency and needed to make an unscheduled landing. Passengers were advised to remain calm and would receive in-game currency as compensation.

Rita scratched her cat face irritably. I have a bad feeling about this…

The plane landed quickly, using unique abilities rather than relying on a nearby airport.

Rita buried her face in her paws as her brain buzzed with frustration. Experience new tales on My Virtual Library Empire

Sure enough, a message from Shadow.Q soon appeared.

Shadow.Q:

Huh? Where are you? I don't see you in the passenger cabin.

Shadow.Q:

Yuyun Earth, did we scare you with our enthusiasm? I apologize!

Shadow.Q:

Sis?? Shadow.Q is here to pick you up.

Rita:

I'm in the pressurized pet cabin…

When a chubby orange-and-white cat and a dragon finally stepped out of the cabin, they were greeted by two neatly arranged lines of fully-armed players. Many of them were top-tier members of the Flood Dragon Corps, players Rita had only seen on the news. The only thing missing was a red carpet.

How did this happen? I evaded a ticket, and the central authorities got involved…

At the front of the crowd stood Shadow.Q and an unfamiliar middle-aged man. Both wore polite smiles, their expressions impeccably professional.

But Rita couldn't shake the feeling of being stared at like a billionaire grandma lining up at 5 a.m. for free eggs.

She internally regretted not waiting until landing to tell Shadow.Q about the token. The SAB's urgency was beyond her expectations. Didn't they trust her to keep the item safe for even a little while?

Maintaining her cat form, Rita gracefully approached Shadow.Q, elegantly wiped her face with a paw, and meowed, "Nivalis is afraid of flying, so I stayed with her."

Nivalis: ·ࡇ·

Rita, speaking to Nivalis telepathically: Your allowance doubles next month.

Nivalis immediately nodded at Shadow.Q, her dragon face solemn. "Yes, I was terrified. Absolutely terrified."

The gathered players collectively nodded in understanding.

Only Shadow.Q's expression remained unchanged.

Rita boldly met her gaze: Got a problem?

The teleportation gate behind them slowly activated. Shadow.Q bent slightly, extending her right hand outward in a gesture of invitation toward the plump cat and dragon. Nope, no problem at all!

The group used the teleportation array to head directly to the SAB headquarters in City S.

Rita handed the Legion Token over to the designated handler without hesitation. She trusted the SAB wouldn't shortchange her.

After all, with the Bear Cookies incident, the SAB had not only paid an information fee but had publicly credited Rita when announcing the item's use to the entire player base. That gesture alone proved the SAB's decision-makers were respectable.

Shadow.Q led Rita and Nivalis to a meeting room, where a booklet listing all available A-rank skill books was presented for her to choose from. Most were dropped by high-tier alien beasts, while a few had been acquired through less orthodox means in Lania Kaia.

Rita quickly selected a skill that met her needs.

[Magic Echo] (A-rank):

After activation, 10% of all damage you deal will be converted into mana. The mana can exceed your maximum limit and be stored. Duration: 2 minutes. Cooldown: 10 minutes.

The skill book was soon delivered into her hands.

Shadow.Q asked earnestly, "Do you need anything else?"

Rita shook her head. "An A-rank skill is plenty."

Shadow.Q nodded seriously. "The SAB will remember all that you've done for us."