This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 81 The Lopez Family Is My ATM

Rita had made up her mind: she was going to rob the Lopez family, her personal ATM.

Ever since selling them those thousand belts, she'd been keeping a close eye on the Lopez family's movements. She'd planted undead spiders not only in the Lopez mansion but also in Rick's office and car.

She didn't know how thorough their **Insight** skills or detection tools were, but the spiders were tiny, and the information displayed above them was barely readable, akin to the smallest line on an eye chart. Hiding in the corners, they were nearly invisible.

With her **Chávez Pocket Watch** allowing her to modify information on controlled objects, the spiders' statuses now read:

**[Rotten Little Spider] HP: 1/1 (Controller: Rick)**

If the spiders were ever discovered, she'd just leave it as a surprise for Rick.

On January 24th, the third day after the game's arrival, the world had already been turned upside down. Everywhere, people were racing to discuss the game. Even casual conversations at breakfast stalls revolved around **Divine Gifts**, the game, superpowers, and equipment.

The new era was a complete reshuffling of the social order—those who advanced first would soar to the top, while those who fell behind might never catch up.

The Lopez family had started preparing for this as early as after the second beta test. They, like many other families, had been stockpiling game-related resources. However, back then, players were rare and preferred to stay hidden, reluctant to reveal themselves. Even the Lopez family had only managed to locate a few hundred players, and even fewer were willing to trade with them.

After the third beta test, the family intensified their efforts, recruiting players and gathering intel. But as with any large ship, turning quickly was difficult. Liquidating assets and going through proper procedures couldn't be done in just a few months. Worse, anyone capable of taking over their industries knew the winds of change were blowing.

Those who didn't know were incapable of stepping in to help.

It was an awkward situation.

After activating **Phantom Cloak**, she **Phantom Shifted** to the back kitchen of the Lopez family restaurant in downtown Los Angeles.

Mateo and his men were upstairs discussing business.

The restaurant was bustling, and with so many people coming and going, it was too risky to have the spiders move around. They'd likely get squashed in the chaos, so it was better to leave them in the car, continuing to monitor the group's movements. Ideally, the spiders would even catch a ride back to the Lopez mansion.

Rita didn't head upstairs. Instead, she stayed in the underground parking lot, standing near Mateo's designated parking spots, waiting patiently while occasionally sipping on mana potions or coffee to maintain her **Phantom Cloak**.

Half an hour later, Mateo and his entourage came down.

Rita blinked in disbelief—there were so many people it looked like a concert had just ended. The parking lot was packed with people.

What was going on? Weren't there only 17 players leaving earlier?

Now, nearly a hundred people were gathered, all flocking around Mateo as they headed toward the parking lot.

Rita was dumbfounded. Just how much gold were they exchanging?

The crowd split into smaller groups, with every four people getting into a car. It was clear they were planning to leave in a convoy.

They had spread out, but not too much. If one car got attacked, the others could converge quickly. And with the gold divided among them, it would be difficult to determine which car held the treasure.

Despite Mateo's smokescreen, Rita recognized two of his most trusted aides from the original group of 17 players. Both were standing on the outer edges, heading toward separate vehicles.

"Well, well," she mused. "Let the games begin."