This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Discover hidden stories at empire

Half a month in, and all the Lopez family had gotten from that Level 1 dungeon was barely 10 gold, even with round-the-clock grinding. That's after deducting the costs of potions and food—though the gear and experience were still valuable.

Zoey and Sanchez, the two eldest daughters of their families, sat facing each other, the tension palpable. The area had been cleared, and both sides had used revealing potions and **Insight** skills to ensure there were no hidden threats. However, Rita had chosen her position skillfully, exploiting the weaknesses in the **Insight** abilities being used.

One of the **Insight** users on the White family's side had a talent that allowed them to sense air currents, a power the Whites were using to detect life forms by reading subtle disturbances in the surrounding air.

But really, how much air did a little gecko like Rita displace? Certainly not more than the gusts of wind or the occasional fart released by the players.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

As Zoey and Sanchez's conversation became increasingly heated and reached an impasse, Rita made her move. She slithered to the ground, creeping behind the machinery shed. Once she saw that the player sensing air currents had used up a chunk of his mana, she shifted back to human form and drank an invisibility potion.

At that moment, both **Insight** users were in cooldown periods—the revealing potion had just worn off, and the air current reader had recently finished using his skill. Rita crept toward the back of Zoey's team, where she softly whispered in a disguised male voice, "A cripple dares to act so arrogant..."

They were all players. Even a Level 0 player could catch those words, let alone Sanchez, who was already Level 1 and had increased her constitution. The word "cripple" was crystal clear.

And Zoey? Well, the voice was close enough for her to hear perfectly too.

That word... that one word set both women ablaze with fury!

Especially Sanchez, who was already sensitive to the term "cripple" due to her injury. She immediately raised her hand and fired a water cannon spell toward where she thought the insult had come from. The spell exploded right in the midst of the Lopez family's ranks.

Zoey, who was equally irked by the word "cripple," knew it was likely one of her subordinates speaking up on her behalf. So while she felt a mix of satisfaction and irritation, she was about to scold her team to maintain a peaceful front. But before she could say a word, Sanchez's water cannon came barreling toward them.

Lopez family members, already on edge from countless dungeon runs, reacted instinctively. The first reaction was to dodge, and the second was to strike back.

Thus, the brawl began.

Rita, already having retreated to the back, waited patiently. When she saw a player from the White family, a distant gunner, fall to the ground, she approached. The man was still clinging to life. Crouching beside him, Rita pressed her hand to his head, leaning forward and gripping his hand to aim the gun. In his terrified eyes, she raised his hand and pointed the gun at Zoey's right eye.

One second... Two seconds... Three seconds... *Bang*—she pulled the trigger.

Zoey felt an immediate sense of dread as the gun was pointed at her. She quickly spotted the downed player aiming the gun at her. His head was propped up slightly, his face twisted in a ferocious snarl as he locked eyes with her. She didn't hesitate—Zoey fired first, hitting the nearly dead player squarely in the head. His body slumped to the ground, lifeless.

But even as his body fell limp, the bullet he fired continued toward her. Zoey dodged, narrowly avoiding the shot. However, no one expected what happened next—the bullet changed direction mid-air and continued toward her. Zoey realized something was wrong too late.

A blood-curdling scream echoed as the high-speed bullet shattered her last remaining ear.

Even Sanchez paused in shock.

Only one thought raced through her mind: *It's over. The Lopez family and the White family are now mortal enemies.*

No matter how powerful a healing potion was, it could only stop bleeding and close wounds—it couldn't regenerate a missing ear. After downing potions and casting healing spells on herself, the blood stopped, but Zoey's ear was gone, reduced to a mangled mess.

After that final, impossible shot, Rita didn't rush to leave. In the ensuing chaos, she calmly pulled out a small engineering gadget, the **Mini Homing Device**. Carefully placing the dead player's hand over it, she activated it using the deceased's fingerprint and installed the device onto the gun still clenched in the player's grip.

**[Mini Homing Device]:** After use, the device will guide bullets to hit the target until contact is made. (Uses left: 2/3)

With everything set up, Rita quickly **Phantom Shifted** out of the scene. There was no need to linger; she could watch the aftermath through her undead spider minion.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop, chaos reigned. The White family had ceased their attacks, immediately offering apologies and lowering their stance to tend to Zoey's injuries. But it was too late.

Zoey glared at Sanchez with unprecedented coldness. She could no longer hear anything—*and she was now completely earless!*

"I'll remember this," Zoey said icily. Turning to leave, she aimed her gun at one of the White family's corpses and fired repeatedly, emptying her magazine before finally walking away.

Sanchez didn't bother chasing her. This kind of grudge couldn't be resolved with a few nice words. She sat down on a bench, holding her head in frustration. "Did anyone see who fired first?" she asked, already dreading the answer.

One of the White family's healers stepped forward hesitantly. He had seen the player who fired the shot at Zoey. He had considered healing him earlier but didn't have enough mana left—he had to save it for Sanchez.

Now, it was clear. There would be no passing the blame onto the Lopez family for a misfire.

Someone picked up the gun and exclaimed, "No wonder the shot was so accurate—there's a device on it."

Sanchez took the gun and saw the **Mini Homing Device** installed. Her fury surged again. They had treated Zoey like a boss monster, guiding the bullet to hit her no matter what.

She fired a few more shots at the riddled corpse.

With evidence piling up, Sanchez returned to the White family estate and told Josephine about the situation. Josephine was left speechless.

After a long silence, she asked, "Could this be someone else stirring the pot? Like that mutual enemy of the Lopez and White families?"

Sanchez stared back at her, deadpan.

The dungeon's location had been bought by the White family, the Lopez family had been blocked by their people, and they had used every **Insight** skill available. Plus, Sanchez had fired the first shot, and, most importantly, Zoey had seen a White family member shoot her with her own eyes.

There was no passing this off as someone else's fault.