This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

"Our team managed to clear a batch of dungeons ahead of schedule. As for the ones we couldn't finish, we used Divine Gifts to temporarily seal the dungeon gates and are working on clearing them little by little. Just a little over a week ago, the 12-level dungeons also started unlocking. We simply can't keep up..." Shadow.Q sighed.

Though she didn't say it outright, the situation, while dire, hadn't yet reached a crisis point.

In fact, the Special Affairs Bureau was even waiting for some of the dungeon creatures to emerge. After all, dungeons had player limits. Sometimes 20 or even 100 players couldn't handle the monsters inside, but once those creatures left the dungeon, the tables turned. With thousands of players waiting outside, surely they could take down a few monsters.

Plus, dungeon gates were small. As soon as one creature emerged, the Bureau could focus on taking it down.

Weaker creatures would barely last a second after appearing. Even stronger ones wouldn't get far before being stopped, unable to reach the defense lines.

At this point, the Bureau's players had fallen in love with these "whack-a-mole" group exercises.

Of course, this only applied to dungeons below level 10. For higher-level dungeons, the Bureau had to assemble elite teams to tackle them, sometimes taking days to clear.

Many of the 94 players who joined the dragon-hunting group had previously been the main force for clearing those 10- and 11-level dungeons. This gathering wasn't just for Zoey's Hopeful Hymn mission; it was also to help them prepare and coordinate better for future fights against high-level beasts and bosses.

Besides that, the Bureau also had to negotiate with the owners of private dungeons. It was easier when they encountered reasonable people who understood mutual benefit, but dealing with short-sighted ones became tricky. Some owners couldn't even clear their own dungeons but still refused to let the Bureau help, fearing they'd lose out on resources.

In such cases, the Bureau could only seal off the dungeons temporarily, but that wasn't a long-term solution.

People still treated dungeons like a game, seeing them as a chance for evolution. The public celebrated, believing life would go on smoothly. The Bureau wanted things to stay orderly, even though they were aware of the impending dangers.

For now, the Bureau hadn't shared the full extent of the situation with the public to avoid causing panic.

There were far too few dungeon gates. Many people had never even set foot in one, even though it was currently the best way to prepare for what was coming.

Right now, Blue Star was like a slowly sinking ship. Most people were oblivious, thinking they'd just move to a new vessel and continue their journey. So, for now, they could board lifeboats in an orderly fashion, even politely helping one another.

But what would happen once they learned the truth?

In the near future, when higher-level dungeons start unlocking and players can't keep up, what kind of chaos will unfold?

Would people still line up calmly for their turn to clear dungeons? Would ambitious individuals exploit the situation for their own gain?

There were already rumors circulating, and both domestic and international efforts were underway to manage dungeon unlockings. But some people loved taking photos and "revealing the truth," believing the general player base had a right to know.

Shadow.Q couldn't say they were wrong, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to control the situation.

Rita noticed the look of bitterness on Shadow.Q's face and felt a twinge of guilt. She was starting to regret not offering her help sooner.

Had Rita been gunning for a 15-level dungeon today? Not really. She brought it up just to see if Shadow.Q would broach this topic.

Since August, after getting Nivalis, Rita had been waiting for the Bureau to approach her for help with clearing dungeons. Instead, they had come knocking to ask if her dragon could be a mascot.

Rita had to admit it was ridiculous. Here she was, wanting to help, but she had to bring it up herself.

With a serious expression, Rita finally said, "Do you need my help?"

Shadow.Q spun around, grabbing Rita's hands tightly. "Comrade! I've been waiting for you to say that!"

Rita's upper lip twitched involuntarily, revealing her teeth. She gave Shadow.Q a look of disdain.

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Great. She'd been roped into something again.

Not far away, a few small teams sat chatting. When they saw Shadow.Q's dramatic gesture and Rita's reaction, they burst out laughing.

"Got tricked again, didn't she?"

"Shadow.Q is bound to get ambushed in an alley one of these days. Who's with me?"

"Didn't Xiao Lu and the others try that already? Three level-7, all-Agility players, and they still couldn't catch up to Shadow.Q. She even rapped insults at them while running. One of them was so angry, he got a cold sore the next day."

"Maybe it's her Divine Gift. Doesn't she have one that's perfect for escaping?"

"Who knows? You can't see her stats. She keeps them hidden."

"Man, she really deserves a beating..."

"No kidding…"

"When I first joined the Bureau, I thought she was some elite businesswoman. You know that vibe? She's got presence! We were talking partnership, and I was convinced that if I didn't agree, I'd be missing out."

"And now?"

"Now, I want to call the cops, but I'm afraid if I dial 911, she'll be the one answering."

Despite the jokes, the Special Affairs Bureau wouldn't make Rita work for free. Otherwise, they'd only push lone-wolf players further away.

Shadow.Q's offer was fair: If Rita and Nivalis cleared a 13-level dungeon, they would be rewarded with 20 dragon-shaped coins, and all the dungeon loot would belong to Rita. The Bureau wouldn't interfere.

Rita, still pondering the dragon-shaped coins, finally asked, "Isn't this currency recognized by the game, like honor points?"

"Probably not."

After the honor rankings were unlocked, the Bureau had looked into the matter. Shadow.Q explained, "We've tried rewarding players with dragon-shaped coins since the leaderboard opened, but none of them gained any honor points or got listed.

We think the game system has its own way of calculating honor, and while it needed official involvement at first, the Bureau probably can't control it moving forward."

No one really knew what honor points were for yet, though.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Rita found that reassuring. "That's good. The game system doesn't play favorites—it's fair and impartial."

Shadow.Q nodded. Human biases and preferences always crept into decision-making, making true fairness hard to achieve.

Rita was about to say more when a voice from the stage echoed: "Welcome, players!"

She clapped politely, muttering, "They even got a host for this."

And so began the story of how Rita, after her rebirth, retired from the public eye, only for her nemesis to debut and throw a concert for 100,000 people…