This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

In the next moment, Fat Goose also used a skill to dodge the thunderball Maple Syrup had thrown.

Fat Goose: "Alright, alright, let's get to the real business. Let's move away from them."

He practically bounced with excitement, pulling Rita further away.

Rita almost blurted out "sister" by accident.

When they finally stopped, Rita nearly lost her balance. Her legs felt weak. She quickly took out the roasted goose from earlier and used her [Refurbish] skill right in front of Fat Goose.

The roasted goose appeared to be fine, so she took the cheapest piece of gem ore she had and stuffed it into the goose's mouth.

This was one of her few usable items. Only by adding new substances could she reconfigure the goose and change its item description.

Since the mechanical race used gem ore as an energy source, it made sense that it had energy properties.

In less than a minute, the once ordinary roasted goose had transformed.

[Cyber Roasted Goose] C-grade: Restores 40 energy upon consumption, and restores 5 energy every 15 minutes for the next hour (only the first bite is effective).

Energy?

She couldn't see the value, but Rita didn't bother checking the energy stats right away. The most important thing was to get food in her stomach.

Fat Goose watched her use her skill, and when he saw her expression, he noticed something.

Fat Goose: "What did you do? It changed? Upgraded?"

After swallowing a bite of the goose leg, Rita immediately felt a difference. The dizziness and fatigue that had been clouding her mind were gone. Now, she had the mental energy to face Fat Goose. She glanced at the players in the distance.

In less than 2 seconds, Rita made a decision. While making a big profit from this exchange sounded tempting, it was too dangerous. She'd rather let these players starve out of combat ability. That way, she'd feel safe.

Rita: "Yes, it restores energy. I can combine food and gem ore. Do you want it? You give me one food and one gem ore, and I'll help you combine them once. But this skill has a limit. Besides what I need for myself, I can only do two more combinations. I'll charge you ten roasted geese and five gem ores as the fee."

Fat Goose immediately handed over 12 of his own roasted geese and 7 gem ores.

Fat Goose was straightforward, and Rita wasn't going to be stingy.

After she put away the uneaten roasted goose, she used her water magic to wash her hands and face before demonstrating how to combine the food and the best two gem ores into two A-grade [Cyber Roasted Geese].

[Cyber Roasted Goose] A-grade: Restores 80 energy upon consumption, and restores 5 energy every 5 minutes for the next hour.

Fat Goose's eyes lit up as he took the two [Cyber Roasted Geese].

Rita packed up all the Fat Goose geese and gem ores, then stopped. She didn't plan on refurbishing anything in front of him. She intended to find a quiet spot later and secretly refurbish all the geese and ores she had.

Rita: "How about trading information? I'll trade information on the 8017 Special Zone for information on the 1211 Special Zone."

Fat Goose, munching on a roasted goose, nodded: "Sure!"

Fat Goose was quick and honest with his actions. As he ate, Rita began to share what she knew about the 8017 Special Zone. Unfortunately, since her entry had been so timely, all she could share was the mission about the mechanical race rebellion.

By the time she finished, Fat Goose had finished his roasted goose, washed up, and was ready to talk about the 1211 Special Zone.

He began telling her his story, starting from when he entered the zone, all the way up to the [Inspector's Arrival].

"I was lucky. I was part of the group that didn't get judged, but later the Inspector suddenly said that players who had been judged could transfer their criminal marks by killing those who hadn't been judged. That's when I realized something was off.

"After being killed, I left the area—how could the criminal mark be transferred?

"Most of the players who had been punished had lost their minds by then.

"The penalties you saw on the chat channel were actually light. You can't even imagine the losses some players suffered—some lost SSS-level skills, some had soul-bound equipment confiscated, some lost the key to the World's Grave Forest, and others permanently lost a divine talent skill…"

Rita was shocked. She couldn't imagine enduring any of those losses.

Fat Goose's expression became even more complex as he continued: "So when the Inspector said players could kill others to transfer their criminal marks, I knew it was over. Even though I was the strongest player and stood up to say this was strange, no one believed me. Everyone had gone mad.

"Eventually, when there were only a thousand players left, the mechanical race officially rebelled. That's when we learned that the so-called Inspector had actually been killed by the mechanical race halfway through the inspection. The Inspector who appeared later was a mechanical race impostor.

"The mechanical race couldn't punish players through the judgment, so it issued tasks to make players kill each other.

"When we figured it out, it was too late. The rebellion lasted for an hour, and fewer than 100 players survived in our special zone, while the mechanical race lost fewer than 10%.

"Even those dead players couldn't transfer their penalties.

"The Inspector had said before the judgment that we could visit him after the trial to get back our confiscated items…"

Rita couldn't help but think of B80234615. She wondered if it was alright.

Just as she was thinking about it, Fat Goose said: "Speaking of which, the leader of the mechanical race rebellion, the one who started it all, has a number that's related to your zone. It also starts with 8017, and it's B80234615."

Rita's heart shook. She unconsciously repeated: "B80234615?"

Fat Goose, with a touch of admiration in his voice, responded: "Yes, it broke the rules. It killed the Inspector and used tricks to give the mechanical race an unfair advantage. When the rebellion succeeded, the gods' punishment came. When the 1211 Special Zone was turned into the Abandoned Zone, it was also executed."

Rita was left speechless for a long time. She tried to remember what B80234615 looked like and how it acted. The robot wasn't vain like L4327777. It seemed like any other mechanical race—low-key and gentle—and it even chatted with her.

Its personality was described as "Honest · Gentle · Likes to Chat."

"Huh? By the look on your face, you know it?" Fat Goose asked, surprised. He pointed to the largest pile of trash in the distance and generously offered some of the information he knew. "It fell over there."