From the antiques, jewelry, paintings, and calligraphy she had taken from the Wilson family, Rita picked out three pieces she had seen in Rick's hands in her past life.
Those three were very likely to mutate into equipment or items.
The rest went straight into her backpack, and she took a trip to W City.
The place was a mixed bag. No one knew her there, and the Lopez, White, and Taylor families had no influence.
After arriving in W City, she threw everything into the underground auction house. The commission was higher, but it specialized in shady goods. Buyers knew what they were getting, and most would keep their purchases private rather than show them off.
Because there were too many items, she had to wait for appraisal, auction, and currency exchange into gold.
Exchanging large amounts of gold as an individual was extremely troublesome. Both the legal and illegal sides might be waiting to catch her. Sometimes she had to watch out for sting operations. Sometimes, when targeted, she had to counterkill and clean up traces.
Several crises were only solved thanks to firearms and explosives made through Engineering.
Those things really worked.
Rita left Los Angeles in mid-April and stayed busy until late May. Only after selling every antique and piece of jewelry did she return to Los Angeles with over 3,200 pounds of gold in her game backpack and 800 million in her W City account.
During that time, she kept wearing the Chávez Glasses but did not see a single player.
Even at the goblins' shameless exchange rate after the invasion, 3,200 pounds of gold could be exchanged for over 5,000 gold coins.
If everything went smoothly, she would not need to worry about professional recipes. She could even buy skill books at the in-game auction house.
The game had no fixed classes.
Whether alien races or Blue Star humans, no one had a set class. Players merely grouped themselves roughly into types, such as healers, agility types, casters, melee fighters, and ranged fighters.
Everyone's core was their Divine Gift. All skills were chosen to support it.
Of course, some people followed chaotic free-build paths. They learned whatever they found, and somehow made it work.
Rita had not touched her own fifty million.
She planned to see how much gold she could exchange first, then decide what to do with the remaining money.
During this period, Samuel and Scarlett searched for her everywhere. Rita said she was traveling in Italy and worried she would die before spending all her money.
That left them speechless.
She did not understand why they kept calling her. Did the family of a son-in-law really get a say in the engagement?
In the days before June 1, Rita bought all kinds of miscellaneous items, from appliances to alcohol and food.
When she dragged a cart full of deliveries back to the villa, the security guard asked if the apocalypse was coming.
Rita could only say she had just moved in and the house was empty, then sent him away.
After the game invasion, food, clothing, housing, and transport would not be scarce. They would become more abundant. There was no need to hoard supplies.
By the day of Zoey and Rick's formal engagement, her game backpack was only half full.
Rita wore light makeup and a proper, low-profile blue casual suit. When she arrived at the hotel, she clearly saw satisfaction in Zoey's eyes.
Female rivalry warning.
How stupid did someone have to be to think her boyfriend's biological sister liked her boyfriend?
Rita smiled and shook hands with her future sister-in-law. Then she placed the cash gift down, said a few polite words, and went inside to find Samuel and Scarlett.
She felt like she barely recognized Rick anymore.
How long had it been?
The shy, soft little puppy had become a gloomy little puppy.
It was only half gone. Was it that serious?
He was the male lead. The standard package should be eighteen centimeters. Now he only had nine, and he was already gloomy?
So hard to please.
Still, the Wilson genes were strong. The gloomier he looked, the prettier he became. If this were a boys' love novel, he probably would not be able to get out of bed.
But it worked in a son-in-law novel too.
Zoey's eyes were practically glowing when she looked at Rick.
Rita had been a celebrity for years, but the guests here were either rich young ladies or noble wives. Even if someone recognized her, no one came over to greet her.
Rita enjoyed the quiet. In W City, she had honestly killed until she was tired.
For a while, she truly did not want to kill again.
Perhaps killing too many people had changed her aura. She used to have a gentle, white-moonlight air. Now, walking in wearing a suit, she gave off the vibe of a woman who was definitely up to no good.
Samuel narrowed his eyes and watched her for a while. Then he leaned closer and asked warmly, "Why have you changed so much lately? Did something happen? Tell Dad."
Rita answered without blinking. "I met a mafia boyfriend in Italy and ran wild with him for half a month. Don't I look cool?"
Samuel was silent.
Something that clearly sounded like a joke could be ignored.
Rita raised a hand beside her mouth and whispered, "I got a gun. A real one."
Picked up after killing someone. Seventeen guns of various types, plus bullets. Unfortunately, she had not raided their base. Her firepower was lacking, and she did not dare storm in as flesh and blood. She could reconsider after gaining skills.
This part was probably true.
Samuel pressed his lips together. "Give it to Dad later. I'll keep it for you. That thing is illegal."
Oh, so he wanted it, but still called it illegal.
If she got caught, would he go to jail for her?
On the surface, Rita replied obediently, "Okay. I'll listen to Dad."
The engagement banquet was the Lopez family's stage. The Wilson family behaved like quails. They were not even given a chance to speak on stage.
Rita glanced at Samuel's expression. He still looked like a refined, handsome professor.
As for Scarlett, although she often exploded at home, she had given birth to a beauty like Rita and a little eunuch like Rick. Of course she was not bad-looking. When she sat quietly and smiled, she could still pass as dignified.
Rita lowered her head and ate, thinking about how to make Rick miss the second beta.
She planned to tell Rick about the game after attending the second beta, then wait with him for the uncertain third beta.
Give him hope, then make him despair.
The first beta had been too rushed. She had no ability then, so her handling had been crude. The second beta needed to be smoother to match her current capabilities.
She did not want anything to happen to Rick at the Wilson home again. With this little bastard's habit of suspecting the women in the family first, it would be too easy to expose herself.
But given Rick's current condition, he was probably still practicing technique and had not yet qualified to move into the Lopez household.
A son-in-law who had lost half his manhood.
If he and Zoey hugged, who would call whom wife?
Rita only thought of a solution after leaving the manor.
Thanks to years of fleeing, she knew many fellow fugitives, along with small shops that took private jobs.
Still cash transactions.
She hired people to find a few young women and men to go to the Wilson home and pretend to be Rick's obsessive fans. They were to ask why he got engaged without telling everyone.
The more unreasonable and hysterical, the better.
She also killed a small sparrow and used [Only the Dead Obey] to control it, making it wait outside the Wilson home's window.
The harassment began on the 2nd.
They did not even make it to Rita's plan B.
By the night of the 4th, Rick had moved into a nearby hotel.
That same night, she used an anonymous SIM card bought in W City and called someone she had met while buying gold there.
She gave them Rick's phone number and email. Starting tomorrow morning, for the next month, they were to send him explicit messages nonstop, twenty-four hours a day.
People would add him and ask whether he was interested in men.
Then they posted his number in gay bars.
From that day on, Rick's phone became a harassment machine.
The second beta would begin on June 6 at 6:06 a.m.
At 3 a.m. on June 6, Rita used Disguise and arrived outside the hotel.
She turned into a nearby narrow alley and stood in a surveillance blind spot. After drinking an Intermediate Invisibility Potion, she walked into the hotel and climbed the stairs all the way to the 27th floor, where Rick was staying.