She wasn't sure whether people could still catch diseases after their bodies became datafied.
But there was no need.
It lacked creativity.
And if it worked, she could have Rick deliver it himself later.
Poison?
That worked.
The male and female leads should match each other better that way.
She went back to the black market and bought some of that stuff. She even learned how to prepare it.
Seeing how clumsy and clueless she was, the seller advised her, "If you haven't touched this stuff yet, don't. There's still time to stop."
Disguised as a fifty-year-old man, Rita pulled out the money and said, "Oh, it's for someone else."
The seller stared at Rita like she was a beast.
Then they exchanged money and goods, and he handed her the marijuana.
Rita gave him a look that said, you're worse than a beast.
After getting what she needed, Rita thought that since she was already here, she might as well not waste the trip.
These days, whenever she was idle, her bones itched. She even suspected she had some illness.
Earlier, when she visited the black market, she had asked a doctor about it.
The doctor at the illegal clinic had no medical ethics at all.
He told her it was not an illness.
It was just her being cheap.
Rita: "..."
What a vicious mouth.
No wonder he couldn't become a proper doctor.
But this was the only clinic around, and it offered a wide range of services.
She left two strands of hair there.
One was from after using Disguise.
The other was her real hair.
She asked the doctor to run a DNA test.
While waiting for the results, she planned to search for mutated items in B City that she had heard about in her previous life.
Anything too major was out.
Anything that could be mass-produced for the battlefield was out.
Anything deeply cherished by its owner was also out.
Ideally, the owner had to be someone who had a grudge against her.
But after finishing a cup of coffee at a café, she still could not think of much.
For a mutated item to become famous, it either had to be powerful enough to change its owner's life or bring disaster upon its owner.
She did not want to touch the former.
And there were honestly very few of the latter.
National order had not collapsed.
Yes, darkness existed everywhere, but overall, people still united against the alien races.
And in chaotic times, harsh punishment followed.
The force that wiped out the pet hospital in her previous life paid a heavy price later.
After thinking for a long time, she finally remembered one of the male lead's buddies.
A man named Julian.
He had known Rick before the game invasion. Both of them were gaming streamers, and they were friends.
After the third beta, Julian went to Los Angeles to seek refuge with Rick.
During that period, he had even pursued Rita.
Back then, Rita never understood why a man who had nothing to offer could act so superior in front of her.
No care.
No consideration.
Just a mouth.
After she rejected him, he acted like she did not know what was good for her.
Repeatedly saying "I like you, be my girlfriend" under those circumstances was not pursuit.
It was harassment.
Rick never spoke up for him, but he never stopped him either.
Looking back now, it was probably because they were both players then.
So they looked down on ordinary people?
Julian's Divine Gift was not that strong.
Only A Rank.
Among the protagonist team, where S ranks were everywhere, that was hardly impressive.
Even her A Rank talent was stronger than his.
But after the game invasion, one of Julian's items mutated.
That was what allowed him to stay beside the male lead.
It was a small figurine he had played with for years.
After mutating, it became his contract pet. It could grow larger and serve as a puppet or soldier, and it could use skills.
Its stats were 80% of its owner's.
Even if it died, it could revive.
Most importantly, contract items were like bound equipment.
They could not be stolen.
Even if the owner died, no one else could take them.
Rita had no intention of stealing this item.
Julian was a jerk, sure.
But all he had done was flirt grossly with her, speak badly, look at her in a disgusting way, and occasionally tell Rick that he was way too tolerant of his sister.
Also, when Rita and several others went to lure monsters with that puppet, it protected everyone except her.
That was all.
Not exactly worthy of death.
Rita considered herself very tolerant.
She repaid grievances and avenged hatred, but she did not casually wipe out entire families.
So she found Julian's home and located the familiar little figurine.
A tiny figure in colorful clothes, holding a sword.
She took out a dagger, cut off both of the figurine's little arms, shaved off its hair, then left Julian's house with the fragments.
When passing an alley entrance, she crushed the two cute little arms, the tiny sword, and the layer of scalp into powder.
Then she scattered the ashes into a trash can.
Sigh.
Standing by the roadside and looking at the traffic, Rita sighed.
She was probably what people called a living saint.
Late at night, Rita, whose schedule was now completely ruined, appeared in Camila's room again.
It was already two in the morning.
This woman was still awake?
Rita had Phantom Cloak active, but that did not feel safe enough, so she immediately drank another Invisibility Potion.
Then she watched Camila smash things.
Not long after, Henry came in too.
Both of them looked awful.
"Did you find anything?"
"No. Only the two of us lost stats."
"..."
"My top hat is gone too! It has to be a theft skill. If I find out who that bitch is, I'll skin them alive!"
"What if they come back to steal more? We still don't even know if those attribute points can recover."
"We asked around the Wilson family and the Li family. Nothing like this happened to them."
Rita felt delighted.
The more furious they were, the more it proved she had done the right thing.
When she heard "Wilson family," her interest was briefly piqued.
Could it be Samuel's main family branch?
But it had nothing to do with her.
After being reborn, she had found time to run a DNA test. She, Samuel, Scarlett, and Rick were truly one family.
Her dream of being a switched-at-birth heiress had been completely shattered.
Rita simply stood in the corner and rested with her eyes closed.
After Henry left, she waited a little longer.
Once she confirmed Camila had fallen asleep, she cast Sleep Spell on her.
After all, passing out during sleep and passing out while awake were different.
The former would only make someone wonder why they had slept like a pig.
The latter would be remembered the next morning.
Then Rita used the method that beast of a seller had taught her and helped Camila get "happy."
She repeated the same thing with Henry next door.
Rita stayed in B City for a week and waited for the DNA results.
The hair from her disguised form had only a 99.5% match with her real hair.
That was basically the similarity rate between two strangers.
So in the future, she no longer needed to wear a swim cap when using Disguise.
During that week, Rita did not stay idle.
Every night, she visited the Taylor siblings like a private family doctor and gave them injections.
Rain or shine.
Each time, she even thoughtfully dripped a little healing potion onto the needle marks on their arms to help them close.
Then she wiped everything clean with alcohol pads.
Truly five-star service.
Only after confirming both of them were infected did Rita return to Los Angeles.
She swore that from now on, she would be a good person.
No schemes.
No messing with people.
She would study seriously.
Then, the moment she arrived at the airport, she saw Rick waiting outside.
Rita: "..."
Sometimes, she truly admired Rick's dedication to service.
No wonder three women fought over him.
All she had said yesterday afternoon was that she would return tomorrow.
But Rick?
He had a little stubble on his face, light in his tired eyes, and a cold breakfast in his hand.
Details.
Every detail was signaling:
"I didn't know what time your flight was, so I came early and waited for you."
Couldn't you just ask what time I arrived?