The real meteorite pistols had been created by an American firearms company using meteorites estimated to be 4.5 billion years old.
Only two existed in the world.
Each was valued at four million dollars.
Even wealthy collectors could not buy them because they had been donated directly to an American museum after completion.
But wherever there was demand, someone would always fill it.
Meteorites were rare, but not impossible to obtain.
Through the broker's connections, Rita managed to purchase a custom-made meteorite handgun from a wealthy collector.
The man had spent an absurd amount commissioning it years ago.
One pistol alone cost sixty million.
No bargaining.
The man explained that sourcing the meteorite itself had already been a nightmare.
Meteorites were worth far more than gold.
Then he had hired specialist craftsmen because he did not want a decorative replica.
He wanted a fully functional firearm built to the same standards as the original meteorite pistols.
On top of that, it had been custom-designed into his favorite model:
The Desert Eagle.
Specifically chambered for the brutal .50 AE caliber.
The only downside was the magazine size.
Seven rounds.
The rich collector looked visibly reluctant while selling them, like he might change his mind at any second.
He could not even understand why he suddenly wanted to sell them in the first place.
He gave Rita one condition.
"If you buy them, you buy both. They're a pair."
Some things were priceless to their owners.
Even though the price massively exceeded the guns' practical value, Rita paid without hesitation.
The meteorite Desert Eagles were a gray silver color throughout.
The unique texture of the meteorite combined perfectly with the brutal shape of the Desert Eagle.
Rita fell in love at first sight.
Most importantly, she already had the engineering recipe for the ammunition.
The moment she returned to the hotel, she immediately stuffed the pistols into the Magician's Fake Tooth.
The seller had emphasized that the radiation was extremely weak.
But all Rita could think about was that man's bald head.
Thankfully, her engineering skill was high enough now that basic firearm maintenance posed no problem.
Even if she probably could not max advanced engineering before the third beta.
Just bows, crossbows, and guns alone cost her 620 million.
Through referrals, she spent another nearly two million commissioning:
10,000 arrows of various types.
50,000 bolts for different crossbows.
And 7,000 rounds compatible with the Desert Eagles.
The manufacturers refused to produce more than that.
With the remaining hundred million plus, she bought swords, shields, and other melee weapons.
Aside from the meteorite Desert Eagles, she purchased sixty weapons in total.
She also commissioned sixty matching weapon cases and stacked everything neatly into her inventory.
As long as even a few mutated after the invasion, she would profit.
Purple-grade weapons might not always sell for three thousand gold.
Equipment values varied wildly depending on level and quality.
A level ten legendary weapon and a level twenty legendary weapon could differ in price by several times.
Still, top-tier weapons were always in short supply.
Even if you had the money, owners were not guaranteed to sell.
Although Rita spent most of September in W City, her alchemy studies never stopped.
She delegated all miscellaneous tasks to the broker.
He organized the information.
She reviewed summaries, inspected weapons, and paid if she liked them.
Every time she acquired a new weapon, she would personally drive somewhere remote before returning.
The weapons would be gone by the time she came back.
The broker was smart enough not to ask questions.
Oddly enough, collecting weapons became a way for Rita to relax mentally.
As a result, her alchemy progress sped up instead.
Her daily experience gains increased from five points to seven.
Still nowhere near enough before the third beta.
Speaking of the beta tests:
The third beta would begin on October 10.
Zoey and Rick's wedding was scheduled for October 18.
Rita almost admired the symbolism.
Engaged shortly before the second beta.
Married immediately after the third.
The game really was serving as witness to their love story.
Rita had already decided.
Rick was missing the third beta too.
On October 1, Rita returned to Los Angeles.
The first thing she did was prepare an upgraded meal for the cats at Meow Meow Inn.
While she had been gone, she could not cook for them, so she left automatic feeders nearby filled with premium cat food.
Not as good as her cooking, but still high quality.
After placing bowls of meat soup outside, she sat on the backyard steps watching a calico and a tabby fight over food.
No cat had ever brought her gifts despite all this time.
But slowly, caring for the strays had become one of her ways to relieve stress.
Whenever she needed to think, she liked watching unfamiliar cats while sorting through her thoughts.
Now that Rick lived inside the villa district, strangers could no longer enter freely.
Zoey had also encrypted his phone.
The trick Rita used during the second beta no longer worked.
Very few people even knew Rick had moved.
Even after Julian arrived in Los Angeles, Rick only lent him the small apartment he used for work.
Unlike her previous life, he did not bring Julian into the Wilson family home.
That made it much harder to shift blame onto someone else.
After thinking it over carefully, Rita decided she needed an alibi during those days.
Fortunately, she had Phantom Shift.
Beginner mana potions restored sixty mana.
[Bottomless Coffee] restored five hundred.
Combined with her increased mana pool of two hundred thanks to her higher intelligence stat, she could theoretically travel anywhere as long as she could endure it.
Of course, that was only in theory.
She was not entirely sure whether her body or mind could handle that level of strain.
On the evening of the 4th, she visited the Wilson family villa.
Technically it was Rick's villa now, but Samuel and Scarlett had moved in too.
She casually mentioned that she planned to visit Xinjiang soon.
The others were already used to her constantly traveling everywhere lately.
But that was not her real purpose.
In a serious tone, Rita said, "I found information about the previous beta dates. The first beta started on February 2. The second started on June 6. Me and a few other players think future betas may follow the same pattern."
"No beta appeared on September 9, but after that, dates like October 10, November 11, and so on are all suspicious."
"On those special dates, you need to keep your phone nearby twenty-four hours a day. Understand?"
Rick felt genuinely touched.
For the first time, he experienced a faint sense of sibling affection toward Rita.
Not just him.
Samuel and Scarlett felt similarly.
Sure, their daughter could be stingy.
But when it came to important matters, she was unbelievably generous.
Rick nodded seriously.
"I understand."
Then he held Rita's hand and said sincerely, "Thank you."
Zoey had never shared any of this with him.
And he refused to believe the Lopez family lacked the resources to gather such information.
Yet Rita had specifically come to warn him the moment she learned something.
Rita patted his hand.
"If our whole family becomes players, you'll have more standing in the Lopez family too."
"Remember this. Don't get lucky. Don't get careless. It's only one day a month."
"And stop being so cheesy. I'm leaving."
Rick personally walked Rita all the way back to her villa before finally leaving.