This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

All the players returned to the food street just before the competition began. Some casually found a place to stay, some flew in the sky, and others simply stood on the streets.

Rita kept a watchful eye on the players nearby without making it obvious.

Rita: "I need to constantly scan everyone approaching me, especially players with thieving skills. Alert me the moment one gets close."

B80234615: "Understood."

This was her second line of defense. Her first line was her most trusted skill, [Sinful Act]. Thieving skills were also considered ambush tactics, and Rita knew how terrifying such skills could be. She was aware that S-class divine talents weren't unique—once you progressed further, they would change according to each player's traits and soul attributes.

She couldn't be certain whether a skill that could steal divine talents might one day be used against her.

Rita noticed Winter Sea Frenzied Shark flying in the distance. Their eyes met for a moment, but they both casually looked away as if nothing had happened.

She also saw Pine Bloom, standing with Black SpringMud Bears and two new teammates, one of whom was Peach Crown and another Autumn Bear.

Mistblade was talking to a moon fox named Flowering Edge, who sported a buzz cut and a tail tip that was an incredibly beautiful shade of pink. Rita always thought pink was an unattractive color, but on that moon fox, it looked very stylish, almost as if the color had been stripped of its usual meaning, leaving it simply as a color without any particular aura.

Rita's understanding of the various races of Lania Kaia had deepened as she had stolen more and more secrets from them.

The moon fox, while ranked among the top three holy races in the 12 Sacred Tribes, was far from thriving.

The undead tribe, the most reserved, was the origin of Lania Kaia, with the Withered Monarch being its highest power. The Autumn Owl tribe, the 12th sacred tribe and the last to enter Lania Kaia, was in the highest tier. Maple Syrup, Pine Bloom, and Peach Crown were incredibly united, with Maple Syrup's ranking only slightly below that of Syntax Monarch, who had entered the battlefield years before her.

Only the moon fox, it could be said, was barely holding on, supported mostly by Mistblade, with the Flowering Edge Moon Emperor and Burn Cup Moon Emperor from the Moon Desert City and Moon Forest City following behind.

Rita glanced at the rankings. Both Flowering Edge Moon Emperor and Burn Cup Moon Emperor were at level 15 but were ranked far behind, even behind a sea demon queen, well over 5000th place.

When teams reformed, as long as the positions didn't overlap, most players chose to team up with those of the same race.

She glanced at Marmang-Crab: "It seems like you didn't look for your own kind."

Marmang-Crab brushed its whiskers with its claws. A Sea Pony was playing on its whiskers, sliding down the fuzz. It said, "I don't need teammates from my own race. It's too light, too serious, and not fun."

Rita thought the same, but before she could say more, the scene in front of her changed.

She and her teammates appeared in a large white circular disc. The disc was about 20 meters in diameter. At that moment, Octopus Bucket, whether by choice or force, had shrunk to about the same size as Marmang-Crab.

In the middle of the disc was a cooking station with familiar cooking utensils that Rita had seen before. The [ingredient] TingoJE, who had been dragged around by Octopus Bucket, was quietly lying on the counter.

Behind and in front of Rita were identical white discs. On each disc stood a team. The discs were moving forward, and Rita looked to the right—another disc was moving in the opposite direction.

The distance between each disc was about two meters, the same as the distance between tracks.

The familiar arrangement, the familiar feeling, made Rita realize: was this a rotating sushi conveyor belt?!

Octopus Bucket quickly set out all the ingredients, seasonings, and the magic potion materials Rita had asked for on the cooking station.

A buzzer sounded in the air, and the competition countdown began.

There were no explicit competition rules—what could or couldn't be done wasn't mentioned—only the time: 6 hours 27 minutes.

It wasn't exactly on the hour!

Rita moved forward to prepare the ingredients, her mind racing to make sense of the unusual time.

[Is this your restaurant? Who gave you the permission to open it?] The trigger for this storyline wasn't the usual hour mark. The only explanation Rita could think of was that the competition needed to finish before some special time point?

Would something happen after the competition ended?

To be safe, she figured she'd better avoid submitting her results exactly on the dot.

That much time would suffice.

She held the knife Marmang-Crab made for her using its skill, not bothering to ask TingoJE what was going on, and thrust the knife in.

Having spent 1200 days in the space, she could now dissect TingoJE with her eyes closed.

Rita: "I'm activating the skill now. Are you sure you can cause chaos for over 6 hours? This skill only works when it's a being with no culinary skills. If your pet can cook, it won't be able to help."

Marmang-Crab: "Don't worry."

Rita felt a little uneasy about Marmang-Crab's destructive potential. "Take it easy, just cause chaos, don't ruin my ingredients and potions."

Marmang-Crab: "Got it."

Rita: "And don't attack me with skills."

Marmang-Crab: "… Fine."

Rita: "And don't mess with my fire."

Marmang-Crab: "What's your problem? You don't want me to touch the pot, the ingredients, or even me? You might as well let me die!"

Rita groaned: "But I haven't even figured out your recipes yet."

Marmang-Crab screamed: "… Octopus Bucket wants you to talk trash to other players, not me!!!"

"… Forget it," Rita thought for a moment, agreeing that the restrictions were too much. "Do as you like then, cause chaos however you want, just keep your strength below level 7, how about that?"

Marmang-Crab: "That works."

Rita immediately activated the skills.

[Chaos Kitchen - Advanced Version], activated!

[Who is Hannibal?], activated!

The former was fine; it was an S-class skill that didn't consume much, and the Chef Domain wouldn't drain her abilities constantly. The latter, however, was more draining. This skill didn't have active or passive explanations, and it didn't have a time or cost of use; it was more like a racial talent for chefs, required every time she made a dish.

This was essentially a continuous skill. Once activated, Rita would be consuming 1 point of Aether per minute. The competition would last at least three hundred Aether, and she could only hope TingoJE was worth it.

The disc beneath her feet lit up with a faint glow.

Marmang-Crab looked at Rita cooking and suddenly had the urge to cause chaos. His Sea Pony pet was no different!

They both rushed up to the cooking station, starting to dance wildly. Marmang-Crab was fine—being a famous powerhouse, he still had an image to maintain, so he just jumped around causing trouble.

The Sea Pony, on the other hand, had no restraint at all. It flew up to Rita's face, turned its back to her, and started slapping its own behind in front of her, then let out a fart.

The Sea Pony was yelling trash talk in Sky-Crab language, which Rita could understand: "Stinky bug! Do you smell the seafood?"

Rita: "…"