Rick let out a sigh. Thinking back to how Rita had immediately informed them when she discovered the game's existence, he couldn't help but feel a bit of relief. Maybe it was for the best that she ran off—he had been too hasty.
He still had plenty of options; there was no need to lay a hand on Rita.
Recalling how lucky he'd gotten in the game by cooking for passersby, Rick decided to try his luck again. The end of the year was approaching, and with the Lopez family hosting so many parties, if he could manage to get a few of his dishes on those banquet tables…
Weren't those born with silver spoons in their mouths far luckier than Rita ever was?
Still, it was probably best to keep this from the Lopez family. Even if he felt confident, he didn't plan to tell Zoey about the effects of his skill. She would definitely help him if she knew, but he preferred to keep it to himself—for now, at least.
But since he'd already bought all the ingredients, he couldn't let them go to waste. As the faces of Samuel and Scarlett briefly flashed through his mind, Rick suddenly thought of Julian, who was still crashing at his apartment.
With a faint smile, he began cooking. After all, Julian had been staying with him for quite a while now and hadn't paid a single cent in rent.
…
Rita had no idea that her dear little brother wasn't angry at all—in fact, he was secretly relieved she'd taken off.
Not that she'd be touched even if she knew. A villain's occasional mercy wasn't kindness; to her, it simply meant he still saw her as backup food storage.
After arriving in Sawadika, she activated her Disguise skill and transformed into a bald man. Then she hired a local guide and asked to be taken shopping—for the weird, the cursed, and the occult. Money was no object, but the creepier and more ancient, the better.
The guide's smile turned a little more genuine. Another sucker with cash to burn.
That is, until the next second—Rita pulled a compact pistol from her right hand and pressed it against the guide's temple. With her left, she slapped a thick wad of dollars onto the table.
"This, or this?"
The guide's forced grin twisted into something closer to a grimace. "But these things… none of them are actually real…"
Rita calmly holstered the gun and stated her terms with serene seriousness. "It doesn't have to be truly supernatural. As long as there's a history of death, or if it's old and steeped in stories—that's good enough. For every item you bring me, I'll pay a bonus. The minimum is America$500. If I'm satisfied, the price goes up—with no cap."
Seeing that Rita was polite and composed—not someone likely to snap and kill her—the guide calmed down a bit and nodded. "I can't promise the stuff is legit, but I'll tell you everything I find."
Rita handed her a few crisp bills. "Good. I'll be staying here for a week. How much you make is up to you."
She hadn't always believed in this kind of stuff. But ever since the game's invasion, many items had shown strange effects—incense ash collected from old temples, meditation cushions used by real monks for decades… In her country, those had become controlled materials, mainly used by official dungeon raiding squads.
Trying to collect such things on her own from the civilian market was risky. There were too many scammers, and their fakes were convincing. She knew she wasn't equipped to outplay them. Plus, going around personally would draw attention.
Being associated with the Lopez family came with perks—no one dared touch her casually—but it also meant that her every move could be watched. Smaller families and minor powers would be eager to find out how the big players like the Lopez and White families were preparing.
Most attention would be on the Lopez family's key figures, but someone like Rita, who was doing business with the ultra-rich, was also worth monitoring.
No one would assign a 24/7 tail, but if she kept pursuing superstitious or esoteric items, someone would notice. And if any of those items later mutated, her past behavior would be heavily scrutinized.
Of course, she risked being tracked even in Sawadika. But after her disguise, all the mundane errands were left to the guide. Rita herself spent her days sightseeing and shopping like any ordinary tourist.
Maybe she was just overthinking it—but caution was second nature to her. If anything, she wished she could think even further ahead.
Another exhausting round of mental chess with thin air. Great.
"Is this the camera from that horror movie?" Disguised as a bald man, Rita was holding an ordinary-looking instant camera. "Which movie?"
The guide rubbed her hands together awkwardly. "It never got finished. The students said weird stuff started happening during filming. They got scared and quit."
Rita set the camera down without much interest and turned to the other items on the table.
There was a worn, bloodstained amulet. Supposedly, a woman used it to pray for love, got married shortly after, and then found out the guy was a scumbag—so she killed him in a rage.
A wolf fang—allegedly from a wolf that had eaten many people.
A centuries-old veil, once worn by a Thai royal consort.
And… a piece of durian husk.
Rita kept her expression neutral and pointed to the durian husk. "So, what's the tragic, touching backstory behind this?"
She leaned in to sniff. It still smelled fresh!
Did this guide think her gun wasn't loaded or something?
Beaming with excitement, the guide began explaining with wild gestures. Apparently, when harvesting durians, one person climbs to cut the fruit, while another waits below to catch it. This particular durian wasn't caught and smashed right onto someone's head. The person died instantly—not because the spikes pierced the skull, but because the impact crushed it completely.
Everyone was too busy crying and praying to care about the fruit. Later, a nearby child found the durian and ate the flesh. But this one piece of shell—stained with blood—was preserved.
Rita asked, "Let me guess… that child was you?"
The guide replied, "No, no… it was my kid…"
Rita: "…"
She'd made a terrible mistake.
How could she think she couldn't outsmart domestic scammers, but somehow could handle foreign ones?
At least scammers back home respected your intelligence. These overseas ones treated you like an idiot!
Even her gun wasn't working!
With a weary wave, Rita pulled out America$2,500, slapped it onto the table, and swept the pile of junk into her black backpack. She decided to call it quits. Time to buy a few latex mattresses and head back.
She was tired. Might as well use the time to train properly and prepare for dungeon runs after the next game incursion.
After less than a week abroad, Rita was back in familiar territory.
She still had close to America$30 million on hand, but nowhere to spend it—which was incredibly frustrating.
So she decided to invest it all in gold. If anyone asked why, the answer was simple: she believed the age of players was coming, and money would lose its value. Gold felt safer.