This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 233: Clearing Suspicion & 【Bear Cookies】

Shadow.Q replied without hesitation, "Settling the income is no problem. We’ve left everything untouched, but I need to report something first."

After reassuring Rita of her cooperative stance, she asked, "Did someone in the bureau upset you?"

"No," Rita said, before adding a reminder. "It’s related to the management of blank crystals."

Shadow.Q’s expression immediately turned serious. Had the situation become so severe, or was it just Rita being overly cautious to sever their partnership?

It didn’t take long for a reply from above: the bureau agreed to all of Rita’s conditions. Additionally, the blank crystals sent to Rita in early September would be considered a gift and wouldn’t be deducted from her profits.

Shadow.Q pulled out the ledger for Rita to review.

60 to 80 skill crystals to the Special Affairs Bureau. Occasionally, when she was too busy, there would be delays in producing them.

In less than nine months, she had delivered a total of 596 skill crystals.

The ledger not only recorded the sale prices but also detailed when each crystal had been sold. Even resources that couldn’t be converted into direct profits—like dungeon access time or temporary deployment of special players—had been calculated into Dragon Coins.

The final earnings amounted to 812 Dragon Coins and 1,727 Gold Coins.

This was far more lucrative than Rita had anticipated.

After signing the accounts, the earnings were transferred to her mailbox immediately.

Shadow.Q handed over a large bag of Dragon Coins. "Here’s an even number for you. Didn’t you have over a thousand coins already? Adding this batch, we’ve rounded it up to 2,000 as a gesture of gratitude from the bureau for your willingness to fulfill the contract ahead of schedule. Feel free to verify."

Rita directly stored all the Dragon Coins and Gold Coins in front of Shadow.Q.

Instantly, the name [Rita] entered the Top 100 of the Wealth Leaderboard.

The 1,727 Gold Coins, combined with the 88 she already possessed, brought her total to 1,815 Gold Coins, pushing her into the top 90—though her total was barely more than the fraction of what the top spot had.

The World Channel was abuzz with activity.

In this era, the various leaderboard rankings were akin to trending topics on social media. Even minor changes could spark widespread discussion.

Let alone today, when the wealth of the leaderboard’s top spot surpassed 80,000 at midnight. Both the World Channel and Huaxia Channel had been endlessly debating the wealth rankings since then.

This attention was something Rita welcomed. The more people noticed her rising wealth alongside the leaderboard’s top name, the safer she felt. She trusted that data enthusiasts wouldn’t miss the connection between these changes.

It wasn’t just about hiding her actual wealth—it was also a safeguard. If a method to exchange gold for coins were revealed, she didn’t want the Lopez Family suspecting her involvement in their stolen gold incident.

Shadow.Q, too, had noticed the wealth leaderboard. Her gaze lingered on a certain part of it for a brief moment, but her expression remained perfectly neutral. If Rita hadn’t been closely watching, she might’ve missed it.

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Shadow.Q then pulled out a soundproofing artifact, activated it, and gestured for Rita to speak freely.

Rita wasted no time. "You need to disguise yourselves as goblins and find the goblins of Lania Kaia. They have a skill called Gold Forging, which allows them to mint one gold coin from 120 grams of gold. As long as you offer enough of a margin, they’ll be willing to exchange gold for coins."

She continued, "When I helped the bureau exchange coins previously, it was through goblins in the major cities. However, many goblins live in nearby towns and villages. While they’re less affluent than their city counterparts, their numbers are greater, and sending your people to these towns would also draw less attention."

Rita then explained some critical goblin customs, etiquette, and beliefs.

While goblins adored gold coins, their faith wasn’t in the coins themselves. One could insult coins or dismiss wealth in front of them without issue, but wasting their time was a grave offense.

Even protracted negotiations after stating your purpose were acceptable, but idle chatter or unnecessary words would drive them mad. To goblins, wasting time was tantamount to stealing their money—a sin beyond forgiveness.

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An enraged goblin’s favorite response was to rush over, grab your head, press their forehead against yours, and scream, "Scum! Look into my eyes and tell me—do you understand that time is money?!"

Shadow.Q carefully noted everything down. Rita’s insights came from her personal experiences with goblins, and her pained expression as she recounted them hinted at countless frustrating encounters—and likely some ruined dignity.

With the contract fulfilled on both ends, Rita asked if Shadow.Q had brought any exchange catalogs with her. She wanted to spend some of her earnings—mostly because keeping so much money on a virtual character made her uneasy due to [Talking While Pooping]’s time limitations.

Without hesitation, Shadow.Q produced two catalogs—one for items that could be purchased with Gold Coins and another for those requiring Dragon Coins.

Rita skimmed the lists, starting with the [Unknown Items] section.

She wanted to see if the Special Affairs Bureau had found any "mahjong tiles."

After flipping through over twenty pages, she found nothing.

She wasn’t exactly disappointed. After all, had she not stolen her first mahjong tile from Mistblade Moon Emperor, she likely wouldn’t have realized its significance either.

After all, the tiles came with no descriptions, not even a question mark after using an Identify skill. They seemed utterly mundane, their only distinctive traits being their indestructibility and intricate designs. It was hard for anyone to recognize their true value.

Shadow.Q noticed Rita’s purposeful flipping and asked, "Are you looking for something specific? If you’d like, you can describe it to us, and we’ll keep an eye out for you."

At that moment, Rita understood why Mistblade Moon Emperor had tried to "kill" her the moment she showed interest in the tile.

If something seemingly ordinary was actually a priceless treasure, the best course of action would be to keep it hidden, rather than drawing attention to its value. It was better to spend more time and effort quietly collecting the items than to risk chaos by revealing their importance.

Even if it meant taking longer and working harder, it was worth avoiding unwanted attention from powerful rivals and opportunists.

Rita shook her head. "I just heard it was important, so I wanted to check. But I didn’t find it."

Recognizing her unwillingness to elaborate, Shadow.Q wisely dropped the subject and focused on her meal.

Rita continued flipping through the catalog until she came across something she had almost forgotten about—Bear Cookies (Unknown), listed at a quantity of 1,214,875.

There were plenty in stock, and the label "Unknown" indicated that even after being acquired by players, the cookies provided no additional information—not even whether they were food, items, or curios.

But Rita knew exactly what they were.