This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 540 - : Divine Game: Chaotic Restaurant 60

Rita glanced around, making sure neither the rabbits, crabs, nor octopuses were paying attention to her. She cleared her throat and said seriously, "Ahem, go ahead, tell me in detail."

B80234615 responded, "For players, if they don't achieve a rank matching their combat power, the loss of attributes due to divine punishment after a single Divine Game will far outweigh the rewards they gain."

"It's worse if they don't play well. The more often they participate in the game, the more they stand to lose."

"That's why many players, once they feel their power is enough to protect their status and interests, stop participating in Divine Games."

"My calculations suggest that today's new rule is a signal, and it marks the beginning of gods cleaning up players who hold game qualifications but neither enjoy nor need the game anymore."

Rita raised an eyebrow and said, "Hasn't this been happening for a long time already? Surely they didn't just realize it today."

B80234615 replied, "Until today, Divine Game wasn't boring."

"Even though some players occupy game spots but don't play much, the Divine Game was still running, and countless strong players were pushing themselves to rise higher and grow stronger."

"But your appearance has shed light on that dust, and now the gods can no longer tolerate it."

Rabbit 4 returned after browsing through the ten different tables and chairs, hopping onto the table next to Rita. Watching Rita, who was oddly rearranging her hair, Rabbit 4 asked, "What are you doing?"

Rita found a piece of beast tendon from her bag, tied her hair into a small bun at the back of her head, and then began fixing her loose strands of hair, making them look more natural and styled.

She casually answered, "Image management."

Rabbit 4: "?"

B80234615: "..."

Rita looked at herself in the mirrored tabletop. She hadn't taken a good look at herself in a long time. The data panel, with its stats and detailed skill descriptions, usually held more attraction and research value for her than her own face.

In that moment, the reflection staring back at her felt somewhat unfamiliar.

After she had been reborn, her aura was complex and mysterious, blending the various divine gifts. It was as if every time one looked at her, they could see a different aspect of her beauty: the mysteriousness of the God of Thieves, the coldness of the Immortal Undead, the sharpness and brilliance of the Sharpshooter, the warmth and approachability of the Food God, and her own restraint and madness.

Now, all those qualities seemed to have settled, revealing her original self.

She had always thought she was hiding well, like a deer in a forest, carefully watching for danger, pretending to be harmless to make the enemy drop their guard, only to strike back at the perfect moment. But now, upon closer inspection, she realized it wasn't quite that simple.

In fact, her appearance was gentle, intellectual, and bookish. She had always looked like someone who spent all their time in a lab, no matter what hairstyle she tried.

Two years had passed, and while that bookish quality remained, it had now been tinged with sharpness. Even when looking at herself in the mirror, her eyes seemed to carry a sense of scrutiny and inquiry.

Her face, once free of any intense emotions, now showed traces of mischief, as if she were someone who was always on the verge of doing something bad. And after all those life-and-death battles, facing strong opponents, her posture, gaze, and presence now radiated a sense of imminent action—like she was ready to run, fight, destroy, and kill at any moment.

Rita muttered softly, "…I look like a dangerous bad thing."

Even as she said this, BS Rita was clearly satisfied with her appearance. Rabbit 4 didn't understand but was about to head out to gather supplies.

Before leaving, Rabbit 4 asked, "Do you need any ingredients?"

Rita immediately answered, "TingoJE."

After 900 days of research and practice, it was truly the highest-rated dish she could currently make.

Rabbit 4: "…"

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

With an expression of disbelief, Rabbit 4 went to Octopus Bucket to collect the funds for the supplies. The latter handed over half of the money it had received, excluding any skill icons.

A money bag twice the size of Rabbit 4 stood in front of them, but Rabbit 4 frowned and said, "Are you really only buying this much?"

Octopus Bucket replied, "If it's not enough, you can go steal some, make a few players into ingredients."

Even though the money wouldn't change the restaurant's revenue or ranking, Octopus Bucket wasn't about to dip into its own funds for Rabbit 4's shopping. It didn't mind money, but it wasn't necessary to spend it for Rabbit 4's work.

Rabbit 4 thought for a moment, then stuffed the large money bag into its stomach pocket. It then set off, brushing past the food customers in the street.

As the business hours started and customers entered the food street, one group made their way to restaurant 233.

They were dressed in various formal outfits and had limbs... were they fruits?

There were some BS, Marmang, Lania Kaia, and others Rita had met during cooking lessons with the white bear teacher. Most of them were about a meter tall, which reminded Rita of robot vendors at the Diamonds Miner Market.

At that moment, an orange cherry stopped at the entrance of restaurant 233.

Rita immediately looked at the cherry's top—there was a stem! Not who she thought!

Sea Pony had already taken the new menu, which Rita had prepared after completing the cooking lessons, to serve the customers. The menu was based on the current ingredients in the restaurant.

Rita decided to head to the kitchen...

Sea Pony quickly delivered the menu to the kitchen, as it was now fully responsible for serving customers.

Rita asked, "Where's Marmang-Crab?"

Sea Pony replied, "It's gone out. Why?"

Rita glanced at the menu and began her work.

B80234615: "Are you planning to be ranked above or below 7999?"

Rita: "That's not the key issue. Our restaurant may not even make it to the first round of elimination."

B80234615: "Looks like you've thought of that."

Rita: "Talking to you is always so easy."

Clearly, they both understood the key issue.

For event gift packs, Abyss-level and above players, and Cosmic Wanderers, the safest and least damaging approach in this game was to stay as a black-market player.

Become a black-market player just before the elimination round begins, stay one hour as a black-market player, then before being expelled to the Dark Food Street, grab a position icon and become a formal employee. After the new elimination round begins, become a black-market player again.

In other words, they could skip the elimination kills, avoid the surprise blind box, and the special punishment for kill counts+1.

Most players confident in their own strength would likely follow this strategy. They wouldn't leave their fate to "random."

But the problem was, how could they minimize the losses from being killed?

The only answer was: find the hidden Inspectors among the food customers, invite them to the restaurant, anger them, and let them kill them. Only by dying at their hands would the kill count be normal, and the punishment would be the lightest.

If everything went perfectly, in the 12 rounds of elimination, they could endure only 6 deaths while keeping their skill icons safe.

Her three teammates just happened to be the event gift pack, a level 17 Demon King, and a Cosmic Wanderer with combat power far exceeding level 17.

As long as they could find an Inspector and cause trouble, she would be killed alongside them...