bookpower Chapter 199 [Three Wan]
Chapter 199 [Three Wan]
Rita, restless like a hyperactive child, put away the **Wrathful Moon** and brought out the **Compass**, caressing it affectionately before kissing it. "You little angel!" she exclaimed.
How was this only an E-rank item? She almost felt indignant on its behalf.
Wanting to keep it close, Rita took the Compass and hung it from her pocket watch chain—she decided it was better to have it outside in case she had missed treasures before.
The Special Affairs Bureau had indeed picked a desolate spot; even though Rita expected that some creatures would adapt to this kind of harsh environment, she was surprised to find there were no significant beings nearby. Wanting to avoid attracting the attention of sea creatures, and thus alerting the other races that humans were in the area, she sought out a jellyfish, touching it to transform herself into a deep-sea creature, though she got stung in the process. Before she even had a chance to use her antidote potion, Nivalis threw an **Expert Medic** spell on her.
Afterward, she took on the form of a jellyfish, positioning herself atop Nivalis's head and allowing herself to be ferried around.
They roamed the vicinity several times, and any creature with enough strength or intelligence sensed the dragon's aura and fled. During these patrols, the Compass glowed a few more times, sending them both eagerly digging—though most of the results were disappointing.
Once they unearthed a level-three green boot, another time just a single coin, and eventually, a beast bone that Nivalis claimed was at most level ten.
Rita toyed with the **Compass**, realizing why it was rated as E-rank: the item, while morally admirable, lacked discernment. It didn't deserve any better rank.
Pulling out the **turtle jade**, she tossed a coin onto it and continued digging under the guidance of the **Compass**. This time, luck was indeed on her side. Occasionally, the Compass would flicker between two different directions, and she followed her instincts to choose which one to dig. The findings were noticeably better—beast bones capable of brewing high-level potions, a small bag of coins, broken blue gear, and even a corpse wearing a ring.
Digging further, to her surprise, she unearthed a "mahjong" tile—**Three Ten-Thousand**.
Speaking of coins, Rita planned to travel to the remaining major cities over the next few days and trade whatever gold she could. After she dealt with Rick, she'd reveal the method of exchanging gold for coins to the Special Affairs Bureau.
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Her power had reached a point where she was no longer in the most vulnerable, dangerous phase. She didn't need to worry about the Bureau becoming strong enough to become uncontrollable just because they didn't lack coins. She also didn't need to fear that the Bureau would use their money to buy items or skills capable of discovering S-tier talents in the country. It wasn't just because she had the **S-tier pocket watch** for protection—she was confident that, even if the Bureau found out her talent was beyond B-tier or they turned against her for some reason, she could still escape unscathed.
Call her selfish or cold-hearted, but her core principle was always self-preservation before anything else. Her abilities meant she would become a target if discovered, and explaining herself—that most of her stats came from stealing from other races—wouldn't help.
Sometimes having something others lack is enough to make you a target.
Besides, she had indeed targeted Blue Star players like Rick, making her seem ruthless and unfeeling in the eyes of the uninformed.
Initially, she had agreed with the Bureau that she'd tell them the gold-to-coins method in December, a year after the game had invaded. Revealing it ahead of time would not only leave a good impression on the Bureau, but also give her a chance to set some conditions.
She was satisfied with the Bureau's attitude toward her, but this attitude had to be earned through her own calculated efforts—when to compromise, when to push back, when to be generous, and when to feign ignorance.
She hadn't rushed to collect her profits from **Another Happy Day** in part to subtly express her trust in the Bureau, though the main reason was not wanting to make frequent trips to the Bureau for face-to-face transactions—they were a bit too thorough about it.
It was different from her one-on-one dealings with **Shadow.Q**; when dealing with the Bureau, all transactions had to be counted and signed off in person, including signing again after receiving the coins to prove receipt.
The Bureau really did seem full of hidden pitfalls.