The mont Black Jade, who had been resting with eyes closed, opened its eyes, Rita also saw Rick's current attributes and his trust level toward her.
[Rick] Level 3 (63.49%) (Lowest-ranked Snake Servant)
Trust Level: 91
Unknown Curse II: All healing effects reduced by 10%; HP decreases by 5 per minute; infectious.
Health: 350/350
Mana: 200/200
Strength: 15
Constitution: 21
Intelligence: 15
Agility: 16
Before Rita could fully grasp Rick's attributes, her eyes landed on his right hand, which was busy applying oil to Black Jade. Two of his fingers were missing, and his arm was riddled with deep gouges, clear signs of being clawed by Flood Dragon.
Moreover, under the moonlight, snake scales could faintly be seen on Rick's face and body, giving him a monstrous, frightening appearance, especially with his exhausted face.
Rita felt a strange satisfaction at that mont, a satisfaction even greater than when she successfully stole Rick's talent!
This was how it should be! Rick deserved to suffer more than she did, more than Zoey Sanchez, or even the Taylor family siblings!
She quietly watched for a few minutes, but soon felt a sense of emptiness creeping in. It was like the aftereffects of a drunken night—where after all the excitent, only emptiness and boredom remained.
When she first ca back to life, her heart was full of hatred and regret. She wanted to lash out at everyone. But as she beca more rational and asured her strength against powerful families like Su, Liang, and Han, she realized her revenge had to be calculated and secure—poisoning people, stirring up discord, or even stealing from their vaults were the most aggressive yet safe forms of retaliation back then. At that ti, her soul was that of a weakling, struggling to survive.
But now, as her power grew, she was no longer that powerless victim. She wasn't the person who had to desperately struggle to survive another day.
As she looked at Rick and others now, it felt as if she were looking at ants or clowns—much like how she once viewed Alia. She had never cared about Alia, so avenging herself felt like swatting dust off her clothes—quick and casual.
Rita closed her eyes, silently calming her emotions. She reminded herself that imnse power breeds arrogance.
Invisible, Rita flew half a ter to the left to avoid the wind tornado Black Jade had blown in her direction after noticing her presence. Rita then glanced at Rick one more ti before continuing her flight, as if she were rely an outsider passing by.
"Today isn't the day. I'll wait for a better ti, one with a solid alibi," she thought, postponing her plans to steal Rick's attributes.
After evading the Special Affairs Bureau agents trailing her, Rita transford into a small cat and found Brooks.
Brooks seed accustod to cats coming to do business with her. She calmly invited Rita into a McDonald's, pulling out a chair and even bringing her a McSpicy Chicken Burger al.
Rita pulled out a prepared note: "I want information about Rita, Rick, The Lopez Family, and The White Family. You tell what you know, and I'll pay for each piece of information based on its importance. You tell one, I'll pay for one. If you think the paynt isn't enough, we can cancel the deal."
Brooks knew this was the wealthy old lady and didn't hesitate. Doing business with this lady was far more profitable than dealing with others who haggled endlessly.
Without delay, Brooks started to offload information:
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"Rita's whereabouts are hard to pin down. Her information is the most valuable in the circle right now. The hottest news is that her legion order was obtained on the plains. On the way back, she tried to fly back on a plane without a ticket but got intercepted by the Special Affairs Bureau. From their attitude, though, it seems like she made a deal with them. Recently, many factions have sent people to the plains looking for the legion order."
"Hmm? You don't feel well? Can't eat spicy food now that you're a cat?" Brooks asked when she noticed the white cat had stopped eating.
Rita silently set down her McSpicy Chicken Burger, suddenly losing her appetite, and gestured for Brooks to continue.
"There are also a lot of people trying to buy her legion order news, but she's been in seclusion. She hardly ever cos out anymore. She used to occasionally take Nivalis out to shop, but now no one knows where she is. Even her mansion seems to be empty. Probably... Well, that's another story. That news is expensive, though, so you need to pay first."
Rita pulled out 2 gold coins and handed them to Brooks. She understood what Brooks ant. Information about Lania Kaia wasn't sothing she'd sell easily, especially not at a low price.
Rita waved her hand, signaling she wasn't interested in that expensive information and handed over another note: "Any other news?"
Brooks: "Do you want news about her parents?"
The white cat nodded.
Brooks: "They joined a faction in B City called 'Wildfire'. There's a massive conflict between that faction and the Wilson Family in B City, but I don't know the details. I'm not very familiar with the situation in B City. This news is free, though."
Rita nodded in acknowledgnt.
Brooks continued: "Rick's whereabouts are just as hard to trace. His location and Black Jade's are now under 24/7 surveillance by the Special Affairs Bureau. I don't have much to sell about him."
"As for The Lopez Family, Zoey has practically split off from them. It's not exactly a separation, more like she's half-independent now. She's ford her own team and gained partial rights to the Lopez Family's dungeon mirrors, but she still lives in their mansion. Many people in the Lopez Family are complaining about Zoey being cold and unapproachable, but Matthew has kept it quiet."
If Matthew really had quieted it down, Brooks wouldn't know about it, and she wouldn't have made a point of telling Rita. Rita could see through this; Matthew was just playing the surface ga. From the outside, Zoey seed like soone who couldn't let go of her past. The more she couldn't let go, the more she tried to prove herself to others. It was pitiful.
After a mont of thought, Rita pushed 3 gold coins toward Brooks, feeling content with the news. Even if she personally visited the Lopez Family, she wouldn't be able to easily uncover this information anyti soon.
"Mateo got hit in the face with boss venom while raiding a dungeon. His face got disfigured. The Lopez Family is searching for top-tier treatnt, and they'll pay any price."
"The White Family has been in private contact with Zoey, but I couldn't find out more."
"Recently, there have been players with snake scales all over their bodies appearing in the White Family. Their attributes have significantly increased, and they've gained so powerful new skills. The Special Affairs Bureau is investigating this."
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