This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

The moment Verdant Whisper · Windrush's skill ended, Rita unleashed Top Chef? Top Chef!.

But Verdant Whisper · Windrush wasn't some hapless rookie waiting to be slaughtered. She may have hesitated earlier—choosing not to use her ultimate the moment Rita discovered her hidden stash—but she wasn't dumb. She knew how to work the system.

The second Rita whispered, "One," Verdant Whisper · Windrush activated a disguise technique, morphing her block configuration completely.

Rita's pupils contracted sharply.

It was penalty time—her turn.

But Verdant Whisper · Windrush's disguise skill had scrambled the entire block structure. Rita could no longer accurately locate the helm.

Verdant Whisper · Windrush laughed, both triumphant and taunting. "Come on then, take my Blocks!"

In the blink of an eye, Rita didn't panic. She didn't freeze, didn't rage. She acted.

Ultimate: Renovation!

All blocks lit up with color in her vision.

As she rushed toward Verdant Whisper · Windrush, she tore open a chest block and immediately spotted her prize.

Blue and white—like sea and sky.

She dashed to Verdant Whisper · Windrush's head, where two glowing blocks, both blue and white, shone clearly. They didn't even need to be identified by color—the glowing outline matched the helm's shape exactly.

Rita's eyes flicked to the window—another player had appeared.

The seventh.

She lunged, yanking the blue-white piece from Verdant Whisper · Windrush's crown, then dived to her shoulder and hugged the second glowing piece.

The moment she was launched from the cabin, the two blocks in her hands shimmered and shifted.

Two helm pieces.

5 out of 9!

"B–S–R–i–t–a!!"

The enraged shout, followed by an explosive boom, rang through the entire Ferris wheel.

In two separate cabins, Pine Bloom and Mistblade instinctively turned.

Pine Bloom tilted her head toward the sound, brows relaxing. It was far away. Good. She really didn't want another run-in with BS-Rita.

Without her ultimate, she couldn't deal with counter-damage. But using a skill that counters counter-damage just for BS-Rita? Total waste.

Verdant Whisper · Windrush had thought the same—that it wasn't worth it. She hadn't used it the first time they fought. Only when they met again in a second cabin did she finally relent.

If her time-related skills had still been active, she'd go back to that first moment and unleash everything immediately.

As she spun through the air, Rita's gaze never left Verdant Whisper · Windrush. She watched her land in the cabin at the 36-minute position.

Rita herself landed in the 8-minute one.

Too far!

She couldn't afford to wait and hope Verdant Whisper · Windrush caught up. She'd risk losing more pieces and wrecking her win rate.

She couldn't rely on duels to "chase" her clockwise either. From 2 to 7 o'clock? Only if players just stood still and let her fight. And that's not counting the random chance of multi-way brawls.

Her Cat's Ideal set was incomplete. Even if she cobbled together a makeshift helm using similarly shaped Blocks, she couldn't activate Skill 5—Absolute Freedom—without all nine.

Plans flashed through her mind. Only one remained.

Blow the cabin up. Again.

Rita dug in like a stubborn weed. No matter how the others attacked, each time she neared completing a duel, she would exit the cabin—resetting everyone's progress against her.

Exit. Return. Reset. Over and over again.

The other players began to unite—blocking the cabin window.

But Rita had Phantom Shift. She teleported out. Then back in.

After two rounds of this, teleportation was restricted.

Chavez's Time—teleport!

One use. Then banned.

Romantic Tourist—she blipped into the Star Pirate Ship in March Theme Park.

Not even a second later—snapped back into the Ferris wheel.

Duel progress: wiped clean. Again.

"Are you insane?!"

"Who even is this?!"

"Do you even know how to play?!"

"Waiting for someone? Fine, let us go. We'll even throw some wins your way—just don't take our Blocks."

Normally, Rita might have agreed. She might've cracked a joke or two. But now?

Now, her collector's obsession had gone into overdrive. She had no time to talk.

Five minutes later, the cabin exploded.

As she tumbled through the air outside the Ferris wheel, Rita scanned every cabin, every window, every face.

There!

Verdant Whisper · Windrush—9 o'clock.

But she'd landed at 4 o'clock.

Blow it up again.

To Verdant Whisper · Windrush, it felt like she was being haunted.

Every few minutes, a charred, swirling object spiraled past the Ferris wheel—gazing at her with those shiny black bead eyes.

No matter how it twisted, how it spun, it never lost eye contact.

If Verdant Whisper · Windrush ever met anyone who'd played Bumper Cars with BS-Rita in 15th Month Theme Park, they'd have so much to talk about.

Finally!

After several explosions, Rita made it to the 12 o'clock cabin.

Verdant Whisper · Windrush was only four cabins away.

By now, Verdant Whisper · Windrush had developed a strange condition—every time she heard an explosion, she instinctively turned to the window.

Pavlovian, really.

BS-Rita had become her bell.

And when that tiny, burnt figure flew through the window—locking eyes with her yet again—Verdant Whisper · Windrush nearly screamed.

This girl is clinically deranged!!

She popped her ultimate again.

Rita countered instantly—Repay!—stealing it.

Great. Another blood-lock skill. She activated it herself.

And once again, the cabin turned into a two-person demolition derby. Everyone else was ignored.

The Ferris wheel spun lazily on.

Rita shouted in some random language at the cabin above: "Traffic jam below! If you don't want to blow up, slow it down!"

Verdant Whisper · Windrush: "There's no jam! Get down here!"

"There IS!!"

"There ISN'T!!!"

In a lower cabin, Pine Bloom facepalmed.

At this point, every player who encountered BS-Rita seemed to lose their sanity.

Verdant Whisper · Windrush—used to be such a gentle Wind-Sleeve.

Now? Just a stressed-out pile of fury.

Verdant Whisper · Windrush finally gave up on their fistfight.

Maintaining her disguise skill, she began rapidly shuffling her blocks. Even she didn't know which were the Cat's Ideal pieces anymore.

She didn't know how Rita had spotted the helm last time—but she was determined not to let it happen again.

Rita didn't interfere.

Renovation lasted 30 minutes.

She still had 7 minutes left.

Plenty of time.

Five minutes later, Rita's eyes were blazing as she dove straight at Verdant Whisper · Windrush.

Diving for those glowing blue-and-white blocks that shimmered under Renovation.

Her helm.

8 out of 9.

Just one piece left.

Only one final piece to complete the puzzle.