This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Chapter 158 Then Good

Rita understood now. That skill did indeed affect mind-reading, reducing the damage by 30%, which made the thoughts harder to read clearly. But even a few leaked key words could still be dangerous at times.

Rita wasn't ready to give up yet. "Can you try guiding my thoughts?"

MightySocks, eager to get this over with and send this person away, reluctantly focused her thoughts: *"MightySocks has it rough. I should ease up on her."*

Suddenly, Rita's mind was flooded with the thought: *MightySocks really does have it tough... Maybe I should let it go.*

If Rita hadn't been prepared for this, she wouldn't have doubted that this thought was her own. Even with her passive skill reducing the damage, it didn't seem to weaken this particular ability.

Wait—wasn't this a form of mind control? Or was her resistance still not high enough? Rita made a mental note to—*No, stop! Think about this at home.*

She shook off the thought, got to the point, and said, "You can stop now. We're even after yesterday."

MightySocks sighed with relief. The reason she had agreed to follow Rita's requests was because she sensed that Rita wasn't ruthless. She wasn't one of those maniacs who would kill you the moment you crossed a line. As long as they could talk it out, they could settle things. If Rita said they were even, then they were.

Plus, Brooks knew using her mind-reading ability uninvited had been out of line—though she'd still do it again.

Rita continued, "Is this place secure for a conversation?"

MightySocks took out a lollipop and stuck it in the middle of the table. "It's safe now. Only someone who touches the table can hear anything within a meter of it."

Rita recognized the lollipop from her previous life. She quickly used her *Insight* skill again to verify its effect. Sure enough, it was exactly as Brooks said. Satisfied, she began, "I have some free information about the Lopez family's eldest daughter. You can sell it to anyone—the White family, the Lee family, whoever.

But you must sell it to someone in the Lopez family, whether it's Matthew, Mateo, or Theodore."

Brooks wasn't so easily fooled. She wagged a finger at Rita. "You're just using me to do your dirty work because you can't expose yourself. That costs extra."

Why did Rita understand this so well? Because in her previous life, when the news broke that Zoey's high-level healing skill could restore lost limbs, everyone had been gathered at the Wilson family estate. Zoey had joked that her skill wasn't meant for just any cat or dog.

Yet, before the meal was over, the Lopez family had made an official announcement on Zoey's behalf, telling anyone interested in collaborating with her to contact the family patriarch.

The look on Zoey's face at that moment had been chilling, and for the first time, Rita had felt a bit sorry for her.

"Zoey's everything belongs to the Lopez family, and everything about her is decided by the family patriarch." For someone like Zoey, that approach was an outright insult to her dignity.

Not long after, Theodore was dead.

Rita wouldn't have connected the two events in her previous life, but with everything she had learned this time around, she couldn't help but wonder if there was more to the story. Perhaps things weren't as simple as they had seemed. She realized now how shallow her understanding had been before.

This move wasn't entirely secure—Rita figured she had about a 90% chance of success.

But if it worked, it could spark a major conflict between Zoey and the Lopez family. And most likely, Zoey, who was still at a disadvantage, would be the one forced to back down.

What if it failed? Well, there were always other ways to stir the pot.

Rita pocketed the twelve gold coins Brooks handed her and stood up to leave. But before she could step away, Brooks stopped her. "Want to add me as a friend?"

Rita was baffled. "Why did I bother turning into a cat and pretending to be an old lady if we're just going to be friends?"

Brooks sighed. "...Ok. I'm fine."

Rita smirked. "Then good."

With that, she turned and left. She needed to get home and sleep. If she didn't go to bed early, she'd end up messing up the sleep schedule she had just fixed.

Honestly, she couldn't understand why MightySocks had to do all this dangerous business at night. Why not work a normal daytime shift?