[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist":3,"chapter-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-485":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1531842,1991,"Chapter 485 - 484: Divine Game – Chaotic Restaurant 5","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-485",485,"\u003Cp>Not only that—Pine Bloom had been poisoned!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita was stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black SpringMud Bears and Marmang-Crab instinctively turned to look at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Rita could explain, Pine Bloom waved her hand reassuringly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t worry, it’s not your fault.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice was still hoarse from the violent coughing fit, and right after she finished speaking, she started coughing again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita, keeping her face expressionless, translated Pine Bloom’s words for the other two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she ignored her completely and went back to preparing for opening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She really did not want to deal with Pine Bloom anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had to admit—most people were visual creatures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And since Owls and Humans were incredibly similar, apart from the extra pair of wings, their aesthetic sense was almost identical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita didn’t find Marmang-Crab’s giant pincers or Black SpringMud Bears’ furry paws appealing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Pine Bloom’s beauty?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She could see it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And worse—Pine Bloom’s beauty had a dangerous quality to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She evoked sympathy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite having only spent less than thirty minutes together, alarm bells were already ringing in Rita’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pine Bloom had sat by the table the entire time, yet no one had accused her of slacking off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because not only had she buffed all three teammates with dozens of enhancements, she was actively transforming the restaurant with her skills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had adjusted the restaurant’s brightness, temperature, and humidity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had used green vines as walls, separating their restaurant from the neighboring two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above the entrance, she had even painted a magical mural:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flying Owl, a human with a pot, a crab cleaning, and a small Autumn Bear carrying supplies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was too good at this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita had to admit—Pine Bloom was a natural.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And she even made multiple versions of the mural, letting the team vote on the final one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whenever they gave feedback, she would genuinely smile, as if their opinions truly mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But none of it felt forced or manipulative.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because when Marmang-Crab pointed out a section he didn’t like, Pine Bloom didn’t just agree—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She frowned and asked Rita, \"What did he say? I don’t understand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita, in her broadcaster voice, translated, \"He says he doesn’t like this part. He’s never seen a green Sky-Crab before.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pine Bloom blinked. \"What did he say? I don’t understand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita: \"…...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without hesitation, Rita turned and complained to Marmang-Crab in Sky-Crab language:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She’s pretending not to understand. She just doesn’t want to change it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pine Bloom let out a silent laugh, then—without waiting for Marmang-Crab’s response—hummed a tune and hung up the mural anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marmang-Crab didn’t seem upset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe it was because of [Die-Hard], or maybe he was just a very chill crab.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita, on the other hand, had bigger things to worry about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t care that Pine Bloom choked on her own food—she had enough of her own problems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The game had been running for 20 minutes, and she had been violating rules for the past 10.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because her Mischief Score had stayed at 0, she was getting hit by divine penalties every single minute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Add that to all the broken kitchenware, and she had already racked up over a dozen violations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this game would last for three Starsea days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita suddenly felt dizzy just thinking about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was genuinely concerned that by the time she left this game, she’d be nothing but a White Dragon skeleton.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marmang-Crab and Black SpringMud Bears had tried messing around, breaking things to see if that would increase the Mischief Score—but it didn’t work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black SpringMud Bears, being more aggressive, even sparred with Marmang-Crab for a bit, but their scores remained unchanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita, in the middle of kneading dough, was distracted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Across the street, there was another row of restaurants, mirroring their own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The restaurants on that side were also facing away from them, and despite the 100+ meter gap, Rita could clearly see players on the other side strategizing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, she felt like she wasn’t on a battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time, she felt like she was in an actual game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as B80234615 was about to offer some generic words of comfort, Rita’s hands suddenly stopped moving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was staring at the job titles above the players in the opposite restaurant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A theory struck her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She walked to the corner of the restaurant, picked up a cleaning tool, and dumped a bowl of kitchen scraps onto the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, she started cleaning it up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The floating data above the kitchen changed instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Cleanliness]: 98%\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Mischief Score]:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black SpringMud Bears - 0 Marmang-Crab - 0 BS Rita - 1 Lania Kaia Pine Bloom - 0\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her teammates all turned to look at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The four (or technically, three) of them exchanged glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They understood immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mischief Score increased when a player did another teammate’s job.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her own rule only required her to keep her Mischief Score above 10, but Rita didn’t relax.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These two stats had to mean something bigger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it was just about punishing players for not following roles, the game could have simply forced them to walk on one leg or say a certain number of words per minute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita kept cleaning, planning to raise her Mischief Score to 20 before going back to cooking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marmang-Crab, seemingly having a similar rule, looked around before walking to the prep table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This stuff needs kneading, right? I’ll help.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, he started kneading dough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, the chef (Rita) was cleaning, and the cleaner (Marmang-Crab) was cooking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after a full minute, their Mischief Scores didn’t change at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita and Marmang-Crab exchanged a look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marmang-Crab stopped kneading, and Rita wiped another section of the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her Mischief Score increased from 1 to 3.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She paused and looked at Marmang-Crab.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marmang-Crab watched the floating data, then rubbed his pincers together a few times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, in full view of all four players—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BS Rita’s Mischief Score dropped from 3 to 2.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room fell into silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone’s expressions grew grim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To gain Mischief Score, they had to steal a teammate’s job.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if someone else did their job, their own Mischief Score would decrease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone stole glances at each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same realization hit them all at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed everyone had a rule tied to Mischief Score.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was going to be a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, it got worse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pine Bloom suddenly flew up to the floating text and touched the words \"Mischief Score.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A game notification popped up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[The higher the restaurant’s total Mischief Score, the more customers it will attract.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No tension. No hostility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because none of them were impulsive idiots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If stealing jobs caused Mischief Score to drop, then a team that kept taking turns stealing would never reach a high total score.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most efficient strategy was clear:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eliminate one teammate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let the remaining three players split their tasks to farm Mischief Score.\u003C\u002Fp>",1141,"2026-06-06T06:14:58.840Z",1,"novelbin.me","3f530bb39afa72417744bcde7b10aa8f49f024b7d85997140390f96b9c97a04d","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-486","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-484",1404,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthis-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-cover.jpg"]