The Third Beta Test

 As soon as Rick left, Rita activated all the visibility potion humidifiers in her room. She made sure they were filled with high-grade visibility potions and had enough to run for a full week. Only then did she drive out of Los Angeles, heading 4,000 kilometers to the city of Jiangcheng. Avoiding highways as much as possible, she took small roads and back routes. After all, if she had to Phantom Shift back to Los Angeles from a highway, she might get hit by a car the moment she arrived. Better to be safe than sorry.

This was also a chance for her to "unlock" more areas for future Phantom Shift. The more places she visited now, the more teleportation points she'd have later.

Thanks to her acting career, she'd been to many cities over the years.

Halfway through her journey, Rita found herself struggling. She wasn't just exhausted from the drive; she had to periodically stop and cook meals to recover her energy. She even equipped the white belt she'd taken from Theodore, which gave her an extra +1 to vitality.

Finally, by the morning of the 9th, she reached Jiangcheng. Without wasting time, she checked into a hotel, took a long bath, and slept.

At 7 a.m. on the 10th, Rita made a video call to Scarlett, showing her the scenic views of Jiangcheng and chatting about local specialties. She reminded both Scarlett and Samuel to make sure Rick was glued to his phone all day. After about ten minutes of chit-chat, she hung up.

Then, it was time.

Rita began using Phantom Shift to teleport back to Los Angeles—over 4,000 kilometers away. With her 14 Intelligence, she could shift 14 kilometers in a single jump, but because she wasn't traveling along the most direct route, she estimated she'd need to shift around 300 times. She also had to maintain Phantom Cloak for stealth throughout the process.

After 50 shifts, she started feeling dizzy.

By 100 shifts, she was nauseous.

She stopped, gulped down some coffee to restore her mana, and ate food that boosted her mental fortitude.

At 120 shifts... then 150...

By the 200th shift, Rita collapsed on the ground, vomiting uncontrollably.

It was still not even 8 a.m., but instead of feeling relief, she was gripped with fear.

Despite planning so carefully, despite accounting for rest and recovery time, something was going wrong. It felt like an invisible force was trying to prevent her from returning to Los Angeles. After passing the halfway point, her Phantom Shifts started veering off course—just slightly, but enough to throw her off. It felt like she was walking in circles, like she was being led astray.

Teeth clenched, Rita pressed on.

Rick had incredible luck, but she was maxed out in Luck too! No matter what, she was getting back to Los Angeles today. If she couldn't stop Rick from logging into the game, she'd deal with him directly!

After 300 shifts, Rita was still 500 kilometers away from Los Angeles.

She coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Her character status now displayed Weakness.

For the next 24 hours, all her attributes were reduced by 20%.

"Fine, fine." Rita wiped her mouth and carefully scooped the blood into a bag, storing it in her inventory. She washed down the taste of blood with more coffee, then swallowed hard.

9 a.m.

She could still make it!

At 10:07, Rita finally reached Los Angeles city limits. She restored her mana and prepared to immediately hit Rick with a Sleep Spell as soon as she entered his house.

10:10 a.m.

Rita, mouth still tasting of blood, teleported into Rick's room—only to find it empty.

Her eyes blazed with fury.

But despite the rage, despite the panic, Rita remained cool-headed. It was how she functioned: the more furious she was, the calmer her mind became.

While her body trembled with fear and regret, her thoughts were ice cold.

She pulled out her phone and quickly downloaded the Starsea: Rift of Warcraft game. Yes, Rick wouldn't want anyone to know about his Divine Gift, not even his parents.

So where could he be?

Wilson Family's House?

10:11 a.m., an invisible Rita appeared in Rick's room at the Wilson family home.

Again, no one was there.

Rick's apartment? No, Julian was staying there—it couldn't be.

Then it hit her...

Rita exited the room, heading for the Wilson family study. Drinking a Phasing Potion, she walked straight through the walls into the family vault.

There, sitting on a wooden crate, was Rick, grinning like a madman as he stared at his phone.

Rita quietly approached him. Just then, she saw the moon rising on his screen.

At that moment, Rita's soul screamed—kill him now, before he soars beyond her reach! But then, something even darker, more calculating overtook her fury.

Even she was startled by her own greed and madness.

Perhaps all those excuses she'd told herself before—about wanting him to suffer, about justice and revenge—were lies. Maybe, from the moment she'd drawn the Thief God's Gift, or even in her previous life, she had always coveted Rick's Divine Gift.

How else could it cause the three most powerful families to vie for him? How could it be that three of the wealthiest, most privileged women were willing to set aside pride and dignity to share him?

No. She didn't believe Rick was so charming.

In an instant, Rita used Wheel of Fate, lowering Rick's Luck. Then, she cast her Shadow Merge skill, fusing her shadow with his.

Leaving her shadow behind, Rita herself slipped back to her own villa.

Once home, she logged into the game while, through her shadow's vision, watching Rick's screen and his Divine Gift.

It was [God of the Culinary Arts] (SS-rank).

She felt her mind split in two—one part icy cold, the other consumed by fear, greed, and fury.

Rick's character appeared in the Blood Elf capital, Silvermoon City.

Rita, meanwhile, logged into her own game, using Disguise to transform herself into a blood elf. She walked through the city gates, passing a wanted poster with a picture of a skeleton and a goblin, both looking uncomfortably familiar.

She teleported to Silvermoon City.

It was the third beta, and the city was bustling, packed with players. The population had multiplied compared to the second beta, with so many people it felt like there wasn't space to breathe. If the alien invaders had managed to break through, these main cities would be swamped.

Rick's character stood in the middle of the crowded city, staring around curiously.

Rita followed his every move, walking past the same inn, herbalist's shop, and weaponsmith that Rick had passed. She even walked by the statue of the Elf King. When she brushed past Rick's blood elf character, she immediately used Insight.

[Character] Rick

[Divine Gift] ???

Without hesitation, she used her skill to steal from Rick.

[By the Name of the Thief God, you attempt to steal the Divine Gift of Blood Elf Player Rick.]

[Theft successful—Divine Gift detected as too high level—Theft interrupted!]

Rita calmly exited the city gates, opening her character panel.

Sure enough, under her Immortal ability, there was a new entry: [God of the Culinary Arts] (SS-ranked) (Fragmented).

Five skills were listed, but only two were unlocked.

She didn't stop to read the descriptions. Instead, she found the nearest graveyard outside the city, and, pulling out her remaining explosives, she placed them at her feet.

Seconds later, her screen went black.

[You are dead.]