This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist
Chapter 686 - 686: 686: Divine Game – Chaotic Blocks 77

Was the gacha machine expensive?

Extremely. It had cost Rita nearly all of her collected game item fragments—she even gave up The World Begins to Sway, which she had planned to use all the way up to Tier 15. Not to mention the 95% of her attribute Blocks that were stripped away.

All of that just to purchase a single gacha machine.

And yet, Rita thought it was completely worth it.

In fact, deep down, she felt like the duck—whether a demon or a god—had sold it too cheap.

Maybe in Fat Duck's eyes, it was just a toy. But to her, it was a priceless treasure.

It was like a personal vault, portable and immune to theft.

As for not being able to refuse other players' gacha requests? The rules she could set inside it were the perfect lock.

Besides, she might not be able to refuse, but what's stopping her from just… running away?

One key detail in Fat Duck's explanation stood out: only the soul-imprinted owner could operate the machine. That feature clearly existed to sidestep the game's forced unbind mechanics.

To prevent players from tampering with the capsules, to avoid players gaining freebies from game loopholes, and to ensure capsules couldn't be stolen or lost—the machine was layered with protective mechanisms.

She was betting on this thing being divine—a custom creation forged by gods specifically for this game.

She was gambling that this toy could defy the unbreakable law of Divine Relics: "Death means guaranteed loss."

—

Blocks & Me: Gacha Machine

Activation Requirement: Only accessible to registered soul signature. Cannot be dropped, damaged, or modified. No passive boosts.

Creators: Deceitful Bloom | The Drummer

Trait 1: I make the rules, you follow them – The owner sets the rules for using the machine. Only entities capable of following those rules may draw a capsule. (Once a rule is set, the owner cannot refuse a request to use the machine.)

Trait 2: Exceptional self-governance – Game mechanics and skills have no effect on the gacha machine or the capsules within it.

—

Deceitful Bloom. Again.

And then—within a blink—the listed creators swapped order: now it read The Drummer | Deceitful Bloom.

Co-equal creation. Amazing.

Knowing it had been crafted by two gods only made her more confident in her gamble.

Even if this machine couldn't fully override the rule that Divine Relics are lost upon death…

It could still solve her second biggest problem: game mechanics and tools like "Asset Transfer."

If nothing could interfere with the capsules inside the machine, then the contents were absolutely safe.

That also meant she couldn't be stripped of her Divine Relics by simply losing a mini-game.

Something as simple as losing at the Ferris Wheel, which let victors take a Block of their choice from the loser, wouldn't matter anymore—those Relics would be locked away.

Same with the Space Pirate Ship, where just getting hit could make you drop Blocks at random. No longer a threat.

Even forced gameplay taxes were now negotiable.

Sure, Rita was usually stingy about spending, but when it came to a deal this good?

She would never let it pass.

Worst case, she'd start over again—but gain 29 more hours of peace of mind. If this machine could permanently safeguard her Divine Relics, then it was a steal.

Not to mention, even before she bought the gacha, she had already spent a fortune using Blocks Exchange, and had purchased the Game Console, the Owl, and Illegal Construction.

No regrets.

In fact, she felt like she'd hit the jackpot.

Especially since Fat Duck had completely forgotten about the dragon cub still out in the field earning income for her...

If Illegal Construction was the first lock for her Divine Relics, then the gacha machine was the second.

She'd find a third. Then a fourth...

That was the burden—and blessing—of having two Divine Relics.

—

With the most urgent matter resolved, Rita finally turned to her hidden Easter egg reward. She pulled out the Universal Fragment.

She was just about to use Blocks Duplication on it when her hand froze mid-air.

A better idea had struck her.

A max-profit plan.

She needed to verify a few things first. When B8017913 couldn't answer, she turned to Fat Duck.

"I want to buy some off-topic information—unrelated to the gacha. I'll ask the question, you name the price. Deal?"

Fat Duck stood motionless, as if its soul had fled. It was still trying to figure out how to explain any of this to the gods or devils that governed it.

When it finally heard her voice, it snapped back to reality—this time, suspicious.

"You still have Blocks?"

Rita pulled out her stash and started cracking open capsules, looking like an elderly aunt making pancakes while chatting with her grandkids.

"Name your price. I'll keep cracking eggs till I've got enough."

Fat Duck clutched its head in despair.

It really should have taken the capsules too.

"You're rich now," she coaxed. "We gave you over 4,000g in attributes. That 10x coupon? That alone gave you 40,000g. You're definitely the most successful Event Gift right now. Be happy..."

That did sound pretty good. Fat Duck slumped to the ground, striking a pose that looked suspiciously like it was nesting.

"…Fine. What's your question?"

Rita asked, "At the end of the 'Blocks & Me' game, what happens to fragmented items and incomplete sets? Do they disappear?"

Fat Duck replied, "300g Blocks."

Rita cracked over seventy eggs, gathered the payment, and handed it over.

Fat Duck didn't move its mouth, but a message echoed in Rita's mind:

"If a broken item is composed of more than 50% complete fragments, it will survive the game but be downgraded. Skills might stay intact—or they might be downgraded too. But if it's under 50%, the item will shatter."

"As for loose, uncombined fragments—they'll be reclaimed by the Divine Game."

Rita's eyes gleamed.

"What if I combine two different functional fragments into one? Can that be taken out?"

She had tried it before—but the item hadn't worked.

Fat Duck stared at her oddly. It had a hunch.

"You can't force-merge different item types."

Rita thanked it and didn't hide her next move.

After scanning the area to confirm no players were around, she took out... Cat's Ideal.

She removed the central Block piece and slapped Blocks Duplication onto it.

Fat Duck, already imagining what was coming, finally cracked a smile and let out a delighted quack.

—[Divine Relics cannot be duplicated].

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