Chapter 8: Please change my teammate.

I rubbed my eyes and stared at the screen again.. [CANDIDATE: KINGSLEY DUNCAN DEKING]

I stopped breathing. For several seconds, I simply stared at the name.

“What the fuck do you mean by Kingsley Duncan Deking?” I blinked rapidly, hoping the name would change.

It didn't. Instead, another notification appeared beneath it.

[WARNING] [THIS MAN WILL BECOME HUMANITY'S GREATEST THREAT.]

“He's really the one. The apocalypse devil himself. My stomach dropped and the club's loud sounds around me seemed to fade into the background.

I swallowed. “RESS…” My voice came out barely above a whisper. “Please tell me this is some kind of joke.”

[NEGATIVE.]

I closed my eyes. Of course.

Because why would my second life ever be simple?

Why would the universe allow me to divorce my cheating husband, reclaim my freedom, and enjoy a steamy night without throwing me into another disaster?

I opened my eyes and stared at the notification again.

Kingsley Duncan Deking.

There wasn't a single person who had survived the apocalypse who didn't know that name.

In my previous life, his name had become synonymous with terror. He was the Zombie King. The man whose existence turned the world into a living nightmare. The man whose infected army tore through cities, leaving nothing but blood, destruction, and the screams of the dying in its wake.

People feared him more than they feared death itself. He was called the devil. I remembered the horrifying images that had circulated during the apocalypse.

A towering figure standing amid a sea of blood and an army of zombies kneeling before him.

Cities falling silent as his forces advanced and those cold, merciless eyes that seemed to strip away every last ounce of hope.

Kingsley Duncan wasn't simply dangerous, he was the nightmare that humanity had failed to wake up from.

And according to my system, he was supposed to be my teammate? I stared at the screen in disbelief.

“RESS, have you lost your mind?”

[NEGATIVE. SYSTEM FUNCTIONS ARE OPERATING WITHIN ACCEPTABLE PARAMETERS.]

“Then explain this!” I pointed furiously at the notification, forgetting for a moment that I was the only person who could see it. All this while I've been communicating with RESS in my mind inaudibly.

“You just assigned me the man who practically destroyed humanity! The man who killed my best friend Zeph! Who killed me!”

CORRECTION: THE APOCALYPSE WAS A MULTIFACTORIAL EVENT.]

I nearly choked.

“Are you seriously defending him?”

[THE SYSTEM DOES NOT ENGAGE IN EMOTIONAL BIAS.]

“Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.” I pressed my fingers against my forehead.

“Tell me something. When you said I needed to find a suitable teammate, did you mean someone who could help me survive the apocalypse or someone who could personally bring it about and use me as his first breakfast?”

[THE CANDIDATE HAS BEEN SELECTED BASED ON HOST SURVIVAL PROBABILITY.]

I stared at the screen. Then I bent my head and burst out laughing, though there was nothing remotely funny about the situation.

“My survival probability? RESS, this man is the reason people won't have anything left to survive!”

[HOST IS ADVISED TO REMAIN CALM, PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO NOTICE YOUR UNUSUAL VOICE AND BEHAVIOUR.]

“Remain calm?”

I lowered my voice to a furious whisper.

“How exactly am I supposed to remain calm when you've just assigned me the future Zombie King?”

[RECOMMENDATION: ESTABLISH A COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CANDIDATE.]

I looked toward the ceiling.

“God, please give me patience. Because if you give me strength, I'm going to throw this system into the nearest river.”

[THREAT DETECTED.]

[WARNING: SYSTEM CANNOT BE PHYSICALLY DISPOSED OF.]

“Then stop giving me reasons to try!” I said out loud again.

I heard someone's voice outside, “Ma'am, are you okay in there?” One of the waiters peeked inside.

I immediately straightened, raised my phone to my ear and forced a smile.

“Sorry. Phone call.” I wasn't about to explain to this stranger that I was arguing with an invisible system that had apparently decided my second life needed to be as difficult as possible.

I took a deep breath and tried to think rationally.

Perhaps there was a mistake. Maybe there were two people named Kingsley Duncan Deking.

It was unlikely, but I was willing to grasp at any possibility that didn't involve becoming friends with the future destroyer of humanity.

“Can I see him now?”

[HOST HAVE ALREADY MET AND GOTTEN INTIMATE WITH TEAMMATE]

I stared at the system, still confused.

[AT THE PRIVATE BOOTH]

What the fuck? The handsome, gorgeous man I just fucked?

[CONFIRMED]

Shut the fuck up.. what do you mean confirmed, are you saying that handsome man seated there is KDD?

[CONFIRMED]

Holy moly!