Chapter 1

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself floating in midair. I looked down and saw the ride operator using a rope to pull my body up.

Even after they unbuckled the safety harness wrapped around me, I didn't get up to leave.

The tourists waiting in line behind me grew impatient and shouted at me to hurry up, while the operator looked clearly troubled. He reached out and gently nudged my shoulder.

"Come on, get moving, kid. There are a lot of people waiting behind you."

But my body just slumped to the side and was completely unresponsive.

I floated around beside them in a panic and shouted at the top of my lungs, "I'm sorry, everyone! I'm not trying to block your way on purpose. I really can't move!"

But my voice was swallowed by silence. No one could hear me.

The operator called out to me a few more times. Seeing that I still wouldn't budge, his expression began to sour.

He looked up at Mom, who stood by the edge of the bungee jumping platform, and yelled, "Ma'am, you need to come here and check on your kid. She's blocking the way and disrupting our operations!"

Mom's face instantly flushed red. She cared about keeping up appearances more than anyone, and being criticized in front of such a large crowd was humiliating.

"Tina Shepherd! What kind of stunt are you pulling now?"

She swiftly stormed over and grabbed my arm to yank me up. When I remained completely still, her temper flared, and she raised her foot to kick me hard in my waist.

"That's what you get for playing dead! You must be doing this on purpose to embarrass me!"

It was a brutal kick.

Under normal circumstances, I would have been so terrified that I would have scrambled to my feet and immediately apologized. But now, my body remained as limp as a rag doll, slumped heavily on the floor with my head falling to one side.

The angry voices around us suddenly stopped, and someone murmured, "Something's not right. Why isn't she reacting at all?"

"Yeah. Even if she's faking it, she should've woken up after a kick like that, right?"

"Why is the kid's face so pale? Did something actually happen to her?"

Mom, who had been livid just moments ago, froze. She stared at my tightly shut eyes and bloodless face, and a flicker of panic crossed her expression.

Instinctively, she crouched down and reached out to check if I was breathing.

Just then, the soft, sweet voice of my AI companion sister, Nova, rang out.

"Don't worry, Mom."

A soft blue light flickered in her eyes as a holographic screen unfolded in front of her, flashing rows of dense data.

"My system indicates that Tina's vital signs are stable. She's just experiencing an elevated heart rate and fluctuating blood pressure, which perfectly match the physiological profile of a human telling a lie.

"She's pretending to be dead to gain sympathy and avoid punishment."

Mom immediately relaxed. She pulled her hand back, cast a look of pure disgust at my body on the ground, then patted Nova on the head.

"Thank goodness you're so sensible, Nova, unlike this ingrate. She's been a liar ever since she was a kid. Raising her has been a complete waste of my time."

Floating in front of them and looking at the scene, I felt cold all over.

It struck me that Nova had been lying all along! She should have been able to detect that my heart had stopped beating and that my vitals had long since disappeared. So why was she lying to Mom?

What was her motive? Wasn't she supposed to be just a cold robot?

The ride operator looked at me lying on the floor, then at the indifferent Mom, and hesitantly said, "This kid really doesn't look right to me, ma'am. Just to be safe, shouldn't we call an ambulance?"

"An ambulance for what?" Mom impatiently snapped, her expression darkening. "She's faking it! She's pulled this trick countless times!

"Every time she gets into trouble, she pretends to faint or play dead so that I'll feel sorry for her and forgive her. But I'm not humoring her bad habit today!"

"But—"

"No buts!" Mom cut him off.

She bent down, grabbed me by the arm, and roughly dragged me up from the floor.

My body felt completely weightless as she hauled it along. My shins scraped against the rough concrete, leaving a trail of dark red blood, but Mom didn't even spare it a glance.

She dragged me all the way to the parking lot, popped the trunk of her car, and threw me inside without hesitation.

"Children who lie don't deserve to sit in the car. You can stay in the trunk! Come on, Nova. We're going home."

With a loud bang, she slammed the trunk shut and took Nova's hand before walking toward the passenger seat.

"Yes, Mom," Nova answered obediently.

Just before getting into the car, she turned and glanced back at the trunk. An eerie red light flashed in her eyes.