Chapter 1

The pouring rain soaked me to the bone.

The feeling of suffocation grew worse as the air was slowly forced from my lungs. My vision went dark.

The system's warning was sharp and piercing.

"New target selected successfully. Current health: 1%."

"Establish physical contact with the new target immediately, or you will be erased!"

I stared at Chloe Rivera in the distance.

She was picking up plastic bottles along the emergency shoulder of the highway.

Everyone at school knew she was a poor student. She was also the "villain" Samantha Bailey kept talking about.

But I couldn't worry about any of that anymore. I quickly crawled toward her and let muddy water fill my mouth.

Chloe was clearly scared by the crazy person who suddenly came rushing out of the rain.

She cautiously stepped back and held her woven bag tightly. "Don't come any closer! There are cameras here. Don't even think about setting me up. I don't have any money!"

Chloe turned and tried to run.

I used the last bit of strength I had to lunge forward and grab her ankle.

Her pant leg was cold and wet, covered in mud, but it was the only thing that could save my life.

"Physical contact established. Health recovering..."

As air finally rushed back into my lungs, I started coughing hard.

I pulled Chloe off balance, and she almost fell into a puddle of mud.

She turned around in annoyance and smashed the plastic bottle in her hand against my head. "Are you crazy? I already told you I don't have any money. Why are you still doing this to me?"

I stared at her while gasping for air.

Rainwater dripped from her hair. She looked both scared and angry.

With trembling hands, I pulled out my wallet. It was soaked from the rain.

I took out every dollar inside and shoved the cash into her hand.

"Save me. Please take me to the hospital. All this money is yours."

Chloe froze.

She looked at the money, then at me lying on the ground.

The fear in her eyes disappeared. Instead, she looked me over like I was something on display.

Chloe crouched down and checked my breathing like she'd done it many times before. Then she stuffed the money into her pocket.

"Boss, why didn't you say that sooner? I can carry you, but it'll cost you 50 dollars per mile. You'll have to pay the ambulance bill yourself, too. This much money won't be enough!"

The rain grew heavier, and I couldn't stop shaking from the cold.

My instinct to survive made me suddenly open my eyes and grab her hand tightly.

I begged her with all the strength I had left. "Save me... I'll give you... Money..."

Chloe stopped moving. Then she lowered her head and brought her thin face close to mine. "How much more can you give me?"

"100... 100 dollars..."

But before I could finish, I passed out and collapsed into her arms.

Chloe froze for a second, then quickly dragged me into the back seat of her old electric scooter. As she pulled me in, she kept muttering to herself, "What can 100 dollars even buy? You look rich and dressed in fancy clothes, but you're actually so cheap. Still, that watch on your wrist looks like it's worth a lot of money... Fine, I'll save you for now. If you can't pay your medical bills, I'll take the watch instead!"