Chapter 1

The system seemed to have developed a human touch.

"The target, of course. Who else would it be? You, my noble host? What am I supposed to do if you die?"

I fell silent. It had a point. How had I never thought of that before?

A bitter laugh escaped me.

For the past five years, I always believed that I would be executed if I failed the mission. That was why I did everything in my power to please Aurora Lowe, swallowing my pride and bending over backward to fulfil her every demand.

I did it all for Mom, who was still lying in a hospital bed, waiting for me. The system promised that once I completed my mission, I could exchange my reward for a chance to cure Mom.

"Finally figured it out, Samuel?"

A hint of schadenfreude, something I didn't know was algorithmically possible, poked through the system's voice.

"That's right. If you fail the mission, Aurora Lowe dies, not you. All those years you spent fawning over here have been in vain."

I closed my eyes. A memory from three years ago conjured in my mind.

It was late at night when three thugs cornered Aurora in an alley. They held knives and slowly closed in on her. I was passing by when I heard her scream.

Without thinking, I rushed in and shielded her with my body. The blade sliced across my back, and blood soaked through my clothes.

As I collapsed to the ground, Aurora wrapped her arms around me and sobbed. "Please don't die, Samuel. I'm begging you. Stay with me. I'll spend the rest of my life treating you right, I swear."

Back then, the system notification sounded in my mind.

"Emotional fluctuation detected in target. Affection Level: 30% increase."

Every day I spent in the hospital, Aurora came to see me. She peeled apples for me, kept me company, and helped me clean myself up. Her Affection Level soared all the way to 99%.

That day, it drizzled outside. She stood at the hospital room door in a white dress, holding a bouquet of roses. Her cheeks were flushed pink.

"Samuel Cooper, once your mom gets better, let's get married. I want to be there with you for the rest of my life."

On the system interface, her Affection Level sat at 99%. I was just 1% away from achieving my mission. I thought it was ending soon.

That was when Joe Bannerman came back to the country. He was Aurora's first love, the man she always called her "best friend".

From that day on, everything changed. Her Affection Level dropped steadily from 99% to 98%, 95%, 90%.

She called less and less often. She always stood me up on our dates with the same old excuse. "Joe needs me."

Now, Aurora's Affection Level had fallen back to 30%. I had had enough.

The rain splashing against my face brought me back to reality.

I stood by the sewer, soaked to the bone, clutching a pearl bracelet. It was Joe's grandmother's keepsake, which he had "accidentally" dropped into the sewer.

He cried and accused me of pushing him, claiming that was how the bracelet had fallen in. When Aurora arrived, she didn't even bother to hear me out before ordering me to retrieve it.

I spent three hours submerged in foul-smelling sewage. My fever climbed to 102 degrees, and my body was shaking.

When I finally found the bracelet, I called Aurora. "I found it. Where are you?"

From the other end of the line came Joe's whiny voice. "Aurora, my ankle hurts so much…"

"Just take a cab home," she replied to me impatiently. "I'm staying at the hospital with Joe."

With that, she hung up.

I stood in the rain, staring at the pearl bracelet caked in mud. Suddenly, it all felt absurd. Aurora's precious first love twisted his ankle, and that was enough for her to stay by his hospital bed.

Meanwhile, I had spent three hours searching a sewer, burning up with a fever so high I almost became delirious, and she didn't even bother to ask if I was okay.

So, I gave up. I told the system exactly that, and that brought us to the conversation we had just had.

"So, Samuel, what are you going to do now?" the system asked.

I stared at the countdown on the system interface. In 30 days, Aurora would die.

I wiped the rain from my face and smiled. "She's going to die soon. Why should I bother trying anymore?"

The system sounded genuinely shocked by my reaction. "Damn, Samuel. That was one hell of a change of heart."

I shook my head and turned to leave.

Just then, Aurora called. "Take Joe shopping tomorrow. And remember to bring an umbrella."

Her tone was so matter-of-fact, like she was ordering a servant around.

I glanced at my phone and gave her a flat response. "Sure."

After hanging up, I told the system, "I told her I would, but I'm not gonna."

It sounded a little worried. "Can you really do that?"

"Does it matter? She's dying anyway."

I looked at the system interface. "Conquest progress: 30%. Countdown: 30 days."

Then I turned and walked away from that rain-soaked alley that sickened me. The rain kept falling, but for the first time in a long while, I felt lighter.