Cerita Pendek Bias Imagination & Novel System

I had regressed ninety-nine times, and it all started because I brought home an injured man. Every time I came back, strange floating comments appeared in front of my eyes. I could also hear my baby brother's thoughts. The moment my brother saw Tristan Price, he screamed and refused to stop crying. "Send that man back! He's going to get our whole family killed!" I reached out hesitatingly toward Tristan, and the chat overlay flickered to life again. [The man lying in your bed is your future husband and the prince regent. He never forgets a kindness. Save him, and he will make you his princess consort. Your entire family will be protected and well provided for.] The first time, I followed my heart and did what the messages told me to do. I saved Tristan, and he used me as a human shield. The assassins hunting him found us, and my entire family was slaughtered. The second time, I listened to my brother instead and sent Tristan back where I found him. His men came to our door anyway, accused me of leaving him to die, and killed everyone. The third time, I found Tristan's closest aide before the assassins arrived and quietly handed Tristan over. Then Tristan went mad without warning and stabbed me himself. When my family tried to avenge me, they were killed too. I tried every approach I could think of to avoid my family's tragic fate, and every single one ended in failure. This time, I chose to wait for death. Then the comments appeared again, and something about them caught my eye.

Natalie Brooke asked me to cook dumplings for her stepfather, Michael Sawyer. When the dumplings were knocked over and burned Michael's hand, she assumed that I was being disrespectful to an elder. So, she ordered the bodyguards to put me into a large pot, saying she would boil me until I was cooked as punishment. "Since you burned Michael, I will make you pay the price!" The water in the pot grew hotter, causing my whole body to be scalded red. All I could breathe was the scorching steam. I desperately pounded on the lid, but it had long been locked. I screamed in despair as I clawed the edges with all my strength. Blood overflowed from the pot and dripped onto the ground, but no one cared. Just before I succumbed to death, I summoned the system and yelled, "I want to go back! I refuse to save Natalie. I don't care if she becomes a vegetable!"

At my daughter’s graduation party, the laptop I gave her turned out to be the same model as the one my ex-wife's boyfriend gave her. She slammed the computer I bought violently onto the ground, smashing it to pieces. "You obviously knew Chad was going to give me this, yet you bought the same one. You just want to make Chad look bad!" My daughter screamed hysterically at me, while my ex-wife flashed a malicious smile. Half a month later, my daughter secretly drugged me during dinner. When I woke up, I found myself smuggled across the border, trapped inside a cold iron cage. On stage, the auctioneer announced, "Today, we're auctioning off every single organ from this man's body. Highest bidder wins!" Meanwhile, my daughter sat down below the stage, her gaze filled with venomous hatred. "Connor, since you love buying identical things just to steal everyone else's spotlight, today, we'll let you steal the spotlight to your heart's content! "Let's see which of your organs you actually have the power to save on your poor worker's salary!" As my heart turned to stone, I silently awakened the system that I had neglected for many years. [Ding—Host has successfully activated the Damage Transfer System.]

Ten days before our wedding, I discovered that Luna Sterling had been keeping another man in secret. She spent her days with me and her nights in the arms of her lover who was a wedding planner. I went to find her and call off the wedding, but by chance, I overheard the truth. Luna had been bound to a system that granted her unlimited reincarnations. "Host, this is already your ninety-ninth reincarnation. Haven't you had enough fun yet?" Luna answered without a care, "This is the last one. Once I complete my hundredth conquest, I'll settle down and live a good life with Julian." Later, the system came to me. "Mr. Prescott, would you like to bind yourself to the Reincarnation System? The only way to reincarnate is through death. The system will activate only after all signs of life have ceased." "Yes," I replied. "But I have one condition." I wanted Luna to lose her endless chances at reincarnation. And from this life onward, through every lifetime to come, she and I would never meet again.

My CEO girlfriend promised to marry me if only I handed over my billion-dollar-worth project to her first love. I agreed without hesitation. Yet on the day we were supposed to make things official, she never showed up. I called her 99 times, but she didn't pick up once. Just when I was about to give up, I saw a post from her first love on social media, featuring a picture of them holding their newly issued marriage license. [From school uniforms to wedding vows. A love that never changes.] I quietly liked the post without making a scene. Moments later, my long-lost girlfriend finally called back. "Cyrus got into a car accident trying to save me, and he lost his memory. The doctors say he needs emotional stimulation to recover. Don't worry, though. Once he gets better, we'll get married. You're the one I love most." What she didn't know was that there would be no future for us. The moment she stood me up at City Hall, the system I'd bound myself to declared my mission a failure. I had seven days left. After that, I would be completely erased from existence.

After my wife's sixth pregnancy ends in another stillbirth, I am so devastated that I lose over 20 pounds. Hannah Leywood is weak herself, but she stays by my side day and night, telling everyone she is simply unlucky and can't keep her children. I go to the county records office to get a death certificate for our sixth child, but I find Hannah and my adoptive brother, Cody Shale, there with a baby in a stroller. They are registering the child together. The clerk checks the records and smiles. "Six kids? You two really love having babies." Hannah expertly mixes a bottle of formula. "My husband loves kids, and we can afford to raise them. We'll take care of whatever expenses that come with it." My mom, Pamela Kent, holds a pair of twins and speaks softly. "Thank goodness Alan never complains and can handle anything. He takes care of you after all six pregnancies. "Cody has always been in poor health and can't have children of his own. Alan has to make this sacrifice." My older sister, Margot Shale, holds a young boy in each hand. Her voice is icy. "What sacrifice? Alan was the one who pushed Cody into a frozen lake and left him unable to have children. "These six kids are how he repays Cody." My best friend, Fred Lowe, nods as he ties the oldest boy's shoelaces. "Besides, Alan's marriage to Hannah is a lie. If those six kids are raised as his, they're illegitimate. "Cody is much better suited to be their dad." A chill runs through my entire body. The babies are alive. For eight years, I had grieved six dead children and gone gray at the temples, only to finally realize that they had used me to give Cody the family he wanted. Hatred consumes me, and the system that has been silent for so long finally speaks. [Six children registered under the host have been confirmed alive. The reproduction mission is complete.] [Do you wish to leave this world?]

In order to stay by Samuel Hudson's side, I decide to give up on the one-billion-dollar reward offered by the system. At the same time, I've used up all of the luck I've accumulated just to trade for a chance to fully heal Samuel's legs. But the price I need to pay is that I have to bind my life force to Samuel's devotion toward me. If he cheats on me physically or emotionally, my soul will be extracted from my body forcibly, leading to my eventual destruction. The moment I go through with the binding process, I find myself hesitating for a moment. But the sight of Samuel kneeling on one knee while proposing to me lovingly makes me believe him. I believe him with my whole heart when he promises to stay devoted to me forever. Because of this, I'm content with being the woman who will endure everything for her lover's sake. So, I tap the "confirm" button firmly. For the next seven years, Samuel and I continue to love each other as passionately as ever. Together, we've overcome countless challenges and survived many low tides together. But on our wedding anniversary, while I'm making soup for Samuel in the kitchen, I begin coughing violently all of a sudden. Soon, I spit out a huge glob of dark blood. Then, I look down to see my body starting to become transparent. In fact, my fingers can no longer touch the glass on the counter. At the same time, alarm bells begin ringing in my mind. [Warning! Samuel's affection level has dropped below the critical threshold. Destruction protocol is now activated.]

After Edwin’s first love arrived, I left his home without telling anyone. The first week after I left, he didn't care at all. He spent the week doting on her first love, taking her to social gatherings, making people gossip about me being left. The second week after I left, his friends began placing bets on whether I would come back crawling or scheme against Rose and cry for attention. Edwin heard them making jokes about me, and he actually laughed, keeping Rose on his lap. The third week after I left, he tracked me down and barged into my door. “Stop all this drama, Victoria.” He spat, “Rose’s heart is delicate. Your heart is the right match for her. Donate your heart to her, and I’ll marry you.” But what he expected from me, a long confrontation or an ocean of tears, he didn't get at all. “Okay,” I replied, my voice as calm as the ocean. “When is the surgery’s date?” Edwin froze at his place. What he didn't know was that I was not the Victoria he remembered. I had been transported into his world after an accident, and only by fulfilling his hundred wishes could I finally return to my own. And, this was his hundredth wish!

I was the apple of my parents’ eyes and the beloved little sister my two older brothers had always protected. On the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, I was struck unconscious by a falling beam while trying to protect them. When I opened my eyes, Suzy Lane, a system agent, had already taken control of my body. At first, my parents and brothers desperately tried to drive this “invader” out. That changed when Suzy, her eyes red from crying, told them, “I don’t want to cling to you either, but… Nora Hart can only return if your love for me reaches a perfect score!” Everyone then began forcing themselves to treat her like family. My parents’ stiff replies, filled with barely concealed disgust, gradually changed into questions about her favorite foods and preferences. Before long, they were bringing home little gifts she liked every day without even realizing it; My brothers also stopped calling her an “invader” and began affectionately calling her “Suki,” a nickname they made just for her. A year later, Suzy completed her mission. I finally regained control of my own body. But when I opened my eyes in delight, I saw unmistakable disappointment in my parents’ and brothers’ eyes. They pretended to be overjoyed by my return, but behind my back, they repeatedly tried to bring Suzy back by hurting me. After I was harmed for the ninety-ninth time, I heard them say. “Let’s try for three more days. If Suzy still doesn’t come back, we’ll force ourselves to accept Nora.” What they didn’t know was this: I had a system too. In three days, I would leave them for good…

I'm infamous for being the stupidest student in the entire school. Even though I've been doing additional revisions till late night every day, I keep getting the lowest rank consistently in exams. On the other hand, my younger sister, Mia Lawson, doesn't study at all. Yet, she always comes up as the top of her grade every time. Our parents soon call her as the Math Prodigy. Because of that, I'm forced to live in the attic, which leaks all the time during rainy days. My table lamp gets smashed into pieces as well since I shouldn't be wasting power if I can't cram any knowledge into my brain. My parents also force me to drop out of school and start working at a young age. They claim that losers should stick to their paths and do what they do best. But at the same time, they don't hesitate to drop a grand sum of money just to enroll Mia into a class based on the Arithmetiad. There's a time when I contract a high fever that makes me all woozy and my consciousness all blurry. Because of my illness, I randomly draw an incorrect construction line on a draft paper. The next day, the line actually appears on Mia's exam paper, pixel by pixel. That's when realization dawns on me immediately. Before the day the National Arithmetiad is set to be streamed live in front of the entire nation, I opt to not solve any difficult questions. Instead, I lock my room door and keep telling myself in front of the mirror that the greatest mathematical equation in this world is 1+1=3.

On the final day of our graduation trip, an extreme heat wave struck without warning. I was unfortunate enough to suffer heat exhaustion, but my girlfriend, Claire Whitmore, gave all the electrolyte water to her male best friend, Alex Sterling. “You’re usually in good health, and you know first aid. Just drink some bottled water and take a break. “But Alex is different. He’s always been physically weak. If he doesn’t replenish his electrolytes, something could go wrong.” Too dizzy to argue, I had no choice but to ask the other members of our group for help. Instead, they rolled their eyes at me. “Daniel Hayes, there’s a limit to how jealous you can get.” “Claire is just taking extra care of someone who’s sick. You’re a grown man. Do you really have to act like you’re dying?” When the group continued ahead, Claire frowned at me sitting on the ground. “Do you really have to ruin everyone’s mood right now? “Fine. Stay here and think about what you’ve done. When you realize your mistake, catch up with us yourself.” What she didn’t know was that I had already begun showing symptoms of heatstroke. And she certainly didn’t know that the moment she left, a system notification echoed inside my mind. [Host’s life is in critical danger. Would you like to leave this world?] I calmly closed my eyes. “I accept.”

I'm the primary surgeon of the nation's biggest medical malpractice case. Apparently, I've screwed up intentionally in a joint surgery that leads to the instant deaths of five patients. My wife, Wanda Johnson's mother is one of them. The medical world purges my name immediately. The Internet demands that I pay the price with my own life. The patients' families kneel before the court with a petition. With tears running down my cheeks, they plead to the court to sentence me to death. In order to ease the public outrage, the court decides to euthanize me. The head of the investigative team of the health department wants to activate Project Nightingale. With the power of AI, the truth of what happened in the surgery will be re-enacted. But Wanda, who also works as a police officer, shoots that idea down. "There's no need for that. Do you actually want the patients' families to witness how their loved ones die again? The youngest patient is just an eight-year-old, you know! Let's just euthanize him!"

My girlfriend told me she'd been bonded to a System. It let her see a Demand Index for how much everyone around her needed her. At first, her eyes had gone red with tears. "Your number's only thirty. Does that mean you don't love me?" "Not needing you doesn't mean I don't love you," I told her. After that, she started holding an umbrella for her male assistant on rainy days and driving out of her way to take him home. When I asked why, she brushed it off. "Don't overthink it. His number was just high, so I figured he needed the help." Then I came down with a fever and took to my bed, and she chose to go shopping with him instead. "Your number's low, but his side is more urgent. Let me finish helping him first, then I'll come look after you." She shut the door behind her. I closed my eyes for a moment, then picked up my phone. "Mom, I'm coming home alone this New Year."

During our return from the Frostfall Expedition, my boyfriend’s childhood sweetheart shoved me into a crevasse when I was caught off guard. Joshua Shaw pulled her into his arms to protect her, then turned around and yelled at me: "Linda, did you deliberately jump into the crevasse so you could frame Wendy for pushing you? "This expedition carries an important scientific mission. It isn’t a place for you to fight over a man!" A coppery sweetness rose in my throat, and the pain left me unable to speak. A short while later, a dull crack came from the ice beneath my feet, and my body suddenly dropped with it. Joshua became even more furious when he saw what happened: "Are you addicted to putting on an act now? If you like staying down there so much, stay there and come to your senses!" He even ordered the other team members to keep moving and forbade them from stopping to rescue me. However, he did not know that my right leg, trapped beneath the crevasse, had already been pierced by an ice spike. I could not move it at all. Worse still, my protective mask had shattered when I fell, and my body temperature was rapidly dropping. The system’s icy voice suddenly echoed in my mind. [Warning: The host’s life force is about to reach zero. Do you wish to leave this world permanently?] I watched Joshua protect Wendy Jones as they gradually disappeared into the distance. Then I closed my eyes and answered in my heart: "Yes!"

For the nine hundred and ninety-ninth time, the system in my mind warned me. [Warning! The lovesick part of your brain is highly active! If you refuse to leave John Miller, you’ll die an hour later!] I looked at my husband. He was scolding me for the sake of his secretary, who was his first love. I once burned down all of my award-winning drawings just because he disliked them. I calmly gave the system in my brain an order. “Since the cause of the malfunction is the lovesick portion of my brain, I hereby grant you the highest authority to remove it. Do the surgery now!” An hour later, John stopped me at the door of the ward. His eyes were bloodshot. “Grace Stone, what are you trying to pull?” I raised my head and watched him coldly and calmly. “Mister, you blocked the light. Based on an analysis, this constitutes an illegal detention. Do you need my help calling the cops?”

I had been asleep from 1975 to 2025. I am the only successful subject to have ever survived a cryonics experiment. Wearing the face of a 20-year-old, I set off to seek out my wealthy younger brother and reclaim my place in the family. But a barrage of comments suddenly appears. "This female lead is stupid. Her brother took her small shop and turned it into a business empire. People change. He doesn't even remember her anymore. Why would he want to reconnect with her?" "Exactly! The Slater family is tearing itself apart over the inheritance. If she shows up, they'll kill her!" "Michael Shaw truly loves her. If she marries him, she'll be happy for life." Just then, Michael drops to one knee before me. "Zoe, the Slaters are too dangerous. Don't go back, okay? Marry me instead. I'll take care of you and protect you for the rest of my life." His words touch me. Before I can reply, I hear his thoughts in my ear. "System, did you post the fake comments?"

Just as I'm on the verge of successfully completing my mission, my System suddenly crashes and is replaced by a new one. That's when I learn the truth that Cherie Blackstone's agreement to marry me is fake from the very beginning. Not only does she already have a lover, but even her affection for me is also entirely feigned. She loathes me, the person who has been constantly pursuing her since childhood. Even her moments of intimacy with me are merely a ploy to let her true love be reborn inside my body. The new System can't bear to watch the situation get any worse and chooses to reveal the truth to me. It lets me make a choice. "If you choose to abandon the mission now, you will die together with her true love. But if you choose to complete the mission, you will receive a new body as compensation for the System switch. "However, before you receive your new body, you will lose all your memories and eventually die." So, does that mean I would forget Cherie and have her watch me die in the end? Of course I choose to continue with the mission with a deal like that.

Before the mission, I ask Ryan Jamison one last time, "Will you marry me?" He pauses for a moment before saying, "Alright." The system and I freeze. "Oh no," we say in unison. I'm told that once I get rejected a hundred times, I'll return to the real world. Turns out, it's nothing but false alarm. In my final mission, I accidentally become the stand-in for his first love. Ryan spends three days with her before he finally remembers me. But by then, all he hears is that I've died in the line of duty.

After I regressed, I stood up in front of everyone and announced I was cutting my two childhood friends out of my life for good. Nobody knew that the intern who'd been trailing after them had bound me to an affection exchange system. The better I treated the girls, the more they hated me. But no matter how badly that intern mistreated them, they ate it up like it was love. I stayed up all night writing proposals to help them land a huge account, and they threw their arms around him in gratitude. I spent a fortune saving their sick grandmother's life, and they sobbed with thanks into his shoulder and kissed him in front of everyone. When I finally lost my temper and tried to have it out with them, they left me standing on the street while they drank with him until midnight and ended up in the same bed. I caught them in the act myself. They didn't even flinch. Instead, they turned around and accused me of drugging and assaulting them. The story exploded overnight. I went from golden boy to public enemy number one, accused of rape. My family's company collapsed within weeks. In the end, that intern kicked me into a river and watched me drown. When I opened my eyes again, I swore I wasn't playing anyone's doormat this time. Let's see how far that affection exchange system got him once I stopped handing him my life on a silver platter!

On Valentine's Day, I suggest going to a restaurant to celebrate, but my boyfriend, Michael Nelson, refuses. He says impatiently, "Why should we celebrate some lousy holiday? I don't want to waste good money on it." He turns around and happily chats away on his phone, completely absorbed in the conversation. Then, I hear the system's notification going off in my head. "Congratulations. You have received 2,860 dollars." This means that Michael just transferred 1,430 dollars to his side chick. He doesn't know it yet, but I have a system. It's called the Infidelity Cashback System. Every time he spends money on his other woman, I get double the cashback in my bank account.