Cerita Pendek & Novel Melodramatic System

I'm the human shield Daniela Falcone—the underworld queen—personally chose to protect her first love, Luca Bianchi. We're three years into our marriage, and this is already the eighth time her rivals have kidnapped me. Daniela arrives with her men to rescue me, but we're not even five minutes into negotiations when Luca calls. "Dani, I lost at Truth or Dare. I'm supposed to kiss some woman here, but I want to save my first kiss for you. Can you come over?" The second Daniela turns and walks away without a single backward glance, a knife plunges deep into my stomach, and blood splatters everywhere. Just like the last seven times, her right-hand man, Carlo Marino, tosses some cash around to clean up the mess. Then, he has me sent to the hospital. In the ambulance, I hear Daniela's men guessing whether I'll live long enough to see Luca stand on his own two feet. They roar with laughter. I'm the only one crying. The mission to save the underworld queen has failed, which means the System will wipe me out soon. I think to myself, "Daniela, I won't live to see that day."

For three years, Hallie Larson has managed to keep her affair so carefully hidden that I can't find a single trace of the other man. Once, I find a pair of men's underwear in the back seat of her car, still warm, as if someone has only just taken them off. Other times, I notice fresh, suspicious marks behind her ear. Every time, I lose my temper. I tear through the house, demanding to know who the man is. Hallie only furrows her brow, looking more exhausted than guilty. "Sebastian, how long are you going to keep imagining things? If you're going to accuse me of cheating, then at least show me the man you claim exists." So, I start following her everywhere, 24 hours a day. I even call every relative and friend I can think of, asking them to stake out hotels with me so we can finally catch her in the act. But every time we force open a hotel room door, we find nothing. Mwanehilwe, Hallie is sitting calmly on the couch, a faint, mocking smile playing on her lips. "Go ahead," she says. "Search the room." On the way out of the room, my mother takes my hand and sighs. "Sebastian, trust is the most important thing in a marriage. You keep making a scene like this every day. What do you think you're doing to Hallie's reputation?" Even my best friend tries to talk some sense into me. "Maybe you're under too much stress. Maybe you're imagining all of this." But I can't forget what I see on Hallie's collarbone—a faint trace of moisture she hasn't completely wiped away. It's so out of place, so suspicious, that I can't bring myself to dismiss it.

Nathan Carter was famous in high society for being completely devoted to his wife. All because I had an almost obsessive need to control him. Not only did he have to video call me every five minutes to check in, but every morning when I woke up, I expected a five-thousand-word love letter waiting for me. The first time he was a minute late checking in, my paranoia spiraled out of control, and I bombarded him with ninety-nine voice messages, threatening to kill myself. He transferred me one million dollars, dropped to his knees, and swore it would never happen again before I reluctantly forgave him. His voice softened as he leaned closer, trying to kiss me. Suddenly, a flood of comments exploded across my vision. [Exactly! Once Quinn catches HIV, he should dump her. A villainess like her deserves to get sick, lose the baby, and die a miserable death!] [Who could put up with a crazy woman like her? If she hadn't pushed the male lead so hard, he never would've slept around and contracted HIV!] [When is the female lead finally going to show up? I can't wait for her and the male lead to heal each other and get their happily ever after!] I looked at Nathan, who had already taken off his shirt, his breathing heavy. I hurriedly grabbed a towel from the side and wrapped it around myself. "Honey, I'm suddenly not feeling very well. Don't you have a meeting to get to? You should go. I don't want to keep you from work."

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.

The whole world knew Lionel Potter was crazy about his wife. He wrote songs just for her, baked desserts for her, and couldn't go three sentences without saying "my wife". But Iris Potter discovered that the same Lionel who loved her as if his life depended on it had cheated. She summoned the system and applied to leave the world. [Understood. The self-exit channel has been activated. In 15 days, you will leave this world. The exit method will be a staged death. The location will be the seaside where you once saved the male lead. Cause of death: suicide by drowning. [Please prepare accordingly for your death.] On the 15th day, Iris arranged everything and staged her departure to look like she had gone into the sea, leaving Lionel behind. Only then did Lionel wake up. He unraveled, nearly losing his mind, consumed by the need to find her.

I was born with a cursed mouth, and I was the unluckiest baseborn daughter of Northcott Hall. When I was seven, my older half sister stole my only winter coat, and I cried that all ten of her fingers would rot with frost. The next day she fell through the lake ice, and every one of those ten fingers festered. When I was thirteen, my stepmother locked me in the woodshed with no food or water. I muttered that she'd see blood before sunset, and half an hour later a panicked stallion broke her ribs. After that, everyone in Northcott Hall called me a calamity. My father said I poisoned the house just by standing in it. My stepmother accused me of killing my grandmother and dumped me in a paupers' burial field. I lived on bark and roots, and all I wanted was to carry my mother's ashes home to the Veyra Highlands. I'd barely reached the city gate when Beatrice arrived with Crown Guards and blocked my path. "The Dowager Queen has ordered a noblewoman chosen to be buried with the Emperor. "If Northcott Hall gives up a daughter, the whole family is honored. "You're an embarrassment alive. At least your death can bring this house some glory." My father took the payment with his own hands and ordered the servants to nail me into the coffin. What they didn't know was that the Emperor wasn't dead at all. A few days earlier, at a palace banquet, I'd seen him standing in the winter wind and said, "Dressed that lightly, His Majesty may stop breathing from the cold tonight." Before dawn, the palace announced the Emperor had no pulse. I kicked the coffin lid open, looked around at a burial chamber full of royal treasure, and smiled. "Your Majesty, I've come to lift your curse."

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!"

On the day I return to court in triumph, my fiancee, Isabel Hartwell, welcomes me at the city gates. My career is flourishing, and I'm about to marry the woman I love. As far as I'm concerned, my life can't be more perfect. A victory banquet is held in my honor. By the time I'm pleasantly buzzed, Isabel's mother, Katherine Mercer, raises her glass to me with a smile. "Nicholas, my daughter has waited three long years for you. Now, you're finally back!" The entire room bursts into laughter. My ears burn as I search for Isabel through the crowd of guests raising their glasses. She lowers her head, trying to hide her smile. Perhaps sensing my gaze, she looks up. Our eyes meet, and hers crinkled with delight. My heart skips a beat. I quickly lower my head and take a drink to hide my embarrassment, only to nearly choke on it. My fellow soldiers immediately begin teasing me. Even my younger half-brother, Stephen Aldridge, leans over with a smile. "Congratulations, Nicholas. You'll soon be the Hartwells' son-in-law. When you make it to the top, don't forget to help me out." I ruffle his hair, warmth filling my chest. My career is thriving, the woman I love will soon be my wife, and I share a close bond with my family. What more can I possibly ask for? Then, I look up and freeze. A golden prophecy appears out of nowhere, hovering in midair. "In two hours, Stephen will be found lying beside Isabel with his clothes in disarray. Everyone will catch them in a compromising position. Isabel will be forced to marry Stephen, and she'll eventually succumb to depression and die." I sober instantly as a chill sweeps through me. After all, Stephen is none other than my younger half-brother, who has just raised a toast to me.

After getting back together with Tabitha Stark for the fifth time, she sets three rules for me to follow. Rule number one: Whenever I see Jordan Corke, I need to greet him respectfully. Rule number two: I need to have my blood drawn every day, for it's a necessary catalyst in Jordan's medication. Rule number three: I can no longer bond with my biological son, Anthony Fordham. I nod immediately instead of nitpicking every single detail as I did before. Whenever I see Jordan, I'll always greet him humbly and wait for him to leave. Whenever I see Anthony, I'll always take an alternate route to avoid him. Even when Tabitha finds out that she's pregnant and intends to get rid of the unborn baby, I can deliver her the miscarriage-inducing medicine without a falter in my expression. Her face contorted in disbelief, Tabitha smacks the bowl off my hands before roaring at me, "Have you gone nuts, Hugo Fordham? Since when have you become like this? "Haven't you always wanted a child with me again? How dare you agree that I go through the miscarriage right now! Tell me why!" I can't be bothered to answer her questions. At the same time, the system's voice grows louder in my mind. [Congratulations on completing all of the main quests as the villain. Please perish three days later. Your rewards will be issued to you shortly after that.]

After completing the quest, I returned to my original world and woke up from my coma. My children, who had grown up, stood before my hospital bed. My wife, Clara Anderson, hugged me tightly. My parents-in-law were crying in joy. Just as I prepared to log off from the system for good and choose to stay in my original world, a man who looked extremely similar to me walked in. My children, Jared Anderson and Julia Anderson, ran over to him and called him “Dad” lovingly. Everyone looked at me a little awkwardly. That man, Ted Smith, smiled tauntingly at me. I paused the system. “Let me reconsider this. Maybe I’ll stay in the system instead.”

After transmigrating through three novels in a row, the hardest thing I ever suffer through is drinking iced long black. But when I open my eyes again, I somehow become the pathetic simp side character in a trashy romance novel. Just as I debate whether to file a complaint against the system, the trembling system hurriedly explains something to me. Although this is a trashy romance novel, it is also an unfinished abandoned novel. I ask, "So you're saying I decide how the story develops?" The system replied, "Yes. Everything is completely under your control." Satisfied, I lazily stretch and begin checking the original Jacob's background. He has a trillionaire father and a billionaire mother. On top of that, he has seven rich and beautiful older sisters. With such a ridiculously overpowered setup, how can he go around simping for a broke college girl with no money? What a complete waste!

The day Martin Lovell is crowned king, I'm made his queen. During the kingdom's founding ceremony, assassins attack Martin and me, and I step in to stop them. But as I'm shielding Martin, he grabs me and pulls me into a blade's path so that I take the hit meant for my half-sister. As the blade sinks into my flesh, the blood filling my mouth stifles my cries of pain. Martin holds the trembling Rosie Franklin in his arms, gently wiping away her tears as he says to me, "Helena Franklin, you know how it is. You're a skilled fighter, and you even have supernatural powers. But your sister has none of that." I die in despair. As my consciousness fades, I hear the system's voice. [Helena, you have only one chance left to complete your mission. If you fail for the tenth time, you'll be erased from existence permanently.]

In my seven years of my marriage with the Regent, I had risked my life bearing him five children. Every single one had died. My husband grieved so deeply that he collapsed. He knelt for three days and nights before the chapel in the bitter cold, praying for my well-being. He even spent a fortune to build a memorial tower in my honor. Everyone said the Regent loved his wife more than life itself. But the System's childbearing progress remained stuck at 90%. Then came All Hallows' Eve. I walked to the river alone to float a memorial candle for my fifth child, who had only just passed. What I found instead were four children carrying turnip lanterns, gathered around my half-sister, tugging at her skirts. "Mommy! Daddy said he's lighting a bonfire tonight!" Alaric Montague stood behind her, arms looped around her waist. His expression carried the same tenderness I knew so well. Even my father, as stern as he had always been, was chuckling beside them, more relaxed than I had ever seen him. My mother held a swaddled infant nearby, wiping the corner of the smallest child's mouth. "Odette is too frail to carry children. Thank goodness Alaric came up with a way to swap them." "Watch your words, Mrs. Devereaux," Alaric cut in at once, his gaze turning cold. "Laurel owed this to Odette. The debt is paid. I'll let her keep the next one." I bit down on my lip hard enough to taste blood. In my mind, an electronic tone stirred to life after years of silence. [Laurel, five registered offspring detected alive. Childbearing mission for the heirless Regent is complete.] [Portal activation imminent. Confirm departure?]

To support Gavin Cooper’s work, I waited in our first-floor home with our son, who was burning with a high fever, while the hurricane raged outside. Yet as the head of the local emergency response team, he gave the last remaining life ring to his childhood sweetheart, Wendy Harper, on the tenth floor. When I voiced my dissatisfaction, he berated me over the phone. “Luna, you’re my wife. I can’t abuse my position for personal gain. I have to set an example. “But Wendy is different. She’s a widow raising a young daughter, so I have a responsibility to make sure they’re protected.” Once again, his argument about putting the greater good first won me over. That was until the floodwaters swallowed the first floor, and I hurriedly called the command center while holding my barely breathing son in my arms. The person on the other end apologized before informing me, “Ma’am, Mr. Cooper registered Miss Harper and her daughter as the first people to be evacuated. You and your son were placed in the final group.” As I watched my son slowly stop breathing, my heart turned to ash. “System, I accept your recommendation to leave this world with my son.” “Gavin, my son and I will never need you to save us again.”

When I gave up on my mission and confessed to the existence of the system, my girlfriend, who couldn’t seem to give up on her first love, suddenly agreed to marry me and bear me a child. I thought my sincerity had moved her and excitedly began preparing for the wedding. She, however, tricked me into going for surgery. “You’re on a mission and have unlimited lives. He has end-stage heart failure and is on the verge of death. Don’t worry, after his surgery and recovery, I’ll come back to our family and continue helping you with your mission.” What she didn’t know was that the moment she took my heart away, I had utterly failed my mission and all my memories were erased. One month later, when she called out to me sweetly and asked if I had thought of a name for our baby, I looked at her all confused. “We don’t even know each other. How could we have a baby?”

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?]

My mission to win her love had failed, and the system told me I could leave this world in fifteen days. As soon as I heard the news, I agreed to the divorce my wife wanted. I stopped making a scene whenever she left me behind to take care of her childhood friend. I stopped screaming myself hoarse when she spent my money on vacations with him. At first, she even praised me for being understanding. Then she smiled and told me she planned to marry him, and I still didn't react. She began to panic.

After I transmigrate into a Gary Stu novel as the evil male supporting lead, a system appears in my mind. It tells me that as long as I can conquer one of the female leads, I will be able to return to my original world with a healthy body. But I've failed in my conquest. There are a few female leads in this novel. There's the fake heiress, Leslie Jackman, who I have grown up with and have viewed as my older sister. The true heiress, Miranda Suller, is a boxer who happens to be seatmates with me during our high school times. My childhood sweetheart, Catherine Langdon, who's also a genius surgeon, happens to be one of the female leads too. Heck, even my own daughter, Natalie Jackman… my own flesh and blood… All of them are quick to fall for Gabriel Linner, the poor yet strong-willed young man who's also known as the Gary Stu of this novel. Because of that, they hate me deeply. The system sighs before telling me that as long as I can die in the hands of any of the female leads, it will let me return to my original world. Later on, I use all of the tricks up my sleeve and succeed in getting killed by the female leads. But why is it that they've lost their minds after I die?

To win Samuel Zane’s heart, I lost everything. My family was ruined, and I was forced onto an operating table so he could take my heart and save his adopted sister, Xenia Zane, whose organs were failing. At the critical moment, William Zane disguised himself as a doctor and rescued me. We left the country and started a new life overseas. I used all my points to change my target from Samuel to William. “Host, I need to remind you that if you fail again after changing your target, you will be reincarnated as an animal and never become human again.” I looked at William as he knelt before me with a ring in his hand. I said firmly, “I do.” But when I gave birth to our daughter, I saw two figures standing outside my hospital room. William handed our daughter to Samuel and said, “Samuel, you’re rushing this. We need to wait until her organs are fully developed before we can take them.” Samuel’s expression remained cold. “Thanks to your plan, we were able to grow a healthy, young heart for Xenia. Don’t worry. We can just use an organ maturation agent.” “But…” “William, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that woman.” “Of course not!” I heard him deny it immediately. “I endured everything for Xenia.” The moment he finished speaking, the system’s robotic voice rang in my mind. “Host, your mission has failed. In one month, you will be reincarnated as an animal.”

When Adrian Hale chose Rosalie Quinn for the tenth time, I was hanging helplessly over the cliff’s edge. He clutched a rope in one hand, the web between his thumb and forefinger worn raw and bloody. Rosalie was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. “Adrian, I’m scared…” He hesitated for only a second before pulling out a dagger and cutting through the rope on my side. “Clara, hold on. I’ll come back for you after I save Rosalie.” The system counted down in my ear. [The tenth abandonment has been confirmed.] [Life countdown: zero.] Before I fell, I didn’t wait for him to turn around like I had the previous nine times. I only smiled at him. “Adrian Hale, we’re even now.”