1 After failing to conquer two domineering billionaire CEOs, I completely gave up. When the System assigned the third target, it gave up too. [Why do you always get the death ending? If you die one more time, we’re going to be downgraded to NPCs.] My eyes instantly lit up. [Wait, is that an option?!] So, when my new target’s childhood sweetheart slapped me hard across the face and demanded I dive into the ocean to retrieve her bracelet, I didn't say a word. I just pitched forward and dove headfirst into the freezing water. The target was dumbfounded, frantically screaming at his bodyguards to fish me out. “Trying to get my attention like this? You’re just a kept woman. Do you really think your life is worth that much?” He used the tip of his expensive leather shoe to tilt my chin up, his tone dripping with mockery. I offered a weak, cynical smile. “You're right. It’s not worth anything. So I’ll just go die now.” Before he could react, I snatched the wine bottle from his hand, smashed it on the deck, grabbed a jagged shard, and slashed it brutally across my wrist. The target was completely paralyzed with shock. As my consciousness began to fade, I heard him screaming into his phone: “Hey! What the hell did you guys do to her in the previous rounds?! This girl is literally going to kill herself!” Wait, did he just say the names of my first two targets? Perfect. If I can rack up a few more deaths with these guys, I can finally be free! ... When I opened my eyes, the harsh, clinical smell of disinfectant stung my nose. The room was noisy. “I didn't even do anything yet. Watching her grovel and simp for you guys in the previous rounds actually made me kind of jealous. It’s finally my turn, and she looks like half a corpse. I actually feel bad for her.” The tone was light, flippant, and teasing. I recognized the voice immediately. It was my newest target, Arthur Sterling. The System shrieked in my ear: [No wonder every single mission failed! They were manipulating the affection meters the whole time! Thank God you chose to give up, otherwise you’d be forced to endure a third round with these disgusting scumbags... Whatever, I'm done trying too. Just call me the Death System from now on. Once you die this time, we’re heading straight to the NPC track.] I let out a cold scoff. My brain was throbbing from swallowing too much seawater, and I had absolutely no desire to speak. A second later, the hospital room door was kicked open. Arthur swaggered in, his arm wrapped tightly around his childhood sweetheart. The woman buried her face in his chest, putting on a sickeningly fragile act, sobbing: “Arthur, I swear I didn't say anything to her. I don't know why she suddenly went crazy... Everyone was rushing to save her, and now I look like the bad guy. I just wanted her to give back the limited-edition bracelet she stole from me...” She snuck a glance at me, her eyes flashing with a familiar, triumphant smugness. During the previous missions, I had gotten entirely used to being framed and provoked like this. At first, I fought back desperately. I argued until I was blue in the face, practically willing to rip myself open just to prove my innocence. Later, I learned to just drop to my knees, beg for mercy, and accept whatever punishment they threw at me. I did it all just to appear docile, hoping the target would pat me on the head and grant me a few measly affection points. And now I find out... the affection meters were fake the entire time. A crushing sense of absurdity washed over me. Seeing my dead, emotionless eyes and my absolute refusal to engage, Arthur was clearly irritated. He aggressively yanked the hospital blanket off me. “That bracelet is worth 1.5 million dollars. How exactly are you going to pay for it?” I locked eyes with Arthur, my gaze completely blank. “Let me tell you something. Stop trying to use these cheap tricks to get my attention. Someone of your status should consider it an absolute blessing that I even keep you around for entertainment...” His arrogant lecture was abruptly cut off. Because right in front of him, fueled by some unknown surge of adrenaline, I bolted upright, vaulted toward the window, and was already halfway out. I smiled, feeling lighter than I had in years. In the next split second, a hand clamped down on my arm like a vice. The violent jerk pulled at my torn muscles, the sharp pain dragging me brutally back to reality. “What the fuck are you doing?!” His casual, arrogant facade shattered completely. “We are on the third floor! Jumping from here won't kill you. Do you honestly think threatening me with your pathetic life is going to work?!” He said that, but his fingers were digging into my forearm so hard I thought the bone would snap. “You psychotic, manipulative bitch...” Arthur hissed the words through gritted teeth. “You wanted to seduce me, right? Then be a good girl and do exactly what you're told. Throwing a hysterical suicide tantrum isn't going to work on me.” He tightened his grip on his whimpering sweetheart, turning to bark orders at his bodyguards. “Get her changed. I'm taking her out.” I sat languidly on the edge of the bed, letting the stylists poke and prod me, completely indifferent. I was shoved into the back of Arthur's Maybach. The city lights blurred past the tinted windows. My brain suddenly sparked to life. If I open the door and tuck-and-roll at this speed, I’d definitely die faster! But the second my fingers brushed the door handle, Arthur grabbed my wrist. “Chloe, what the hell are you trying to pull now?” His deep, intense eyes narrowed as he leaned in close. He looked annoyed and frustrated. “Why is it that whenever you're with me, you pull these extreme stunts...? I'm telling you right now, I like women who are sweet and gentle. If you behave, maybe I'll actually give you what you want.” Ah. He was hinting at the affection points. In the past, I had exhausted myself trying to figure out exactly what my targets wanted. If they liked wild and adventurous, I did extreme sports. When the parachute malfunctioned, I spent a day and a night stranded at the bottom of a ravine with him, starving so badly I had to catch snakes with my bare hands. If they liked elegant and understanding, I smiled through the pain while they cycled through mistresses, politely purchasing their condoms for them. I had my kidney harvested. I had my blood drained. I had endured every physical and emotional trauma imaginable. All just to earn a tiny fraction of their favor. Today, I finally had a revelation: What could possibly be more beautiful than death? No matter what they throw at me, I always have this one, glorious escape route. I just have to close my eyes, and I won't have to deal with any of this ever again. 【2】 2 The car pulled up to the venue. That’s when I realized we were at an engagement party. When Arthur’s sweetheart saw me arrive, her face twisted in pure, unadulterated hatred for a split second. The next moment, she and her posse of mean girls surrounded me. “Where the hell did you come from? Who gave you permission to cling to Arthur like this?!” She gritted her teeth. Seeing Arthur approaching out of the corner of her eye, she intentionally brushed against my shoulder and dramatically threw herself backward into the swimming pool. The movement was fast and flawlessly executed. I paused for a second and told the System: [I really need to learn how to seize opportunities to die as effortlessly as she does.] “Oh my god! How could you push her?!” Her friends started shrieking instantly. Arthur immediately played the hero, diving in and pulling her out of the water. Dripping wet, he pointed a furious finger in my face and roared: “Did I give you too much leeway?! Did you forget your fucking place?! You actually have the balls to bully someone under my protection?!” I lifted my eyes, utterly bored, and couldn't help but laugh. “If Mr. Sterling doesn't need me anymore, you can just let me go.” “You—!” Perhaps he was triggered by the blatant, undisguised mockery in my smile. Enraged, Arthur grabbed the delicate chain of my necklace and twisted it tight. The thin chain bit into my neck, leaving angry red welts as the oxygen was slowly cut off. Yes. Pull harder. My eyes lit up with excitement. I intentionally leaned back, pulling against his grip, a look of absolute, euphoric satisfaction spreading across my face... But the sweet release I was hoping for never came. Arthur abruptly let go, and my own momentum sent me crashing to the pavement. “Are you a psycho?! Why is it that when it's my turn, you turn into this absolute freak?!” Arthur cursed, grinding his teeth. “Arthur, you're too impatient. Did you really think she'd actually go through with killing herself?” The voice that interrupted was sickeningly familiar. I opened my eyes. The man walking toward us was devastatingly handsome, a faint, cynical smirk playing on his lips. It was Julian Vance, my second target. I had been by his side during the absolute lowest, darkest period of his family's history. I drank with him and his hostile investors until I got stomach ulcers. I spent six months acting as a full-time nurse for his critically ill mother. I clearly remember him holding my hand, tears in his eyes, telling me I was an angel sent to save his life. But now, he stood there, looking down at me with arrogant amusement, enjoying the show. “Is this your new strategy? Gotta admit, it's fresh. Going for the extreme, suicidal route now? Makes sense, though. Go big or go home. Your acting is pretty solid.” [These guys are absolute trash! Forging the affection meters to trap us here and making us fail over and over again!] The System raged indignantly on my behalf. Before I could react, a pair of immaculately polished black oxfords stopped right in front of my face. “Chloe, drop the act. You'll sink to any depth just to seduce a man. It's pathetic.” I looked up and saw his face clearly. Liam Hayes. My very first target. I was still gasping for air, the feeling of strangulation lingering. I lay on the ground, coughing violently, a sickly, feverish red flush spreading across my face. Liam instinctively took a half-step toward me. In his eyes... was that grief and resentment? I couldn't tell, because he quickly turned his head away. What hit me next were the same icy, degrading insults I was used to: “You're an embarrassment. You really think throwing a suicide tantrum is going to earn you pity and affection points? Let me break it down for you: None of us are falling for your little tricks. You spent all this time trying to conquer us, and you didn't even realize we had full control over the affection meters.” I didn't look at him. I kept my head down, focusing on my breathing as I struggled to my feet. “And you? Was your 99% affection meter a lie too?” I stood up, my gaze locking onto Liam, trying to see right through him. He was completely different from the man he was ten years ago. When I first met Liam, he was an illegitimate son, kept hidden in the shadows like a dirty secret. He had been abandoned by his wealthy family in a dilapidated, rundown apartment, unable to even afford rent. When his landlord threw him out, he huddled under a narrow awning to hide from the pouring rain. Half his body was soaked and shivering. Until I stopped, and held my umbrella over him... As much as I didn't want to admit it, I had truly given Liam my entire heart. 【3】 3 My final memory of Liam was watching his affection meter hit 99%, only to instantly plummet. I remembered his bloodshot eyes, his jaw clenched in pure hatred. “You lied to me? I will never forgive you as long as I live!” The image from my memory perfectly overlaid the man standing in front of me now. His breathing was slightly erratic. Because of my one sentence, he lost his arrogant composure. He took two aggressive steps toward me, lashing out defensively: “You actually have the nerve to bring up the past?” He swept his gaze over the other men I had tried to conquer. “How does it feel? You never expected this, did you? You thought you were playing all of us, but we were the ones treating you like a circus clown. Watching you act like a pathetic, desperate dog with zero self-respect was incredibly satisfying.” Liam was standing very close to me. His eyes were glued to my face. Like he was desperately trying to analyze every millimeter of my reaction. But, to his shock, my expression remained perfectly serene. No anger. No tears. I just offered him a small, polite smile. “That's great. As long as it was satisfying for you. You're the groom today. Don't waste your precious time on me.” In the distance, the venue was blanketed in a sea of flowers. Every single detail of the decor matched exactly what Liam and I had discussed years ago. Honestly, the moment I arrived, I had already guessed whose engagement party this was. When I turned to walk away, the atmosphere in the courtyard froze. Then, a massive, shattering crash echoed behind me. Liam's fiancée had stepped on the tablecloth draped over the champagne tower base, bringing the ten-tier crystal structure crashing to the pavement. I was entirely too familiar with scenarios like this. But when Liam grabbed my arm, he violently yanked me forward, intentionally using me as a human shield to protect his fiancée. In a flash, someone threw a suit jacket over my head. But the jagged shards of glass still rained down on me, cutting into my skin like sharp little raindrops. The stinging, burning pain instantly flooded my veins with adrenaline. I practically screamed at the System in my head: [System! Can you make a shard slice my jugular? Let's just end it right now!] [Uh... hold on, let me check the settings.] Before the System could intervene, the owner of the jacket—Liam—suddenly started screaming in a blind panic: “Jade! Hurry! Call an ambulance!” He was kneeling on the pavement, cradling his fiancée, who had suffered a few minor scratches from the glass. In his panic, he glanced at me, and the jacket that had fallen beside me. A twisted smirk crossed his face. “I must be losing my mind. I forgot you have a System. You're like a cockroach, you survive everything. Hey! Grab her and throw her in the car! She's going to donate blood to Jade!” I felt like a torn ragdoll. My arms and thighs were covered in glass shards and bleeding cuts as I was violently shoved into the back of an SUV. A thousand sharp, stinging points of pain covered my body. But I just smiled, a look of profound relief on my face. I sat obediently in the blood donation chair. Through a pane of glass, I watched Liam's cold, sociopathic expression. “Her blood type is a perfect match for Jade. Jade has a weak constitution, she needs it. As for her,” He sneered with visceral hatred when he referred to me, “You could drain every last drop of blood from her body and she'd be fine. No matter what you do to her, she can't die.” I closed my eyes, suppressing the ecstatic joy bubbling up in my chest. [Did you hear him, System?! He's going to drain me! Am I finally going to die?!] Watching the nurse hook the IV line to my arm, I cheerfully encouraged her: “Take as much as you need, I'll be fine. Saving her is the priority.” The nurse froze, giving me a very disturbed, complex look. She didn't slow down her prep, though. “Ms. Hayes, you've only sustained minor lacerations. You only need to donate 300ml of blood.” I blinked in absolute confusion. Seeing that the doctors in this world were suddenly acting like normal medical professionals, and the expected torture scenario wasn't happening, I desperately called out to the System. [Don't panic! I already hacked the medical equipment!] [You are amazing!] I relaxed and laid back. Sure enough, a few minutes later, as my face grew increasingly pale and drained of color, the nurse noticed something was wrong. “What's happening? Did the infusion pump malfunction? It won't stop!” Severe blood loss causes dizziness, palpitations, and confusion. “Liam, what the fuck are you doing?! Are you actually trying to kill her?!” “Hey, Liam, back off! I haven't even had my turn with her yet, at least give me a chance! I actually kinda like her.” “Shut the fuck up!” Was everyone gathering around? I didn't have the mental capacity to care. The voices around me grew distant and muffled. I closed my eyes, completely satisfied. 【4】 4 I opened my eyes. A stark, blindingly white hospital ceiling greeted me. Am I dead? Did I switch to a new world? I blinked a few times. When my gaze landed on the man sitting next to the bed, I almost choked on my own breath. “See? I told you. Someone like her isn't going to die that easily. No matter what happens, she's got a System acting as her safety net.” Liam was leaning against the doorframe, irritably pushing his hair back from his forehead. “My engagement party was completely ruined by this mess. Arthur, dock her affection points.” Arthur, who was sitting next to my bed, shot me a mocking, cynical look: “If I dock her any more, she's going to hit the negatives. Tell you what—if you beg me, I'll show you some mercy and bump you up a point.” I offered a weak, dismissive smile and ignored him. Julian waved his hand, and immediately, an orderly stepped forward to spoon-feed me. “Whatever, since she literally can't die, she can stick around and keep us entertained. Chloe, eat your food. Once you're done, you get to be a witness to Liam's big life milestone.” I closed my eyes, absolutely devoid of the will to live. On the way to the engagement venue, I was stuck in the same car as Liam and his fiancée. His fiancée was draped over him like she had no bones. If she even slightly moved her arm and aggravated the tiny scratch she got, her eyes would well with tears and she’d demand to be comforted. I stared out the window, completely over it. Liam, if you guys want to be nauseatingly in love, fine. But can you stop glancing at me through the rearview mirror? One look was filled with intense resentment and rage. The other look was a pathetic, wide-eyed stare that occasionally flashed with smug, triumphant arrogance. I stared right back at them, and an idea popped into my head. “The diamond on your engagement ring is really small. Compared to the one he bought me years ago, that thing is practically invisible.” Liam's face instantly turned black as thunder. Especially when his fiancée looked up at him with wide, tear-filled doe eyes. He ground his teeth in fury. “Chloe, open your damn eyes and look closely. This is a custom piece from Italy. Jade and I designed it together. It cost three million dollars. You don't even know what you're talking about. That ring I gave you back then was cheap cubic zirconia. Trash for trash.” “Liam, I understand why she's saying this... considering your history together...” His fiancée wiped a tear, slipped the ring off her finger, and clutched it in her hand. “I'll just put it back on later. I don't want to make her sad.” “Chloe!” Liam's voice was dark and threatening. He glared at me, his eyes locking onto mine like a predator. I stared back at him, bursting with anticipation. Alright, what kind of new torture have you cooked up for me? Can we skip to the part where you just kill me? Then, Liam rolled down the window and chucked the three-million-dollar diamond ring into the darkness. “The engagement party starts in an hour. Get out and find the ring. If you don't find it, your chances of succeeding in this mission drop to zero.” He smirked at me as he ordered his driver to kick me out of the car. Arthur's car pulled up right behind them. “Poor thing. I'll give you two affection points out of pity.” Arthur rolled down his window, smiling brightly at me. “Liam really poured his heart into those rings. They aren't like the cheap garbage he used to brush you off with.” I stood frozen on the side of a busy, multi-lane highway. Cars whipped past me inches away. An angry driver laid on the horn and screamed out his window: “Are you a fucking psycho?! Do you have a death wish?!” I waved excitedly: “Yes! Yes, I do! Someone please hit me!” “Chloe?! Are you mentally ill?!” Julian sprinted through the traffic and yanked me back onto the shoulder. “Liam threw the ring into the bushes! Are you blind?! Why were you running into the middle of the highway?!” He rubbed his temples aggressively, his voice laced with exhaustion. “Chloe, the game is over. Stop pulling these pathetic stunts, it's just annoying. Drop the act. If you just beg me properly, I might actually pity you enough to let you stay by my side.” I wasn't listening to a word he was saying. I just nodded absentmindedly, my heart hammering in my chest. Because the System was screaming in my head: [I'm done playing games! I've activated a cheat code! A runaway semi-truck is currently 200 meters away from your location! Brace yourself, host! You are 100% dying this time!] Using every last ounce of my patience, I waited for Julian to turn around to look for the ring. Then, I grabbed the hem of my hospital gown, spun around, and sprinted directly into oncoming traffic. The massive grill of the semi-truck filled my entire field of vision. And then, it slammed into me. It felt like every single bone in my body shattered simultaneously. The agony was blinding and absolute. But my heart was racing with uncontrollable euphoria. [Commencing separation from host body...] The countdown echoed in my ears. Finally! I'm finally free!
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