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Real-world. Morning.

Two days and the sleeping woman still hadn't woken up. 

Sofony visited Chris' house and disregarding the presence of the actress Alessa there, she went straight for the kid and introduced herself as his real savior. 

Sofony wanted to pry some information from the kid ever since she discovered that he was that host 765 whom Chris asked from her four days ago - a system host from that organization whose role seemed to be more like that of a cash cow. 

"Do you know that his father is actually that mercenary?" 

The kid was a lower-level system user who was not even granted by anybody from the real core of the evil force even the littlest protection from those who might want to hypnotize or mind control him. 

Sofony did not have difficulty putting the child under her hypnosis. But unfortunately, since he was nothing but a kid, his knowledge of the place was almost next to nothing. Those he knew came from the system. Which Sofony had all acquired already beforehand. 

Anyway, it was through the skill that she learned of her amusing connection to the amputated man. 

Chris looked at her in shock, most likely not expecting that connection too. 

Alessa beheld their conversation at the bedside with a curious glint in her eyes while lulling the kid to sleep with her gentle touch.

To be honest, the actress felt somewhat uncomfortable too. It could be from jealousy, or the fact that the other two adults in the place were engaged in a conversation which she could not partake in. 

She could only s.h.i.+ft her attention from them to the kid. But of course, her ears were attentive to them. Since she was allowed to listen, she had to make the most of it and absorb every detail that she could.

"I didn't know," the actor answered.

"Don't panic. When I left that man, he's alive. He's also someone who doesn't deserve mercy. You know what kind of parent he was."

Chris looked at her with a complicated gaze. The man must be quite shaken by the fact that the man he sentenced to a life worse than death a couple of weeks ago was actually the father of the little boy he saved. 

'... What is does he plan for this child now?'

Losing interest, she bid goodbye to the two and then met Gio who wanted to take her somewhere in Alina City. The reason was not explained but she had no problem going there since it was Gio who invited her.

Unfortunately, something came up. 

And no, this time it was not anything about the system. Her luck stat would have been in the negatives if that were to happen. 

The matter was only about the Silver couple. 

She was summoned to their mansion because the two had something they wanted to tell her. 

On the way there, she asked Gio's people to gather intelligence for her in advance. Her bet came true. It was something that didn't have to go through the system. 

'What a headache.'

Inside the car, she was alone in the backseat, looking through the windowpane to watch the pa.s.sing sceneries. 

After a sigh, she made up her mind to help those two resolves the problem occupying their hearts and minds.

'They've been good parents for me. Healing them from time to time is a small matter.'

Call the changes in her personality and principles drastic, the nature of repaying good deeds done to her had not changed.

Harry and Cindy might not be her biological parents, but they acted more than how foster parents should. As their daughter, her heart was more than willing to be filial and act like their biological one. 

With a decision reached. she tossed the thought in the back of her mind and pondered about Wendy's circ.u.mstances. 

It didn't take long for her to reach out her phone from her purse, deciding to phone Gio's people again to help her look for capable and professional doctors.

It was time to have licensed and reputable people watch over her still sleeping best friend.

She prayed for this to work, betting that maybe, there would be miracles and wonders outside the system's capability that human could accomplish.

...

While the sole mid-level female user in the city was on her way to the Silver's mansion, Chris went out for work after depositing Milo to the care of Alessa's bodyguards.

It was after Sofony left.

Both Aura and Diaz met up with them and while the two Starlight artists went to the filming location for their new drama, the bodyguards and the kids followed, loitering around the place to wait for Chris to finish his work.

The man was quite strange among system users.

Given the system and its perks, it should be no problem for him to take over a company or any influential group and lord over it. That way his life would be easier and he would not have to do the menial tasks by himself. 

This was the path Sofony had taken. With people under her command, all those matters that could be done by humans would not trouble her or make her consume points. 

In a sense, Chris was one of her people. If there were things that no normal hacker could do, Sofony would leave it to him, even if she perfectly had the means and skills to do the same. 

It was all to conserve as many points as possible. 

That was the general idea for having to lord over others. 

Chris was definitely not a fool and understood this principle. But due to some beliefs and a few trust issues, he couldn't commit himself to create even a team of his own. Maybe the little contact he had with Alessa's bodyguards could be the best he could go.

The man just knew he was someone not born to lead. If it was not a human's instinct to not be a lone wolf, he would have said, his calling was to be alone forever. 

As for his current work. Well, maybe he just wanted to do something that would make him feel like he was still a regular human. A regular human woke up every day to either go to school or work. It was that simple. 

"Good job. That's the last one for today!" 

The current setting was on the top floor of a hotel and Chris had just acted a madman trying to scare the female into jumping from the heights. 

When the director clapped thrice after shouting 'Cut!', the expressionless and emotionless face vanished, replaced by a relieved one. 

Alessa too erased the fright on her expression and walked to the man. Behind them, the director had already announced to pack up. 

'He finally called it a day.'

"I'll meet the child now and bring him home." 

Chris wiped the sweat on his forehead and then walked towards the bench where a woman in her forties stood up and handed him a bottle of water. He gave her a nod.

"I'll phone Aura."

Up above, the black and bluish curtain began to spread, replacing the redness of the twilight. When Milo met up with Chris again, the boy cried hard, and the lady bodyguard who ran after him started to shake her head in helplessness. 

"Let's go home."

Though the young man appeared someone with too high regards for words like they were precious diamonds, the child felt the warmth in it as he stopped crying and nodded. 

Afraid of being separated from Chris, Milo hugged him and buried his face in his chest.

The kid felt so attached to the first person to bring him out of his nightmarish situation. This must be a young one's instinct.

It was not that hard for the child to know who harbored goodwill towards him, but trusting was another issue. So far, only the actor could make him willingly obey and open up. 

Some time pa.s.sed and they finally reached home. It took a while since he had taken the boy and Alessa's entourage in a fine restaurant to dine in. Only after that did he lead Milo back to his penthouse. 

Since sleep had not come to him yet, he chose to pa.s.s the time reading scripts, like he always does.

In front of him, soft cla.s.sical music from the phone that was set in loudspeaker mode was playing, drowning the homey living room in a solemn atmosphere. 

The scene appeared picturesque due to the beautiful dancing a.s.sortment of lights that could be seen through the gla.s.s walls. 

Chris stopped reading temporarily to rest his eyes. His gaze naturally sought after the pleasant scenery.

A few eye doctors he had interacted before who saw his habit of immersing himself into the scripts said that he should rest his eyes once every while. The method they suggested was to look away to the distance for twenty seconds before going back to reading. 

Later on, he had proven it effective hence it became part of his habits. 

'... It's raining again, huh?'

In his eyes, probably thanks to the panes saved from being stained by the droplets, the rain appeared to be giving more variations to the dancing colors coming from the shops and buildings.

It was so nice to watch. The gloominess of the unending shower of waters mysteriously added more beauty and appeal to the view. At that moment, he just had the extreme urge to go out and be in the center of it all. 

Just when all sorts of thoughts and plans were formulated in his head, a soft sound similar to a wind chime echoed inside his brain. 

Chris blinked once and asked the one who made that sound, 'Notification? What is it?'

It was not an everyday chance for him to witness the system hesitating. He had to repeat the question before it answered,

'...Come again?' he subconsciously blurted out. The words it said were very random, or at least, he never saw them coming. 

What was being severed? Connection? Whose supporter again?

Alarmed and puzzled, he additionally asked, 'Alessa?'

The reply that came to him was said in a displeased manner. The system shouted at him angrily.

His expression darkened as another name crossed his mind. Wendy Gomez, the girl referred to in his still untouched qualifying mission. 

However, it didn't take long for him to still in his spot. His face froze, realization taking over his brain. 

'd.a.m.n.'

Without saying another word, he went back to his room and fetched the first jacket he saw from the rack. A few moments later, his car was seen by the guard exiting Purple Shadow Residences. 

Chris sent a message to Sofony that he would be going to the townhouse where Wendy was. The matter was urgent so she also must come.

'Tell me, if that woman is still recognized by the system as my non-host supporter, is her condition deteriorating? She is in a coma, right?'

The man's heart was filled with worry. Different scenarios were also playing in his head, more on what Sofony would do if the system answered his first question with a yes.

Chris' pupils dilated. His brain, like any other immoral hosts, had received an upgrade through the stats candies, hence he could somehow understand what the system was trying to tell him. 

In this world, what else could be more mysterious and inexplicable than the system?

As they sped along the road and graved the curtain of rain ahead, he asked, 

'... Is it a system AI like you? Or an immoral host?'

The destination was far so he took the chance to gain more knowledge of the situation. 

It was around 9 pm in the evening so there were still many cars on the streets. But the man kept accelerating, paying no regard whatsoever to the lights and the traffic enforcers.

Chris said, 'I'm sure it's related to the system. All this time that woman has yet to wake up which is weird considering the fact that she is already cured.'

From the beginning, the half-host couldn't understand why someone whose adrenaline rush didn't even last for a minute would fall into a catatonic state like that. 

If he remembered correctly from one of the texts he read, adrenaline rush was basically a heightened state of physical and mental alertness. As long as it's not long-lasting, that burst of human jet fuel can be a good thing.

So why did the girl ended up like that? 

Now it seemed he was closer to the truth.

He held his breath. A ridiculous thought flashed in his mind.

'It couldn't be that, right?'

Yet when it was confirmed...

With his mind turning blank, the man driving his car with an unmatched speed on the road pressed hard on the break. The tires of the vehicle that skidded along the high way made a loud and shrill sound.

Inside the car, Chris, whose face turned weird and unreadable, went silent for a long while, digesting and breaking down the recently received information.

"... A ghost made her fall into a coma and is now trying to take over her body..."

A few moments after, he unconsciously blurted. 

"DAFUQ!"

...