Chapter 95: 95 | New Objective

Sarah narrowed her eyes.

"You've been saying that a lot today."

Jason smiled.

"Maybe today isn't important."

Sarah stared at him.

"You're terrible."

"I know."

She sat beside him.

Vivian remained in the chair.

For several minutes, they watched television.

Nobody paid much attention to the show.

Eventually, Sarah spoke.

"Jason."

"Yeah?"

"Stay a little longer."

He looked at her.

"Sure."

"I don't want you to leave yet."

"Okay."

She leaned against him.

Jason put an arm around her.

Vivian looked toward the television.

The moment was simple.

Normal.

And somehow, that made it more meaningful.

Sarah stayed there quietly.

After a while, she whispered, "I'm still processing."

"I know."

"I don't hate the situation."

Jason looked down.

"What?"

"I don't."

She glanced toward Vivian.

"It's weird."

"Very."

"But maybe it's not automatically bad."

Vivian looked at her.

"Really?"

Sarah nodded.

"I don't know."

She smiled faintly.

"But I don't want one weird coincidence to ruin everything."

Jason felt some of the tension leave his body.

"Thank you."

Sarah looked at him.

"Don't thank me yet."

"Why?"

"Because I haven't decided how annoying I'm going to be about this."

Vivian laughed.

"That's fair."

Sarah pointed at her.

"And you're not innocent either."

"I know."

"Good."

They watched television again.

The night slowly settled around them.

Eventually, Jason checked the time.

Almost nine.

He stood.

"I should go."

Sarah nodded.

"I'll walk you down."

Vivian stood too.

"I'll come."

Sarah looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going downstairs anyway."

"You aren't."

Vivian shrugged.

"I am now."

Jason almost laughed.

The three of them left the apartment together.

They walked down the stairs in silence.

At the entrance, Sarah hugged Jason.

"Text me when you get home."

"I will."

She kissed him.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Jason stepped away.

Vivian stood nearby.

Sarah looked at her.

"You coming back up?"

"In a minute."

"Okay."

Sarah went back inside.

Jason and Vivian remained outside.

The door closed behind Sarah.

Neither moved.

Then Vivian spoke.

"Today was weird."

"Yeah."

"Very weird."

"Yeah."

She looked at him.

"But I think we're okay."

Jason nodded.

"I hope so."

Vivian took a breath.

"I should tell you something."

Jason waited.

"I think I need some distance."

He wasn't expecting that.

"From me?"

"Just for a little while."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to accidentally make this harder for Sarah."

Jason nodded slowly.

"Okay."

"And because I need to figure out what I'm feeling."

His chest tightened.

"Okay."

Vivian smiled faintly.

"You don't have to look so worried."

"I'm not worried."

"You are."

"Maybe a little."

She laughed softly.

"Goodnight, Jason."

"Goodnight."

She turned toward the building.

Then stopped.

She looked back.

"One more thing."

"What?"

"If Sarah hadn't been your girlfriend..."

She paused.

Jason waited.

Vivian shook her head.

"Never mind."

She walked inside.

Jason remained outside.

He stared at the closed door.

The sentence stayed with him.

If Sarah hadn't been your girlfriend...

He didn't know what the rest of it would have been.

He wasn't sure he wanted to.

His phone vibrated.

[Quest Update.]

Jason's expression hardened.

[Temporary Quest.]

[Time Remaining: 5 Days, 23 Hours, 41 Minutes.]

He stared at the countdown.

It had officially become five days.

He slipped the phone into his pocket.

Then another notification appeared.

This one was different.

[New Condition Detected.]

Jason stopped walking.

He pulled out his phone.

A new system window appeared.

[Interpersonal Relationship Conflict detected.]

[Primary relationship: Sarah.]

[Secondary relationship: Vivian.]

[Current relationship status: unstable.]

[Recommendation: Resolve the conflict before the next quest deadline.]

Jason's expression changed.

"What?"

He read it again.

Resolve the conflict.

That wasn't a normal quest.

The system had never given him something so vague.

He waited.

Another line appeared.

[Failure to resolve the conflict may negatively affect quest completion.]

Jason stared at the screen.

Then laughed once.

Not because it was funny.

Because of course.

Of course the system would do this now.

He started walking home.

Halfway down the street, his phone vibrated again.

Sarah.

Sarah: You home yet?

Jason smiled.

Jason: Just leaving.

Sarah: Good.

A pause.

Then:

Sarah: Today wasn't a disaster, right?

Jason stopped walking.

He typed.

Jason: No.

Sarah: Good.

Another message arrived.

Sarah: I actually had fun.

Jason smiled.

Jason: Me too.

Sarah: Even with everything?

Jason looked back toward the apartment building.

Jason: Even with everything.

Sarah: Goodnight, boyfriend.

Jason: Goodnight.

He put the phone away.

Then it vibrated again.

This time, Vivian.

Vivian: Sorry about today.

Jason stared at the message.

He typed slowly.

Jason: You don't have to apologize.

Vivian: I know.

Another message.

Vivian: I still am.

Jason: Why?

The typing indicator appeared.

Disappeared.

Appeared again.

Finally:

Vivian: Because I think things would have been different if we'd known earlier.

Jason stared at those words.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard.

He didn't answer.

A new message appeared.

Vivian: Goodnight.

Jason locked his phone.

He continued walking.

The distance between Sarah's apartment and his own suddenly felt much longer than usual.

Not because of the distance.

Because he knew that when he woke up tomorrow, everything would be different.

Sarah knew.

Vivian knew.

Bree would eventually know.

And the system knew.

Most importantly, Jason now knew something he hadn't allowed himself to consider before.

Vivian wasn't just a coincidence anymore.

She was a variable.

And whatever he decided to do next would determine whether she remained a friend...

or became something far more dangerous.

Jason reached his apartment.

He unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The moment the door closed behind him, his phone lit up one final time.

[System Notification.]

[Temporary Quest has been modified.]

[New Objective will be revealed tomorrow.]

Jason stared at the message.

Then another line appeared.

[The next objective will involve Vivian.]

His face went completely still.

For several seconds, he didn't move.

Then he slowly sat down on the edge of his bed.

"You're kidding."

The system didn't answer.

Jason looked at the countdown.

Five days.

Five days to finish everything.

Five days to keep Sarah's trust.

Five days to understand Vivian.

Five days to deal with whatever the system had planned.

He leaned back.

For the first time since receiving the system, Jason wasn't wondering how he would complete the quest.

He was wondering whether completing it was worth what it might cost him.

And somewhere deep inside, he already knew the answer.

That was exactly what frightened him.

Jason remained on the bed for several minutes.

The room was quiet.

Too quiet.

He picked up his phone again and opened the system panel.

The temporary quest remained unchanged.

No new instructions.

No hidden clue.

Nothing that could tell him what tomorrow would bring.

He closed the panel.

Then opened his contacts.

His thumb stopped over Sarah's name.

He could call her.

Ask her if she was okay.

Tell her that he wasn't going to let anything happen between them.

It would probably make her feel better.

It would probably make him feel better too.

But Jason didn't press the button.

Promises were easy when there was nothing testing them.

He had learned that much already.

Instead, he placed the phone beside him.

Tomorrow, he would find out exactly what the system wanted.

Until then, he needed to keep his head clear.

He stood and walked toward the window.

Outside, the street was mostly empty.

A few cars passed.

The lights from nearby buildings remained on.

Everything looked ordinary.

That almost made him uncomfortable.

His life had changed so much since the system appeared that ordinary moments no longer felt completely ordinary.

Jason rested one hand against the window.

He thought about Sarah.

Then Vivian.

Then the system.

Three separate problems had somehow become one.

And the worst part was that he couldn't solve one without affecting the others.

If he pushed Vivian away completely, the system might punish him.

If he became closer to Vivian, Sarah could get hurt.

If he told Sarah everything about the system, he had no idea what would happen.

Jason slowly exhaled.

There was no perfect choice.

That was what made the situation dangerous.

He finally stepped away from the window.

"Tomorrow."

That was all he could do.

Tomorrow, he would deal with Vivian.

Tomorrow, the system would reveal the objective.

And tomorrow, Jason would find out how much the system was willing to take from him in exchange for moving forward.

He turned off the light.

For once, he didn't check his phone again.

But sleep still took a long time to come.

When morning finally arrived, Jason woke before his alarm.

For a few seconds, he simply stared at the ceiling.

Then he remembered.

Vivian.

The quest.

Five days.

His phone sat on the table beside his bed.

Jason reached for it.

The moment the screen turned on, a system notification appeared.

[Good morning, Host.]

Jason's eyes narrowed.

Another notification followed.

[Temporary Quest Objective will now be revealed.]

He sat upright.

Whatever came next would determine what happened between him, Sarah, and Vivian.

Jason tapped the notification.

[New Objective...]

The screen paused.

Then the final line appeared.

[Awaiting Host confirmation.]