Chapter 28: You have no choice but to complete the tasks

The next day

Alan slowly opened his eyes halfway. His vision wasn’t clear yet since he was still sleepy. Feeling someone patting his hair gently, he seemed to enjoy the feeling and hugged the soft pillow tightly, his head resting on the comfortable cushion, though he wasn’t sure where it had come from yet.

A low smile appeared on his lips. His guard was completely gone, and he looked obsessed with the sensation he was feeling. "So good," he murmured in his hoarse morning voice, pressing his head deeper into the soft pillow.

Just as he was about to slip back into sleep, the heavy sound of knocking on the door, followed by a loud voice, echoed through the room.

"Are you still sleeping, Alan? Open the door! Did you forget we have an afternoon test today?" the loud voice shouted.

Alan hissed in annoyance, but then his eyes snapped open. He raised his head, only to find Nova staring down at him with a smile, holding her phone in her left hand while her right hand gently patted his hair. She looked like she had been awake for a long time.

"Good afternoon," she said, her smile widening.

Alan was stunned. He glanced down, only to realize that the soft pillow his head was resting on was actually Nova’s breasts—and he had been hugging her tightly.

He immediately let go, jumping out of bed in panic. "You... you... what are you doing?" he stuttered, his face flushing crimson.

Nova stared at him in confusion. She turned off her phone screen, set it down, and sat up on the bed. "You crawled onto my bed last night and wouldn’t let go. I’m just a weak girl—I couldn’t escape," she replied calmly, her expression dead serious.

Alan was even more shocked. He dragged a hand messily through his hair in disbelief, seemingly recalling the memory. "I... I’m not usually like this," he explained immediately, desperate not to let Nova despise him.

"Alan, are you in there? Open the door! Are you okay?" the man outside knocked again, his voice revealing his growing worry.

Alan panicked and quickly wrapped Nova’s body in the blanket. "I... I’m fine! Wait for me outside, I’ll be done shortly," he shouted, rushing straight to the bathroom.

After a few minutes, he was dressed and ready. Just as he reached for the door handle, he paused, as if remembering something, and turned to look back at Nova. "You didn’t have breakfast, and it’s already lunchtime. What do you want to eat? I’ll quickly buy it for you," he said.

Nova smiled. "I’m not hungry. You should eat instead," she replied.

Alan bit his lower lip, gazing intently at Nova’s flawless face. "I won’t be long. I’ll bring us food when I come back, alright?" he said.

Nova nodded, and Alan finally opened the door and left.

As soon as Alan was out of sight, Nova pulled the blanket away and walked over to the massive mirror hanging against the wall. She stared at her reflection, noticing the visible changes in herself.

"Come out here!" her cold voice echoed.

Suddenly, a massive blue screen materializing in front of her. Unlike before—when it was merely an information system—this time, numerous blank identities were locked across the display.

Underneath those identities were blank mission slots.

"What’s all this nonsense?" Nova questioned, her irritation rising as she glared at the screen. With her advanced knowledge, she couldn’t believe there was something she couldn’t comprehend, yet she couldn’t parse any of it—and the lack of control enraged her.

"Welcome to the System Mission World, Nova!"

A voice that sounded eerily identical to her own echoed around her. Suddenly, her physical surroundings dissolved into thin air, leaving her standing in a vast, endless space.

"Complete the missions to unlock a special reward. Each mission can be completed whenever you wish, but cannot exceed a period of one year," the voice repeated.

Nova remained silent for a moment. Then, a dark, dangerous smile crept onto her lips. "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" she commented.

"I don’t think I am," the voice replied.

Light began to converge nearby. From the feet upward, blue luminance wove together until a full figure materialized.

It was a female, clad entirely in black. Her face was shrouded in an unreadable fog, and her long hair tumbled almost down to her knees. She appeared to be staring directly at Nova before folding her arms across her chest.

Nova studied her intently, trying to analyze her composition or spot a structural flaw, but found nothing. Her brows knitted tightly as she fought to suppress her rising temper, her eyes locked on the entity.

"Stop staring at me," the voice commented, sounding faintly annoyed. Her body drifted upward, floating effortlessly in the void as the familiar blue screen hovered behind her.

"First mission, Code 005: Eliminate the target—Code 00, the eldest son of the Sunny Family," she said.

A razor-sharp smirk cut across Nova’s lips. "Aren’t you a bit too confident, foggy-face? Who’s supposed to be following orders here?" She folded her arms.

A heavy silence settled over the space before the voice echoed once more. "You have no choice but to complete the mission. Failure to complete the mission will lead to..." There was a deliberate pause. "...the execution of your husbands," she completed.

Instantly, a heavy firearm materialized in Nova’s grip. She leveled the barrel straight at the female figure’s face, a suffocating, murderous aura erupting from her frame.

"I hate it most when someone threatens me. What makes you think you have the right to threaten me with my husbands?" she commented coldly.

The veiled figure tilted her head away dismissively. "I am the System. Trust me, that primitive weapon you hold is entirely useless against me. You have no choice but to complete the tasks," she replied coldly.

"Oh well. I guess I’ll just have to eliminate you and end this whole thing," Nova’s icy voice echoed.

In the next microsecond, the gun vanished from her grip. Her body blurred into an indistinct shadow, leaving behind nothing but fading trails of light. Before the System could react, Nova re-emerged directly behind her, driving a brutal, lethal kick straight toward her neck.

Yet, mid-strike, an invisible force met Nova’s ankle. The entity’s hand whipped out, catching Nova’s leg instantly, and violently hurled her through the empty void.

Nova twisted mid-air, cutting through the momentum to balance herself effortlessly despite having no physical ground to stand on. Her brows knitted in fury, humiliation fanning the flames of her rage.

"Oh well," she commented.

Two lethal daggers materialized in her hands, and she surged forward, breaking into a blinding sprint across the void.

She inverted her grip on the blades at a speed near-invisible to the naked eye, targeting the figure’s neck in a lethal cross-slash.

"All of this is pointless," the voice commented.

A pair of identical daggers flickered into the figure’s hands. She surged forward to meet the assault, matching Nova’s impossible speed stride for stride.

CLANG!

Steel slammed into steel. Their blades collided with violent force, throwing off a blinding burst of sparks. Nova’s eyes narrowed into slits; instantly adapting, she snapped her left knee upward in a vicious close-quarters strike. But the figure anticipated the blow—releasing one hilt, she drove her dagger downward, stabbing straight into Nova’s knee until blood sprayed into the void.

"The hell!" Nova cursed angrily.

As Nova reflexively tried to pull back, the figure exploited the opening. She executed a lightning-fast, brutal roundhouse kick straight into Nova’s neck, sending her crashing backward across the endless space.

Blood trickled down from the corner of Nova’s lips. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, her eyes burning with dark, predatory fury as she glared at the veiled entity standing calmly in the distance.

"Mission Code 005: Eliminate the target—Code 00, the eldest son of the Sunny Family," the figure repeated, her voice entirely devoid of emotion.

"Fuck you!" Nova commented angrily.