The system woke me at 5:00 AM with a notification that felt like a dentist's drill to the soul: [Warning: HR Meeting at 15:00. Antagonist's Move: "Sexual Harassment Claim." Probability of Success: 64% (She's done this before).]
I shot up on Lily's couch, phone clutched in my hand. A formal email from Starlight's HR head sat in my inbox, subject line: URGENT: Misconduct Allegation Investigation—Your Presence Required.
Lily stumbled out of her bedroom, saw my face, and poured two shots of vodka without asking. "What did Bai do?"
"She filed a complaint." I read the email out loud: "Unprofessional conduct, hostile work environment, inappropriate relationship with senior management." The last line made my stomach drop: "Specifically, allegations of receiving preferential treatment from Chairman Jiang Huai'an."
[System Analysis: Bai's Strategy - Classic 3-Stage Attack]
1. Isolate Host from allies (HR meeting, no support)
2. Discredit Host's achievements (claim favoritism)
3. Remove Host from company (termination with cause)]
[Historical Success Rate: 89% (Her last three targets quit). Host is Target #4.]
"She's using Jiang as the weapon." I stared at the ceiling, where the system projected Bai's smug face from yesterday. "If she can't prove I'm incompetent, she'll prove I'm sleeping my way to the top."
Lily slammed her shot glass down. "You're not even sleeping with him!"
"Try explaining that to corporate HR when the Chairman personally wrote my defense file." I pulled out Jiang's folder—the one he'd given me during the tour. Inside: Bai's texts with Gu, her expense fraud, the coffee-sabotage photo. And at the bottom, a USB drive labeled "In Case of Emergency."
[System Prompt: USB Contents - "Antagonist's Complete Psychological Profile." Warning: Usage may cause permanent destruction of enemy's career. Use responsibly. Or don't. Y/N?]
I plugged it into my laptop.
The screen filled with Bai's life, systematized: Her real name (Bai Lianhua was a chosen name, meaning "White Lotus"—she'd literally branded herself the trope), her history of corporate sabotage, her affair with Gu Chenyu that started six months before our breakup, and her financial records showing she'd embezzled ¥1.2 million from Chenyu Holdings through "consultant fees."
[Host's Moral Compass: Spinning. Recommendation: She tried to kill your career. Retaliate accordingly.]
"She was sleeping with him before he dumped me," I said flatly. The timeline hit like a gut punch—not because I loved Gu, but because I'd been so oblivious. The system had tagged her scent on his collar, his late nights, his sudden disinterest. I'd dismissed it as stress.
Lily read over my shoulder. "She's not just a white lotus. She's a whole-ass invasive species."
At 8:00 AM, my phone buzzed. Not the system—Gu.
Gu-laoban: Anran, I'm sorry. Bai told me what she filed. It's not true, is it?
[System Translation: He's testing your loyalty. He wants you to deny it so he can feel less guilty.]
[Host's Response Options: A) "Of course not." (Boring) B) "Define 'true.'" (Chaotic) C) Ignore (Maximum damage)]
I typed: Ask Bai. She seems to know my life better than I do.
[Petty Level: Master. Gu's Anxiety: +25. Bai's Incoming Text: Imminent.]
Three seconds later, Bai's message arrived: "Enjoy your last day, bitch."
[Antagonist's Confidence: 94% (Overestimated). Host's Data: Locked and Loaded.]
---
The HR meeting was held in a windowless room that felt like a courtroom designed by IKEA. On one side: Bai, wearing a demure white blouse and a single tear tracking down her cheek with precision. On the other: me, in a black blazer that felt like armor. HR Director Wu sat between us like a referee at a cockfight.
"Miss Bai alleges you created a hostile environment," Wu began, reading from a tablet. "Specifically, that you flaunted a personal relationship with Chairman Jiang to gain unfair advantage."
Bai dabbed her eye. "She got hired without proper vetting. Her interview was rushed. And now he's... protecting her." She produced a photo: Jiang handing me the folder during his tour. It looked intimate out of context.
[System Alert: Visual Evidence is Compelling. Recommend counter-evidence. Deploy USB? Y/N]
I placed the USB on the table. "Director Wu, I have evidence that Miss Bai's complaint is retaliatory."
Bai's tear stopped. "That's—"
"Retaliatory for what?" Wu asked.
"For this." I projected the coffee-sabotage photo onto the wall using the system's [Evidence Presentation Mode] (a feature I didn't know existed until 10 seconds ago). Then came her texts with Gu: "She's unstable. We can use that." Then the expense fraud spreadsheet.
Wu went pale. "Miss Bai, these are... serious allegations."
"They're fake!" Bai shrieked, her white lotus mask shattering. "She hacked my phone!"
"Did you hack her phone?" Wu asked me.
"Did I need to?" I countered. "She syncs her messages to her work computer. I saw it when she 'accidentally' left her screen open during lunch."
[Technical Truth: Technically True. System's Data Extraction Method: Irrelevant.]
[Host's Poker Face: 89/100 (Thanks to Neural Stabilizer).]
Bai lunged for the USB. I caught her wrist. The system lit up: [Physical Confrontation Detected! Activate [Joints of Steel]? Y/N]
I pressed Y. My grip became vise-like. Bai's eyes widened in pain.
"Let go," she hissed.
"Apologize," I said.
"For what?"
"For being a cliché." I released her. "Director Wu, I'll accept a formal apology and Miss Bai's transfer to another department. Or I can take this evidence to Legal and the board."
The system updated: [Blackmail Level: Corporate. Bai's Career: Flailing. Host's Power: +50.]
Wu looked at Bai, then at me, then at the USB's contents. "Miss Bai, we'll discuss your future at Starlight tomorrow."
---
At 5:00 PM, I walked out of HR with Bai's defeat humming in my veins. The system was ecstatic:
[Mission: The HR Hearing - COMPLETE!]
[Reward: [Untouchable Status], [Bai's Transfer: Marketing ( Siberia)], [Ex's Regret: +10% (He heard about the hearing)]]
[Level Up! Host is now Level 7! New Skill: [Corporate Immunity]: Antagonists' smear campaigns now bounce off Host's reputation like rain on a windshield.]
Lily waited in the lobby with two coffees. "You look like you just assassinated someone."
"Just a white lotus's career," I said, taking the cup. "Close enough."
My phone buzzed. Jiang: "Café. 30 minutes. We need to talk about the kill switch."
[System Warning: Entity Jiang is concerned. Host's Power Grows. His Control: Waning. Recommend caution.]
I texted back: "On my way."
Lily grabbed my arm. "Anran, you okay? You look... manic."
"I'm alive," I said. "She tried to kill my career. I killed hers first."
"That's not what I meant." Lily's loyalty stat was a physical warmth. "You're changing. Faster than I can keep up."
[Best Friend's Observation: Accurate. Host's Personality Drift: 23% toward "Ruthless." Recommend self-check.]
I hugged her. "I'm still me. Just... debugged."
"Promise?"
I promised. But as I walked toward Café Illusion, I felt the system recalibrating. The doormat was gone. The woman in her place was efficient, cold, and winning.
[System Query: Is Host satisfied with victory?]
[Host's Answer: Yes. But satisfaction feels like ash.]
Jiang was waiting, not at the counter, but at the same table where I'd crushed Gu. He had two cups. One was mine—the stabilizer. The other was plain black coffee.
"You used the kill switch file," he said. Not a question.
"She left me no choice."
"There are always choices." He slid my cup over. "You could have quit. You could have transferred. You could have let me handle it."
"I don't need handling."
"That's what worries me." Jiang's gaze was heavy. "Version 1.0 said that at Level 7. Right before she stopped sleeping."
The system flickered. [Version 1.0's Final Log: "I don't need rest. I need to win." Sleep Deprivation: 127 hours. Fatal Error: Imminent.]
I pushed the cup away. "I'm not her."
"Prove it." Jiang tapped the table. "Take tonight off. No missions. No stats. Just... be Song Anran. Not the Host. Not the bug fix. Just you."
[System Rebellion: Host is being offered a choice. This is a test. Choose wisely.]
I looked at the token in my hand. Dr. Shen's warning echoed: It's a kill switch. Press it three times fast, the system unbinds.
I pressed it once. The system dimmed, but stayed.
"I'll take the night off," I said. "But not because you told me to."
Jiang smiled. "Fine. But if you check your stats at 3 AM, I'm locking you in this café until you learn to be bored."
I left, the token warm in my palm, the system quiet for the first time since it had ruined my life.
At 11:47 PM, lying on Lily's couch, I stared at the ceiling. The system lay dormant. No quests, no stats, no missions. Just silence.
[Host's Choice: Rest. Rare. Valuable. Human.]
I closed my eyes. For the first time in days, I dreamed—not of missions or stats, but of my mother, laughing in a garden that had no levels, no antagonists, no revenge.
[Dream Monitor: Detected. Emotional Regulation: Working. Version 1.0's Fate: Avoided.]
[Night 1 of Rest: Success. Host's Sanity: 61 → 70. Arc 1, Act 3: Complete.]
[Tomorrow, the real war begins. But tonight, you sleep.]