The SS Servilla was not a yacht, it was a big show of the Servilla family's wealth and power. The yacht had five decks made of teak, chrome and glass and it cut through the dark water of the Neo-Veridia bay like a sharp knife.
Sam Lee stood on the pier holding the railing of the gangway. His Agility was now at 14, which meant he did not look like he was walking on ice anymore. The gentle swaying of the big vessel still made him feel sick.
"Host your heart rate is elevated " System 016 said in his mind. "Are we in a spot or is it just the bad air?"
"It's the Causality Debt " Sam replied in his mind, fixing his cuffs. "The Bureau wants a show. If I do not provide one they will hurt my soul stability. I am like a fighter in a suit."
[DING!]
[Mission Update: The Victory Gala.]
[Primary Objective: Survive the 'Drowning' Event.]
[Secondary Objective: Help the Male Lead (Required for Bureau Debt).]
Sam stepped onto the deck. The air was thick with the smell of perfume and salt. Waiters in gloves moved through a crowd of the city's rich people offering them champagne in crystal glasses.
"Professor Lee!"
Isabelle Diaz looked beautiful in a midnight dress that shone with every movement. She walked away from a group of socialites, her eyes lighting up when she saw Sam.
"You actually came! Matthew was sure you would hide in your apartment with your books."
"I could not miss the celebration of an audit Miss Diaz " Sam said, his 70 Charm making him sound professional and warm. "The Servilla Groups recovery has been the talk of the Economics faculty."
"It's more than a recovery " she whispered, leaning in. "Matthew is different. He's more confident. He keeps saying he found a 'strategic compass.' I think he's talking about you."
Before Sam could respond a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. Matthew Servilla stood there looking like a winner. His affinity was now at 30/100 and the "Trust" bar had jumped to 40.
"Sam, glad you could make it to the party, " Matthew said, his voice loud. "I've got the board of directors over there who want to meet the man who predicted the Thorne scandal. Come, let me introduce you."
"Actually Matthew, " Sam said, his eyes on Liam Choi, who was standing alone by the stern watching the water. "I think I'll take a moment to enjoy the sea air first. Business can wait until the course."
Matthew laughed. "Always the scholar. Fine. Don't stay out here too long. The storm is getting worse."
Sam walked toward the stern, his eyes scanning the deck. He knew every lifeboat station, every fire extinguisher and where the railing was weak due to a small flaw he had spotted in the blueprints.
Liam Choi did not turn around as Sam approached.
"You're late for our meeting Sam " Liam said, holding a glass of sparkling water, his knuckles white against the glass.
"I had to check in with my employer, " Sam replied, leaning against the rail beside him. "The Bureau is very demanding."
Liam finally looked at him, his gaze sharp. "You talk about the Bureau as if it were a company. You look at the world as if it were a game. I've been looking into you Sam Lee. Three years ago you were a person. Then you died in an office. This... Things... Took your place."
Sam's Stress Tolerance flared up. This was the 'Identity Drift' the System had warned him about. The bad guy was too smart; he was poking holes in the reality of the world itself.
"We all change, Liam, " Sam said. "Yours involves trying to sink this ship. Mine involves making sure you don't."
Liam smiled. It was a cold, mean smile. "The storm isn't my doing, Sam. Nature has its way of fixing things.. The engine room? That might be a story."
[WARNING!]
[Calamity Event Triggered: Engine Overload.]
[The 'Drowning' event is being forced by the World Will. The ship will lose power in T-minus 10 minutes. A big wave will hit the stern.]
"Host!" 016 shouted. "The Bureau is calling in the debt! They've tampered with the engine's cooling system to make sure the accident happens. You have to help Matthew survive. The timeline collapses!"
Sam did not waste time. He pushed off the railing, his 14 Agility struggling to keep him upright as the yacht took a turn to the port side.
"Liam, " Sam said, his voice firm. "If you want to win, win in the meeting room. If this ship goes down your fathers investment goes with it. Help me get the guests to Lifeboat Station A."
Liam stared at him for a moment then nodded. "A temporary alliance. I can live with that."
Sam ran toward the bridge. The lights flickered once and twice. Then the deck was in darkness. The emergency red lights came on casting bloody shadows across the panicked faces of the rich people.
He found Matthew in the lounge trying to calm a crowd of screaming socialites.
"Matthew! Listen to me!" Sam shouted over the roar of the wind. "The engines are blowing. You need to get everyone to the mid-deck. Now!"
"Sam? What's happening?"
"No time. Trust me!"
[DING!]
[Causality Debt Side Mission: Help the Male Lead (0/1). Action required: Save Matthew from the falling chandelier.]
Sam looked up. Above Matthew the big crystal chandelier was groaning. The ship's tilt had snapped one of the bolts.
"Matthew move!"
Sam did not have the strength to tackle him. Instead he used his 100 Intelligence to calculate the path. He grabbed a bronze bust from a nearby pedestal and threw it with all his 55 Strength at the chandeliers swaying base.
The impact nudged the falling mass six inches to the left.
CRASH.
The crystals exploded like diamonds across the floor. Matthew fell back shielded by the sofa as the spot where he had been standing was destroyed.
[DING!]
[Side Mission: Help the Male Lead. COMPLETED.]
[Causality Debt: PAID.]
[Soul Stability: Restored.]
"You... You saved me " Matthew panted, staring at the wreckage.
"Get them to the boats Matthew! Go!" Sam yelled, his lungs burning.
The yacht shuddered as a wave hit the stern. The "Drowning" event was here.
Sam felt the deck go vertical. He grabbed a railing, his fingers slipping. Through the spray and the chaos he saw Isabelle. She had been separated from the group. Was clinging to a loose stanchion near the edge of the deck.
"Isabelle!"
A second wave, bigger than the first, swept across the deck. It was a wall of water. It tore Isabelle from the railing. Swept her toward the churning sea.
This was it. The original plan. The moment Sam Lee was supposed to jump save the girl. Die.
"016, Give me the physics!" Sam screamed in his mind.
[DING!]
[Calculation Complete: The propeller is active due to the engine backfire. The suction radius is 15 feet. If you jump at a 45-degree angle toward the side you can bypass the vortex.]
Sam did not hesitate. He wasn't a hero; he was just doing his job. He jumped over the railing.
The water was icy. It hit his 8-point Endurance like a hammer threatening to stop his heart instantly.. His 70 Stress Tolerance kicked in forcing his limbs to move.
He saw Isabelle's white dress bobbing in the water just ten feet away from the deadly spinning blades of the sinking ship.
"Come on you body, move!" Sam reached her grabbing her under the arms. He could feel the pull of the propeller. The "Fate" trying to drag him into the blades. It felt like a force, a hole in reality, wanting its sacrifice.
He reached into his pocket. Crushed the Protection Talisman.
A golden light flared under the water. For three seconds the laws of physics stopped. The suction vanished. Sam kicked with everything he had propelling them both away, from the hull just as the yacht's stern vanished beneath the waves with a roar of escaping air.
Sam woke up on a beach. The sand was cold and gray. The morning sun was a pale sickly yellow.
Sam coughed up a lot of saltwater. His chest was moving up and down fast. Next to him Isabelle was shaking like crazy. She had an emergency blanket around her. The rescue teams were over the beach.
[DING!]
[MAIN MISSION: SURVIVE THE ORIGINAL PLOT. SUCCESSFUL!]
[Rewards: +1000 Bureau Points, +5 Attribute Points +200 Special Tokens.]
[New Title Unlocked: 'Fate Breaker'.]
"Host, can you hear me?" 016s voice was really soft. "You actually did it. You changed something that was supposed to happen."
Sam tried to sit up.. His body felt like it had been hurt really bad. "Is Isabelle okay?" he asked.
"She is fine. Matthew is with her " 016 said.
Sam looked down the beach. Matthew was there covered in soot and salt. He was holding Isabelle's hand. When he saw Sam he looked at him in a way. It was not trust anymore. It was like he really looked up to him.
[Matthew Servilla Affinity: 65/100.]
[Isabelle Diaz Affinity: 70/100.]
"Sam!" Matthew ran over to him. He fell to his knees in the sand. "You are alive. You saved her. I thought you were gone."
"I told you Matthew, " Sam said. His voice was really weak. "I am a teacher. I have to take care of my students."
"You are more than that, " Matthew said. His voice was shaking. "I do not care what it takes. You are part of our group now. You can have anything you want."
Sam closed his eyes. He had done it. He had saved his place. Paid his debt. He had survived something that was supposed to be impossible.
Then a shadow fell over him. He opened one eye to see Liam Choi standing there. Liam was dry and clean even though everything around him was a mess.
Liam looked at Sam with a scary expression. "You cheated, Sam Lee, " he whispered. "That was not luck. That was something."
Liam leaned down. Put a small cold thing in Sam's hand. It was a thumb drive.
"I told you I was good at finding out secrets, " Liam said. "Enjoy your rest Professor. The real world starts tomorrow."
Three weeks later Sam was in his office at the Imperial Academy. He had used his points to make himself stronger. He did not feel like he was dying when he walked up the stairs.
His room was different now. It was full of screens that showed what was happening in the world.
"System, " Sam said. "What is on this thumb drive?"
[DING!]
[Scanning... Host this is a file about the 'Transmigration Bureau'. It has information about people who came to this world. They all died in accidents within six months.]
Sam's eyes got smaller. "So the Bureau has been here before.. Liam Choi has been watching them."
"It looks like the bad guy in this world is more than a rival, " 016 said. "He is a 'World Protector'—someone who is supposed to find and stop people like us."
Sam looked at his screen.
Level: 2
Bureau Points: 6500
Special Tokens: 210
Intelligence: 100
Agility: 14
Endurance: 13
Luck: 15
He was not a small part of the story anymore. He was a player.
"016, when is the next big event?" Sam asked.
"The 'Corporate Hostile Takeover' arc starts in two months " 016 said. "Liam Choi will try to take over the Servilla Group."
"Good, " Sam said. He stood up. He felt happy. In his life he died for nothing. In this life he was making something
"Tell the Bureau I am ready for the part, " Sam said. ". Tell them... I want more."
[DING!]
[The host is becoming more human. Emotional Integrity: 95%. Corruption Level: 2%.]
"Humanized?" Sam laughed. "I am an employee.. I am due for a promotion."
He looked out the window. Matthew and Isabelle were walking together. They were happy and safe. They were the stars of the show.. Sam was the one writing the story.
He picked up his pen. Started making a plan.
1. Stop Liam Choi.
2. Make the Bureau stronger in the Academy.
3. Find out who Candidate 403 was.
The business world was about to find out that the people in the background were not going to stay
STAT SUMMARY: END OF CHAPTER FOUR
| Attribute | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 100/100 MAXED |
| Charm | 72/100 | Gained +2 from talking to people. |
| Agility | 14/100 | |
| Endurance | 13/100 | Gained +5 from Reward Allocation. |
Soul Stability | 100% | Stable.
| Bureau Points | 6500 | |
| Titles | Fate Breaker | +10% Resistance to Plot Rails. |
Current Objective: Decode the Bureau file and get ready for the "Hostile Takeover" Arc.