Chapter 5

I woke up again on the cold floor.

This time, however, I was roused by the system's alert tone.

"Host detected attempting to exit. Due to excellent mission completion, system will automatically approve exit request. Upon exit, you may return to the real world."

Tears welled up in my eyes. I could finally go home!

I immediately contacted Cassidy. She was still being tormented in the stables.

"We can finally go back!"

Cassidy cried out tearfully on the other end. I knew her days had been rough.

"Then let's go back now, Jordan! I really can't stand it anymore."

I thought of the pain of these past days, and the decade of sacrifice we had made for them in the apocalypse.

"Not so fast. Before we leave, we have to give them a grand parting gift."

Cassidy, thrown into the stables, wasn't in good shape.

Bloodshot veins spread across her eyes, and her face was smudged with dirt.

As soon as Officer Ryder entered, he instinctively covered his nose, frowning.

The overwhelming stench almost made him gag.

"Do you regret what you did?"

He looked at the woman huddled in the corner, his voice softening slightly.

I watched Cassidy's live stream through the system, secretly marveling at her acting skills.

Cassidy slowly lifted her head from her knees, forcing a painful smile with her bruised lips.

"Regret? I regret nothing!"

"I think you haven't spent enough time in this stable. If you want to come back, apologize to Serena. She's magnanimous; she won't hold a grudge."

"Yes, Jordan," Serena chimed in, idly fiddling with her hair. "I just want to see some remorse from you. I'm not the type to hold a grudge."

"Is there any point in me going back? Wouldn't it be exactly what you want, finally, no one to bother you and your Serena?"

Officer Ryder stepped forward, pulling Cassidy up. He gripped her wrist tightly.

"What's happened to you? You never used to talk to me like this."

Cassidy winced in pain, pulling her hand away. She looked at Officer Ryder with despair, her voice firmer than ever before.

"Because I don't love you anymore, Ryder. I've given up on loving you."

Officer Ryder snorted, his face filled with suspicion and disbelief.

"How many times are you going to pull this trick? Stop playing games, okay? Just go apologize, and we can still..."

Before Officer Ryder could finish his sentence, a dark shadow flashed outside the stable.

A long, whistling sword flew straight towards him.

Everything happened too fast. Officer Ryder couldn't dodge. He could only watch as the sword tip tore through his clothes, aiming for his heart.

A small figure suddenly moved in front of him, taking the fatal stab to the chest for him.

The person in his arms rapidly lost color, a large mouthful of blood spilling from their lips.

Officer Ryder's pupils constricted, his face a mask of disbelief.

He never expected that the person who, a second ago, had adamantly declared she would never love him again,

Would, in the next second, rush forward without hesitation to block that deadly blow for him.

Serena, meanwhile, had found an opportunity to flee the moment the assassin appeared.

Cassidy lay in Officer Ryder's arms, weakly gasping for breath.

"Ryder, from now on, we are even. In our next life, I will never love you again."

Officer Ryder clutched Cassidy's hand tightly, his eyes wide and unblinking, terrified that she would disappear at any moment.

"No! Don't! I'll get someone to save you right away, okay? You'll live!"

The only response was the growing coldness in his arms.

I glanced at Dr. Julian Hayes, who had just entered the lab. It was my turn to perform.

As Dr. Julian Hayes, as usual, prepared his reagents,

I looked at him with feigned tenderness.

"Can you please stop using me for experiments, Julian?"

Dr. Julian Hayes said nothing, a cold, hard refusal.

"If I had another chance, I would never fall in love with you again."

Dr. Julian Hayes's hands paused.

"You won't have a chance to leave me."

I curved my lips into a slight smile, then plunged the syringe next to me into my body.

Moments later, I began to tremble violently and then passed out.

The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was Dr. Julian Hayes smashing the reagent bottle to the ground and frantically rushing towards me.