Chapter 5

The four-hundred-square-meter apartment felt cold and empty.

I packed my luggage, calculating the points I needed to return.

"Can I exchange that healthy body I redeemed before, back to you?"

I asked the System, "I don't want it anymore. Depreciation is fine."

"Host, please wait."

Data streams flashed rapidly in my mind. The System's voice remained emotionless. "After calculation, the target Julian Thorne's body has suffered excessive wear and tear over the past six years. Smoking, drinking, late nights, and promiscuity have severely damaged his body. Its current recovery value is only half of its original worth."

The word "promiscuity" made my packing motions halt. My fingers trembled uncontrollably.

After all, he was the man I'd accompanied for over a decade.

I was heartbroken by his change of heart.

And annoyed by my own softness.

Such a person truly wasn't worth my lingering attachment.

"Will the exchanged points be enough for me to leave this world?"

"Not enough, Host."

The System continued, "However, I can grant you a new identity. I can apply for a new target for you, and we can start over."

Start over, huh…

Fine, I guess.

"Then switch that healthy body back."

...

As I boarded the plane to leave Veridian City, a half-drunk Julian was being sent back to the apartment by Marc.

Perhaps feeling guilty, Marc had defied Julian's wish to stay at the club and brought him back to our shared home.

The System connected to the apartment's surveillance, allowing me to see Julian's current state clearly.

He lay on the sofa, calling my name.

"Cassandra, Cassandra."

Receiving no response, he struggled to sit up.

After a long silence, he suddenly chuckled. "Quite the performance, aren't we?"

He thought my scene tonight was just a ploy to get his attention.

He rubbed his forehead, a slight frown marring his brow. The headache from the alcohol made him irritable. Julian stood up, slowly walked to the living room, and took a bottle of ice water from the fridge.

Just as he unscrewed the cap, he stumbled and fell to the floor unexpectedly.

Julian sobered up completely, his mind reeling.

He stared at his legs, reaching out with a trembling hand…

"My legs…" He gripped them, disbelievingly, but no matter how hard he squeezed, he felt no pain.

This feeling was all too familiar.

After all, he'd lived like this for over a decade.

That miserable, incapacitated, ghostly existence was a nightmare he couldn't shake.

Julian paused, then raised a hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

It stung.

So this wasn't a dream…

Julian in the surveillance footage completely lost control. He screamed and shouted in the large apartment. He wanted to find someone but realized his phone was on the coffee table.

Julian braced himself with his hands on the floor, inching his body forward.

His two legs dragged lifelessly behind him.

His eyes were bloodshot, his hair disheveled. The composed demeanor he once had was completely gone.

I closed my eyes. "Turn it off. I don't want to see it."