The system paused briefly before replying.

[You must locate a girl named Aurora... and ensure she is dead.]

Silence.

Aurora’s eyes darkened instantly.

The system continued without hesitation.

[This Aurora is emotionally significant to the CEO. To strengthen your bond with him, Aurora must be eliminated. Her death will serve as emotional motivation.]

Aurora’s stomach churned violently.

[and act as the catalyst for your romantic connection with the CEO. Upon meeting you, he will subconsciously associate you with his lost sister or daughter figure]

"That’s enough."

Aurora stood up abruptly, her chair scraping harshly against the floor.

A wave of nausea hit her.

She rushed to the bathroom and bent over the sink, vomiting uncontrollably.

"What... kind of disgusting story is this...?" she gasped between breaths, her hands gripping the edge tightly as cold sweat formed on her skin.

After a while, she returned, her face pale but her eyes sharper than ever.

The laptop screen flickered.

The system kept sending notifications.

[Do you wish to bind?]

[Binding will grant rewards.]

[Enhanced beauty. Optimized schedule. Increased capabilities.]

The messages kept appearing, one after another, relentless.

Aurora wiped the faint droplets on her lips.

She stepped closer and sat down, her expression turning sharp and focused.

Taking a deep breath, she moved the cursor and exited the main interface without hesitation.

Inside the system, chaos erupted instantly.

[What are you doing?] the mechanical voice rang out, no longer calm but tinged with panic. [Stop! What is this action? Terminate immediately!]

Aurora’s lips curled faintly. ’So it can panic too...’

The next second, her fingers began to fly across the keyboard.

Lines of code flashed across the screen, reflecting in her cold, calculating eyes.

Since the system had embedded itself into her drive, it had inevitably left traces, folders, hidden fragments, and encrypted pathways.

And Aurora... attacked all of them.

Time passed.

Sweat gathered lightly at her temples, but her gaze never wavered.

Two relentless hours later, a final command was executed.

The system collapsed.

The screen flickered violently before stabilizing into streams of broken code, fragments scattering like shattered glass.

Aurora leaned back slightly, exhaling softly.

’Got you.’

What remained of the system was no longer an entity... it had been reduced to raw code. And that code... was now hers to dissect.

She began decoding everything.

Layer after layer peeled away. Encryption gave way to structure, and structure gave way to information.

Soon, she realized something unsettling.

’This chip... it isn’t just a tool,’ she thought, her brows knitting slightly. ’It’s a problem in itself.’

The deeper she went, the stranger it became.

Just as she neared what seemed like the end, the code suddenly looped... resetting itself back to the beginning.

Aurora’s eyes narrowed.

"...A self-restarting structure," she murmured under her breath.

She cracked her knuckles lightly and started again.

Another two hours passed.

This time, she forced her way through the loop, breaking its cycle completely.

Finally... she reached the end. The data unfolded before her.

The chip had been manufactured in a specific state, in a city located far from New Yorkat least five hundred kilometers away.

There were also scattered details: system IDs, assigned timelines, narrative tags... most of them irrelevant.

But then Aurora’s gaze sharpened. Files. A large collection of them.

Story files. She opened one. Then another. And another.

Each file contained a different storyline.

Titles flickered across the screen: "The Substitute Wife," "Hidden Love," "The Sports King’s Sweetheart"...

Aurora couldn’t help but let out a soft scoff, the corner of her lips twitching upward. ’So many... clichés.’

Each story followed a different plot, yet all carried the same underlying structure.

Then... one file caught her attention.

"The Actor King’s Mistress."

Aurora paused. She opened it. As she read, her expression slowly darkened.

The male lead: Theodore Waters.

An up-and-coming star. Talented. Temperamental. A genius burdened by heartbreak, distancing himself from women after his first love.

He became involved with Jacqueline, a critic’s daughter... smart, elegant, suitable. Yet he felt nothing for her.

Then came the turning point.

A clumsy, small-time actress entered his life. A one-night mistake turned into repeated encounters.

Then...pregnancy. Rejection. Abandonment. Six years later... her return with twins. And him... chasing her.

Aurora closed her eyes slowly, a faint crease forming between her brows.

’This kind of story...’

She knew it well.

Popular. Addictive. Loved by many. Some readers admired the male lead, others read just to watch him fall.

But now... it wasn’t entertaining anymore.

Because the "male lead"... was her brother.

Aurora’s fingers tightened into a fist.

’This is just a script... it hasn’t become reality yet,’ she told herself, clinging to that thought.

But deep down. She knew she had underestimated the system.

Far away from her

On a bustling film set filled with bright lights and constant chatter, a young girl named Bunny hurried nervously, holding a tray of tea.

She was just an extra. A nobody.

At that moment, Theodore stood in the middle of a shoot, his expression cold and impatient.

And then the tea slipped. Hot liquid splashed onto his hand.

A sharp hiss escaped him as he jerked back instantly. "Damn it..." he muttered, his brows furrowing as he checked the reddening skin.

"What a bad day..."

He turned to grab ice

"Sorry! Sorry, sorry!" Bunny’s panicked voice broke in as she rushed forward. "Let me help you!"

Before he could stop her, she grabbed his hand and began wiping it with the hem of her short skirt. The fabric lifted, exposing a large portion of her thigh.

A few nearby men glanced over, their gazes turning lewd, lingering far longer than appropriate.

Theodore noticed instantly. His expression darkened.

He pulled his hand back sharply, creating distance between them. "You don’t need to do that," he said coldly.

His eyes flicked to her outfit. "And... dress more conservatively."

With that, he turned and walked away without another glance.

Bunny stood frozen for a moment, her cheeks flushing deeply.

Her heart began to race. ’He... noticed me...’

Just a month ago, she had become his fan. And then, out of nowhere, a system had appeared... promising to help her get closer to him.

She had thought it was impossible.

And yet

’Why would he tell me to dress conservatively...?’ she thought, her face heating up. ’Was he... jealous?’

The thought alone made her blush even harder.

She quickly ran off, ignoring the lingering stares around her.

Inside a small, cramped room assigned to side actors, Bunny tried to calm her racing heart.

Just as she sat down

Knock. Knock.

She hesitated before walking to the door and opening it.

Standing outside was the assistant director, a man in his mid-thirties, his expression carrying a strange, unsettling smile.

"Hi, Bunny," he greeted, his tone overly familiar. "I’ve heard you’re quite talented... especially in acting."

He leaned slightly closer. "I came to test you."

Bunny’s heart dropped instantly. ’Test...?’

She wasn’t naïve. She understood exactly what that tone meant, what that look implied.

Without a second of hesitation, she stepped back and shouted at the top of her lungs

"Help! Help!"

Her voice echoed through the corridor.

Within moments, several people rushed over, drawn by the noise.

The assistant director’s expression stiffened as he quickly waved his hands.

"Misunderstanding! It’s just a misunderstanding!"

"What happened?" one of the crew members demanded, his voice cutting through the tense air.

Bunny immediately raised her trembling hand and pointed straight at the assistant director, her eyes glistening as if on the verge of tears.

"He... he was going to harass me!"

The words landed heavily.

A wave of murmurs spread through the corridor as the surrounding crew members turned to look at the assistant director, their gazes instantly shifting into cold disdain.

Some frowned, others crossed their arms, and a few even stepped back slightly, as if distancing themselves from something filthy.

The assistant director’s face turned pale for a split second before flushing with anger.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" he snapped, his voice rising defensively. "I was just testing her acting skills! She’s the one acting wronged now!"

He let out a frustrated huff, his chest heaving as he looked around, hoping for someone... anyone, to support him.

But no one spoke. The silence itself was deafening.

After all, everyone understood one simple thing

Why would an assistant director sneak into a young actress’s private room... just to test her acting?

Why not do it openly, in front of everyone?

Even without words, the judgment in their eyes was enough.

In that moment, his reputation quietly crumbled.

Bunny, on the other hand, lowered her hand slowly, a faint, almost imperceptible smile flickering across her lips.

’Just like always...’ she thought, her heartbeat gradually calming. ’People believe me.’

Since childhood, she had carried this strange "luck"... whenever she accused someone, others would believe her without question.

And she had always told herself... she only used it against those who deserved it.

Watching the assistant director walk away stiffly, his face dark with humiliation, Bunny rolled her eyes lightly before turning away.

Inside her mind, she muttered impatiently, ’So... what’s next, system?’