Chapter 8: Side Character x Mafia Boss (8)

Lyra stopped running only after her trembling legs had finally carried her all the way back to the safety of her apartment building.

She slammed the front door shut, turned the deadbolts twice with shaking fingers, and leaned her back against the cool wood while trying desperately to catch her ragged breath. Her heart was beating like a wild drum inside her chest.

Then, right on cue, the glowing blue digital notification appeared in the air before her face again.

[Obsession Level: 40%]

"..."

She stared at the floating neon text, her eyes wide. "...Wasn’t it just thirty-eight a minute ago?"

Slowly, every single drop of color drained from her face. "It..." Her lips began to tremble violently. "It actually went up again?"

"Oh my God..." She grabbed both sides of her head, her mind instantly entering a state of absolute, sheer panic. "The main plot is completely ruined!"

"I’m dead! I’m actually going to die this time!"

Abandoning all dignity, she threw her body dramatically onto the soft mattress, burying her face into the blankets. "My very first world... and I already failed the survival mission."

The next morning, the bright light of dawn filtered through the window blinds, and a familiar, comforting mechanical voice suddenly echoed inside the quiet room.

[System Online.]

[Core Database Repairs Completed Successfully.]

[Network connection stable.]

The System immediately initiated a routine scan to locate its Host. The moment the sensors processed her condition, the AI practically froze in its tracks.

[Host?!]

Lyra was currently lying flat on the bed like a completely lifeless corpse. Her hair looked like a messy bird’s nest from rolling around all night, and deep purple circles hung heavily under her swollen eyes. Used tissues were scattered everywhere across the sheets and floor. One crumpled tissue was even stuffed directly into her left nostril after she had cried herself to sleep.

She slowly, stiffly turned her head toward the floating blue icon. "...System," her voice sounded completely empty, hollowed out by despair. "Am I going to die today?"

"...Did I fail this entire world already?"

The System’s processing units began to panic.

[Host,please calm down!Your Vitals Are Dropping From Stress!]

"I can’t calm down!" Lyra wailed, pulling the blanket over her head. "The male lead’s obsession went from thirty-eight to fourty percent in a single afternoon! The Mafia Boss probably has his men digging a hole to bury me alive right now!"

The System immediately went to work, replaying yesterday’s internal system records at fast speed. Several bright blue code screens flashed rapidly across the room. A few tense moments later, the loading icon stopped spinning.

[Host.The Critical Error Has Been Successfully Identified.]

Lyra peeked out from under her blanket, a tiny spark of hope returning to her tear-stained eyes. "It... it has?"

[The terrifying obsession notification delivered to your interface yesterday was the direct result of a temporary system glitch and a localized database malfunction occurring during a scheduled offline repair window.]

[Status: The underlying formatting anomaly has been permanently resolved.]

A fresh, clean interface screen suddenly popped into existence.

[Ding!]

[Plot Progress: 12% Obsession Level: 0% Romance Progress: 0%]

Lyra blinked once. She rubbed her eyes aggressively with the back of her hand, then stared at the floating numbers again. "...Zero?"

[Correct.]

"The scary obsession percentage is completely gone?"

[Correct. The character Alastair Voss currently has zero romantic or obsessive interest in you. You are perfectly safe.]

She sat there in absolute silence for three seconds. Then, a second later-

"WAAAAAH!"

She burst into a fresh wave of loud tears, wiping her face with her sleeve. "...Don’t worry, they’re completely happy tears this time."

The System let out a very human-like sigh of relief.

[ Host, please stop crying. You are wasting precious fluids. ]

Lyra quickly wiped her eyes, her strength returning. "So... I am definitely surviving?"

[ Yes, Host. You are completely on track. ]

She let out the biggest sigh of relief in her entire life, her shoulders dropping. "Thank goodness... I seriously thought I was completely finished."

The System’s mechanical voice suddenly dropped, its tone becoming incredibly serious.

However...

Lyra’s bright smile vanished instantly. "...There’s a ’however,’ isn’t there? There is always a catch."

[ Yes. A major plot point must occur today. ]

A new, glowing red mission screen appeared before her.

[ Main Plot Objective: Today, the Female Lead must meet the Male Lead. ]

The System quickly began explaining the required events.

[ According to the original story structure, Elena will witness a brutal underworld murder while she is walking home from her shift tonight. She will try to escape the scene in a panic. The Male Lead, Alastair, will notice her fleeing. After thoroughly investigating her identity the next day, he will discover that she is actually the daughter of the bitter enemy he has been searching for for years. From that exact moment of revenge and tension, the main story officially begins. ]

The System’s digital icon looked directly at Lyra.

[ Your mission for today is incredibly simple. Make absolutely sure the Female Lead successfully meets the Male Lead tonight. ]

Lyra nodded her head firmly, her confidence returning. "...Got it. Keep the main characters on track."

But... as she repeated the words in her head, something about that specific plot description felt strangely familiar. A brutal underworld murder... someone running away in fear... the dark alley... the Mafia Boss watching...

Her eyes widened slightly in realization. "...Wait a minute." She frowned, a small seed of doubt planting itself in her mind. "Didn’t... didn’t that exact sequence of events literally happen to me two nights ago?"

She knitted her brows together, thinking deeply. No... no, that was impossible. It must have just been a bizarre coincidence. The System had already clearly stated that yesterday’s data was just a buggy glitch. I’m probably just overthinking things because I’m stressed.

She shook her head and decided to keep the weird thought to herself.

["Host?"] the System called out, snapping its digital fingers. ["Are you listening to me?"]

Lyra quickly snapped back to reality, forcing a bright smile. "Y-Yes! Of course I’m listening!" She jumped off the bed with renewed energy, throwing her used tissues into the trash bin. "This time, I will make absolutely sure the original plot stays completely on track. No mistakes!"

After getting dressed in one of her newly purchased, normal casual outfits, she left her apartment and headed out toward the café.

However, the absolute second she stepped outside her apartment building’s front gates, she suddenly felt a strange, prickly sensation on the back of her neck. It was a suffocating feeling... as if someone was intently watching her every move from the shadows.

She stopped and quickly looked over her shoulder. The sidewalk was empty. There was no one there except a stray cat.

Still feeling deeply uneasy, she whispered in her mind, "System... I feel like someone is actively following me right now."

The System immediately initiated a full, three-hundred-degree radar scan of the surrounding area. A few seconds later, the green light flashed.

[ No suspicious individuals or tracking devices detected within a fifty-meter radius. Area is clear. ]

Lyra let out a breath and relaxed her tense posture. "...Right. Guess I’m just being totally paranoid after everything."

She continued her peaceful walk to work. Throughout the rest of the day, the shift at the Moonlight Café was unusually calm and peaceful. Regular customers came and went, the coffee machines hummed quietly, and Elena smiled just as warmly and beautifully as she always did. Everything seemed completely normal.

Well... almost everything.

Every now and then, whenever she had a free moment between orders, Lyra couldn’t help but glance out the large glass front window of the shop.

Directly across the street, a sleek black luxury car had been parked perfectly at the curb since early morning. It had never moved an inch. Its massive wheels were perfectly straight, and its windows were completely blacked out with a dark tint, making it entirely impossible for anyone to see who was sitting inside.

Lyra frowned, wiping down the wooden counter with a towel. "System. That expensive car has been sitting in that exact spot for hours now. Don’t you think that’s incredibly suspicious for a quiet neighborhood?"

The System ran a quick thermal scan through the glass.

[ No immediate weapons or hostile threats detected from the vehicle. The Host does not need to worry about external variables. Focus on the female lead. ]

Lyra looked at the dark car one last time before shrugging her shoulders indifferently. "...Fine. If you say so, Mr. Robot."

She returned to her duties, happily frothing milk for a latte.

Neither she... nor the advanced System inside her head... noticed the pair of cold grey eyes quietly and intensely watching her every move through the tinted glass of the car.