Free Web NovelChapter 285: Chapter 288: The System’s Control
"...What plans do I need to make?"
Felix Preston stopped in his tracks. He stared at Renee Sinclair, his gaze dark, and asked in a frigid voice, "Renee Sinclair, what plans do I need to make? Are you that certain Charlotte isn’t coming back?"
Renee Sinclair stopped too, turning to look at Felix Preston with a beaming smile. Her tone was light and cheerful. "I’m not certain at all. I’m just giving you a friendly reminder. After all, you’re so young and have such a bright future. And now you’re saddled with a child. How can you not plan ahead?"
"Why would I need to make plans?" Felix Preston retorted, his face devoid of expression. "The special task force is already closing in on Willow Quincy. As soon as they pinpoint the villa’s location, Charlotte will be rescued immediately."
"Nothing is going to happen to Charlotte. Why on earth would I need to make plans? And what kind of plans?"
"Heh heh..." Renee Sinclair suddenly let out a couple of laughs. They were so strange that they sent a chill down Felix Preston’s spine.
"Just because Charlotte is fine now doesn’t mean she’ll be fine later. You’re saddled with a child; you have to think further ahead."
"...Renee Sinclair, are you insane?" Felix Preston was thoroughly enraged and couldn’t be bothered to be polite to Renee Sinclair any longer.
He was already buried under a mountain of stress, and there was still no news of Charlotte Shaw. What little patience he had was nearly gone, yet Renee Sinclair had to go and walk right into the line of fire.
He couldn’t hold back any longer and finally unleashed a tirade on her. "Renee Sinclair, watch your damn mouth. I’m only being civil to you because Charlotte considers you a friend. If you’re going to pull this crap again, don’t blame me for putting you in your place!"
"If you want to help search, then search. If you don’t, then get the hell home and stop rambling on about this nonsense in front of me!"
"..."
Felix Preston’s words were incredibly harsh, but after he finished, Renee Sinclair just stared blankly, showing little reaction.
She continued to gaze at Felix Preston, her eyes rigid and vacant, as if she hadn’t understood a word he’d said.
Felix Preston frowned, studying her. It was only now that he finally sensed something was wrong.
"...Renee Sinclair?" He raised a hand and waved it gently in front of her face. "Renee Sinclair, did you hear what I said?"
"..." Renee Sinclair stared blankly, her alluring almond eyes utterly lifeless.
Felix Preston’s gaze darkened. He called out to her again, probing, "Renee Sinclair? Are you spacing out or something?"
"..." Renee Sinclair blinked, and a flicker of life finally returned to her vacant face.
"Hmph..." She pouted, suddenly looking inexplicably wronged. "If you didn’t want to listen, you didn’t have to. Why did you have to say such harsh things to me? I was only trying to help!"
"Felix Preston, you’re so mean!"
"What?" Felix Preston was completely baffled.
Renee Sinclair stood before Felix Preston, pouting and whining for a long moment. Finally, she gave two sudden, neurotic twitches.
After twitching, she lifted her head, and the expression in her eyes returned to normal.
"...Felix Preston!!" She froze for a second, then her eyes flew wide as she stared intently at him. "Felix Preston, don’t believe a word she said! She was just spouting bullshit!"
"...Huh?" Felix Preston was completely confused by her behavior.
’What does she mean, ’what *she* said’? Where did a ’she’ come from? Weren’t they the only two people talking just now?’
"Ah!" Renee Sinclair raised her hand and slapped herself hard on the head. "None of that was what I really think! I’ve never thought that way! Please don’t take any of it seriously! I wasn’t the one who said it!"
"..."
Renee Sinclair’s behavior was so bizarre that Felix Preston had no idea how to respond.
Renee Sinclair continued, "Charlotte is my friend! She was the first friend I made after coming here, and my best friend! How could I possibly wish for her death? Believe me, please believe me, I wasn’t the one who said those things!"
"..." Felix Preston stared at her, stunned. He was genuinely starting to feel like she was driving him crazy.
"Renee Sinclair, are you alright?" he asked, a note of concern in his voice.
Her behavior was truly abnormal. He suspected there might be something medically wrong with her.
"Argh!" Renee Sinclair grabbed a handful of her hair in frustration. She opened her mouth to explain further, but just then, Jasper Linden suddenly emerged from another path.
"I’m back! Let’s get going. After we search this mountain, we can probably head back!"
"..."
Neither of the two people standing at the fork in the path answered him.
He blinked in confusion, looking from one to the other. Although he could sense the strange atmosphere between them, he had no idea what had happened.
"What’s with you two?" he asked, both bewildered and curious. "Why are you ignoring me? Did I do something to tick you off while I was in the bathroom?"
"..."
Renee Sinclair and Felix Preston simultaneously averted their gazes. Neither of them said a word.
Jasper Linden pointed at Renee Sinclair’s hair. "Renee Sinclair, why is your hair such a bird’s nest?"
Hearing this, Renee Sinclair looked flustered and quickly ran her fingers through her long hair to straighten it.
"It’s nothing. My dad just called again, nagging me to go back home for a blind date. He’s driving me crazy." Unable to explain her actions, she could only come up with a random excuse to fool Jasper Linden.
"The call’s over now. Let’s keep heading up."
"Oh..." Jasper Linden nodded, not doubting Renee Sinclair’s explanation.
"Felix Preston." He walked over to Felix Preston and nudged his arm. "Let’s keep going. After we’re done with this section of the mountain, we’ll go meet up with Shaw."
"...Mm." Felix Preston shot Renee Sinclair a cold glance, then turned and continued up the path.
Renee Sinclair followed behind them with her head down.
’System, are you trying to get us killed?’ she demanded in her mind.
A mechanical female voice replied a second later, "What’s wrong, Host? Why are you suddenly so angry?"
Renee Sinclair gritted her teeth. ’You’re asking me why?’
’Did you think I’m some brain-dead moron who wouldn’t figure out you were the one who just pulled that stunt?’
"Mm-hmm," the mechanical female voice hummed noncommittally, neither confirming nor denying.
’Are you out of your mind?’ she thought furiously. ’What were you trying to do, pulling a stunt like that? Control my brain and force me to ’capture’ Felix Preston?’
The voice replied, "The Host is unwilling to ’capture’ Felix Preston and would rather just sit around and wait to die. Since I don’t want to die, I can only take the Host’s place and make the effort myself."
’Hah, you’ll make the effort?’ Renee was so infuriated she let out a mental laugh. ’System, you can control my body to make the effort for me? Since when did you have such an amazing ability?’
The mechanical female voice’s tone held a hint of smugness. "This skill is a contingency plan left to me by the System. If the Host is dead set on not ’capturing’ Felix Preston, then to ensure the mission’s completion, I have no choice but to use this skill to control the Host’s body and complete the ’capture’ mission in your place."
