Free Web NovelChapter 286: Chapter 289: The System Wants Her Dead
"Control me?"
Renee Sinclair’s eyes widened in disbelief, her face instantly turning pale. "You want to control me just to complete this mission?"
The mechanical female voice sounded cheerful.[That’s right. Whether or not this mission is completed determines if I get to survive in this world. Since you, the host, are unwilling to play the villain and win over Felix Preston, I’ll just have to do it for you.]
[After all, you may want to die, Host, but I certainly don’t.]
"..." Renee Sinclair was left speechless, unsure how to respond.
The mechanical voice said, [Don’t be so selfish, Host. When you were so intent on dying, did you ever bother to ask my opinion? You can’t just decide to die and force me to die along with you.]
Renee Sinclair frowned. "Aren’t you just a cold, emotionless system? Even if you die with me, it’s just a matter of a system reboot. Why are you overreacting like this?"
"Where did you even get all these human emotions?"
[Host, who told you I was just a cold, emotionless system?] the mechanical voice retorted coldly.
[I’ve already addressed this twice. Why can’t you remember, Host?]
"Hah..." Renee Sinclair scoffed. "If you’re not a cold, emotionless system, then who are you? Don’t tell me you’re human."
[...I am not human,] the mechanical voice replied. [But I will be, very soon.]
"...What?" Renee Sinclair didn’t understand what it meant.
The voice didn’t elaborate, only saying, [Host, I can’t die. I’ve come too far to just die so easily. I must complete this mission!]
Renee Sinclair shot back, "I’m not saying you can’t complete it! I just want to spare Charlotte Shaw’s life! Her living or dying has nothing to do with our mission!"
[It does!] The mechanical voice suddenly shrieked. [Since things have come to this, I won’t beat around the bush anymore. Let me be blunt: as long as Charlotte Shaw is alive, our mission will be impossible to complete!]
[Charlotte Shaw must die! I will make sure she dies!]
"You..." Renee Sinclair was, once again, frightened by the system.
When it spoke of killing Charlotte Shaw, that usually stiff, robotic voice was laced with a murderous intent more vicious than any human’s. And in that moment, Renee Sinclair finally realized that the system she had been bound to for so long might not be a cold, unfeeling program after all.
It was a person, or perhaps a machine that had already gained human consciousness.
[Host?]
Perhaps sensing that its outburst had frightened Renee Sinclair, the mechanical voice’s tone instantly softened. [Actually, Host, you don’t need to be afraid. Charlotte Shaw’s death would only be temporary. As long as you successfully complete the mission, she’ll have a chance to be resurrected.]
Renee Sinclair repeated, "Resurrected?"
[Yes, resurrected.]
The word "resurrected" made the mechanical voice sound somewhat euphoric. [Charlotte Shaw actually has one chance at resurrection, but the prerequisite is that you must successfully complete the mission and make Felix Preston fall in love with you.]
"...No, that’s impossible!" Renee Sinclair rejected the idea without a moment’s hesitation.
"In the end, whether Charlotte Shaw is dead or alive, I still have to steal her husband! I absolutely can’t do that, and I don’t want to!"
[Don’t want to?] The mechanical voice’s tone turned cold and sinister. [Are you sure, Host?]
"I’m sure!" Renee Sinclair’s tone was resolute. "Felix Preston and Charlotte Shaw are a perfect match. I will never interfere and become a homewrecker!"
"You’ve led me by the nose and made me do so many terrible things, but I absolutely will not listen to you anymore! So you can just give up on that idea!"
[Heh heh...] The mechanical voice let out a strange laugh. [In that case, Host, don’t blame me for what I’m about to do.]
Renee Sinclair smirked, her expression scornful. "And what exactly are you going to do? If I’m not mistaken, your control over me only lasts for five minutes at a time, right?"
[...] The mechanical voice said nothing.
Renee Sinclair pressed, "Five minutes at a time. How many times a day can you do it? Once? Twice?"
[...] Again, the mechanical voice said nothing.
"Hah," Renee Sinclair laughed. "So you can only control me once a day. And here I was, thinking you were so powerful."
"As long as I give Felix Preston a heads-up, it won’t matter if you control me and try to seduce him. It won’t work!"
[...Is that so?] The mechanical voice said through gritted teeth. [Since you’re so confident, Host, why don’t we put it to the test?]
Renee Sinclair tilted her head back defiantly. "Bring it on!"
...
The rest of the mountain wasn’t very large, and the three of them finished exploring it in under two hours.
The air was misty, and it looked like it might snow again. Jasper Linden advised them not to linger, so he persuaded Felix Preston and Renee Sinclair to head back down the mountain.
At four in the afternoon, the three of them rendezvoused with Mason Shaw at the hotel.
"I just called Uncle Collins. He said the special task force still hasn’t found any direct evidence proving Willow Quincy was the one who kidnapped Charlotte, so after twenty-four hours, he’ll be able to walk out of the police station."
Mason Shaw took off his heavy down jacket and sank wearily into a nearby sofa.
"Twenty-four hours..." Felix Preston calculated in his head. He was so exhausted that his gaze was vacant as he spoke.
"Willow Quincy was taken to the station at ten last night. Twenty-four hours later... means he’ll be released at ten tonight."
"Right." Mason Shaw looked at him. "After ten, Willow Quincy will be temporarily free. We’ll have to see whether he goes back to the hospital or comes here to Kyloria."
"Where was Willow Quincy during the ten days Charlotte was missing? Was he in the hospital the whole time?" Felix Preston suddenly asked.
Mason Shaw replied, "The hospital surveillance shows he was in his room for the past ten-plus days. Even the medication logs and ward round records confirm he never left the hospital. But Uncle Collins said the task force suspects all that evidence is fake."
"Fake?" Jasper Linden was shocked. "But there’s surveillance footage. How could it be fake?"
Mason Shaw shook his head. "The task force is still investigating. I don’t know the specifics either. We’ll just have to wait for word from Uncle Collins."
"Okay." Felix Preston took off his glasses and lay down on the bed, not even bothering to remove his jacket.
"What’s the situation with Evan Yates?" Mason Shaw asked, his voice weary as he rubbed his aching temples.
Felix Preston answered with his eyes closed. "Wallace Usher is locked in the basement. Evan Yates will interrogate him in a few hours. We’ll definitely get the address of that villa before the day is out."
"Good." Mason Shaw picked up the down jacket beside him and draped it over himself. "Since we have a few hours, let’s get some sleep. We’ll need our strength for what comes next."
Jasper Linden said, "My thoughts exactly!"
He kicked off his slippers, climbed onto Felix Preston’s bed, and lay down fully clothed on the other side of the double bed. "Let’s all get some sleep. We can eat when we wake up and then figure out what to do next."
