Good News Bad News

[Congratulations, Host. You had committed the impossible and successfully broken the fourth wall! As a reward to your prestigious achievement, you will now be bound to the Self-Saving System!]

Riley's mouth hung open, unable to keep up with the sudden shift of genre.

Breaking the Fourth Wall? Self-Saving System?

"W-Wait, give me a moment." She tried to stop the screen to demand an explanation, but to no avail as the system continued spitting out more outrageous lines of text.

[From recognizing death flags from miles away to turning misfortunes into unmissable opportunities, the Self-Saving System will be there to assist the Host whenever needed.]

[The Creator of the Universe then wishes the Host good luck in surviving the vicious world of the novel << Bloody Triangle in a Fantasy Romance >> *blinking eyes cutely]

"..."

So, were things just as what she had thought them to be?

They were truly in the universe of the dog-blooded book and she, the cannon fodder that would soon be dead under the second male lead's unreasonable display of wrath?

Well, that's bad.

Riley may not be the brightest bulb there, but one thing she was very good at was adapting.

With a turn of her thought, she addressed the system with fluidness that caught the system off guard.

"System, I have a question."

Riley voiced out, mentally making a quick review of the only scene where her character had appeared before her three-sentence-death.

The book hadn't bothered to waste much words to elaborate the cause of her enmity with the second male lead, so she could only make some random guesses and bitterly settle with it.

Fortunately, her head was exceptionally clear today.

"I may not know why the second male lead was so bent on killing me however, to escape from this ending, wouldn't it be enough for me to simply not meet that psycho and avoid him like the plague?"

The system carefully processed her words and gave out a response.

[The Host is brilliant! As expected of the Host! The system will now submit the host's idea for examination.]

After a few seconds, the system beeped out a reply.

[The test is done. The strategy is applicable!] 

Oh yeah!

Riley cheered in her heart, her face visibly blooming like flowers.

[The system will now scan the surroundings for the death flag, Francis Ravenmore's, whereabouts….]

'You can even do that? Amazing!'

Riley couldn't help but give the system a hearty thumbs up for the efficiency of its work.

The Self-Saving System was a great assistance indeed! She was almost sure that she could never be any prouder of someone else as this!

Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last for long.

[Good news, the target has been found.]

[Bad news, the target is on the ship.]

[To make it clearer, IN THIS SHIP.]

Riley's smile froze, finally experiencing herself what it felt like to drop from the highest stair of Heaven to the lowest pit of Hell in the next second.

"Seriously, how can that happen?" She lashed out, frustration eating at her like she was the sweetest fruit on earth.

Undoubtedly, Riley was now in a state of panic and despair and yet, the insensitive system didn't plan on giving her a moment to breathe as it flashed out another report of its finding.

[The death flag has been recognized. The system will now start the countdown.]

[The host will be kissing the world goodbye in 23:55:19…18…17…]

The number was dwindling down little by little, just enough to grind at her anxiety bit by bit.

"..."

Damn you!

Knowing how damned she would be once she mistakenly offended the psycho second male lead, Riley quickly rang the bell to call for her assistant Lily, literally screaming for the girl's immediate presence.

Half a minute later, a series of hurried footsteps was heard as a short-haired young lady barged into the room, her palm-sized face red and sweating.

"B-Boss, is there anything that you need me to do?" Lily asked in between her hurried breaths, her round sparkling eyes full of vigor.

A sense of assurance washed over her as Riley took in her assistant's familiar bright appearance.

"Lily, have you noticed anyone suspicious on our ship?" She asked, eager for a positive response. After all, the faster they lock onto the target, the faster they'll be able to nip the problem in the bud.

Noticing the confusion swirling in the girl's big eyes, Riley thought that she hadn't been specific enough and sensibly added.

"It's a man! He's tall, unreasonably handsome, has a hot figure – well, someone that girls will definitely fall over heels for in one glance, you know, that kind of hottie…"

Riley recalled the portrait she saw before and struggled hard to describe the man with her inadequate words.

The second male lead Francis Ravenmore.

He was indeed a beautiful man, his every aspect fitting her sky-high picky taste. Too bad he's a psycho.

Not worth the trouble. Not worth the trouble.

Riley shook her head to dispel the indecent thoughts swirling inside her mind when she suddenly heard Lily gasping.

"Ah, that handsome guy!"

Riley's eyes immediately lit up at her response. However, she soon found herself stunned silly when Lily started flashing her a knowing smile.

"Boss, for such matters, it is safer to be patient. I reckon that in another day or two, the hottie will succumb to the agony and submit to the Boss without any resistance." The girl cheekily blinked an eye, grinning from ear to ear.

"What do you mean by succumbing to the agony? What hottie are you talking about…"

Riley mumbled with a frown. However, as she carefully processed Lily's confusing words, her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

It was only then did she realize the severity of the matter.