Goose Attack

Selene took one step back. Aaron didn't blink. His eyes stayed locked on hers—cold, unreadable, calculating. But she could feel his frown through the air.

Ding!

[Iron Widow Buff Activated. Attraction Level: Critical ♥]

Selene felt a cold shiver down her spine.

'No, focus! You need to prove you're worthy!' She firmly reminded herself and looked back. Tilting her head, Selene commented nonchalantly.

"Are you blushing now, Mister Wolf?"

Aaron's brow twitched.

He was sure as hell he wasn't blushing. But at the same time, everything felt wrong. He was feeling strangely feeling… warm. His entire nervous system seemed to be buffering.

Selene sighed inwardly, "Let's call this a day."

"I'm calling a cab," she said, casually tapping her phone. "Unless you want to walk fifty miles back to your ice palace?"

"I'll walk."

She glanced over her shoulder. "How romantic. Freeze to death and ghost me."

Aaron narrowed his eyes. "How do you even know where I live?"

Selene gave a light shrug. "Internet. Satellite. Gut feeling."

He stared at her.

She smiled beautifully.

Behind them, people had started to notice. Heads turned. Whispers rose. Phones tilted. They were watching her like she was something out of a dream. Or a high-profile disaster.

Some stared in awe.

Some were suspicious.

And for some reason, Selene could no longer see that weird man.

Her fingers twitched at her side. 

The ride back was uncomfortably silent. The driver kept stealing glances, and Aaron looked murderous as he refused to even glance at Selene. He was so silent, Selene wasn't sure what else she could do.

[The player should complete the quest!!]

Selene scoffed, muttering under her breath. "Which one? The one you're ruining? Or the one that's bullshit!"

[...]

Aaron's lips twitched.

Ding!

[Trust Level Dropping: Aaron Wolf – 36% → 24%]

[The Player should limit talking out loud!]

Selene slumped against the seat with a dramatic sigh. She glanced once at Aaron and frowned. It was weird to see the charm buff make him even colder.

'What the hell is up with him?'

In the end, she just closed her eyes for the rest of the journey.

Selene was feeling too wary of Aaron's suddenly dark aura. Thinking he might push her out of the cab if she even dared to speak with him once.

After several minutes, they arrived at Crystal Avenue.

Selene stepped out, closed the door, and smiled charmingly at Aaron. "See you soon, Mister Wolf. I really hope you'd consider my proposal!"

He narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

Just as Selene went over to pay for the cab, a loud mechanical voice chimed.

Ding!

[Quest Failed!]

[Side Quest - Seduce Three Men in Thirty Minutes!]

Selene froze.

A red error was also flashing on her phone.

Insufficient balance.

The system continued nonchalantly.

[Penalty - Access to all assets restricted! Restriction will lift after 48:00:00 hours!]

Aaron's Apartment.

Aaron entered his apartment in silence. He took off his jacket. Washed his face. Cold water. No steam. Just facts. And yet… his heart was still acting like it forgot the memo.

He checked his account again.

One billion. Still there. Untouched. Unexplained. Untaxed. 

He sat at his desk and stared. Something had felt odd about the deposit ever since it arrived. But the more Aaron tried to think about the situation, the more confused everything became.

'Dad mentioned something… something seemed connected to this…'

Aaron frowned slightly.

'Why can't I remember?'

After a moment's hesitation, Aaron turned on his PC and searched for her name. Selene Sinclair. The recent news was all about her infamous live stream. Most of them had mixed reactions. He clicked on the previous month, and slowly, he kept returning to the past.

One headline read:

"The Banished Heiress Flees Wedding on Skateboard! Leaves Groom Chasing Her In Tears!" — a few weeks ago.

"Sinclair Girl Robs Hotdog Stand in Tiara & Pajamas — Says It Was Performance Art" — three months ago.

"Selene Sinclair is unstable. Keeps running. Stealing. Lying. Pretending to be poor — Bianca Sinclair's Tearful Confession!" — an year ago.

Aaron let out an exhausted sigh.

None of the articles were helpful. How could something so one-sided ever be trusted? Aaron was certain about the claims questioning Selene's mental state, but he also thought it would be too far-fetched for even her to continue an act for so long.

"She didn't seem like someone who cares for clout…" Aaron murmured as he stared at his computer screen. On the reflection, he could see the reflection of the clock.

'It's new… how did it break so soon?'

But the clock reminded him of Chronova.

Reluctantly, Aaron clicked on the hourglass icon and launched the offline dev version. He picked up the VR headset and placed it.

There was a sudden darkness.

His pulse picked up.

Then, bioluminescent clouds flickered overhead. Flying koi fish zipped by in VR mode.

A dragon built entirely out of crooked bones and purple flame glitched gently into existence.

Aaron exhaled.

This was his peace. His world. A game he has built with the two friends he trusted the most. It was originally single-player, but his two friends and co-founders of Arcane Labs convinced Aaron that they needed to launch the multiplayer version.

Certain things were rushed.

There were frequent bugs.

But Aaron knew nothing about that.

He was in the hospital. Getting treatment for something the doctors weren't entirely sure about. He required frequent rest. He couldn't stay up for long.

And the two friends he trusted the most?

They ruined Arcane Labs.

All because the Monteverde Family paid them millions to remove competition.

Aaron suddenly stopped. He had been hearing faint, small footsteps for a long time. He ignored it earlier, thinking it must be some NPC. Even though none of them were supposed to follow a character for this long.

'Chronova is supposed to be unpredictable.'

He glanced back and saw that there was a goose. Holding a long knife and wearing a tiny top hat.

Aaron frowned and knelt before it.

"How are you so fat?" he asked, pinching its cheeks. "There is no food in this area."

The goose raised the knife high.

Aaron couldn't help but crack a smile. "Must be another bug."

He turned to leave, but the goose honked loudly. Its big eyes stared intently at Aaron, and slowly, the wind started to pick up around them.

A dramatic orchestra started to play somewhere.

The knife was replaced by a scroll, and the goose held it up as if delivering an ominous prophecy. Aaron watched everything curiously.

He always loved it when Chronova would do these nice little tricks.

Only when the trembled, trying to stay on its raised toes, did Aaron realize he was supposed to take the scroll. With a sigh, he picked it up.

And his face fell in an instant.

Replaced by a cold darkness.

The note had one small sentence, followed by a teary-eyed emoji: 'Make me CEO? Pretty please?'