Chapter 242: What about Oliver and Emily?

As Xavier walked away, he reached up, his fingers gently brushing against his own forehead—touching the exact spot where her lips had rested just moments before. He walked out of the living room with a quiet, lingering happiness in his step.

Left alone in the dim quiet, April raised her hand, her fingers lightly touching her own lips as she stared up at the ceiling. Just what is this system really planning?

The next morning, sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, bathing the living room in a warm, golden glow.

April was awake, but she hadn’t moved an inch from the couch. She lay flat on her back, staring blankly up at the high ceiling—or rather, staring intently at the massive blue system quest window hovering directly over her face.

[NEW MANDATORY QUEST: CLASS APPOINTMENT TO PIECES]

[Objective: Appoint designated classes to qualified ’Pieces’.]

[Rule 1: Classes can ONLY be appointed to individuals who have reached a 100% Trust Value.]

[Current Qualified Candidates: Xavier Reed (100%) {Completed}, Nat (100%) {Pending}]

[Requirement: Raise the Trust Value of all prospective ’Pieces’ to 100%, then assign each a specialized Class that best suits their character and maximizes the Host’s tactical advantage.]

[Deadline: Day of the apocalypse.]

[No further details will be provided at this time.]

April grabbed a sofa cushion, buried her face straight into the plush fabric, and let out a muffled, frustrated groan, ruffling her hair like a madwoman.

She felt like screaming into the pillow.

She didn’t even understand how this absurd ’class appointment’ system worked, nor did she have the faintest idea how many ’pieces’ she was supposed to collect in total.

How was she expected to assign classes out of thin air without a manual?

Things had just gotten exceedingly, ridiculously complicated.

Pulling her face out of the cushion, April tossed it aside and stared up at the floating blue window with narrowed eyes.

If she was going to assume that the people she kept close were her designated ’pieces’, how on earth was she supposed to measure the trust values of non-clients like Oliver, Samuel, and Emily? The Client Tab was built for high-paying patrons who had more than 80% trust value, not the mad scientist of a doctor, her assistant, or her twin sister.

Wait...

April paused, her mind flicking back to an earlier system prompt. The system had never tracked Samuel on the Client Tab, but it had displayed a distinct ’Loyalty Metric’ for him in the past. If she remembered correctly, it had hovered somewhere around ninety-two percent on the day before they met Mei again.

Curious, she brought up Samuel’s profile in her mind.

[Target: Samuel]

[Loyalty Metric: 100% — MAXIMUM ACHIEVED]

Her brows twitched. A hundred percent? When did that happen?

She turned her head slightly toward the empty room, speaking mentally into the void. System. Can this ’Loyalty’ metric be interpreted as ’Trust’ for the sake of the Piece requirements?

[PING!]

[Affirmative. Loyalty Metric of 100% meets the absolute trust prerequisite.]

[System Update: Target ’Samuel’ is now qualified for Class Appointment.]

[CURRENT QUALIFIED CANDIDATES:]

— 1. Xavier Reed [100% Trust — Class: Saint]

— 2. Nat [100% Trust — Class: Unassigned]

— 3. Samuel [100% Loyalty — Class: Unassigned]

April let out a long, heavy sigh, sinking back into the soft cushions. That was one small headache resolved, but it immediately brought a fresh wave of irritation.

What about Oliver and Emily?

Oliver was a surgeon, a doctor who only had experiments and scientific discovery in mind. His metrics were completely invisible to her interface. And then there was Emily. Emily trusted April with her life, loved her unconditionally, and had literally thrown her body in front of an attack for her. How could the system leave her sister’s status in the dark?

As if responding to her silent annoyance, the interface flickered, printing out a swift series of text lines.

[System Alert: Special provisions for blood-related kin and external allies are currently locked.]

[Host can unlock the ’Family & Associate Tracking Sub-Interface’ by completing the first set of Class Appointments.]

April pinched the bridge of her nose. Of course. Another prerequisite chained to a prerequisite.

She would have to manually figure out Oliver’s standing on her own, while the system dangled a solution for Emily just out of reach until she assigned classes to Nat and Samuel.

"Unbelievable," April muttered, running a hand through her hair. "It really loves playing games."

The sound of soft footsteps echoed down the grand staircase, drawing her out of her thoughts. Emily came walking into the sunlit living room, dressed in a cozy oversized sweater she had ordered just yesterday, holding two steaming mugs of cocoa.

"Morning, April," Emily smiled, her face bright and completely refreshed. "Did you sleep well?"

April dismissed the system interface with a flick of her wrist, her sharp features instantly relaxing into a gentle, quiet warmth.

At one point, Emily had gotten up to go use the restroom and slept off on the bed upstairs without realizing it.

"I slept fine," April replied, sitting up and taking one of the warm mugs from her twin.

She took a slow, warming sip of the cocoa, her gaze lingering softly on Emily’s bright, peaceful expression.

Piece, huh?

A quiet, contemplative warmth filled her chest as she watched her twin settle onto the cushions beside her. Regardless of whatever absurd cosmic game or grand scheme the system was trying to orchestrate, it seemed she was simply destined to find Emily in this life.

She didn’t care about whatever grand destiny the system kept dangling over her head, nor did she care to be a player on some invisible chessboard. All she truly wanted—and all she was ruthlessly preparing for—was to live a quiet, isolated, and happy life inside her impenetrable fortress. Just her, her sister, and her two mythic beasts, completely untouched by the rotting world outside.

"What is it?" Emily asked, blinking innocently as she caught April staring. "Is there something on my face?"

"No," April murmured softly, a rare, gentle smile reaching her eyes as she set her mug down on the glass coffee table. "Nothing at all."

She just hoped whatever ridiculous plot the universe was cooking up wouldn’t dare interfere with that simple dream. Because if it did, she wouldn’t hesitate to dismantle the board entirely.

"Anyway," April said, bringing her sharp focus back to the present. "Finish your cocoa. Samuel should be outside with the car soon."

"Right!" Emily nodded eagerly, taking a quick gulp. "The inspection for the cooking competition!"

"Precisely," April replied, rising smoothly from the sofa and smoothing down her clothes. "Let’s go see what kind of stage they’ve built for me."