Chapter 3: Two Targets, One Chance

I lay on my couch for a while before the system finally showed up, fashionably late as usual.

This was our sixth run together—at this point, we were like old sitcom partners who kept getting renewed for another season.

[Hey, sorry! HQ had me stuck in a meeting—classic Monday, right?]

I didn’t care. What else did I have to do?

Somewhere below, a neighbor’s dog barked at the mailman, and the smell of burnt toast drifted in from the hallway. The quiet of my one-bedroom on the edge of Maple Heights was only broken by the hum of my ancient fridge and the tick of the wall clock. The system’s voice buzzed in my head like static from a midnight talk radio host.

[You feeling okay? Sorry about last time—your death was kinda brutal, but it was the fastest and most straightforward way.]

[This time, let’s really strategize! No way we can’t win over Caleb Foster!]

I’d heard this speech five times already, so I couldn’t say I had much hope left.

"Wait, what’s going on?"

"Why is there an extra strategy target?"

"Derek Collins? Isn’t he Caleb Foster’s buddy?"

The system’s surprise made me check the virtual screen. Sure enough, this time there was a twist.

Just like the system said, a new name glowed on my target list:

Derek Collins.

What the hell did that mean?

Do I get to pick now?

A flutter of something like hope—or at least curiosity—stirred in me. Maple Heights just got a little less predictable.