Chapter 95
Milady just glared at that rude-ass remark. Instead of getting pissed off, her lips curled into this thin little smirk and she let out a soft chuckle.
"Fufufu... You’ve got some balls, little dog."
ZAP!
Pain slammed into Ray’s head like a fucking truck. That same feeling—like his brain was getting stabbed by thousands of poisoned needles—came roaring back with zero mercy. Ray’s eyes went wide in panic, squeezing shut as he grabbed his head. His chest burned with pure terror—he’d totally blanked that this short chick in front of him had full remote control over his pain.
The pain vanished a second later, leaving Ray panting like he’d just run a marathon.
"I’m a nice person, Ray," Milady said casually, swinging her legs that were dangling off the chair. "So I’m gonna let you apologize properly."
Ray wiped the cold sweat off his face. Cursing her out in his head would just make it explode again, so he swallowed every last bit of his massive ego.
"S-sorry..." he muttered, trying to chill the tension. "I fucked up, man. I got carried away running my mouth too much."
Milady’s smile just got bigger. "Oh? You think that’s enough? Sorry, but I’m way more extra than you think."
She pointed down at the dusty wooden floor. "Kneel. Apologize like a dog that actually feels bad."
Ray’s jaw clenched. He stared at her like she’d lost her mind. But the memory of that brain-melting pain was still fresh, so he had no choice but to obey this short girl. Teeth grinding, he got off the chair.
He dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the dirty floor, doing everything he could not to curse her out in his head. He wiped his mind completely clean of any insults.
"I... apologize, Milady," Ray said through gritted teeth.
"Good boy," Milady replied, sounding pleased.
Ray shot back up and brushed the dust off his forehead. The second his hand touched his bare face, he froze mid-motion.
*Wait... I’m not wearing a mask?!*
His eyes went huge. It just hit him—he was still viral as hell from everything that went down recently! But the whole trip here through the forest, on public transport, walking around outside... nobody recognized him. No phones pointing at him, no whispering, no weird looks.
Seeing the confused look on Ray’s face, Milady chuckled.
"Fufufu, just realized, huh?" She crossed her arms. "That’s all thanks to me being nice, Ray. I tweaked everyone’s perception along the way so you could get here without getting swarmed by a mob."
Ray let out a heavy sigh, equal parts annoyed and helpless. "Okay, okay... whatever you say," he cut in fast, not wanting to drag this out. He looked at her flat. "We done now? That it?"
Milady slowly shook her head, smirk still going strong. "Not yet."
She leaned back all relaxed. "Want help dealing with Julia or nah?"
"No thanks," Ray shot back immediately. Getting this crazy chick involved would just make everything ten times more messy. "I can handle it myself."
"Cool," Milady said, zero offense taken. Then she looked him dead in the eye and spoke super blunt, no sugarcoating. "Remember one thing. Don’t ever fuck her or use your system on Julia."
Ray raised an eyebrow.
"Why? Because listen, Ray... you’re being watched," she continued, voice cold. "Your apartment is crawling with hidden cameras."
That info hit Ray like a brick. So Julia’s setup went that far. He nodded slowly, letting it sink in. "Yeah... got it."
He glanced at the dark doorway. "Can we go now? We’re literally in the middle of the woods, I wanna head home."
"Not yet," Milady said quickly. "I wanna watch you do your *daily mission* right now."
Ray’s eyebrows twitched. "Huh?!"
Milady rested her chin on her hand, giving him that condescending look. "What? I just want some entertainment. You’re already here, so I’m getting free comedy."
Ray sighed hard. He had to just go along with this magical shorty or risk his brain getting fried again. "Fine... whatever you want..."
"But remember," Milady cut in fast, pointing her tiny finger right at his face. "Don’t even think about trying to cop a feel on me during the mission. Watch yourself if your dirty hands start itching!"
A vein on Ray’s temple looked ready to pop. He was so done with constantly getting accused of being some perverted sex slave.
"I’m not into you, midget!" he snapped, pissed.
Milady didn’t get mad—she just laughed softly. "Let’s go. Oh, put this mask on first."
*Sret!*
She tossed a medical mask straight at his face. Ray caught it on reflex. He looked at it, then at her, confused. "Why the mask again? Can’t you just mess with people’s perception like before?"
"Duh, that’s convenient for you, right?" Milady rolled her eyes. "I’m not wasting my energy using my *power* nonstop just to babysit a still-rebellious slave like you. Put it on yourself!"
Ray hissed under his breath but still strapped the black mask on. He looked around the gloomy old cabin and groaned. "When are we leaving? And when the hell am I doing this mission?"
"Now. Open your panel and grab the daily mission," Milady ordered like a boss.
Ray waved his hand through the air and tapped the floating hologram logo near his chest. A faint blue screen popped up. He scrolled through the menu and picked Medium difficulty.
Milady, watching his face, raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm... Medium? I figured you’d only be brave enough for Easy."
The system panel blinked and showed the new objective:
[Daily Mission: Medium]
Target: Shopping Mall.
Objective: Alter the common sense around friendly greeting methods in the shopping mall. The host must successfully pull off at least 2 alterations that actually stick.
Ray read it in his head. The second he finished the last line, Milady nodded like she’d been reading it too.
Ray jerked back, staring at her suspiciously. "How the fuck do you know what the mission says? Can you see my panel?!"
"Of course not, dummy," Milady said casually. "I just read your mind while you were spelling out the text on the panel. I can’t see anyone else’s system panel. Same goes for you or any other system user in the world—we can only see our own."
Ray let out a quiet breath of relief in his head. ’Okay... at least I still got a little privacy.’
"Alright, let’s head to the mall and get your mission done," Milady said, hopping off her chair. Her tiny feet hit the wooden floor and she strolled casually toward the exit door.
Seeing her walk off, Ray immediately started complaining again. "Wait, hold up! It’s super far! You seriously expect us to walk from the middle of the damn forest to the shopping mall? Are you crazy?!"
Milady didn’t answer. She just giggled, turned the old wooden door handle, and swung it wide open.
"Come on out first, little dog," she said, stepping through.
Ray grumbled the whole way but followed her out anyway. The second his foot crossed the doorway, he stopped dead. His eyes went wide as saucers, mouth hanging open behind the mask.
"What the fuck?!" he shouted, voice muffled.
Instead of trees, dirt, and cold night forest air... they were standing in a narrow alley squeezed between two tall brick walls. The air smelled like car exhaust and food from somewhere nearby.
Ray whipped around in shock. The wooden door he’d just walked through was actually the back door of some building, with a little metal sign that said:EMPLOYEES ONLY.
"How... how the hell?!" Ray pointed at the door with a shaking hand. "Weren’t we just in the middle of the forest?! The old cabin?!"
Milady burst out laughing at his country-bumpkin reaction.
"Ahahaha! Chill, this ain’t some mysterious portal or dimension bullshit," she said, waving her hands. "It’s just the back door of some quiet restaurant I borrowed. *Magic?* Nah, just a little trick. Let’s go!"
---
After spending quite a while traveling normally—taking public transport then walking the rest of the way—they finally arrived at the busy shopping mall. It was packed with weekend crowds, bright lights, and the usual noise of people chatting and shopping.
Milady patted Ray’s shoulder once, her tiny hand barely reaching.
"Alright, little dog. Open your system already. Hurry up."
Ray clicked his tongue but raised his hand and tapped the floating hologram logo near his chest. The faint blue panel appeared in front of him. He was just about to scroll through it when—
A tall, beautiful woman in her late twenties walked past them while looking at her phone. She had that mature, sexy vibe—long legs in tight jeans and a low-cut top that showed some cleavage. She wasn’t paying attention and accidentally bumped straight into Milady’s shoulder.
Thud.
"Ah—! I’m so sorry!" the woman quickly apologized, bending down a little because of the height difference. "I wasn’t looking. Are you okay, sweetie?"
Milady didn’t act like her usual smug or sadistic self. Instead, she just blinked innocently and gave a small, soft smile.
"It’s okay... I’m fine," she said gently, almost shyly, even rubbing her shoulder a little like she was a fragile girl who got lightly hurt.
Ray, standing right next to her, suddenly felt something weird stir in his chest.
’...The fuck?’
When Milady acted all normal and harmless like this—big eyes, soft voice, looking small and defenseless—she actually looked kinda cute. Like the type of girl you’d feel the urge to protect. The total contrast with her usual "I can fry your brain" personality was messing with his head.
He was still staring when—
Pinch.
Milady’s fingers suddenly shot out and twisted the skin on his stomach hard.
"—!" Ray jerked violently, barely holding back a sound.
The beautiful woman saw it and let out a small, amused laugh. She looked at Ray with a warm smile.
"Your little sister is really cute and pretty. You should take good care of her, okay?"
Ray’s brain short-circuited for a second. He desperately swallowed the laughter that wanted to burst out. His shoulders were shaking as he forced a straight face.
"Ah... yeah, of course," he managed to say, voice a little strained. "I’ll always be a good big brother."
The woman giggled again, clearly thinking they were just normal siblings.
"Such a sweet brother. Alright, you two have fun~"
She waved and walked away into the crowd.
The moment she was gone, Milady slowly turned her head toward Ray.
Her expression had completely flipped.
The soft, innocent look was gone. What replaced it was a cold, cynical, almost sinister smile. She stared at him like she was looking at something pathetic.
Ray felt a chill run down his spine.
Then Milady spoke, her voice low and casual, like she was just talking about lunch.
"You’re gonna mess with that woman. Perverted style."
Ray swallowed hard.
’This short fucking psycho...’