Chapter 83
Ray overheard the chatter behind them and immediately tensed up. People were already talking super openly about superpowers, even straight-up dropping his name. He shot a quick glance at Christy. She was still glued to her phone like she hadn’t heard a damn thing. Ray let out a quiet breath and went back to staring out the train window.
Not long after, the train stopped at the station near the mall. They hopped off and headed into the crowded shopping center. Ray took charge right away.
"Alright, let’s hit the movies first," he said, stepping ahead. "What do you wanna watch?"
Christy walked next to him with a light step, grinning super wide. Her eyes were sparkling like a little kid who just got a brand new toy. "Whoa, this is gonna be so fun! I barely ever go to the mall like this, especially to catch a movie with a guy. You pick, Ray! I’m down for whatever. I’m just so freaking happy today!"
Ray nodded, but deep down a little doubt started creeping in.
’She’s way too excited. Like, actually pumped. Or... is she faking it?* ’
He remembered Christy mentioning she knew some federal agent. Even though he met her before she ever said that, he still couldn’t shake the suspicion.
People like that don’t play around. She could totally be undercover, keeping tabs on him. But Ray decided to shove those thoughts aside for now. Today he just wanted to chill.
They reached the theater. Ray checked the schedule quick, then picked a family-friendly animated movie that was playing—something light, funny, and not heavy at all. No big action flicks or horror. He bought the tickets, grabbed popcorn and drinks, then chose seats in the middle row that looked comfy.
During the movie, Christy was acting like a regular girl on a first date. She laughed her ass off at the funny parts, sometimes grabbing Ray’s arm while going, "Look at that! Isn’t that hilarious?!" Her eyes kept sparkling and she’d lean toward him ’cause she was so into it. She even whispered some cute, innocent little comments every now and then.
Ray would glance at her sometimes. ’Is this her real personality? Or is she putting on an act?’
But every time that thought popped up, Christy just seemed more genuine. Ray finally decided to just enjoy it. At least for the next few hours.
The movie ended around 4:30 in the afternoon. When the lights came back on, Christy was still grinning big.
"Wow, that movie was so good! I’m really happy today," she said, grabbing Ray’s arm for a second. "Thanks, Ray."
Ray gave a small smile. "Wanna grab some food first? My treat. Consider it your birthday gift."
Christy nodded super fast, her face lighting up even more. "Hell yeah! I’m starving. You’re seriously the best."
Ray took the lead again. He picked a casual restaurant on the upper floor of the mall that wasn’t too packed. They got a table in a kinda quiet corner. After they ordered and sat down, Ray stood up.
"I’m gonna hit the restroom real quick. You wait here."
Christy nodded innocently. "Okay, be careful."
Ray walked to the men’s restroom at the end of the hallway. He went into one of the stalls, locked the door, then stood in front of the sink for a moment, staring at his reflection. After making sure nobody else was around, he opened the system.
He stared at the system interface and let out a slow breath.
’Ah yeah... Daily mission. Might as well knock that out now.’
He picked a simple mission. The objective popped up clear and straightforward:
Alter Common Sense about Secrets.
Ray smirked a little in his head.
’Perfect timing. With this, maybe she’ll open up easier about the stuff she’s been hiding.’
He activated the Solo Alter feature.
This time the interface looked different.
It wasn’t just the usual text box and confirm button. Now there was a whole new panel with big text at the top:
[SOLO ALTER FEATURE – TARGETED MODE]
[Target Selection: Automatic based on the Host’s current thoughts and intent]
Ray immediately thought of Christy.
The second that thought hit, the panel changed. Christy’s face appeared right in the middle of the screen—a super detailed photo, like the system yanked it straight from his memory. But above her face, there was a name written in bold:
[Target: Ekaterina Volkov]
[Current Alias: Christy]
[Age: 24]
[Common Sense Alteration Input:.....]
Ray swallowed hard. His throat suddenly felt dry.
He just stood there for a few seconds, staring at that foreign name above the face of the girl he’d known as Christy. His heart started beating faster.
He muttered quietly, voice barely audible in the empty mall bathroom stall:
"...So her real name isn’t Christy, huh?"
Ray was still standing in front of the sink inside the empty bathroom stall. His heart was pounding way harder than normal. The name "Ekaterina Volkov" kept looping in his head, making him even more curious. Who the hell was this chick actually? Federal agent? Spy? Or some even weirder shit?
He stared at the blank input field on the system.
’Nice. This should make her open up way easier. I’m dying to know what this girl really is.’
Ray let out a slow breath, his fingers moving through the air like he was typing on an invisible keyboard. He carefully put in the line:
[The way to show you wanna be friends is by spilling a secret]
He read it over one more time. Sounded pretty harmless, but the effect could be massive. His curiosity was already off the charts, so he didn’t overthink it. His finger hit [Confirm] right away.
The interface lit up instantly. A faint blue glow spread around the panel, and Christy’s face on the screen blinked slowly like it was updating. Then big text flashed for a second:
[Alteration Applied Successfully]
[Common Sense Updated – Target: Ekaterina Volkov]
[100 Alter Points consumed]
[Solo Alter Activated - 00:10:00]
"Fuck, that cost is insane... but whatever," he muttered.
’Hope this works. I just wanna know the truth. Nothing more than that.’
He closed the system, stepped out of the stall, washed his hands real quick, splashed some cold water on his face to chill out, then headed back to the restaurant.
Christy was still at the quiet corner table, messing with the straw in her drink while she waited. The second she saw him coming back, that big smile popped up again — but something felt a little different. Her eyes looked more... open. Like some new little urge had just kicked in.
"Ray! You took forever," she said with a small laugh. "I was this close to ordering food without you. You didn’t bail on me, right?"
Ray sat back down, trying to play it cool. "Sorry, the line was long."
They went quiet for a bit. Food still hadn’t shown up. Christy kept tracing her fingers on the table like she was thinking hard. Normally she’d already be rambling about the movie or random shit. But this time the silence dragged on longer than usual.
Then she suddenly looked up. Smile still there, but her voice came out softer, almost like a whisper.
"Ray... you know, I don’t really do this kinda thing much. Watching a movie with a guy, grabbing food together, then just... chilling and talking like this." She paused, like the words were trying to come out but she was still holding them back.
Ray waved the waitress over and they ordered simple junk food — burgers, fries, and sodas. Nothing fancy. While they waited, Christy started talking more than usual. At first it was random stuff about the movie, but then she kept going, like the words just wouldn’t stop.
Ray watched her, pretending to listen while his brain was already calculating.
’Okay... this is it. Time to get the truth.’
He waited for a small pause, then jumped in.
He leaned back a little, keeping his voice casual.
"Euhmm... Why’d you even wanna hang out with me in the first place? Like, be friends and all that."
Christy let out a short laugh — not the nervous kind from before. This one had a sharper edge.
"C’mon, Ray. You really think I wanted to be actual friends with you?"
She laughed again, louder this time, and leaned forward on the table. The shy girl from earlier was gone. The person sitting across from him now felt... different. More relaxed.
Ray frowned.
"Why then?"
Christy tilted her head, still smiling like she was enjoying this.
"Because of my job, obviously. You think I’d go out of my way to get close to some random guy without getting something out of it?" She chuckled again. "Hahaha... of course not. At first you were just a target. Easy mark. But then that whole thing went viral and now it’s a whole mess. Super annoying, honestly."
Ray swallowed hard. His mouth suddenly felt dry.
"Target?" he asked quietly. "Target for what?"
Christy opened her mouth to answer—
But right then the waitress showed up with their food, dropping the plates on the table with a loud clatter.
Christy just smiled wider, eyes locked on Ray like she was waiting to see what he’d do next.