Morning sunlight spread across Alkon City. Cars moved through busy roads. People walked through sidewalks carrying coffee cups and office bags like nothing in the world could ever go wrong.

Meanwhile....

Mr. Nobody walked slowly down the street with both hands inside his pockets. "...Man... yesterday was actual hell." He looked exhausted even during the day time. Dark circles rested beneath his eyes. "First, hundreds of gangsters. Then a cyborg Bruce Lee wannabe. Then, almost dying. Then the mysterious BI*H higher being nonsense."

He sighed dramatically,"How the hell would Aiden have saved Toma if I had not awakened?" The thought genuinely confused him now.

Suddenly....

TING!

A blue system window appeared before him.

[System Notification]

[New Feature Unlocked]

Nobody blinked. "...Huh?" He immediately stopped walking. "A new feature?"

The system screen expanded.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[New Function Available]

[Alternative Timeline Viewer]

Description:

User may now observe timelines where the user never awakened.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Nobody stared at the screen. "...Wait you mean..."

Another message appeared.

[Affirmative] (￣ヘ￣）

[User may observe original plot progression without interference]

Nobody’s eyes widened slowly. "...Hold on. So I can see the actual story? The world where Aiden handled everything himself?"

[Affirmative] (￣ヘ￣）

Nobody became genuinely interested now. "...Okay. Now THIS sounds entertaining." He immediately thought about something. "Then show me...the timeline during Toma’s first kidnapping."

The system responded instantly.

𝙻𝙾𝙰𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶...

▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░ 55%

▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ 100%

[Loading Alternative Timeline...]

[Please Stand By]

Light distorted around him.

Then....

SHHHHHH....

A new scene formed before his eyes in the system screen.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

ALTERNATIVE TIMELINE

USER STATUS:

NONEXISTENT

PLOT STATUS:

UNCHANGED

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It was nighttime. Rain poured heavily across Alkon City.

Inside a black van, Toma struggled desperately. "LET ME GO!"

One gangster tightly held her arms. Another covered her mouth roughly. "Shut her up!"

Toma bit one man’s hand hard.

"AAARGH! You little bitch!"

SLAP! Her head turned sideways from the impact.

Nobody watched silently from outside the scene. "...Damn. Did this really happen? I would have given them a more bitter death if I had known?"

The van sped through empty roads.

Meanwhile

Elsewhere inside the wedding hall, Aiden stood frozen after hearing the news. "What do you mean she disappeared?!"

A security guard nervously answered: "We lost camera feed near the east hallway."

Aiden immediately understood. "...Kidnapping."

His face darkened instantly.

Then He grabbed his phone sharply. "Chief Han."

The police chief answered immediately. "...Mr. Sullivan?"

"My friend Toma’s been taken."

Then the chief’s voice turned serious. "...Understood. We’re mobilizing now."

Aiden ended the call instantly.

Nearby guests looked terrified seeing him like this.

One guest carefully spoke,"Aiden... maybe we should wait for police support."

Aiden suddenly slammed his fist against the wall.

BAM!

"No."

Everyone froze.

"We move NOW."

Outside....

Rain crashed heavily against the city.

Aiden stepped into a black vehicle with several trusted company guards. His expression had completely changed.

Nobody watched everything quietly. "...Damn. So this is the original version of Aiden. My world version kept being a jerk."

The car accelerated through wet streets rapidly.

Inside, one officer asked carefully,"Sir... do you know who might be behind this?"

Aiden stared outside the rain-covered window. "...Mirai Corporation. Kuruda."

Another guard frowned. "But without evidence....?"

"I don’t care." His voice sounded terrifyingly calm. "I’ll get answers directly."

Meanwhile, Inside the moving van Toma continued struggling. "Please stop! Someone will find me!"

One gangster laughed mockingly. "Not tonight."

Another man spoke from the front seat. "Boss said keep her alive until delivery."

Toma’s breathing shook slightly. Fear slowly filled her chest now.

Outside the vehicle police sirens suddenly echoed distantly.

WEEEOOOOO....

The gangsters cursed instantly. "SHIT! How did police find us already?!" The driver accelerated harder.

Meanwhile....

Aiden’s car moved through another road nearby. His phone suddenly rang.

It was Chief Han. "We tracked a suspicious van moving toward East Industrial District."

Aiden immediately responded: "Send location."

Coordinates arrived instantly.

"Sir," one employee warned, "that area belongs to several underground groups."

Aiden coldly answered: "Good."

The vehicle accelerated harder. Rainwater exploded behind the tires.

Nobody folded his arms watching. "...Bro really turned into an action CEO protagonist."

Soon...

The gangster van entered abandoned industrial roads. Rusty warehouses surrounded the area. The driver cursed nervously. "Police are still behind!"

Another said,"Take her inside!"

The van stopped violently. Doors opened instantly.

Gangsters dragged Toma outside.

She tried resisting again. "LET GO!"

One man grabbed her hair aggressively. "Move!"

Toma cried out in pain.

Nobody’s expression darkened slightly watching. "...These bastards. If I really could I would have killed them thousands of times."

The criminals dragged her inside a large abandoned warehouse.

Inside, more armed men waited.

One tattooed gangster smirked. "So this is the girl? Boss really wants her alive huh?"

Another laughed. "She’s prettier than expected."

Toma stepped backward fearfully. "Don’t come closer!"

Then....

BOOOOOOM!

Warehouse doors suddenly exploded open. Everyone turned instantly. Rainwater blew inside violently.

And standing there was Aiden. His black suit was partially soaked from rain.

Several guards stood behind him.

One gangster blinked. "...What the hell?"

Aiden slowly stepped forward. "Release her."

The criminals burst out laughing. One pointed a gun directly at him. "You think this is some movie?"

CLICK.

More guns aimed toward Aiden. Yet..he kept walking.

"Lol..what’s with this edgy plot armour.." Nobody said.

Toma’s eyes widened. "Aiden?!"

Aiden looked at her briefly. "...You okay?"

Before she could answer...

BANG!

One gangster fired instantly.

Aiden moved sideways immediately. The bullet missed.

BAM!

Aiden punched one gangster directly in the face.

CRACK!

The man collapsed instantly.

Another rushed him with a pipe.

Aiden grabbed the weapon mid-swing. Then smashed his elbow directly into the attacker’s throat.

THUD!

The gangster dropped gasping.

Nobody blinked. "...Holy shit. So he could actually fight."

More gangsters rushed simultaneously. Aiden fought brutally. It was not stylish but efficient. Every movement direct and violent.

BAM!

One man slammed against crates.

CRASH!

Another got kicked into metal barrels.

Meanwhile gunfire erupted.

BANG!

BANG!

Police guards exchanged fire with armed criminals. Police sirens grew louder outside.

Chief Han shouted through megaphones: "THIS AREA IS SURROUNDED! DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"

Inside the warehouse....

Aiden reached Toma finally. He quickly untied her restraints. "Toma."

Her eyes shook slightly seeing him. "You actually came..."

Aiden frowned. "Of course I came."

Suddenly...

CLICK.

A hidden gangster aimed a pistol directly at Aiden’s head.

"No one move."

Toma froze instantly.

The gangster smirked nervously. "You rich people really cause trouble."

Aiden slowly stepped in front of Toma protectively. "...You won’t escape."

The man laughed shakily. "Maybe not. But you’ll die first."

Then....

BANG!

A gunshot echoed. The gangster collapsed instantly. Police sniper shoted at him.

Chief Han entered with officers immediately afterward. "AREA SECURED! ARREST EVERYONE!"

Police flooded the warehouse rapidly. Gangsters were forced to the ground. Handcuffs clicked repeatedly.

Toma breathed shakily. "...It’s over..."

Aiden looked around carefully. Then noticed something. He saw a phone lying near stacked crates. Still connected to an active call. Aiden slowly picked it up. "...Who is this?"

A distorted voice spoke calmly. "...Interesting."

Aiden’s eyes narrowed sharply. "You sent them."

The voice chuckled faintly. "But you still arrived in time."

"Who are you?"

Another small laugh came. "You’ll learn eventually."

CLICK.

The call disconnected.

Aiden stared at the phone silently. His expression darkened.

Nearby....

Chief Han approached. "Mr. Sullivan?"

Aiden slowly lowered the phone. "...This wasn’t random. Toma was targeted intentionally."

The chief frowned. "You suspect Mirai?"

Aiden answered coldly: "...I’m certain now."

The warehouse remained filled with flashing police lights. Gangsters were being dragged outside one after another. Some cursed loudly. Some begged. Some stayed silent with defeated expressions.

Meanwhile, Toma sat quietly on a wooden crate while a female officer checked the bruises on her wrists.

"You’re safe now," the officer said gently.

Toma nodded weakly. But her eyes kept drifting toward Aiden.

He stood near the warehouse entrance speaking with Chief Han.

Even from afar, she could feel the anger radiating from him.

Nobody watched silently nearby through the system projection. "...Man. He really lost his mind here."

Inside the warehouse, Chief Han crossed his arms. "We arrested twenty-three men. Most belong to underground groups connected to illegal transportation routes."

Aiden’s eyes remained cold. "And the mastermind?"

The chief sighed slightly. "They won’t speak easily."

Aiden immediately walked toward one of the captured gangsters.

The criminal looked away nervously.

Aiden crouched slightly before him. "Who hired you?"

The gangster laughed shakily. "Go to hell."

Aiden grabbed his collar instantly.

BAM!

The man slammed against the wall hard.

Several officers became startled. "Sir!"

Aiden ignored them completely. "WHO..HIRED...YOU!" Each word sounded sharper than the last.

The gangster swallowed nervously. "I-I don’t know his name! We only got orders through phones!"

Aiden’s grip tightened harder. "Then describe him."

"We never saw his face!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Another officer stepped closer carefully. "Mr. Sullivan."

Chief Han also spoke,"That’s enough."

Aiden remained still several seconds. Then finally let go.

The gangster dropped coughing heavily..

Meanwhile...outside the warehouse police cars lined the rainy streets endlessly. News reporters were already arriving nearby. Cameras flashed constantly.

One reporter shouted,"Mr. Sullivan! Is it true your childhood companion was kidnapped tonight?! Do you suspect corporate involvement?!"

Security immediately blocked them.

Aiden ignored every camera completely. Right now only one thing mattered to him and that was Toma. He walked back toward her slowly. "Toma."

She looked up. "...Yeah?"

Aiden frowned slightly seeing the bruise on her cheek. "Did they hit you?"

"...A little."

Then Aiden quietly said: "...Sorry."

Toma blinked slightly. "...Why are you apologizing?"

"Because this happened due to me."

"No." She shook her head immediately. "This isn’t your fault."

Aiden looked away briefly. But inside he blamed himself completely.

Nobody folded his arms while observing. The system beside him displayed small information windows.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Relationship Status:

Aiden → Toma

Current Emotional State:

Protective

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Nobody immediately pointed at the screen. "AYO.So the system can expose feelings too? So that means I can also find out if the current version of Toma has feelings for me or not."

Another window appeared.

[Feature Locked] (∩^o^)⊃

"Damn. Teasing me now, huh?"

Back inside the alternative timeline...

One injured gangster was suddenly dragged toward police vehicles while screaming. "You people have no idea who you’re messing with!"

Chief Han narrowed his eyes. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

The gangster laughed madly. "The boss won’t let this go!"

Aiden immediately stepped closer. "...Who."

The gangster smirked despite bleeding from his mouth. "You’ll find out soon enough."

Then he suddenly laughed louder. "Your precious company is already rotting from inside!"

Aiden froze slightly. "...Inside?"

The alternative timeline scene slowly began fading afterward in the screen.

Mr. Nobody stood back on the daytime city street again. "...Whoa....Okay. So THAT’S how it originally happened." He rubbed the back of his neck slowly. "...No wonder Aiden became such an aggressive guy later."

The system window appeared again.

[Alternative Timeline ’Kidnapping of Blossom’ Playback Complete]

Nobody stared upward thoughtfully. "...Still."

He smirked slightly afterward. "On that timeline...Toma got a much cooler hero."

Then immediately paused. "...Wait....Actually maybe not."

"Guys, you know who is more cooler, right?"