System Mission: Seduce the Final Boss [BL]-Chapter 52: I’m on the news for the wrong reasons!
Ring.
Ring!
Ring!!!
Blake jolted upright, startled. The sudden movement sent a strong pain through his muscles, and he lurched forward, nearly slipping off the edge of the bed.
"...shit!"
Still, he managed to catch himself before gravity finished the job.
The sound kept going on in an annoyingly persistent way.
Blake turned his head. The phone was right beside him.
’Maybe it’s him?’
His eyes narrowed slightly as he reached for it, fingers all sore.
The name on the screen made him pause.
Mother.
"...um... what the hell..."
For a second, he just stared at it, then, he frowned faintly, his thumb hovering over the screen.
Quite honestly, he didn’t feel like he could answer.
Not even a little.
He didn’t even know what their relationship was.
Mother.
The word made his chest heavy with nothing.
Yes, it was empty, like something he was supposed to recognize, but didn’t.
The ringing stopped.
Blake blinked once, then let out a small breath through his nose.
"...good."
He dropped the phone onto the bed beside him, already done with it.
Ignoring the call entirely, he unlocked it again and opened their chat.
Didn’t really seem like anything changed.
"So, why on earth did she call..."
His brows knit together slightly.
"...Yeah no, let’s avoid her showing up here, like we’re actually in some sort of soap opera."
He swallowed, getting nauseous.
"I don’t even know that woman’s face."
That alone was reason enough.
Blake stared at the empty chat for another second, then sighed softly and pressed the call button.
The phone rang, but there was no answer.
"...really?"
He pulled it away slightly, staring at the screen.
"You call me first and then don’t pick up?"
Call ended.
Blake stared at it for a moment longer before lowering the phone slowly.
"...what..."
A small frown formed, deeper this time.
Why call him in the first place, if she wasn’t even going to answer?
His thoughts drifted, sluggish but persistent.
Maybe she was just that kind of person.
Not the type to completely disappear but randomly act all lovely..
No.
"...a leech..."
Blake muttered under his breath, the word tasting bitter despite how casually he said it.
Someone who didn’t abandon their own child but also drained them of attention, money and stability.
Whatever was easiest.
He leaned back slightly, exhaling.
"...whatever, not like I care."
Blake pushed himself up from the bed, feeling instant regret.
His entire body screamed in protest.
"...ah, shit—"
His legs felt weak as he tried to walk.
Tried being the key word, of course.
"...yeah, no..."
His balance wavered, forcing him to grab onto the nearby chair before he could collapse again.
Slowly, carefully, he lowered himself into it, shoulders slumping as soon as he sat down.
"...this is bad..."
Everything hurt in a really constant way, for now.
For a brief second, something tight twisted in his chest.
A weird, uncomfortable pressure.
Like he wanted to cry.
Blake blinked.
"...meh."
He exhaled sharply, shaking his head once.
"Not doing that."
Instead, he reached for the remote and turned on the TV.
Anything was better than sitting there thinking.
The screen flickered to life, colors shifting before settling on a news broadcast.
A woman in formal attire appeared, posture straight, expression composed.
"Breaking news this morning," she began, her voice clear and steady, "a high-level security breach has been reported within a restricted facility owned by AL-TECH Industries."
Blake froze.
"...huh?"
"A third party intruder successfully infiltrated the premises late last night, bypassing multiple layers of security before escaping the location. Authorities have confirmed that the individual remains unidentified and at large."
Blake’s stomach dropped.
"...no way..."
His grip on the armrest tightened slightly.
"They further stated that the suspect demonstrated abnormal mobility and resistance capabilities, suggesting the possible involvement of enhanced individuals or unauthorized augmentations."
Blake swallowed.
"...are you serious..."
"AL-TECH has released an official statement condemning the incident and has assured the public that no critical assets were compromised."
A pause. Wasn’t that a little bit of a lie, actually?
"They have also announced a substantial reward for any information leading to the capture or identification of the intruder."
Blake’s heart skipped.
"...you’ve got to be kidding me..."
The screen shifted.
And then, there he was, although not exactly him but the masked figure, instead.
"Mh, that’s kind of a relief..."
The image was already starting to look slightly distorted, almost like the image couldn’t fully hold onto his features, blurring at the edges, refusing to settle into something clear.
Still, it was definitely recognizable.
"This is bad, this is really bad..."
It’s not as if anyone had seen his real face.
But still, he was on the news.
On the news!
"They’re offering a reward, so people are going to look real hard for me, how annoying..."
Blake froze, a huge realisation also terrifying him.
"Wait, I also met Myles with that disguise!"
That was the real problem now, especially since Myles couldn’t really discover anything about him, a non-existent person. Sure, they had met once at the auction, but he tried to kill him, so it didn’t really count as an interaction.
But now that face was out there and was recorded, most importantly, broadcasted.
Even if it was distorted, even if it blurred and slipped from focus, it existed.
What worried him more was that anyone from that lab that got into direct contact with him could also remember some kind of behavioral detail, too.
"And if they get interviewed..."
Blake’s fingers curled tighter against his hair.
"...or worse..."
Kidnapped by Myles, as he would go that far if he needed to, he could really end up in danger, at some point,
His chest tightened, heart pounding faster.
Adrenaline surged again but, this time, his body wasn’t ready for it, because pain followed immediately.
"Tch!"
He staggered slightly before forcing himself back down into the chair.
"Calm down..."
Blake pushed himself up again, slower this time, and made his way toward the small table nearby.
Food. He needed something, anything.
He grabbed a packaged sandwich, tearing it open with more force than necessary before taking a bite.
He chewed slowly, his thoughts still racing.
He felt rather uneasy.
That was the only way to describe it.
Blake glanced at his phone again, unlocking it quickly.
Myles.
There were no messages, nothing since yesterday.
"Is that good or bad?"
Blake frowned slightly, another thought creeping in.
"...now that I think of it, my favorability..."
It had been stuck at 8 for a while now, with no change.
"..."
He exhaled slowly.
"Spoon."
[ Yes, Dear Host. ]
"This favorability thing,"
Blake leaned back slightly, eyes half-lidded.
"Can you at least define it now?"
[ No. ]
Blake’s eye twitched.
"...you never fail to disappoint me."
[ It depends on the target’s personal interpretation. ]
"I know."
[ It cannot be assigned a fixed definition. ]
Blake stared at the ceiling.
"...you’re so useless."
[ Your feedback has been noted. ]
"I’m sure it has."
He sighed, dragging a hand down his face.
"Whatever. Take out the blueprints."
The ring fell, light unfolding from it.
Blake blinked slowly.
"...right..."
The hologram hovered in front of him, layered with lines, symbols, text.
Lot of text.
"That’s way too much."
It was dense and overwhelming and annoyingly small.
"Seriously, how am I supposed to read this?!"
Blake reached for his phone, then grabbed a pencil and a sheet of paper from nearby.
"If I’m going to look at this for too long, I’m going to end up blind..."
He leaned forward slightly, squinting as he tried to make sense of it.
The largest structure stood out immediately.
"That’s SSRT tower..."
It was massive and detailed.
Layered with multiple floors, each one mapped out with precise structure.
"Yeah, that checks out."
Then, Blake frowned.
"But, what are those..."
Lines extending outward, like roads.
Multiple of them.
Branching out from the tower in different directions.
"That’s..."
Wrong.
Blake had been there.
He had seen the place.
There weren’t any roads like that.
Not above ground.
"...hold on..."
He quickly checked his phone, pulling up maps, images, anything he could cross-reference.
No sign of those paths.
"...so then..."
His gaze shifted back to the hologram.
"...it must be underground?"
Blake leaned closer, carefully tracing one of the lines with his eyes, trying to follow its path.
Reading was difficult.
The text was small, but he pushed through it slowly, his frown deepening.
"No way."
He traced another.
And another.
Each one stretching out, connecting.
"You’ve got to be kidding me!"
The conclusion formed piece by piece.
"There are tunnels through the whole country..."
His voice dropped slightly, disbelief creeping in as he instinctively covered his mouth.
Some of them led to other buildings.
Other cities.
He recognized a few names.
"...AOP building..."
He had been there just yesterday, and it was connected directly.
Blake swallowed.
"...what the hell..."
It didn’t stop there.
Hospitals, even some schools were connected to it underground, excluding his own, fortunately.
"But why?"
Blake leaned back slightly, staring at the hologram.
Something about it felt off.
Not dangerous, but uncomfortable.
But then again, SSRT tower belonged to the hero’s mentor, and that should mean something good and safe.
"...probably nothing..."
Blake muttered, though the uncertainty didn’t fully leave his voice.
"...yeah..."
A pause.
"...probably."
