Chapter 320
The absolute priority was still curing Derek.
With Derek’s max-affection reward redeemed, the next line was the reward for reaching 60 affection points with Liam. This time, the system didn’t pop up a menu for Suzy to choose from. Instead, it simply dropped the item directly.
[Congratulations, Host, you have received the reward: Protective Shield.]
The sudden drop caught Suzy off guard. Huh? No choice this time? She had assumed this reward would be like the previous ones, giving her a few options to choose from, but the system had bypassed that entirely.
"System, do I not get to choose this time?" Suzy couldn’t help but ask.
[Host, I have personally filtered these rewards for you, leaving only the ones best suited to your current situation.]
"Oh." Hearing the explanation, Suzy didn’t dwell on it. After all, the system wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. The two of them were bound to the same fate now—she needed the system, and the system needed her. She chose to trust it.
"So... what does this Protective Shield do?" she asked.
The system brought up a detailed item page for her. As the information flooded her mind, her eyes widened in shock.
A protective shield was exactly what it sounded like, but this one could block all incoming damage for up to five minutes. Once activated, she would essentially enter a state of total invincibility, completely immune even to gunfire. The only exception would be if someone decided to fire a missile at her.
But realistically, who would waste a missile on her? Suzy seriously doubted anyone with that kind of firepower would squander such a precious resource on a single target. Essentially, once activated, she would be unkillable.
What a massive win! This was an incredible piece of gear. The system had made a phenomenal choice.
"System, you really know how to pick ’em," Suzy praised with a grin.
[Would I ever let you get shortchanged?]
Digging deeper into the description, Suzy discovered another crucial feature: the shield could be split.
If she broke it into five separate shards, the duration for each would be reduced to one minute. If she kept it solely for herself, it lasted the full five minutes.
This functionality was perfect for her. She wasn’t particularly worried about her own safety, given that she had her pocket dimension as a ultimate escape hatch. The ones she actually worried about were Thomas, Leonard, and the rest of the group. If she could distribute these shield shards to them, it meant they would each gain a vital lifeline. A minute of absolute invincibility was practically equivalent to an extra life.
She was thrilled with this new reward—incredibly satisfied. The system truly had her back, picking exactly what she needed.
"Alright, System, hit me with the next one!" Suzy urged, practically vibrating with excitement.
Next up was Liam’s 80-point affection reward. True to its word, the system deployed it directly.
[Congratulations, Host, you have received: The Detector.]
When the notification popped up, Suzy blinked in confusion. A detector? What’s that? Do I even have a use for it?
Still, the system wouldn’t steer her wrong, so she assumed it had a purpose. With that thought, she opened the details tab. As she read through it, her expression shifted.
This detector was actually immensely useful for her current predicament. It could identify "Descendants" in this world—people like Aaron and Janine who had suddenly crossed over into her universe with the sole mission of assassinating her.
The detector could be used three times. Once she locked onto a target, she could run a scan to confirm whether they were a Descendant.
To Suzy, this tool was a massive asset. Before his death, Aaron had warned her that even if he failed, others would be sent to finish the job. And the next wave of operatives would be even more twisted and ruthless. They might do exactly what Aaron did—hijack the bodies of people close to her, lurking in her inner circle to strike a fatal blow when she least expected it.
The detector would allow her to bypass a significant amount of risk. The moment she suspected someone was acting out of character, a quick scan would reveal their true identity.
"System, you’re a lifesaver!" Suzy said, genuinely touched. Every single item the system had selected was something she desperately needed.
Finally, it was time for the last reward: the one for maxing out Liam’s affection. Like the others, it materialized directly.
[Congratulations, Host, you have received: The Mysterious Fruit.]
The moment the system’s voice faded, a fruit appeared out of thin air right in her hand. It wasn’t large—just a bit smaller than a chicken egg—perfectly round, plump, and radiating a faint golden sheen. The gold wasn’t a cold, metallic glint, but rather a warm, vibrant glow that looked as though it had been thoroughly soaked in sunlight.
It sat heavy in her palm, smooth and cool to the touch, resembling a pebble polished by rushing river currents for thousands of years. Bringing it closer, she caught a crisp, sweet fragrance that was perfectly balanced. As the scent drifted into her nose, a wave of comfort washed over her, and even the stinging ache from the scratch on her left cheek seemed to lessen.
Suzy’s eyes lit up. Her intuition screamed that this thing was a treasure of the highest order. Though she had never seen a fruit like this in her life, her gut never lied.
Eager to see what it could do, she tapped open the details tab. But when the screen popped up, she stared blankly.
For a second, she thought the system had glitched. Because the details column was completely, utterly blank.
Suzy scrolled up and down, repeatedly closing and reopening the tab, but no text appeared. The name was simply listed as "Mysterious Fruit," and the effects section featured three giant question marks, lacking even a basic "Unknown" label.
Suzy’s mouth twitched. "System, what on earth is this?" She held the fruit up to the light, inspecting it closer. Under the illumination, the fruit became translucent, revealing faint, flowing golden veins within, almost like a living organism breathing inside the shell.
[The Mysterious Fruit is the ultimate reward for maxing out Liam’s affection. Upon consumption, there is a fifty percent chance of awakening an unknown supernatural ability, and a fifty percent chance of... experiencing a severe adverse reaction.]
The system’s mechanical voice paused slightly, as if carefully choosing its words.
"Awakening an ability?!" Suzy’s voice pitched up dramatically. She caught the key phrase instantly. This thing could grant superpowers? That went completely beyond her wildest expectations. In her memory of the original web novel, nobody had abilities.
But on second thought... whatever. The plot had already shattered into a million pieces anyway, so she might as well throw the rulebook out the window.
"So, what’s the adverse reaction?" Suzy asked, her brow furrowing slightly. A fifty percent chance to awaken an ability meant it was a coin toss. Those odds were actually pretty high, she noted internally.
[Minor symptoms include comas, high fevers, and extreme physical weakness. Severe symptoms include... ability backlash, mental collapse, or even death.]
Suzy’s fingers clamped tightly around the fruit. "Did you say death?" she demanded, her voice rising. "And you chose this for me?"
[Host, that is precisely why I filtered this fruit out for you,] the system explained, its tone turning serious. [A fifty percent risk of death is a gamble no ordinary person would dare to take. But you are different, Host.]
"How am I different?"