Chapter 3Game of Hearts: The System Glitch

Through the remote monitor, I watched Julian Thorne freeze.

He looked like he had just gotten home and was changing. His dress shirt was half-unbuttoned, revealing abs usually hidden under tailored suits.

I cracked open a soda, leaned back on the couch, and stared at the screen.

Julian was probably trying to figure out if he was hallucinating.

I typed again:

[Host Mission: Romance the Heroine, Sarah Vance. Affection level 100 is considered success.] [Current Heroine Affection: 0.]

I debated what number to give him, but decided to mirror their affection for me. Julian and I had only met once—the day I returned to the family. Zero seemed fair.

River Thorne, on the other hand? His affection for me was -50. He was clearly a black-and-white kind of guy; if you weren't his friend, you were his enemy.

I switched to River’s feed.

He was shirtless, just out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. He was towel-drying his hair, looking confused. "What the hell?"

After listening to the system repeat the rules, he muttered my name.

Then he cursed.

"Romance? Screw that. Find someone else. I'm not doing it."

I scrolled through the system shop and selected the "Electric Shock" punishment.

[System detects Host negligence. Heroine affection critically low. Initiating Random Punishment Mode.]

Before River could react, I hit the button.

On screen, he collapsed, convulsing and howling in pain.

After the first wave, River clearly hadn't submitted. He was spewing profanities.

"I don't accept this..."

I hit the button harder.

Another scream.

But he was still stubborn.

River was a tough nut to crack. I shocked him a dozen times.

Finally, trembling with fear, he gasped, "Stop... I accept."

I tapped the button lightly one last time.

This time, he let out a soft groan and panted.

I rubbed my ears and duplicated the audio file of his panting.

My real system watched this in silence.

"What exactly are you romancing?" it asked.

It probably looked more like I was torturing them for fun.

"Relax," I said.

I typed again:

[Host must raise Heroine Sarah Vance's affection to a positive number within two weeks. Failure will result in Random Punishment Mode.]

River, gasping on the floor, couldn't believe it. But the shadow of the electric shocks loomed large. He could still feel the phantom electricity buzzing in his veins. He felt like he had lost control of his own body.

His brain was mush. It took him a while to even remember who Sarah Vance was.

Oh right. The sister of Chloe Vance. The real daughter from the boonies.

At the same time, I got a notification: River's affection for me had dropped even lower.