195 His Test 2 (1/2)

Three years ago, two months after Chris returned to his family after recovering at Alessa's place from the innumerable injuries given by Leo Jones, his father suddenly had violent fits of cough, with blood and dark phlegm gushing out of his mouth. Later on, the man was diagnosed with late stage lung cancer. The news devastated the whole Meyer family, and they could not accept that the pillar of the house who was still strong and dependable just yesterday had suddenly woke up the next day with a deadline attached to his life.

Chris and his mother were equally in utter disbelief and grief as they watched their loved one lie unconscious and deathly pale in the hospital bed.

The doctor told them they would not give them false hope since late-stage cancer was really hard to treat. In fact, there was really no cure to it yet and all the current medicine could do was prolong a patient's life a bit and heighten the chance for a 'miracle'.

He didn't know if the doctor that time was bullshitting or not. But when he heard the world miracle, he closed his eyes and came to an important decision. Trusting a miracle that no one knows whether would come or not was a very difficult thing for him. The saying about choosing the lesser evil came to his mind. Unfortunately, though, the option which could help him at that time was the greater one.

The unwillingness to lose the father he had always loved and admired accelerated his acceptance of the system's existence since it belonged to another kind of miracle which people like him could somehow control and make use of.

Sofony Mendez once said that she went blind and was only able to see again through the system. He did his research and found out that eyes gouged out of their sockets would no longer see no matter how many eyeballs were implanted in it. It was just impossible due to the current science and technology's inability to reattach severed optic nerves.

Yet the system managed to magic this impossibility...

That was when he immediately realized that there was a way to treat his parent and make Claude Meyer, his father, the admirable man of the yesteryear again.

And so Chris abandoned some of his principles, all for the sake of gathering enough points. Even though the weak, poor, and innocent were spared by him, when he entered the entertainment world, it was never to be just a normal actor or model but preyed on scummy people who exploited others and obtained riches through trampling the weak and the poor underneath their feet. When thought based on the previous statement, it did seem that he helped humanity as a whole since those showbiz and government people engaging in illegal businesses and practices were weeded out by him.

However, if the ways he brought upon their downfall were to be brought to light, then it would be hard to say that he was remotely close to the word 'hero'. In the first place, since he had become a half-host, he didn't merely play with fire. Straight away, he stared into the abyss and even met its gaze when it stared back. Maybe it had even laughed at him since his reason for ruining others was quite selfish despite it seemingly looking like a display of filial piety.

He remembered that before that fateful day, a news report about a popular food brand's executive's suicide shook the country quite a lot and the media people fleetingly showed a video recorded interview of that man's family. The sight of that executive's children crying and begging for their dead father to go back to them shook his heart so badly, it made him realize the full extent of what his actions could cause to the innocent individuals related to those he was targeting.

Many blameless children lost their father just because he wanted to prevent losing his own father...

”MOOONNNSTERRRRRRRR!!!!! YOU'RE NOT MY SON!!!! YOU'RE A MONSTER!!!!”

When the stupid him back then cured his father and then tried to convince his mother that Claude had already fully recovered, this was the response he received. That time, the realization brought upon him by the previous newscast just sunk in deeply to his mind. Aside from having the choice and ability to heal himself and others, he realized he had really become a monster. A young man, no, a big boy, who ruined many families and took away fathers and lovers from innumerable people. An unforgivable bastard.

A monster should not get close too much to humans, right? The thought bore quite a huge puncture in his then fragile heart.

The current him now would only bring harm to his loved ones. He himself was dangerous now. What more of those full-fledged hosts like Leo Jones and Clarissa who he would possibly be dealing with in the foreseeable future?

Hence, for three whole years, Chris tried hard not to have any close relationship with anyone and even distance himself from his own family. He did this after altering their memories about the 'incident' and Claude's 'miraculous' recovery from a very traitorous illness.

Years passed since then.

When Chris got out of the woman's home, 98, his shady AI spoke to him with a very repentant voice.

Chris merely laughed.

'Oh? You know how to say sorry? Great news instead.'

He shook his head and smiled. 'I'm fine, thanks. It's me who is being stupid earlier.'

The childish resident of his brain went silent for some time before probingly asking,

He shook his head one more time, remembering what recently took place at Alessa Morgan's house.