High In Pursuit

He blinked his eyes in confusion.

Wow, even if he despised red, but, a room in white is not a better choice either. It kind of reminded him of something unpleasant from his past memories.

Wait! That's not the main point! He has already died, right? That damn sadistic bastard snapped his neck into two! He felt extreme pain before he loses his consciousness. Where is this place, anyway? A hospital? A morgue? Or, some kind of waiting room?

(This is a space boundary between the worlds.) A mechanical voice answered his question.

Ryan jolted in shock.

"Someone is speaking! But, where? I don't see anyone though?"

(It's me, host, a system bounded to your soul. Look straight. I am in front of you.)

Ryan does look straight as the voice instructed. And, he saw a weird creature floating in front of him. The creature, no, the system resembles a transparent energy ball? Or, a white ball?

(I am System 398, serial number 2345168897. My official name is Change The Cannon Fodder's Fate. It's a pleasure to meet you, host.) The energy ball greeted him.

Ryan clasped both of his hands, as his eyes brighten in realization.

"Oh, oh, I know this kind of thing! It always happened in the novel, something about transmigration and system. Da Kyung told me before, she really loved these kinds of stories and always forced me to read the novels she recommends. This is true, then? I am not dreaming, right?"

(I can assure you, host, that this is a reality and you're not dreaming. First...)

"Forget about those boring introductions. Can I go back to my original world if I finished the missions provided?" Ryan hastily interrupted the energy ball's words. "I don't care about anything else. If you said you can, then, please proceed accordingly. If you can't, then, I rather have my soul perish forever."

The energy ball looked at him with a blank expression.

"Shouldn't you heard my explanation first, host? Are you sure to proceed just like this? What if I'm scamming you?)

Ryan eagerly shook his head.

"I don't care and I don't want to know. If you wanted to explain, though, please simplify the words into one hundred words only. Not more, but, it can be less. Hurry up. White Ball."

White ball?

This is the first time it meets such a weird host. Did it make a good choice or a bad choice? The energy ball, whose name is changed into White Ball, pondered for a while.

(You can be resurrected back into your original world if that is your wish. After you finished your missions and gathered enough points, you can choose that option. You will be world-hopping into many worlds and help the cannon fodder changed their miserable fates. Remember, the point will be given if you succeed in your mission, but, if you fail, there will be point deduction and punishment. Are you clear, host?)

"Yes, and you do a good job. I perfectly understood your explanation. Do I get golden cheats or something?"

(A beginner package:

3x Beauty Pills

3x Pain Relieving Pills

3x Antidotes for any kinds of Poisons

A perfect mask: Perfectly hidden your emotional struggles whether you're in pain, sad, happy, or anything else and showcase a perfect expression according to the plots.

Initial points: 1000 pts)

"You're so nice White Ball. Okay, enough chitchat and let's go already. I have a debt to be repaid and I rather settled it as soon as possible,"

Looking at Ryan's eagerness, White Ball reluctantly begins the transferring process of the host's soul.

(Beginning the transfer process: Host's soul is transferred in 3...2...1. The transfer process is finished.)

Ryan, once again, lost his consciousness soon after.

***

Doctor Jackal, which is known as J stared at the television blankly. He completely losing his interest in the world after he killed Ryan.

The world, without a doubt, became more bleak and boring.

He lost his passion for the killing. Nothing out there can arouse his attention.

Ah, how he missed his toy so much.

(Good evening, Host.) A mechanical voice greeted J.

J just staring at the fluffy and furry energy ball with a dumbfounded look. He didn't give any reaction regarding the system intrusion of his house. He scratched his head.

"Good evening, Blacky." He lazily replied. "Since you're fluffy and furry, please changed it into something more appropriate and pleasing to the eyes. You kind of pissing me off with your lack of anesthetic interest. Or, do you prefer for me to modify your appearance myself?"

Black energy ball shuddered.

(I will change myself into a cat. Is it okay?)

"Better than your original appearance. So, what are you? I can guess, but, unless you offered something extremely tempting for me to take, I will just kick you out of my house."

(World domination?) Blacky suggested.

J rolled his eyes.

"Boring."

(Don't humans always had something that they wanted to fulfill? Any kind of wish? I can help you achieved them as long as you agreed with my condition.)

"Any kind?" J's eyes gleamed with dangerous glints.

(Yes, host. Any kind.) Blacky affirmed its words.

"Then, I do want something," J replied with a chilling smile. "But, you will follow my condition. Understand?"

(...) The system felt that if it refused, its barely hanging life will be dissipated instantly. Blacky regretted approaching this human even though this host had a very rare qualification that it needs. (It depends on the...situation...?)

J's glare became more intense.

"What?"

(...This system agreed wholeheartedly to the host's suggestion...) Blacky quickly changed its words.

"Good." J nodded his head in satisfaction. "Then, let's begin."

"Freeze! Dropped your weapon and put your hands above your head right now!"

Ryan instantly dropped his knees on the ground and raised his hands as instructed. He stared at the bloody knife that had dropped beside him. His eyes widen in shock.

What the heck is this situation? Did he kill someone? This is the first time he being transmigrated and he already branded as a murderer?

"Seize him!" The same voice instructed. Hasty footsteps approached him and he is forced to lay above the dirty ground with both of his hands twisted behind his back. Two police officers wearing casual clothes apprehended him.

Ryan is still in a dumbfounded state. He surveyed his surroundings and his sight fall into a bloody figure of a young woman not too far away from him. The woman's eyes looked lifeless. Her clothes are tainted with blood and if he is not mistaken, that woman died because of several stab wounds on her body.

"Fuck...!" Ryan cursed under his breath. He finally realized his own situation. This is the worst.

***

Interrogation Room 1

In his original world, he is the one who does the interrogation of the suspects. But, right now, he is wearing handcuffs and being stared at dangerously by the two officers in front of him. He had fallen too low! How could he, an honorable police officer being detained in the interrogation room as a murder suspect?!

No, this is a nightmare. He, no...this body of a person his soul currently transmigrated into, is actually not a killer, right? Oh, please! If he knows something like this will happen to him, he will not agree to that suspicious White Ball's suggestion. He rather perished into nothingness.

Boohoo, I hate you, White Ball. You throw me into this kind of situation, without any memories of the original! How can he confirm whether he is innocent or not?!

(Pardon my tardiness, host. I will now be downloading the original's memories into your mind. Beware of slight pain.)

Zap!

"Urgh...shi..." Ryan bit his lips hard enough to draw blood when an intense pain assaulted his mind. He clutched his head. Slight pain? Are you kidding me, White Ball?! You almost split my head apart! Do you have some grudges against me?

"Hey, you. Focus your attention on us, Mr. Zhang Wei." The officer with a fierce face said. His name is Alex Wang. Beside him is his superior, Derrick Lee.

Derrick Lee's calculating eyes had been observed Zhang Wei's expression since the beginning. Of course, with the perfect mask activated, Ryan only showed a confused expression with a hint of despair in his eyes. Even his slight cursing just now could be heard as an incoherent mumbling of a confused person.

Ryan snapped back from his painful headache. He gives his focus to the fierce police officer, anticipating his next words.

"Zhang Wei, 27 years old, a doctor and you owned your own clinic in the City A, right?"

"Y...yes..."Ryan replied.

"Why did you appeared at the crime scene? Did you and the victim know each other?"

"She...she is, ah, that's not right. She was my girlfriend. We set an appointment to meet each other tonight at the playground because she needs to return something to me. We are supposed to meet each other at 9:30 pm. But, due to an unforeseen situation, I arrived thirty minutes later. I already informed her that I will be very late and tried to reschedule our meeting, but, she insisted to meet even after I said I will arrive around 10 o'clock."

"What kind of thing is so important to return, for her to wait thirty minutes, patiently?" Derrick Lee suddenly asked.

Ryan's(Zhang Wei) face had visible red shades on both of his cheeks.

"That..."

Seeing Ryan's reaction, Derrick Lee just nodded his head in understanding.

"What? What kind of thing?" Alex Wang glanced at his superior.

"Nothing. Just proceed, Old Wang." Derrick Lee dismissed his question.

Alex Wang felt unsatisfied, but, he couldn't disobey his superior.

"After you arrived at the playground, did you see something out of ordinary?"

"I initially thought she had gone home because I didn't saw her anywhere. As I searching for her, I stumbled upon her body and fall. Because of the shock of discovering a bloodied body, I tried to get away and my hand suddenly touched something cold. That's when I grabbed the bloody knife. And, the rest is as you know. I heard a siren, and the police came. I was arrested on the spot." Ryan scratched his head. His anxiousness is depicted on his face. "I don't kill her, sirs! Please, believe me! Although we have broken up, we didn't do it out of hatred, but, due to mutual interest. And, she is desperate to meet tonight because her new girlfriend will come visiting her tomorrow and she needs to stash away her forbidden...collection..."

Derrick Lee wanted to laugh. If not because the situation is serious, and someone did die, he might laugh heartily.

"We did suspect you at first, but, you had an alibi. Your car was caught on the CCTV at the playground around 10 pm. Your ex-girlfriend appeared around 9 pm, an hour before, and she did appear at the playground an hour early. And, if the knife indeed had your fingerprint, the evidence is too circumstantial. Your hands, there's no wound. If you stabbed someone several times like that, you are bounded to injure your hands. Well, maybe you're wearing gloves, but, we didn't found anything suspicious on you nor your car either. You also didn't have time to hide the evidence since you were caught on the spot."

"Then, I can be released soon?" Ryan asked, expectantly.

"Could be," Derrick Lee saw Ryan's eyes twinkling in excitement, but, his next words made the light dimmed out."Could be not."

Ryan put his face on the cold table. His body exuded a gloomy aura. What a bummer. And, why did he think that he forget something important? Nah, if he cannot remember, then, it is not important enough.

The system had been watching its host from the sideline.

Did the host forget about me? And his mission entirely? That is not possible, right? He didn't ask for the plots nor he cared for his tasks? Did someone want to exchange his host with this system?

Please?

Author/Note:

( )-System speaking

{ }-Ryan speaking

***

(Host, the plots, and the missions...?)

White Ball tried to probe the host's mental state.

{Can we discuss this silly matter, tomorrow? I'm currently having a mental breakdown.} Ryan replied irritatingly. He is glaring at the innocent system.

(But, host...)

{Oh, come on. Have some common sense, please?! I'm dead, talking with a nonsensical mechanical system, is thrown into some unimportant missions for some nobody and right now, my self-esteem is in grave danger! Me, being branded as a killer had the same effect as anyone facing the zombies for the first time! Can you, at least, tried to understand my difficulty?}

What's wrong with the host's unique comparison, and, common sense? Please! Which system had that kind of feature installed in them? I am an AI, though? Or, did I supposed to evolve?

While Ryan is still drowning in his self-pity state, chaos actually erupted. Another woman is killed two days later, after the first killing. The owner of the construction site reported to the police as soon as he saw the corpse. Luckily, it is early in the morning, and the other construction workers are still sleeping peacefully at their homes. The owner never checked the alley, as people rarely using the road. But, this morning, while he is taking a stroll with his beloved dog, Mochi, Mochi suddenly acted aggressively and kept barking when they passed the abandoned alley. When he reluctantly went to check, the gruesome sight of a woman's corpse is greeting him back.

Derrick Lee, valiantly leading his team to the crime scene.

The corpse is found in that abandoned alley, fully dressed. She is stabbed several times by a sharp weapon, like the first victim. And, she also had a suspicious J mark on her neck, carved with a small knife. Her belonging is all there, without missing anything. Her phone, her golden ring, and her money are tucked safely in her handbag.

"Team leader, the modus operandi is similar to the last one. There's even an initial J, carved on the side of her neck. Is this the same killer that killed the late of Sue Anna?" Kim Yohan glanced at his superior.

"This is not a coincidence, that's for sure." Derrick Lee didn't deny his subordinate's opinions. "But, the timing is a bit weird. And so sudden. Why would the killing happen twice in the same town? Is the killer in a rushed state? He's quick in finding his target."

"Boss, we found the victim's handbag and already checked her possession. In her wallet..." Alex Wang showed him the pink wallet that was stained with dried blood. A picture of her and someone is what attracted his attention. "The victim is also the acquaintance of that man."

Derrick Lee's eyebrows furrowed. He is contemplating a serious matter right now.

"He is still in the precinct, right? The man is still there?"

"He should be released in an hour, as we cannot detain him longer than 48 hours without evidence."

"Informed Sarah to hold him first. We need to ask him a few more questions after all."

Alex Wang nodded his head.

***

Ryan gloomily stared at the bright sky. Too bright, and it is only 8.00 in the morning.

Ah, such a warm sun and today is yet another good day. Well, it's definitely not a good day for him.

(Your inner monologue and expression didn't match at all, host. What did you try to prove anyway? The system didn't understand your thinking at all.)

Ryan decided to ignore the poor system 398 aka White Ball.

Where is the original body's house? Even though he knows the address, he is a map killer. He couldn't differentiated direction, well, at least he knows which way is right and which way is left. But, which way is actually indicating north, or south or east or west? Hmm, did the sun rises from the west or the east? He even forgot such a simple question. He should go this way, right? To the left?

(No, host. Your house at the Crystal Park Condominium. It's on your right. The bus stop is over there. You should take the bus. It will take at least an hour on foot if you stupidly decided to walk.)

{I am not going to walk!} Ryan retorted.

"Mr. Zhang! Please wait a moment!" A petite young woman is running at a full speed towards him.

Ryan looked back and tilted his head. He hummed gladly in his heart. Wow, what a great catch.

"What's wrong, miss? Do I know you?"

"Please wait for a while. My team leader wanted to ask you some questions."Sarah panted in agony. She had hit her limit. Running from the third floor to the lobby while using stairs is not an easy feat. She needed to catch up to this person desperately. "I am Sarah Lee, Chief Inspector Derrick Lee's subordinate. It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Zhang."

"Ah, Miss Lee." Ryan simply said."But, your leader had more questions to ask? On what matter?"

"Let's wait in our meeting room first. The room is this way. Please follow me."

Ryan shrugged his shoulder and followed the cute girl from behind. If only she is a bit older, she will definitely suit his taste.

White Ball gave him stink eyes. What an honorable police officer? The host acted more like a lecherous and perverted criminal. In his head, 3/4 part of his brain is spent on women than on his work. He used his superior memory and intelligence in the wrong way.

Ryan sighed heavily. He scanned Sarah Lee from her head to her toes. Ah...what a waste. Since I came to this world, I encountered nothing except, bad lucks. I got accused as a killer, I went through an interrogation process, and, even when I got released, I got called back. Just why? The girl that suited my taste unfortunately a lot younger than I expected. I get to know many women in my life. With a single glance, I can guess her age correctly. I cannot touch her.

"Miss, can I ask something?"

Sarah glanced at him with a confused expression.

"Yes?"

"You're around 20 or 21 years old, right?"

"How did you know?" She looked surprised when Ryan could guess her real age. People usually thought she is around 25 and above.

"Well, you did look younger than I anticipated, but...how miserable. You are too young..." Ryan said the last sentence in a mumble. "If Da Kyung knows I tried to mislead a young girl to corruption, she will definitely castrate me."

"Pardon?" Sarah tilted her head. "Is anything wrong, Dr. Zhang?"

"Nothing, miss. Nothing at all."

Ah, Da Kyung...What is that brusque woman doing right now? His thought is wandered to the past.