In the twenty years I was bound to my host, this was the nine hundred and ninety-ninth time I had watched him argue with Vivian Hale.

The meal he had carefully prepared was smashed all over the floor.

His eyes were red as he nearly shouted at her.

"Why do you choose him every single time? You divorced him, remember? I am your husband!"

Vivian remained calm, as if she had known all along that my host would make a scene.

"So what if we divorced? I have a child with him. I cannot just ignore him."

That one careless sentence left my host sitting frozen in place for a long, long time.

Long enough for the sky outside to go completely dark.

There had been countless moments like this before, but he had always gritted his teeth and held on.

I thought this time would be no different.

Until my host suddenly asked me,

"What happens if I abandon the mission?"

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him. Instinctively, I looked at the system screen beside me.

Still, when Simon Mercer asked, I gave him the answer.

"If you choose to abandon the mission on your own, you will be erased. Your soul will turn into data and disappear completely."

Simon was silent for a long time, his eyes fixed on the wreckage across the floor.

"Submit the request for me. I am done."

I was speechless, but I still tried to persuade him.

"Vivian Hale's affection score is already at ninety-nine. You are only one percent away from success.

"Even if her affection is only at ninety-nine, she still loves you..."

Simon took out a cigarette and lit it. Smoke blurred the expression on his face.

His voice was hoarse.

"I have spent ten whole years trying to cross that final one percent."

I had no answer.

In the twenty years I had been bound to him, I had seen everything.

At first, he had only been chasing mission progress. In the end, step by step, he had fallen in.

He loved her beyond saving.

I was about to say something else when there was movement at the entryway.

Vivian had come home.

She waved away the heavy smoke.

Her gaze landed on the shattered plates on the floor before finally moving to Simon, who was still smoking.

Vivian frowned, impatience in her voice.

"Didn't you quit smoking ten years ago? Why are you smoking again? You know I hate the smell.

"You broke those things. Clean them up yourself."

She said it casually, then stepped around the broken pieces and went into the bedroom.

When she came out, she was holding a bank card and dragging a suitcase.

Every time she took that bank card before, it had always been to withdraw money for her ex-husband and son.

Whenever Simon saw it, he would fight with her.

But this time, Simon's face showed no expression at all. He did not even say a word.

Vivian paused as she was about to leave.

Maybe because she did not hear his usual questioning, she glanced back at him.

"My son has a fever. A hundred and two. I am not lying this time.

"Adrian Lane is a grown man, but he does not know how to take care of a child. The boy cannot be without me right now.

"I am moving over there for a while..."

Her tone was stiff, but for once, she had the patience to explain.

"You do not need to tell me any of that."

Simon's voice was flat, as if he were speaking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"He is your son. Decide for yourself."

Vivian's eyes widened slightly.

From the system screen, I could see the numbers tracking her heartbeat rising.

Maybe she was wondering why Simon did not argue with her the way he always did.

The air went silent.

In the end, Vivian seemed to resign herself and sighed.

She set down the suitcase, bent over, and picked up the pieces of broken porcelain.

"I do not even know what you are mad about. It was just an anniversary. We can celebrate it anytime.

"I do not even give a hoot, so why do you?"

Vivian complained softly as she cleaned up the mess on the floor.

Simon watched her quietly, then suddenly asked,

"Vivian, compared to loving me, do you love Adrian more?"

Vivian's hands paused.

Then she said, almost carelessly,

"We have been married for so many years. Why are we still talking about love? If I did not love you, would I have married you?"

There was a ding.

The affection score that had been stuck at ninety-nine suddenly dropped to ninety-eight.

It was also in that moment that I finally understood why my host had chosen to give up on the person he had spent twenty years pursuing.

Vivian's phone rang. She looked at the caller ID, then hurried toward the entryway.

"I am leaving. I will not be back for the next few days. Clean up the rest yourself."

The door slammed shut.

Almost the second the door closed, Simon vomited a mouthful of blood.

Clutching his chest, he slowly slid down the wall and crouched on the floor.

I was worried, but there was nothing I could change.

If the mission target did not love him, then he, as the mission taker, had to suffer the punishment.

Ten years ago, he had already failed once.

I still remembered that day when he begged me.

"It is only one percent. If you ask me to give up now, I cannot accept it. I will pay any price. Just give me one more chance."

I gave it to him.

But the price was his life.

After ten years, his body had long been drained dry.

Simon took three painkillers, but he was still trembling from the pain.

He curled up in the corner until he passed out completely.

I watched his life value keep dropping and felt deep regret.

All I could do was use the little energy I had left to keep him alive until the ambulance arrived.

At the hospital, Simon was wheeled into the operating room.

I saw his doctor friend.

He had rushed over the moment he heard Simon had been sent in for emergency treatment.

At the corner, he ran into Adrian Lane.

Vivian's ex-husband.

Adrian's eyes lit up the moment he saw the doctor.

"Dr. Cross, I have been trying to book you for days. You are finally on shift today.

"My son has had a high fever for days. I do not know if it is the flu or something else. Could you help me..."

Nolan Cross clearly did not have a good impression of Adrian.

He brushed Adrian away and said calmly,

"I am not a pediatrician. There are so many doctors in this hospital. Why do you have to find me?"

Adrian's mouth twitched, embarrassed.

"Nolan, did Simon say something about me to you?"

Vivian hurried over with the child in her arms.

I could see that the child was indeed sick.

But compared to Simon, it was only a minor problem.

Nolan laughed out of anger.

I knew he was Simon's best friend, and aside from me, the only person who knew about Simon's condition.

"Simon is in emergency surgery right now.

"Vivian, do you know what happened to him? Have you ever cared about him?"

He glanced at the child in Vivian's arms and smiled mockingly.

"Aside from your ex-husband and your child, does Simon have any place in your heart at all?"

After leaving those words behind, Nolan ignored them and walked away.

Through the system screen, I watched Vivian's face shift between pale and livid.

To me, they were only data.

But I had seen how much Simon had given over these twenty years.

Vivian stood frozen for a long time before instinctively taking out her phone to contact Simon.

But the child in her arms was restless. Crying, he raised his hand and knocked her phone down.

Adrian bent down and picked it up.

"All right. If you are really worried, go and see him. After all, custody of our son was awarded to me. If you want to find Simon, go."

His words were light, but they stabilized Vivian's wavering heart.

I watched her affection score drop and rise again.

In the end, it stopped at ninety-nine.

"My son is more important."

She still left.

I sighed, feeling for the first time that my host had not been worth it.

I did not know how long passed before Simon was finally pushed out of the operating room.

By the time he was sent to the ward, he had already regained consciousness.

His face was pale, his cheekbones sharply raised.

Nolan stood beside him, staring at the chart in his hand with a complicated expression.

"Simon Mercer, I will find a special medication for you."

Simon shook his head.

"No need."

His body was not suffering from a natural illness.

If we were talking about better medicine, I had plenty.

But Simon could not use any of it.

Except for a successful mission, nothing could save him.

Nolan opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.

Then footsteps in the hallway suddenly stopped.

Vivian pushed open the half-closed door. When she saw Simon, her expression turned ugly.

"Are you sick?"

There was a prescription in Vivian's hand. She must have been on her way to the pharmacy for her son.

"Just the flu. It is nothing."

After hearing Simon's answer, Vivian's shoulders relaxed.

"Oh. Then rest well. I will come see you later."

After saying that, she left.

It was as if she had only happened to see Simon on the way and stopped by to greet him.

There was not the slightest trace of real concern.

Nolan was furious. He looked at Simon with frustration.

"Why did you not tell her?"

"Would it help?"

Would telling her help?

I was silent for a while. If it had helped, my host would not have endured ten years with the mission score stuck at ninety-nine.

In the end, Nolan sighed and left.

Only Simon remained in the ward.

He asked me,

"How long until I leave this world?"

I answered,

"The approval process should take about another week..."

I did not finish the rest.

Simon's body was deteriorating too fast. I did not know whether he could hold on until then.

After two days in the hospital, Simon went home.

But as soon as he walked in, he found Adrian there too.

In just two days, it was as if this home had been taken over by them.

The living room was full of children's toys.

Adrian was holding the child while watching TV. Vivian was cooking in the kitchen.

In the decade since Simon and Vivian had been married, she had never once cooked.

She relied on Simon because Simon always took care of everything for her.

But now, she was able to go into the kitchen for someone else.

My gaze fell on Simon.

He showed no emotion, as if he had already expected this.

He simply looked at everything in front of him calmly.

"Simon? Long time no see. Sorry for making such a mess of your place."

Adrian smiled as he apologized, but I did not sense any real guilt.

Simon did not respond.

When Vivian came out of the kitchen and saw Simon, she froze for a moment.

"Why did you come back without telling me?"

"I did not cook for you.

"You guys eat."

Simon said that quietly, then walked toward the bathroom.

The door was half-closed, and the noise outside continued.

Simon looked into the mirror. Blood began dripping uncontrollably from his nose.

He covered his nose, but no matter what he did, he could not stop it.

My heart ached.

This backlash pain was something Simon had already endured countless times.

"Host, do you want to take painkillers?"

Painkillers could not help much, but at least they could ease a little of the suffering.

Simon shook his head. He did not have the strength to speak.

The door suddenly opened.

Vivian's face went pale. In a panic, she grabbed a towel and pressed it to Simon's face.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you bleeding so much?"

Simon pushed her away and shook his head.

"It's just a nosebleed. It will stop on its own."

But the blood had already soaked half the towel.

Vivian seemed about to say something else when the child's crying outside instantly took all of her attention.

The sound of glass shattering rang out.

Vivian hurried out.

After Simon stopped the bleeding and left the bathroom, his eyes fell on the thing that had shattered.

I followed his gaze.

My heart sank.

It was the only photo of him and Vivian.

Vivian was crouched down, comforting the child and worrying over the cut on his hand from the glass.

Simon also bent down and picked up the photo.

I remembered when that photo had been taken.

Right after he and Vivian got married, Vivian said she wanted to see the ocean.

Simon drove her to watch the sunrise over the sea.

That was also the day Vivian's affection for Simon reached ninety-nine.

Back then, I had truly believed Simon's suffering had not been in vain.

But I never imagined that the distance from ninety-nine to one hundred would cost him another ten years.

The photo could no longer be used. A shard of glass had scratched across the face.

Simon looked at it quietly for a long time before finally throwing it into the trash.

Vivian noticed.

After comforting the child, she said to Simon,

"If it is gone, it is gone. We can take another one next time."

Simon's lips moved. Then he went to the bedroom drawer and took out a yellowing divorce agreement.

He had prepared that agreement a long time ago.

So long ago that even I had forgotten about it.

"Let's get divorced."

Simon's voice was very soft.

Vivian's expression froze for a second. Her gaze landed on the agreement.

The room fell quiet, with only time moving through the silence.

Clearly, she did not take it seriously. She took the agreement, glanced at none of it, and threw it straight into the trash.

Her tone turned cold.

"It was just a broken picture frame. Do not throw a tantrum over something so small.

"I know you do not like seeing Adrian and my son here. I have no feelings for Adrian.

"He and I only have a child left between us. What are you still worried about?"

Everything she said was a lie.

"After we have a child of our own, you will understand me.

"If you cannot stand seeing them, I will take them and leave."

Vivian left with Adrian and his son.

I opened my mouth, wanting to comfort Simon, but I did not know what to say.