[You have slept with Emily one more time. Reward: Ability to Influence Souls.]
Max froze for an instant, as if something had been hurled straight into his mind.
Ability to influence souls.
He frowned, countless questions flashing through his head. Did souls really exist? Or was this merely the system's way of naming some kind of mental or spiritual power? But then again, ever since the system appeared, logic had long ceased to be something reliable.
Max let out a soft chuckle, a hint of self-mockery in his heart.
If someone stood in front of him right now and solemnly claimed to be a mage simply because he was still a virgin at thirty, Max would probably believe seven or eight tenths of it.
The system existed. Rewards existed. Favorability existed. So the existence of souls wasn't all that hard to accept either.
At this moment, that system notification felt like an unexpected gift falling straight onto his head. He had only intended to visit Emily, yet he had already gained new skill, which was more than generous, and now an ability that sounded extremely vague but full of potential.
Thinking of that, Max's mood visibly improved, and his arms unconsciously tightened their hold.
Held close against him, Emily's heartbeat quickened by a beat. She felt the familiar warmth, the faint scent of his body calming her heart, yet reason still pulled her back to reality.
"We can't do that here… we're almost there."
Her voice was soft and hurried, carrying both worry and a trace of embarrassment.
"Your mind's too dirty," Max laughed lightly, sounding innocent. "I just want to hug you. What kind of person do you think I am?"
Emily was left speechless.
If Max really only wanted to hug her, then what exactly had happened a few floors below that left her legs still trembling, forcing her to rely on almost all her weight against him?
She pressed her lips together, saying nothing, simply taking a deep breath to steady herself. The memories from just moments ago were still vivid, so vivid that merely recalling them made her cheeks heat up again.
After a while, the two of them finally stopped in front of her father's hospital room.
The atmosphere outside the room was far quieter than the stairwell. The familiar smell of disinfectant instinctively made one grow more serious.
It was only then that Max suddenly realized something extremely important.
He froze for a second.
He had forgotten to buy something for the hospital visit.
No fruit, no gift basket, not even a bouquet of flowers.
"Wait here for a moment," Max said, scratching his head with an awkward smile. "I forgot to buy something for visiting."
Even with his thick skin, Max still felt a bit uncomfortable in this situation. After all, this was the first time he was formally visiting the father of a girl he had such a relationship with.
Damn it.
If Luna hadn't appeared at that moment and thrown his thoughts into chaos, how could he have forgotten something so important?
"It's fine," Emily said quickly. "My dad doesn't care about these formalities."
"He does," Max shook his head. "He just won't say it. Wait here, I'll be right back."
With that, he turned and left decisively, as if afraid that even a second of delay would make Emily stop him.
Emily stood there, watching his figure disappear down the hallway, feeling both amused and slightly dissatisfied.
"He really is careless," she muttered.
Though she said that, she wasn't actually angry. On the contrary, there was a faint sense of being valued. At the very least, he wasn't treating the visit to her father as something trivial.
Leaning back against the wall, Emily took a deep breath, trying to adjust her emotions—and her posture, to look as natural as possible.
Max stopped on the seventeenth floor.
The corridor here was wider, cold white lights shining down on the glossy tiles. Footsteps and hushed conversations of patients' families echoed intermittently.
Max's gaze casually swept past a hospital room at the end of the corridor, then slowed.
In front of that room stood a man around forty-five years old. His back was straight, but his shoulders sagged slightly, his eyes fixed on the half-closed door, worry written plainly across his face.
Just a glance was enough for Max to sense the unease radiating from him.
Moments later, the door opened. A doctor in a white coat stepped out, pulling down his mask.
Immediately, the man rushed forward, his voice nearly bursting from his throat.
"Doctor, how is my father?"
The doctor didn't answer right away. He looked at the man for a moment, his expression darkening.
That expression alone was enough to make the other man's heart sink.
After a few seconds of choosing his words, the doctor finally spoke in a heavy tone.
"The situation is very bad. Surgery will likely be necessary. But even at best, the success rate is only about two percent."
Two percent.
The number struck the man like a hammer to the head.
"There's really no other way?" he asked again, his voice trembling, eyes reddening. "Use your most advanced equipment. I can pay any amount."
The doctor shook his head slightly.
"This isn't a matter of money. We've already used the best possible conditions to raise the success rate to two percent. Otherwise, it would be almost a guaranteed death."
The man staggered a step, his legs going weak.
"So… so there's truly no way for you to save my father?"
He nearly collapsed, but the doctor hurriedly reached out to support him, not daring to let him kneel.
He knew very well who the man before him was. He couldn't afford to bear that kneel.
"There is a way," the doctor hesitated, then continued. "But it's almost impossible. If the senior Elias Thorne, the greatest doctor of our time, were here, this case could be handled relatively easily."
At that, a fragile spark of hope flared in the man's eyes, only to be extinguished the next second.
"Are you joking?" he gave a bitter smile. "He's eccentric and loves traveling the world. Even with money, you can't invite him. How could I possibly get him here?"
Max stood not far away, silently listening to the entire exchange.
Thanks to his enhanced hearing, every word entered his ears with crystal clarity—so clear he didn't even need to focus. He could even hear the man's ragged breathing.
More importantly, information about this man had already surfaced in Max's mind.
Not a simple background. Considerable wealth and influence.
A rare opportunity to establish a connection.
Max quickly assessed the situation. If he missed this chance, he might never encounter such a suitable circumstance again.
Just as the atmosphere outside the room grew unbearably heavy, Max stepped forward and deliberately cleared his throat twice.
"Ahem… ahem."
The sound wasn't loud, but it was enough to break the silence.
All eyes, from the doctor to the middle-aged man, turned toward Max at once.