[Ding — Host's intention to avoid tasks detected. Warning: This idea is extremely dangerous.]
[Supplementary Rule Explanation: The system strictly prohibits any form of task evasion. If the host is identified to frequently generate or attempt to implement thoughts and behaviors such as 'abandoning tasks', 'maintaining low progress', or 'avoiding the main quest', the following punishment mechanisms will be triggered based on the severity of the situation:]
[Level 1 Punishment: Electric shock (mild).]
[Level 2 Punishment: Randomly strip the host of one important skill or item already obtained.]
[Level 3 Punishment: Directly activate... the erasure protocol.]
[Please correct your attitude, Host, and actively complete the strategy tasks. Revival is your only correct destination.]
The smile on Elena Bennett's face froze instantly. She stood rooted to the spot, cold sweat breaking out all over her back.
...Damn!
This lousy system actually had an anti-slacking, anti-coasting mechanism? She couldn't even *think* about it?
Her newly born "rich idler dream" shattered into pieces with a crisp crack.
The cruel reality was laid out clearly before her again — either complete the strategy tasks and earn a chance at revival,
or be completely erased, and even the stolen wealth and leisure she was enjoying now would turn out to be nothing but a mirage.
There was no third path.
She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, looked at the luxurious courtyard outside the window, and slouched her shoulders in resignation.
Fine.
A wage slave's fate — even if she changed maps, she still had to keep working.
"Alright, alright, I get it. Be proactive, grind hard, strive for early revival, and return to the glory of being a wage slave..."
She muttered softly, as if comforting the system and psyching herself up: "It's just five men. Sister's dealt with way harder clients..."
She perked up again, opened the system panel in her mind, planning to check the basic info of the other four targets first and set a preliminary priority for her strategy.
However, as soon as the panel unfolded, the top line of information made her raise an eyebrow slightly.
[Strategy Target 1: Julian Ford]
[Current Affection: -6% (Disgust)]
It had increased by another 3 points.
It seemed her "moving out" had reached Julian Ford's ears through Arthur Coleman.
Good. Things were heating up with Julian Ford — she needed to cool things down for a bit.
Leave him be for a few days, let this "discomfort" ferment...
After some time, she'd find a chance to "accidentally" appear before him again, and the effect would be even better.
So for the next few days, she'd focus on the other targets.
Her gaze drifted to the bottom of the panel, where the names of the other four strategy targets were listed.
She focused, opening the [Basic Character Database] one by one.
A moment later, Elena Bennett sucked in a sharp breath, feeling a dull ache in her temples.
Just from the system's [Basic Character Database] descriptions, she could tell these men were each more troublesome than the last — all were big shots, not a single one easy to handle.
Every entry was followed by a string of bright red "High Risk" warnings, as if glaring at her.
Elena Bennett's gaze moved painfully between the names, finally stopping at the three characters: "Damon Vega".
The beloved second son of the Vega family, a notorious playboy.
Domineering and impulsive by nature, he acted recklessly and lived by the creed of "do whatever makes me happy". His two main passions were spending money: top-tier sports cars and extreme e-sports.
More importantly, his older brother was Julian Ford's deadliest rival in the business world.
"Alright, pick the least bad option," Elena Bennett rubbed her brow and decided silently.
At least this guy's personality label was straightforward — not as unfathomable as the others, nor did he seem to have any "complex mental issues".
Theoretically, the strategy difficulty should... not be that high, right?
Besides, getting close to him might even provoke Julian Ford's progress bar indirectly — killing two birds with one stone!
After selecting her target, Elena Bennett immediately called out to the system in her mind:
"System, help me check Damon Vega's schedule for the next few days. Where does he usually hang out?"
[Querying target's recent schedule and frequent locations... Query complete.]
[According to the target's activity in the past 72 hours, he has been staying at the Vega family's private villa by Crystal Lake Lake and has not gone out.]
[Based on analysis of his smart device activity and internal surveillance data, his recent main activity is high-intensity ranked matches in the e-sports game *Apocalypse: End of Days*. No public schedule or outgoing plans for the next three days.]
Elena Bennett was left speechless when the system said "no public schedule or outgoing plans for the next three days".
Staying home gaming for days on end? No plans to go out for three whole days?
How was she supposed to create a "chance encounter"? Did she really have to break into his private villa and go, "Oh what a coincidence, you play this game too? Let's queue up together"?
Crashing a private villa was suicide — she'd probably be tackled by bodyguards as a suspicious person before even reaching the gate.
Waiting around? Who knew how long this young master would stay cooped up?
She paced irritably around the spacious room.
Wait! E-sports?
Elena Bennett's steps halted abruptly, and a bold idea popped into her head.
If the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain.
If she couldn't meet him offline, could she "encounter" him online?
"System!" she called out urgently in her mind, "Can you find Damon Vega's in-game ID in *Apocalypse: End of Days*? Also, is he currently grinding ranked matches?"
[Querying... Query complete. Target's (Damon Vega) in-game ID is: [Damon].]
[He is indeed grinding solo ranked matches intensively this season, aiming for the top 10 on the server rankings. Current record... consecutive losses. Mood assessed as: Extremely Irritable.]
Consecutive losses? Extremely irritable?
Elena Bennett's eyes lit up instantly!
Perfect! A timely helping hand leaves a far deeper impression than empty flattery!
Appearing as a god-tier teammate to carry him when he's at his most frustrated — his Affection would skyrocket, wouldn't it?