Faulty System!

Chapter 45 - Faulty System!

Mike drove the rental car back to the station in silence.

The entire drive, his mind kept returning to Mia's face.

He couldn't forget the fear in her eyes when he found her in that corridor, or the way she had clung to him afterward. Something had happened between the moment she left for the ice cream and the moment he found her, and no matter how many times he replayed it in his head, he couldn't figure out what she was hiding.

When he reached the rental station, he handed over the keys. The clerk checked the mileage, completed the return, and gave him the deposit receipt.

Mike barely looked at it before stuffing the paper into his pocket.

He walked the rest of the way to his dorm.

The evening air felt cooler than it had at the beach. A light breeze moved through the streets, but Mike hardly noticed. His thoughts were still with Mia.

When he reached his room, the first thing he did was take out his phone and call her.

The phone rang.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

It eventually went to voicemail.

Mike stared at the screen for a few seconds before ending the call without leaving a message.

He opened their chat instead and typed:

Are you okay?

He looked at the message before sending it. Then he set the phone face-down on his desk.

He tried to move on with his evening, but his mind refused to settle.

There was still sand clinging to his skin and hair from the beach. He hadn't even had time to shower before they left, so he stripped off his clothes and stepped into the small bathroom.

Warm water poured over his shoulders.

Mike closed his eyes and let it run over the back of his neck, hoping the heat would clear his head.

It didn't.

Mia's frightened expression appeared in his mind again. He opened his eyes and stared at the tiled wall.

Something was wrong. He just didn't know what.

Mike stayed under the water longer than usual before finally turning it off. He dried himself, changed into clean clothes, and walked back into the room.

His eyes immediately went to the phone on the desk.

The screen was still dark.

No message.

Mike picked it up anyway and checked.

Nothing.

His jaw tightened slightly.

He knew Mia.

She wasn't okay and whatever had happened at the beach, she was determined to face it without him.

Back in the main room, Mike opened the fridge and took out his evening meal: chicken, rice, and vegetables. He sat at the small table and ate mechanically, barely tasting any of it. His eyes kept drifting toward the phone lying on the desk.

After finishing, he rinsed the container and left it beside the sink to dry.

He opened his laptop and pulled up the footage of his next opponent. He had watched the same fights before, but he started from the beginning anyway. Each time the boxer threw a combination or shifted his weight, Mike slowed the footage, paused it, and rewound.

Two hours passed.

He still couldn't decide whether the slight hesitation in the man's left shoulder was a genuine weakness or a feint meant to lure opponents into attacking.

Last time, Mia had sat beside him while they studied Clark's fights. She had noticed a pattern he had completely missed.

Mike reached for his phone and called her again. It rang until the call went to voicemail.

He ended it and stared at the screen.

More than two hours had passed since he sent his message. He opened their chat.

Delivered.

Still not seen.

No reply.

No typing indicator.

Nothing.

Mike frowned at the screen, a growing uneasiness settling in his chest.

Something about Mia's behavior still didn't make sense.

Mike had seen the fear on her face when he found her. He had seen the man holding her wrist and the way she had clung to him afterward, trembling so badly that she could barely speak.

And now she wouldn't even answer his messages.

Mia had never shut him out like this before. Even when something bothered her, she would usually tell him, or at least give him some idea of what was wrong.

Mike leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead. His thoughts returned to the man in the corridor.

The new boxer.

The same guy Mike had knocked out a few days ago.

At the time, Mike hadn't thought much about it. The fight had happened suddenly, emotions had run high, and he had put the guy down before things could go any further. But now, seeing him with Mia, Mike couldn't help wondering if the two incidents were connected.

Had that guy come looking for him? Had he found Mia instead?

Mike's jaw tightened. That thought made his stomach turn.

He had no idea what had happened between them before he arrived, but one thing was becoming difficult to ignore: whatever that man wanted, Mia had been caught in the middle of it.

And if this was happening because Mike had knocked him out, then Mia was paying the price for something that had started with him.

Mike's mind went back to the strange blue window that had flashed at the edge of his vision earlier that afternoon. He had called the system twice at the time, but nothing had happened. He had dismissed it as sunlight reflecting off the water or simple exhaustion.

Now he wasn't so sure.

Something had changed that afternoon and Mike had a feeling it was only the beginning.

Mike sat up straight and called the system again in his mind.

Nothing happened.

No blue window appeared. No voice answered him.

He frowned and tried again, this time more forcefully.

“System.”

Still nothing.

Maybe the system itself was malfunctioning. To make sure, Mike stood up and tested one of his skills. He threw a short jab into the empty space in front of him, and the familiar surge of strength followed. The movement felt exactly as it always did.

He focused on Iron Body next.

A faint hardness settled beneath his skin, spreading through his muscles in the familiar way. The skill was still working.

Mike slowly lowered his hand. So the skills hadn't disappeared.

Only the system interface had gone silent.

He returned to his chair and rested both elbows on the desk, staring at the dark laptop screen.

The timing bothered him.

The system had started acting strangely on the same afternoon he found Mia with the boxer he'd knocked out a few days earlier.

Mike didn't know if the two things were connected, but the coincidence was becoming difficult to ignore.

For the first time, he wondered if whatever was happening to the system might have something to do with Mia—or with the trouble that had suddenly entered their lives.

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