CHAPTER 36: [DELIVERY?]

[SYSTEM MISSION]

New Objective: Answer the door.

Time Limit: One minute.

"Huh?" Eli’s brows furrowed, eyes widening as the glowing notification blinked across his vision. "What the hell?"

A mission—suddenly?

And... it was to answer the door?

"That’s a little too weird, System," Eli muttered, arms crossing instinctively over his chest.

But the system didn’t respond.

Instead, a new bar popped into view—the countdown.

00:59... 00:58... 00:57...

Eli stiffened.

’Shit.’ He already knew what would happen if he failed.

He didn’t want to live through another penalty again.

Ding dong.

The chime rang through the penthouse. Smooth, melodic, too cheerful for the rising dread curling in his gut.

Then came a voice—young, chipper, far too casual for the tension pulsing in Eli’s head.

"Delivery!"

"Delivery?" Eli echoed in disbelief, blinking toward the door. "A delivery? That’s what this mission’s about?"

’How important is this package...?’

His gut twisted. Something was off.

"Something really isn’t right about this," he muttered, pacing toward the door as the system’s countdown ticked down mercilessly.

00:34... 00:33... 00:32...

He glanced at the wall, hoping—praying—there’d be a camera. A screen. A peephole. Anything.

Nothing immediately obvious.

No time to dig through the futuristic tech of the Ahn family’s apartment just to find a door cam.

Eli hesitated in front of the door, hand hovering near the handle. His fingers curled tightly.

He could feel his pulse behind his ears.

[SYSTEM WARNING]

You only have 15 seconds left.

Answer the door, or there will be consequences.

"Yeah, yeah." Eli swallowed hard, trying to sound braver than he felt. "I got it."

But something about this made his skin prickle.

A random mission. A timed task. For a delivery?

This wasn’t like last time—this wasn’t surviving a dungeon, or avoiding ogres.

This was domestic. Normal. Almost too normal.

Which made it worse.

He took a deep breath.

’The system wouldn’t harm me on purpose.’

’Would it?’

...

’It wouldn’t.’

He clenched his jaw.

That lie was all he had left for comfort.

Eli exhaled slowly.

It’s just a delivery. Just another random task like yesterday. Like surviving.

Just open the door.

And with his heart pounding in his throat, Eli reached for the handle.

"Oh..." Eli blinked, his shoulders easing slightly.

His danger detection wasn’t reacting at all—that alone was enough to reassure him.

’Okay... I’m safe.’

With just seconds to spare, Eli exhaled slowly and turned the knob.

The door clicked open.

Standing in the hallway were two figures—both clad in dark blue delivery uniforms, the kind worn by couriers who braved traffic on motorbikes.

Their faces were mostly obscured by standard-issue masks and visors, the protective kind worn beneath helmets.

One was a woman, shorter and holding a clipboard. The other was a man—broad-shouldered and tall, standing silently behind her like a shadow.

Eli offered a cautious smile and bowed slightly. "Hello?"

The woman perked up. "Hello! Are you Mr. Elione Noa Ahn?"

He nodded once.

"Whoa," she let out, laughing under her breath. "You’re much prettier in person!"

"O-oh... uhm, do you... know me?" Eli asked, trying to return her smile as politely as he could manage.

"Are you kidding? I’ve seen your beauty vlogs!" she said, practically bouncing. "I even tried following your skincare routine—your tips are amazing. You saved my face!"

’A delivery girl follows beauty tips?’ Eli blinked. Well, that was new. But... a woman can have her hobby. Even a delivery person.

He glanced at the man beside her. The guy hadn’t said a word. He just stood there, quiet, unmoving.

"...So uhm," Eli started, shifting on his feet, "where’s my delivery? Do I... need to sign anything?"

Now that he thought about it, they weren’t holding anything.

The woman blinked. Her cheer faltered for a second.

The man tilted his head slightly.

Then, the two delivery people looked at each other. A pause stretched between them.

Eli tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. Something about this really felt... off.

But his danger detection still wasn’t flaring. No pulses. No alarms.

’Am I just being paranoid?’

"You know what, we didn’t think this through," the woman suddenly said, folding her arms with a dramatic huff.

The tall man beside her snapped his head toward her. "Are you kidding me?! I told you to bring something! Why are you telling him this?"

"Why not? It’s not like he can do anything," she said with a shrug, completely unfazed.

"You know he’s going to murder us if we get caught."

"He should’ve done this himself if he wanted perfect. We don’t do these kinds of things," she fired back, her tone sharp.

Okay—now that was definitely suspicious.

’What the fuck is happening right now...’ Eli took a cautious but deliberate step back into the penthouse, fingers twitching at his side.

But the two noticed immediately.

"Now, see? Great. He suspects us. Good job, Jabs," the man muttered with a grimace, though his voice had the faintest trace of amusement.

The woman—Jabs—glared at him. "Oh, please. Like you contributed anything useful to this plan! Besides, again—what can he do? He doesn’t have anywhere else to go. I say we just grab him."

"For once, I agree with you," the man said, stepping forward. "Let’s just get this over with."

Nope.

Nope, nope, nope.

Eli spun around and darted for the door, heart hammering in his chest.

But they were fast.

Before he could slam it shut, the man lunged forward, blocking it with a solid boot. A strong hand clamped down around Eli’s arm like iron.

"Fuck—!"

The man was far too strong.

Eli’s pulse erupted into panic. Were they here to kill him? Kidnap him? Who the hell were these people?!

"Sorry for this," the man muttered under his breath, tone almost apologetic as his grip tightened.

Then, before Eli could scream—before he could even think—a sharp, precise strike landed at the side of his neck.

The world around him spun.

His knees buckled.

Everything blurred.

Then went black.