Chapter 2

I stood there with a cold smirk, waiting to see his choice.

If he refused the task, he’d literally eat dog crap and suffer the ultimate public humiliation. No self-respecting person could endure that.

But if he wanted to complete the task, he had to beat the living hell out of his secret lover.

Either way, I won.

Austin’s face turned green. He was screaming internally: *What the hell is wrong with Logan? Wasn’t he always a total doormat who bent over backward for Chloe? Why the fuck is he snapping like a maniac all of a sudden?!*

The man standing before him was nothing like the soft push-over he remembered.

In a panic, Austin pleaded in his mind: *System! System! This task is insane! Let me swap it! Or at least change the punishment!*

Watching his internal dialogue play out on the floating interface, my chest tightened.

Could he really negotiate with the System? What if it actually let him off the hook?

Thankfully, the panel flashed its response a second later:

[Ding! Once issued, tasks and penalties cannot be altered! System rules are absolute!]

[Friendly reminder: 1 minute and 30 seconds remaining.]

"Fuck!!" Austin muttered under his breath, his eyes glaring at me with murderous fury.

Time was ticking away fast. He had no room to hesitate.

Chloe dragged herself up, clutching her throbbing face while blood dripped past her lips. Her eyes burned with venom as she shrieked like a lunatic, "Logan! You… you dared to lay your hands on me?! I swear to God I’m going to—"

"Going to what?"

I cut her off with a icy, razor-sharp chuckle. "Divorce me? Perfect. Let’s head to the courthouse right now. If we don’t sign those papers today, I’ll take your maiden name!"

Hearing absolute conviction in my voice—completely devoid of my usual apologies and groveling—Chloe choked on her words. Panic flashed across her eyes.

Divorce? Hell no! Not right now!

Her whole game plan was to coordinate with Austin until he completely stole my identity and fortune. If we divorced right now, the assets would be tied up in complex legal battles, ruining their grand scheme!

While she stood frozen, overwhelmed and humiliated—

*SLAP!*

A bone-cracking smack landed right on her already battered cheek!

Chloe crashed to the floor again. She whipped her head up in complete shock, staring at the person who hit her—Austin!

"Austin?! Y-You’re hitting me too?!"

Her voice cracked with agony and sheer bewilderment. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

Women in high-stress situations run entirely on emotion. Pain completely wiped her memory; she totally forgot that Austin was bound to mimic me.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Austin’s eyes, but he couldn't explain himself!

System rules dictated that he could only copy my actions. Any extra words or excuses would trigger an immediate failure.

He had to grit his teeth and mirror my moves to the letter, planning to sweet-talk her later.

So, Austin forced the exact same twisted grin onto his face: "Crazy? Oh, baby, you haven’t seen crazy yet!"

Ignoring Chloe’s screams, he lunged forward, grabbed her hair, and dragged her up.

"AHHH!" Chloe shrieked in pain.

"Chloe, who the hell do you think you are? Best friend? He’s your pathetic side piece! And guess what? I’m done letting him copy me. What the fuck are you gonna do about it?"

Austin barked my exact lines, though his voice shook awkwardly under the strain.

"You psycho! You monster! Let go of me! Austin, you animal!" Chloe broke down completely, flailing like a rabid animal.

Austin gritted his teeth and raised his hand, delivering the final slap across her left cheek.

Just as his mouth opened to deliver the final punchline, I sprinted forward and drove my boot straight into his ribs!

*BAM!*

Austin didn’t see it coming. The kick sent him flying, crashing hard against the coffee table.

I stepped in front of the sobbing, bleeding Chloe, pointing furiously at Austin. "Chloe is MY wife! If anyone’s putting her in her place, it’s me! Who the fuck do you think you are to touch her?!"

That kick timed perfectly.

It broke his rhythm—and wasted the final seconds he needed to finish the dialogue.

Austin scrambled up, furious and bewildered, about to yell—until his face froze in sheer horror.

[Ding! Time is up! Host failed to complete the full replica within the time limit. Task failed!]

[Executing punishment: A fresh pile of dog crap will drop straight into your mouth from above, and you must loudly shout to everyone around: 'Delicious! It’s so damn good! I love eating shit!']