Common Sense Manipulation App-Chapter 57 - Reality

Karl finally arrived at his apartment, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it onto the couch before collapsing onto his bed. The exhaustion from work clung to him, but his mind refused to quiet down.

Lina.

Her voice kept echoing in his head. The bitterness. The way her hands shook. The sheer weight of what she’d told him.

Karl exhaled sharply and pulled out his phone. He had to dig deeper. He needed to know more.

But there was a problem.

He couldn’t just text her. Too risky. She might be talking to someone else at the same time, which meant he wouldn’t have full control of the conversation. If she slipped up, if she mentioned something to the wrong person, it could complicate everything.

"Just text her, idiot."

Karl flinched at the sudden voice. Chillie Jean’s smug face flickered onto his screen, lounging in her digital throne, swirling an invisible glass of wine.

"Texting is the most natural way people spill secrets, you know. It’s easier to lie to a screen than a face."

Karl shook his head. "No. It’s dangerous. She could be chatting with someone else. If I push too hard, I might make her suspicious."

Chillie Jean chuckled, clearly enjoying his caution. "Oh, how deliciously paranoid you’ve become. Warms my heart, really. But tell me, what’s your grand plan, then?"

Karl exhaled, staring at his phone. If texting was out, that meant he needed a way to see her, to read her expressions, to control the flow of conversation in real time.

That’s when the idea struck.

Video call.

Karl sat up straighter. A text could be ignored. A phone call could be brushed off. But a video call? That was a different story. It added pressure—made people more present.

It was the perfect balance.

Chillie Jean raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I see that little lightbulb flickering in your head. Do share."

Karl smirked. "Video call. If she picks up, I can read her reactions. Control the flow. She won’t have time to think before responding."

Chillie whistled. "Bold. Risky. But... effective. She won’t be able to hide behind carefully typed words."

Karl nodded, his mind already working out the details. He couldn’t just call her out of nowhere. He needed an excuse. A reason that would make her want to pick up.

He tapped his fingers against the bed, thinking.

Then, he had it.

He’d frame it as concern.

A simple, "Hey, I was thinking about what you told me earlier. I want to help. Can we talk?"

If she hesitated, he could push a little. Maybe say he had an idea. Something that could actually help.

Make her curious. Make her need to hear him out.

Karl grinned, feeling the pieces fall into place.

"Oh, you are getting good at this," Chillie purred. "Manipulating her into thinking she wants to talk? That’s some fine work, my dear Karl."

His fingers moved instinctively, pulling up the Manipulation Hub. The screen glowed with its usual eerie efficiency, waiting for input. Karl tapped into the search bar and began typing:

"Secrets between coworkers aren’t important."

It was subtle. Not too drastic. Just enough to loosen her lips—make her believe there was no real reason to guard the things she said to him. It wouldn’t feel unnatural to her, just... obvious.

Karl hit Start.

The moment the words vanished from the screen, he felt it take effect. The App always worked fast. He could almost sense the new logic settling into place, weaving itself into the fabric of reality like it had always been there.

Lina would still remember everything, But in different way.

She just wouldn’t think there was any real reason to keep it from him.

Karl smirked, satisfied.

"Oh, now this is a treat," Chillie Jean purred, watching him with keen amusement. "You’re getting so much more efficient, my dear Karl. No wasted effort, no unnecessary words. Just one tiny shift in common sense and—voilà—instant trust."

Karl ignored her and tapped video call.

The phone rang once. Twice.

Then—click.

The screen shifted.

Lina appeared, her face dimly lit by the glow of her laptop. She was in her room, hair slightly messy, expression tired. She blinked at him, surprised.

"...Karl?" Her voice was cautious. "Didn’t expect you to video call."

Karl leaned back against his bed, keeping his expression casual. "Yeah. Thought it’d be easier than texting."

Lina hesitated, but only for a second. Then, she shrugged, as if brushing away a fleeting thought.

Karl kept his expression neutral, but his mind was already working. Now that Lina’s common sense had been tweaked, she’d feel less inclined to hold anything back.

He just had to push a little.

"So," he started casually, "tell me more about this guy. The one who set you up."

Lina’s jaw tightened. "I told you—he tricked me. Made me think he was legit. But he wasn’t. Just some scumbag pretending to be a talent scout."

Karl nodded. "Yeah, but who is he? You must have something on him. Name, face, anything."

Lina hesitated, then sighed. "Eric Langley. That’s the name he gave me. No idea if it’s real, but that’s what he used."

Karl committed it to memory. "And you still have the stuff they sent you? The threats, the messages?"

Lina gave him a wary look. "Why?"

"Because," Karl said smoothly, "if I can see what they have on you, I might be able to figure something out. Maybe even find a way to get rid of the leverage they have."

Lina hesitated again, but only for a moment. Then she exhaled and nodded. "Fine. I’ll send you the messages and the videos they threatened me with."

Karl heard the notification ding a second later.

He opened the first file.

The moment he saw it, his stomach twisted.

The guy in the video—the one giving instructions, the one smirking smugly behind the camera—was exactly the kind of person Karl hated.

Fat. Sweaty. Balding. Wrinkled skin hanging loosely over his jowls. His small, beady eyes glistened with the kind of sick pleasure Karl had seen in way too many gross anime tropes.

An ugly bastard.

Karl felt his fingers curl into a fist.

Chillie Jean let out a delighted hum. "Ooooh, dear Karl, look at that face of yours. You’re practically burning with disgust."

Karl ignored her, his mind racing. So it was that type of guy. The kind that thrived off power, that enjoyed breaking people down for his own amusement.

The kind Karl loathed.

He clicked on the guy’s profile.

And that’s when the irritation really set in.

Eric Langley’s social media was filled with smiling photos—completely different from the greasy predator Karl had just seen in the blackmail footage.

The bastard had a family.

One of the most recent pictures showed him with two women: a younger one, probably in her twenties, and an older woman around his age.

The caption read:

"A perfect day out with my two favorite ladies—my beautiful wife and our lovely daughter. Family is everything."

Karl felt something dark settle in his gut.

This piece of shit was playing the role of a wholesome family man online while secretly ruining women’s lives in the background.

Lina must have noticed his expression because she scoffed bitterly. "Yeah. Tell me about it."

Karl clenched his jaw, his thoughts churning.

This guy needed to pay.

And Karl?

He was going to make damn sure of it.

Karl stared at the screen, his grip tightening around his phone. The sheer audacity of it. This bastard—this smug, ugly fuck—was living a happy little family life while blackmailing women in the shadows?

His stomach twisted.

It was wrong.

Not in the moral sense—Karl had never given a damn about that. No, it was wrong in a thematic sense. A guy like that shouldn’t have a stable life. He shouldn’t have a family. He shouldn’t have love.

"Disappointed, dear Karl?" Chillie Jean’s voice cooed in his ear. "You expected a lonely creep wallowing in filth, didn’t you? But reality isn’t so kind. The worst monsters wear smiles and hold hands with their precious little families."

Karl exhaled sharply, trying to push down the irritation creeping up his spine. He needed to think.

No, he needed to see.

"Lina," he said, voice measured. "I need the full set of files. Everything they have on you."

Lina’s expression stiffened. "I already sent you the threats."

"That’s not what I mean." Karl leaned forward slightly, locking eyes with her through the screen. "The photos. The videos. All of them."

Lina’s breath hitched. "Karl—"

"If I’m going to help you, I need to know exactly what they have," he said smoothly. "If I don’t see it, I don’t know what I’m dealing with. I can’t erase something I haven’t even looked at."

Lina bit her lip, looking away. He could see the hesitation, the sheer weight of what he was asking.

But he also knew she wouldn’t refuse.

Not after the common sense tweak.

Sure enough, after a long pause, Lina exhaled through her nose and nodded. "Fine. I’ll send them."

A moment later, his phone buzzed.

New Files Received.

Karl clicked on the folder.

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on freew(𝒆)bnov𝒆l.(c)om