"Still no text?" she wondered to herself as she lay back on the sofa.

The room stayed quiet, except for the sound of the television.

On the screen, the news anchor spoke about the recent event involving Lex Ryzen.

The Defense Force had not confirmed anything yet. They were still "reviewing the situation" and trying to control the damage.

That made George’s words about the agency backing up the ex-lieutenant feel more real.

But when she picked up her phone, the story changed.

Social media showed something else entirely. Posts were flooding in.

Some were messy. Some looked edited. Others were too much to ignore.

Clips were already spreading—short videos of a fight. Lex Ryzen against the Four Horsemen.

Her thumb slowed as she scrolled. She didn’t blink as often anymore.

Then she closed the app

Next, she returned to the news. The recent killings were now being reported.

Blurred photos flashed on the screen, but even with the filters, the scene still looked harsh and disturbing.

Still, it did not feel unusual for anyone. Monster attacks often left dozens of bodies behind, so human violence alone no longer carried the same impact.

"Watching the news is stressing me more,"

With nothing to do, she spent the rest of the evening watching drama shows on TV.

Time passed without her really noticing.

By the time the clock hit 12:00 a.m., her eyes felt heavy. She finally turned the TV off and sat still for a moment, letting the silence return.

A long shower helped her relax more. The warm water ran over her shoulders, easing the tension she had been holding all day.

Midway through her bath, her hand moved on its own and rested against her stomach.

When she finished, she walked straight to bed and slipped under the blanket without wearing anything.

The room stayed dark and quiet. No sound came from outside, and nothing else asked for her attention.

Her eyelids grew heavier, and before she knew it, she drifted off.

snap!

Her eyes snapped open, and a wide grin spread across her face.

’She finally fell asleep,’ Francis mused to himself as he controlled her body, slowly making her sit up. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

From his vantage point, her ample breasts rose and fell with each breath, the soft glow of her skin almost luminous in the dim light.

While others might have been mesmerized by such a seductive sight, his attention was consumed by the mechanics of control.

This influence felt nothing like the total domination he wielded over his previous bodies.

This was something else entirely—more crude, more demanding. It was like piloting a body through a set of clumsy, invisible controls.

Without his complete concentration, her movements became awkward and robotic.

Furthermore, he could also not feel anything. Even sight was impossible, so he had to rely on his own parasite eyes to see.

That’s why for the time being, his control was limited to simple movements.

Luckily, it was already enough to execute the first phase of his plan.

Earlier that day, while she was asleep, he realized he could control her body without fully taking over her nervous system.

Once he made some progress in controlling her, he went out and found a group of thugs in a back alley and dealt with them.

It was a rough experiment to test whether consuming their organs could speed up his recovery.

The results were very conclusive. It was working.

Francis adjusted his focus.

Her body moved slowly at first, like it was still waking up.

He guided her legs over the side of the bed, needing to control her bones, muscles, and joints all at once, making the whole ordeal taxing even for him.

Her knees wobbled for a second before locking into place.

’I can’t just get used to this.’

He tested the control again. A step forward. Then another.

The movements were stiff, but not as bad as before. Her walking no longer looked completely wrong, just slightly off if someone who really knew her paid close attention.

Francis moved her toward the walk-in closet.

The door slid open.

Clothes hung neatly inside. He scanned them quickly, picking something simple.

A plain jogging suit. Dark color. Nothing loud. Nothing that would draw attention.

’Good enough.’

Her arms lifted under his control. Fingers brushed through fabric, pulling pieces out one by one.

Each motion required focus. Too little effort and her hands slowed or drifted out of place.

He tightened his control.

Shirt first. Then the jacket over it. Simple pants followed.

With her dressed, he checked her posture. She stood straighter now, more natural than before.

’She still looks weird, though,’ he mused, facing the mirror.

Though her face was beautiful, it showed no emotion. He tried making her smile, but it looked too creepy.

Facial control was different. Every expression needed small, exact movements working together at the same time. A slight change in one muscle could ruin the whole expression, making it look unnatural or off.

Unlike walking, there was no simple motion to follow. He had to adjust everything constantly.

He dropped the idea for now.

Francis guided her toward the door.

Step by step, she moved forward. This time, her walking looked smoother, almost normal if seen from a distance.

They left the room and headed out into the night, but as she passed the clerk’s desk, the same staff greeted them.

"Miss Samantha, are you going somewhere?"

Francis forced her to nod and lower her head. He was careful to maintain his distance from the desk.

The moment they got out of the building, they hailed a cab and spoke in an odd manner.

"Take...me... to District 12."

It was a location he already checked earlier while sifting through her phone.

His first victims were too close to this place, so he needed to find a safer location to harvest livers and cure his weakened state.

At the same time, this was a good way for him to learn how to better control her body. That way, he would have more options when he got the chance to assassinate Lex.

His priority was still to obtain that God-given talent.

"Are you okay, ma’am?" the driver asked while looking at his rearview mirror.

"I’m fine... I just have a sore throat. Now go."

The cab moved forward, and he briefly released his control to conserve his own energy.

Because he lacked any physical sensation, he had to rely entirely on his parasite eyes to estimate her comfort; he carefully adjusted the angle of her spine and the tilt of her head until her muscles appeared visually relaxed.

Soon, the buildings began to change. The area shifted into an old downtown district, with lower structures, busier roads, and more street vendors along the sidewalks, even at late hours.

When the cab stopped at the side of the road, he made her pay using cash he just found lying around her bedroom.

His reasoning was simple. If cards worked here the same way as in his old world, the transaction might trigger a notification on her phone.

Cash, on the other hand, was different. It was easily misremembered, especially by people with too much money.

’Now... it’s time to start the hunt.’