Common Sense Hijack System-Chapter 41

Karl suddenly felt a wave of unexpected tension when Chloe gave him the boombastic side-eye. He knew that Homo Obscura like Chloe and Amber were super sensitive to energy shifts, and considering their superior abilities, Karl was on edge that they might suspect him as the cause of these strange occurrences.

"Why isn’t he clapping?" Chloe muttered again, but now she did it under her breath, loud enough for Karl to hear.

Karl awkwardly smiled, trying to divert their attention. "Oh, sorry, I was just spacing out," he casually replied, pretending to act all clueless.

Amber stared at him intently, as if trying to gauge the truth behind his answer. "What’s going on in your life, Karl? Why are you so distracted?" she inquired.

Karl chuckled nervously, shrugging. "Well, it’s a privacy issue hahaha...," he replied nonchalantly, hoping they wouldn’t probe further.

"Dang, they even know I have a problem," Karl grumbled to himself.

Karl forced a smile, "By the way, Hi Amber!"

Clap... Clap...

Karl clapped twice, and a system notification popped up.

---

[ Quest Completed ]

- Reward received: 150 Hijack Points, 50 XP

---

Karl kept up his smile, ignoring the system notification that appeared.

But Chloe and Amber didn’t seem convinced. Amber glanced at Chloe, as if they were communicating without words, before they continued on their way. Karl let out a sigh of relief as they walked off, but he couldn’t shake off the lingering unease that haunted his thoughts.

Arriving at the store, Karl tried to distract himself by keeping busy. However, his encounter with Chloe and Amber left him feeling uneasy. He realized that Homo Obscura could pose a serious threat if they started suspecting his ability to manipulate others’ common sense.

Amidst pondering, the system notification popped up again in front of his eyes:

---

[ DING ] freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

[ New Quest Available! ]

> Hide the Truth

-Objective: Make Chloe and Amber stop suspecting you.

-Reward: 500 Hijack Points, 300 XP

-Time Limit: 168 Hours left.

[ Note: Host must be creative to divert their suspicion. ]

---

Karl swallowed hard, realizing he couldn’t evade this situation so easily. If Chloe and Amber found out about his abilities, his life could be in serious trouble. He had to find a way to deflect their suspicions, or at least make them believe that he had nothing to do with the strange phenomena happening around them.

Karl took a deep breath, brainstorming hard about strategies he could do. What could he do to divert their attention from him? And to complete the first quest that couldn’t be finished by using the Common Sense Hijack System?

*****

When Zoey arrived, the convenience store atmosphere was normal. Until two new employees, Jason and Lily, left.

Zoey stood at the cashier, sensing the threat and danger from Karl.

Karl felt Zoey’s sharp glare, no longer hiding her hatred. All their small talk in the past would never happen again. Karl tried to smile, but it faded instantly as Zoey spoke up.

"I never forgot about Adam," she said coldly, her gaze fixed on Karl’s eyes. "What you did to him back then... made him crawl, Karl. I know you did something to him, and I know it’s not... normal."

Karl fell silent. There was no more room to hide behind smiles or small jokes. A cold feeling slowly crept down his spine, but he tried hard to maintain his composure.

Karl grinned and taunted Zoey further, "Zoey... You’re just mistaken about Adam back then he was just...," Karl pretended to put on a thoughtful expression. He saw Zoey’s fear, and Karl felt even more delighted seeing that hypocritical woman scared.

Zoey narrowed her eyes, a sardonic smile appearing on her lips. "Stop playing games, Karl!" Her voice was low but firm.

Zoey berated Karl, "You crazy witch, I thought the worst thing you could do with your dirty fingers was just beat your own filthy dick! But apparently, you can do worse things!"

Karl swallowed hard, surprised that Zoey still had the courage. However, he couldn’t show his surprised feeling. Slowly, he tried to speak in a calmer tone.

"And the worst thing you can do is cheat with Adam’s coworker, slander a good teenage girl for engaging in forbidden relations with her own uncle, steal small items at the convenience store and make your good colleague bear all the loss as debt!?"

"Freak, how do you know all that!?" Zoey interrupted, her eyes sharp.

"I don’t remember telling you all that! Did you manipulate my memories like you did to Adam!?" Zoey snapped at Karl.

Karl stared at Zoey with a sharp gaze, his eyes piercing into her thoughts. He knew he had torn down the shield Zoey had built, and he glimpsed the fear that couldn’t be hidden behind her anger on her face.

"Zoey, you may think you’re clever with all the manipulation and lies you play. But you forget, I have ’Magic’..." Karl whispered softly but piercingly.

"The good image you carefully maintain... will be destroyed with just the graceful dance of my fingers." Karl moved his fingers on both hands as if squeezing Julia’s breasts back then.

Zoey tried to maintain her composure, but Karl noticed her slightly trembling fingers. She swallowed hard, the fear slowly eating away at her courage. "What do you mean?" her voice trembled, but she tried to sound determined.

Karl smiled smugly, then stepped close to her, slowly and menacingly. "How about if everyone knew about your petty thievery in this store? Or the lies you spread, about the ’good girl’ you accused of engaging in forbidden relationships?"

Zoey looked stunned. Her face paled, her eyes widened in fear. She never imagined that someone truly knew all her darkest secrets.

"K-Karl... you wouldn’t do that," she whispered softly, trying to sound certain, but the fear in her face couldn’t be hidden.

Karl brought his face close to hers until he could see every wrinkle of fear on Zoey’s face.

"Try me, Zoey," he whispered coldly. "I could reveal everything, destroy you in an instant, but I won’t do it... as long as you know how to keep quiet and follow my orders."

Zoey was frozen, her trembling clenched fists now tight, but she couldn’t find the words to fight back. Karl’s threat was so real, so close, as if she could already see the shadow of her own destruction.

"Fine," she finally responded, almost inaudible. "What... what do you want?"

Karl smiled contentedly, a cold smile indicating that he knew he had won this game. "Good, Zoey. I just want you to remember one thing: you never saw anything. Adam, me, or anything you thought you knew... just pretend it never happened."

Zoey nodded, her body feeling weak. "Okay, Karl... I... I will forget everything."

"And one more thing," Karl added, staring at her sharply. "Don’t let me hear any rumors about me. You know the consequences."

Zoey just nodded weakly, forced to accept the terms Karl had set. She knew that Karl could ruin her life with just one word.

"And..."

"What else, Karl?"

"Tomorrow, you should be my camera girl!"

"What?" Zoey frowned.