Actually, this is quite fine. Like before, deploying so many troops to resolve this matter ended up burning through 500 million in funds within three days, yet nothing was truly solved.
Now, with just a monthly reimbursement of 100,000, everyone can live in harmony.
As for why it’s 100,000? Mainly because there are quite a few connections that need to be maintained.
After all, the current mission is to ensure Eve Nightburn doesn’t get blown up one day.
The goal is to keep her emotions in a perpetually stable state.
To put it in terms of a well-known story, it’s about creating a Truman Show just for Eve Nightburn.
Thinking this, Nina White glanced at the little loli who had already fallen asleep beside her.
“Something about this feels a bit wrong…”
What this little girl truly wanted was honesty and safety—yet the country could only give her one of the two.
Honesty would mean telling her, “We want to control you.”
Safety meant crafting a fabricated life for her.
The truth was, not everything could be said so freely. Nina could curse the higher-ups for their absurd methods,
but she couldn’t bring herself to tell this little loli that the world had never truly seen her as a person.
From the day she was defined as Calamity, she was destined to never be human.
When no one knew the truth, she could pass as human. But once people learned the reality, no matter how much Eve Nightburn tried to prove herself, she could never be human again.
In the end, people were used to seeing labels, not the individual beneath. If your label said human, then you could be human. If it didn’t, no amount of proof would ever convince them otherwise.
That was the trap of self-justification.
Nina sighed and lay on her side, carefully studying the sleeping face of the little loli.
Looking at those slightly chubby cheeks, she instinctively reached out to touch them.
But before she could even stroke them twice, Eve Nightburn swatted her hand away.
“Sis, that tickles!”
Pouting, Eve turned to the other side and went right back to sleep.
“So adorable.”
Nina sat up, adjusted the pillow for Eve, and tucked her in.
Even though this was just her job, Nina couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity for the girl.
“Why are you trying so hard to squeeze into this garbage world?”
“Just for an ID card that holds no real meaning?”
“You’ll never realize the true reason you’re rejected…”
“In a few days, you’ll get to start a new life. But will you really accept this kind of false affection?”
“To be honest, this isn’t even a real relationship.”
“It’s just the ritual of taming a pet.”
“What does it matter if you think you’re human? This world doesn’t care what you believe. It only cares what it decides you are.”
“I hope I’m wrong. If there’s any miracle left in this world, maybe it’s you—the monarch who makes flowers bloom.”
After saying this, Nina got up from the bed, walked to the hotel room door, and left.
—
### In the Dreamscape
Eve Nightburn sat in the small garden behind the house, enjoying an afternoon tea all to herself.
Lying on the lounge chair, she reached for a cookie from the plate on the side table and popped it into her mouth.
“So blissful~”
“Right? I just brewed two cups of jasmine tea—one for each of us. Want some?”
“Yes!”
Eve sat up, ready to take her cup from this kind stranger.
“Huh? Why is it you again?”
Eve stared at the pale-haired girl sitting across the table, utterly exasperated.
How long is this ghost going to keep following me?
“Aww, is Miss Eve Nightburn still disliking me?”
The girl acted shocked, the stray hair on her head curling into a question mark.
Eve was speechless. “Who would like someone who haunts them nonstop?!”
“Fine then~ I’ll just drink this tea all by myself.”
Putting on an exaggerated pout, the girl downed the tea in one go.
“Ahhh, so delicious~”
She even made a show of savoring it, as if to prove how sweet it was.
Eve refused to fall for such an obvious trick.
“Let me ask you—is this my dream?”
She had already figured it out. Every time she encountered this ghost girl who looked just like her, it was always in a dream.
She had the pattern memorized by now.
“Yep! I can only appear in your dreams. Other than here, I can’t go anywhere~”
The girl’s expression turned gloomy.
Just as I thought.
“Alright, alright, I get it—I’m daydreaming. So, why are you here this time?”
At Eve’s question, the girl instantly perked up.
“So, how did you like my ‘Secret Phrase’?”
The moment Eve heard that, her opinion of the girl dropped even further.
“Get lost! That scam of yours—I never want to use it again!”
She had already been tricked once. She wasn’t about to be fooled by the same ghost twice!
“Sigh~” The girl slumped. “To think I’d be seen as a fraud.”
“My Secret Phrase clearly stated it would create a kingdom just for you. And in the end, didn’t it work?”
“Shut up! How was I supposed to know your ‘kingdom’ would be that?!”
Eve had imagined something wonderful—but instead, she got a land of the dead!
“Oh!” The girl’s stray hair suddenly stood straight, as if she had a revelation. “So it was a service mismatch!”
“Then, Miss Eve Nightburn, how about giving me another chance? This time, I promise you’ll be satisfied…”
—
“Mmm…”
Eve curled up, then wriggled out from under the blankets.
“Had another dream about that unlucky girl…”
She put on her pajamas, got out of bed, and headed to the restroom to wash up.
After freshening up, she walked to the table and noticed something unfamiliar.
A phone she had never seen before.
“This doesn’t look like Big Sis Nana’s phone…”
Curious, she reached out and touched it.
The next moment, the fingerprint unlock activated—but instead of the home screen, a notice appeared:
“We apologize for the inconvenience caused by our previous service. Consider this phone as compensation. Oh, and we hope you’ll try my new Secret Phrase:
‘Disregard cause, seek only purpose.’
Effect: Command time.
Condition: Seize the light.”
