Elena slipped into a hardware store, her hood pulled low. The clerk's eyes lingered on her—she was buying an unusual mix of items: a brass mortar for alchemy, a crossbow with steel bolts, and a reinforced wooden bat. "Planning a camping trip?" he joked, but his hand drifted to the panic button under the counter, clearly wary of her quiet urgency.
Elena forced a cold, quick smile. She activated [Shadow Veil]—her facial features shifted into those of a middle-aged woman, her voice dropping an octave to match the disguise. "Just prepping for my son's hunting trip. Boys his age go crazy for this stuff." The clerk relaxed, nodding as he scanned the items. She paid in cash, grabbing the plastic bags before checking her watch—[Shadow Veil]'s 45-minute timer had already ticked down to 30 minutes.
Outside, she ducked into an alley to check the thrush in her backpack. Its feathers were matted and falling out, a faint putrid smell seeping through the fabric. [Only the Dead Hear]let her control the corpse, but it couldn't stop natural decay. A new line blinked on her in-mind status screen: Corpse Degradation: 12 hours remaining. Exposure to air accelerates decay.
"Time's running out," she muttered, zipping the backpack shut. Her first target—Leo Carter, the corrupt business partner who'd helped Liam exploit her in her past life—was already home. The thrush, sent to tail him after work, had relayed his location: a luxury apartment building 10 minutes away.
She hailed a taxi, giving the driver Leo's address. The ride was silent; she spent the time mentally replaying her plan, her hand resting on the wooden bat in her bag. When they pulled up to the building, she paid extra, asking the driver to wait. "I'll be 5 minutes," she lied—she knew it would take longer, but she needed an escape route.
She slipped into the lobby, nodding at the doorman (who didn't give her a second glance, thanks to [Shadow Veil]) before pressing the elevator button for the 7th floor. The thrush's "vision" flickered in her mind—decay was messing with its senses, making it hard to distinguish details. She took a deep breath, gripping the bat tighter.
The elevator pinged. She stepped out, walking to Leo's door and ringing the bell. A woman in a sheer silk nightgown answered, her dark hair messy, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Who are you?"
"Leo's assistant," Elena said, her voice sharp and authoritative. "I need to drop off urgent paperwork from Liam. It can't wait until tomorrow." She dropped Liam's name intentionally—Liam was Leo's most profitable partner, and the woman hesitated, then stepped aside.
The apartment reeked of whiskey and floral perfume. A shower ran in the master bathroom; Leo was inside. "Wait in the living room," the woman said, pouring Elena a glass of water from the kitchen. She didn't notice Elena's hand drifting to the bat behind her back.
Elena stood by the front door, her ears pricked for the shower to stop. Minutes later, the water shut off. Footsteps approached—heavy, lazy, like Leo was in no hurry. When he rounded the corner, towel slung over his shoulders and shirtless, Elena struck.
The bat collided with his neck with a sickening crack. Leo's eyes bulged, his mouth opening in a silent scream. He stumbled backward, tripping over the coffee table, and collapsed to the floor, twitching. Elena knelt, pressing the bat to his temple and holding it there until his body went limp, his chest no longer rising.
She placed her hand on his cold chest, focusing on the link between them. She activated [Only the Dead Hear].
Leo's eyes snapped open—pale, empty, void of any human recognition. Elena stood, jerking her head toward the master bedroom. "Go," she whispered, her voice low. The corpse obeyed, shuffling past the woman (who stared, confused, at his blank expression) and disappearing into the room.
The woman turned to Elena, her brow furrowed. "Is he okay? He looks… off."
"Tired," Elena cut her off, checking her watch again—[Shadow Veil]had 18 minutes left. "Long day at work. Tell him to meet Liam at the office tomorrow at 9 AM. The paperwork can't wait." She backed toward the door, not giving the woman a chance to ask more questions.
She sprinted to the taxi, tossing the bags in the backseat. "Drive—now," she said, her voice cracking as [Shadow Veil]'s timer hit 10 minutes. The driver nodded, pulling away from the curb. In the backseat, she pulled out her new phone—linked to Leo's corpse via [Only the Dead Hear]—and typed a text to Liam: Got the contract you wanted. Meet me at the office tomorrow. Don't be late—Liam's breathing down my neck.
Liam replied 2 seconds later: Will be there. Bring the whiskey.
Elena smiled. Liam had never seen her as a threat—just a profitable asset. He'd spent months plotting to hand her over to studio executives, hoping to take a cut of her future earnings. He thought Leo was his ally, not a corpse under her control.
The next morning, Liam arrived at the office at 8:50 AM, a bottle of expensive whiskey in one hand and his briefcase in the other. The receptionist waved him in, murmuring, "Mr. Carter's in his office—said to let you right in." Most employees were already at their desks, typing quietly, but Leo's office door was closed.
Liam knocked once, then pushed the door open. Leo stood by the window, his back to the door, wearing a crumpled dress shirt. A kitchen knife—stolen from his apartment—was clutched in his hand. "You're early," Leo said, but his voice was flat, robotic, no emotion behind it.
Liam frowned, setting the whiskey on the desk. "Leo? You sound like you're half-asleep. Did you even read the contract?" He stepped closer, reaching for the papers in Leo's other hand.
That's when Leo turned. His eyes were empty, his shirt stained with dried blood. Before Liam could react, Leo lunged, grabbing his wrist and forcing the knife into his own stomach. Liam's eyes widened, his mouth dropping open in a scream that got stuck in his throat. Blood soaked through Leo's shirt, dripping onto the carpet.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Liam yelled, trying to pull away. But Leo's grip was inhumanly strong—dead, unyielding. He twisted the knife, then pulled it out, dropping it to the floor. He stumbled backward, tripping over his own feet, and ran for the window—his movements jerky, panicked, like he was fleeing an invisible attacker.
Liam stood frozen, staring at his hand—covered in warm, sticky blood. The office erupted in screams as Leo threw himself through the glass window, his body crashing to the sidewalk below. Liam vomited on the floor, his mind racing—this couldn't be real.
Elena watched from a café across the street, her elbows on the table, a cup of black coffee in front of her. The thrush—now barely functional—perched on a telephone wire, its "vision" letting her see the chaos unfold. Her stamina bar was empty; controlling Leo for even 10 minutes had drained her completely. She sipped her coffee, her head throbbing—[Only the Dead Hear]was a brutal skill: every minute of control cost 2 stamina points, and she only regenerated 1 per minute without eating meat.
She'd need to find a new corpse soon—something fresher, stronger. The thrush was too far gone; she'd have to dispose of it later.
That afternoon, her doorbell rang. She checked the peephole—two cops, flanked by a security guard from the office building. She took a deep breath, fixing her face into a mask of shock and fear, then opened the door.
"Ms. Elena Bennett?" one cop said, holding up his badge. "We're investigating the deaths of Leo Carter and Liam Hart. We understand you had professional ties to both men—did you know them well?"
Elena's eyes widened, her hand flying to her mouth. "Leo? Liam? I—yes, Liam was my agent. Leo was his partner. What… what happened?" She let her voice shake, stepping aside to let them in. The thrush, now hidden in a shoebox by the door, stayed silent—its decay too advanced to move.
The cops sat on her couch, their notebooks open. "Leo jumped from his office window this morning. Liam was found at the scene with Leo's blood on him—he's in custody, facing manslaughter charges. Did either of them ever pressure you? Or make you feel uncomfortable?"
Elena hesitated, then nodded, wiping a fake tear from her cheek. "Liam… he tried to get me to meet with studio executives. I told him no—I didn't want to do that kind of work. He got angry, said I was 'wasting my talent.' I took two weeks off to avoid him. I didn't know Leo was involved in any of it. This is just… horrific."
The cops asked more questions—about her whereabouts the night before, about her last conversation with Liam—but she stuck to her story: vulnerable, scared, a victim of Liam's greed. They stayed for an hour, then left, thanking her for her cooperation. "We'll be in touch if we need anything else," one said, giving her a sympathetic look.
As soon as the door closed, Elena's phone rang. The caller ID read "Olivia"—Ethan's girlfriend, the one who'd helped him manipulate her in her past life. Her voice was sickly sweet, dripping with fake concern. "Elena? I heard about Liam—are you okay? Ethan and I were so worried. Do you need money? Or a place to stay? We're here for you."
Elena smiled, leaning against the door. "I'm fine… just tired. But thank you—really. That means a lot."
Olivia laughed, a high, fake sound. "Of course! We're family, right? You can always count on us."
Elena hung up, tossing her phone on the couch. Family. The word tasted like rot—like the thrush in the shoebox. She picked up the box, carrying it to the balcony, and dumped it into the trash. The corpse dissolved into a puddle of sludge, gone forever.
Only the dead obeyed. Olivia and Ethan would learn that soon enough.
She walked to her kitchen, grabbing a can of tuna from the pantry. Eating meat would speed up her stamina regeneration—1 point per minute, up from 0.5. She needed to be ready for her next move: Ethan. He was still oblivious, still thinking he'd be the "hero" of this game invasion.
Elena took a bite of tuna, staring at her in-mind status screen. [Immortality]glowed faintly, [Thief God]cooled down. The game was only getting started—and this time, she was the one pulling the strings.