It was two o'clock in the afternoon when Calvin walked out of the Internet Cafe.

He swept his gaze across the familiar surroundings of his City.

The City of Dabao.

The City may not be so technologically-advanced compared to the Capital, yet it wasn't really that bad.

Calvin greatly missed this city back then.

Taking a deep breath of the unpolluted air of Dabao, he became somewhat emotional.

The air of that world within the crack was so disgusting that Calvin couldn't even comprehend how he managed to live for so long without dying from any lung-related illnesses. After admiring the scenery and walking around the City for about an hour or so, Calvin glanced at his wristwatch.

"It's about time." He softly uttered.

Then, he walked towards the nearby Waga Lake Park and sat on a particular bench near the shores of the lake.

He sat there, looking depressed as if he lost all purpose in his life.

Staring at the endless blue skies, his eyes would sometimes lose its focus and he would also sometimes sigh. 

No one knew what he was thinking, but there was something obvious towards what was going on.

This young man was depressed.

That was what he looked like to the outside world.

But Calvin was actually waiting.

More accurately, he was waiting for someone.

"Damn, how long is she going to take before she comes here?" Calvin impatiently glanced at his wristwatch.

There was still about a few minutes before the expected time of her arrival, yet Calvin couldn't wait already.

The few minutes passed, yet the person he was waiting for still hasn't arrived.

'What the hell is going on? Why is she late? I made sure to come here in time so that history wouldn't change. Or..."

'Did I already inadvertently change the course of history? That's impossible! I followed the script perfectly according to my memory!' Calvin inwardly whispered. When he became an Apex Predator Author in the Writer Profession. He understood that he managed to turn back time to the point before he became a Predator.

According to his memories, the person that would introduce him to the world behind the crack would arrive at exactly four in the afternoon here in Waga Lake Park. But what was going on?

'Where is she?'

'Is she not coming?'

'If so, then that's bad...'

'Without her, I can't possibly go to the world behind the crack!'

Calvin's mind madly spun.

And then...

He was struck with a realization.

'I haven't followed the script perfectly!' 

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'I'm quite sure that my acting is perfect without any trace of deceit, but I still haven't done what I did back then!'

Calvin instantly calmed down the moment he realized the crux of the problem.

Afterwards, he then stood up and walked towards the shores of the lake.

Taking off his shoes, he stepped foot into the lake and started walking...

He continued walking until the waters of the lake reached his chest and when that happened, he hesitated.

Seemingly displaying the innate hesitation of every human in the world towards dying.

But his hesitation only lasted for a few seconds.

He swiftly hardened his resolve and continued on walking deeper into the lake.

"You'll die if you take another step forward."

But before he could even submerge his head into the lake, a feminine voice rang out from behind.

'So, she's finally here!' Calvin inwardly screamed.

But on the outside, he maintained a fearful appearance as he turned around and shouted in return.

"Who's there?!"

Soon, a figure appeared from the darkness. It was a woman who looked to be in her early twenties.

There was a cold look on her face.

But Calvin who knew everything that would definitely happen in the future also knew that this woman's coldness was just nothing but a mere facade.

She may be cold to outsiders, but she was scarier and more overprotective than a black momma bear to its cubs.

The woman didn't answer.

But she also didn't walk closer to the shores of the lake for she was afraid that her H-line skirt would get wet.

Clad in a white blouse and a black jacket, she thoroughly looked like a typical businesswoman.

"Are you not cold? How about you come out there and talk to me for a while?"

The woman's voice was cold, yet Calvin could feel a hint of playfulness from her voice.

'Ria... It seems like you're still the same as ever.' 

"Who are you? Were you the one that's stalking me earlier?"

The woman raised an eyebrow, apparently surprised by Calvin's questions.

"Oh? You felt me staring at you earlier? As expected of the person that I chose. But mind your words, stalking is quite crude. Let's call it investigating, shall we?" The woman's eyes radiated amusement, yet there was no trace of any smile on her lips.

Calvin furrowed his eyebrows.

He walked out of the lake and sat on the bench beside the woman.

There was a gap of about a meter between the two. Calvin felt quite weird about this fact, considering that the two of them were quite close to each other in the past. Of course, their relationship was kept as top-secret. But they were too close to each other to the extent that Calvin even knew how many moles Ria had on her chest.

Inwardly chuckling, Calvin decided to keep these silly thoughts away from his mind.

He knew that the past was different from the future.

What happened back then may not happen in this timeline.

But that didn't mean that Calvin wasn't willing to get close with Ria anymore.

He just wanted to let nature run its course.

And besides, knowing that humanity's time was quite limited before the invasion of those bastards from the crack.

Does he even have enough time to fool around?

Maybe...

But Calvin didn't plan on doing so.

As soon as he returned to the world behind the crack, he would immediately begin his plans.

"Are you Calvin Villanueva, right?"

The woman asked.

Calvin scrunched his eyebrows and replied, "Aren't you stalking me?"

"Why are you asking me questions that you already know the answer?"

The woman was taken aback by Calvin's response, but she thought of it as normal. After all, from her investigations. He was an addicted piece of trash that was abandoned by his family. Who wouldn't be irritable after something like that happened to them? Of course, everyone would get riled up!

She didn't take offense to his reply.

"This is who I am..."

She casually took out a business card from her pocket and handed it over to him.

Calvin took the business card.

[Fivecent Holdings Limited]

[Leader of the Development Team: Ria Nolinon.] 

When Calvin took the business card, she withdrew her hand and took a towel out of her shoulder bag.

Then, she gave it to Calvin.

"Dry yourself first and I'll tell you why I've been investigating you."

"You mean stalking me?"

"Oh, so you want to die?"

"Uh... Sorry." 

Calvin inadvertently made a joke as if he was familiar with Ria.

Of course, he was familiar with her but the same couldn't be said to her.

For Ria, this was her first conversation with him.

'I wonder how she'll react if I told her the exact number of moles she has on her chest.' 

Calvin inwardly snickered.

He swiftly buried these thoughts away from his mind as he took the towel and wiped himself dry.

Then, when he was done.

Ria spoke once more.

"Do you want to keep on living?"

"What do you mean?" Calvin raised an eyebrow. 

Ria stared at him and revealed an ambiguous smile.

"If you want to keep on living and turn your life around for the better."

"Then, I have an offer for you."

"An offer that you cannot possibly refuse once you've heard of it."

She paused for a moment before continuing.

"What about it?"

"Are you interested yet?"