Chapter 9: Corrections

"It's all because of you, Anthony..."

Compared to Anthony's despairing numbness, Mary’s reaction to the loop was undoubtedly more extreme.

Waking up in the passenger seat and seeing everything in the car exactly as before, Mary let out an ear-splitting scream.

She turned to Anthony in the driver’s seat, her heavy makeup smeared by tears into a grotesque mask, her mouth wide open as she screamed hysterically.

"If it weren’t for you, you worthless scumbag, I wouldn’t be stuck in this situation! This is all your fault—every bit of it!"

In her frenzy of blame-shifting, Mary seemed to have conveniently forgotten her own significant role in the chain of events that forced them to flee.

Driver’s Seat

Watching the disheveled and screaming Mary, Anthony’s numb expression suddenly twisted into one of rage. Gritting his teeth, he lunged at Mary in the passenger seat, his face contorted as he reached for her throat. His bloodshot eyes burned with fury as he shouted, "If it’s all my fault, then let me end it for you! You stupid, insufferable witch!"

Anthony's arms tensed, muscles bulging as his hands tightened around Mary’s neck without any intention of letting go.

The unbearable pressure suffocated Mary, and the overwhelming nausea clawing at her throat nearly made her black out. Her face, darkened from lack of oxygen, turned a terrifying shade of deep purple as her eyes rolled back. Flailing her hands wildly, she tried desperately to grab onto something, anything.

But Anthony’s grip only grew stronger, draining the last of her resistance.

*Thud. Thud. Thud.*

Mary’s limp arms fell, banging against the dashboard with dull thuds. Her struggling ceased entirely, and she lay lifelessly in her seat.

The Breaking Point

Anthony’s breath came in heavy gasps. His hands lingered on Mary’s neck for a few more seconds, squeezing with all his might before finally letting go, as if all his strength had been drained. He stared at the clear handprints left on her neck, his breathing ragged, which quickly turned into maniacal laughter.

"Haha... Ha... Hahahaha!"

Inside the cramped car, Anthony laughed like a madman as he gazed at Mary’s motionless corpse.

He thought he had found a way to escape the endless loop.

If both he and Mary died, maybe they could finally break free from this torment. All he had to do was...

Anthony’s bloodshot eyes glinted with an unsettling light.

But before he could act on his thoughts, the familiar darkness engulfed him once more.

---

"It's all because of you, Anthony..."

Mary's piercing screams echoed again, snapping Anthony back to the present.

He turned to see Mary alive again, sitting in the passenger seat, her rage as fiery as ever. At that moment, the last thread of Anthony’s sanity snapped.

Ignoring her tirade, he reached under the seat, pulled out a handgun, and disengaged the safety. As Mary screamed in shock, Anthony flipped the barrel toward his own temple and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

*Bang!*

The deafening gunshot rang out, and blood splattered across the car’s windows, painting them a chilling crimson.

Mary, stunned, stared blankly at Anthony’s lifeless body as it slumped forward. After what felt like an eternity, she finally processed what had happened and let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Over the sound of her cries, a music box continued to play, its melody forlorn and haunting—Für Elise.  

And then, as expected, darkness claimed them both again.

---

In the Cheap Apartment

In a dingy apartment, Allen watched the repeating loop inside the car, observing the breakdown of both Anthony and Mary with quiet satisfaction.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared for the scripted finale.

However, before the final act could unfold, the system screen glitched and abruptly zoomed out.

Along with the visual shift, a line of jagged text appeared:

*"Unexpected Event?"*

Noticing the vehicle that appeared on the street, Allen frowned slightly.

Based on the system's alert, it seemed an unforeseen element had entered the scene, deviating from the script.

Recalling Anthony and Mary’s conversation before their escape, Allen quickly realized what it was.

The so-called "unexpected event" must be the true owner of the stolen money—the mastermind who had driven the pair into hiding.

---

*"Ding! A deviation has occurred in the script. Please allocate [Plot Points] to make corrections."*

The approaching vehicle closed in on Anthony and Mary’s location, while a new prompt flashed on the fractured system panel.

"Corrections, huh?"

Allen raised an eyebrow at the message.

It seemed he would need to be more careful in the future, saving some [Plot Points] rather than investing them entirely in the script's evolution.

With this mental note, Allen quickly confirmed the system’s prompt.

*"Ding! Allocating 20 [Plot Points] for automatic script correction."*

Thankfully, since the script had reached its conclusion, the adjustment cost wasn’t too high.

Relieved, Allen glanced at the remaining 83 [Plot Points] on the panel, then turned his attention back to the unfolding scene.

---

Accompanied by the low growl of its engine, the approaching car barreled down the street like a raging bull, ramming into a parked, battered sedan.

*Boom!*

The deafening crash echoed through the silent neighborhood, waking nearby shop owners who turned on their lights but refrained from venturing outside.

*Click!*

The car door opened, and out stepped a heavily tattooed, menacing white man.

"Anthony, you worthless piece of trash..."

Armed with an M11 submachine gun, the man leveled it at Anthony with a murderous glare.

"You’ve got some nerve, stealing my money. If I hadn’t caught on and come after you, you might’ve actually gotten away with it, you filthy rat!"

His face flushed with rage, the man spat on the ground, venting his anger.

"Get out of the car, now!" he snarled. "Or my bullets won’t be so forgiving. And trust me, I’ll put plenty of holes in you before I’m done."

As his gaze shifted to Mary in the passenger seat, his lip curled in disdain.

"Ha! Running for your life, and you bring a woman? Pathetic."

Confident that Anthony wouldn’t dare resist, the man envisioned him stepping out of the car, groveling and begging for mercy.

---

[End of Chapter]