Surviving In This Filthy World As A Novel Villain

"No way, that's impossible!" Eric Vaughn's heart raced as he scrambled to explain. "Sera, think harder! I'm Eric… Eric Vaughn! A few days ago, you sprained your ankle, and I healed it with my acupuncture. You can't have forgotten that!"

What a desperate, clingy outburst.

"He touched your foot?" Alex asked with a playful smile, his eyes glinting with amusement as he looked at her.

Sera shook her head. "No, I've never even met him."

But that harmless lie left Eric Vaughn totally lost, questioning his entire existence. 'How could this be? Did I get it wrong? No, no way, that's impossible!' But why would Sera say something so hurtful like "I don't know you"?

Wait a second…

'It had to be this jerk. He must've forced her. With this guy around, Sera couldn't tell the truth. That's it—it had to be him!'

Eric felt like he'd cracked the case of the world. He glared at Alex and snapped, "What did you do to Sera? I don't care what you've done, but you'd better stop right now, or I won't go easy on you!"

'Sera is mine. She has to be my woman—she can only be my woman. No way I'll let some filthy guy steal her away…' With that thought, Eric Vaughn dropped the acupuncture needles, forgot about saving anyone, he just stood up.

'I'm basically begging for death here…' Alex chuckled inwardly. With a gentle move, he brushed his thumb across Sera's lower lip, wiping away a creamy milk stain she'd left behind after sipping her drink.

'That was if it was the previous me… the novel one… hehehe.'

Sera played along like a dream, parting her soft, glossy lips just enough to let the sticky milk residue show. She lightly took his thumb into her mouth for a heartbeat before letting go with a teasing little smirk.

[The Protagonist, Eric Vaughn, is losing his mind! Congrats, you've earned 4000 Critical Points!]

Holy crap! Even that weirdo drooling over your backside didn't trigger this much chaos. Guess the heroine's the real secret weapon… Alex shot a sideways glance at Eric Vaughn, who was practically vibrating with rage. Time to crank it up a notch—this guy was a goldmine for Critical Points, and Alex wasn't about to slack off now.

….

Behind them, a row of onlookers stretched their necks like curious geese, soaking in the drama. Further back, Henry stood glowering at his unconscious father, his face so dark it could've blended into a midnight shadow.

Eric Vaughn gnashed his teeth, fury twisting his plain, forgettable features into something almost comical—if it weren't so pathetic.

'You think you can outplay me? Kid, you're way out of your league… int his one…' Alex grinned to himself, then leaned in and grazed Sera's earlobe with his teeth, giving it a playful nip.

"Mmm~" Sera let out a soft, involuntary hum. Her body quivered, and her gorgeous eyes went all hazy and watery. She tilted her head, trapping her shoulder against her cheek, while her legs brushed together like she couldn't quite keep still.

"You—!" Eric's average-Joe face twisted into a snarl, his eyes blazing like he'd just caught his house on fire.

[The Protagonist, Eric Vaughn, is losing his mind! Congrats, you've earned 6000 Critical Points!]

'Oh, hell yeah!' Alex nearly laughed out loud. That little move had hit the lonely guy like a truck—total devastation.

He flicked his tongue across his lips, savoring the moment like it was a fine dessert, then locked eyes with the seething Eric. "What's so interesting over here, huh?"

'Toying with your dream girl right in your face… how's that for a thrill, buddy?'

'You're dead. You're so freaking dead…' Eric's expression crumpled into a mess of rage and desperation.

If he weren't clinging to the last scraps of self-control, he'd have already lunged forward and unleashed every deadly trick his third master taught him to wipe this smug jerk off the planet.

But the street was crawling with people, and cameras were everywhere—killing was too risky.

'Fine, whatever. Messing with the woman I've loved? You've got three days tops…' Forcing down the urge to kill Alex, Eric clenched his fists so tight they popped like firecrackers.

Taking a deep breath, he turned his head to the side, quietly planning which poison he'd use later to kill this rotten guy.

The assassin wasn't great at killing with weapons, but poison? That was no problem. Even if those colorful-haired punks in the back were filming him with their phones, they wouldn't figure out when he'd slip the poison in.

When it came to poison, Eric Vaughn was very confident.

'This jerk…' the more he looked, the angrier he got. Eric Vaughn didn't want to keep staring, so he turned his head away again. But the rotten guy across from him seemed to be doing it on purpose—wherever Eric's gaze went, the guy shifted to that exact spot.

[The Protagonist, Eric Vaughn, has a mental breakdown! Congrats, you've earned 4000 Critical Points!]

'You've got to be kidding me!'

Eric turned his head to the side again. Alex, with his arm around Sera, moved right along with him. After repeating this four or five times—

[The Protagonist, Eric Vaughn, has a mental breakdown! Congrats, you've earned 2000 Critical Points!]

[Female lead 'Sera Kleinberg' has a mental breakdown. Congratulations, you've earned 1000 Critical points.]

'Wait a second—how are you getting emotional now?' Alex gently poked Sera's waist.

After a few more back-and-forths, Eric couldn't take it anymore. He snapped, yelling, "Are you sick or something?"

"Can you fix me?" Alex replied without missing a beat.

"I…" Eric opened his mouth but had no idea what to say. His face twitched, and all the anger bubbling inside him got stuffed right back down.

He couldn't exactly say, "Sure, I'll fix you," could he?

At that moment, Henry, whose face was dark with frustration and anger, walked over. "You weren't lying to me, are you?"

He'd been promised help, but this guy turned into a lovesick fool the second he saw a woman. No matter how you looked at it, he didn't seem trustworthy.