He Stole My Sixty Years Of Hard Won Lifespan Chapter 08

He Stole My Sixty Years Of Hard Won Lifespan Chapter 08

Nearing death.

Those four words branded themselves into Evan’s heart like red-hot iron.

That night, he locked himself inside his study.

Using the highest level of encrypted clearance, he accessed every complete mission recording from Mira’s past eight years.

Everything he’d ignored…

Everything he’d dismissed as “not that difficult”…

Played before him in the cruelest, most unforgiving way.

He watched her buried alive beneath collapsed ruins.

In the darkness, she’d whispered his name.

“Evan… when I come back, let’s get married.”

He watched her bitten by a venomous snake deep in a primeval forest.

To save the expensive antidote, she’d cut open her own flesh with a knife and squeezed the poisoned blood out herself.

He watched her lying on an operating table, her body covered in wounds.

One hundred and thirty-seven stitches.

To save money on anesthesia, she’d refused it completely.

—

Her entire body convulsed in agony.

She bit through her own lips…

Yet never made a sound.

And every recording ended the same way.

Whenever the system announced—

Mission Complete. Lifespan Awarded: XX Days.

She always smiled.

The smile of someone who’d survived death one more time.

In the remarks section of every mission report, she always wrote something about Evan.

“So I can live as long as Evan.”

“So we’ll grow old together.”

“One more day closer to our future.”

…

Evan collapsed to his knees before the holographic screen.

He stared at the girl fighting through mud…

Through blood…

Through death itself…

Again and again.

—

It felt as if someone were tearing his heart apart with bare hands.

Only then did he understand.

Those sixty years had never been just numbers.

They were pieces of her flesh.

Her dignity.

Countless brushes with death.

Every second she’d saved…

For the future they were supposed to share.

And he’d handed all of it to someone else.

Then called her…

Selfish.

Smack!

His hand struck his own face.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

He slapped himself over and over.

More than a dozen times.

His cheeks swelled.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

He couldn’t feel a thing.

—

His comm wristband rang.

It was Lena.

“Evan… I think the Life-Stone is running out of energy.”

“Could you get me a little more lifespan?”

“Every extra day I get to live is thanks to Mira.”

“You should be happy for her…”

Listening to her sugary voice…

For the first time in his life…

Evan wanted to kill someone.

He hung up without a word.

Then ripped the wristband off and hurled it against the wall.

It shattered.

He grabbed every Time Account asset card he owned and rushed into the pouring rain.

He ran to the small house where Liam had settled Mira.

Then dropped to his knees outside the closed front door.

Rain mixed with tears as they streamed down his face.

“Mira…”

“Please… open the door…”

—

“Take my life.”

“You can have everything I own.”

“I’ll give you every last year I’ve got…”

“Please…”

“Take those sixty years back…”

He screamed until his voice broke.

He cried like a child.

“Please…”

“Just look at me one more time…”

No one knew how much time passed.

Finally…

The front door creaked open.

Evan looked up, hope exploding inside him.

But the person standing there…

Was Liam.

Looking down at Evan kneeling in the mud, Liam’s eyes were as cold as blades.

He didn’t say a single word.

He only let out a mocking laugh before tossing a sheet of paper onto the ground.

—

It was a Collection Notice from an Underground Time Casino.

The debtor’s name was Lena Cole.

Under Collateral, it read:

60 Years of High-Tier Lifespan.

She’d never suffered organ failure.

She’d simply gambled herself into massive Time Debt at the underground casino.

The claim that she only had six months left to live had been nothing more than a scam.

A trap she’d planned with the casino.

A scheme designed to win Evan’s sympathy and drain every last bit of Mira’s hard-earned lifespan.

Evan stared at the paper.

Every drop of blood in his body seemed to freeze.

Slowly…

He rose to his feet.

The last trace of warmth disappeared from his eyes.

Only rage remained.

And murder.

He stormed into the heavily fortified Underground Time Casino with a

—

team behind him.

Inside the most luxurious VIP room…

He found Lena.

She was wearing a revealing dress, surrounded by a crowd of men.

Laughing wildly.

One after another, she shoved Life Chips worth one year of lifespan onto the gaming table.

She’d never looked happier.

Around her neck…

Hung the Life-Stone she’d stolen from Mira.

The moment she saw Evan kick the door open…

The smile vanished from her face.

She collapsed onto the floor in terror.

“E-Evan…”

“What are you doing here?”

She scrambled toward him on her hands and knees, reaching for his leg.

“Please… listen to me…”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen…”

“I was just… I made a terrible mistake…”