Ray’s eyes snapped straight to that floating fingerprint drifting in the air. That faint blue glow was hovering right in front of his face, pulsing slow like it’d been waiting there forever.

"Man, I almost forgot about that," he muttered, voice hoarse and annoyed.

No time to waste. Ray raised his right hand and pressed his thumb right onto the floating print.

[Ding!]

A big holographic panel popped open in the air, clean and bright in the middle of the dark living room.

[Daily Mission]

[Simple]

[Medium]

[Hardcore]

Ray stared at the three options.

With the panel still open, Ray spoke quietly to the empty room.

"System... once I hit level 10, how long can I actually extend the duration for?"

The panel blinked once. New text slid in underneath.

[Depends on the Alter points used to upgrade the duration.]

Ray frowned. "Alter points? How many do I gotta spend to add one minute?"

The system replied, short and cold as always.

[Information will be provided once the Host reaches level 10]

"Tch..." Ray clicked his tongue. "Damn it. Always the same shit."

He turned back to the three choices. Simple was way too easy — probably just some light talk or casual touching. Hardcore though... that was definitely gonna need heavy Alter work, high risk, or multiple targets in one night.

Like usual, he played it safe, especially since it was already nighttime.

[Medium]

He tapped it without hesitation.

The panel updated instantly.

[Daily Mission — Medium]

Objective:

Alter the apology gesture. The Host has to perform the altered apology three times while the Alter is active.

Reward:

• +50 EXP

• +50 Alter Points

Time Limit: 5 Hours

Failure:

The altered gesture sticks to anyone who interacts with the host. They’ll hit the host with that same altered gesture for the next week.

---

Ray read through every line. "Apologize?" He scratched his head. "Just say sorry three times? Sounds easy enough..." He let out a short laugh, already thinking this mission was gonna be a total breeze.

Ray wanted to open the Alter Building feature, but he was bored as hell. There was zero funny drama because his last alter only worked on one building.

So he switched to Global Alter instead. He opened the panel and typed:

[The grown-up way to apologize is by grabbing and squeezing the ass of whoever made you feel guilty. The longer you squeeze, the more you actually mean it.]

Ray burst out laughing.

"Alright, fuck it. No point wasting time. Let’s go find some targets." He hit confirm without thinking twice.

He grabbed his jacket and keys, stepped out of his apartment unit, and locked the door. The hallway was quiet as he walked to the elevator and rode it down to the lobby.

The second he stepped outside, he spotted her.

A hot girl walking by herself, probably twenty-two or twenty-three. Long straight black hair, nice body, and those thin glasses that somehow made her look both cute and sexy. She was glued to her phone, walking slow and chill.

Ray smirked to himself. ’First target... perfect timing.’

He kept walking normally at first, then purposely made his steps wobbly. As he got close, he faked slipping on the uneven ground and bumped into her shoulder hard enough to make her stumble.

"Wah—!"

The girl yelped, almost dropping her phone. Ray reacted fast, grabbing her waist to steady her.

"Sorry! My bad, I’m really sorry!" he said quickly. But instead of stopping there, he went straight into the altered apology. ’Adult way... gotta do it right.’

Without hesitation, his right hand slid down from her waist to her plump, firm ass. His fingers started squeezing in a steady rhythm — grab, release, grab again. He only planned to do it for a few seconds.

But the moment he felt how soft and warm her ass was through her jeans, something in his brain short-circuited. It was the perfect mix of soft and toned, and the sweet smell of her perfume wasn’t helping at all.

"Fuck..." he thought.

Every squeeze made her ass jiggle just right in his hand. Blood rushed straight to his dick. He started getting hard in his jeans. His breathing got heavier without him noticing. His hand slowed down on its own, squeezing deeper and staying longer. He was straight-up kneading her ass now, feeling every curve, even rocking it a little while he squeezed. Twenty seconds... twenty-five... thirty.

The girl went stiff at first. Her eyes went wide behind her glasses, cheeks turning bright red. "H-hey... what the hell—"

The global alter kicked in hard. Her anger melted away fast. Her body relaxed, going soft and pliant under his hand. She could feel how "sincere" the apology was getting the longer he kept squeezing. Her breathing picked up. Her knees got a little weak.

Ray still hadn’t let go. His eyes were half-closed, lost in it. ’Goddamn... this ass feels way too good. Shit, I’m actually getting horny now.’ He squeezed slower but deeper, fingers brushing right between her cheeks. His cock was already half-hard and throbbing against his zipper.

Finally the girl spoke, voice soft and a little shaky. "You... you don’t gotta go that far, it’s fine... Just watch where you’re walking, okay?"

Only then did Ray realize he’d been squeezing her ass for way too long. He quickly let go and stepped back. Her face was still flushed, breathing uneven, but the alter had done its job — she wasn’t pissed. Instead she had this shy little smile.

"Sorry if I got in your way," she said quietly while fixing her glasses.

Ray gave a small smile. "Nah, it’s cool, I was the one who—"

He didn’t even finish.

The girl turned around and grabbed his ass with both hands, squeezing it firm and rhythmic like she was returning the favor. Ray froze, eyes wide. A wave of awkward heat shot up his neck.

She gave one last solid squeeze, then let go, adjusted her glasses, and walked away with a small smirk.

Ray just stood there for a second before letting out a wry laugh. "Damn... that hot girl just squeezed my ass back."

He could still feel his cock half-hard in his jeans. "Shit... almost got carried away. But fuck, that felt good," he muttered, chuckling under his breath.

He started walking again, still kinda buzzing. Now outside the building, he looked around for the next target.

A few steps later he spotted her — a woman in her forties standing by the sidewalk, talking on her phone. Ray walked up, faked another trip, and bumped her arm.

"Sorry, ma’am! My bad!"