On my best friend's birthday, I gave her a wishing system. She had no idea it was from me. Overjoyed, she made a wish of unparalleled cruelty. 【I wish Audrey Prescott becomes a public utility. Something for thousands of people to get in and out of, day and night!】 The good news: As the gift-giver, I could hear her silent wish. The bad news: I’m Audrey Prescott. 1 Today was Jenna’s birthday. I’d invited a few friends over to my place for a small party to celebrate. Jenna and I had been inseparable since middle school, the kind of friends who shared everything. That bond held strong through college, and we were more like sisters than anything else. For her birthday this year, I’d wired her $25,000. But I also had a special surprise just for her. A wishing system. I’d acquired it by chance after my cumulative donations to the Children's Literacy Fund hit the ten-million-dollar mark. It was a one-time-use item, but it could grant its holder a single wish. The system had its limits, of course. It wouldn't grant wishes that involved murder, fraud, or anything illegal or morally bankrupt. It was meant for things like winning the lottery or becoming stronger—wishes I didn't particularly need. So, just a few moments ago, I had discreetly gifted the system to my best friend. 【Congratulations, Host. You have successfully bound to the Wishing System.】 【This system will grant you one wish.】 【Please make your wish.】 The system was now linked to her. Jenna looked completely bewildered, her eyes wide with the kind of panic you see in someone who thinks they’ve just seen a ghost. "What the hell was that!" I turned away, pretending to scroll through my phone, hiding a smile behind my hand. I’d had the exact same reaction when the system first bound to me. But I knew that in a moment, her confusion would turn to absolute ecstasy. Sure enough, a few minutes later, after the system had explained its function, a visible wave of excitement washed over her. Because I was the previous owner, I had the option to listen in on the current holder’s thoughts and the system's responses. This feature would expire once the wish was granted. 【Can you really grant any wish I make?】Jenna thought, her mind racing. 【Yes!】 【Then I wish…】 【To make a wish, you must clasp your hands, close your eyes, and remain silent. Otherwise, the wish will be invalid.】 The ritual was specific and couldn't be altered. If she was interrupted or broke the pose, the wish would be voided. But as she looked at me, something in her eyes felt strange. It wasn’t joy. It was closer to gloating. A flicker of discomfort went through me, but I pushed it down. I slid the birthday cake closer to her. "Make a wish, birthday girl!" The lights in the living room dimmed on cue. Jenna closed her eyes, her hands clasped tightly together. I watched the corners of her lips tremble, trying to suppress a smile. I found myself getting excited, wondering what she would choose. She’d talked endlessly about wanting plastic surgery, about becoming a famous actress and making a fortune. I knew she struggled with her appearance and craved wealth. I assumed she’d be torn between wishing for a huge lottery win or a complete physical transformation. But instead, surrounded by her friends, she spoke to the system with a chilling piety. 【I wish for Audrey Prescott to be utterly ruined! I wish her family’s company goes bankrupt! I wish she gets a terminal illness! I wish she would just drop dead right now!】 2 For a second after she made her wish, I thought I was hallucinating. What did she just wish for? Who did she want ruined? Whose company bankrupt? Who terminally ill? Who did she want to drop dead? Me? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It wasn’t until the system responded to Jenna that the reality crashed down on me. 【Host, you have one and only one wish. The current request contains too many wishes. Please make a new wish.】 Jenna was visibly disappointed. 【What? Why only one? It’s so hard to choose! Fine… then just have Audrey Prescott be ruined!】 【I wish for her to be gang-banged!】 What! Did she have any idea what she was saying? Confirming her wish a second time, I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. I just stood there, frozen. Had she been possessed? This was Jenna—my Jenna. We were sisters. We told each other everything. Why would she do this to me? A slideshow of our life together flashed through my mind, every shared laugh and secret now feeling like a lie. Looking at the slight, triumphant curve of her lips, a deep chill spread from my core. She looked exactly the same as she always did. Had she always been like this? A two-faced monster? All smiles and friendship to my face while secretly wishing for my death? The betrayal from the person I trusted most in the world sent a surge of pure, unthinking rage through me. I was about to raise my hand, to shove her and break the ritual— Then I heard the system’s voice again. 【Wish rejected. Prohibited keywords detected.】 Jenna fumed internally. 【What? You’re a wishing system! What do you care about prohibited words?】 Hearing the system reject her wish, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. Thank God for the restrictions. It wasn’t some lawless genie that would grant any twisted desire. But the relief was short-lived. My heart, which had just settled, leaped back into my throat with her next wish. 【Make Audrey Prescott be forced to have sex with multiple men!】 【Detecting 325,478 individuals named Audrey Prescott. Please specify the target.】 【I wish for my best friend, Audrey Prescott, to be forced to have sex with multiple men!】 【Wish rejected. The request displays illegal and criminal intent.】 Jenna! Her eyes were squeezed shut, her brow furrowed, a desperate and distorted smile playing on her lips. I stared at her, my anger boiling. What had I ever done to deserve this level of hatred? I searched my memory, my conscience, and came up with nothing. I had never, ever wronged her. How could she be so vile? And she still had the nerve to call herself my best friend. After being rejected repeatedly, Jenna was getting agitated. And she wasn't the only one. Our friends were getting restless. "Jenna, it's been like ten minutes. What kind of wish takes this long?" "Come on, Jenna… it's just a birthday wish, a tradition. Don't take it so seriously." The expressions of our friends shifted from patient amusement to annoyance. Two of the girls who had been standing beside her gave up, rolling their eyes as they walked away from the cake and back toward the media room to sing karaoke. The others waited a little longer, but when Jenna still didn't move, they exchanged bewildered looks and started to snicker. Jenna heard their laughter. It made her even more anxious and angry. But she couldn’t open her eyes, or the chance would be gone. She kept her face serene, but inside, she was roaring. See! They’re all laughing at me! This is all your fault! You can't do this, you can't do that! What kind of useless system are you? The system, however, was indifferent to her tantrum. It replied with its monotonous, mechanical voice. 【Please make a new wish.】 3 Jenna was running out of options. She gave up on the overtly illegal wishes, abandoning her obsession with me being assaulted or violated. But her next attempts weren't much better. 【I wish for my best friend, Audrey Prescott, to have a promiscuous sex life and contract HIV.】 【Wish rejected. Request violates public order and morality.】 【I wish for my best friend, Audrey Prescott, to fall in love with her own father and have his child!】 【Wish rejected. Request violates ethical and moral principles.】 【I wish for my best friend, Audrey Prescott, to fall from a building and become a quadriplegic!】 【Wish rejected. Request contains uncontrollable variables.】 … I could only laugh. A cold, hollow sound. Each wish was a masterclass in malice, completely rewriting my definition of the word "vicious." Jenna was truly something else. I never knew she hated me this much. The sheer effort she was putting into crafting my downfall, twisting her own mind into such a dark place—it was almost impressive. Honestly, you'd think I had murdered her entire family. And through it all, she still considered herself my "best friend." The candles on the cake had burned down completely, leaving waxy, red lumps pooled on the frosting like bloody droppings. It was disgusting. Jenna had been "wishing" for over half an hour now. She just stood there, ignoring everyone. When people tried to talk to her, she’d just shake her head, her brow furrowed, refusing to open her eyes. Her bizarre behavior made everyone uncomfortable, and one by one, they started making their excuses and leaving. As the host, I was the only one left, forced to listen to her dark, venomous fantasies. Now that I knew her true colors, there was no way I was going to let her succeed. The system was a gift and I couldn't take it back, but I could still disrupt the ritual and make her lose her chance. Just as I moved to do it, the system made a sudden announcement. 【Host’s morality is judged to be corrupt. Wishing eligibility is being revoked.】 Jenna’s strange smile twisted into a mask of pure rage. 【You’re playing me!】 Ha! I never saw that coming. A small laugh escaped me, and I sank back onto the sofa, my hand dropping to my side. 【System unbinding in: 5】 【What? Unbinding? You lying piece of junk! You can’t grant a single wish, and now you want to unbind? You’re useless!】 【System unbinding in: 4】 【I’m sorry! Wait! Wait! I take it back, don’t unbind!】 【System unbinding in: 3】 【Let me try one more time! I won’t wish for that stuff! I’ll phrase it differently!】 【System unbinding in: 2】 【I wish for my best friend, Audrey Prescott, to become a public utility! Something for thousands of people to get in and out of, day and night!】 Heh. She just wouldn't quit. After all those failed attempts, did she really think a simple change in phrasing would work? Did she take the system for an idiot? 【System unbinding… Wish detected. Request meets criteria. Wish will be granted.】 【Granting wish. Please stand by…】 What! How could it grant a wish that was so obviously corrupt? I had trusted the system, trusted its filters, but somehow Jenna’s wish had slipped through. "No!" I lunged forward, reaching out to push her over, to do anything to stop this. But in the next second, a violent, tearing pain exploded through my body. It was unbearable. I collapsed to the floor, screaming, my entire body convulsing. It felt like something was ripping me apart from the inside, forcing its way into every cell. The pain was too much. I blacked out. And just before I lost consciousness completely, I saw Jenna finally open her eyes. A slow, triumphant smile spread across her face. 【Congratulations, Host. Your wish is being granted…】
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