Common Sense Hijack System-Chapter 151: SuS

The next morning.

Karl’s eyes snapped open the moment he heard the faint hum of wind against the building.

Everything felt... off.

He sat up quickly, scanning the room. Jane and Layla were still asleep, their breathing steady. The apartment was eerily quiet.

Too quiet. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Karl pushed the blankets off and stood, stretching briefly before moving toward the window. Outside, the street was covered in fresh snow, the gray morning light casting long shadows across the buildings.

But something was wrong.

Normally, there would be some movement. Even in the worst of times, people shuffled through the alleys, scavengers moved between buildings, distant murmurs filled the air.

Now?

Nothing.

Not a single soul.

Karl’s stomach twisted.

He turned away from the window and grabbed his jacket. He needed to check on Curtis.

Moving carefully, he slipped out of the apartment, making sure not to wake the others.

The hallway was just as unsettling as the streets.

Silent.

Karl’s steps echoed faintly against the scuffed floors as he walked toward Curtis’s unit. The apartment complex wasn’t usually loud, but it was never this dead.

Something had changed.

His fingers tightened into a fist.

Was this Julia’s doing?

Karl reached Curtis’s door and knocked—three quick taps.

No response.

Frowning, he knocked again, harder this time.

Still nothing.

A faint unease settled into his chest.

He grabbed the handle and twisted. The door wasn’t locked.

Karl pushed it open slowly.

"Curtis?" he called out.

Silence.

The room was empty.

Karl stepped inside, eyes scanning every corner. Curtis’s jacket was still draped over a chair. A half-empty can of food sat on the table, a deck of cards scattered beside it.

Like he had been here.

Like he had just been here.

And yet, he was gone.

Karl’s jaw clenched.

He wasn’t imagining things.

Something was very wrong.

And he had a sinking feeling he already knew who was behind it.

Karl’s pulse pounded as the eerie silence of the apartment complex was shattered by the sudden, intrusive hum of the system. The display materialized in his vision once more, a stark warning in its cold, mechanical tone.

[SYSTEM ALERT: SUBJECT CURTIS IDENTIFIED AS COMPROMISED.]

[RECOMMENDATION: INITIATE NEUTRALIZATION PROTOCOL.]

Karl’s eyes widened. Curtis—his friend—had been controlled. The realization hit him like a punch. The system’s directive was clear: he needed to act now.

"Hold Curtis’s head," the system instructed, its voice unyielding, echoing in the confines of Karl’s mind.

Steeling himself, Karl moved to Curtis’s vacant unit. There, he found Curtis slumped in a chair, his eyes closed as if in a deep trance. With a deep breath, Karl knelt beside him and gently grasped the side of his head.

Almost immediately, a subtle warmth surged through Karl’s fingertips. They began to glow—a faint, ethereal light radiating from his hands as the neutralization protocol took effect. The sensation was both unnerving and awe-inspiring, a tangible manifestation of his Uncommon Monarch Authority merging with the system’s countermeasures.

Curtis’s eyelids fluttered. His face twitched, as if roused from a long, dark sleep. Moments later, his eyes snapped open, clear and bewildered. For a heartbeat, the world seemed suspended in that charged moment.

Then, as if breaking free from a trance, Curtis’s hand reached out and, with a shaky yet genuine grin, patted Karl’s glowing hand. "What the hell, man..." he muttered, his voice laced with disbelief and relief.

Karl exhaled slowly, his mind racing with a mixture of triumph and concern. The system’s intervention had worked—but the implications were far from over. Curtis’s brief moment of clarity was a small victory in a war waged in the shadows of their minds.

The system’s display flickered softly, its tone now measured.

[SYSTEM STATUS: NEUTRALIZATION PROTOCOL COMPLETED FOR SUBJECT CURTIS.]

[MONITORING FOR RESIDUAL EXTERNAL INFLUENCE...]

Curtis blinked, shaking his head as if to clear a fog. "Man... I feel like I just woke up from the worst nightmare," he said.

Karl’s jaw tightened as he forced a wry smile. "Welcome back, Curtis. We’ve got bigger problems than that, though."

Outside, the silence of the building deepened, as if warning them that this was only the beginning. The revelation of Julia’s insidious influence still hung heavily in the air—and with every pulse of his glowing hand, Karl knew that the battle for control of their minds had only just begun.

Curtis rubbed his temples, still groggy from whatever had been controlling him. His expression darkened as he looked at Karl, trying to make sense of what just happened.

Karl exhaled. "I think Julia had an awakening."

Curtis’s brows shot up. "Awakening?" He blinked, then let out a bitter chuckle. "You mean, like, some kind of ability? Fuck me, man... That actually makes sense." He shook his head. "But wait—how the hell do you know that? And more importantly, how the hell did you snap me out of it?"

Karl hesitated, the weight of Curtis’s question pressing against him. He couldn’t just tell Curtis the truth—that he had been resisting Julia’s influence thanks to his system, and that his Uncommon Monarch Authority had given him the power to neutralize it. That would raise too many questions.

So he went with a lie. A convincing one.

"I think my own awakening is the reason I could stop it," Karl said, leaning against the table. His voice was measured, controlled. "It’s... weird, but I’ve been noticing things. The way people act around Julia. The way their thoughts change when she’s around." He tapped his temple. "Whatever ability she has, it works on a subconscious level. It’s not mind control—at least, not outright. It’s more like... influence. A pull."

Curtis frowned, listening closely.

Karl continued. "But mine—" He gestured to his hand, which had only just stopped glowing. "I think my awakening is different. If hers makes people fall in line, mine..." He let out a dry chuckle. "Well, I guess mine neutralizes awakenings like that."

It was a lie, but one rooted in enough truth that it didn’t feel like one. He had resisted Julia’s influence. He had snapped Curtis out of whatever had taken hold of him.

Curtis exhaled, rubbing his face. "Shit. So, what—you’re saying you can counter her?"

Karl nodded, keeping his expression firm. "That’s what it looks like."

Curtis stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head with a low chuckle. "Man, that’s crazy. You’re telling me Julia has some fucked-up obey-me superpower, and you got the anti-version?" He exhaled. "Damn. That’s kinda poetic."

Karl forced a smirk. "Yeah. Lucky me."

Inside, his mind was racing.

He needed to play this carefully.

Julia didn’t know that he had figured her out. She still thought her influence was undetectable, that no one would ever question it.

But now, Karl knew.

And with Curtis awake and aware, he wasn’t the only one.

It was time to see just how deep Julia’s awakening ran. And more importantly—

How to bring her down.

Curtis ran a hand through his hair, his expression still caught between disbelief and uneasy realization. "Man... Julia’s always been the friendly type. Y’know, smiling, checking up on people, making sure everyone’s got what they need. She was the good one in this whole fucked-up mess."

Karl nodded, leaning against the table. "That’s what’s bothering me." He crossed his arms. "She’s never been like that before. What happened last night... that wasn’t normal. She was cold. Detached. It was like she wasn’t even the same person."

Curtis exhaled sharply. "And then there’s him."

Karl narrowed his eyes. "Her husband?"

Curtis nodded. "Yeah. Ethan. Big guy, real protective of her. Always around. But when’s the last time you actually saw him?"

Karl paused.

He tried to think back—Ethan had always been with Julia. In the early days, when everything went to shit, they were inseparable. They ran supplies together, they negotiated with other survivors together.

But lately?

Karl’s stomach twisted.

"I haven’t seen him in weeks," he muttered.

Curtis’s jaw tightened. "Yeah. Exactly. And no one’s asking about him. No one’s noticed." He gestured around them. "We live in the same goddamn building, man. If he left, someone would’ve seen him. If he died, people would’ve talked. But it’s like he just... stopped existing."

Karl felt an uncomfortable chill settle in his spine.

Julia had changed. She had awakened. And her husband—the man who had been closest to her—had disappeared without a trace.

Something wasn’t adding up.

And Karl had a sick feeling that whatever had happened to Ethan...

Julia had made sure no one would ever remember.