Afterlife Decisions

The Summers Building

Office of the CEO - Lisa Zafira Y. Summers

"CEO Lisa, I have cleared your entire afternoon schedule today. Your father requests your presence at the Peninsula Fine Dining Club for lunch. The reservation is done. All investor meetings are rescheduled for tomorrow."

As warm as the sun rays reflecting on the wide horizon, the middle-aged secretary of Summers Holdings Incorporated spoke gently at the young lady sitting in the fancy office within the metropolitan of District 2.

"My father has given me an impossible request. He wants me to get married before I turned 25! Can you set me an appointment for a blind date?" Lisa respectfully asked her secretary. She was enjoying the view of the great display of panoramic scenes through the glass wall but her romantic situation makes her anxious. For an unknown reason, she felt like she was in deep trouble. But she could not identify the cause of her emotion.

"Yes, I will add that to your calendar of activities for this month. Shall I contact the other eligible bachelors in District 2, ma'am?" The secretary responded with the gentlest smile on her face. Just thinking about her boss being pushed by her father to enter in a relationship made her felt sympathetic. Lisa simply nodded her head and gestured for the secretary to continue her report. She took a sip of her morning coffee and stared at the sky once more.

"All the business contracts were reviewed and the legal department is waitin-----"

Thud!

The gentle voice of the middle-aged woman was interrupted by the harsh sound of the cup falling on the floor and breaking in the process. Her eyes went big as blood splattered around the expensive oak table in front of her.

"Ahhhhhhh---" The earlier composure of the secretary was replaced with a shrieked of terror! Her face quickly turned pale.

Her eyes were still widened in shock as she stared at the young woman in disbelief. Blood started to creased down at the center of Lisa's eyebrows. The young CEO was bleeding in the center of her forehead!

The armchair in her seat supported her entire weight as her head abruptly leaned backward by the impact of the bullet. Her eyes were still open but there was no evidence of life on it anymore.

The dull and lifeless gaze was staring straight at the secretary.

"MURDER!!! AHHHHH!!! MURDER!" The horrific scream echoed across the entire floor of the spacious building.

Various office staff and security personnel quickly responded and gathered outside the office.

"Call the police!"

"Call for an ambulance!"

"Oh my gosh! What happened?"

"Check the other building! This is from a sniper rifle!"

Some security staff instantly ran toward the other building to check for the perpetrator.

After several minutes, the paramedics arrived. The secretary dropped her body on the floor as her legs became limp. Such a traumatic event was too unexpected for a usual day!

Paramedics shook their heads after another minute of examining the unresponsive body of Lisa Summers.

"Time of death, 8:45 am." One of them mumbled as he glanced at the watch on his wrist.

'8:45 am' The other wrote the time on her pad.

CEO Lisa Zafira Y. Summers, 24, was announced dead on the spot. The cause of death was a single bullet wound on her forehead.

With the authority coming in and out of her expensive office, nobody dared to touch anything in the crime scene. Other employees gathered near the area and the company's operation immediately paused. Chattering started to spread while they were observing.

"What a pity! CEO Summers is too young for her to die!"

"She is a good boss!"

"She is too stubborn! Security had proposed to install bulletproof glass in her office but she just shrugged their recommendation."

"Yes, she said that she had no enemies and there is no reason for them to be anxious about her safety!"

Some staff lamented and secretly cried for the loss of the young life with a promising future. Others feared for their safety after the incident. The entire company was quickly thrown into emotional and psychological warfare.

The lifeless body was still on the chair as the forensic investigators took pictures in every corner of the room.

As the slender body started to turn cold, a mysterious fog evaporated from it. Her soul slowly floated far away until it arrived at the vast clouds.

The soul stopped a few meters away from an elder who wore nothing but a white towel on his waist. His hair was wet and it would seem like he just finished his bath.

System!

"The descendant of the Ye Clan. Alas, you died in sudden death! Your ancestors accumulated enough life points in the past for you to choose what you want to happen in your next life."

Lisa Summers eyed the elder from head to foot. She was more concerned about his inappropriate outfit than her afterlife! The elder shifted his feet and gulped uncomfortably.

"Pardon my outfit. It is still morning and well, accidents are truly unexpected! So, I am not yet dressed," the elder explained.

Lisa sighed and finally pondered about her death. She was still planning on going on a date! But it turns out, her life already ends before she could start a relationship!

"What are my available options?" She calmly asked the elder. Her tone has no hint of any regret.

"As expected from a lady in the field of business... you even treated this conversation like a business proposal! Hehe, It seemed like you have unfinished goals. Well, let me see... you can choose if you want to be reborn or transmigrated," the elder answered.

"Reborn and Transmigration? What else?" Lisa probed further.

"It's just the two options! What else do you want? Are expecting an entrance key to open the gates of the heaven?" The elder scowled at her insistent tone.

"No, no... My apologies. I was just clarifying. Perhaps, a habit of mine that I have long practiced. Anyway, tell me the descriptions of my options," she stated while scanning at her surroundings.

'I was looking at these clouds from my office earlier. Who would have thought that I would be stepping on it now?' She secretly thought.

The elder gawked at her amused expression. "How did it become like a business meeting? Why do I feel like I am in a job interview now?" He scratched the back of his head and frowned.

"Wait a moment, I will get all the descriptions of your transmigration and reborn. I don't want to give you wrong information or else I might get fired! Humph!" The elder uttered in rush.

He swiftly took a small gem from the cloud and closed his eyes.

The lady waited patiently as the gem glowed brightly on the elder's hand. After a while, the elder opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Here it is. If you choose reborn, your life will restart from the very beginning. It means the infant to the adult stage. It is called a grand reset. You can have a new life out from scratch. But you have benefits! Your accumulated knowledge in business would be retained including your memories." The elder paused and looked at the reaction of Lisa.

"I don't want to become an infant again. Having my old memories would make it awkward to continue living with a young body. How about the second option?" CEO Lisa easily asked the elder.

"If you choose transmigration, your spirit will transmigrate directly to a person with a damaged soul. But it is not certain of which timeline it will fall. It could be in the past, present, or future. The benefits are still the same. You will retain your business knowledge and it will merge into the skills from the owner of the body where your soul would be placed," the elder explained in detail.

Lisa took a moment to think of her decision.

"I have weighed the factors and risks. I am choosing transmigration. I am certain that wherever my next life is, I would still prosper," the lady firmly answered.

"Hehehe very well then, you shall wake up and live a new life. But you must vow not to interfere in your past life. Your past identity is dead. If in case some fragments of memories in your CEO lifestyle remain, just ignore it. Punishment of death with no rebirth shall be imposed by the system if you disrupt the balance of the world." The elder stated in satisfaction.

The clouds started to move on her feet and Lisa felt the sudden urged to sleep. Before her eyes were completely shut off, she caught a glimpse of the elder smiling genuinely at her.

"My descendant is so smart! I am proud of her." The elder mumbled after the trace of Lisa's soul was gone.

~

In a simple apartment unit of a building near the Seventh District's University, a girl slowly regained her consciousness. She was awakened by the itchy feeling all over her face. The first thought that came to her mind was 1st Online Tournament of District 7.

Sofia shook her head and yawned. She had fallen asleep at her study table. A phone was connected to a cord and was still charging with a 70% battery. She slowly moved towards the bed.

'District 7, this place is too far from where I originally lived.' Lisa's soul mentally groaned and stared at the white ceiling in her room. A yawn escaped from the girl's lips. She stared at her hands and noticed how young it looked. Slender fingers with no callous. Her nails are trimmed neatly.

'Online Tournament? Ahhh, I see. My new identity plays this online mobile game. Hmmm... The original soul of this body has wilted like a flower that lost its vigor. What a pity, this is due to her too much unhealthy routine.' Lisa's soul noted in her mind as the young girl's body turned to a comfortable position. She closed her eyes and hugged her pillow tightly.

As she opened her eyes again, a medium-sized digital clock glared on her bedside table.

February 6, 2017 03:45PM

'Year 2017? This was 5 years ago in my previous life! So this game was recently released in this timeline. And this seventh district is holding a tournament.' Lisa's soul made a sudden realization and sighed. She stared at the round-shaped mirror beside the clock. The young girl's face reflected her lack of sleep.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Sofia, it's almost 4 pm. Our night class will start soon. Are ready to go?" A voice casually called her.

"Sofia Blanca D. Su," she softly  muttered her new name as if internalizing it in her head.

"Yes!" She responded making sure that her voice was loud enough for the person outside her room to hear. Then, Sofia jumped out of her bed and quickly unplugged her phone. She looked around and did not find any school supplies inside the room.

"Claire, have you seen my bag?" Sofia asked as she pushed open her door. All the memories of the young girl's body with Lisa's soul have merged perfectly.

"You left it on my locker. Hurry up! We have less than 15 minutes to walk." Claire responded and sauntered towards the main road. Sofia stared at her friend's retreating figure.

'The original owner of this body really paid much attention to the mobile game and neglected her studies. I should be worried about her grades!' She secretly made a face palm before walking in haste to catch up with her friend.

"Most of the squads are looking for tank users. Which team do you want to apply to?" Claire asked her. This young lady was also like her. She was hooked up with playing.

"Claire, how about we don't apply?" Sofia suddenly suggested.

"What do you mean? Like we will create our squad? But there are just two of us! We already planned to submit our application today." Claire protested.

"It's okay. We can find members to fill in the lacking role. We only need three more members. You can play the assassin role. I will play the tank. What we lacked are range users such as marksman, mage, and support. And many students are available for these vacancies. We just need to find a good player." Sofia analyzed.

"You are serious in this? We are not famous, nobody would join us!" Claire was skeptical of the idea. In her mind, Sofia was overestimating their ability.

"I am dead serious. I don't want to take orders from others. Imagine, if we submit our application, we need to follow their rules! But if we create our squad, then nobody would boss us around!" Sofia said to convince her friend.

Claire looked at her for a long time, "Something is wrong with you today!" The girl blurted out after noticing how her friend spoke.

"Yes, I haven't drunk my coffee." Sofia bitterly chuckled while she imagined the last moment of her previous life.

"We did stay until 4 am last night. Even I also wants to have some coffee now." Claire yawned.

"Let's go and grab some instant coffee first. So we will just post a notice for the role vacancy of our squad and wait for the applicants. I will put our contact numbers." Sofia continued and her friend absentmindedly nodded her head.