The invisible crystal vibrated, saying,
But none of them can arrive here in the next 2 days.>
Little Mortal, as if hearing nothing, stood up,
"Wise Elderly Number 1, I'm done with my drawing.
Any suggestions?"
The old lady looked at the drawing, which was already being washed away by the slow rain, and wondered if he really needed to keep up with this act...
The Crystal, who understood its boss was talking to it, vibrated, saying,
You'd better take a look at them.
Unlike others, these people aren't rushing over and are just camping.>
The old lady shook her head,
"Nothing.
The 6 cities are evacuated, and we can start the special event anytime you want."
Little Mortal asked,
"If the participants saw the empty cities on their way here, won't they be suspicious?"
The old lady smiled,
"We already burned down the cities and retrieved the roads.
Whoever saw the cities thinks there are no citizens left and the Tycoons killed them."
Little Mortal nodded,
"Good job.
Seems there is nothing left for me to do.
Then I go for a round of patrol.
Here, have my infopad."
And gave her the infopad that he couldn't turn on.
The old lady gritted her teeth and thought,
'This infopad is like a tracker on a wanted person who has a bounty on his head...
So he is trying to turn me into bait in his place.'
She *coughed* and asked,
"Mr. Mayor, should I have your infopad with me all the time?"
Little Mortal looked at her and frowned,
"That's mine!
Put it in my office!"
The old lady nodded and left embarrassedly.
'I was wrong this time...
Wait, does he even know about the bounty on his head?'
The old lady felt puzzled.
Not long after, Mr. Mayor, riding a green-brown motorcycle,
and wearing a military uniform, a mix of green, brown, and black shades to blend in with the dense foliage, left the city.
One look, and everyone could tell he was going out for a stealth mission.
While many were confused, the elderly group knew that the underworld psychopath was probably going for a hunt!
.....
Half a day later.
A group of 20 people was moving on a dirt road in the middle of a dense jungle towards a certain direction.
While this planet wasn't that cold, it was always rainy.
Out of 20, three had equipment much better than the rest, while the others only had a normal raincoat.
They walked in a clear formation.
The three were at the center, while the rest formed a circle around them, as if protecting them.
The three 'better-equipped guys' seemed to be in the midst of a discussion.
"Did you guys remember any 'tycoons' entering the First Planet with us?"
"Only 7 of them, from what I know."
"This season, First Planet has many tycoons because we had some newcomers.
But the real rich ones are those with the 'ancient ones' special invitation card."
"So the three already fallen cities might be their doing?"
"No idea.
But we have a wanted criminal on our planet, too.
it could be related to him."
"Maybe he stole some special cards out there that can 'clean up' a city, then used them in the cities."
"His bounty is too good.
It's possible that some participants are doing this to force everyone out and catch the guy."
While making guesses, something suddenly fell from above, which none of them saw until the man in the middle of the three well-equipped guys felt something on his shoulder.
Then, suddenly, everyone, except three people, turned into cards and dropped to the ground.
And the three who didn't turn into cards fell to the ground after two steps, with a knife in their heads.
Two of them were from the group of three guys in the middle, and one was from the normal group.
The object that dropped from the tree spoke,
"Do you think if you act like a guard, my 'underworld vision' can't see through you?"
The object was a familiar little person in a camouflage uniform, blended into the environment.
And this Little Person was naturally Little Mortal.
The Crystal led him to the 10 suspicious people,
But because of Hypermind and the system installed here, surely recording everything on this planet, he acted like he was on patrol,
and didn't move straight to his targets.
Looking at the three bodies on the ground, each with a knife stuck into their heads from different angles, Little Mortal frowned,
"Aren't they supposed to be kicked out and go to the white room? Why are they still here?
The first participant that I killed was like this, too."
And after around a couple of minutes, the bodies finally started fading away, and the wounds in their heads healed simultaneously.
Little Mortal nodded,
"Oh, so that's how it is.
They just gain access to their original level again to heal themselves naturally.
It just takes time..."
After picking up the dropped cards, including the Newborns and their storage cards, he left.
Not long after, his figure blended with the jungle, nowhere to be seen.
....
First Planet - Day 4 of the New Season.
200 km away from the 7th city.
A group of 10 men and women was gathered in the depths of the jungle.
10 meters farther away from them was another person, hidden in the shadows, blended within a bush, silently observing these people.
"Why does this group's equipment look so advanced?
Are those all special card equipment?"
Whispered the person hiding in the dark.
Another whispering sound came from his shoulder.
"Partner, I think they are the real bounty hunters.
It's obvious they are equipped in a way to counter your handgun if you try to use it on them.
And none of them are newborns."
At this moment, one of the 10 silent people spoke,
"Alright, did everyone check the list of stolen items?"
The crowd nodded and commented,
"With our equipment, we can at most take a shot or two from his handgun if it won't hit our exposed areas.
Fortunately, because of the handgun's quality, he can't shoot with it more than once.
If he doesn't let go of it, the recoil will break his hand, and a broken hand on First Planet is fatal for you with level 1 Power.
The main problem is the traps he has..."
"All the equipment, food, vehicles, and every other item he stole, while it is enough to support a country, they can't harm us.
But those trap special cards aren't easy to deal with."
"Then, should we keep waiting?
If it's him clearing the cities, we can be sure he is trying to kill us all.
But if it's the others' doing to force him out, that could be an opportunity for us."
"Don't worry about the traps.
The only thing we need to confirm is where he is hiding."
"In his information, it says the agent's information law wasn't effective on him.
Won't he be here in full power then?"
"Is this your first time here?"
The other party, who asked that, nodded,
"Yes, I joined 2 thousand years ago, and it was in the middle of the previous season, so I have no experience regarding the events being held here.
And not long after coming here, I was caught stealing, so..."
Another guy chuckled,
"We are all the same in regard to 'stealing' and getting 'caught'.
Alright, let me explain the uniqueness of these Planets to you.
Each of the 10 Planets has a limit of entry-level.
This planet, for example, we are all only allowed to enter with level 1 power.
But this limit will weaken as you gain points, and you can get closer to the peak of level 1 as you gather more points.
I heard these planets were like this from the start, with the limit in each one set by world law, and it has nothing to do with 'information law'.
By the way, if you enter any planet, you start with the same level as the minimum power on that planet.
So even if you can't reach the peak of level 1 here, it doesn't matter for the next season.
What you need to be worried about is how many points you get so you can use them in the 'shop' that opens on the second planet, or use them outside to buy cards from agents."
The newbie nodded in understanding,
"So these 10 planets probably originated from a mainland with a specific world law zone.
But even if he is like us and forced back to level 1, what about his traps?"
The man who seems to be the leader chuckled,
"What I received from those higher-ups wasn't only the information that others don't."
Another one raised an eyebrow,
"I know those cyborgs are trying to sacrifice the rest with false information, so the criminal lets down his guard for us to find his location faster.
But even so, what can they give you to bypass his trap cards even if we know where he is?"
The crowd looked at the man who seemed to be the spokesman for the cyborgs.
The other party chuckled,
"That's not a secret.
The leader of each bounty hunter's group entering each planet received one of these."
And he brought out a card with the picture of a small sun on it.
The crowd almost ran away when they saw the card.
The leader laughed,
"What are you scared of?
It's not like we really die here...
And this is a last resort if we find him, but in a situation where we have no other choice but to deal with him, except by using this 'sun card'.
I just show you this so you know it doesn't matter if it's him gathering everyone in one place while placing his traps, or other participants trying to bait him out.
Both cases are in our favor.
Who knows, we might be able to clear the 'special event' with this 'Sun card' if we can create the opportunity to use it."
The rest of them, while sweating profusely, agreed,
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
"That's fine by me..."
"I was actually in the season with those crazy bunch who got us all killed.
That's why I'm still stuck on the First Planet.
I don't mind trying it one more time."
"Let's move towards the 7 cities then.
I want to see how the citizens died.
That's easy to tell if the one who killed them is the wanted criminal, or some tycoons."
After that, they all brought out some 'dirt bike' cards and used them for travel.
Little Mortal came out of his cover, ran to another bush, brought out his own little bike, and followed their tracks.
.....
10 hours later, they reached the first city.
"The city is completely burned down..."
"Let's check the rest."
And after 5 hours, they saw that all of the cities were burned down.
"It's those tycoons doing...
Newborns never do such a thing that harms living creatures.
And the time you need to destroy all of these cities isn't short.
One person can't do it either.
So it's highly possible that those tycoons did it."
"Hmmm.
But you can't blame them.
They think this wanted criminal only has one dangerous special card, the handgun.
Facing him is worth it if a 'wish' is the reward."
"Isn't this better for us?
He is forced to join the city, and can't use his traps because he arrives there after others who are baiting him."
"Let's take a look at the last city first to be sure.
Last time I checked, his coordinate was in the same direction.
From what we know, the other party can't use his infopad due to his law.
So he has no idea we know his location the moment his name is registered after receiving a point."
Little mortal, in his hiding place, frowned and noted down the part about registration, and if his name is registered, these bounty hunters can find him.
It seems they weren't like others who need to get lucky to receive his location.
Then he put his notebook away and chuckled,
"You filthy sinners.
Your minds are corrupted, or you could guess that a Mayor can guarantee his citizens' safety, and the newborns can burn even a city if the city is empty.
But a dirty mind like yours can't see any greatness in the heart of others."
Lilith nodded,
"Yeah, because of your act outside, they don't think there is a possibility for you to do 'good' things here.
And if I'm not wrong, nobody can simply evacuate a city if they don't provide food and shelter to every single citizen."
.....
By night, the bounty hunters were already hiding farther away from the city and spying on the entrance with binoculars.
"The city is at a high altitude, so we can't see the interior from down here.
But it seems around 20% of the total population was brought here."
"That's only natural.
There is no need for more than that."
"I checked the infopad.
Our target is inside, but he hasn't moved for hours now."
"So, he is either hiding inside,
Or those who tried to bait him out have already caught him."
"Didn't our information say he can't gain any ability here, and he can't gain access to his infopad?
How did he arrive here then?"
"It's your first time, so you don't know.
Newborns on their first trip here receive an infopad like the rest.
While 'He' can't use his infopad, all of the newborns he stole can."
"Newborns won't attack us because of the citizens that we can take hostage, and they are only usable against zombies.
So he couldn't use them to fight with the tycoons inside.
Is it possible that he was really caught?"
"Let's observe the situation for a while longer.
The rest of the participants will be here soon.
We will know by then if all of this is a trap or not."
...
Farther away from them, above a thick and tall tree, Little Mortal, hidden between the tree branches, was watching them with binoculars too.
"They decided to wait, huh?"
Then he turned to the entrance, and his eyes turned cold,
"I wonder how many entered this planet?
And how many newborns did they bring in here for me?
Those are the best soldiers to sacrifice in my future massacre."
And chuckled in a creepy way.
The invisible Crystal, who knew he was talking to it, vibrated,
< +160,000 participants.
+300,000 newborns were bought by them.
But they might have more newborns with them.
Some from the previous seasons, and some bought from other sellers.>
Lilith suddenly saw a group of people coming close to the gate and said,
"All sinners, partner."
They were the first participants to get here.
5 women, all well-equipped.
Little mortal brought out the infopad immediately and went to the special cards section.
One of them, which was the scanner, already had 5 dots on its radar.
Little mortal tapped on all 5 of them and marked them as targets.
At the entrance, while slightly vigilant, the 5 women arrived in front of the first 'guard post'.
After a while, as if they reached an agreement with the guard, they paid an entrance fee, which was a card per person, and entered the city.
But on the infopad that Little Mortal was watching, all 5 dots disappeared shortly after they paid the entrance fee.
He muttered to 'himself',
"How in the world did they replace all 5 of them so fast?"
Lilith on his shoulder, who saw 'how', answered,
"They already chose 5 similar people inside the city when they saw them getting close.
While the guard was buying time for them, they gave the impostors similar equipment.
And after passing the 'invisible' wall, the fake versions moved inside the city.
And how the real ones died... Well, let's not talk about it."
Little mortal who really wanted to know how,
"..."
......
First planet - Day 5.
The cloudy sky turned slightly bright, welcoming the new day.
Little mortal was at the top of the same tree, unmoving, spying on the path participants took to come here,
and from time to time turned his binoculars to the hiding place of the 10 special bounty hunters.
As more and more participants arrived, and more got killed after Lilith identified the sinners, more newborns were added to his team, and more impostors to the city.
Those who came and didn't agree with the 'entrance fee' were led to a 'different' path that seems to be part of the city with less defense.
But in reality, they ended up on the same path and the same fate as others.
Asking for the entrance fee was just buying time so they could prepare the imposter to replace the newcomers.
While Little Mortal was monitoring the surroundings, the crystal vibrated,
And Lilith on his shoulder said,
"Seven.
They are using something to hide completely.
Your crystal and I can't see them without using our law, but I can see their sins."
After that, they told him where exactly the 7 participants were hiding.
Lilith added,
"They are all 'sinners' by the way.
There is no newborn released, so they can hide alone perfectly."
Little mortal, without reacting to what they said, continued with his observation.
Around an hour later,
"Oh, what's that bush?
It seems so suspicious!"
And locked onto the suspicious bush he found 'accidentally'.
After observing for 15 minutes,
"It moved!
I knew it, there is someone hiding there!
Who could this person be?
Let me think...
Right!
The bounty hunters think tycoons are behind this whole situation that I started.
But what about the 'tycoons' themselves?
If they had arrived here, they would have known it was not their doing, and they became suspicious!
That's why this person is using a card to hide and observe the situation first!"
And after a couple of seconds of silence,
"Wait a minute!
Who said there is only one tycoon?
It might be more!
I should find them immediately using my innate ability to detect sin!
The law here can make me weak as a chicken, but it can't take away my innate ability from the underworld!"
And then started looking for 'sinners'.
Not long after he 'found' the 7 already known locations with hidden tycoons.
The Crystal and Lilith, who watched him go through the process step by step to find them,
<"-_-">
They wondered if Hypermind could ever see through his act...
After looking at his target with his binoculars again, Little Mortal wrote down something in his notebook.
[ My distance to each target :
Target 1 = 57 m
Target 2 = 86 m
Target 3 = 99.4 m
Target 4 = 132 m
Target 5 = 108 m
Target 6 = 211 m
Target 7 = 145.7 m ]
Then he stroked his chin and muttered to himself,
"They are so well hidden, but close to each other.
I'm sure at least the ones who arrived here first know about the others.
If that's the case, then not only are they suspicious, but soon enough, they will be sure I'm the one leading the show behind the scenes.
Which means I need to act now!"
Then he flipped to an empty page,
"Alright.
To take them all down at the same time silently and not let those bounty hunters notice,
I need to act efficiently, quickly, and precisely without any mistakes.
I can't leave my hideout for too long either because I need to identify the sinners and Robb- cough - and bring them to justice.
It's better to eliminate them from here.
And how can I do that?
Advanced mathematics is the answer!"
And started writing and mumbling,
"The throwing knives that I extracted from my special traps should be in the 'special knives' category.
They are my best options for a silent kill.
Let me see,
I already know my distance from the targets.
I need to apply the wind effect, the rain effect, and the gravity effect to my equation, too.
This way, I can calculate the speed of each throwing knife,
and hit them all at the same time without giving any of them the chance to react."
Then he added some parameters.
[ The weight of each knife = 300 grams
Wind speed = 15 km/h
Slow rain = I will assume minimal effect for that
Gravity = 9.8 ]
"Alright.
To not waste any more paper, I won't write down the mathematical solution and just calculate it in my head."
And then after mumbling some seemingly nonsense, he started writing the final answers.
[ -Calculation Result -
Attack angle: 45 degrees
Force behind each group of throwing knives to hit the target at the same time:
Target 1 (57 m): 0.27 N
Target 2 (86 m): 0.40 N
Target 3 (99.4 m): 0.45 N
Target 4 (132 m): 0.60 N
Target 5 (108 m): 0.48 N
Target 6 (211 m): 0.93 N
Target 7 (145.7 m): 0.64 N
The throw order to hit all of the targets at the same time:
Target 6 (211 m) — 1st second
Target 4 (132 m) — 2nd second
Target 7 (145.7 m) — 3rd second
Target 5 (108 m) — 4th second
Target 3 (99.4 m) — 5th second
Target 2 (86 m) — 6th second
Target 1 (57 m) — 7th second
The speed of impact:
Minimum 200 km/h for all targets.]
"Good, this speed should be enough to pierce through any defense."
The Crystal and notebook were actually dumbfounded.
'Did he really use mathematics this time?'
Lilith watched with interest.
She knew he was pretending to be a normal low-level 1 creature because of Hypermind's possible surveillance.
Even though Xyron's conversation with the other cyborgs suggests it's highly likely that Hypermind wasn't focused on these planets and has achieved its goal here, it could interfere with them at any moment.
So Little Mortal always acted as if he were a 'law-abiding' participant like others.
At this moment, Little Mortal, while bringing out his knives, whispered some cool sentences to himself before taking action.
"Seven targets.
From the treetop, I drew the first knife, letting it fly toward the farthest target.
With each second, another knife follows.
Each faster and sharper — until the last blade cuts through the rain like lightning.
Seven seconds, seven knives,
One heart-stopping moment as they all strike their marks at once."
The next moment, his eyes shone with a cold light, and with 6 knives in his left hand and one in his right hand, he encouraged himself,
"I can do this!"
And threw the knives with the calculated speed and 45-degree angle, one after another, with a one-second delay.
7 seconds later, 7 knives, under the rain, fall from the sky, with only one goal!
To pierce through their targets at the same time!
*Rumble*
As if even the sky didn't want to miss this scene,
A flash of lightning lit up the sky, and the 7 knives, shining for one last time, pierced through their targets!
The world turned silent again, as if nothing had happened.
Only the soft sound of the rain, tapping gently on the leaves, could be heard, and nothing else...
Little Mortal smiled and whispered to himself,
"I like it more this way...
What are those nonsense world-shattering fights?
Destroying mountains and rivers?
This, ladies and gentlemen, is how you should kill!
Everyone can see it! Feel it! Understand it, and imagine it!
And if you are good at mathematics like me, you can even try it yourself.
So, kids at home, don't forget to get good at mathematics!"
And climbed down the tree to gather the cards left behind by these tycoons.
Lilith nodded,
"That was impressive."
The invisible crystal vibrated,
The notebook... couldn't comment, because it was temporarily 'dead'.
But it thought to itself,
'Boss is invincible at any level!'
A brief moment later, Little Mortal reached the closest target.
When he saw the first 'dead' tycoon, he gasped,
"My goodness!
The knife pierced the top of his head and went all the way down to...
I don't even want to say where it exited from...
That's disgusting!"
.....
First planet - Day 7.
After more than two days, the city was filled with fake 'participants'.
Even the tycoons Little Mortal assassinated outside, after he released their newborns and sent them to 'report' to the Wise-elderly group, were now added to the mix.
Little Mortal, still hiding on the treetop, asked himself in wonder,
"I wonder, how many more of them are left?
I am marking sinners after sinners for so long...
Is there no end to them?"
The Crystal, who knew it was the one being asked, vibrated,
Little Mortal then watched the 10 special bounty hunters.
They were still hiding.
While speechless, he gritted his teeth in annoyance and muttered to himself,
"What are they waiting for?
Because my InfoPad isn't moving, and everything is peaceful inside the city,
They think I left it there, and I'm out myself?
Or they are suspicious that there is no fighting inside because each hour someone receives my coordinates...?
They think even if those tycoons have already caught me, there should be some conflict between those who want to receive the reward?"
Little Mortal stroked his chin,
"Either way, they want to wait until the first wave begins and just watch the show, I guess.
Or maybe they want to trigger the special event?"
After not knowing what they were planning, he snorted,
"I only let you be around because of your equipment.
But if you push your luck and stay out until I'm done with my clean up, then...
I give you rats a visit personally to demonstrate a certain 'art' called 'collateral'!"
.....
Time passed.
By the evening, the last group of people entered the city.
Lilith said,
"The second person from the right.
The one with a red hat."
And Little Mortal selected the red hat sinner in this group in the InfoPad.
The Crystal vibrated,
I can't 'see' anybody else.>
Little Mortal, as if he didn't hear anything, sat there for another 5 hours.
As the sky turned dark, he climbed down the tree and went towards the 10 bounty hunters' hiding place.
They were now eating some dry foods silently.
Little Mortal counted the number and saw 2 of them missing.
He already knew they were spying on the city in teams of 2.
So he just hid in a tree trunk and watched them quietly.
At midnight, the team leader came back.
"Alright, it's time, everyone."
And 5 of them stood up.
The leader continued,
"I already identified the three citizens they are keeping outside to prevent the special event from triggering."
And he gave them a map with some marked places.
"This is where they are.
After you kill them, enter the city and wait for us to join you.
When the special event is triggered, if we don't see our target coming from outside within 1 hour, it means he is dead or already caught somewhere in the city.
And if we see him outside, we will kill him and then join you after.
Either way, we focus on the special event later on.
It's a waste if we don't use the 'sun card'."
The rest nodded in understanding.
Not long after, five of them left after the final coordination with the other team members.
Little Mortal saw them leaving and took out his InfoPad.
When they got close to the city and the scanner detected them, 5 dots appeared on the InfoPad.
He marked all 5 of them as the 'elimination targets' and put the InfoPad away.
He then slowly emerged from the tree trunk and walked around the remaining 5 bounty hunters.
After 10 minutes, as if he had found the right place, he stopped, brought out his handgun, and aimed at the group.
Time passed slowly until the remaining bounty hunters suddenly noticed that there was a small commotion at the city entrance.
They knew it was probably because their companions made a move on the three citizens, triggering the special event.
They thought that the special event was going to trig-
BANG!
Well, their thoughts stopped right there, because of a *BANG* sound, and their visions turned dark alongside their thoughts.
Now, all of them have a melon-sized hole in their unprotected body part, dripping blood, and different internal organs hanging inside...
Little Mortal, who didn't have his handgun anymore,
looked at the straight path that the bullet he shot made through the bodies of five bounty hunters, through which he could see the sky through the holes,
and commented to the nonexistent audience,
"Another work of art with a +16 age restriction scene.
A tunnel of destruction, stretching from the first target to the last.
And this is what we call 'collateral'.
Simply put,
You line up your targets, and then, 'BANG'.
CS players were the target audience, by the way."
While Lilith and the two birth treasures wondered who the 'CS players' were, the world turned quiet again.
Now, the only sound that remained was the rain, tapping on the tree leaves,
and the sound of a little boy's footsteps running around, searching for his handgun that was thrown farther away, and a certain 'sun card' that could blow up a whole city...