Chapter 148

Chapter 148. Human Hunting (2)

Lily Evans was closely connected with the US government to an excessive degree.

“She’s not just cooperating; she’s entirely collaborating.”

This meant there was a significant possibility she might prioritize national interest over the duties of a bounty hunter.

‘If it’s beneficial to the US, she might spare someone who needs to be killed.’

Thus, I had excluded Lily from the list of potential bounty hunter candidates. However, due to the situation at hand, I couldn’t avoid contacting her.

“It’s been a while, K,” she said.

Consequently, Lily amazed me by flying from the CIA headquarters on the East Coast of the US to San Diego, on the West Coast near the Mexican border, in just three and a half hours.

“Did she take a jet?”

Considering her affiliation with the CIA, it wasn’t impossible. Feeling anew the power of public authority, I shook the hand Lily extended to me.

“Yes, well, it’s been a while!”

I replied.

Since our first meeting, Lily hadn’t tried to dig into my information.

Thus, I treated her with minimal courtesy. However, that didn’t mean our relationship was good. If asked, I’d describe it as consistently awkward.

This persistent awkwardness was largely due to my keeping her at a distance, wary of her extensive background.

Her immense connections were something I found cumbersome and threatening, and I saw no reason to bring such a person close to me, unlike Ethan, with whom I had personal rapport.

Naturally, Lily occasionally reached out, offered goodwill, or provided information, making efforts to improve our relationship. But those efforts hadn’t really borne fruit.

As of now, Lily and I was strangers who only exchanged words when necessary. This likely wasn’t entirely comfortable for Lily either.

“The person next to you is…”

Unable to meet my gaze directly, she turned her attention to someone else. Glancing at Sniper, Lily trailed off. Chuckling softly, Sniper responded.

“You saw me a couple of times in Bihar, right?”

“Ah, Sniper.”

Sniper hadn’t relied on the government for identification. However, he also hadn’t avoided appearing before Lily through the club.

‘Not sure what he’s relying on.’

He seemed confident he wouldn’t be caught in the government’s net.

‘Perhaps the story of a child with an incurable disease was a lie too.’

Although I wasn’t concerned about whatever negotiations he had with the US government, I didn’t want his situation to fall into their hands.

“There’s no guarantee we’ll find a supportive ally like Ethan.”

Selena, who’d joined Ethan’s ship, had to support his bounty hunting to maintain her standing.

But Sniper’s circumstances were different. There was no assurance I could create a similar situation if he came under government scrutiny.

‘I can’t have my bounty hunts compromised.’

I concluded that I needed to discuss this matter with him sometime. While organizing my thoughts swiftly, I took a half-step to the side, partially blocking Lily from Sniper. I then spoke directly.

“We found a drug storage nearby, and there’s player involvement in this matter.”

I still didn’t know why this incident was linked to a bounty mission. Drugs had been a part of human history for centuries.

‘It doesn’t seem significant enough to merit a bounty mission.’

While mulling over the puzzling connection, I laid out the information related to the incident.

Besides San Diego, where we were gathered, players were scattered evenly across Yuma, El Paso, Laredo, New York, and Washington.

“There are 11 targets listed in the US.”

The remaining 17 were involved in missions originating from Mexico. Strangely, not all were located within their own country.

“Actually, there are 18 targets within the US.”

The other ten were scattered across Mexican territory. These specifics hadn’t been shared over chat, hence Lily’s expression stiffened slightly as I concluded my explanation.

“It seems players from both countries are collaborating to cause trouble… There are many people involved, and since drugs are involved, I thought it only courteous to discuss the method of elimination beforehand.”

My words implied that elimination was the only solution. Lily looked between me and Sniper before asking.

“You’re sure of the number of players involved in this issue. Have you seen them with your own eyes?”

It was impossible to hide all information about the bounty hunting mission.

“No, I didn’t see them myself; it’s information from the system.”

So, I honestly revealed some details.

“The system, you say? You’re telling me the system provided information on drug trafficking?”

Considering her question, I paused momentarily to choose my words.

I had no intention of revealing that I could communicate with the system. Sharing necessary information by an appropriate means required care in speaking.

“Do you remember the global announcement during the first tutorial?”

A look of realization dawned in Lily’s eyes, leading to an exclamation after a few seconds.

“Oh! The survival of humanity!”

Most of that announcement, which was visible only to Beta testers, had been garbled. No such message was presented to selected players once the main server opened.

This had been confirmed by the first-player, Kim Yul, and the second-player, Yang Taeho.

Having reminded her of the notice seen only by Beta testers, I continued while glancing at the mission window in my peripheral vision.

“The system seems to consider this issue a threat to humanity’s survival. That’s why it issued a mission to eliminate the targets.”

When I added that this wasn’t the first time, Lily looked between Sniper and me again before hesitantly inquiring.

“Why… would it issue such a mission only to you two?”

Strictly speaking, it was issued to me, and I shared it with Sniper.

“Beats me….”

I paused, as if catching my breath, then refocused on Lily.

I had once been curious about why the system left a question mark, once given to the first-place winner in the tutorial, only for me.

Why it continued to send messages, launch hidden missions for me, and push me along. I pondered over those questions daily.

When the period of pondering extended over time, I began to understand one day.

‘It decided I’m the best option.’

Out of the thousands, perhaps millions, of players it observed, I was deemed the most beneficial in achieving its purpose.

In other words, the system judged that my utility value was the highest among many players.

‘Thus, it decided to invest all in me rather than distributing its resources among other players.’

As I’ve not disappointed that judgment, capitalism’s penchant persisted.

Of course, I had no intention of meeting its expectations, nor was I pleased with the system’s unilateral investment.

I simply used it as much as it used me.

“Perhaps it reckons I’ll contribute more to humanity’s survival than you!”

I concluded.

That was a stark comparison between her situation, constrained by the US, and mine. Understanding my implication, a rigid expression settled on Lily’s face.

Thus, my conviction that Lily wasn’t cut out for bounty hunting was further solidified.

“Let me emphasize: these individuals must die.”

Once more, I declared my unwillingness to compromise on this issue.

“Think of the way to minimize your losses.”

If not, I would attack indiscriminately, heedless of America’s circumstances.

In the past, it was a warning I couldn’t have dared to give, a threat even.

From America’s perspective, my words might have seemed like a terrorism warning.

As a result, Lily provided a solution before sunset that day. Though she made various attempts to negotiate, I’d dismissed them all, leaving her no alternative.

Thus, ten hours after the large-scale bounty mission’s inception, as explosions echoed from a building near the San Diego border, the US terror alert escalated to ‘Code Orange’ (high risk of terror, prompting security authorities to take additional precautions at public events and coordinate and integrate security operations across armed forces or law enforcement agencies).

* * *

The scenario Lily brought was straightforward.

The clash between players in San Diego would be framed as a conflict between drug cartels.

“Afterward, go to Mexico to complete the mission.”

By pretending to declare war on drug cartels, citing civilian casualties that didn’t exist, they would conduct a pretended sweep operation.

Of course, I was requested to ensure the inflow of drugs into the US didn’t diminish excessively during the process.

Though shocking, the conditions made sense upon calmer reflection.

A decrease in the supply of drugs circulating in the US wasn’t a simple issue.

“If the supply drops sharply, prices will rise.”

The ensuing social problems would not conclude with just one issue.

This implied that the impact from reduced distribution would be borne not by individuals but by the society of the US as a whole.

If a nation’s policies and decisions were determined solely by what’s right and wrong, that would be ideal.

“Reality is not an ideal.”

Pretending not to be shocked, I nodded to the conditions Lily presented.

Afterward, at midnight, we detonated a bomb of moderate power in an abandoned building.

Thus began a charade steeped in lies.

Ten minutes after the first explosion, I, Sniper, and Lily remained on standby with fully equipped gear, mana stored within our cores.

“They don’t seem inclined to come out,” muttered Sniper beside me.

Gazing at the distant flames, I shifted my focus to the map.

“There are four in San Diego.”

None of them had moved from their positions.

With the elevation of the terror alert, police were being deployed, and nearby civilians had begun evacuating—a stark contrast to the players’ behavior.

“Although it’s not a 3D map, it seems…”

The suspected players appeared to enter the tunnels previously used for drug smuggling, instead of evacuating.

“They must be confident.”

Judging that they wouldn’t be endangered even amidst a terrorist act.

“Well, it works in our favor if they stay in one place.”

I readily nodded at Sniper’s comment.

“It seems the civilians have cleared out. Let’s go in?”

“Don’t kill outright.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

We had already agreed to summon the other players and capture them all at once.

We couldn’t afford extensive property damage in San Diego, so we had no choice.

Thus, Sniper would initially enter, pushing them just enough to call for reinforcements.

“Given that they were targeted as part of the same mission simultaneously, they must have some network.”

Able to communicate rapidly and freely through in-game chat without modern technology, they’d have formed networks more swiftly.

Considering the timing and location, it was certain.

We intended to exploit this to corral them into one place and annihilate them within a barrier.

Hence the choice of the player at the center of the distribution as the first target.

“Well then…”

Just as Sniper pressed his bucket hat firmly and took a single step,

Boom!

An explosion echoed from a building about three blocks from where we stood.

It was the location of another target warehouse.

Turning abruptly towards the sudden blast, Sniper and I locked eyes with Lily.

Standing a step behind us, Lily urgently shook her head.

Expressing ignorance of the matter, an indication it wasn’t part of the plan.

Redirecting attention to the explosion site revealed…

“Who is that?”

Amidst flames rising from the explosion, a figure emerged.

However, no movement reflected on the map’s target markers.

The implication was clear.

“A different player.”

A third player, unrelated to the bounty mission, had appeared.

Damned System