Killing a police officer increases notoriety and suspicion.
It raises the chance of being discovered.

Killing a civilian increases not only the notoriety and suspicion but also the police player's stats.
Since the total stats increase by 1, the penalty is greater than expected.

‘Who cares.’

But I don’t mind.
I choose to make some impulsive moves that I normally wouldn’t, just in case there’s information I’m missing.

In a situation where I can’t completely trust what I hear in the city, it’s best to make the most of these opportunities.
It’s better to learn as much as I can for the next challenge.

‘What are the conditions for a thief’s defeat?’

Is it just death?

Even when I kill a police officer, my stats don’t increase.
That’s because it’s not a complete elimination, so soul absorption doesn’t happen.

Killing either a police officer or a civilian results in penalties for a thief.
There’s a reason why King of Thieves and Elise are freaking out.

‘But it’s definitely effective.’

I caused a disturbance outside the museum.
A few police officers hiding inside quickly ran out.

“Hey! A thief!”

They scanned around for a few moments but immediately spotted me.
Even though I was far, they could pinpoint my exact location.

It seems like the increase in suspicion played a role.

“Obvious. This is a decoy tactic.”
“You guys chase that thief. We’ll continue securing the inside.”

The police whispered and strategized.
They split up their forces for a decoy operation.

Since there are more police players, they could form a task force without much trouble.
It was easier for them than for thieves.

A group of police players is approaching me.
Even if I hide and sneak, they came straight to me, as if they knew exactly where I was.

‘Does hiding lose its meaning once suspicion reaches a certain level?’

At this point, sneaking into the museum seems impossible.

Based on the responses in the chatroom, it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.
It seems that the effect of increased suspicion varies depending on the thief.

‘It seems the burden falls on the murderer themselves.’

It’s a form of collective guilt, but it’s not too harsh.
Even if I cause a huge disturbance here, the chance of King of Thieves being discovered doesn’t drastically increase.

‘Actually, that’s fine.’

If I’m confident in my skills, I can afford to wipe out civilians without much issue.

I kept my distance from the museum and avoided the police.
With my high agility and stamina, I had no trouble escaping.

A flash of light.

Before my eyes, a mass of light took human form.

‘...Familiar psychic power...?’

A player in a police uniform.
I couldn’t tell their face.
Just like the police faction, they all wore identical outfits.

“Ryuin, oppa.”

Thieves also can’t tell who the police are unless they reveal themselves like this.

“…Hikari.”

Yuki and Hikari had of course arrived on the 5th floor.
The probability of them being eliminated on the 4th floor was close to zero, so there was no way they couldn’t come up.

As soon as they heard the rules of the 5th floor, they chose the police faction.

“Shouldn’t we try being thieves this time, boss?”
“Then you be the thief. I’ll be the police. With your strength, you won’t get caught anyway.”
“......”

Hikari chose to be the police.
The reason was simply that she wanted to be on the same team as Yuki.

They proceeded with the mission without much trouble.
Unlike thieves, the police have no limit on failures.

They could either stay on the 5th floor, earning a low wage, or meet the requirements to move up to the 6th floor.
Yuki couldn’t stay on the 5th floor because she wanted to find her deceased mother.

They participated in the police mission today.
It was a large-scale mission.

The number of police players was a whopping 50.
For thieves, this was the highest difficulty level.

“Only strong players would apply for this. If we’re going to do a mission, it’s best to do this one.”
“…At this difficulty, I can’t handle it by myself. You can’t kill anyone, boss.”
“It’s fine in the mission. It’s not really killing if it’s in the mission.”

Whether police or thieves, they wouldn’t actually die.
The entire field had an elimination protection option.

“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”

This much was fine.
Yuki spoke only the truth.

They took turns standing guard.
They had to stay focused, never knowing when a thief in a mask might slip in.

Then, a big disturbance happened.

Boom—!

Bright red flames engulfed the museum.

“......”

Somehow, it felt familiar.

“Boss.”
“I thought you’d come up soon. Looks like you stayed on the 4th floor for quite a while. You must’ve just arrived.”

Yuki quickly realized that the person in front of her was an Outlander.
That breath was his signature skill.

Meeting a real dragon wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

“I knew you’d pick the thief.”

Yuki chuckled.
She remembered what happened on the 3rd floor, and a laugh slipped out.

“I’ll handle this. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay. Do it.”

Neither of them could leave their post.
In large-scale missions, the police faction’s capabilities were significantly lower, so one of them, either Yuki or Hikari, had to stay to guard the museum.

Aside from these missions, the police faction’s abilities were generally weaker.

The stronger players chose the thief faction for the victory rewards,
while the weaker ones chose the police faction because the risks were lower.

The two of them were currently among the strongest in the police faction.
Their 8th and 9th tier psychic powers were considered extraordinary, even by their standards.

“…Hikari.”

Their faces were different.
The police uniforms and thief masks hid their original appearances.

Despite that, they recognized each other.
It was because their powers were so distinctive.

“Did you just arrive on the 5th floor?”

If they knew the layout, this kind of disruption would be difficult…
she asked indirectly.

The Outlander didn’t deny it.
What would be the point of denying being a newcomer?

“For the reward on the 4th floor?”

Yuki quickly concluded why they had just arrived.
The only reason was the reward on the 4th floor.
It didn’t even need to be speculated.

The Outlander didn’t deny that either.

“I just have one question.”
“Is there something you’re curious about?”

It was ridiculous.
After such a flashy mess, there were still questions left?

‘If you don’t know something, shouldn’t you just be cautious?’

Or is there something else going on?

“Do police players only get three chances?”
“No.”

The police have more leeway.
Police faction players are not eliminated on the 5th floor.

“Really?”

So, even if someone in the police faction knows them, there’s no reason to hesitate?

The Outlander didn’t refuse and used their skill.

Flash—

Hikari reacted.

‘I know what skills they have and how they move when using them.’

Professional fighters are said to be able to avoid punches just by seeing how the body twists and the shoulders move when someone throws a punch.

Hikari had the reaction speed and agility to respond in that instant.
These were the skills she had trained since awakening her psychic powers in the lab.

‘Frozen Prison is a hand gesture.’

She reaches out towards her target to activate Frozen Prison.

The grenade launch is similar, but I remember it being a little more intense.

‘Poison Needle, well, no need to even mention that.’

The ground slam, even if she wanted to be hit, wouldn’t land.
Hikari’s well-trained body instinctively dodges it.

‘She should also have defense skills...’

The duration won’t be infinite.
About 30 seconds?

‘I’ll trigger it first…’

Hikari quickly grabbed the Outlander’s back.

“I knew it.”

The Outlander grinned.

Green poison gas erupted from around the Outlander.
It seemed like Frozen Prison was going to activate, but it didn’t.

“What’s this…!”
“This is a new skill. Haven’t you seen Poison Blood Needle before?”

Hikari’s vitality plummeted.
She was hit for just a moment, but the poison devastated her insides.

Was that all?

‘Corrosion? Bleeding?’

Messages indicating the effects of the skill popped up.

Corrosion.
The flesh melts away.

Bleeding.
Blood pours out from the melted wounds.

‘No way to stop the bleeding.’

Hikari quickly turned her body into photons.
This was a technique used to preserve the body by consuming mental energy when sustaining serious injuries.

‘I’ve never used it before, but…’

It was a theoretically existing technique.

She had never had to use it before because there had never been a human or monster that could threaten her.

‘Why?’

Even so, she still had hope.

But she couldn’t stop her life force from draining.
Because it was also influenced by the Soul System, in addition to the laws of physics.

Corrosion and bleeding.
The damage kept accumulating.

“Damn...! Outlander! Were you hiding something from me!”
“It’s a skill I got on the 4th floor.”
“Liar!”

The light mass gradually shrank and soon disappeared.
It was completely excluded from the field.

[‘Police’ has been killed.]
[Notoriety increases.]
[Suspicion increases.]

Light started to radiate from the Outlander’s body.

[King of Thieves] ─ Hey, what the hell are you doing!
[Grand Wizard] ─ Haha, we’re shining.
[Elise] ─ There’s no way out now. We have to kill all the police.
[King of Thieves] ─ Can we win? Against them? They’re only going to get stronger.
[Elise] ─ Then fail the mission and die.
[King of Thieves] ─ Damn it, Earthling! You’re going to die by my hands.