Chapter 343: Millennium Bug
"It is reported that the [Nameless Hero for Fun] has descended upon J-City once again. This time, he thwarted a new monster (Kaijin) and saved the lives of approximately over two hundred citizens. This act was recorded on mobile phones by many passersby."
"As we reported previously, the [Nameless Hero] represents the return of true heroism. We may have the chance to see the era of shining heroes arrive once again."
"After the Cataclysm, people are swallowed by Spirit World Erosion Zones every day, and killed by Ghosts and Youkai every day. Viewers, can you truly entrust your safety to those [Professional Heroes] who won't even come after you make the call..."
Debates continued round after round on the TV station. Kaito Shirogane, however, was indifferently cooking meat chunks in a pot.
[You have completed the Milestone · Hero. Upon equipping, you will obtain a minimum Friendly 1/100 reputation rating in any Lawful faction.]
[You have unlocked new Milestones: Superhero; Evil Hero]
[Superhero: Save over 10,000 civilians in any single event.]
[Evil Hero: Cumulatively kill 1,000 sinners whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents.]
Innocents?
Kaito noted this description. The Space was usually very precise in various descriptions, but this description of 'innocents' was very peculiar.
Because this wasn't a completely quantifiable concept. Innocence was a very subjective concept on a moral level.
Was someone who hadn't committed evil considered innocent? If so, how was the range of 'evil' defined? Did theft count as evil? Did quarreling and brawling count as evil?
Kaito vaguely realized that within this Space, there existed a standard system completely distinct from that [Precise, Fully Quantifiable, Numerical, Absolute] system.
Just like his own [Gaze of Pride]. The passive effect of this ability was that he could mark targets weaker than himself in his vision, and within visual range, this mark couldn't be negated by abilities like invisibility or transformation.
Kaito previously thought the Space quantified Reincarnators' strength to judge if the opponent was weaker than him. But after entering the Public Space, Kaito found it wasn't like that.
In a situation where no pupil technique could pry into others' reality through their [Avatar] in the Space, his [Gaze of Pride] could still mark others.
In other words, this ability was completely subjective and idealistic.
As long as Kaito believed from his heart that the opponent was weaker than him, he could place a mark. This mark had nothing to do with the opponent, only with Kaito himself.
Now, this description of 'innocents' further confirmed Kaito's guess in this regard.
In this Infinite Dimensional Space, there likely indeed existed a purely idealistic power system.
He recalled at this moment that indeed more than one person had emphasized the power of the [Heart] to him.
"Mr. Mercenary Tao, I think..."
[Lilith] knelt on the ground. This specific sitting posture made Kaito instantly understand which country she was from in the real world. He sized up this woman. Undoubtedly, she was an unqualified Reincarnator in his eyes.
Whether in strength or mindset, she was completely unpresentable.
At this moment, her heart contracted continuously, and excessive nervousness caused her thoughts to scatter completely. She had zero resistance against [Mantra] (Heart Net). Even a Lv1 Mantra could probably read her mind.
Lilith breathed rapidly from nervousness but still summoned her courage to say:
"I think we'd better stop our actions..."
"If the fame is too big, we will likely become targets for many people..."
Although she didn't know the intelligence of this world, she could feel that as Mercenary Tao's plan progressed, the fame of the [Nameless Hero] grew larger and larger. Now, it was catching up to [Hellish Blizzard]. Soon, he would probably become the so-called most famous hero.
Not just Reincarnators, even many plot characters would be dissatisfied with this. Becoming an 'enemy of ten thousand' in a world related to One Punch Man made survival difficult even for Title Level Reincarnators.
Kaito sneered twice, not answering. Instead, he used his ability to finish cooking the monster meat.
[You consumed a piece of specially cooked Kaijin meat. Ingredient Grade: Common. Deliciousness Grade: Excellent.]
[Gourmet Cells obtained significant growth. Current: Lv2 (34/200)]
[Strength +1, Constitution +1, Agility +1. Current: Strength 34, Constitution 32, Agility 33]
[Milestone · Gourmet triggered. You obtained temporary buff · Rapid Regeneration (Uncommon).]
[Rapid Regeneration (Uncommon): Obtain extra cellular activity, regeneration speed increased by 30%. Duration: 25 minutes.]
Kaito ate the monster meat in a few bites. The Gourmet Cells leveled up immediately. He felt somewhat regretful now that he didn't obtain the [Chef] ability before entering the Naruto World.
Otherwise, the value of the White Snake Sage and Tailed Beast meat would have been greatly enhanced.
But fortunately, although the levels of monsters in this world varied, the quantity was sufficient. He still had enough time to raise the Gourmet Cell level.
Seeing her persuasion was fruitless, Lilith also served herself a piece of monster meat.
Squelch!
The woman looked astonished. A huge wound appeared out of nowhere between her waist and abdomen. As blood sprayed, she looked at Mercenary Tao with confusion in her eyes.
She seemed not to understand why she was attacked.
Blue light lit up between Kaito's eyebrows. The [All-Seeing Eyes of God] opened instantly, but still didn't see the attacker.
Whoosh~
The scorched smell of burning air and the sound of rapid air-breaking appeared in Kaito's heart simultaneously. In an instant, he grabbed the woman whose movements seemed so slow even while falling, and with a bang, smashed through the wall and disappeared from the room.
Boom!
In the next moment, a missile exploded轟然 from the dilapidated small building. Amidst rising flames, violent shockwaves swept the surroundings.
"That female Reincarnator entered a dying state. She is a low-tier Reincarnator, not Moon Fiend."
A report came from the earpiece of a man wearing a long black trench coat. But he actually knew this answer long ago.
The man stood still, merely turning around to see Mercenary Tao appearing a hundred meters away.
The other party casually dropped the woman whose abdomen was almost cut open by his summoned IBM (Black Ghost) with one strike.
"Mercenary Tao, since you didn't want to save her that much, yet you brought her out from the explosion center, so..."
"You are judging our attack methods through her wound, right?"
The man wore a black mask. His voice was somewhat muffled, but the deep tone contained no fear at all.
The name Fierce Person · Mercenary Tao couldn't scare him.
Kaito saw Lilith's waist was likely cut open by a sharp blade, but the wound wasn't as terrible as imagined. This woman's physical strength was probably only twice that of an ordinary human, yet she wasn't cut in half with one strike.
This indicated the power of that mysterious attack wasn't strong.
This explained why the opponent didn't prioritize attacking him.
Kaito looked at the opponent. Another Reincarnator he didn't know, but possessing eyes similar to the guy he killed yesterday.
"You're the guy who abandoned that Nen user yesterday. Tsk, truly a heartless guy. That guy was a pretty good Reincarnator."
Kaito's hands hung naturally as he walked toward the man. The [All-Seeing Eyes of God] between his eyebrows emitted blue-white light.
Kaito seemed casual, but [Mantra] was fully deployed. Various movements within a radius of several kilometers were simultaneously under his control.
[Millennium Bug] looked at Mercenary Tao's posture, lowering his eyelids.
"I know Wildfire's excellence better than anyone."
But such an excellent guy was killed just because he encountered a guy like Mercenary Tao in an accidental mission.
Such a Space was rotten to the core.
Millennium Bug had long accumulated a lot of dissatisfaction with the current Space. In his view, people like them adapted to the Space, combat, and slaughter better than any ordinary person.
But they often couldn't match some lucky guys. Just because of good luck, triggering some special mission and obtaining powerful abilities. Even with the same superpower awakening, some just awakened stronger abilities and obtained stronger bloodlines.
This 'randomness' caused many of his excellent subordinates to be easily killed.
Millennium Bug watched Mercenary Tao walk to a distance of only forty or fifty meters from him. With the athletic ability of Reincarnators at their level, this was almost considered 'close quarters.'
But Mercenary Tao still hadn't used the super-speed movement ability mentioned by Wildfire. Millennium Bug knew Mercenary Tao was probing him. He already knew from the wound that his IBM's lethality wasn't enough to kill him, so he was waiting for him to make a move.
Millennium Bug slowly took off his mask. Kaito looked at his face and raised an eyebrow.
"Seems you're also a guy with artistic talent."
Under the mask, there were a total of three mouths—one large and two small—quite eerie. Moreover, black incantations surrounded the two smaller mouths.
Millennium Bug placed his hands in front of his mouth, looking at Kaito indifferently, and suddenly spoke.
"Die."
This voice seemed to possess unique penetrating power, entering Kaito's brain directly. Intense negative energy instantly converted from [Language] into brain suggestion.
Because he understood the concept of [Death], Kaito's brain began to think about how to die.
His heart began to stop beating, and cellular activity began to decay.
[You have suffered Cursed Speech effect]
[Mental Check in progress]
...
Lilith clutched the wound on her waist and abdomen with one hand while smearing hemostatic gel messily with the other. She struggled to speak:
"It's a Black Ghost! He is an Ajin!"
But in the next moment, she saw Mercenary Tao's tall figure slowly falling backward.
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