Chapter 9
<9>
The old woman exhaled a puff of smoke with a sigh and warned.
"I told you clearly. We don't need the police. Have them all withdraw."
"Does that mean you want us to let the Thieving Crow go willingly? The other victims will be disappointed."
"......"
This time, Raven silenced the old woman.
Though Doris Hunt might have seemed stubborn, she was someone who never neglected her responsibilities and duties as a leader in society.
Therefore, it was bound to work.
"Fine. I'll cooperate. But just don't let me see you. I'll be in my bedroom tonight, so that area is off-limits."
"Still, just in case, security..."
"Didn't you say it wasn't dangerous because it was a thief, not a burglar?"
"......"
One win, three losses. The master of silencing had flipped the situation in an instant.
"Anyway, thank you for your concern. But I have..."
Mrs. Hunt took something out of a drawer and placed it on the desk.
"I have this."
It was a revolver.
Raven's eyes sharpened, as much as Mrs. Hunt's.
"Using a firearm without justification is a crime."
"Don't worry."
The lady confidently assured him, putting the mouthpiece to her lips.
"No crime will happen here today."
Today, as if the heavens were helping, the entire city was shrouded in fog.
No, perhaps they weren't helping.
I scanned the city below me left, right, front, and back, while hanging from my umbrella.
'It should be around here, where is it?'
My eyes were about to pop out. It was already a dark night, and the lights were barely visible through the fog.
I couldn't tell which of the jagged building spires piercing the fog was Hunt Tower.
'Should I have opened my umbrella beneath Hunt Tower and gone straight up?'
Of course, I had considered that. And there were reasons why I hadn't. I would have been caught by the police spread all around the area.
Also, even if I managed to avoid people, I couldn't avoid the walls.
The thought of crashing into a building I couldn't see due to the fog and being sent flying made the idea disappear entirely.
Now, as I wandered the night sky like a bird, I couldn't help but regret it.
'Should I withdraw and come back tomorrow?'
[Mission must be completed today.]
The system displayed a warning message just as I thought it.
'Ruthless, so ruthless.'
The relentless system had changed the success condition of the mission. From 'Send a warning letter' to 'Send a warning letter as follows.'
And then, it even kindly specified the exact wording for the warning letter.
[This Friday night, I will come to steal Mrs. Doris Hunt's Emerald necklace.]
It was because I had lied in my warning letter during the last mission, claiming I would steal a different jewel.
'No, it didn't say what to write in the warning letter! This is the system's fault.'
The system, being an AI, had excellent learning capabilities.
What started as simple missions became increasingly complex and demanding. First, they added warning letters. Then, when a mission seemed too easy, they threw in sudden missions among the regular ones.
It adjusted the difficulty based on my level. It ensured I would never utter the words, "This is a piece of cake!"
What was even more maddening was that the system learned from my actions.
When I found loopholes in the rules and exploited them, it would completely seal them off the next time. Just like this time.
'Look at how it even set the date in the warning letter, as if I might write the wrong date too, not just the wrong item to steal.'
That's why I had to steal the necklace today.
[Reward]
Spiny Feather of the Engmu Bird x30
Skill Points x3
Notoriety Points x100,000
Perhaps they were giving a generous reward for the increased difficulty. The points were substantial. And they even gave me a rare item material.
'So that's 3 Repair Kits?'
Missions like this were rare. There was no way I could miss it.
I decided to look at the map again, even if it was of little help.
'Open map, huh?'
As soon as the map opened, I pushed it away from my sight. I saw several thick, white pillars of light rising into the sky from the north, piercing the fog.
They were searchlights used for night reconnaissance.
They had illuminated the area, anticipating that I would approach from the sky, given it was the top floor of a high-rise building.
'That's it.'
But did they know that the meticulously placed lights, meant to find me, had become my guide?
'There's nowhere else to turn on searchlights except Hunt Tower, right? Thanks for the police-grade navigation!'
I flew straight towards the tower. Dodging the beams shot into the sky, I descended along the long spire of Hunt Tower and landed softly just above the top floor.
[Entered the crime scene. Target marker is displayed.]
A green triangular marker began to flash somewhere below me.
The penthouse spanned three floors. It was pyramid-shaped, narrowing as it went up.
Since it wasn't a public area, I couldn't get the interior layout. I had no choice but to follow the marker.
'Durability of A Nanny's Umbrella.'
[A Nanny's Umbrella: 89%]
I had left with 100% durability, and it had already decreased by 11%.
Items wore down faster with more precise manipulation. It seemed I had used more than usual to dodge the searchlights earlier.
'I still need to avoid the searchlights...'
I decided to save the umbrella for my escape and test out a new item.
Suck, suck, suck.
Suction Cup Boots.
The materials were four suction cups from the prized stuffed giant octopus of the Tuna Dismantling Gang's boss, and a pair of boots from a seafood dismantling master.
The events I went through to make this single pair of boots were a story that couldn't be told without tears.
I had gone undercover at the Tuna Dismantling Gang boss's mansion and a seafood factory, and then got caught up in a love triangle and a shootout.
They probably still didn't know that 'One-Eyed Nico' was actually a notorious phantom thief who was a woman.
Suck, suck, suck.
I walked down the tilted building's exterior wall as if it were a downhill slope.
It wasn't on the third floor, nor the second. The marker blinked on the widest, first floor.
The second floor had wide balconies on all sides, making it impossible to jump directly to the first-floor exterior wall. As I leaped onto an empty balcony, I heard the voices of officers from behind a corner.
"What is that woman's true identity?"
They were coming this way.
I quickly climbed over the railing.
"An umbrella that flies? Is she some kind of witch?"
"Maybe she'll start flying on a broom next."
I have a broom too, but it's a low-level item, so I don't use it anymore, Sergeant Smith.
"Hey! Stop chatting and keep your eyes on the sky!"
From a distance, I heard Wesson scolding the officers. They were probably all staring blankly at the sky, unable to imagine me walking on walls.
I moved my feet again. Not downwards, but sideways. I followed the first-floor exterior wall, looking for the window closest to the marker.
I walked, almost lying down in mid-air, relying only on two pairs of boots. Occasionally, I would prop myself up to peek inside the windows.
'Ugh, searchlight!'
In that posture, I dodged the light brushing against the wall, ducked, and hid behind an overhang to avoid the eyes of the police looking down from the balcony. This was acrobatics, pure acrobatics.
'My core strength is insane. Women really need core strength.'
It was fortunate that I was finally able to use the core I had painstakingly created with a hefty amount of skill points in the mission before last...
'Ugh!'
As I peeked into the window, I almost made eye contact with Hunt, who was standing right in front of the glass.
"Gasp!"
Startled, I lost my footing.
If one of the suction cups hadn't stuck, I would have plummeted straight down.
"Phew..."
Hanging upside down in mid-air, I caught my breath as a strong wind shook my body.
Oh, my head was swimming.
"Hup."
I stuck the fallen boot back onto the wall and stood up. Then, I circled around the window I had just looked into and peeked in from above.
'She didn't see me, I guess.'
Hunt was still standing there, watching the outside.
'As expected, Hunt is a good navigation tool.'
My guess was correct that the item I was supposed to steal was in the direction guarded by Hunt, the head detective. The marker blinked in the next window.
