Chapter 233: Chapter 233 – Day 1 Qualifier, a Horror Game
That meant the thief came up from the stairs. Being close to it, Max decided to hide behind a pillar and looked around. He immediately spotted the target. The thief didn\'t seem to see him hiding and changed the disguise to an old man in a neat suit.
"The thief is here. He\'s now a balding old man in a black suit with a handkerchief in his chest pocket. Mimipopo, I will leave him to you."
(Roger that! I have a vision of him now. Tell me when to catch him.)
After getting a confirmation from his teammate, Max walked out of his hiding place and passed by the thief.
A smirk appeared on the disguised thief\'s face, but Max ignored him, knowing his smirk wouldn\'t stay long.
Arriving on the first floor, he walked into an inconspicuous place and contacted Ranga, who was standing near the large entrance.
"I am here. Where are the thieves?"
(One of them is a lady in blue with a large bosom. I am close to her, so I will tackle and handcuff her. The other is wandering in the center of a room, disguised as a waiter. He walked around, waiting for a chance for the target to appear. It may be a painting or a piece of jewelry one of the guests wears.)
(I also think that\'s the case. Two of the thieves are on the outside venue. I think they are looking around for a guest.) Leafy, who was on the watch from the East escape way, reported.
(If that\'s the case, they probably will escape from the helicopter. I will get myself ready and set my trap.) builderSix added.
The target was unknown to the police. Identifying it was a part of the skill that those Tier 2 players already had. Fortunately, the thieves didn\'t really work together and were greedy. Thanks to that, it was easier to identify the target.
"Alright then. I have an eye on the waiter. When I say go, we will act at the same time."
(Got it.)
(Roger!)
Both Ranga and Mimipopo answered. Once again, Max was grateful to have a good teammate like them, whom he could trust, unlike the first game.
Walking silently without creating any noise, Max approached the waiter, who held a tray filled with empty glasses. He passed by the NPCs without touching them. The thief was still unaware of his presence and tried his best to stay out of sight.
Unfortunately, things weren\'t as smooth as he had planned.
When he reached 5 meters behind the waiter, the thief disguised as a lady with a big bosom noticed him and said something through their communication device.
(It\'s bad! One of them notice you!) Ranga warned with an urgent tone as he sprung into action.
At that moment, the waiter stopped absurdly and turned around, looking straight at Max. Without letting the thief make any move, he immediately leaped toward him and gave a sign.
"Go!"
Caught off guard, the lady and the waiter couldn\'t move. Max pushed the waiter down and handcuffed him. As soon as he did that, the disguised thief returned to his real appearance, a clown-masked man wearing a black skintight bodysuit.
"I got him!" He reported to his teammates and stood up, "What about you guys?" He looked at Ranga.
The police seemed to handcuff the thief too, revealing his real figure.
(No problem here.) Ranga reported as he stood up. (That was close. What about the second floor?)
(Yes, yes. I also caught him!) Mimipopo responded with a cheerful voice. (That\'s easy. Should I bring this thief to the first floor? I will gladly guard them while you guys can catch the remaining thieves.)
(I agree.) Ranga said. He looked at Max and nodded. (You\'re the fastest among us. Please go there first, and I will guard the escape path and the stairs on the side after rendezvousing with Mimipopo.)
It was a great suggestion.
"I am counting on you."
Max accepted it. He moved to the outside party venue and headed to the second floor. Daytime maps were so much easier to see around compared to night maps.
When he arrived on the second floor, Leafy immediately gave him information.
(I saw one of them changing disguise into a woman in a blue backless dress. And the other one entered the restroom in panic after Ranga shouted earlier. The last time I saw the target, they wore the disguise of a young girl in a summer white dress.)
"Alright. It only makes it easier for me." Max smiled and immediately located the woman in a blue backless dress.
When he saw his target, he wondered why three of them disguised themselves as women instead of regular male NPCs. Not to mention, they all had risky dresses. Was it their hobbies? He didn\'t know.
Putting the useless thought aside, he approached his target and silently cuffed the thief from behind.
"Wha?!"
The thief was taken by surprise as his real figure, a stocking-masked man in a blue suit, was revealed.
"Since when?" He asked in disbelief, his eyes widened.
"Since the start." Max amused him for a second before shoving him to the ground.
There was no need to worry about him sending out information to his teammates. The cuffed thief was unable to use a communication device.
"Stay there quietly. I will end this game soon."
With that, he turned around and went to the restroom. Among all the places to hide, the restroom was the worst one. Not only did it have no escape route, but it also made them unable to do anything if the police put a trap in front of the exit.
Entering the restroom, there were two ways Max could take. The left headed to the women\'s area, and the right headed to the men\'s area. If he chose the wrong one, there was a chance the thief would escape. That was if he didn\'t put a trap.
\'Let\'s see… this one might be good for this situation.\'
He fished a small ball, half his palm size, from his pocket and pressed the button.
[Trap ready.]
A mechanical voice rang as the lines around the ball glowed slightly. It rose to the air and hovered around while scanning the surroundings with a sonar-like light.
This trap\'s effect was simple. It would paralyze the thief passing through the sonar for 3 seconds and give a notification to Max through a communication device. It might not be much, but that was enough for him to return and apprehend the thief.
After making sure it worked, he walked toward the women\'s area without hesitation while singing something in a creepy voice.
"Ding dong, I know you can hear me. Open up the door! I only wanna play a little."
Three stalls were waiting for him in the women\'s area. All the doors were closed, and within one of them was the thief\'s hiding place. Just by looking at the area, Max could guess the thief\'s plan.
Still, that didn\'t matter. Max knew where the thief was hiding. The white fabric that stuck out from under was as clear as a day.
\'He\'s in the middle, huh?\'
Walking closer, he grinned.
"It\'s already too late for you to try and run away. Just wait, you can\'t hide from me."
He stopped in front of the stall and then...
"Knock, knock. I am at your door now." He said, "I am coming in."
He kicked it open.
Inside, a girl wearing a summer dress was crouching on top of a toilet, looking scared.
Max\'s grin only widened at the sight. He raised the handcuff he held in his hand and spoke in a high-pitched, creepy voice.
"Aha! I found you."
"Hiiee! Forgive me! FORGIVE ME!"
Click!
Ignoring her plea, Max cuffed her hands.
"Now, you\'re it."
Her appearance changed to a monkey-masked girl in an exaggeratedly colorful suit. Cheerful notifications rang, and the game ended before the thief could even steal the target.
Blue light engulfed him, and he was teleported away to the police waiting place with his teammates. All of them smiled brightly, happy to win the round. Max was also happy. He skimmed through the notification and only read the tournament points he gained.
[Tier 2 Tournament Points +132.]
[Congratulations!]
Yeah, that was much more than his first game.
\'It\'s doing good.\' He mused in his mind. \'I only need to keep it up.\'