1282 Crime (1/2)
”Haha, how can someone tell at a glance if another person is a foreigner? How do you distinguish that?” Roy forcefully composed himself and pretended to be discussing the yellow paper's contents with his companions.
He used the hidden meaning in his words to console Phil and Pasha so that they didn't need to panic. After all, other than Biles, who was a native, the remaining three were also citizens of Loen. They didn't have any Southern Continent blood in them. Nothing about their facial features stood out.
”But, but this is a supernatural incident…” Pasha stammered.
This couldn't be judged by common sense!
Roy's heart froze as he looked at the citizens who were slowly approaching in a deadpan manner. He quickly shouted in a low voice:
”Run!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and ran towards the nearest street entrance. Pasha and Phil followed closely behind.
As a local, Biles tacitly held the rear, covering the surface of his skin with illusory fish scales.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A few citizens raised their dual-barreled hunting guns and fired.
Roy, Phil, and Pasha were Beyonders who were relatively good at fighting. While running, they would occasionally change directions or roll forward, successfully dodging the attacks.
Following that, under Pasha's guidance, they passed through the streets and escaped their pursuers before hiding in an empty dark corner.
”What should we do?” Phil, who had lost a hand, panted as he asked, ”From the contents of the notice, we probably won't be able to leave this city.”
”We need to figure out the rules and find a way around them.” Although Roy was also very flustered, he still forced himself to calm down and think, lest the morale of the entire squad crumbled.
Pasha looked at the wary Biles and asked, ”Has such a notice ever appeared in the past?”
Biles nodded.
”Yes, although I rarely had the chance to go to the municipal square, I've been assembled there back when I was recruited into the army. I've seen that noticeboard.”
”There shouldn't be any problems with the noticeboard. Perhaps those two pieces of paper are the key. The laws written on them contain mystic intent,” Pasha said.
Roy immediately expressed his agreement.
”That's right.
”Besides, I suspect that the laws have to be made public before they are put into effect. If we can find an opportunity to rip off those two pieces of paper, the corresponding restrictions might disappear.”
After hearing Roy's words, Pasha, Phil, and Biles fell silent.
After a few seconds, Phil's facial muscles twitched as he said, ”Let's give it a try! If we continue to be trapped in the city, even if we aren't caught by those citizens, we might be punished for various reasons.”
Although they were all Beyonders, their Sequences weren't high. It wasn't a problem dealing with a few ordinary people, but facing the enmity of an entire city was extremely dangerous.
Roy, Biles, and Pasha were more or less people who had been on the battlefield before. They knew that hesitation was the worst action to take in such situations, so they agreed to Phil's suggestion.
Under the guidance of the rather experienced Hunter, Pasha, the group of four made a detour and returned to the municipal square from another street.
At this moment, the residents who were surrounding the notice were no longer there. It was as if they were searching the entire city for foreigners.
When they saw the noticeboard that stood silently in the middle of two gas lamps, Roy and company carefully approached it, ready to escape at any moment.
After approaching the target, Roy suddenly thought of a question. He hurriedly lowered his voice and asked, ”Is destroying the notice considered an illegal act?”
”In theory, yes…” Pasha was taken aback.
They then cast their gaze at the noticeboard and scanned through the list of crimes stipulated by the third law.
”…
”8. Destroying public property.
”…”
”It really exists.” Biles blurted out.
Phil, whose face had turned pale due to the blood loss, turned paler. After some thought, he said, ”What kind of punishment does destroying public property entail?”
This wasn't a very serious crime, and the corresponding punishment should be relative lenient.
If that was the case, Phil decided to take the risk to tear the notice and end this horrifying, bizarre event.
”First-timers get whipped.” Just as Roy, Pasha, and Biles were pondering over the answer, a voice sounded from behind them.
The four turned around in shock and saw a young man in a black robe and a tall hat. He looked ordinary.
The man continued, ”A repeated offense is to have one's hand lopped off.
”I'm not sure what happens after that.”
”How do you know that?” Fully alert, Roy frowned as he gripped his concealed dagger.
The young man smiled and said, ”I've tried. It's useless. The notice gets restored very quickly.”
”So, you've been whipped?” Pasha asked in enlightenment.
”Yes.” The young man nodded with a relaxed expression. ”However, because I also committed fraud, I was later punished with having my hand lopped off.”
”Fraud?” Biles asked, puzzled.
The young man chuckled and replied, ”To put it simply, I didn't personally destroy the notice. Instead, I created a dummy to do it. The one who was whipped was also the dummy.”
As he spoke, he raised his right arm.
Like Phil, his wrist was cut neatly. His stump was ghastly-white and red, as though he was still bleeding.
Suddenly, the stump's flesh squirmed and twisted, as transparent worms crawled out. They intertwined with each other and formed a new hand.
During this process, Roy and the others didn't feel the slightest bit of fear. This was because the moment they saw those worms which had details they couldn't discern, their thoughts were thrown in a mess. Random thoughts ran through their minds as they found it difficult to control their emotions.
After the palm was ”covered” with skin and became normal, the Beyonders recovered. They retreated a few steps in shock, surprise, and fear.
The scene just now had exceeded their understanding!
”By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm a wandering magician.” The person who had committed a fraud and a case of destruction of public property was none other than Klein.
He swept a glance at the four Beyonders and said with a smile, ”My best magic trick is to grant someone's wishes. Do you have a wish you would like granted?”