Superhunt

Chapter 32: Assimilation

Jonathan indeed became the public enemy of the players.

He observed all the posts related to No. 331 on the forum, and the attitudes of both the post authors and the commenters were mostly very intense. Almost no one spoke up for him, and occasionally, there were some calm, analytical comments, but the intense ones drowned them out.

In post 62l, someone said: "I think there might be a hidden story to this thing. We didn't know each other's identities when we crossed to the second world. Can you tell who is a player and who is a native inhabitant? You can't. Perhaps No. 331 never intended to kill one of us."

63l replied 62l, "Then who do you think No. 331 wanted to kill? A native from another world? Regardless of whether he wanted to kill native residents or players, his intentions were very malicious."

64l replied to 62l: "Your point is useless. Who cares about the reasons, consequences, and psychological journey of Dispossessor 331's murdered people? People only care about the result – he killed someone. There might be other Dispossessors among the players, and they will imitate him and follow his example. Players killing players will only become more common in the future!"

84l: "The thought of Dispossessor 331 possibly lurking and watching our posts gives me goosebumps. What does he think when he sees these posts? Panic, fear... or a cold smile?"

85l: "If Dispossessor 331 killed someone due to some hardship, why doesn't he come out and clarify?"

86l replied to 85l: "He's not a fool. Who would step forward at such a critical moment? Even if he clarified, would anyone believe him? Can we distinguish whether he is lying or telling the truth?"

Immediately after, players started to flood the post, calling for Dispossessor 331 to come out and explain.

But Jonathan understood that he couldn't explain.

The players were filled with fear, swept up by public opinion. How many were willing to dig deep, and how many only cared about the outcome? The players were in the return phase of their first crossover, which was the most irrational state. Everyone was panicked and frightened, desperately needing to vent, allowing the darkest aspects of human nature to be fully unleashed.

If Jonathan were to explain and the players continued to question him, what should he do? What if the players asked him to recount the specific events of the murder? He couldn't prove that he killed unintentionally, and others would always suspect that he did it intentionally.

Jonathan could easily expose his identity information while proving himself, and the players had taken over the roles of the native inhabitants of the second world. They had all sorts of identities in the second world; some were ordinary people, while others had more complex roles, possibly holding high positions. If Jonathan accidentally revealed any information that he shouldn't have, they might be able to trace it back to him.

Actually, Jonathan had a stable mindset. He realized that as long as he didn't respond to the issue, the players wouldn't be able to guess the true identity of Dispossessor 331. If they couldn't guess, then he was safe.

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The biggest hidden danger was his appearance.

Each player's appearance in the second world resembled their appearance in the first world to some extent.

For example, Jonathan had medium-length hair in the first world and short hair in the second world. After returning to the first world, his hair didn't shorten, and the wounds he had sustained from the scythe demon didn't follow him back.

Jonathan tapped his forehead, and based on touch, his metal skull hadn't returned to the first world with him, but...

He skillfully played with a utility knife, showing off a dazzling trick.

Jonathan's inherent talents and super abilities had all returned with him.

He currently possessed five inherent talents: Performance Persona, life Vitality, Danger Evasion, Rapid Learning, and the newly acquired Combat Instinct after entering the second world.

Combat Instinct was a talent acquired from his second-world body, and this talent had perfectly merged with his first-world body. He could still use weapons and recall various combat techniques.

Jonathan put down his phone and started doing push-ups on his bed.

To his surprise, he managed to do 50 push-ups in one go, a level he had never reached before. Normally, he struggled to complete even 10 push-ups, so doing 50 was simply unimaginable!

At the same time, these 50 push-ups were far below the level he had achieved in his physical tests in the second world, where he could do more than 100 in a row. Moreover, Jonathan felt that his vision had become much clearer whether it was an illusion or not.

He was originally slightly nearsighted, prescribed only 100 degrees, and occasionally needed to wear glasses in class. Now, the slight blur was gone when he looked at the surrounding scenery.

In the second world, he was a sharpshooter with excellent vision. Jonathan quickly realized that his bodies from the two worlds were becoming more alike under the influence of an unknown force!

The powerful physical abilities of his second-world body were transferred to his first-world body. Jonathan rummaged through his drawers to find a tape measure, stood on the floor, and measured his height. The last time he had a physical exam, he was 1.7 meters tall, while his second-world height was 1.75 meters.

Now, as he measured, his height had become 1.71 meters, growing by one centimeter, which seemed to be a natural growth caused by physical development.

Jonathan went to the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror, frowning as he examined his reflection. A player's appearance in the first and second worlds wasn't 100% identical; his face in both worlds was about 70-80% similar but not exactly the same.

Medium-length hair and short hair gave people different impressions. With medium-length hair, his temperament seemed more gloomy, and his resemblance to his second-world appearance seemed to have decreased somewhat. However, it still looked very similar when examined closely.

In the second world, Jonathan was a city enforcer, dressed maturely and professionally and even a bit cold, exuding the air of an elite security officer.

At a glance, his external image in the first and second worlds was quite different. He couldn't continue like this, so Jonathan considered getting plastic surgery.

However, plastic surgery was too expensive, and he couldn't afford it now. So, he could only change his clothing and appearance, striving to be as different from his second-world self as possible.

When he returned to the second world, perhaps he could start changing his appearance there, as it should be easier in that high-tech world. Jonathan suspected that many other players would have similar plans since changing one's face was far less troublesome than having one's identity exposed.

Thinking about returning to the second world, Jonathan's calm mood stirred with waves of worry and anxiety.

He had returned during a battle. Time didn't flow while traveling between worlds, but this would significantly impact the battle situation. When he returned to the second world, he would be in big trouble if he couldn't react quickly enough.

Robert and Luke were reliable teammates, but Jonathan couldn't put all his hope on them; it was better to rely on himself.

Jonathan glanced at the time: 00:53.

It was midnight again. He washed his face in the bathroom and returned lying on the bed. This was his first night back, and he knew he could sleep peacefully without worrying about tomorrow.

Wait!

It seemed like he had forgotten something important. Jonathan checked his phone's reminder app and saw the reminder clearly written: "9 a.m. interview for a summer job at a fast-food restaurant on the third floor of the central square."

Jonathan: Ah, this... Is my fulfilling life about to start again?

...

Jonathan got up, washed, and made himself a fried egg for breakfast. After eating, he sat at the table, staring blankly, unsure what to do for a moment. He felt a little unaccustomed after leaving the exciting second world and suddenly finding himself idle in the first world.

Jonathan thought momentarily, pushed the small living room table aside to make some space, and began stretching his legs, twisting his body, doing push-ups and sit-ups, and engaging in basic exercise. He got up a bit late today but planned to wake up at 6 a.m. every day and jog on the riverbank behind the neighborhood.

There was much room for improvement in his first-world physical abilities, so he had to train consistently and gradually. For the first few days, he could reduce his training volume in the investgation department to one-third and then slowly increase it as he adapted.

Two hours later, Jonathan's legs were trembling after finishing his workout, and he was drenched in sweat. He took a shower, massaged his muscles, and then headed out for his part-time job when the time came.

Before leaving the house, Jonathan checked the forum again, and the discussions related to Dispossessor 331 were still heated.

He skipped them and read other posts. One of them was about calculating the player density in different countries.

"It's interesting that when we entered the game, it was by reservation, and the game company disguised itself as an ordinary game. Applying for beta testing even required filling out a form online, not allowing minors or people over 60 to sign up... This way, we can eliminate many people, starting with minors and then excluding underdeveloped and impoverished areas with poor internet access. Small countries in Africa and the Middle East can be ignored. I guess most players are concentrated in economically developed areas."

"Subtracting the population of underdeveloped areas, minors, and the elderly, the range narrows down significantly. Friends, there are 10,000 players worldwide; how many can each country get? Maybe players will never meet each other in their lifetime, so there's no need to worry too much about Dispossessor coming after them, but we can't completely let our guard down either."

Compared to last night, the forum had calmed down a bit, and there were more posts with serious analysis. Several threads discussed the possibility of forming teams in the other world, with players wanting to create a reliable alliance to support each other in the second world.

Other posts seriously analyzed the social structure and class formation in the Second World, and some even wanted to steal the Second World's technology to build up the First World.

The thread starter said, " Those mechanical prosthetic technologies could help so many disabled people embrace a new life. And those information technologies, holographic projection, would bring tremendous changes to our world."

Someone replied skeptically: "Yes, they can bring great changes, but they would also bring war. I never underestimate human greed and evil. If a country obtained these technologies, it would definitely use them for war. You bring back the technology, but do you have the power to stop the war?"

In addition to these, there were some miscellaneous and unverifiable help-seeking posts.

"On a smuggling boat, drifting for a week, I'm close to developing sepsis. Does anyone know the punishment if caught by the Coast Guard or similar departments?"

"How can I solve the problem of not having a valid residence registration?"

"Working as a gigolo at a nightclub, is there any chance to turn my life around?"

"Help! How can I make a million within a month? I need it urgently for college!"

For each help-seeking post, people were sincerely replying and trying to find solutions. The overall atmosphere on the forum was positive and constructive, with only threads related to Dispossessor filled with conspiracy theories and paranoia.

"Looking for information on Xenobiotics creatures, the more detailed, the better. Willing to pay for information through bank transfer or physical mail delivery. If you choose a bank transfer, it can be sent to an anonymous account in a foreign bank. If you choose physical mail, I can send you gold. You decide the shipping address and method. There is no intention to pry into your identity, absolute trust. If interested, message me privately on the forum."

Under this post, a player asked, "What are Xenobiotics creatures?" Many other players shared the same curiosity, as not every player had the chance to encounter the dangerous species that the Federal Government was trying so hard to hide from the general public.

Seeing the words "willing to pay," Jonathan was tempted.

Replying to the post or sending private messages would expose his username but not his number. The problem was that his username was 331, the same as his number. However, the acquisition of the numbers was random, and the numbers represented the registration order on the forum. Jonathan was the 331st user to register on the forum, so his number was 331.

After some hesitation, he decided to observe for a while and see if anyone else with information about Xenobiotics creatures would reply to the thread. He couldn't rush into such matters – he needed money but also had to be cautious with his life.