Chapter 185: Ch 185: Hide and Kill game
Collin did not look happy.
Rin knew his butler well, and that small crease between his brows was a clear indication that he wanted to say something but was holding himself back because he did not want to cause Rin trouble.
"What is bothering you, Collin?"
Even though the butler had not said anything yet, Rin still decided to ask.
Collin let out a sigh before turning to look at Rin with a serious expression.
"Young Master, you know that I do not usually interfere with your decisions, right? However, I have to question your judgment this time. I do not think these people are worth helping. Not only are they rude and dismissive toward you, but they also seem like troublemakers."
Collin seemed to genuinely dislike Serena’s settlement based on their behavior so far, and Rin was not surprised by his reaction.
In fact, he had expected Collin to bring this up already.
"I know what you are worried about, Collin. But these people will become an asset to us once they get used to their new environment. They are just tense right now because of the sudden change in their surroundings."
Rin tried to reason with his butler, but he could tell that Collin was not convinced.
Still, Collin chose to back down because Rin cared enough to explain himself, and he let out another sigh at his young master’s words.
"I will choose to trust your judgment, Young Master. But I will take action immediately if anything happens."
Rin nodded in agreement, though realistically, he did not think anything serious would happen. There was no need to worry too much about it.
...
Rin had a lot of work to do, especially with the new additions to his settlement. He was busy organizing documents when the system suddenly announced that it was time for Task 9.
[Task 9 will begin in 24 hours.]
[Task details: Hide and Kill.]
[Task type: Voluntary (maximum of 6 people per settlement)]
[Task reward: A new possibility will open for humanity. Global tasks will unlock.]
Rin sighed as he read through the task details. It sounded simple enough, but the part that caught his attention the most was the task type.
So far, everyone had been forced to participate in the tasks, whether they were fit for them or not. The apocalypse was meant to test humanity and determine whether humans were ready for evolution.
But this time, the task was voluntary, which defeated the entire purpose of the apocalypse in the first place.
"Whose idea was this task? Does it even make sense?"
[How rude of you to ask that, Rookie. This senior worked day and night to convince the higher-ups to approve such a task, and this is how you react? This senior is disappointed.]
Rin’s question was answered by the system.
Somehow, he felt both surprised and unsurprised at the same time to learn who was responsible for this task.
"Was it really necessary to make such a task? And why limit participation to six people? I thought you wanted more people to participate in the tasks."
Rin asked curiously.
Now that he knew the system was behind this change, he decided to ask what had been bothering him.
[Rookie, this is unfair. Ugh, you have no idea how kind this senior is for proposing such a change. Hmph! Learn to appreciate it a little. Not that this senior wants your praise or anything.]
The system sulked for a moment after hearing Rin’s response, and he quickly apologized to cheer it up.
"Ah, I did not mean to imply that your efforts were pointless. I was simply curious about your reasoning. Can’t a junior be interested in their senior?"
Rin had no pride, so it was easy for him to switch his tone and tell the system exactly what it wanted to hear.
Flattery worked wonders on the system, and this time was no different.
[Oh! So you have finally realized how great this system is? It warms this senior’s heart to hear that. As a reward, this senior will explain the reason behind this change. It’s simple—preservation. The loss of human life during the last task was far higher than expected. So we decided to make things easier this time around.]
Rin immediately regretted asking the question. The reason behind the change was far from comforting.
Still, it did not surprise him that the last task had resulted in heavy casualties. The hallucinations had been no joke, and most people would have lost their sanity after facing them.
The only reason his settlement had suffered almost no losses was because of Reina’s power.
"I see. That makes a lot of sense. Since the purpose of this apocalypse is evolution, you cannot afford to lose all of humanity."
[That is right! The Rookie is so bright. This senior sees a promising future ahead of you. As such, this senior would also like to give you a new task.]
[New task created.]
[Task details: Participate in Task 9 and capture at least 10 targets within the allotted time.]
[Task reward: A meeting with another senior.]
The screen hovered in front of Rin, but he felt a headache coming on as he read the details of the new task.
It looked simple, but Rin had a feeling it would be far more complicated than it appeared.
[ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊ ]
[What do you think, Rookie? Do these rewards excite you? This system is usually not allowed to hand out rewards like this, but since this is a special situation, exceptions can be made.]
The system sounded unusually cheerful. Rin was getting better at understanding the emotions hidden behind the screen’s words.
And honestly, he also felt a little excited at the thought of meeting another senior. It could be a chance to gather more information about the situation.
"It looks like I have even more reason to work hard during this task now."
Rin spoke jokingly, but he was completely serious.
He fully intended to reach the quota of ten captures to ensure he got the opportunity to meet another senior.
And to do that, he needed to build the best team possible and prepare them for what was coming next.
