Preparations

Ethan woke up at the brink of dawn the next day. He was prepared to spend all day gathering information about his target.

After eating breakfast, Ethan immediately sat at his computer to compile all the information he could about his target. He checked social media, online white pages, public records, news articles and more.

Thanks to the picture Ethan had on hand, he was able to discover a lot of information about her. Her name was Lila Chambers. From his research, Lilia was a stay-at-home parent who worked as a freelance web designer.

Her husband Mattew Chambers was a software engineer working full time. Their children were twins, 11 years old going to a nearby public school.

The mother was active on social media, often taking pictures of her family. Ethan also cross-checked their previous locations with news sources with the location of missing people or people who have recently died.

Based on his information, he concluded his target hadn't killed anyone yet. They were like his first target who didn't believe in the system, didn't have the heart to kill someone or didn't have the opportunity to.

Ethan leaned towards the answer the second or third one. On Lilia's social media, she often posted images of her cooking. Ever since the game started, the food she had made had looked much better than before.

Ethan didn't want the believe it, but he suspected that she spent system coins on the cooking skill. 'How annoying.' Ethan seethed inwardly. 'That means fewer coins for me.' 

He also managed to find a blueprint of the house from when it was previously on sale. From his research, the two bedrooms of the house were located at the end of the house, far from the doorway.

Finishing his research, Ethan looked at the time and nearly fell out of his chair in surprise. He didn't realise how much time had passed and it was past lunchtime by the time he was finished.

He quickly made pasta, ate it and left for the hardware store again. He carried a massive backpack with him, keeping a knife inside. He decided to a store that was further away from his home and away from his target.

Unlike before, it was a local store where he could pay in cash and avoid leaving an electronic record. He wore a cap and sunglasses and looked as inconspicuous as possible.

He walked in casually, not bothering to talk to anyone and immediately went to part of the store he needed to go.

He picked up two containers of kerosene and carried it to the counter. The cashier asked him "Why do you need so much kerosene for?"

Ethan had already prepared an answer to this question. "Oh, I'm going camping soon. My father asked me to pick a bit since we're running out."

The cashier accepted Ethan's explanation and Ethan paid for the kerosene in cash. Packing the kerosene in his bag, he biked his way towards his target's house.

In the morning, he decided the route to his target's house would be one through the alleyways, ensuring that he would pass the least amount of security cameras.

As he entered the alleys, he felt a chill run down his spine. This area was suspicious and full of shady people.

He heard rumours of drug deals and gangs hanging around here. Though Ethan was nervous, he kept his hand on his knife. As a last resort, Ethan could use his system to invest his 1250 coins into a skill or a weapon.

When he rode through the alleys, he noticed a homeless-looking man approach him. Sensing his bad intentions, Ethan glared at him.

To his surprise, the man took a step back and his friend grabbed his shoulder letting Ethan go. Ethan overheard the friend saying "Don't approach him. He's dangerous."

After an hour of riding, he arrived at the neighbourhood of his target. He didn't go to the target's house but went to a nearby community dump site. He hid his bag in a corner, ensuring it won't be found.

He knew he had to act as soon as possible. There was a high chance that there was another person who was also going on the hunt like him, actively trying to kill other players. He wanted to get the anti-tracking skill as soon as possible. 

So he would act tonight. He would commence his plan in the veil of darkness.

***

"Allen and Joshua you'd better go to sleep. It's a school day tomorrow and I don't want to forcefully wake you tomorrow." Lila Chambers tried to tuck her children into bed.

"But mum... it's only 9 o'clock." The slightly younger Joshua complained.

"It's already late. You'd better be asleep the next I arrive or else there will be consequences." Lila spoke in an intimidating tone.

The children immediately become quiet, not to anger their mother. Lila closed the lights and left the room.

Seeing her cute children yawning and tossing in bed filled her with warmth. Her children were her life. She couldn't imagine what she'd do if something happened to them.

Those worries were normal for a parent, but she had reason to believe that she might be in danger. It was the blue screen that had appeared a couple of days prior. It constantly occupied a large part of her mind.

It called itself the system. It gave her access to various skills and abilities at the cost of system skills. She confirmed it when she bought the cooking skill level 1.

However, the only way to obtain more system coins is to kill other people. And the system wanted her to kill all the other players.

She found it ridiculous. To kill others over simple skills or items that people could get by working hard. But she had experienced the miracles of the system. She could understand the allure.

And the reward at the end. The Crest of Celestial Authority. She couldn't help but be drawn to it.

She hadn't told anyone about the system yet, not even her husband. Normally one would share such important information with their spouse, especially since it concerns their lives.

However, she couldn't. She couldn't involve her precious family. If she had to participate, then she'd do it by herself. Yet every time she tried to act, she mentally cornered herself and couldn't act.

She was under the mistaken assumption that she had time. And failure to act was going to cost her not only her life but life of the people she loved the most.