Chapter 511: Wanted Criminals and the Black List

"Wanted criminals? Black List?"

Waldo stared at the system announcement, momentarily stunned.

It seemed the system was still intent on stirring up conflict between trialists.

The system’s method of determining "wanted criminals" was also quite straightforward and brutal.

Anyone who kills more than two people becomes a wanted criminal.

No consideration was given to those who killed in self-defense or to maintain moral order.

Honestly, this criterion seemed quite flawed.

But after some thought, it became clear.

The creation of the wanted criminals and the Black List was ultimately about inciting opposition among trialists.

On one hand, Ordinary trialists, enticed by the double rewards, would confront the wanted criminals.

On the other hand, the criminals, aware of others’ greed, would inevitably strike first for self-preservation or other reasons.

This would lead to countless trialists perishing in this turmoil.

...

Moreover, the most ruthless aspect of this was the establishment of the Black List!

Undoubtedly, the moment trialists made it onto the Black List, they became public enemies of all other trialists.

No one would care if they were genuinely brutal or not.

What mattered was the benefits of eliminating a criminal on the Black List!

At least triple rewards!

What does triple rewards mean?

Triple the gold coins, including three times the rewards of all materials the target possessed!

Such an immense income would tempt countless trialists!

Those who make it onto the Black List would have killed many.

The resources they possessed would undoubtedly be substantial.

Eliminating just one of them could yield more than triple the rewards.

Who wouldn’t be tempted?

And, to make matters worse, the system was particularly devious!

The system even introduced a so-called "power of justice"!

Whenever trialists encounter someone on the Black List, their combat power increases by 30% to 300%.

Isn’t this blatantly encouraging trialists to relentlessly pursue those on the Black List?

...

Waldo anticipated that in the coming week, an unprecedented massive turmoil would arise. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The number of trialists who die could far exceed that of the previous week.

"Given the number of people I’ve killed, it’ll be hard not to end up on the Black List, right?"

Waldo thought to himself.

In fact, in the previous week, he had killed quite a few trialists.

Every day, at least two trialists came his way.

Over the week, nearly twenty trialists died by his hand.

It would be surprising if he wasn’t on the Black List.

Waldo let out a wry smile.

Honestly, being on the Black List wasn’t good news.

Once on it, he would become a prime target in the eyes of others!

And to make matters worse, other trialists would receive the power of justice when encountering him.

This was definitely a problem for him.

...

Meanwhile, the emergence of wanted criminals and the Black List ignited the emotions of the trialists.

"What the heck? Killing two people makes you a wanted criminal? I don’t get it! I encountered two guys before. I tried to get along with them, but they tried to kill me. I fought back in self-defense and killed them, and now I’m a wanted criminal?"

One trialist couldn’t believe the system announcement and was utterly dumbfounded.

Then, he started to panic.

He knew very well what it meant to be a wanted criminal.

Either be killed by other trialists for the reward,

Or keep fighting and kill those who tried to kill him, eventually ending up on the Black List and being hunted by even more people.

Until finally being killed!

Was this his future?

Just the thought of it was terrifying.

At the same time, another trialist was yelling.

"Becoming a wanted criminal for killing two people? That’s a bit absurd!"

"I’ve been in the Chessboard World for a while now, and nearly every trialist has some blood on their hands. But some trialists are just defending themselves! Self-defense is legal and legitimate, so how does that make them wanted criminals?!"

"This is ridiculous!"

"I see it now, an unprecedented bloodbath is about to descend!"

"Wanted criminals, the Black List, I feel this is all just a huge conspiracy by the system. The system just wants us trialists to fight each other, the more who die, the better!"

"We’re just like chess pieces on this board, our fates manipulated by others! What can we do? Nothing! We can only desperately abide by the rules of the board and struggle to become stronger!"

...

"Hehe, I’m not a wanted criminal, so those who are, better not let me catch them, or they’re as good as dead."

Some trialists laughed heartily.

"Double rewards, especially for those on the Black List, more than triple, even ten times the rewards, hahaha, it’s so tempting!"

"In fact, the most tempting are the top three on the Black List!"

"Especially the first on the Black List, wow, that’s a walking treasure trove!"

Some trialists sighed with greedy tones.

The reason was simple.

Those who made it to the Black List, especially the top spot, would necessarily be those with the highest number of kills.

Correspondingly, they would have the most resources on them.

Especially with a tenfold reward!

Killing the number one on the Black List would yield a massive amount of resources. How could that not be tempting?

Though the number one on the Black List would undoubtedly be a ruthless killer, far surpassing average trialists in strength,

Now the situation was different!

Once encountering the number one on the Black List, the power of justice would be bestowed, multiplying combat power several times.

This turned all trialists into potential hunters of the number one on the Black List!

"Hehe, I really want to see who will be so unlucky to become the first on the Black List."

"When that happens, the first on the Black List will become prey that everyone wants to hunt!"

Some trialists took pleasure in others’ misfortune.

A trialist who could make it to the first spot on the Black List must be exceptionally strong in many aspects.

If one could seize this opportunity to kill a powerful competitor,

And obtain a massive amount of resources,

It would be like a pie falling from the sky.

Whether the first on the Black List is truly a ruthless executioner or a murderous maniac, at this moment, isn’t so important.

No trialist is concerned about that.

Their focus is ultimately on the benefits.

"I think the most likely candidate is Waldo!"

"I think so too. First in all three leaderboards, especially in gold coins. Although he has other ways to obtain gold, currently, the primary method is through killing. From this perspective, he might be the one who has killed the most!"

"It has to be him, let’s just wait and see."