I Hate Systems
chapter-60

The token he had thrown towards the bandits was something he had created for his drama plans. For whatever reason, he wished to plant something in the minds of people so that they would relate it to him, connecting the two.

This way, whenever they saw the token, they would link it to him, thinking of him. In such a way, the number of people who would be thinking about him would be beyond what he had actively influenced.

While on Earth, he had come across an interesting theory that every temple, church, etc. was a token created in relevance to the deity the people worshipped. And, these tokens were meant to transmit their thoughts, their prayers to their deity of worship.

Whether it was true or not, the idea had plausible substance to it, especially considering his situation. Moreover, every superhero comic too used the same to instil a psychological input in the minds of the populace.

No matter who, a superhero had a defined logo they could be related with, a symbol they wore on their bodies. This was to instil in the minds of the populace that the symbol related to the respective hero, a form of connection to them, forming solace to their mental sanity.

It was also the very reason every company had their unique logo. Just by seeing the logo, people would recognise a company. That was brand value, the value attached to the company that was recognised through the logo.

After all, just by adding a tick mark to a shoe, its price could be dramatically increased and people wouldn't complain. It wasn't of value to the shoe, but rather to the logo on it. Such was the value symbols carried.

And, every symbol had a distinct definition, one that sets them apart from others. As for Compass Carburettor, the logo he had created was a double 'C' that was tangentially connected. It was a simple design, but one that he planned to instil in the minds of everyone he came across as a symbol to worship and fear.

Having been at the forefront of the business world, he knew how to shape up and create new trends, rather greatly familiar with the process. So, he planned to do the same here and propagate his symbol into the masses.

Beyond that, he wished to trigger the 'Sheeple Effect'. Once the symbol gained traction among the populace, it would grow tremendously eventually. And, as the one connected to it and recognised by it, he would be obtaining all the Mental Energy associated with the token.

It was another identity that he had planned to establish. And, he planned to lay down all the necessary groundwork in two months. Since he was travelling across the Heroica Empire from one end to another, he would be crossing numerous cities along the way.

And, he planned to abuse the information network of the Heroica Empire. This way, no matter what Regriel's System had planned, it wouldn't be able to overtake him in Mental Energy influx at least for a couple of years.

Compass Carburettor tucked his gun within his clothes, sensing it suck in the air as it began to condense a bullet, thinking, 'I haven't recharged it even once after arriving here. There won't be enough energy left to shoot bullets after six rounds. I should recharge it first tomorrow.'

He then thought of something, peeking out as he asked Grotak, startling the other party, "Is there any bandit hideouts along the way?"

"There's one closer to the next city. We'll reach it a couple of hours before dawn." Even though he hesitated, Grotak relented in the end, truthfully saying everything, unwilling to trigger the scary entity before him.

"Alright, tell me once you reach there." Saying his piece, Compass Carburettor sat in silence, meditating as he began to train, increasing his Darlac reserves.

Just as Grotak had said, they approached a silent patch of forest that had some open space. It was where another bandit group operated frequently. Since it was a couple of hours before dawn, there was no sign of activity in the place as all the bandits were fast asleep.

There were only a couple of sentries placed on the lookout for any monsters or expedition forces sent by the cities to cull their numbers. Their hideout was located within a cave located high up on a hill.

So, it was easy to defend and hard to attack. When the carriage stopped at a discrete location once it travelled past the bandit hideout, Compass Carburettor alighted, motioning for Fealta and Caithy to remain seated, "It won't take much time."

Saying so, he sprinted through the forest, lithe in his footsteps, gracefully skipping over any rocky protrusions by using his superior agility, strength, body flexibility, and motor senses.

He aimed his gun at the two sentries, making a couple of shots. Both were headshots. As the gun didn't have any recoils, it was incredibly easy to aim. So, he never missed his targets.

The two sentries dropped dead in their spots as Compass Carburettor scaled up the path, peeking into the cave as he took in the scenery inside. Upon noticing that no new Mental Energy stream landed on him from within the cave, it meant no one had noticed him.

'But, I only have one 4 more bullets left. After this, my gun doesn't even have sufficient energy to condense bullets. I have to make them count the most.' He thought, inching his way through the cave as he tiptoed through the place, noticing the bandits sleeping on berths placed around the corner.

Despite it being a cave-dwelling, the place was properly sanitised, causing him to understand, 'They are properly funded by some organisation. Otherwise, this level of unity, organisational structure, quality of life, and the numerous Armaments in their possession; they all point towards one fact.'

'This is a criminal organisation with immense foundation.' Compass Carburettor thought, smiling as he couldn't help but grin with excitement, 'And, they make the perfect targets for my plan.'

Grinning, he made his way towards the interior, soon reaching the deepest part of the cave, looking at a man with a large body that was sleeping, huddling a woman in each arm, smiling contently.

For some reason, the smiling face of the larger built man nudged his sense of mischief as Compass Carburettor looked around, pulling out some strands from a piece of cloth as he rolled them into a wick, grinning wickedly as he approached the bed and gently inserted the wick into the man's nose, stirring it wildly.