Time passed quietly.
Arthur's gaze grew deeper and more intense. This was an old building, and he had confirmed there were no surveillance cameras nearby.
Based on his deductions, the police would intervene in the investigation the following week, but they wouldn't find anything. This was proof enough that his presence at this sensitive stairway would go unnoticed.
The later it got, the fewer pedestrians there were on the streets.
Arthur descended the stairs with a long nail in his pocket, moving as if he were in his own neighborhood.
He picked up a stone, about the size of his palm, from an inconspicuous corner.
Then, he grabbed a tattered wooden board nearby.
Arthur put on gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints. After thousands of hours of deductions, his anti-surveillance skills had improved dramatically.
A few bangs echoed as he used the stone to hammer the nail into the board. The board was thin, and the nail was long, so it protruded significantly.
It was sharp enough to puncture the tires of an already overloaded dump truck.
Because he had played out the scenario countless times in his head, Arthur's memory was certain about where the board should be placed.
He was meticulous to ensure the accident would be triggered without fail.
The angle and length of the nail had to be precise.
Therefore, controlling the angle with a wooden board to create a specific corner in advance was a critical part of the plan.
Arthur smiled as he took out a ruler and a triangular board, gently pressing the nail and adjusting it back and forth.
"Perfect!"
He looked at the nails and the board as if he were admiring a finely crafted piece of art.
Because, in a sense, this was art—a form of art that kills in silence.
That man had done so much harm, tormenting many vulnerable families. Naturally, he had to face retribution.
...
As the night deepened, fewer and fewer vehicles passed by.
At this point, it was two or three minutes between cars on this road.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
After an hour, the most critical moment of the entire setup finally arrived. In the dark of night, a key event occurred.
Click.
The bedroom light in the apartment where the target (NPC) lived turned on.
Arthur smiled, a corner of his mouth lifting. "Here we go!"
Time seemed to tighten at this moment, even his breathing grew heavy.
Every minute and every second was crucial, and any deviation could cause a major divergence in the final outcome, the difference between success and failure.
"One second."
"Two seconds."
"Three seconds!"
"Left!"
At that moment, a Toyota sped past.
Loud, emotional music was blaring from the car. The driver, clearly having had too much to drink, was enjoying himself!
Arthur recognized the melody, having heard it dozens of times during his simulations—he could even recite the lyrics by heart...
A flicker of anticipation shone in Arthur's eyes. Yes, this was right.
After the sedan passed, no other cars appeared on the road, so he casually walked over and placed the small wooden board, prepared in advance, exactly 30 centimeters from the center of the road.
"Thirty centimeters to the left, with small gravel and dust around!"
To ensure precision, he had even memorized the placement of nearby gravel in terrifying detail. As he turned his head, he could see the parking lot, lit up in the distance, from an upward angle.
This served as the horizontal axis, a reference point for vertical alignment.
At that moment, he summoned the system in his mind—[Infinite Deduction]
[Last confirmation of the deduction!]
[The deduction begins...]
[Text commentary: After placing the setup, time starts to unfold according to the planned process, waiting for the dump truck to appear...]
[Text commentary: The dump truck arrives, and the target vehicle follows...]
[Text commentary...]
The simulation flashed for a moment, showing everything that would happen next.
[The deduction is complete!]
[Do you want to save the deduction video?]
Arthur smirked slightly and chose not to save it. This final deduction was simply to verify if the nail placement was correct.
If there were any mistakes, he could adjust them now!
But the result was clear: after thousands of hours of deductions, his accuracy was beyond imagination. Everything had fallen into place as predicted.
At that moment, Arthur stood up casually and took five steps towards the side of the road...
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Four steps.
Five steps.
He looked back at the morally corrupt doctor's apartment. Just as he expected, the lights had gone out.
With a chuckle, Arthur pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a flick of his lighter.
Smoke filled the air.
Arthur took a long drag, then turned and walked away. His preparations were complete.
There was no need for him to be present at the scene of the accident.
Arthur headed toward a 24-hour McDonald's down the street, a look of quiet excitement in his eyes.
The formula for this "accidental" disaster had been refined after countless deductions.
Still, it had only ever existed in the simulation, so he was filled with anticipation for what was about to unfold in reality.
He couldn't help but start the countdown.
Because in exactly thirty-seven seconds, the accident would happen.
He pulled out his phone and watched the second hand ticking...
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
At that moment, though he didn't turn around, he heard a familiar sound—the sound of a dump truck driving over the manhole cover on the road.
The truck clattered over the cover with a loud thud.
It was like the ominous rhythm of a death song!
Arthur continued his walk toward McDonald's, smiling to himself. "Twelve seconds left!"
...
Just then, a light breeze blew through, catching the quilt hanging on the clothesline by the stairway entrance of the old building.
Click.
The quilt fell from the ninth floor.
Due to the wind, its fall wasn't straight down but arced slightly through the air.
In an incredible stroke of coincidence, the quilt landed perfectly on the windshield of the dump truck driver.
Blinding him completely.
Startled, the driver slammed on the brakes.
"Screech—"
The brake hubs screamed.
But the truck, with its massive momentum, couldn't stop immediately and continued forward for dozens of meters.
As it braked, the truck ran over the wooden board with the nails, as if fate had ordained it.
The nails pierced the tire at just the right angle.
Bang!
The sound of the tire bursting in the dead of night was deafening!
Already overloaded, the tire had been under immense pressure, and now it exploded as the sharp nails penetrated it!
The driver, whose view was obstructed, panicked.
He heard the loud explosion, and his entire body tensed in fear. The steering wheel slipped from his grip.
The truck veered out of control, swerving into the opposite lane.
"Beep—"
A horn blared!
An Audi sedan was approaching from the other side.
Dr. Flint, suddenly alert, stared in horror at the oncoming truck. His eyes widened in fear as he frantically hit the horn.
Time seemed to slow down.
It felt like centuries had passed.
And yet, in the span of just a second or two, as Arthur's countdown reached its final moments, the car accident—planned in advance but appearing completely accidental—finally unfolded...
"3."
"2."
"1."
Bang!
The two vehicles collided head-on.
The horrifying scene, one that would cause endless headaches for many, took place. The dump truck crashed head-on into the car and flipped over.
The heavy cement mixer attached to the back of the overloaded truck detached and smashed into the vehicle.
Crack—a sharp, brittle sound.
It crushed the entire car!
No amount of structural support or pillars could withstand it.
The deafening noise of the crash echoed for kilometers!
And at that very moment.
Arthur walked into McDonald's, where the employees on duty and the late-night couples, all startled by the loud crash, stared at him in shock.
Calmly, he smiled and said, "One spicy chicken sandwich, and a medium Coke with ice, please. Thank you!"