Chapter 4: German artist

 That night, the headquarters and strongholds of many gangs in Brooklyn were robbed. Some of them even lost their entire safety deposit boxes. The losses ranged from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. At that time, the average annual income of an American was less than 1000 dollars. The salary of an American airman was only 150 dollars a month, and the salary of an ordinary soldier was only 50 dollars a month. The losses of these gangs were not small.

While a group of gangsters were frantically searching for the thief who stole their huge sum of money, our new serial thief was "opening treasure chests" in the cargo hold of a cargo ship headed for Europe.

At that time, the endurance of airplanes was very poor. No airplanes could cross the Atlantic Ocean to Europe for five to six thousand kilometers. Therefore, the slow ship became Chen Mo's only choice. Of course, Chen Mo, who had no identification, chose to sneak in.

Chen Mo found that ever since he sneaked into Zhou Tianhao's villa, he had become more and more fond of playing the role of an assassin and a thief, and he had been doing a good job.

His strength, agility, and perception were several times that of a normal person. This allowed Chen Mo to easily sneak in without being discovered. In addition, the space allowed him to carry a sufficient amount of tools and weapons, as well as a large amount of items. This made it much easier for Chen Mo to sneak in, assassinate, and carry supplies.

Of course, these were all objective conditions. In fact, the main reason was that Chen Mo liked to achieve his goals with the least cost.

Recklessness was not Chen Mo's style.

After opening the last safety deposit box, Chen Mo packed up his tools and began to count the loot. All the US dollars added up to more than 120,000 dollars. There were also some gold bars and jewelry, and a few kilograms of drugs. What surprised Chen Mo the most was the two M1911 pistols.

These pistols had been in service for more than seventy years. They were classic pistols with a large caliber of 11.43mm, which brought about unparalleled lethality. They had a magazine capacity of seven rounds. They were powerful, long-range, stable, and had a low malfunction rate.

The only downside was that they were heavy, had a small magazine capacity, and had a large recoil, which would affect the accuracy of shooting. However, for Chen Mo who had amazing strength and the storage space, these were not a problem at all.

More than ten days later, after a long voyage, the cargo ship finally arrived at the port of Liverpool, England. After being cooped up in the cargo hold for so many days, Chen Mo could only sneak up to the deck to take a breath of fresh air at night. Before the sky turned dark, Chen Mo easily avoided the crew with his sharp hearing and senses. He quietly got off the ship, hailed a taxi outside the dock, and went straight to the hotel.

Chen Mo, who was alone, asked for the best suite. It had two bedrooms and a spacious living room. Through the window, one could see the classic and beautiful streets of Liverpool and the vast coastline in the distance. Chen Mo lay down on the soft and spacious bed and soon fell asleep.

In the early morning, the fine sunlight shone through the white gauze curtains and sprinkled on Chen Mo's face. The warmth woke him up from his deep sleep.

After having a good night's sleep, Chen Mo only felt refreshed. After a long stretch, Chen Mo got up and walked slowly to the window. When he opened the window, a gust of cold wind mixed with the morning humidity blew in, making Chen Mo feel refreshed.

It was already January 1942. Chen Mo, who was supposed to leave immediately, leisurely strolled around the streets of Liverpool.

When World War II broke out, a group of Germans fled to England to take refuge. Most of them were German elites. Among them were Jews who suffered racial persecution, Communists, and "degenerate artists" who were hated by Hitler. Among them were doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and artists. But in England, their identity was just a group of refugees from an enemy country.

After coming to England, their lives were not good. First, they worked as coolies to help the English build fortifications. Then, they were sent to the desolate Dartmoor Wilderness, where they had to pass their days in the thick fog and heavy rain.

After experiencing a period of displacement, out of fear of Nazi Germany sweeping across Europe, the British government all confined these "unstable elements" on several small islands near Liverpool.

It was not until the Pearl Harbor incident that nearly 30,000 Germans on the island were released. Most of them joined the British army, but there were still many who stayed in Liverpool.

But because they came from an enemy country, they were not very welcomed by the British. Unable to find a permanent job, most of them lived on the streets, and their lives were very difficult. Chen Mo easily found an old German artist in the square who made a living by painting portraits of others.

The old man had gray hair and wore a somewhat shabby but very neat dark gray suit. The hard life did not crush him. Instead, it made him more calm and open-minded. There was not the slightest pain or suffering on his face. There was only the freedom and indifference of someone who had seen through life and seen through life and death.

The old man sat on a broken wooden stool, holding a drawing board on his leg with one hand and a charcoal pencil with the other. At his feet was an old leather suitcase containing all his belongings.

"Sir, do you want a portrait?" The old man asked with a gentle smile.

"Why not?" Chen Mo walked to the stool in front of the old man and sat down. The old artist carefully observed Chen Mo. The charcoal pencil in his hand quickly drew on the drawing board. Soon, a lifelike portrait was completed.

It had to be said that the old artist's drawing skills were really superb. With just a few simple strokes, he drew Chen Mo's eyes and expression very vividly.

Different from before, Chen Mo's sharpness was restrained. After experiencing killing people, crashing, and traveling through time and space, Chen Mo's strength continued to improve. His mentality also changed. He let go of the restraints, and his temperament became fierce. His eyes were bright and deep, and his gaze was sharp. He gave people a feeling of transcendence, as if nothing was in his eyes.

After looking at the old man's portrait, Chen Mo realized that he had unknowingly changed so much. But Chen Mo preferred the current free and happy life. Blindly restraining and hiding was not conducive to the growth of strength.

This is the real me, Chen Mo thought to himself as he looked at the fierce and aloof figure in the portrait.

After Chen Mo explained the purpose of his visit and offered a daily salary of 10 USD, the old artist quickly put away his drawing board, picked up his suitcase, and happily moved into the hotel with Chen Mo.

The old man's name was Eddie Abbott. He was a painter and sculptor who was not very famous. He was obsessed with creating art all his life. He was not married, and he did not have any children. He was still alone in his sixties.

Although the life of wandering and living in the open had given him more inspiration and insight into life, his body could not take it anymore. Although he did not care about life and death and was prepared to die in a foreign land, Chen Mo's appearance gave him a glimmer of hope. He chose to grab it.

He could tell that Chen Mo was not an ordinary person. His temperament was very special. Although he had seen many people, he had never seen it in others.

After returning to the hotel, Chen Mo arranged for Abbott to stay in another bedroom in the suite. Then, he took the old man to the best restaurant nearby for a big meal to welcome him. The old man's table manners were very elegant. No one would think that he was a refugee in dire straits. Instead, he looked more like an elegant aristocrat.

From that day onwards, Chen Mo began to learn drawing, oil painting, and sculpture from Abbott. His developed brain and precise control of his body allowed Chen Mo to show great artistic talent. Under Old Albert's strict guidance, it did not take long for Chen Mo's drawing and sculpting skills to reach a decent level.

What amazed Abbott even more was Chen Mo's talent in languages. Unlike English, which he had a certain foundation in, German was completely foreign to Chen Mo. He had to learn it from scratch. However, in just a short month, Chen Mo was able to speak it so well that even Ebert, a German, couldn't find any fault with it.

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