I Need Validation, But Also Nobody To Know Me

That night, the headquarters and strongholds of multiple criminal organizations in Brooklyn were completely ransacked. Some even had their entire safe stolen. Their losses ranged anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. To put things in perspective, the annual income of an average American household at this time was less than $1,000. The salary of a U.S. military pilot was only $150 a month while an average soldier earned measly $50. It would be suffice to say that their losses this time was pretty disastrous.

While the entire criminal enterprises were going ballistic searching for the group of despicable 'thieves', the culprit was in question was humming a jovial tune while opening the 'treasure chests' in the cargo hold of a ship bound for Europe. [T/N Yohohoho Yo ho ho ho, C'mon sing with me! Yohohoho Yo ho ho ho]

He was now experiencing first hand the pleasures of unboxing. If he had a camera on hand, he was confident in creating the perfect unboxing experience video that would go viral instantly. He paused for a second and thought 'where is my phone anyway?'. He then shrugged it off and continued with his work. [T/N Pretty sure it's in your storage mate. But I'll let this one slide since just this morning, I was searching for my glasses which were already on my face.]

Ever since sneaking into Zhou Tianhao's villa, Shen realized that he rather enjoyed playing the role of a stealthy but lethal assassin. He had half a mind to recite the phrase "Requiescat in pace" after every kill. Following that line of thought, he decided to give himself an impromptu initiation into the Brotherhood by reciting the Assassin's oath:

"Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember, Nothing is true. Where other men are limited by morality or law, remember, Everything is permitted. We work in the dark to serve the light."

And thus, the foundation for the Assassin Order was officially laid down in this world.

After opening the last safe, Shen packed up his tools and began to count his harvest. The total amount of cash added up to give or take, around $150,000. There were also several gold bars and jewelry. But what surprised him most were two M1911 pistols.

Arguably the most influential handgun in the modern era of firearms, the iconic M1911 continues to soldier on even more than a 100 years after its design. It served as the standard-issue sidearm for the U.S. Armed Forces through countless wars and to this day, still remains on top. [T/N World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.]

With high caliber rounds, it brings unparalleled lethality. It has a smooth trigger, longer range, stable performance, low failure rate and best of all, superior accuracy.

Although the magazine capacity is fairly low, he didn't consider this to be an issue at all. With his ability to store magazines in the storage space, he would be able to reload it in an instant.

After a week's voyage, the cargo ship finally arrived at the port of Liverpool, England.

Later that night, Shen quietly left the cargo hold and sighed in relief. Since it was pretty dark, he easily avoided the crew with his keen sense of perception. As soon as he left the pier, he stopped a taxi and moved straight to a hotel.

He checked into the best suite they had available, which included two bedrooms, two baths and a spacious living room. Through the windows, he could see the classic 'vintage' style streets of Liverpool and the vast coastline further in the distance. After looking around for a bit, he decided to lay down and relax for a bit. But as soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep in the cozy embrace of the warm bed.

Next day, Shen woke up to the familiar feeling of a pleasant kiss of the morning sun. He opened his eyes and blinked at the sunlight streaming through the window.

After a good night's sleep, he felt refreshed. He got up, stretched his body while walking to the window and slowly pushed it open. The cool wind mixed with the warm sun reinvigorated him even further.

It was now January of 1942. Shen left the hotel and wandered leisurely on the streets of Liverpool.

When World War II broke out, many Germans fled to Britain for refuge. Most of them were elite German families, racially persecuted Jews, Communists and well, "degenerate artists" who were hated by Hitler. Back in their home country, they were highly skilled professionals. Respected doctors, lawyers, businessmen, artists; the best in their chosen field. But here in Britain, their only identity is that of a refugee from the enemy country.

Just because they moved to England, didn't mean that their life was easy. On the contrary, they were struggling and scrambling just to survive. First, they had to work hard as 'coolies' to help the British build fortifications. They were then sent to the deserted Dartmoor Wasteland, where they struggled in the dense fog and heavy rain. [T/N Coolie is an insulting word used in the past for a workers with no special skills usually in China, India, and other parts of Asia]

After experiencing some mishaps and out of fear of the Nazi Germany that swept Europe, the British government confined all these "unstable elements" to several small islands near Liverpool.

It was only until the recent attack of the Pearl Harbor that nearly 30,000 Germans on the island were released. Most of them joined the British army, but many remained in Liverpool.

Even then, they were not very welcomed by the government or well received by the locals. So, a significant amount of them couldn't find jobs and had to live on the streets making their lives miserable.

There wasn't much Shen could do about this so, he decided to make the best of this situation. He went around talking to these people who were originally supposed to be the pillars of society. He talked to the doctors, lawyers, tailors, writers, actors and no matter the person, he didn't discriminate anyone.

Every day, he would take the time to talk to people and learn from them. Whether just to study the language or learn their professional and technical skills, he spent almost all his waking hours amongst them. In return, he'd buy them warm food, proper clothes and other immediate supplies they needed to live. He was very well received by everyone. They felt a close connection to him since he was a foreigner in a foreign land, just like them. And after years of discrimination and the cold gazes from the locals, his friendly smile brought warmth in their hearts everyday.

As he was wandering the streets as usual, Shen came across an old German artist painting portraits of people in the town square.

The old man with a head full of gray hair was wearing a neat dark gray suit that made him look like a refined gentleman. It seemed that the harsh years of miserable life didn't crush his spirit at all. He looked almost serene without the slightest trace of pain and suffering on his face.

Shen knew that this indifferent state of mind could only be achieved after experiencing and looking at life and death in the eye. Or if he were a Shaolin monk that achieved inner peace and this old man didn't look like a monk.

The old man was sitting on a broken wooden stool, holding a drawing board with one hand, and a charcoal pencil with the other. There was an old suitcase by his feet, which contained all his belongings.

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

"Why not?" Shen replied with a smile of his own and sat down in the stool in front of him.

The old artist carefully observed him, and used the charcoal in his hand to sketch on the drawing board. Soon, a vivid lifelike portrait of himself came to life.

Looking at the portrait made him realize the tremendous amount of changes he had unknowingly gone through. His recent tango with life and death, the manifestation of powers and most importantly, the act of killing a person had caused him to let go of any restraints that were holding him back. His eyes were now sharp but deep, exuding an aura of aloof detachment. While his entire being was akin to a fierce volcano waiting to erupt beneath the calm facade. This was an absolute metamorphosis.

All these emotions were portrayed through the drawing with just a single glance!

He had to admit that the old artist's skills were really superb. It wouldn't be farfetched to say that his skills were the best, period.

Even for someone like himself who lived in the modern era; overwhelmed with images and videos at every corner, this was a surreal experience.

"Realism. An art style that focuses on making the pieces look as realistic and true-to-life as possible," the old man explained with a smile

Shen, still looking at the drawing, slowly nodded his head. This was exactly what he was searching for all this time. He shook himself out of the stupor and then looked at the old man.

"I'm in need of your skills. I will pay you a daily salary of $10. Food and shelter included, would you be up for it?" Shen asked.

The old man happily put away his drawing tools, carried his suitcase and exclaimed "Well c'mon then lad! What are you waiting for?"

Shen let out a chuckle and led the old man to his hotel.

"My name is Ron by the way, Shen Ron. But you can just call me Shen," Shen introduced while snickering to himself. [T/N I have been wanting to do this for a long, long time bwahaha]

"Edwin Alaric. But you can just call me Ed, sir. I'm just an ordinary painter and a sculptor who dedicated his life to art."

Shen was amused by how quickly he return back to his usual calm and stoic self, as if that minor outburst was just a figment of his imagination.

Nevertheless, he glanced towards the man and said,"From what I've seen, you're anything but ordinary Ed."

" 'A prosperous ruler' huh," he thought to himself.

"Anyway, do you have any family here? We can pick them up on the way," he offered.

"No sir, but thank you for the offer," Ed smiled with gratitude.

Although the abundance of life here and the experience of being homeless had given him creative inspiration and new perspective on life, his old body wouldn't be able to handle this lifestyle in the long run.

It didn't mean that he was scared of death, on the contrary, he had already resigned himself to dying in a foreign land. But Shen's appearance had given him a glimmer of hope, that little push he didn't even know he needed to keep on moving forward. So, he decided to take a leap of faith and grasp that chance given to him.

He could easily perceive that Shen was not an ordinary person. His lifelong dedication to art might not have made him rich or famous, but it had honed his sense of perception to greater heights; as high as humanly possible. Even though he had seen and perceived countless people in his lifetime, he had never encountered someone like Shen.

After arriving at the hotel, Shen assigned the extra room in his suite to Ed. He then took the old man to the best restaurant nearby and enjoyed a scrumptious meal. Shen concluded that Ed must have been raised in a noble aristocratic household due to his refined table etiquette.

From that day on, Shen began to learning everything he could from Ed. From drawing, oil painting to sculpting and woodworking, he soaked them all up like a sponge. His enhanced brain and precise control of the body allowed him to exhibit his peerless artistic talent. Ed too was immersed in his role as a teacher and taught everything he knew earnestly. It didn't take too long for Shen's skills to reach exceptional heights.

Ed was even more amazed by Shen's language and comprehension ability. Unlike English, he didn't have any prior experience with Deutsch. Besides familiarizing himself with the language by speaking to the refugees, Shen was able to learn the language and speak fluently like a native speaker in less than a month!

As if these weren't enough to make him feel amazed, what happened next made him feel absolutely terrified.