Chapter 14: The Box Demon

The next day.

When Paul got the key from Weasel, he couldn't wait to follow the address and arrived at an apartment that looked quite old from the outside.

The building was only six stories high, with most of the paint on the walls peeled off.

Time had clearly left its mark on the building, and the surrounding street was lined with similar old buildings from the 1980s. Shops were everywhere.

Though dilapidated, the environment was quite good. However, the location was quite special. It was close to the west shore of Manhattan Island, and just a bit further away was the infamous Hell's Kitchen!

It was said that gang members often haunted the surrounding neighborhoods, but Paul didn't care. After spending more than two months in that institute, nothing could scare him anymore.

Paul walked into the apartment and found Weasel's house according to the door number.

Pushing open the door, a stale and decaying smell hit his nose.

The old sofa with holes leaking stuffing, the carpet covered with dirt and stains, the windowpane plastered with newspapers, and the nonfunctional TV set all pervaded a dilapidated atmosphere, matching the apartment's exterior.

It was obvious that Weasel hadn't cleaned the place in a long time.

Paul looked around the room and decided to throw everything away and clean thoroughly before he could feel comfortable. Although he wasn't a clean freak, who knew what Weasel had done in this room before?

Just do it.

Paul put down the box and began tidying up the house.

…

In the next few days, Paul didn't sit idle. He continued accepting commissions from Weasel. After solving his living problem, he had a lot more time.

With the money sponsored by Mond, Paul could now spend more time scouting in advance and locking down the specific position of the target, instead of being hasty and unprepared like last time.

Of course, Paul hadn't forgotten his most important task: killing the wicked and evil.

If he couldn't find one, he would create one himself.

For a villain trainer, this was not difficult at all!

…

"Have you heard about the strange man carrying a silver box who's been causing trouble for gangs everywhere?" one mercenary said.

"Your info is outdated. I have more details. Apparently, he targets small gang members and has a strange quirk. He forces them to spend money to buy his silver box," the other replied.

"What if they buy it?"

"Here's the kicker. After they buy the box, he buys it back with a banknote."

"Is this... the middleman making the difference?"

"The story doesn't end there. He then asks them to buy the box again, repeating the cycle until he gets tired. Finally, he kills them. Because of this, he's been nicknamed the Box Demon."

"Uh, what exactly is he trying to do?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's just a pervert who likes torturing people."

In Sister Margaret's bar, Weasel overheard the conversation between the two mercenaries.

Weasel turned to look at Paul, the subject of their discussion, with a complicated expression. "I used to think Wade was the most strange person I know, but I didn't expect you to be even worse, forcing targets to buy your box."

Paul was drinking a soda, and hearing Weasel's slander, he immediately became unhappy.

"Don't talk nonsense, be careful, or I'll sue you for slander. There's no evidence. Why say I'm the Box Demon?"

"Am I blind?"

Weasel pointed at the black box on the bar. "You dangle a box in front of me all day. It's hard to pretend not to notice."

Paul retorted, "Is carrying a box a crime? Besides, my box is black, and the Box Demon's is silver. It's not the same at all."

"I can smell the paint from far away..." Weasel clutched his forehead, feeling a headache. "Even if your eccentricity is perverted, can you at least try to be professional? Change the box color properly."

"You're amazing for figuring that out!"

Since Weasel caught him, Paul stopped pretending.

Honestly, Paul didn't expect his actions to be exposed so quickly and even become a rumor. He had to use paint to change the box color to avoid revealing his identity.

Fortunately, the results were not bad.

[Unlock condition: kill fifteen sinful villains (7/15)]

After these days of hard work, Paul was halfway to completing the unlocking conditions.

Since then, Paul tried to wait until his target was alone. If there were too many targets, it would be difficult to control.

Though this method was slower, it was more reliable.

Weasel pushed his glasses and said with great interest, "Actually, it doesn't matter to me if you're the Box Demon, but I have something to remind you. The Russian Ross gang is now looking for you. It seems because you took something from them."

He looked at the black box, implying without saying more.

"How can dealing with gang affairs be considered robbery? I am keeping illegal items safe for them," Paul replied uprightly.

It was impossible to return it.

This box was a key tool for his villain-training mission. How could he just return it? He had to continue fighting criminals!