While S.H.I.E.L.D. might hold some biases against superpowered individuals, arson and house-burning aren't their style.
Relatively speaking, it's more in line with something Hydra would do.
Of course, this is just Russell's current speculation.
Whether it's Hydra or not, he can't be a hundred percent sure right now.
After entering the hotel lobby, he went straight to Charon at the front desk, took out a coin, and placed it in front of Charon.
"I want to know who burned down my office."
Russell stated directly.
As a direct-owned assassin of the Continental Hotel, Charon was well aware of his public identity.
And not only Charon, anyone remotely familiar with him knew he owned a detective agency called "Octopus Monster," like Perkins and other colleagues.
"Very well, Mr. Bradley!"
Dressed in a gentle and cultured manner that made him look like a butler, Charon accepted the coin and promptly responded.
Russell nodded and turned to sit in the lounge area, patiently waiting.
The Continental Hotel, being a hotel under the High Table, naturally included intelligence gathering.
Of course, for more specialized information, one would have to purchase it from dedicated information brokers.
But for something as simple as finding out who burned down his office, the hotel's own intelligence network would be sufficient.
Russell hadn't been seated for more than ten minutes when Charon, dressed in a sharp suit, approached with a piece of paper bearing a name written on it.
"Sir, this is the information you requested."
Charon handed the paper to Russell.
Taking a glance at the paper, Russell couldn't help but frown.
It wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D.!
It wasn't Hydra!
Instead, it was two codenames he wasn't unfamiliar with.
The Cross and the Punisher!
"What on earth is going on?"
Russell asked Charon.
"They had a confrontation in your office, and after a fierce battle, both sides left. Your office caught fire afterwards."
Charon quickly explained.
They fought in my office and then set it on fire?
What did my office do to deserve this kind of treatment?
Suppressing his displeasure, Russell took out four coins from his pocket and handed them to Charon.
"I want to know where both of them are."
Looking at the four coins Russell handed over, Charon didn't immediately take them. He hesitated for a few seconds before accepting two of them.
"Two will suffice, sir. The other person you're looking for is right here."
After taking two coins, Charon pointed towards the hotel's entrance.
Following the direction indicated by Charon's finger, Russell saw something that clashed with the hotel's style – Cross.
The Cross!
The ace assassin of the Brotherhood!
A seemingly ordinary middle-aged man.
The moment Russell laid eyes on the cross, the system, which usually had very little presence, suddenly displayed information that only he could see.
"Reward: Fate's Assassin; Status: Inactive; Activation Condition: Complete the Cross's commission; Activation Effect: After activation, master the Bullet Curving technique and gain the ability to control adrenaline autonomously."
Uh...
The system displayed another reward with an activation condition, and it was one he hadn't seen before.
Under different circumstances, Russell would probably be quite pleased.
But now, he couldn't muster up much excitement.
This reward called "Fate's Assassin" had an activation condition of completing the Cross's commission.
Although the system didn't explicitly state it, given Cross's recent defection from the Brotherhood, it wasn't hard to guess what his commission might be.
After seeing Russell seated in the hotel lobby, the Cross swiftly walked over and took a seat opposite him.
"Sorry for setting your office on fire. I will compensate you for all your losses."
Once seated, the Cross was the first to speak.
"No, you can't compensate for it!"
Russell's office was rented, and the office furniture inside was casually bought from IKEA, not worth much money.
The only valuable items were the over a hundred thousand dollars in cash he kept in the safe and the over twenty coins issued by the High Table.
But what he had lost now wasn't these things that were visible on the surface; it was his reputation.
In the assassin world, there weren't few who knew his real name, and there weren't few who knew he owned a detective agency.
But up until today, he had been living well, regardless.
And there's an important reason for that.
That is, he established a very dominant image outside.
Don't mess with the Traveler!
People will die!
And not just him, even his family, friends, neighbors, and even the neighbor's dog would be sent to meet God.
Because of this, he faced strong criticism from a colleague who loved dogs.
Speaking of this dog-loving colleague, Russell strangely missed him a bit.
From this dog-loving colleague, he learned quite a few practical shooting and combat techniques.
For example, taking out three people with a pencil...
Unfortunately, this dog-loving colleague retired and got married last year, depriving him of a good learning (and apprenticing) opportunity.
In this mainstream society, there is rejection or discrimination against his mixed heritage.
And this is even more pronounced in the underground world that upholds bloody and violent principles.
When Russell first crossed over to this world, he experienced quite a few unpleasant situations.
When he was just starting out, he would receive slightly less compensation for the same task compared to others.
After experiencing this unfair treatment and invisible discrimination two or three times, he woke up!
To hell with being kind to others!
To hell with being polite and courteous!
He a killer who exchanges lives for money, and anyone who dares to withhold his hard-earned money, he'll take their life!
When he bared his fangs and displayed a ruthless style of attacking at the slightest provocation, the whole world instantly became better.
All the unfair treatment and discrimination he had suffered due to his mixed heritage disappeared!
Of course, even when he revealed his fierceness, there were still some skeptics who thought he was just bluffing. They attempted to use force to show him who really held power in this nation.
But when he took those skeptics away, along with their family and friends, there weren't many who doubted him anymore.
"The Traveler" was the assassin code name he gave himself.
However, among his peers, his assassin code name had a few extra prefixes.
For example, "The Insane Traveler," "The Ruthless Traveler," "The Bloodthirsty Traveler"...
The Cross might be able to compensate for his property losses, but he couldn't compensate for his reputation loss.
When this matter spread, and if the Cross continued to live unscathed, it wouldn't be long before he had to bid farewell to his current peaceful life.
"I can compensate for your losses, all of them!"
The Cross was well aware of the losses Russell had suffered, yet he still gave a resolute answer.
"As for compensation, I'll settle with you later. So, what exactly do you want from me?"