To be honest, Eren's infiltration had gone far more smoothly than he anticipated.
The Water Ghost Gang's leader, "The Giant Ghost" Onik, was even easier to deal with than Eren had imagined. There had been no resistance worth mentioning. They were incapacitated by the hallucinogen and died without ever knowing who their attacker was.
Of course, the ease of this operation owed much to the unexpectedly effective hallucinogen spray Eren had used.
Looking at the bloodied corpses, Eren mused,
"Killing seems to be easier than I thought. People are more fragile than I expected."
"Too bad the other top lieutenant of the Water Ghost Gang wasn't here. Otherwise, I could've eliminated them all at once."
Despite the killing, Eren felt neither discomfort nor twisted excitement.
What he experienced was a calm, matter-of-fact acceptance, as if, deep down, he believed that taking a life wasn't such a big deal.
Shaking his head to dismiss such thoughts, Eren donned gloves and began searching the house.
Since he had avoided using firearms and made no noise during the operation, he had ample time to clean up and secure any valuables.
Half an Hour Later
After meticulously erasing his traces, Eren left the house with a heavy backpack, skillfully avoiding the few working cameras in Hell's Kitchen.
Fifteen minutes later, a simple trap was triggered.
The faintest spark ignited the natural gas Eren had released into the building, resulting in a deafening explosion.
"Boom!"
The raging flames consumed everything inside, leaving no evidence of what had transpired.
By the time firefighters extinguished the blaze, the house was unrecognizable, and only three charred corpses remained to tell the story.
Meanwhile, Eren had already returned to his room in Chinatown.
Dumping the contents of his backpack onto his bed, he began inventorying his spoils.
First were stacks upon stacks of U.S. dollars—over 100 bundles in total, along with loose cash from the bodies.
The total came to $1,308,852.
In addition, there were 15 gold bars, each weighing 1 kilogram, and an assortment of jewelry and ornaments—loot Eren had retrieved from the house's safe.
He wasn't entirely sure about the current gold prices, but he estimated the gold and jewelry were worth at least another couple of million dollars.
"Well, what do you know?"
With a wry smile, Eren thought of an old saying: 'Murder and arson bring wealth, while labor leaves no bones.'
After hiding most of the cash, gold, and jewelry in a hidden compartment under his bed, Eren kept only a small portion of cash for emergencies.
Afterward, he took a long shower and burned his clothing in the basement furnace of an old building, ensuring no trace was left behind.
Finally, Eren lay down on his bed and drifted off to sleep.
Elsewhere
Agent Coulson sat in his office, exhausted but satisfied. He had just finished constructing a soundproof chamber to contain the forbidden object and submitted his mission report.
Just as he leaned back to relax, an agent knocked on his door to deliver news.
"The Giant Ghost Onik of the Water Ghost Gang died in a fire," the agent reported.
"Fire?" Coulson frowned. "That seems… a little too convenient."
Given the role Onik had played in the Morning Star Bar incident, Coulson had already marked him as a person of interest.
The agent shrugged. "It wasn't the fire that killed him. I checked with the NYPD, and the coroner believes Onik and the others were dead before the fire started. The corpses' positions weren't consistent with death by burning."
"Plenty of groups have their eyes on the Water Ghost Gang's territory. My guess? One of the gangs took him out and staged it as an accident."
"I see," Coulson said, nodding. "Any leads on who was behind it?"
The agent shook his head. "The fire destroyed all evidence, and the surveillance cameras in the area didn't capture anything unusual. Whoever did it must've been a professional."
"A professional, huh?" Coulson murmured, his mind wandering.
Could this have been a simple gang rivalry, or was it a case of silencing loose ends?
Coulson's instincts told him there was more to this story. He couldn't shake the image of the young fortune-teller who had been at the Morning Star Bar.
The Next Morning
Eren rose early and took a taxi to Midtown High School.
The original host of his body had been reclusive since his mother's death, keeping to himself and avoiding friendships. His absence over the past few days had gone unnoticed by both students and teachers.
This worked to Eren's advantage.
At the school gates, the administrator greeted him with concern. "Eren, are you feeling better?"
Eren guessed Pepper had used his "illness" as an excuse to get him time off, so he nodded and responded lightly, deflecting the question.
Settling into his classroom, Eren had barely sat for a few minutes when someone caught his attention.
Blond hair, a sweet smile, and strikingly beautiful features—Gwen Stacy stepped into the room, immediately drawing the gaze of nearly everyone present.
She scanned the classroom briefly before locking eyes with Eren.
(End of Chapter)
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