Leaving the boxing gym, William let out a long sigh of relief, feeling his body drained.
He didn't rush to leave.
Leaning against the wall, he opened the system interface.
The system notification sound was as pleasant as a WeChat Pay arrival notification.
Seeing his meager account balance jump from 20 points to 40 points, the heavy stone in his heart finally settled.
Finally, he wouldn't have to be a 'scatter-wealth boy' anymore, giving out free insurance and recruiting people everywhere.
"Hell's Kitchen, this place... it's something else..."
He smacked his lips.
"It really lives up to its reputation as Gotham... ah, no, a treasure trove."
Just now in the boxing gym, he felt like he was dancing a tango on a tightrope.
With 'Symphony No. 5' as the background music.
On one side was Bullseye, a top villain who killed without batting an eye.
On the other was Daredevil, a hidden urban vigilante.
But risk and reward coexist.
In just one afternoon, he had signed a high-potential policy worth 20 points.
Just as he had composed himself and was about to head home,
his basic 'Danger Prediction' ability once again emitted a subtle but continuous hum.
William paused, his peripheral vision glancing towards the adjacent alley.
Three scruffy-looking guys ambled out of the alley, blocking his path.
They wore sinister smiles, their gazes scrutinizing his obviously expensive suit and the briefcase in his hand.
They were the same vagrants he had seen at the street corner when he first arrived.
"Hey, suit guy," the leader, a burly man with yellow teeth, said flippantly, "Lost? This isn't the place for you to count your money."
Another lanky man stared directly at William's briefcase, greedily licking his lips:
"Buddy, looks like you had a good haul today. Us brothers are a bit tight on cash lately, so how about... you share some with us?"
William's heart sank.
Just as he feared, it came to pass.
He instinctively tightened his grip on the briefcase handle, his mind racing.
Fight?
Don't be ridiculous.
His 'Resilient Skin' would at most make it feel better for them to hit him.
Run?
The three of them blocked the alley entrance, and he was wearing leather shoes, so he clearly couldn't outrun these local thugs.
His 'Danger Prediction' was frantically warning him at this moment.
Although these three were just street thugs, they would definitely show no mercy when they started fighting; the malice of moderate physical harm was already clearly discernible.
William took a deep breath, suppressing the panic in his heart.
He forced himself to put on his signature, impeccable professional smile.
"Gentlemen, judging by your complexions, your sleep quality doesn't seem to be very good lately."
William's tone was so calm it didn't sound like a victim being cornered, but rather like he was conducting a customer follow-up.
"Especially this gentleman,"
he looked at the burly man with yellow teeth.
"I'm guessing you have an old injury on your right shoulder, right? It probably aches whenever it's rainy, and you can't exert yourself as well as before."
Of course, he couldn't see any old injury; this was purely a probabilistic bluff based on Hell's Kitchen's high 'work-related injury' rate.
The smile on the burly man's face froze, and he subconsciously moved his right shoulder, a flicker of surprise and wariness in his eyes.
William didn't give him time to react and turned to the lanky man:
"And you, my friend, your breathing sounds a bit heavy.
I guess you might need medical insurance that includes respiratory illnesses.
After all, you know the air quality in Hell's Kitchen better than I do."
This sudden maneuver completely baffled the three thugs.
They had expected the other party to panic and beg for mercy.
They had also expected the other party to make empty threats.
But they never expected this well-dressed guy to start a business pitch on the spot?
Moreover, his confident tone and eyes that seemed to see through everything inexplicably unnerved them.
"You... what the hell are you talking about?"
The burly man with yellow teeth shouted, feigning ferocity, but he had already unconsciously taken half a step back.
The smile on William's lips deepened as he gently closed his briefcase with a crisp 'click'.
"Whether I'm talking nonsense, you yourselves know best."
His voice lowered a few notches, carrying a mysterious allure.
"My job is to assess risks and pay for the future.
I can see the 'ailments' on you, and I can foresee the misfortunes you might encounter in the future.
Now, do you want to talk to me about insurance to secure your future.
Or do you want to lay hands on me now, and prematurely trigger that 'accidental death and disability insurance' with the highest payout?"
William's words were like a stone thrown into still water, stirring up strange ripples in the hearts of the three thugs.
That certainty and mystery were far more chilling than direct threats.
The wind in the alley seemed to grow colder.
The dilapidated billboard creaked.
"Stop acting all mysterious!"
The burly man with yellow teeth finally broke free from that inexplicable chill.
He took an angry step forward, spittle almost spraying onto William's face.
"Accidental death and disability insurance? I think you're the one who'll need that insurance today!"
"That's right! Take him down and see what good stuff is in his bag!"
Another thug also started shouting, bolstering his courage.
However, the lanky man, who hadn't said much, tugged at the yellow-toothed man's sleeve.
"Boss... this guy... he's a bit eerie."
An ordinary person, when cornered, would either be scared witless or make empty threats.
But this man, from beginning to end, was terrifyingly calm, his eyes seemingly able to pierce through all their unspeakable secrets.
This unknown fear was more terrifying than a gleaming knife.
William ignored their shouts; his attention had already been drawn to something else.
In his 'Mechanical Induction' vision,
the internal circuits and filament of the dim, old streetlamp above his head were in an extremely unstable state.
The current was like a dying patient.
Its breathing was intermittent.
A fragile spot on the filament, imperceptible to the naked eye, was flickering with a dark red light, signaling 'critical condition'.
It was about to break.
A plan instantly formed in William's mind, a bold and risky one.
The professional smile still lingered on his lips, but in the dim light, it appeared unfathomable.
"I never act mysterious; I only state facts."
William's voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Risk... it's everywhere. It's like this lamp above our heads."
The three thugs instinctively looked up, following his gaze.
The lamp was indeed flickering, its light sometimes strong, sometimes weak, which was perfectly normal in a place like Hell's Kitchen.
"You see it's still lit, trying to dispel the darkness,"
William continued, his tone as flat as if he were giving a weather report.
"But in reality, its life has come to an end."
His words carried a peculiar rhythm, as if he wasn't speaking, but pronouncing a judgment.
William's 'Danger Prediction' ability was throbbing wildly, warning him that the other party's patience had run out and was about to turn into actual violence.
But he didn't back down; instead, he met the burly man's fierce gaze and gently raised three fingers.
"Three."
He slowly retracted one finger.
The atmosphere in the alley instantly froze.
"Two."
The burly man clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking.
He had made up his mind.
No matter what this guy said next, in the next second, he would make his pretty face bloom.
"You goddamn..."
Just as he cursed, William retracted his last finger.
"One."
"Bang!"
A crisp explosion erupted in the silent alley!
The old streetlamp, as if obeying William's command, suddenly burst!
Countless glass fragments, accompanied by a final flash of strong light, clattered down, scattering at the thugs' feet.
The alley instantly plunged into deeper darkness.
"Ah! Ghosts!"
The thinnest thug let out a piercing scream, the first to break down.
He turned and ran, scrambling on all fours.
As if some terrifying monster was chasing him.
This scream was like a contagious plague, instantly shattering the burly man's last bit of ferocity.
He looked at William, who was still smiling in the darkness.
He felt that the other party was not human at all, but a devil who could predict death.
The countdown, precise to the second, and the streetlamp that burst on cue, completely shattered his worldview.
"Don't... don't come closer!"
The burly man with yellow teeth shouted, feigning ferocity, and also turned and ran.
He even crashed into a wall in his haste.
In the blink of an eye, the three previously menacing robbers had vanished without a trace.
The alley returned to silence, only the gentle breeze rustling the broken glass on the ground, making a faint sound.
Only after confirming they had completely run off did William let out a long, long sigh of relief.
"Damn it... that was too close..." William cursed under his breath, wiping a bead of cold sweat from his forehead.
Although 'Mechanical Induction' told him the light bulb was about to break,
he couldn't precisely control it down to the second.
Luckily, he won the gamble.