Hearing Charlotte's summary, Russell fell silent for a moment.
He pinched a biscuit and popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly, then chased it with a sip of warm black tea to cut through the sweetness.
"So we're blocked on both ends now, aren't we?" he finally said, after a long pause. "Billson's done a runner, and Charles has gone mad — no telling when he'll be fit to talk again. If Billson's already left London, there might not be any point in looking for him at all."
"It won't come to that," Charlotte said. "Billson might go into hiding, but he won't leave London. Not a chance."
"Why not?"
"He's still waiting on new instructions from The Professor. That's his only shot at turning things around." Charlotte spoke with complete certainty. "Every property and account in Billson's name has been emergency-frozen. Whatever cash he has on him can't amount to much. On top of that, Lestrade's already notified every major paper to run a wanted notice — even if the man has money, he won't be living comfortably. And if he tries to board a train or a ship out of London, he won't make it past the ticket check."
"Since when is London's security screening that strict?" Russell asked.
"What can you do — the nature of this one was particularly egregious." Charlotte shrugged. "Lloyds Bank holds the secure-custody agreements for nearly every upper-class family in London. The bank can say all it likes about everything being perfectly intact and absolutely safe, but if you were one of those families, would a few reassuring words from a bank director really put your mind at rest?"
"No."
"There you go." Charlotte picked up a biscuit. "And The Times has already run the story — that this whole affair was resolved thanks to Moriarty. For those people, the name Moriarty is probably more frightening than the gang that robbed the bank. They can't afford not to be anxious."
"I see..." Russell nodded thoughtfully.
If that was the case, wasn't this actually a prime opportunity to farm some Malice Points?
He watched as Charlotte used red silk thread to connect several locations on the map, and continued: "So all we can do right now is wait?"
"Until Lestrade drags that man called Billson in front of me — yes."
Charlotte answered without turning around. She pressed a thumbtack firmly into the small pub in Southwark District on the map, as if marking a rest note at the end of this phase of the investigation.
"Tedious waiting," she muttered under her breath, in a voice only she could hear.
Russell nodded at that.
He didn't disturb Charlotte any further. He picked up the plate — now down to two or three biscuits — and slipped quietly out of the room.
Back in his own bedroom, Russell shut the door and sealed the tangled mess of the case outside.
The sky beyond the window had gone fully dark. Russell sat on his bed, leaning against the windowsill, gazing at the System panel reflected in the glass pane — visible only to him.
[Name: Russell Watson]
[Reputation: Household Name (Malice Points acquisition +30%)]
[Profession: Phantom Thief]
[Skills: Fighting (C++), Stealth (B+), Climbing (C), Sleight of Hand (B+), Investigation (C++), Listening (C+), Dance (D+)]
[Upgradeable attributes available]
[Current Malice Points: 1,470]
[System Shop updated]
Charles and Ethan Roy were like two guaranteed gold mines — they practically produced a trickle of Malice Points every single day.
Not much, but better than nothing.
Certainly easier than having to come up with new ways to antagonize people on a daily basis.
With that thought, Russell turned his attention to the System Shop.
Last time he'd only glanced at it briefly and hadn't bothered to check exactly what had been updated. Since he had nothing better to do, he might as well look now.
No point delaying.
With a slight flicker of his intent, the shop interface materialized slowly in his field of vision.
The first thing to catch Russell's eye was, naturally, the map Blind Boxes he'd purchased the most often.
The Blind Boxes had now been upgraded to improve the drop rate for wealthy districts, and the maps themselves had evolved from flat distribution charts into fully three-dimensional models. Russell only had to engage his mind to navigate through the imagined map in his head.
That was a solid improvement.
Russell nodded with satisfaction.
Beyond that, this batch of Blind Boxes had a new add-on option called the Advanced Challenge.
For an additional 50 Malice Points, the Blind Box could be upgraded. After use, the upgraded version would provide an action deadline. Complete the objective within the time limit, and the cost of the Blind Box would be refunded — plus a 20% bonus on all Malice Points earned at the end of the operation. This bonus stacked with the 30% boost already granted by his current Reputation.
There was also the most crucial detail: all Malice Points spent during the operation — on items and the like — would be counted as a guaranteed baseline reward.
In plain terms: if he spent five hundred Malice Points during an operation, the minimum payout at settlement would be five hundred.
Now that was interesting.
Succeed, and the return was pure profit with zero net cost.
But he wasn't in a rush to buy a Blind Box just yet. He shifted his attention to the other items instead, curious what wonderful new toys this update had brought.
[Disposable Master Key (Consumable): Bypasses any physical lock. Single use, but upon unlocking, it fully copies and produces a key for that lock. Price: 400 Malice Points.]
[Phantom Hand: Allows you to remotely manipulate objects within ten metres without direct contact. The degree of control depends on the user's own attributes. Duration: 3 minutes. Price: 500 Malice Points.]
[Teleport Anchor: Place an anchor point; upon activation, teleports you to any position within one metre of the anchor. The anchor has no time limit, but disappears after use. A maximum of two anchors can exist at any one time. Price: 1,000 Malice Points.]
[Hang Glider: Allows you to glide through the air. Available in multiple colour options. Ready to use at any time. Price: 500 Malice Points.]
The prices on this new batch of shop items had risen noticeably compared to before — but correspondingly, the effectiveness of each item had improved to match.
You get what you pay for.
Russell looked over the newly added items, one eyebrow rising slightly.
He'd bought the [Disposable Master Key] once before. It was a premium consumable, purpose-built for sudden situations like the one last night. The price had gone up, but it was reliable and efficient, and the bonus of copying a key for potential return visits made it worthwhile enough.
As for the [Phantom Hand]...
Russell lightly tapped his fingertip against the air, imagining the sensation of moving objects from a distance.
This was practically a divine instrument tailor-made for a Phantom Thief.
Anything within ten metres was his to manipulate — the possibilities were delightful.
With this, could he pick locks remotely too?
And not just locks — with a bit of imagination, the applications went far beyond that.
Five hundred Malice Points was steep, but still within an acceptable range.
As for the [Teleport Anchor]...
Was it useful? Absolutely.
But the price...
Russell glanced quietly at his System wallet. Even if he emptied himself out completely, he could only afford one.
"Let's just look at the Advanced Blind Box for now."
He muttered to himself, then redirected his gaze back to the upgraded Blind Box.
A challenge, extra rewards, and a guaranteed baseline.
Russell didn't hesitate any longer.
Swing for it — turn a bicycle into a motorbike!
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