Heart Arsonist

The trench coat wearer lingered at the scene for a full three minutes.

It wasn't that he needed to confirm the fat man's death. Looking at the bathtub, completely soaked in blood, the water level having risen by an inch or two, he could be absolutely certain that the person had been thoroughly deceased.

What troubled him was something else entirely.

He looked at the small pumpkin lantern in his hand. Amidst its twisted, pained expression, there seemed to be a peculiar artistic flair. It held a bit of Miller's Classicism, a touch of Monet's Impressionism, Matisse's Fauvism, Munch's Expressionism, Balla's Futurism, and even Picasso's Cubism and Dali's Surrealism seemed to be reflected in this tiny pumpkin. In short—

"This pumpkin is so ugly."

He stared at the pumpkin lantern, agonizingly, for a long time, unable to comprehend why he'd impulsively bought such a thing on the street. After placing it at a murder scene, the police officers might not even notice the dead fat man in the bathtub first.

Still, he had bought it on a nearby street. The person wearing the abstract pumpkin head hadn't said much, so he didn't need to worry about being exposed.

But this pumpkin was truly, truly ugly.

Why hadn't he gone to a convenience store on the street to buy a jack-o'-lantern? Even if it was a bit further, at least that kind of thing wouldn't attract so much attention at a murder scene.

And wouldn't this thing lower the class of a twisted killer? Absolutely, right? Wouldn't this make everyone think the killer was just an ordinary goofball instead of someone special?

After agonizing for quite a while, he finally sighed and placed the ugly pumpkin lantern, along with a handgun and a broken pacifier, on the ground.

So be it. He couldn't possibly go out to buy a new pumpkin lantern and come back.

Ma Zhaodi walked through the alley, his mood a little complicated.

He put away his eye-catching Pumpkin Suit. To be honest, he was beginning to understand those superheroes or supervillains who always wore masks. Although it just looked like putting on a pumpkin head, once his face was covered, he realized he could do anything he wouldn't normally dare to do, and there would be no consequences.

It seemed like putting on a mask, but in reality, it was taking one off.

At that moment, Ma Zhaodi inevitably felt a sense of liberation, thinking, "I can do whatever the hell I want." He even considered robbing a group of children of their candy—but he held back, because bullying children was too classless.

Besides, he'd tasted that brand of candy before, and it wasn't good.

In any case, this pumpkin head had too high a recognition factor, which was not conducive to the next part-time job he had to do.

He scanned the most common types of cosplayers on the street, bought a set of pure black robes from the System, and put on a white ghost mask. With the streets teeming with "ghosts and monsters," he easily blended into the crowd in this attire.

Ma Zhaodi threaded his way through the crowds on the street. When he arrived near a warehouse in Burnley District, the System notified him that he had reached the location for his second part-time job.

The warehouse door was locked, but that wasn't a big problem. Ma Zhaodi spent a hundred USD in Asset Points, finding an unconventional route to climb over the wall from the System. This route also required a certain climbing ability, so he purchased a beginner's climbing skill worth a thousand Asset Points.

Looking at the complex, winding route, he couldn't help but sigh. If it weren't for the generous tips he'd earned in the past few days, he really wouldn't have been able to afford these points.

"Let's see what's inside first."

Following the route provided by the System, he circled the warehouse for a long time. Fortunately, after removing his white mask, the System's black robe was sufficiently discreet at night, so the people on the street didn't see a thin, ghostly figure awkwardly climbing onto the warehouse.

The climbing skill was very effective. Although his posture was a bit awkward, it was sufficiently discreet and quiet. Coupled with Ma Zhaodi's relatively slender build, he could scale many places directly.

"Bang"

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground. Ma Zhaodi rolled with the impact, executing a decent landing. Apart from a slight ache in his back and legs, only the sound itself was a bit worrying.

He quietly held his breath and observed the surroundings for a while. However, this warehouse didn't seem to have any guards. Even though his landing sound was somewhat loud in the empty warehouse, he truly heard no one approaching in his direction.

"It's best if there's no one. As long as there's no one," he muttered to himself, trying to reassure himself. Ma Zhaodi's eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. By the dim starlight faintly illuminating the warehouse, he could vaguely see what appeared to be a small black mountain in the center of the warehouse.

"Holy crap, how is it so big?" He couldn't help but widen his eyes. "Damn it, what kind of mission is this? Isn't it the Heart Arsonist or something?"

He opened his old mobile phone. This phone didn't even have a flashlight function; he could only use the faint light from the screen to search for the light switch in the warehouse. He had observed it when he climbed down; there were lights on the ceiling of the warehouse.

"Where is it, where is it..." He walked cautiously through the warehouse, afraid that something strange might leap out of the darkness, or that he might trip over something on the floor and end up bleeding profusely. Finally, in a corner of the warehouse, he found the main switch he was looking for.

"Let me see what's going on first."

"Click"

He pulled the switch, and the main lights in the warehouse instantly lit up. Ma Zhaodi's vision, which had already adjusted to the darkness, was now blurred by the sudden, glaring light.

"Whoa, the warehouse lights can be this bright."

By the time he could see the small mountain in the warehouse clearly, the System's explanation also popped up from the mountain.

"Heart Arsonist: Please burn all illegal currency in the warehouse. For every 1% burned, you will receive a reward of two hundred USD in Asset Points."

"Holy crap! The Heart Arsonist actually means setting a fire! Why is Harvey Dent doing this extra work at night! Was he already this crazy before he became Two-Face?!"

Ma Zhaodi unleashed three consecutive exclamations to vent his shock. The scene before him far exceeded his limited knowledge and life experience.

Stacks upon stacks of green hundred-dollar bills were neatly piled together, densely packed and perfectly aligned, forming a green mountain in the warehouse. Scattered on the ground were also bits and pieces of loose bills; picking up just a few could equal Ma Zhaodi's daily income.

"Damn it, so much counterfeit money—doesn't Batman care about this?"

Looking at the enormous reward on the mission prompt, Ma Zhaodi's heart began to struggle intensely.