Chapter 5: God-Tier Skills
This was Luca's first time unlocking an SSR card, and also his first time seeing a character with 5 skills.
If it were a Night Demon with so many skills, Luca wouldn't be surprised, but this 12-year-old loli in front of him actually had so many skills?
He had thought Matilda was, at most, an S-rank card, on the same level as Stan.
After all, the loli herself had little combat power; she was very weak.
It seemed that a character card's skills were not entirely dependent on combat power, but rather on certain traits of the character.
At this moment, Luca looked down at the little kid trying to act mature with a cigarette in her mouth, feeling amused, but his face remained calm and composed as he elegantly shook his head: "Sorry, I don't smoke."
Matilda tilted her small head back, examining the handsome man, one meter eighty-five tall, in front of her. Beneath her small, delicate nose, there was only a faint, fresh scent; she indeed didn't smell any smoke on him.
"Okay."
Matilda decisively took the cigarette out and put it back in her pocket, then poked her small head forward, curiously examining the room behind Luca. "Neighbor Uncle, where are you from? Did you just move to New York?"
"Do I look like I'm from out of town?"
"Aren't you? New Yorkers aren't this enthusiastic, especially the poor people living here. No one cares if the neighbor's child is being bullied; everyone only cares about how they're doing themselves, with no extra energy to meddle."
Her tone carried a worldliness and indifference that didn't match her age. If one ignored her appearance, height, and tender voice, Luca would have thought he was conversing with an adult woman.
Some people are still innocent at twenty or thirty, while others are as mature as adults beaten by society at twelve.
"You guessed wrong." Luca crouched down, meeting her gaze, his eyes gentle. "I am a New Yorker. I used to live on Arthur Street, not far from here."
"Arthur Street? Are you Italian?"
"Something like that."
Luca shrugged.
Something like that? Matilda didn't understand the 'complexity' of Luca's identity. She smiled and said, "My name is Matilda, enthusiastic Neighbor Uncle. Thank you for helping me just now."
"Luca."
"Sorry, you just moved in and had to see such a terrible thing."
"Don't worry about it; it's not your fault."
Matilda was slightly startled. Since she was little, the most she heard were complaints from her parents and sister. No matter what went wrong for them, they would vent their anger on her, as if everything was her fault.
For the first time, someone said it wasn't her fault.
Just then, the renovation workers finished installing the appliances and walked to the door, carrying discarded cardboard boxes and trash. Both of them instinctively moved aside to let the workers pass.
Luca paid them the bill.
The workers left one after another.
Matilda offered to help Luca clean the room as a way to repay him for his help.
She was very good at housework and quickly helped Luca tidy up the room until it was spotless.
Before she left, Luca called out to her and handed her a small first-aid kit containing ointment for external injuries, band-aids, and other medicines.
"Can you apply the medicine yourself?"
"Yes."
Matilda held the box with one hand and fiddled with the bangs on her forehead with the other, her unnatural movements attempting to conceal the domestic abuse injuries. She stared at Luca for a few seconds, whispered a thank you, and then scurried out of the room.
It was then that Luca noticed a hint of her childlike, light, and joyful steps, like a small spring: the tighter it was pressed, the higher it bounced.
Matilda happily carried the small first-aid kit home, intending to go to the bathroom to apply the medicine. Pushing open the door, she saw a very cringeworthy scene of her parents intertwined.
The atmosphere was momentarily awkward, and Norman cursed, "Get out! Close the door!"
Matilda silently closed the bathroom door.
Passing through the living room, her sister, wearing pink yoga pants, was bouncing and exercising in front of the TV.
That was Matilda's half-sister, named Isha.
Matilda also knew that her sister was particularly concerned about body management, and liked to wiggle her ample backside, enjoying the admiring gazes of the boys at school.
She thought to herself that she couldn't let her sister know that a handsome man had moved in across the hall, otherwise her sister, that hussy, would definitely knock on Luca's door in the middle of the night.
Neighbor Uncle was a light sleeper and definitely wouldn't like such impolite disturbances.
Thinking this, Matilda silently walked to the sofa and sat down, opening the first-aid kit to apply medicine to herself. The contents were very complete, and all were brand new.
Soon, Norman, having finished his business, walked out. Seeing the first-aid kit in front of Matilda, he frowned unhappily and said, "I gave you money, and you used it to buy these things? Who told you to buy them? Such a small injury, do you need to apply medicine!"
"The neighbor big brother gave it to me."
...
Norman immediately shut his mouth, a breath caught in his chest, unable to go up or down.
Bollocks!
Luca dragged a suitcase from under the bed and skillfully pulled out some tools: guns, ammunition, military knives, grenades... and a wiretap.
Having just moved here, of course, he had to give his new neighbors some gifts.
A wiretap was a very good choice.
This was not to monitor the little kid, but her father—Norman.
Norman was Stan's informant, and also a drug custodian. The two often collaborated, participating in the embezzlement and distribution of drugs.
Stan had a portion of drugs stored with Norman.
In the original plot, if Norman hadn't become greedy, added impurities to lower the purity, and stolen some of Stan's drugs, it wouldn't have led to the massacre of his family.
But Norman was only one of Stan's informants. Following the principle of not putting all eggs in one basket, who knew how many hidden strongholds Stan actually had?
Luca was not in a hurry. He would lie low and wait for an opportunity, then use Norman to uncover other clues and find a chance to snatch the drugs back.
During this time, Luca could cultivate a bond with Matilda.
The loli had five great skills!
For Luca, skills were more important than family missions!
【Matilda (SSR)】
【Trauma Mark: For every person who dies with a relationship above partner (highly trusted, family), combat power permanently increases by 5%】
【Learning Requirements: Bond reaches partner or above; requires Skill Shard X150】
【Nimble Hands: When learning assassin-related skills, efficiency +20%】
【Learning Requirements: Bond reaches close friend or above; requires Skill Shard X50】
【Harmless Disguise: When approaching a target disguised as a harmless role (student, delivery person, etc.), target's alertness -20%】
【Learning Requirements: Bond reaches close friend or above; requires Skill Shard X50】
【Forbidden Dependence: When fighting with a symbiotic person (soulmate), combat power +50%; when a symbiotic person is in danger, combat power +100%; when a symbiotic person dies, combat power permanently +100%】
【Learning Requirements: Bond reaches symbiosis; requires Skill Shard X300】
【Advanced Lucky Aura: When you encounter trouble, although you will experience setbacks, you will always be able to fortunately resolve it in the end (the greater the trouble, the stronger the setback)】
【Learning Requirements: Bond reaches symbiosis; requires Skill Shard X3000】
Luca sat on the edge of the bed, finished reading Matilda's five skills, and fell into a long silence and shock.
Damn! These five skills were all god-tier skills!
Especially that Advanced Lucky Aura...