Mike felt Jessica was having a brain aneurysm. He said Mike just needed to help find Purple Man, and how to do it was his business.
Mike just chuckled.
He wouldn't do things like 'whatever happens, happens,' 'playing the eager helper,' or 'please let me help you.'
Then the system prompted:
[Jessica Jones's Commission: Find Purple Man]
[Commission: 10,000 U.S. dollars (90% system commission after deducting fees)]
[Mission Description: Kilgrave, who is lurking near Jessica Jones, find that flamboyant pervert who loves to wear purple.]
"Good, ten thousand U.S. dollars!"
"Why don't you just rob someone!"
"Heh heh. I also wanted to say something cool like, 'Robbery isn't as good as what I earn,' but unfortunately, based on my experience, robbery is easier to earn. Also, ten thousand U.S. dollars is ten thousand U.S. dollars, not a cent more, not a cent less. Take the money and start working."
Jessica had investigated Mike and knew his rules.
The problem was, she didn't have ten thousand U.S. dollars.
Jessica fell silent.
Two types of energy emanated from her.
Indicating her urgency.
Trish sighed inwardly and asked Jessica in a questioning tone, "I'll pay for this first, and you can pay me back slowly when you earn money later."
Jessica's usual private investigator cases, like infidelity, serving court summonses, and finding people, didn't earn much money. With rent, utilities, daily expenses, and alcoholism, plus frequent compensation for damages caused by her volatile temper, Jessica basically spent whatever she earned, occasionally running into deficits.
The phrase "pay back slowly" was just Trish being considerate of Jessica's self-esteem.
As a sister by choice, Trish was absolutely benevolent and righteous; a biological sister might not worry so much.
"Thank you." Jessica paused, "Sorry."
Trish asked for Mike's account number and transferred the money immediately.
A text message confirmed the deposit.
"I'll give you an update within three days," Mike said.
Ten thousand U.S. dollars was just a drop in the bucket for Mike, who had a billion U.S. dollars in his account. From a financial perspective, it didn't matter whether he accepted it or not.
Regardless of whether Mike accepted it, the system would deduct money from the account anyway. Why would Mike pay for Jessica?
Were they close?
Or had they had intimate contact?
Neither.
Mike didn't want to play the eager helper, nor did he want people to think he was cheap or that the task was easy.
Do you know why superheroes are often criticized and yelled at?
One of the reasons is: when you do too much "for free," people take your "free" for granted and consider your actions to be an expected responsibility.
If something goes wrong while saving someone, it's your fault. It's like having a problem at work and being yelled at by your boss.
The problem is, damn it, I'm not getting paid!
Therefore, Mike was willing to help and save people when convenient, but he would never consider it his responsibility.
It was thankless work, and he would still be lectured.
Furthermore, Trish didn't have any particular thoughts about Mike charging money—a typical American mindset: friends are friends, business is business. As for Mike's "relationship" (don't ask why it's in quotes), Trish wouldn't feel taken advantage of. This was also the attitude of many Americans regarding their private lives—as long as it's not illegal, it's none of your business. If she enjoyed it, why should she feel exploited?
Conversely, Jessica's unfriendly attitude towards Mike made Trish feel apologetic, so she offered a very sincere apology.
This time, Mike wasn't driving a sports car, but a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, which offered more room for "play."
And the car didn't shake much!
Don't ask why the car shakes during an apology; no decent person asks that!
Finding Purple Man wasn't difficult, as long as he focused on the key point.
The key point was Purple Man's perverse obsession with Jessica.
Perverted voyeurs usually start cautiously, so Purple Man would most likely not act in person.
Purple Man's superpower controlled people by emitting a certain virus (TV series version), so he would likely control people around Jessica to track and secretly photograph her.
However, Purple Man's superpower had a weakness: first, applying control required proximity. After the controlled person moved a certain distance away, the control would begin to fade after 24 hours, diminishing over time until it disappeared.
Therefore, Purple Man needed to regularly contact the people he controlled to monitor Jessica.
At this stage, Jessica had no friends, no lovers, no partners. Her mother was alive, but they had almost no contact. She contacted or saw Trish about once every two weeks. Her most frequent contact was her lawyer, Jeri Hogarth, but their relationship was that of employer and employee—Jeri occasionally hired her to solve problems. But when Jessica caused trouble and needed a lawyer, the roles of employer and employee reversed.
So, Jessica's neighbor, Malcolm Ducasse, entered Mike's sights.
Malcolm was an addict. Even if the control failed, he could be controlled with drugs. Once the addiction flared up, what wouldn't an addict do?
By tracking Malcolm, Mike found Purple Man the next day and followed him from a distance to his hotel—just one street away from Jessica's apartment.
He gave Jessica the hotel name and room number.
Jessica didn't doubt the address's authenticity but asked Mike how he found Purple Man.
"That's not part of the commission. For Trish's sake, here's a hint: Malcolm."
With the soul energy and destiny energy in hand, Mike no longer paid attention to Jessica. It wasn't until three days later that Trish contacted Mike again, not saying what it was about, but arranging to meet Mike downstairs at Jessica's apartment building.
The street where Jessica lived was cordoned off by the Police, with Warning Line everywhere.
Mike found a wandering thug and asked him.
An addict named Malcolm suddenly went crazy, snatched a Police gun, killed two patrol officers, and then started shooting at passersby, finally being shot dead on the spot.
Heh heh... Someone like Malcolm, who clearly looked like an addict, any Police officer would be on high alert, especially since this was Hell's Kitchen. Besides, why would Malcolm snatch a Police gun? He looked sickly; how could he have the strength to forcibly snatch a Police gun?
Of course, the above was just speculation. A low-probability event doesn't mean it won't happen... However, Mike guessed with his toes that this matter was related to Purple Man, and Jessica had ninety-nine percent messed up.
He didn't go upstairs.
Because Mike encountered a nearly collapse Jessica and Trish downstairs.
From Trish, he learned that Jessica had staked out near Purple Man's hotel and indeed found Purple Man. She then tracked Malcolm and discovered that Malcolm was trading her photos for drugs with Purple Man.
Afterward, Jessica persuaded Malcolm to go "undercover" to obtain Purple Man's testimony, proving Hope innocent.
When his addiction wasn't flaring up, Malcolm still had a conscience and agreed to Jessica's request. However, his acting wasn't good enough, and Purple Man noticed.
Then he controlled the patrol officers and controlled Malcolm to kill them, finally shooting at passersby, and was then shot dead by the Police who arrived.
Mike took out his phone.
Search.
According to the latest news, two passersby were shot, a young mother and a little boy. The little boy unfortunately died on the way to the hospital.
The news had a blurred picture of the little boy. It was clear he was a five or six-year-old Black boy with dreadlocks and a missing front tooth, very cute.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
With each word, he punched the wall.
A head popped out upstairs, cursing at Mike. The tattoo on his neck indicated he was a member of the 34th Street Park gang.
"Thank you." Mike looked up and said something inexplicable, revealing a beastly, bloodthirsty expression that startled the cursing thug.
"Crazy." The thug mumbled and pulled his head back in.
About thirty seconds later, the thug heard a knock at the door, "Hello, Water meter check."