Marvel: Starting with the forced creation of villainous characters

The reason he was able to run a pawn shop in Hell's Kitchen for so long is that he wasn't too curious and didn't meddle in other people's business.

Mindy introduced Mark to the owner, saying, "The owner here is nicknamed Old Dog. My great-father says he's the most reputable pawnbroker in Hell's Kitchen."

The old dog behind the counter asked with a grin, "Hit-Girl, long time no see. I heard you guys took down Baldy."

Hearing this, HitGirl raised her chin smugly. The bald man was a well-known figure in Hell's Kitchen, and even in the whole of New York, he was one of the top mob bosses.

Such figures died at their hands; that was their achievement.

"We're here to exchange money with you," Mindy said, then nodded to Mark.

Mark took two gold bars out of his pocket and placed them on the counter.

The old dog looked at the gold bars in front of him with a greedy glint in his eyes, then carefully examined the two gold bars with his gold testing equipment.

A moment later, the old dog put away the equipment and said enthusiastically, "Two gold bars for thirty thousand dollars."

After a moment's hesitation, Marx agreed to the deal.

The current price of gold is around $1000 per ounce. Considering that the other party is not doing charity, they must be making a profit. $30,000 for two gold bars is not a rip-off.

Seeing this, Old Dog took out three stacks of US dollars and pushed them in front of Mark. "Cash on delivery, good luck."

There was no one in the store at that time. Mark took the money, quickly counted it, and only put it away after confirming that the amount was correct.

"Mindy, is there anything else you want to buy?" Mark asked.

After thinking for a moment, Mindy said, "Give me a few grenades."

mark:"……"

Mark didn't speak, but looked at the old dog.

The old dog nodded to the apprentice behind him, and a moment later, the apprentice placed a box on the counter.

When the box was opened, eight standard military-grade hand grenades were placed inside.

The old dog replied expertly, "800."

Mindy nodded in agreement, indicating that the price was reasonable.

Seeing this, Mark didn't hesitate and readily paid the money.

"Do you still need bullets?" Mark asked.

Mindy shook her head: "No need."

Mark continued, "We also need to rent a house in a safe location, preferably near the city center."

Hellhound Pawnshop is also a middleman's place, and it even takes on some commissions; it can do almost any kind of work.

The old dog chuckled and retorted, "You don't have an ID card, do you?"

Mark nodded.

Old Dog took out a worn-out notebook from under the counter and started searching through it.

After a moment, Old Dog said, "23 Ingle Street, Forest Community, Queens, house number 909, is a two-bedroom apartment, $2000 a month. Smaller apartments are also available, and they are relatively cheaper."

"What about security?" Mark asked cautiously.

The old dog smiled without saying a word, only squinting at Mindy.

That look seemed to say, "You're following this demon orb and you still have to worry about your safety?" Or it seemed to say, "You're safe with this demon orb by your side?"

Mark didn't know whether the other person's look meant the former or the latter; of course, it was also possible that it meant both.

Mark said helplessly, "We won't cause trouble."

The old dog, with a smile on his face, said quietly, "Compared to Hell's Kitchen, Queens is much safer. At least there are police patrolling there, but because it's close to Hell's Kitchen, the security isn't very good either, but it's still better than here."

"Hit-Girl, what do you think?" Mark asked Mindy.

Mindy said confidently, "I don't think there's a big problem. Old Dog wouldn't lie to us about something like this."

Mark nodded. The most important thing now was to find a place to stay, and then figure out a new place to live. He didn't really trust the place Old Dog had arranged.

"This is two months' rent." Mark took out another $4000.

"Here's the key." The old dog handed the house key to Mark and added:

"If you need to get identification, I can introduce you to a new employee at Hell's Kitchen. She's pretty good with computers and might be able to help you with your identification."

Mark, who was about to leave, stopped after hearing this. "Is it a fake ID, or a real one?"

The old dog replied kindly, "It can be real or fake, depending on how much you can afford to pay."

Mark hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Then please introduce yourself."

"The agency fee is 200." Old Dog looked at him with a smile.

Mark pulled out two more hundred-dollar bills and handed them to Old Dog.

"The address is... the code is... she's only there at 8 and 9 pm every day." After saying that, Old Dog picked up the old pistol next to him and started cleaning it.

Before leaving, the old dog gave a meaningful reminder: "Don't go looking for trouble, or your situation will only get worse."

Mark didn't say anything, and simply took Mindy away from the pawnshop.

After Mark and the others left, the apprentice next to him suddenly said, "Boss, Big Daddy is dead. What do you think, should we take him or not?"

The apprentice made a throat-slitting gesture.

Old Dog neither agreed nor got angry. Instead, he squinted and said, "There's not much difference between a child who knows how to use a gun and an adult who knows how to use a gun, especially since that person is Hit-Girl."

"But……"

The apprentice was still somewhat unwilling to give up. A group of children holding $20,000 was a huge sum of money that was enough to make him take the risk.

Seeing that the apprentice was still persistent, the old dog coldly warned, "If you want to rob money from lunatics, I won't stop you, but you have to quit today. I don't want to bring trouble into my shop."

Upon hearing this, the apprentice hesitated. As a lowly worker struggling to make a living in Hell's Kitchen, he had heard the legends of Big Daddy and Hit-Girl.

This father and daughter were notorious lunatics in Hell's Kitchen, and their reputation was built on the lives of others. The only one who could rival them was the judge who never left anyone alive.

"Also, if you dare to leak information about my clients, you won't be resigning; I'll just send you to retirement," the old dog warned again.

The most important things in their line of work are professional ethics and integrity, and this newly recruited apprentice doesn't seem to possess either of these qualities.

Fortunately, his apprentices are usually on annual leave.

…………

After leaving the pawnshop, Mindy announced energetically, "Now that we've solved the accommodation problem, all we need to do is find a reliable orphanage and send Esther there."

Mark reassured him, "Don't worry, we can find an orphanage in New York later, and we can take care of her then."

To be honest, ever since he awakened his innate wisdom, he has never really adapted to the environment of Hell's Kitchen.

It was dark, damp, and chaotic. If it weren't for Mindy, he might be lying on an operating table right now.