New York, Manhattan streets. Matthew, having changed into casual clothes, strolled along the street.
Beside him, Eleanor held a large brown cardboard box in her arms.
The two walked down the street, with vehicles coming and going on both sides.
A cold wind swept through the street, causing pedestrians to instinctively tighten their clothes.
Feeling the heavy weight in her hands and the faint scent of tobacco subtly emanating from the box's seams, Eleanor didn't need to guess what was inside.
It was just... "Sir, I recall you never smoked before, did you?"
Hearing Eleanor's question beside him, Matthew didn't stop walking. He turned his head to reply, "You remember correctly, I indeed don't have a smoking habit."
"Then why are you..." A hint of confusion flashed in Eleanor's eyes.
"Benefiting the people," Matthew said without hesitation.
"Benefiting... the people? With cigarettes?"
"Why not?" Matthew asked Eleanor.
"You see, everyone's definition of happiness is different," he explained.
"Your happiness might come from shopping, a raise... but some people can be happy all day just by being given some cigarettes. Like them."
Matthew gestured towards the scattered homeless people on the street. "Look at those people..."
Eleanor followed Matthew's gaze.
She saw several disheveled, shabbily dressed homeless people. They sat on street benches and in corners, surrounded by piles of old clothes and bundles.
A few flies buzzed around them, but they paid no attention.
Just by looking, Eleanor felt a suffocating odor lingering at the tip of her nose.
"Ross, isn't this also a form of 'benefiting the people' for them?" Matthew asked.
He turned, took the cardboard box from Eleanor's arms, and walked towards the homeless people at the street corner.
Eleanor hesitated for a moment. Though she felt some resistance, she quickened her pace and followed.
'Just as Matthew expected,' he thought.
'Different people have different thresholds for happiness. The same applied to benefiting the people.'
'An ordinary person's biggest worry might be money, but for the homeless, their worries were even more humble.'
'Give them a few cigarettes, and [System Points] would surge into his account.'
'Of course, there were also those who were ungrateful.'
'Matthew had only one way of dealing with such people...'
"Hand it over!" he'd demand.
'As the saying goes, even the landlord's family has no surplus grain. Taking my things and it's not considered benefiting the people? Dream on! Come back when you learn gratitude!'
By the end of half a day, his [System Points] had soared.
They went from the original thirty points to two hundred. For Matthew, this was already a considerable income.
He also received five [Alpha Hunters], three [Lickers], and one [Grave Digger] from the [System Pass] rewards.
The threshold for the next [System Pass] reward had risen to three hundred points.
Compared to spending lavishly, this act of achieving great things with small expenses was much more satisfying to Matthew.
As Matthew distributed cigarettes, he wore a mysterious smile. He grew happier with each one given.
Eleanor almost had 'question marks popping above her head'.
'Does her boss really enjoy charity this much?' she wondered.
'How could giving out cigarettes bring him so much joy?'
'But... could giving tobacco to the homeless truly be considered benefiting the people?'
'Why did she feel this would only make the already chaotic streets even more chaotic...?'
Though she thought this, Eleanor never voiced a single doubt. She simply followed quietly behind Matthew, occasionally offering help.
Not far away, beneath Stark Tower, Tony Stark paused. He had a young woman in his arms.
He pushed up his sunglasses, shifting his gaze towards Matthew. Matthew was distributing cigarettes to the homeless on the street.
"Happy, are you saying... that person is actually Umbrella Corporation's newly appointed Head of Security?" Tony asked.
He turned to Happy behind him, a look of surprise on his face.
Happy followed Tony Stark's gaze. He saw a young man among a group of homeless people, handing out something in handfuls.
The young man was laughing as he distributed the items. 'Anyone who didn't know better would think he had some strange illness,' Happy mused.
"...Perhaps this newly appointed head likes helping the poor?"
"Helping the poor? I think he's probably just putting on a show. Otherwise, his hobby would be truly bizarre. Wouldn't you agree, Tony?" The young woman beside Tony Stark teased.
Both Tony Stark and Happy froze.
A few seconds later, Tony Stark released the young woman.
"Sorry, you should head back first," he said. "To be honest, your words and actions just now really turned my stomach..."
As he spoke, Happy casually hailed a taxi. He forcibly put the woman, who still wanted to say something, into the back seat.
Once the taxi drove away, Tony Stark reluctantly spoke to Happy. "What a shame, seeing a disgusting fly on the plate before the main course. It's ruined my appetite completely."
"I actually think it's better to spot the fly beforehand and cut your losses, rather than finding out you've eaten it after the meal, don't you think, Tony?" Happy said with a smile.
Tony Stark shrugged. "You're right about that..."
'It was much better to discover it early than to eat the fly and feel disgusted later,' he thought.
Just as the two were talking, Matthew, who had just been surrounded by people, now encountered his first trouble since arriving in this world...
"Matthew Lawrence, I've been looking for you for a long time!"
A grinding, teeth-gnashing voice forcefully dispersed the crowd around Matthew.
Following the voice, Matthew saw the person who had arrived. He instantly remembered him.
Pete was a low-level thug leader in the Maggia gang. He was responsible for lending and collecting money.
The twenty thousand student loan Matthew's predecessor had borrowed was issued by him.
Logically, the predecessor should have long repaid this loan.
But everyone knew that usurious loans issued by gangs were never simple. Repaying the principal plus normal interest was not enough.
With all sorts of miscellaneous interest added, the amount Matthew now owed was even higher than the principal.
If one didn't want to repay, this group of unscrupulous people had countless ways to torment you for money.
The most common was to catch you transporting 'white sugar.' Besides that, they could also 'tear out your heart and lungs' for you.
Their methods were truly brutal!
'It was precisely because Matthew had considered the consequences of not signing that inheritance document that he decisively became one of Umbrella's shareholders,' he recalled.
Pete clearly wasn't aware of Matthew's current change in status. That was why he acted so brazenly.
"Matthew, I didn't expect that after all this time, you'd still have the leisure to hand out things to these people..." Pete sneered.
"If you have this spare money, how about we settle our old debts?!"
Pete shoved aside the homeless man blocking his path and walked up to Matthew.
The stench unique to drug addicts emanated from him, making Matthew frown slightly.
At the same time, the group of thugs following Pete surrounded Matthew. They looked ready to send him to meet God today if he couldn't produce the money.