William felt his head was about to turn into a muddled mess, even more chaotic than when he first transmigrated and found himself deep in debt.
The lead on Moon Knight was even harder to grasp than quantum mechanics.
"The old building rooftops on the edge of the financial district..."
William chewed on a nearly dried-up ballpoint pen, sketching and scribbling in his worn-out notebook.
He was trying to outline a possible patrol route for Moon Knight.
The resulting paper, covered in crossed lines and question marks, looked more like a child's crayon drawing of New York's sewer maze, radiating an aura of despair.
"Big shot, can't you learn from the iron cans at Stark Industries next door, throwing parties and sending out invitations everywhere?
Or learn from that old ice pop with the shield, at least he has a museum where people can pay their respects...Pooh, I mean visit and check in!"
William grumbled at the empty room, as if Moon Knight could hear his grievances.
Unfortunately, the only replies were the faint wail of police sirens from outside and his own 'hissing' gasp from accidentally tugging at his wounds.
His shoulder and ribs still throbbed, reminding him of how unpleasant tonight's "close encounter" had been.
Moon Knight was out of the question, at least for the short term.
William "Never Hangs All His Hopes on One Tree" Rodriguez took a deep breath and decisively changed his approach.
Instead of wasting time on a mysterious laurel tree, he should look at the entire hero forest of New York!
"New York, the cradle of heroes, the paradise of criminals... What does this mean? It means high-quality clients are everywhere!"
He forced himself to cheer up, rubbed his face, which was stiff from fatigue, and reopened his second-hand laptop.
As soon as the search engine interface popped up, his fingers flew across the keyboard, making a clattering sound, with a bit of a Matrix vibe—if you ignored his face, which was somewhat distorted from staying up late, pain, and not finding clients.
"New York local," "vigilante," "superpowered," "recent violent incidents"... Keyword combinations changed again and again.
"System, oh System, if you had an 'automatic high-quality client screening' function, would I have to work this hard?"
William muttered inwardly, glancing at the motionless system interface in his mind, which didn't even have a loading animation.
Sure enough, at critical moments, he still had to rely on himself.
Just as he was about to be drowned by various rumors and vague revelations, a sensational video link popped up: "Red Devil Appears in Hell's Kitchen! Allegedly Engaged in Fierce Battle with Kingpin's Underlings!"
The video quality was comparable to a ten-year-old flip phone camera, shaking violently.
But a red-clad figure could be vaguely seen darting through a dimly lit alley.
His movements were so fast it looked like he was on double speed, delivering powerful blows that sent a group of burly men in black suits crying for their mothers.
"Hell's Kitchen, Red Devil... Daredevil, Attorney Matt?"
William stroked his chin, his eyes beginning to light up.
This guy was a tough one!
By day, he was a blind lawyer, dispensing justice through the law.
By night, he transformed into the Red Devil, delivering physical salvation with his fists.
Tsk tsk, selling him insurance... accident insurance must be top-tier.
Add a lawyer's professional liability insurance, buy one get one free, perfect!
He immediately jotted down in his notebook:
[Target One: Matthew Murdock (Daredevil)]
Coordinates: Hell's Kitchen Law Office (specific address needs further investigation)
Characteristics: Stubborn, incredibly skilled in combat, fearless fighting style, allegedly blind but with keen senses.
Risk Assessment: Extremely High! He dances on the edge of a knife every day.
Contact Difficulty: High (What if he hears I have ulterior motives and want to scam him for premiums? I heard his hearing is excellent.)
Notes: Can try approaching through legal consultation, or... ambush him after his night patrol? (William shivered; the latter risk was too high.)
After finishing his notes on Daredevil, William glanced at the comments section below the video, and a comment caught his eye: "There's also an invulnerable guy in Harlem, much tougher than this red-skinned one! Don't believe me? Check out the Harlem community forum!"
Following the lead, he quickly found the community forum, where a post with a striking title read: "Harlem's Good Neighbor! The Invulnerable Man Strikes Again!"
Below it were several photos, much clearer than the Daredevil video: a large Black man in a hoodie, single-handedly taking down a group of street thugs armed with guns, bullets bouncing off him like mere scratches, leaving only a few shallow marks.
"Luke Cage? Invulnerable, super strength."
William's eyes lit up even more; this was a walking goldmine!
"This is good! Physical defense maxed out! Can I get a discount on the premium? No, no, no,"
He immediately shook his head, "The more invulnerable he is, the more he should buy 'special ability failure insurance' or 'magic attack rider,' in case he encounters a sorcerer one day, or a pervert specifically designed to counter his abilities?"
The professional acumen of a top salesperson instantly led him to new insurance types.
He quickly scribbled a few more lines:
[Target Two: Luke Cage]
Coordinates: Harlem (specific location to be investigated, reportedly active in community events)
Characteristics: Bulletproof skin, super strength, theoretically a walking safe house.
Risk Assessment: Medium (mainly concerned he might not accept it, or think insurance is useless.)
Contact Difficulty: Medium (reportedly kind-hearted, can I approach from a community service angle?)
Notes: Need to emphasize the importance of "unknown risks."
As William delved deeper into the Harlem community forum for more leads on Luke Cage, an inconspicuous pop-up ad caught his attention.
Usually, he would close such pop-ups immediately, but this time, bold lettering on it read: "Alias Investigations — Jessica Jones. Specializing in tough cases, serious inquiries only. Especially those looking for lost cats and dogs, get lost!"
"Jessica Jones..."
William chewed on the name, some vague impressions surfacing in his mind.
This woman was a formidable character, incredibly strong, with a temper even bigger than her strength. She was rumored to be able to fly (though she didn't seem to enjoy using it much) and always wore a "don't mess with me" expression, exuding a strong aura of PTSD.
"A private investigator, excellent!"
William slapped his thigh, feeling he had found a breakthrough.
She had a fixed office location; no need to chase her all over the World!
Moreover, people in her line of work surely had a much stronger risk awareness than the average hero.
Dealing with all sorts of shady characters and vicious criminals daily, she might be targeted for revenge at her doorstep any day.
This was a perfect client!
He immediately highlighted her name and address (though it was just the agency name):
[Target Three: Jessica Jones]
Coordinates: Hell's Kitchen (Hell's Kitchen again? Is there something wrong with the feng shui of this place? The hero density is too high!) Alias Investigations.
Characteristics: Super strength, volatile temper, allegedly has flight ability but is too lazy to fly, high-risk profession.
Risk Assessment: Medium-High (mainly afraid of being punched away by her, or having my phone smashed directly.)
Contact Difficulty: Low (Having an address is victory! Can visit directly!)
Notes: Need to prepare a plan to deal with her temper, and a sufficiently attractive "Comprehensive Personal Accident and Property Protection Plan."
Besides these "local celebrities," William, leveraging his advantage as a transmigrator with foreknowledge, silently wrote down a few more names in the "Future Potential Clients" section of his notebook:
Peter Parker
Spider-Man in training, should still be a high school student, right?
Can invest early, a fighter jet among potential stocks!
Just don't know if he's legally an adult yet; whether guardian signatures are troublesome for policies, need to check New York State law.
Tony Stark
Iron Man, billionaire, top-tier client among the top-tier!
However, he has an AI butler like Jarvis; whether my set of insurance sales pitches can fool an AI is a big problem.
And meeting him in person is harder than ascending to Heaven, unless I can disguise myself as a pizza delivery person and sneak into Stark Tower, and it would have to be a bulletproof pizza box.
Steve Rogers
Captain America, national idol, living legend... He should still be frozen in the Arctic Ocean, right?
When he comes out, I must get him a 'Heroic Return Comprehensive Insurance,' with an additional 'Inter-Era Generation Gap Psychological Counseling Subsidy' and 'Modern Society Adjustment Disorder Allowance,' it will definitely be a huge seller!
After writing these, William let out a long sigh of relief, feeling like an adventurer holding a treasure map, although these treasures... err, clients, were all troublesome, even notoriously difficult to deal with.
"Moon Knight is too elusive; I'll start with those who have a fixed address and whose risk assessment is relatively controllable."
William's gaze finally settled firmly on the name "Jessica Jones."
Although this fiery woman was difficult, at least she could be found!
It's decided then, Ms. Jessica!
I hope you don't mind a passionate insurance salesperson, bringing a tailor-made policy to your doorstep!
He grinned, as if he could already see the system rewards arriving after a successful signing, and his strength skyrocketing.
Looking out the window, the sky was already faintly lit.
He rubbed his still throbbing temples and made up his mind, "Get enough rest. Tomorrow at noon, when the Yang energy is strongest, I'll go meet this Jessica Jones!"