"I'm in."
Slipping through the basement vent at the back of the villa, Hunter relied on his superhuman stats (more than double that of a normal person) to enter Steve's stronghold.
The basement was pitch black.
He hung upside down, hooking his feet onto the window ledge, his hands probing the darkness below.
His fingertips touched nothing.
He waited for his eyes to adjust.
The basement ceiling was about three meters high.
It looked like a garage. In the distance, he saw the rectangular outline of a vehicle.
"Height is roughly 2.8 to 3 meters."
"With my current stats, I can drop."
He calculated the distance, released his feet, and fell.
His hands hit the floor first. As gravity tried to slam him down, his arms—packed with explosive power—flexed instantly. He somersaulted and landed silently on his feet.
"Phew."
No time to rest. He crouched and moved behind the vehicle.
Earlier, he had heard the servo motor of a surveillance camera. He scanned the room and spotted it near the garage entrance.
It was pointing away from him.
Safe.
He pulled a glow stick from his Inventory, cracked it just enough to emit a faint light, and inspected his surroundings.
It was a spacious underground garage, about fifty or sixty square meters. Big enough for three or four Chevy Suburbans.
Currently, it housed two cars.
One was a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. A high-performance off-roader. Base price $50,000-$60,000, but often customized with bulletproofing and engine upgrades by the wealthy.
The other was a Bentley Continental GT.
Hunter recognized it immediately. The second generation, produced after Volkswagen acquired Bentley. A luxury grand tourer. Base price $170,000-$180,000. A true rich man's toy.
"Steve knows how to enjoy life," Hunter mused.
Aside from the vehicle ramp, there was a pedestrian door leading into the villa.
Hunter stored the glow stick and approached the door.
Locked.
He frowned, glancing back at the camera. He had to try.
He pulled out his lockpicking kit.
[Lockpicking] was one of his first skills. At Level 1, he could open simple locks with keys to grind EXP.
At Level 2, keys no longer gave EXP, but he could now use professional tools to pick most commercial locks.
He wasn't sure about this one, though.
He inserted the tension wrench and pick. He pressed his ear against the door, utilizing his enhanced hearing.
Click.
The lock wasn't complex.
A few minutes of fiddling, feeling for the pins, and it gave way.
Hunter grinned.
He taped the latch so it wouldn't lock behind him, then pushed the door open.
A short corridor lay ahead.
It was unlit, but his eyes were adjusted.
To one side was a storage room filled with wine racks. Hunter ignored the expensive liquor and kept moving.
At the end of the corridor was a spiral staircase.
He crept up the stairs.
Another door at the top. Unlocked.
He pushed it open.
Jackpot.
He was inside the main villa.
The villa had a massive footprint but only two floors above ground.
It was decorated with antique floors and tiles imported from Europe—a common affectation for American nouveau riche trying to buy culture.
Surprisingly, some lights on the first floor were on.
Hunter tensed.
He moved silently through the ground floor.
In the movie, Steve kept the gold on the first floor because moving a ton of metal upstairs was a logistical nightmare.
Hunter searched the living room, kitchen, laundry room, gym, and study.
No guest rooms. No maid's quarters.
And apparently, no guards.
Steve really was living alone.
But Hunter couldn't find the safe.
He had checked everywhere except one spot: a locked door in the hallway next to the living room.
Based on the villa's layout, the space behind that door should be tiny—maybe three or four square meters. A closet.
Hunter had dismissed it earlier because it was too close to the front entrance.
But after clearing the rest of the floor, it was the only option left.
"Don't tell me he hid a ton of gold in a broom closet."
Hunter approached the unassuming wooden door.
He pulled out his lockpicking tools again.
This lock was even simpler than the garage door.
Click.
He opened the door.
His breathing grew heavy.
Behind the wooden door sat two massive, reinforced steel safes, sitting side by side.
Hunter knew immediately.
He had found Steve's gold.