"Winnie Pritzker was my high school classmate. I'm pursuing her."
Anthony said this to Officer Jimmy Simmons, who had come to question him.
"I just got back from Afghanistan. I asked her to a motel, we got into an argument, and I stabbed myself. That's all there is to it."
The officer looked at him, then glanced at another report in his hand.
"Lieutenant Tarasov, you took the heir of the Pritzker Family to that kind of motel? She's worth billions, and your discharge pay shouldn't be small, right?"
The heir of the Pritzker Family?
Anthony was stunned.
He had only known that Winnie's family was not ordinary; he had never expected her to be the eldest daughter of the Pritzker Family.
"Officer Simmons, I really didn't know her true identity. Of course, I kept some things from her as well."
Simmons thought of the "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" noted in the investigation record and did not doubt Anthony's words.
After asking a few more questions, he stood up and gave him a salute.
"Lieutenant, please get some rest."
Anthony asked, "Is she okay?"
"With your statement, she'll be fine," Simmons said with a smile. "Besides, her family has a team of lawyers."
"Lieutenant, you should give up the pursuit. After all… social classes." He leaned in closer. "If you want compensation, she probably won't haggle."
After the two officers left, Anthony closed his eyes and opened them again. A row of information appeared before him.
[Firearms Mastery: LV6 (52/10)]
[Physical Limit: LV6 (46/10)]
[Close Quarters Combat: LV7 (33/10)]
[Viral Antibody: LV9 (New) Grants immunity to 95% of toxins in the current world]
[Rapid Calculation: LV6 (87/10 New) Mental calculation speed exceeds computers, capable of instantly solving complex mathematical problems]
[Compensatory Perception: LV7 (77/10 New) Plasticity perception takes over visual functions, forming spatial modeling capabilities]
These attributes had only appeared after he woke up.
The first three were the original host's abilities.
Viral Antibody was an attribute gained after being poisoned.
"Yusuf, when are you going to rob the Boogeyman, John Wick?"
Anthony smiled, his eyes turning cold.
"Even though John will help me kill you, I still want to do it myself."
Anthony had no affection whatsoever for his half-brother Yusuf or his father Viggo.
The host's mother had been a hostess at one of Viggo's nightclubs. After a night of passion, Viggo had tossed down a few thousand dollars and ignored her thereafter.
She had been arranged to live in an old building in Brooklyn, only three blocks away from chaotic Queens.
Without a job, she could only survive with difficulty on government food stamps and medical subsidies.
Furthermore, she had been strictly monitored by Viggo's men and was not allowed to see any other men.
It was not until Anthony was born that Viggo frequently sent people with money, or occasionally picked Anthony up to spend a day with him.
Because of this, Yusuf later became full of hostility toward Anthony, the outsider.
In fact, Anthony knew very well that he had merely been a pawn in Viggo's hands, meant to enlist in the military with a clean identity to achieve certain goals.
Before enlisting, even when faced with Yusuf's humiliation, Anthony had never shown any dissatisfaction.
In his first year in Afghanistan, his mother suddenly died under unknown circumstances.
After receiving the news, Anthony could only ask a discharged comrade to investigate secretly, only to discover that his mother had actually been accidentally burned to death by Yusuf.
Anthony's battlefield PTSD symptoms were related to this.
He had returned from discharge mainly to seek revenge, but while the host had been making polite conversation with Yusuf, he had been poisoned instead.
Anthony knew well that in the Afghanistan Chinook crash, twenty-two members of SEAL Team Six had been ambushed and wiped out due to a lack of vigilance.
His death by poisoning this time had also been caused by insufficient vigilance.
Now, as a transmigrator who had inherited the host's military abilities, secretly killing Viggo and his son would certainly not be difficult, but taking on the entire Tarasov Mob alone was completely impossible.
If he wanted to inherit the Tarasov Family, he still had to follow the plot of John Wick and borrow John's strength.
Anthony considered how to assist Yusuf in killing the dog without letting John discover his existence.
At present, even with his Marine Corps background and his cheat ability, his chances of winning against John's super-fast gunplay would not exceed forty percent, especially since John's physical condition had already declined.
Since he could not defeat him, he would join him.
He might as well become friends with John first.
If he teamed up with him, the success rate of toppling the Tarasov Family would be fourteen percent.
More importantly, he knew the plot and could help avoid many unnecessary detours.
But unfortunately, the dog named Daisy had to die.
As for John offending the High Table later, Anthony first had to get control of the Tarasov Family.
The Tarasov Family was not only an important force in New York's underworld but also a mid-level power under the rule of the High Table.
Only by eliminating those old subordinates loyal to Viggo together with John would he be able to completely control the gang.
Even as an illegitimate son, once he controlled this group, there would be considerable room for whatever he wished to accomplish in the future.
While Anthony was thinking about his future plans, the ward door was pushed open.
Winnie appeared at the door, carrying a faint fragrance and holding a bouquet of flowers.
She was still wearing the same clothes from last night, clearly having come straight from the police station after giving her statement.
Beneath her exquisite makeup, a trace of fatigue that was hard to conceal lingered at the corners of her eyes.
When her gaze met Anthony's as he leaned against the hospital bed, her complex expression was mixed with unease.
Behind her followed a young female assistant in a sharp professional suit, carrying an elegant food container.
Winnie nodded slightly. The assistant understood, stepped forward to gently place the container on the bedside table, glanced at Anthony, and then withdrew.
Winnie set down the bouquet of white calla lilies, which emitted an elegant fragrance. Her gaze fell on Anthony's chest, wrapped in thick bandages.
This made her unconsciously recall the cold knife handle and dark red blood from last night, as well as—
Her fingertips curled slightly at her side. She forced herself to straighten her back, regaining the cold composure of the Pritzker Family heir who controlled hundreds of hotels.
"Allow me to call you Anthony. Thank you." Her voice was steady.
Anthony could hear the deliberate distance in her politeness.
He leaned against the bed and looked at her calmly.
A firm jawline, slightly pursed lips, and deep-seated doubt and lingering fear in her eyes.
"Don't mention it." Anthony curled his lips into a faint smile. "We've already discussed everything. There's nothing to thank me for."
Winnie paused, seemingly weighing her words.
Her eyes involuntarily swept over Anthony's injury again.
"I believe you may also be a victim, but for me, your testimony is crucial."
"If it weren't for you, that setup… what they wanted wasn't merely to ruin my reputation. They wanted to destroy me completely."
"I didn't want to get into bigger trouble either," Anthony said with a smile. "If the police had found you guilty, as both the victim and witness, my trouble wouldn't have been small either."
"So you don't need to thank me. We're even."