Swimming in the lake was cool. I could go all the way to the bottom and breathe regularly with the gills on my neck. It was moot since I was an ooze and did not need to breathe. The ones with jammers had the yellow blades while the one in the speedo had the violet blade. The one I was using still had the second red blade. Hanging out and having fun like this was the best part of the game. I sent the R8 with the other violet katana back to the house. I wanted to make sure it was at least occupied since I paid for it. The sharkmen with swimwear went to their rooms and resumed their cultivation. I was taking what amounted to a nice vacation. I was in the top 30 in the villain rankings. I could afford to take a break. This server of the game was not that popular with Players. There were only a few hundred at any given time. That meant there was little actual competition for the top spot. Most of the other Players were heroes and the ones that were not were either vigilantes or villains in other countries. I read the leader board changes every in-game week as most villains will make at least one move.
Knowing this, I could get ahead by doing crime sprees multiple times a week or in multiple locations. Now that I had a base here at Lake heart and a house in Dawn City that were mine, I could cause havoc in multiple places. I checked the map. The city closest to my position on the lake was Life City. Since I was on the right dip between the two mounds of the heart, I could get there within an in-game hour by walking. There was another city on the other end of the lake called Love City. It was right at the bottom of the heart. If I swam the distance to the other end of the lake and then walked, it would be about an hour and a half. That meant three potential cities. There, on the left side of the lake was a small resort town that was right on the lake. It was twenty minutes from my base and called Shining Ventricle. I went on my phone to buy a house in the town. It was a two bedroom, one bathroom home. Now that I had a house in town, I could buy all the services I needed to finish my lair. Walking in town as the sharkman made the towns people fearful. It was clear that I was a villain. They were obedient.
I got an electrician to come over to the lair and install outlets and a fuzebox. Once I had working electricity, I could put some appliances in the lair like TV and computers in the bedrooms. I could even put in a fridge or an oven in the kitchen. The electrician and a new apprentice took a full week in-game to do the job. I was then able to buy the appliances directly from the town. I was actually giving them a lot of business as it was their off season. It was probably why they did not try to attack or report me. It would be a big opportunity lost for the town. That was totally fine with me. Almost all of the money made from the second heist was gone when I was done with all of the big purchases I made. I had to lay another two eggs and store them in the fridge. Now that I was done, I was finally confident that I could declare this structure my lair. If I left it unattended someone could steal it. That was not a concern for me as I could just have the three Foundation Establishment sharkmen stay and cultivate inside. The one I was using now only had a measly bit of Metal Qi. It was not even enough to start cultivating.
My rank was still 27 because no one under me was able to get enough points to surpass me. I was still within a few sprees away from the top 20. When I got serious, the region would fall to chaos. The peace and relaxation I was enjoying was broken a few days later. A young man and woman came up to my lair as I was going out for a swim. I assumed they were a couple. I stood my ground and crossed my arms as they came closer. They were not satisfied until they were 10 feet away from me. The young man spoke up and said "Get the hell out from our town! We know you're a villain." "We're not going to let you attack our town and kill people!" she added. "I take it that you are aspiring heroes. Everyone has to start somewhere. I get it. You can't win against me though." They looked even more determined. "You don't know who you're messing with. We're the Heartdogs! I'm Shepherd and she's Lab!" I rolled my eyes. "I'm in the top 30 for villains in the country. If you beat me, you'll instantly shoot up in the hero rankings. You might die though. Are you willing to risk your girlfriend?" I asked him.
