Two weeks later, in a car in the open-air parking lot of the community.
"Boss, this is all the information collected by the intelligence team about Obadiah Stanislav."
David handed the stack of materials he had sorted to Carl, who was sitting in the backseat.
Carl took the information and skimmed through it. It included Obadiah Stanislav's birth details, age, general life experiences, home address, and daily activity routes—all recorded in great detail.
"Very good. Looks like we can act tonight."
At this point, the situation with the new company had mostly stabilized. Jack would continue handling its development, allowing Carl to return to a more leisurely state.
Using this free time to complete the side mission would let him return to the small world and resume his training sooner.
After memorizing all the information on Obadiah Stanislav, Carl got out of the car and walked toward Building No. 8, where he lived.
Along the way, he greeted other residents of the community with a friendly smile.
Even though he had appeared in some newspapers and TV coverage thanks to the new product launch, the average person still didn't recognize him.
Right now, the gap between him and someone like Tony Stark was like that between a decent pharmaceutical company owner and a global celebrity billionaire or a country's President.
When a President walked down the street, most people could identify him at a glance. His fame rivaled that of top-tier celebrities.
In contrast, even if a pharmaceutical brand was popular, unless someone worked in the industry or paid special attention, they likely wouldn't recognize the company's CEO. Just like most people don't know who runs companies that make widely used medicines.
So when Carl walked down the street, it was nearly impossible for anyone to suddenly exclaim, "Hey, isn't that the boss of Hudson Enterprises?"
To most residents, there was just a newlywed couple living in the community. The man was handsome, the woman beautiful, and both of them were extremely friendly.
---
"Honey, try this! A chocolate chip cookie I learned from Mrs. Martha next door!"
Seeing Carl return home, Wanda excitedly took out freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and presented them like treasure.
Carl grabbed one, took a bite, and his eyes lit up.
"This is delicious—way better than the boxed ones I used to buy!"
This wasn't just to comfort her—he truly meant it. Wanda's cooking skills had always been average, but when it came to making desserts, she had improved rapidly.
Ever since she became close with Mrs. Martha, Wanda had been learning all kinds of new baking tricks, and her treats were getting better with each batch.
"Of course! I went to the supermarket and got the best butter and chocolate. I followed Mrs. Martha's secret recipe and practiced a few times until I nailed it!"
Wanda proudly lifted her chin.
She had actually failed several times at first—some batches were total disasters, others just mediocre compared to Mrs. Martha's. But she didn't waste any of them—either gave them to her brother Pietro who lived next door or to neighbors around the community.
That was also why, in just two weeks, many residents had come to know Wanda and Carl as incredibly sweet people.
Who wouldn't love a neighbor handing out free desserts?
"Wanda, aren't you going to eat some too?"
Carl noticed Wanda just leaning on her chin and watching him without touching the cookies.
"I'm on a diet, no sweets for me lately."
She smiled and shook her head.
Carl looked at the cookie in his hand and sighed silently. With his current body and energy output, a few cookies meant nothing—but now he finally understood why so many men gained weight after getting married.
But it was also a good feeling—a life like this, a warm harbor at home, made it easier to fight harder outside.
---
"By the way, honey, there's something I'd like to talk to you about."
After Carl finished the cookies, Wanda spoke again, this time with a hint of nervousness.
"What's on your mind? Tell me."
Carl smiled and held her hands gently.
Wanda hesitated a bit, then finally said:
"Today, while I was learning to make cookies, Mrs. Martha invited me to join their relief station. They use their free time to help orphans and the homeless."
Mrs. Martha's stories had touched Wanda's heart deeply, reminding her of her own struggles growing up with Pietro in an orphanage after their parents died.
"If it feels right to you, then go for it."
Carl nodded without hesitation.
"But… I know you don't like me working outside."
A flicker of concern crossed Wanda's face.
Carl gently patted her head.
"I just don't think it's necessary for you to work since our family's not short on money. I didn't want you overworked."
Carl wasn't the controlling type—especially not toward loved ones. He just worried about Wanda's safety and well-being.
But volunteering at the relief station sounded fine—it wasn't formal work, had flexible hours, and offered the chance to meet kindhearted people.
Wanda lit up with happiness after Carl's approval. She gave him a kiss and happily went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
After dinner, Carl left the house under the pretense that there was something urgent at the company that needed his attention.
At eleven o'clock that night, on the outskirts of Manhattan, outside an ultra-luxury villa, Carl looked at the ten-meter-high wall in front of him and chuckled:
"This Obadiah Stanislav is really overly cautious!"
Most outer walls were only three or four meters high. The towering wall around Obadiah's estate had clearly been reinforced afterward. For an average person, getting inside would be near impossible.
But for Carl, it posed no problem at all.
He channeled chakra into the soles of his feet and easily walked up the wall as if it were flat ground.
Although he hadn't been able to train in full ninjutsu lately, he hadn't slacked off in refining his chakra control.
To better prepare for learning the advanced Palm Sage Technique, Carl spent nearly every spare moment over the past two weeks practicing chakra control using the ornamental fish in the office aquarium.