On the ocean, a yacht drifted with the waves. Hong Fei, clad only in shorts and sunglasses, lay on a lounge chair, letting the sun beat down on him. His right arm was swollen, and his back was covered in bruises. Now, with a layer of translucent emerald-green ointment applied, the pain had vanished, leaving only a refreshing coolness.
"You really are brave, daring to fight the Iron Man Armor with your bare hands."
If a beautiful woman in a bikini had said this, it would definitely be a compliment.
Unfortunately, the speaker was a middle-aged man with a face full of rough features. Seeing Hong Fei remain silent, Frank added, "I can give the word 'reckless' back to you now."
After a long while, Hong Fei said sullenly, "You think the Iron Man Armor is that impressive?"
"Is it not?" Frank tipped his bottle and gulped down some liquor. After a few swallows, he continued, "He is indeed a genius. That kind of armor is enough to turn an ordinary person into a god of slaughter on the battlefield. You saw it yourself; bullets could only leave scratches on the armor. I think unless you use high-yield weapons or a point-blank artillery strike to knock out the pilot inside, there's almost no way to deal with him."
"Hmph, did I fire any cannons at him last night?"
"You're different. Someone who can beat me twice with bare hands isn't an ordinary person. Besides, you're ruthless enough, full of schemes, and stop at nothing..."
"That's enough!" Hong Fei sighed indignantly. "Fine, I admit he's indeed a genius, but he's definitely not the only genius in the World!"
"Oh? Then who else is there?"
"You wouldn't know even if I told you. Besides, he's just one person. This World's technological level has never advanced solely through the brilliance of a single individual." Hong Fei clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. "After we get back, we're setting up a research lab in Sokovia immediately. I'm going to kidnap all those guys and make them work for me!"
"Who?"
Hong Fei: "Didn't I just tell you? You wouldn't know even if I told you!"
Frank curled his lip, tossed away the empty bottle, and stood up. "Fine, I'm meddling. Just keep lying there, then. I'm going to get more to drink!" Having eliminated Kingpin, Frank was clearly in a very good mood.
His habitually cold and stern face had thawed slightly, and an occasional smile appeared—something previously unseen. Perhaps this was the power brought by hope.
Hong Fei closed his eyes. The sea breeze was gentle, and the sunlight was warm. Last night, his physical fitness had reached a milestone breakthrough. Aside from an all-around surge in stats, he had also received another surprise. A second skill card slot. Changing skill cards takes time. No matter how fast Hong Fei's manual speed was, there would always be a certain interval.
Two card slots running in parallel undoubtedly boosted his actual combat capability from another angle. Unfortunately, the skill cards he currently owned were not the type that could directly increase combat power, including the skill card dropped by Kingpin last night. Passive Skill Card: Hidden Identity (Blue).
"When you are engaged in illegal activities, the probability of your true identity being discovered is significantly reduced."
Hong Fei now had a total of four skill cards: two blue, one green, and one white; two passive and two active.
Passive Skill Card: Wrath of Man (White): "When you are heavily injured, attack and defense increase by 20% for 30 seconds. After it ends, speed is reduced by 40% for 10 minutes." Passive Skill Card: Hidden Identity (Blue): "When you are engaged in illegal activities, the probability of your true identity being discovered is significantly reduced." Active Skill Card: Deceive Time and Crowd (Green): "After using the skill, any lie you tell has a low probability of gaining absolute trust from others."
Active Skill Card: Fast Memory (Blue): "Upon activation, significantly increases your memory capacity and speed."
He could only blame his opponents for being weak, not even dropping a decent skill. With two card slots, Hong Fei badly needed a proper combat skill. This could only be obtained from heroes or villains. At this point in time, there weren't many targets Hong Fei could choose from. Additionally, Hong Fei felt he needed a weapon that was sufficiently sturdy and sharp.
If he had a blade in hand, even without skills, it would have been impossible for him to engage in a melee with the Iron Man Armor like a fool last night. Although Kingpin died a bit early and a bit fast, such a result was not unexpected. As long as one isn't long-winded, hesitant, or overthinking, once the decision to kill is made, one must let go of all thoughts and go all out. People die when they are killed. Therefore, not even Kingpin's ashes remained now. The only regret was that a villain like Kingpin wasn't suitable to be kept alive on purpose.
Once given a chance to breathe, he might suddenly give Hong Fei a big "surprise" at any moment. Otherwise, he would have definitely chosen imprisonment over killing to figure out the drop rules for skill cards from him! As for which villain would be suitable for research, Hong Fei was still considering.... While Hong Fei and Frank were comfortably heading out to sea on their yacht, the situation in New York was nothing short of a massive earthquake. Someone had fired cannons in the suburbs of New York City!
In the Land of the Free, an occasional shooting isn't news, but no matter how free it is, it can't withstand someone using artillery. Three cannon blasts thundered through the sky, and flames and thick smoke surged into the heavens. Except for the hearing impaired and heavy sleepers, ninety percent of New York citizens heard and saw it last night. Even if they didn't react last night, they woke up stunned by the overwhelming news. As for the initial reaction, the citizens didn't have much of one.
After all, not everyone has heard real artillery fire; many thought it was just thunder on a clear day. Once the flames soared, these people were terrified and panicked. The most shocked were the New York National Guard. As a vital component of the U.S. Military's armed forces, their reaction after the shelling was actually half a step slower than the Police department's. By the time fighter jets took to the air for reconnaissance, they found nothing except for a mortar left five kilometers away.
Throughout the night, SWAT and the National Guard jointly entered the mountains for a dragnet search, but by then, Hong Fei and Frank had long since circled around and entered the ocean. In the public eye, the person who died in the shelling last night was a philanthropist and spice merchant. People couldn't help but feel regret, but they were also shocked that someone would be bold enough to use cannons to kill someone on the edge of the city. However, in the eyes of the underworld, Kingpin's Death immediately caused a massive uproar.
It wasn't because Kingpin was particularly respected or feared—after all, no matter how powerful he was, didn't he lack even a corpse now? The key was that with Kingpin dead, the territories and warehouses he left behind instantly became ownerless. During the day, the gangs showed restraint, but at nightfall, violent struggles immediately erupted in the dark corners of the city. News outlets were filled with various analyses and verbal battles. Some said it was a terrorist attack, some said it was gang warfare, and others pointed their fingers directly at the Police and the Military.
Why would a weapon like a mortar leak out? Why didn't the Police find it in advance? Why was the Military's reaction so slow? If someone were to shell New York, would everyone just die in their sleep? The ones overwhelmed with trouble weren't just these frontline violent institutions, but also the city and state governments. Politicians gave speeches in a frantic rush, and the political rivals of those in power constantly appeared in the media to criticize and attack. Clearly, this incident became a nightmare for some and a carnival for others.
In short, if Hong Fei were a bit more timid, the endless stream of news alone would have been enough to make him fear.
"Foolish New Yorkers, I was genuinely eliminating a scourge for the people last night."
The police reports didn't mention anything about the warehouse's basement. Presumably, these people were still searching for Hong Fei and Frank's tracks and hadn't noticed the secrets beneath that warehouse at all. But if they had directly blown up and ignited Kingpin's underground factory last night, would the thick smoke drifting into the city have made the citizens of New York high?
After drifting at sea for three days, Hong Fei's injuries had faded. The yacht turned around and returned to the Port of New York openly.
Looking at the metropolis with its dense skyscrapers from afar, Frank curled his lip and said, "This city looks a bit brighter than before. It seems our action was indeed good."
"More than good, it was simply wonderful!" Hong Fei laughed heartily.
"With three shells, you eliminated an underworld king who would have extended his tentacles across the entire world in the future, thereby saving countless individuals or families who might have suffered because of him. It's truly a boundless merit! From today on, you're not just The Punisher; you'll also have a brand new nickname!"
"What?"
"Frank Three-Cannon!"
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!