Strong Reinforcements

"Make way, make way."

Several reporters heard the shout behind them but couldn't be bothered to pay attention. Just then, a faint sting suddenly came from their necks, as if someone had stuck them with a needle. They instinctively moved aside. As more people did the same, the crowd naturally parted, allowing Wang Khan to walk easily to the front of the cordon.

"Stop! No one is allowed through here. Leave immediately!"

Two police officers noticed the anomaly. They hurried over to block him and even placed their hands on their guns, ready to draw at any moment.

"Tell Chief Winter that I have a way to solve the problem up there."

"Whoever you are, leave at once, or we'll arrest you!"

The two officers remained unmoved. Wang Khan sighed, and suddenly a silver blur shot into the cordon and vanished beneath a group of police cars. The officers only saw a shadow and couldn't make out what it was.

"What did you do? Put your hands up!"

The two officers immediately drew their guns and aimed them at Wang Khan. Just then, two Mechanical Spiders rapidly crawled onto their gun-wielding hands. A sharp, exhilarating jolt of electricity followed. Both men groaned in pain as their right hands went numb, and their service pistols dropped directly to the ground.

"Relax, gentlemen. Chief Winter will be inviting me over in a moment. If you don't want this to look too ugly, stop pointing your guns at me."

As he spoke, the two thumb-sized Mechanical Spiders leaped from the officers' wrists and landed on Wang Khan's shoulders.

The reporters all around them lit up at the sight. Marvel reporters had seen plenty of strange things. Although Iron Man was still hammering away at armor at home at this stage, and the Iron Man suit had yet to be invented, reporters had already seen plenty of high-tech products. The Mechanical Spiders on Wang Khan's shoulders were obviously high-tech devices. Combined with what had just happened, they instantly realized that another major story had appeared.

"Excuse me, sir, what should we call you? You just said you could solve the problem up there. Are you talking about rescuing the mayor?"

Wang Khan turned his head and saw that it was a reporter from the Daily Bugle. This media outlet was practically the face of Marvel media. Its owner, Jameson, was both a longtime rival of Spider-Man and his archenemy, and he also had a bit of a clownish streak. He was quite a character.

"My name is Wang Khan. You can call me Wong. I'm preparing to open a technology company. As for rescuing the mayor, that's no problem at all for these little guys. They can not only rescue the New York City Mayor safely, but also save everyone inside the Golden Restaurant. Of course, that depends on whether Chief Winter believes me. Still, I trust that with Chief Winter's judgment, he won't turn me down."

Several more reporters came over to interview him. Just then, several officers rushed over, pushed the reporters aside, and escorted Wang Khan through the cordon to the Communications Van where Winter was located. The surrounding reporters immediately realized that Wang Khan's claim was true: the NYPD director really was bringing him in as outside support.

The reporters reacted quickly. They hurriedly uploaded the videos and photos they had just taken, along with their own analysis. In no time, everyone following the Golden Heist knew Wang Khan's name and about the technology-packed Mechanical Spiders on his shoulders.

"Hey, is this Chinese-American here just trying to be funny? Is he planning to use those toy spiders to take down the armed criminals up there?"

"Those spiders look pretty good. How much does one cost? I'm thinking of buying a few for my collectibles cabinet."

"Are you all idiots? Didn't you see the NYPD's guns drop to the ground just now? Those spiders aren't toys. They're high-tech weapons. If there are enough of them, they might really be able to handle this."

A group of keyboard warriors began making their voices heard, pushing Wang Khan's popularity even higher. Soon, the Mechanical Spiders and Wang Khan shot up the New York trending searches. Now, all that remained was to see whether he could solve the problem and rescue the hostages. If he succeeded, Wang Khan would effectively have completed a marketing campaign for his company—for free.

By then, his company's products would inevitably sell like hotcakes. But if he failed, his reputation would probably be ruined. If he tried to start a company, he would lose everything.

Just as Wang Khan became an internet celebrity, he was brought before Chief Winter. Before Winter could question him, Wang Khan spoke first.

"Chief Winter, are you satisfied with the surveillance support earlier? I believe those surveillance images were the clearest you've seen so far, weren't they?"

"Did you hack into it? Quite capable, aren't you? Do you know I can arrest you for that right now?"

Winter put on a stern old face and adopted the air of someone interrogating a criminal, but Wang Khan wasn't intimidated.

"Enough, Winter. We don't have time for your tough-cop routine. You should already be out of options. Give me a chance, and before long, your people will be able to go up there and clean up the mess. The honor of rescuing the mayor will still belong to the NYPD. I'm not here to take credit from you."

"Are you insane? How dare you interfere with a police investigation?!"

"This isn't interference. I'm helping you out. You don't really think that if you hand over the person they're asking for, they'll obediently release the mayor, do you?"

Winter's expression was grim. He knew, of course, that criminals bold enough to kidnap the New York City Mayor would never honor their promise.

They wouldn't take the NYPD's threats seriously, either. Against people like that, completely eliminating them was the only path forward.

"Director, take a look at this!"

An officer ran over and handed Winter a tablet. Winter glanced at it, and his expression grew even darker.

The media had already reported Wang Khan's appearance. Many people were treating him as the NYPD's outside support, while even more saw him as their hope. Some were already worried that Chief Winter would put on airs and refuse to accept Wang Khan's proposal.

In other words, if the case couldn't be resolved properly in the end, Winter would not only have to bear responsibility for dereliction in his command of the scene, but would also be saddled with the charge of failing to make good use of capable people, having needlessly passed up a chance to rescue the hostages.

Winter was now caught between a rock and a hard place.

"What exactly are you after?"

Wang Khan glanced at the tablet in Winter's hand and smiled.

"Didn't you already see my goal? My company's paperwork will be completed soon. When that happens, I'm sure the NYPD will become one of my best customers."

"Hmph. I'll give you ten minutes..."

Wang Khan turned and walked toward a police car, swinging his left hand as he went.

"I won't need ten minutes. Five will be enough."

He placed the Silver Safe on the roof of the police car and unlocked it with his fingerprint. Twenty identical Mechanical Spiders immediately leaped out and raced up the exterior wall of the Commercial Building at a speed of eighty kilometers per hour. The building's smooth glass was no different from level ground to the Mechanical Spiders.

Winter and the NYPD officers stared in stunned silence. The media reporters who had been watching from nearby captured the Mechanical Spiders racing across the building's surface. At that moment, the attention of everyone in New York—and even across the United States—who had been following the incident turned toward them.

This is a new book from a new author, and it has already been signed internally. Please add it to your collections. If you have recommendation votes, please cast a few. Thank you all for your support.