In less than a minute, the Mechanical Spiders had reached the eighteenth floor, the outer perimeter of the Golden Restaurant.
There were twenty of them in total. Eighteen crawled directly through the shattered windows into the Golden Restaurant, while the remaining two continued upward toward the rooftop, targeting the thug lying in ambush there who had shot down the armed helicopter.
Inside the Golden Restaurant, the Masked Leader raised his gun again, searching for a target. Another hour was nearly up, which meant another hostage would be killed.
"Looks like the NYPD doesn't want to hand him over. In that case, I'll slaughter a small fish first."
The Masked Leader looked toward George Stacy, the director of the New York Branch. George immediately clenched his fists. He would never be shot like a lamb without putting up any resistance.
But before George could get to his feet, the back of his head was struck with a gunstock. A violent wave of dizziness washed over him, and he collapsed to the floor, unable even to crawl.
"Don't worry, Commissioner George. I won't kill you for now. But since your colleagues don't take us seriously enough, I can only collect a little interest from you."
As he spoke, the Masked Leader walked over and grabbed Gwen Stacy.
"No! Let her go! Kill me if you want to kill someone!"
George roared and desperately tried to stand, but the gunstock blow had been too heavy. His body was completely beyond his control. The fact that he had not passed out already was proof of his strength; how could he possibly fight back?
The black muzzle was aimed at Gwen. Only eighteen years old, Gwen did not scream in fear like an ordinary girl. As she rose, she swiftly snatched up a bottle of wine from the table and smashed it hard against his head.
Amid the sound of shattering glass, the Masked Leader's head split open, blood streaming down his face.
Lifting the hem of her skirt, Gwen delivered a brutal kick at his groin, but he blocked it with his hand.
With a pained groan, Gwen was knocked to the ground by another thug who rushed over and struck her with his gunstock.
"You little bitch, you've got guts. Just like a police officer's daughter. Too bad you're still going to die!"
Having his head cracked open infuriated the Masked Leader. He stopped wasting words and raised his gun at Gwen's head.
In that instant, every hair on Gwen's body stood on end. She was still young. Even though her mental fortitude far surpassed that of ordinary people, she instinctively felt fear in the face of death.
It was said that when people were under excessive psychological pressure, their five senses would dull. Gwen was the exact opposite. At that moment, her senses became extraordinarily sharp, allowing her to hear faint sounds she normally could not—and even see several silver-white spiders moving at high speed.
"Bzzzzzz~~~"
A series of electric shocks rang out. Blue-white arcs suddenly burst from the necks of ten thugs, including the Masked Leader. Their bodies convulsed before they collapsed helplessly to the floor.
Gwen instinctively twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the bullet the Masked Leader fired unconsciously.
Once the gunshot faded, all the thugs were down. George's dizziness had eased somewhat, and driven by concern for his daughter, he climbed to his feet and rushed to Gwen's side.
"Gwen, how are you? Are you hurt?"
"Dad, I'm fine. That shot missed me. Go check what happened to them. I think I saw some Mechanical Spiders."
As she spoke, the eighteen Mechanical Spiders formed two rows and quickly crawled out through the windows. This time, not only Gwen but also George and the nearby hostages saw them.
"God! What are those? Alien high-tech robots?"
"Whatever they are, they saved our lives. Those bastards are dead, right?"
At that moment, the New York City Mayor ran over to George. He knew George and hurriedly asked what was going on.
"Mayor, those bastards aren't dead. They've only been shocked unconscious. Those spiders were probably made by Chief Winter."
"Whoever made them, tie those bastards up quickly. Everyone else, get out of here at once."
Though he wanted nothing more than to be the first one out, the mayor still showed some sense of responsibility. Or perhaps putting on a show had become instinctive for him. Once he was sure there was no danger, he immediately played the role of a brave, responsible mayor, encouraging everyone while directing their evacuation.
After Chief Winter received word that all the thugs had been shocked unconscious, he personally led a team charging into the Golden Restaurant. The scene of him taking the lead was perfectly captured by the cameras of the gathered media.
By then, Wang Khan had no need to steal Winter's spotlight. He stayed obediently beside the police car and placed the twenty returned Mechanical Spiders into a safe.
Several officers nearby all looked over. Wang Khan smiled at them.
"These Spider-Type Intelligent Robots would be a tremendous help to you. If each of you were equipped with two or three of them, you could fight your way out even if you were surrounded by gangsters. Their arrival would greatly reduce the danger you face on duty."
After saying that, Wang Khan took out a Mechanical Spider and introduced its various functions to the officers, becoming a salesman right there on the scene.
Since all the thugs had been shocked unconscious, no fighting occurred after Winter led his people upstairs. They simply disarmed every thug and put them in handcuffs.
The mayor lavished praise on Winter and also asked about the Mechanical Spiders. Naturally, Winter could not admit that he was incompetent and had relied entirely on outside help.
So he went along with it, saying they were made by an NYPD police equipment manufacturer with whom he had been preparing to establish deeper cooperation. This incident had happened to come up, so he had invited Wang Khan to assist with the operation.
Upon hearing that, the New York City Mayor immediately ordered further cooperation with Wang Khan. Such useful police equipment had to be widely promoted throughout the NYPD.
In short, a major robbery that had shaken all of New York thoroughly established the reputations of Wang Khan and the Spider-Type Intelligent Robots. They even received orders.
Just two days later, all the paperwork Wang Khan needed to establish his company had been completed. Even the bank loan came through smoothly: ten million dollars, just enough to solve the company's shortage of initial startup funds.
"What did you say? Umbrella Corporation? Some third-rate company nobody has ever heard of actually landed a huge NYPD contract? Are you fucking kidding me?!"
Justin Hammer shoved aside the sexy female secretary draped over him and roared at the business manager.
"Boss, that Wang Khan is an internet celebrity now. The Golden Restaurant incident not only made him the center of attention, it also won him the favor of the mayor and Chief Winter. Besides, our stun guns haven't really made any technological breakthroughs, so..."
"Enough! Hammer Industries has always been suppressed by that bastard Tony. Now Tony has shut himself away, and this should have been the perfect opportunity for us to rise. I absolutely will not allow you to fail at a time like this. Go! No matter what it takes, deal with Wang Khan. If you can't handle it, don't bother coming back!"
Just as Hammer Industries was preparing to take action against Wang Khan, an important figure from the NYPD arrived at the precision instrument processing plant Wang Khan had rented. The official was an old acquaintance—Commissioner George Stacy—and his daughter Gwen had come along as well.
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