City of Light Frank

Once he was sure the dishes were washed and put away, Merlin ignored the girl's resentful gaze and politely saw her out of the house.

Back inside, Merlin joined Gwen to study the experimental calculation formula Peter had sent over.

The main base formula for the Cross-Species Gene Research Experiment was R=(1+P)^(-n)2.

Here, P represented the probability of success after each attempt, n was the number of trials, and the decay rate was the degree to which the success probability decreased after each experiment.

As long as they could find a way to increase P and reduce n during the experiment, they could slow down the decay rate.

After discussing for a while and confirming they were on the right track, Merlin sent the revised formula back to Peter.

The sky was getting dark, and Merlin made some late-night snacks. But when he returned to the living room, Gwen had already vanished.

"Leaving without saying goodbye again." He shrugged, not too bothered—he was used to it by now.

His laptop then chimed with a live news report.

"The lizard monster has reappeared on the Williamsonburg Bridge. Police are rushing to the scene, but traffic on the bridge is heavy and crowded with people. The situation is not optimistic..."

"Oh my god, great, the kid's safe—Spider-Man is here."

Merlin sat down on the sofa with his late-night snack, eating as he watched the laptop. The screen showed live footage from Williamsonburg. A black-and-white Spider suit—Gwen Spider-Man—had just arrived and was already fighting the Lizardman in the dense, gridlocked traffic.

But after watching for a while, Merlin noticed something off. The Lizardman in the footage didn't look quite the same as the one Peter had turned into.

"Another Lizardman?" He raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.

This world seemed to be getting chaotic.

But if you wanted real chaos, you'd have to wait until that guy from Stark Industries made his big announcement.

With that thought, Merlin quickly finished his snack, closed the news feed, and went back to coding his R Star Website.

The appearance of the Lizardman had Apple City on edge, but after it escaped from Williamsonburg by jumping into the river from Spider-Man's grasp, it vanished without a trace.

The police investigation eventually led them to Professor Connors at Osborn Industries, but he had already resigned and disappeared.

With that, the police confirmed Connors as the prime suspect and began a targeted search.

But by Saturday, they had found nothing. Meanwhile, Gwen had been showing up with scrapes and bruises more often.

When Merlin asked, she just used skateboarding as an excuse.

A major incident also occurred in Hell's Kitchen: the leader of the Motorcycle Gang had been assassinated. Word was there was an explosion on the spot, and the whole room was splattered with flesh and blood—utterly gruesome.

Saturday afternoon, Merlin's Custom Shop.

The same old workstation, but the Bevel Magic Treasure was gone, replaced by a low-slung sports car. The front end of the body looked like a three-pronged toe, and the streamlined shape was full of futuristic sci-fi aesthetics.

If not for the four wheels, it would look more like a futuristic aircraft.

The surface was covered in a Princess Bubblegum paint job with no missing spots.

"Rattle..."

The rolling shutter slowly rose, and Frank walked in, radiating a heavy, oppressive aura.

"How's the gun working?" Merlin asked first.

Frank was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Pretty good. Tell me how to join the game."

With the death of the Motorcycle Gang leader, the other two gangs had gone on alert. To play it safe, he hadn't acted rashly, waiting instead for Merlin's news.

What he wanted was to kill every single gang member who had harmed his wife and daughter—not one left alive. Before that, he didn't want to die.

More precisely, Merlin could give him a safer plan, so he wouldn't have to be impulsive.

"Open your phone."

Frank looked confused but still pulled out his phone.

As the screen lit up, a strange star-shaped app icon appeared on his phone.

Since he didn't have much on his phone, he spotted it right away.

"Tap it."

Frank did as told. As the app opened, a webpage appeared on his screen.

Seeing what was displayed on the page, his eyes flickered.

"This is the R Star Store. I'm sure you can recognize the items—everything in my shop is included here too."

"To buy, besides cash, you can also earn rewards by completing tasks."

"For example, with these three gangs, if you finish the job, you should get between five hundred thousand and ten million."

"I can also provide weapons and planning, but I'll take a twenty percent cut."

"What do you think?" Merlin held up two fingers.

Frank tapped the phone's buttons, scrolling through the many vehicles and weapons, including fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, and armored cars. He couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

Who exactly is behind this game?

"What do you think? Or do you plan to do it yourself?" Merlin urged when he saw the other party hadn't answered for a long time.

Frank snapped back to reality and adjusted his mindset.

"Fine, I agree. As long as I can kill them all, I don't care about the reward—you can have it all." He wasn't very concerned about the payment; he just wanted to wipe out his enemies.

"OK, then you can pick any vehicle or weapon from my shop now."

"And I can send you the exact locations of everyone in the gang, including the leader."

"This is an earpiece—stay tuned for updates."

"If necessary, I can also come to back you up."

"Good. We move tonight."

Frank then followed Merlin back into the armory. He picked out a pump-action shotgun, a dagger, and an armor-piercing handgun.

After that, he chose the Bevel Magic Treasure Merlin had just finished making last week, got into it, and drove away from the modification shop.

He had originally wanted to pick the Super Burner, but maybe because the paint job was too flashy, he settled for the more modest-looking Bevel Magic Treasure.

Hell's Kitchen, Fuer 38th Street.

Frank drove the vehicle through the dim streets, heading toward the Motorcycle Gang's territory.

"By the way, after you avenge your wife and daughter, do you have any plans for what comes next?"

Merlin's voice suddenly came through the earpiece.

Frank paused for a moment. "Not for now."

"Hmm... makes sense. Your mind is full of revenge right now. The gangs around here are all connected somehow; expecting the law to lock them up is basically hopeless."

"This dark play needs light to purify them, and this city needs light too."

"City of Light... how does that title sound?"

Frank felt a flicker of interest, but he really couldn't get behind the name—it was too cringey.

Just as he was about to speak, Merlin suddenly issued a warning.

"Target ahead of you."

"Vroom!!"