Deviant Intelligence

Deviant Intelligence

S.H.I.E.L.D. attached great importance to Duva. Starting the next day, the personnel S.H.I.E.L.D. assigned to watch him increased tenfold—ten Dum Dum Dugans with concealed faces took turns keeping watch from the neighboring building.

People from all kinds of factions also kept coming to his door. At least on the surface, they were all exceedingly polite to Duva, trying to extend olive branches, but none received a positive response from him.

That was only natural. A battle of that intensity had taken place, and it had even resulted in a general dying on the spot. There was no way to keep it hidden. Everyone now knew about Xenomorphs and recognized the value of this biological weapon. Duva's standing had therefore risen without limit, giving him every right to tell them no.

Well, the fact that Duva had not casually killed the people they sent might itself have been an incomprehensible display of restraint—enough to surprise some thoroughly vicious people.

"During the Broadway incident, newly appointed Deputy Director George rushed to the scene, offered condolences to the injured citizens, and promised the people of New York City that he would apply to the government for a special fund to strengthen the police force and prevent an incident like this from happening again..."

Duva muttered through a passage before tossing aside the newspaper in his hand.

The entire article was nothing but stale clichés. The only thing that interested him was that George Stacy had actually been promoted. It was probably the sugar-coated bullet Dum Dum Dugan had thrown out to keep George's mouth shut.

"Compared to boring news reports, it's more interesting to watch certain people put on such enthusiastic performances. Even Kingpin sent someone over. At least he's openly coming to give me money and build a relationship. No one turns down money. But I really didn't expect someone to sneak onto my turf. Was my hospitality lacking?"

Duva let out a sigh without even blinking. Yet beside him, several Xenomorphs that had been lying quietly like oversized puppies seemed to receive a clear signal. They sprang up at once, their bodies taut as they darted through the building.

Elektra, hiding in the shadows, was startled. Her heartbeat quickened for an instant, but that alone was enough to expose her position.

Because what she faced had never been an ordinary human. It was someone who far surpassed normal people in every regard—and who had several Xenomorphs as his claws and fangs.

Whoosh! Several Xenomorphs moved rapidly, utterly silent from start to finish, yet their coordination was seamless.

Elektra completely abandoned any hope of getting lucky. Facing Xenomorphs that showed no mercy, she knew that one misstep would get her killed here. She immediately began cursing inwardly, feeling that she should never have gone out of her way to come to a place like this while carrying out her mission.

A Courier Xenomorph came up behind Elektra, its flexible tail stabbing toward her. Clearly, if it hit, Elektra would be skewered like a candied hawthorn.

Bang! Bang! Bang! As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Elektra decisively drew her gun, spun around, and fired in rapid succession. She accurately hit the limbs of the two Courier Xenomorphs charging at the front while carefully avoiding the splattering blood. Her eyelids twitched wildly as she stared at the pits the blood corroded into the floor.

"Don't misunderstand. I was only following Kingpin's people, which is why I ended up here!" In less than a second, after exchanging just one round, Elektra had already determined that if she kept being stubborn, she would end badly.

Analyzing videos and running simulations was ultimately not the same as actual combat. And these were only the weakest Xenomorphs. If she encountered that huge creature resembling Hulk...

What kind of strength did Duva himself, the man who controlled these Xenomorphs, possess? "A clever excuse. At least it's more believable than a poorly fabricated lie. Then do I have reason to conclude that you represent The Hand in provoking me? Or will you deny that and claim that The Hand you belong to knows nothing about me?" Duva clapped his hands.

"..."

Elektra's expression was grim. Standing before Duva, she actually felt as though she were completely naked. "That is for The Five Fingers to consider. A ninja like me is only responsible for carrying out assassination missions. But personally, I think that unless they are fools, they will not make an enemy of you."

"No. The very fact that they allowed you to appear before me already reveals the attitude of those five old monsters."

"As far as I know, the five of them are discussing you, but they haven't reached a conclusion yet." Elektra finally revealed some information.

It was not because she had lost the principles of a top-tier assassin. It was because she saw three more Xenomorphs emerge from the darkness without a sound, already surrounding her.

No matter how subtly Elektra adjusted her position and the direction she faced, preparing to explode into action and carve out a path to escape, a Xenomorph would always be blocking her way.

Elektra watched helplessly as terrifying saliva dripped from the mouths of the Xenomorphs. All she could do was weakly grip her gun and blade.

According to the intelligence revealed in that video, one of the Xenomorphs' most powerful weapons seemed to be the smaller mouth inside their mouths. It was some kind of organ resembling a tongue or bone, with a savage little mouth at its tip, and it attacked even faster than bullets.

If she truly had to face several Xenomorphs at once—especially when more could silently appear at any moment—she would die horribly.

"Elektra, you really know nothing about your five old superiors. You do not even know why they became so powerful, or how they mastered all kinds of magic and ninjutsu." Duva looked at the beautiful woman before him.

Elektra, Daredevil's former lover and an assassin of The Hand, was proficient in all sorts of killing techniques and ranked among the world's first-class assassins.

But... at only this level, Duva could hardly be bothered to give her a second look. When it came to assassination, ordinary humans without supernatural power were still lacking something, no matter how much they trained their bodies.

In a pure contest of fighting technique, she might be evenly matched with an ordinary Xenomorph. But against a special Xenomorph—even one born after parasitizing a vampire—she would be in serious trouble.

Duva truly could not understand where The Hand got the confidence to allow someone like Elektra to appear before him.

Yes, Duva had never believed in any form of coincidence. Those old relics known as The Five Fingers, who had stolen the power of the Dragon from Kunlun to gain lifespans of several centuries before joining together to worship a Hell Demon, would not obediently proceed step by step.

One of the important abilities The Hand gained from the demon Beast was resurrecting the dead and turning them into its own assassins—somewhat similar to DC's Court of Owls next door.

But in terms of grandeur, it fell far short of the Court of Owls, which could connect to the gate of the Dark Multiverse and indirectly allow the dark god who was Batman's origin to enter the normal multiverse.

The Hand was fascinated by every form of assassination. Combined with the demon Beast backing it, the moment Elektra appeared here, its attitude had already been made clear.

"Let her go. This rookie from The Hand probably still knows nothing. I can offer you a piece of intelligence, though. Those five are secretly investigating information about the Deviants and Flying Man."

Coulson stepped out from the side, speaking with a slightly grave expression. But he quickly blinked and added, "That information is free."

"Come on, Coulson. I only lacked money during the startup phase. Once I have accumulated enough seed capital, I won't need extra dollars at all. But perhaps I misheard you just now. You said... Flying Man?"

"That's right. The mysterious man in blue-and-gold armor. After you defeated him, he escaped and personally killed General Ross. Some people online respectfully call him a T0 Level super-criminal, on the same level as Magneto." Coulson looked as though this were perfectly natural.

"I don't think Magneto would consider Ikaris qualified to stand alongside him. So after Ikaris displayed such strength, the title he received was 'Flying Man Hero'? He is a very proud fellow. He will learn about this soon enough, then desperately kill everyone who calls him that." Duva's expression turned teasing.

"Ikaris?"

Coulson perked up. At last, he had an opening and would not have to waste too much time on meaningless small talk. He fired off questions in rapid succession. "Is that his name? You loudly accused him of being a Deviant at the time. What are Deviants? How many people like Ikaris are there among them?"

Elektra was relieved to be ignored. As she backed away, she observed the newly arrived Coulson, occasionally glancing at Duva as well.

If the Xenomorphs had not precisely occupied the few positions suitable for fighting and trapped her tightly inside, Elektra would have fled long ago.

The two men loudly discussed unrelated matters, neither paying her any attention. That left the young Elektra both relieved and somewhat dejected.