Is Everyone Here?

After briefly savoring Tony's future happiness, Heisenberg quietly drifted off to sleep.

Quietly...?

No, Jessica had arrived...

"BOSS~~."

"Fuck!"

By the time he woke again, Jessica was long gone, and Billy was already standing beside him, quietly reminding him.

"BOSS, perhaps you should have some lunch first. You have a meeting to hold this afternoon."

"A meeting? What meeting? What the hell?"

Heisenberg asked instinctively, only then remembering today's work.

Right, those damned gang bosses should be coming here to die!

Ahem.

A meeting was a meeting. How could he call those idiots here to die?

So Heisenberg climbed out of his lounge chair and went into the nightclub to eat something.

Because of the orders he had given in advance, there wasn't a single customer in the nightclub today.

At the same time, more than thirty professional cleaners had already been stationed backstage.

Why cleaners instead of assassins...

Heisenberg's men had no need for assassins, because assassins killed by ambush, while Heisenberg's men never killed in secret.

Slowly swallowing the last bite of steak, he then stuffed the final oyster into his stomach.

He put down his knife and fork and patted Billy on the shoulder.

"At three this afternoon, once they arrive, call me."

"Yes!"

And so, Heisenberg returned to the rooftop and leisurely basked in the sun.

If one examined his life closely, they would discover that he seemed to spend nine days out of every ten sunbathing.

After basking there until three fifteen in the afternoon, Billy finally came to wake him.

"BOSS, it seems everyone is here!"

"Mm? Mm!"

Heisenberg nodded in understanding, then climbed out of his lounge chair and headed toward the now-closed nightclub.

Taking the elevator downstairs, he found Jessica and Bullseye waiting backstage.

When they saw Heisenberg arrive, both nodded to him. At the same time, Bullseye spoke softly.

"Boss, we're all ready!"

"Mm, keep it clean!"

Heisenberg responded before passing through the now-empty backstage area, walking past all kinds of dancer costumes, and entering the nightclub, which had no customers at all.

The nightclub's doors had long been shut, and more than forty people were sprawled haphazardly across chairs in the middle of the room.

Some were nervous, while others casually sampled the liquor delivered by Heisenberg's men.

When Heisenberg arrived, more than half of them decisively rose to their feet and greeted him.

"It is an honor to meet you, Lord Heisenberg!"

Those who had stood spoke respectfully.

As for the rest, who had not risen at all, they couldn't even be bothered to look at Heisenberg.

But Heisenberg felt the same way—they couldn't be bothered to look at him, and he couldn't be bothered to look at these gang bosses either.

He slowly walked to the front of his seat.

Smack!

He lightly slapped the table and spoke in an exceptionally gentle tone.

"There is only one thing I have to say at today's meeting. Are all the bosses in New York here? Is anyone still missing?"

As soon as his words fell, one of the bosses who had stood hurriedly shook his head and answered Heisenberg.

"My lord, everyone is here!"

There was even a trace of excitement on his face as he answered, perhaps because he thought he could gain the power Kingpin had once given him.

But he never could have imagined it.

After Heisenberg heard his answer...

"Everyone's here? Good. Then let's begin!"

Heisenberg said softly, then promptly turned around and walked back the way he had come.

Inside the nightclub, his men instantly drew their weapons under Bullseye's lead.

In the blink of an eye, countless gun barrels reeking of blood and slaughter were aimed at the gang bosses.

"What is this?!"

"Boss, at least tell us what this is about! Don't start shooting before you've even said anything!!!"

"Damn it, are we really doing this already? At least tell us what you want—maybe we can do it!"

"Heisenberg, you fucking bastard!"

"You've got some nerve, asshole! You actually dared to do something like this!"

"You'll pay for this!!!"

Rat-a-tat-tat...

Before they could finish speaking, gunfire had already erupted in rapid succession. Bullseye even picked up a machine gun himself, making every bullet strike the gang bosses squarely in the chest.

In mere moments, corpses littered the ground.

Heisenberg looked at the bodies before him and nodded in satisfaction.

"Everyone's here, right? This is the only thing I wanted to say!"

he said.

"Since no one was late, kill every last one of them.

Bullseye, take your men and join the elites Rumlow sent out on the streets. Starting tonight, New York's darkness will have only one name: Heisenberg!

Jessica, have the nightclub staff clean this place up. Don't let these greedy maggots stain my floor.

And Billy, kid, I appreciate your abilities. I hope you won't end up like these dead men, blinded by greed and ambition.

Everyone has the right to achieve success and happiness through me, but those who betray me do not.

Get to work. Say goodbye to these damned bastards for me!"

With that, Heisenberg returned to the rooftop with light steps.

Perhaps because he had finally cleared his mind, he looked especially relaxed as he lay on the rooftop.

Meanwhile, at Project Pegasus's temporary S.H.I.E.L.D. command center.

Bruce Banner, a leading expert in radiology who had forced his way into Project Pegasus as its chief director a month and a half ago, had just put an end to the constant exclusion he had endured.

It had to be admitted that he possessed the intelligence worthy of the chief director's position.

He was indeed better suited to the work than anyone else.

But after suddenly forcing his way into the project as an outsider...

far more people hated him than admired him.

However, Dr. Banner had prepared himself for everything from the day he joined the team.

He knew all about the bullshit and mess within the scientific community, and he was capable of dealing with it.

Sure enough, after a full month and a half with the team, he had conquered countless great scientists under him through his exceptional expertise and wildly imaginative way of thinking.

And now, he had finally begun to enjoy a happiness he had not experienced in countless years!

After finishing his work for the day, he returned to his dormitory with light, carefree steps.

His dormitory no longer resembled the prison cell it had once been, but was now an ordinary scholar's residence.

Yet it was precisely this ordinariness, this normalcy, that allowed him to experience the happiness he had craved most.

He was no longer the monster people whispered about.

Now, he had truly become one of the most intelligent scientists on Earth—Dr. Bruce Banner, a man genuinely worthy of his own mind!

Muttering his doctoral title to himself, Banner strolled into his room and skillfully made himself a cup of coffee.

He still had plenty of work to do that night. It was not time to rest yet.

As he drank his coffee, Banner savored the taste of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s specially supplied blend while contemplating the phase equations for the Cosmic Cube's energy surges.

That was right. After confirming that he would not unleash the Beast within him and cause trouble for S.H.I.E.L.D., Hill had transferred him into the Cosmic Cube research team.

Thinking of the peace and happiness he now enjoyed, Banner suddenly felt a little grateful to Heisenberg for beating him senseless.

In his view, if Heisenberg had not given Hulk such a thorough beating, how could he possibly have the life he had now?

But he did not know that the peaceful life he had only just gained was about to vanish alongside an anomaly in the Cosmic Cube.

Banner had only finished half his coffee when he heard the telephone ring.

And when he picked it up, his current deputy—Professor Selvig, the former leader of Project Pegasus—said to him nervously over the phone:

"Dr. Banner, an anomaly has suddenly appeared in the Cosmic Cube's spectral readings. Please come over and take a look as soon as possible!"

"Hmm?"

Hearing Professor Selvig's words, Banner suddenly had a bad feeling.

So he threw on his lab coat and headed for Project Pegasus's main laboratory with the most impeccable bearing of a scientist.

Less than half an hour later, aboard the Helicarrier hovering above the Rocky Mountains, Hill, the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., received a call from Banner.

Seeing the caller ID, Hill felt slightly tense.

She had pushed through all opposition to send Bruce Banner into Project Pegasus. If Banner caused trouble again, it would put her in a very difficult position.

So the moment she answered, she asked Banner, "What happened? How is Project Pegasus?"

"Umm, Project Pegasus is fine. Based on the Cosmic Cube's energy principles, we've developed at least three weapons capable of utilizing the Cube's energy!"

Banner replied quietly.

But that was not enough to put Hill at ease. As a professional agent, she had already noticed something off in Banner's tone.

"Get to the point. What exactly happened? You sound nervous!"

On the other end of the line, Banner seemed unaccustomed to admitting flaws in a plan to a superior.

After all, no research project led by Bruce Banner had ever gone wrong.

(°_°)...

Fine, he confessed. The first research project he had ever led independently had gone wrong, and that was why he had become the Hulk.

As for afterward, he had never again participated in a major research project like Project Pegasus.

So Banner said to Hill, sounding somewhat nervous, "All right, there really is a problem with the Cosmic Cube. I'm not sure what caused it!"

As he spoke, Banner instinctively picked up the research report beside him. Reading the graph of the Cosmic Cube's abnormal fluctuation patterns over the recent period, he continued, "The Cosmic Cube seems to be undergoing changes beyond our control. It's far more active than before, as though something is controlling it remotely!"

With that, Banner set down the report and said seriously to Hill, "If possible, you should come experience the changes for yourself. It just had a small-scale energy surge, and I have no choice but to request an evacuation of Pegasus Base. I'm afraid we'll have to temporarily abandon our research into the Cosmic Cube."

"Hold on for a few more days. I'll head to Pegasus Base as quickly as possible. Until I arrive, do not do anything to the Cosmic Cube!"

Hill swiftly issued the order. As the last hope of the barely surviving S.H.I.E.L.D., she absolutely did not want the Cosmic Cube to become useless like this.

Thus, as soon as she hung up, she ordered the Helicarrier to turn around and head for Pegasus Base.

Over the past two months, S.H.I.E.L.D. had endured attacks from Hydra remnants and relentless pressure from the World Security Council. It could no longer withstand any major blow.

But Hill also knew that both Professor Selvig and Professor Banner—who was certain not to suddenly turn into the Hulk—were leading figures in their field.

Their judgment would almost certainly not be wrong.

Therefore, she had to prepare herself to abandon the Cosmic Cube!