Alexandra Lost Her Mind

"Norman Osborn had been discharged from the hospital."

"What? That's impossible!"

The mysterious person's message left Alexandra in disbelief—her ninjas had seen Norman Osborn lying in bed, barely clinging to life and gravely ill!

Her reaction nearly made the mysterious person laugh in anger.

"What the hell is wrong with your head? The plan was to restrain the Osborn Group, not have you blow up their building right now! This is a Terrorist Attack, do you understand?!"

What was more, aside from some insignificant losses, the Osborn Group was completely fine. Hand and Harmony Society had not even captured a single hostage.

If she had the guts, why not blow up the Nuclear Fusion Power Station? Then the mysterious person might have had nothing to say.

If they had spent time making a plan, they might really have caught Osborn off guard.

But now, at most, they had only given Osborn a scratch.

Alexandra calmed down, with nothing but regret in her heart.

Yet the more she regretted it, the more uneasy she became, and the nameless rage inside her only grew stronger!

"There's no point talking about that. Norman is giving a speech tomorrow. We'll strike then."

"We'll create chaos at the scene and abduct them in front of everyone, just like we used to!"

"What? Have you lost your mind? This is the twenty-first century, and that's the Governor of New York! There really is something wrong with your brain! Our cooperation is over!"

The communication was cut off.

It seemed this mysterious person was truly scared. If they did not run now, when would they? This woman clearly had something wrong with her head.

But the explosion had happened. Hand and Harmony Society and the Osborn Group could be said to have become mortal enemies, and surrendering now was meaningless.

If Alexandra killed herself to atone and cut ties with Hand and Harmony Society, she might possibly earn forgiveness, but that was obviously impossible.

She was not someone who would sacrifice herself for righteousness.

The mysterious person went offline, and the Five Fingers came online—though Madam Gao was absent from the meeting.

"Has Madam Gao not received the news yet?"

"Soon. She should be back any moment."

After that brief exchange, an eerie silence fell over the meeting.

Borto was the first to speak. "That wasn't the plan. We put forward conditions, but that didn't mean we were going to become enemies with Osborn."

Sowanda agreed with the other two. "You should have watched more footage of those Power Armors on the battlefield."

"We shouldn't have done that." Murakami was far angrier than the other three. "You're playing with fire. If you're not in your right mind, we don't mind replacing our leader."

"Enough!" Alexandra said in a low voice. "He declared war first."

She tossed out a Recording Pen containing Harry's voice.

"Hand over the Secret Medicine, then get out of New York."

They looked at one another, speechless.

"Do you understand now? He decided to start this war, not me." Alexandra sat back down. "The question now is how we respond."

The room fell silent.

How were they supposed to respond? That was the Governor of New York and the Osborn Group.

The other three Fingers wanted nothing more than to throw this crazy woman out, but things had reached this point. They still needed to stand together and figure out a way to placate Osborn.

"What now? Norman Osborn is about to give a speech at New York Plaza. What do we do?"

"Everyone we could possibly use, along with their families, has been placed in protected zones established by Osborn. The Prosecutor's Office has begun investigating the companies, and the NYPD has resumed its sweep through Hell's Kitchen."

Sowanda laid out the predicament they faced.

A terrifying expression appeared on Alexandra's face.

"Then we'll go straight for the heart and kill Osborn."

Meanwhile, Norman reappeared before the public. Though he was still somewhat unwell, professional makeup completely concealed those minor issues.

"Citizens of New York. I am deeply sorry that, at the inauguration ceremony three days ago, I collapsed at the podium due to overwork."

"That seems to have made those cockroaches lurking in the darkness believe that New York State had grown weary."

"They have brazenly set off large-scale explosions all across New York, causing tens of thousands of casualties and losses!"

"Without a doubt, this was a vile Terrorist Attack! It was the consequence of our lax law enforcement in the past!"

"Tell me, can New York State tolerate Terrorist Attacks!"

Whether they were at the scene or watching the press conference on television, the crowd shouted as one:

"Never!"

"Therefore, I hereby announce that, starting today, New York will enter a state of emergency until the mastermind behind this is brought to justice!"

"Citizens whose lives are affected by the state of emergency may apply for relief funds at designated relief centers. Those funds will be sponsored by the Osborn Group!"

Harry stepped onto the stage, nodding and smiling at the crowd as he took his place beside Norman.

Those who had been worried about the measure immediately put aside many of their doubts.

Beyond the speech, Norman also ordered footage of last year's operation to clean up Hell's Kitchen, along with the destruction caused by gang members, to be played repeatedly across all districts.

Naturally, some media outlets still reported that the explosion had been caused by the Osborn Group itself, but Harry guaranteed that those outlets would change their tune tomorrow.

Just then, the NYPD discovered that the street cameras seemed to have been damaged on a massive scale.

"Harry, a group of men in suits wearing black headscarves seems to be approaching the speech venue. What the hell is wrong with their outfits?"

Frank monitored the streets and buildings from the sky. After reporting to Harry, he could not help making a sarcastic remark.

It was not just Frank who thought that way. Harry had already mocked them in his heart several times.

Guys, you're ninjas. Japanese ninjas. And now you're wearing headscarves, suits, and even dress shoes...

Maybe they had been assimilated by the Gang.

Harry shook his head and reactivated the cameras Hand and Harmony Society had destroyed.

For a camera to work normally, its circuits had to remain intact, but Leining could pierce the air. As long as the distance was not too great, it could reconnect the damaged circuits.

Not every camera met those conditions, but it was enough.

"Captain Stacy, the video feed is back! A group of strangely dressed people carrying sickles are approaching the venue..."

"What?"

Everyone in the command room wore strange expressions.

Why did ninjas seem so cool? Naturally, because they came and went without a trace.

Once they were exposed on surveillance footage, though, they looked rather foolish.

"...The Governor really called it. Is the Powered Armor Enforcement Unit in position?"

"Everything is ready."

The poor ninjas had no idea what was waiting for them.

"To ensure the safety of law enforcement officers and citizens, the NYPD has introduced the Osborn Group's latest Police Powered Armor!"

The crowd in the front began cheering first, while screams erupted from the back rows!

The ninjas poured out of the buildings like a swarm of cockroaches, but before they could rush through the security perimeter, armored vehicles swiftly surrounded the area, separating them from the speech venue!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Power Armors bearing police insignias and the Osborn Group logo stepped out of the armored vehicles, forming a wall of steel that blocked the ninjas outside.

For a moment, the scene went quiet.

"Looks like these terrorists picked a bad day." Norman looked at Harry, and father and son exchanged a smile.

"Just like when I secretly opened a bottle of champagne as a kid, right after you came home." Harry shrugged.

The tense atmosphere instantly eased. The fear brought by the ninjas' outfits and their terrifying weapons vanished at once, and the citizens began flipping them off.

Among the audience were several Hell's Kitchen residents Harry had specially invited to liven things up. Their local customs were simple and honest: they dropped their pants on the spot and pissed at the ninjas.

It turned out that venting by making insulting gestures at bad guys was human nature. Soon, even people who were not from Hell's Kitchen joined the outburst in their own ways.

Of course, only a very small number of them urinated.

"Unforgivable!"

The ninjas charged at the security perimeter as if they had taken steroids, but unfortunately, even an out-of-shape potbellied police officer could trade a few blows with those highly trained ninjas with the help of a Powered Exoskeleton.

Not to mention the Power Armors equipped with Shock Gloves.

Besides, the police officers wearing Powered Exoskeletons and Power Armors had all been strictly selected. Their combat ability was fully guaranteed.

"Frank, how are things at the protected zone?"

Harry had also established protected zones based on the experience from the previous operation—all the families of those involved in the operation, as well as the families of police officers equipped with new weapons, would be protected there. Naturally, some important witnesses would be sent there as well.

Elsewhere, Frank, clad in Combat Armor, snapped a ninja's neck in an alley.

Behind him, corpses already littered the ground.

"All eliminated."

After tossing aside the body, Frank leaped onto a wall. The equipment on his feet let him move along it as if he were skating, while a Flying Vehicle drenched in blood followed behind him.

Even without equipment, Frank could intimidate Hell's Kitchen under the name of The Punisher.

With Harry's support, killing these small fry was like chopping melons and vegetables.

Those damned gang members had killed his wife and children. Now that he had the chance to avenge them and revive his family, of course he was eager to do this.

He was no softhearted superhero. He was a soldier.