"Order Society, bringing order to Hell's Kitchen?" Frank Castle contacted acquaintances on the dark web, asking for every scrap of information about Order Society.
But he got very little, because Order Society had only been established two days ago.
They were quite familiar with the group occupying 46th Street, though, because that group had suddenly announced that it would no longer supply goods.
Yet no one thought of going to ask why. After all, cutting off supplies affected not just one or two families, but all of Hell's Kitchen and even the entire United States. Naturally, something like that required the intervention of the underworld emperor, Kingpin.
"Using power and violence to force the underworld onto the righteous path? Naive!" Frank Castle said, but he did not refuse Matt's invitation.
Over his years of fighting gangs, the more people he killed, the more he understood that human strength had limits. He was only an ordinary man. Even if his personal combat ability was among the best in the world, he would still die if shot and still get tired after running five kilometers.
Fighting gangs felt like dancing on a knife's edge every moment of every day.
So he desperately wanted like-minded people to act alongside him.
But unfortunately, few people could accept his concept of absolute justice.
Even Matt Murdock, whom he considered a fellow practitioner, would end up arguing with him whenever they went too deeply into that issue.
Frank was curious how the person who had won over Matt Murdock would view his attitude toward evil.
Bai Jing did not know when Frank would arrive, but as a sign of respect, he went to bed at eleven that night. Mainly because there were no novels to read and no Bilibili to browse.
Even so, when Bai Jing came downstairs at seven, he saw a middle-aged man sitting on the sofa with remarkably proper posture.
Matt, who had probably gone to bed even later than Bai Jing, was already chatting with the man.
"Mr. Bai!" Seeing Bai Jing, Matt gestured toward him. "This is Frank Castle. Mr. Kaster, this is Mr. Bai. He's been looking forward to your arrival for a long time!"
"An Asian?" The Beijing Olympic Games had not even been held yet, so foreigners' impression of that part of the world was roughly like how people viewed India. Naturally, they would be surprised to see that Mr. Bai was Asian.
But it was not discrimination. It stemmed from Frank's personal experiences.
He had served in the Marine Corps and considered it the strongest military force in the world. But while serving in Vietnam, those jungle monkeys armed with crude weapons had dealt them a devastating blow!
The United States had sent no small number of people into that war—560,000 troops. Yet after spending 250 billion dollars and suffering 58,000 casualties, it had ultimately been forced to admit defeat.
That war had greatly affected the situation across the world. The Soviet Union behind victorious Vietnam had practically become the world's number one power. To oppose the Soviet Union, America had been forced to court one of its junior partners. Yet that junior partner skillfully played both sides between the two big brothers. In the end, the Soviet Union fell, while that junior partner grew into an even more threatening behemoth.
But after his initial surprise, his expression immediately turned serious.
"What country are you from?" Frank asked.
"China!" Bai Jing smiled. "So, Mr. Frank, are you going to refuse to join Order Society because I'm from China?"
"What is your purpose in establishing this organization?" Ignoring Bai Jing's smile, Frank asked coldly.
"Uh." Matt Murdock, beside them, was also stunned. Right!
He had been persuaded by the world Mr. Bai described.
But why would a man from China travel thousands of miles to America to build a paradise on earth for its people?
He looked at Bai Jing, wanting to know the answer as well!
"Uh..." Bai Jing blinked. As expected of one of Marvel's famous antiheroes, and one with a military background at that. The question had cut straight to the heart of the matter!
I'm here to poach America's talent, fleece capitalism, expand America's internal contradictions, expose the problems with the capitalist system, and collect all the treasures those superheroes have hidden away?
He definitely could not say that. If he did, it would no longer be a question of whether Frank would join. Frank would probably grab a gun and start fighting him.
Should he say he was an internationalist warrior?
Frank was a brute and had spent so many years in the military that he had long been brainwashed into putting America first. Who knew whether he would buy it!
Should he drag Thanos, the designated scapegoat, into this?
Thanos would not arrive for a long time. Besides, Thanos's arrival on Earth was not common knowledge. Very few people actually knew what was happening. Most people on Earth had been wiped out by the snap without even knowing why.
Got it!
Bai Jing's mind was exceptionally sharp now, and he came up with a perfect reason almost instantly.
It was not even a reason, because Matt and Frank were both worldly, perceptive men who were excellent at reading people. If he lied, they would definitely see through it!
So he had to tell the truth!
"Because I love America. Our America is simply incredible! When I first came here, I was shocked by this world. The air here is so sweet, and freedom's voice and presence are everywhere. Listen."
Pah!
Wrong script. It's this one.
"Because I want to build a better world! A world where everyone is prosperous, democratic, civilized, and harmonious!" Bai Jing said seriously. "America is the strongest country in the world today, a model of civilization for the entire world, a beacon of human civilization. So I want to begin my work in this country!"
"Uh..." Matt and Frank blinked. How should they put it? That ideal was good, even great. World peace was the ultimate dream, wasn't it?
But could there really be someone in reality who made that their own ideal?
Even though Matt believed himself highly capable and Frank considered himself quite skilled, they only dared to set their sights on one small city. The entire world?
They did not even dare think about it!
"Are you serious?" Frank frowned and asked.
"Yes. I'm serious!" Bai Jing nodded firmly.
"That's simply impossible!" Frank shook his head. "I've been at this for nearly ten years, but the evil in this world has only continued to grow. It has never decreased!"
"You can go downstairs and take a look. At least after I took over Order Society, there will no longer be robbery, rape, or drug trafficking in these six blocks!" Bai Jing said seriously. "I don't know how you did things, but I think I'm doing quite well right now. I've already transformed the six blocks under my jurisdiction into what I wanted them to be!"
"After that, these six blocks will become sixty, then six hundred! If one day my sphere of influence expands to all of New York, won't all of New York have been changed by me? If my influence can expand across the entire United States, won't all of America have been changed by me?"
"What you're saying sounds like a dream," Frank replied instinctively, then added, "But can the country tolerate someone like you?"
"I represent the voice of the people. If the country cannot tolerate me, is that my fault?" Bai Jing asked. "Everyone longs for peace and survival. When so many voices come together, they become as vast as ocean waves. If the country can hear their voices, then why is the world still like this?"
Frank frowned. "You!"
"Frank, I know you have always fought evil and believe everyone guilty deserves to die!" Bai Jing bluntly interrupted him. "But have you ever considered who should have been punishing evil in the first place, and why they failed to fulfill their responsibility?"
If an area had one or two gangs, perhaps that was the gangs' problem.
But if an area had eighty or a hundred gangs, was that still the gangs' problem?
It was a systemic problem!
"America's problem..." Frank instinctively wanted to refute him, but he lacked confidence.
Hadn't the people who killed his wife and children escaped justice because of America's judicial system?
Why had he become the Punisher if not because this world had forced him to?
Watching an outsider condemn his own country from the moral high ground, any patriot would have picked up a keyboard and fired back.
But Frank was intelligent, clear-minded, and logical in his actions.
He should have been able to refute him logically.
But he could not.
"I'm not trying to overthrow this country! I only want to make it better!" Bai Jing extended his hand. "I sincerely hope you can join us! I need talented people like you!"
"I'll be watching you!" After hesitating for a long while, Frank finally reached out and firmly shook Bai Jing's hand twice!
Before you continue