First Meeting with Kaecilius

By 8 AM, the buses heading to Midtown and the West Side of Manhattan were starting to get busy.

Residents in the southwest district of Hell's Kitchen, one by one, rubbed their dark circles and dragged their weary bodies to work.

Because of last night's battle, the gunshots had severely impacted their sleep, but they didn't dare say anything. After all, everyone knew what kind of place this was and who was fighting below. Speaking carelessly could get you killed.

We often see American news media criticizing politicians, the president, the police, the system, and even superheroes. Have you ever seen them criticize gangs?

However, as they walked down the street, they noticed that the usual gloomy-looking thugs wandering around aimlessly seemed to have decreased in number?

"Last night, we cleared out a total of 7 gangs with over 100 members, 22 gangs with 30 to 100 members, and some smaller ones that participated in the fighting are still being counted!" Ryan Daling held up the report. "As for the remaining gangs that didn't participate, they are all small in number and scale. They should be able to be... Sichuan pepper earrings."

"Wait, what did you just say?" Bai Jing seemed to have heard an unfamiliar term.

"Sichuan pepper earrings..." Ryan said with a humble smile. "I hired a Chinese teacher before, and this is an idiom I learned!"

Bai Jing realized the phrase was "传缴而定" (chuán jiǎo ér dìng)!

It's a metaphor meaning that without sending troops, the enemy can be subdued and the situation stabilized with just a piece of paper.

And that character isn't pronounced "jiāo," it's pronounced "jué"!

It seemed the teacher Ryan found was also half-baked!

"Why are you learning Chinese?" Bai Jing asked.

"Th-this is to facilitate communication with you!" Ryan said shyly.

Bai Jing nodded. When those above have a preference, those below will surely follow. Perhaps in the future, he wouldn't even need to give orders; the Order Society members would start learning Chinese on their own.

Bai Jing asked again, "Where's Frank?"

"He's still confiscating firearms and arresting gang members!" Ryan Daling said. "What do you think we should do next?"

"Just like we did with the Viper Gang before. Kill those with criminal records, and incorporate the rest. Also, talk to the shops and companies in the district one by one!" Bai Jing thought for a moment, then added, "Right, drugs and guns must also be banned. Notify households door-to-door. Hand in your guns, and if you're found to be holding one, you'll be fined 30,000. Report someone else holding a gun, and if verified, you'll be rewarded 10,000!"

"Ah, this..." Ryan was shocked. "If you do this, the Rifle Association will definitely cause trouble for us!"

"It's fine. I've already dealt with the biggest organization. What's there to fear from a small organization like the Rifle Association!" Bai Jing said dismissively.

The Rifle Association was certainly not a small organization. It had 5 million members, and the current president was one of them.

But Bai Jing knew that power comes from the barrel of a gun. Such organizations, with guns but no ideology, were just a pile of loose sand. Although they could interfere with politics and block gun control legislation, they had no way to influence Hell's Kitchen.

As long as Bai Jing didn't care about the government, the Rifle Association's influence was nothing.

This is the so-called "a county magistrate is not as good as the current manager"!

If they have the guts, let them send people to assassinate him. He'll kill as many as they send!

Ryan Daling fell silent. He didn't know that Bai Jing had single-handedly cleared out a Brotherhood training base, nor that Bai Jing had spoken with S.H.I.E.L.D.

He only felt that Bai Jing was playing with fire.

But if Hell's Kitchen truly had a district with no guns or drugs and no crime, it would be a paradise!

"But there's no legal support for us to impose fines..." Ryan hesitated. "This money..."

"Use your brain. How do you usually squeeze money out of an innocent person?" Bai Jing asked.

"Uh..." Ryan understood.

They were gangsters, after all. When did they start obeying the law?

Even the Order Society never claimed to be a legitimate organization!

"By the way, what about Pigg Schultz! He's the President, why haven't I seen him, and he didn't come to the meeting yesterday!" This person was the President of the Order Society appointed by Bai Jing!

"Uh, he's still in the hospital..." Ryan said.

Bai Jing was speechless. "Why is he still in the hospital?"

"Well, the doctor said it was organ failure..." Ryan Daling said.

Bai Jing's technique involved consuming 30% of the blood in a person's body. While also very dangerous, it would only cause symptoms like blurred vision, thirst, dizziness, confusion, fainting, and general weakness due to lack of oxygen.

As long as he received a timely blood transfusion and rested for a period, he would be fine.

But Pig was a fat man. He already had some issues with insufficient blood supply, and then so much blood was suddenly drawn from him!

"I see!" Bai Jing understood the reason and sighed. "What a misfortune!"

Then he looked at Ryan Daling again. "From now on, you will be the President of the Order Society. You are the second-generation leader of the Order Society!"

"Huh?"

After briefly arranging matters in Hell's Kitchen, which was essentially just gangs fighting for territory, Bai Jing didn't have much experience and had little to guide them on.

He didn't need to provide detailed guidance; as long as he kept the general direction of the Order Society unchanged, it would be enough.

He didn't need to worry about the Order Society exceeding his control. As long as his own strength remained, the Order Society would always be under his control.

Therefore, reading books was the most important thing!

Bai Jing returned to Kamar-Taj through a teleportation portal.

He didn't see Banner or the Ancient One on the way. He wondered how their studies were going!

He trotted all the way to the library. Just as he was about to look for the book containing dimensional universe coordinates, Bai Jing arrived at the bookshelf and discovered that the spot where the book should be was empty.

At the desk, someone was already reading.

Bai Jing glanced at the book's contents and realized it was the one he was looking for.

Someone else had gotten to it first!

The person was white, unremarkable in appearance, with a face you'd see anywhere. Bai Jing didn't recognize him.

Since he didn't recognize him, he felt awkward about striking up a conversation.

Bai Jing simply sat down, leaving a chair between himself and the man, and began to probe with Gravity.

Gravity could penetrate matter, and books were no exception. This method allowed him to read a book without opening it.

However, he still preferred to hold the book in his hands.

As soon as he sat down, the man handed the book over.

"You want to read this book too?" he asked.

"Uh, yes!" Bai Jing nodded. "You're not reading it anymore?"

"No, I'm not. There's nothing I'm looking for in this book!" The man shook his head and asked, "By the way, I haven't seen you before. Are you new here?"

"Yes, my name is Bai Kunlun! You can call me Bai!" Bai Jing said.

"Kaecilius!" the white man said with a smile.

Huh?

Bai Jing turned his head in surprise to look at the man.

He looked ordinary, but his smile was gentle and sincere. He didn't look like the Kaecilius who would later be filled with bitterness, betray the Ancient One, and become so miserable!

But in a small place like Kamar-Taj, the possibility of two people having the same name was too small!

"What, you know me?" Kaecilius smiled inwardly, seeing Bai Jing's surprised expression.

"Yes, everyone says you are the most talented mage in Kamar-Taj!" Bai Jing thought: Before I arrived!

Kaecilius smiled and nodded. "My talent is strong, but the most important thing in magic is effort. Relying solely on talent won't make you a powerful mage. You're here to study at this time, so you must be a diligent person. Keep up the good work!"

"Oh, oh..." Bai Jing nodded speechlessly.

"Also, I think this book is too advanced for you. You should be reading something more basic!" Kaecilius continued.

"Are you telling me what to do!" Bai Jing was speechless. I just gave you a polite compliment, and now you're lecturing me!

Don't talk about me. Later, Banner, Strange, who among them has less talent than you?

"You!" Kaecilius's smile immediately turned cold. "What did you say?"

"I said, are you telling me what to do?" Bai Jing rolled his eyes at Kaecilius. "I'm here to read, not to listen to you show off!"

"You, you, you!" Kaecilius was about to explode with anger. "Whose disciple are you? How could he take a disciple like you? Didn't he teach you the proper conduct of a mage?"

You traitor, who killed fellow disciples and his master, you dare talk to me about conduct?

"No loud noises in the library!" A stern shout came. Manila, the librarian Bai Jing had never seen before during his previous visits, finally appeared.

Generally, librarians were very powerful, but this Manila was an exception because he didn't like reading.

So when Kaecilius came to steal books after his betrayal, Manila was powerless to resist and was beheaded.

"Hmph!" Kaecilius glanced at Bai Jing and then turned to leave.

"Although we are all equal when studying magic here, he did arrive a little earlier. You should show him some respect!" Manila came to Bai Jing's side and said softly.

Bai Jing looked up. This was an Indian man. No wonder he didn't like reading.

If it were a Chinese person, within ten years, they'd probably become a sweeping monk.

Bai Jing gave him a look of pity. If you knew you'd be beheaded by him in a few years, would you still speak up for him?

Ignoring Manila, he buried his head in his book.

Manila sighed. Lecturing was useless. He couldn't exactly beat him up, but he was afraid he might not win, as he had heard Bai Jing was also a genius.

Forget it, I won't bother with him.