Ready to Go All Out

Li Bai squeezed through the dust-choked ventilation duct, poking his head out at the ceiling of the second basement level. He had transformed into a mouse; even if someone spotted him, it shouldn't raise any alarms.

Perhaps no one expected an intruder to breach the facility through a duct no larger than a fist, so Li Bai climbed out with ease, completely unnoticed by anyone.

There were indeed only two guards in the room, but they were holding more than just Harry Osborn captive; there was also an elderly man in his fifties or sixties with greying hair.

Li Bai remained silent, extending thin, hooked claws from his hands and feet that allowed him to crawl down the wall like a gecko. His movements were gentle and meticulous, yet fluid and swift, truly mimicking a gecko as he made not a single sound.

Once he reached a position directly above one of the guards, he suddenly let go, dropping from the ceiling.

By the time the guard sensed something on his head, a sharp pain pierced his eye socket—Li Bai's longsword had already driven deep into his brain.

In an instant, the man suffered the same fate as the guard upstairs, his brain turned to mush. Before the second man in the room could react, Li Bai had already withdrawn his blade and unleashed a burst of electricity from his palm.

The longsword spiraled through the air toward the second guard, once again piercing his eye with pinpoint accuracy and burying itself deep into his skull.

Two kills in the blink of an eye.

"A pity. Had you been slumbering like those upstairs, This Humble One would not have needed to take your lives," Li Bai sighed, shaking his sword to clear the filth before sheathing it.

After disposing of the guards, Li Bai did not immediately rush to untie the hostages, instead searching the room thoroughly for any traps.

This caution allowed Li Bai to discover a grenade rigged to the door; had he simply kicked it open, the device would have detonated, killing both hostages instantly.

Once he confirmed the room was secure, Li Bai signaled Luo Xia, letting them know it was safe to finish off the others.

Soon, the pop-pop-pop of gunfire mingled with the sound of fists striking flesh; Luo Xia and Matt had engaged the remaining Russian mobsters on the second floor.

Li Bai had full confidence in his commander, so he did not leave the room to provide support. Instead, he cut the ropes binding Harry's hands and feet and peeled the tape from his mouth.

The five-year-old boy was far calmer than Li Bai had expected. Once freed, he didn't cry or scream, instead politely saying to Li Bai, "Thank you."

Then, Harry's eyes lit up as he asked, "You're so cool! Are you an alien?"

Li Bai hesitated for a moment—not out of a desire to hide his identity, but because he had to struggle to communicate with Harry in standard English.

"I... I am Li Bai. Not an alien. I am a robot," Li Bai said, his speech halting.

It seemed that when he was activated, all his points were dumped into stealth and assassination, leaving his linguistic skills somewhat lacking.

He had assumed Harry wouldn't understand such heavily accented English, but to his surprise, the boy replied in equally stumbling Chinese: "Li Bai? Like the Li Bai who wrote 'Moonlight before my bed'?"

"You speak Chinese?" Li Bai asked, pleasantly surprised.

"A little bit. I can understand it, but I can't really speak it," Harry continued, struggling with his Chinese.

"How fortunate. This Humble One is also not well-versed in foreign tongues, yet for you, a barbarian child, to possess such knowledge is truly remarkable..." Li Bai switched back to his most familiar language.

Harry: (⊙_⊙)???

Was that Chinese? Why did it sound nothing like what his teacher taught him?

Setting aside their arduous conversation, Luo Xia was cutting through the opposition like a hot knife through butter. With Matt's hearing leading the way, they incapacitated the mobsters before the men could even react.

Luo Xia, seeing that Harry was safe, followed Matt's lead and chose to injure rather than kill. However, whether those who took a direct hit to the head from Luo Xia's Sensor Glove-clad fists would ever wake up again was entirely a matter of luck.

Sweeping through the opposition, Luo Xia and Matt arrived at the room where the hostages were held. Luo Xia popped the alloy daggers from his Sensor Gloves, sliced through the door bolt, and pushed his way inside.

They found Harry pouting, reciting with great seriousness: "Ten paces, one life taken; a thousand miles, no trace left behind..."

Never mind Matt, even Luo Xia had listened several times before realizing Harry was reciting Ode to Gallantry.

Luo Xia turned to Li Bai and asked, "You're teaching him poetry?"

Li Bai replied awkwardly, "This Humble One merely recited a couple of lines. The child is... eager to learn..."

Luo Xia: "..."

Luo Xia didn't bother interrupting this "master and apprentice" duo. He first called Norman Osborn to inform him that Harry had been successfully rescued, preventing the man from receiving further calls from the kidnappers or agreeing to any distressing demands.

Hearing his son Harry's voice, the CEO and founder of Oscorp was so moved he nearly wept. It was only in the face of losing him that Norman Osborn realized how often he had neglected Harry's needs while preoccupied with work.

With that settled, Luo Xia finally had a moment to notice the grey-haired old man nearby. Judging by his features, he looked to be nearly sixty, though his stout build suggested a life of luxury and ease.

He appeared to be another hostage taken by the Russian mob; to be held alongside Harry, his identity was likely significant.

Li Bai hadn't known who the man was and hadn't untied him, so it wasn't until Luo Xia arrived that he helped peel the tape from the man's mouth.

"Who are you?" Luo Xia asked.

The old man still wore a look of terror, the trauma of the kidnapping clearly lingering. It took a few words of comfort from Luo Xia for him to regain his composure.

However, before he could identify himself, Luo Xia received an alert from Violet: "Commander, two vehicles have pulled up at the entrance. The three bodies have been discovered."

Luo Xia knew these had to be reinforcements from the Russian mob; he hadn't expected them to arrive so quickly.

"Matt, take Harry and this gentleman out through the other exit and get them to Osborn Tower. I'll go block those men and buy you some time," Luo Xia told the others.

Matt was intimately familiar with Hell's Kitchen, and his special abilities allowed him to detect danger in advance, making him the best choice to lead them to safety.

Thus, Luo Xia intended to stay behind to cover their retreat. He snatched two pistols from the fallen guards, a faint smile touching his lips—it had been a long time since he'd had a good, satisfying fight!