Days Without Gangs Are Good Days

The moment Frank Castle stepped into the room, Hong Fei had already silently slotted the Deceive Time, Confuse Masses Skill Card into his Card Slot and activated it.

[Active Skill Card: Deceive Time, Confuse Masses] (Green)

"After using this skill, any lie you tell has a low probability of gaining absolute trust from others."

Frank sat down in the living room, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on Hong Fei.

"Don't look at me like that. It's not like I'm not giving it to you." Hong Fei turned and took a thin booklet from the bookshelf. "New York is neither too big nor too small. The underworld seems tangled at first glance, but in reality, the leaders number fewer than the fingers on one hand. The rest either follow behind these frontrunners for scraps or are small gangs the police can't even be bothered with."

He sat across from Frank and pushed the booklet forward. "But then again, those top few can't be called small forces on their own. They're all international crime syndicates. The prosperity of this city indeed attracts countless people rushing in, but the corresponding darkness breeds alongside it."

"As for cleaning them up, it's hard to do alone. How about we continue working together?"

Frank flipped through the booklet, glanced up at Hong Fei, then lowered his head again.

After his great tragedy, Frank found it hard to truly trust anyone, so most of the time as The Punisher, he acted alone. Although he and Hong Fei had worked together for nearly a month, it was a clear transaction—a conditional cooperation.

Hong Fei: "Do you know what I wish for? My greatest wish is world peace."

Frank remained completely unmoved.

"You might not know this, but before I met you, I often went out for walks—not for a stroll, but to drive off the thugs on the streets. I even threw quite a few criminals at the police station doors. It wasn't to vent my strength, but simply because doing so made me happy."

"Cracking down on gangs is necessary. It can't be slackened. I've always believed that."

"In this city, people's lives are already under economic pressure. The existence of gangs is undoubtedly further exploitation and oppression. Their lives and property are threatened at every moment."

"Imagine this: you work hard for half a year, get a meager bonus, happily take your wife and kids out for a nice meal, and suddenly—bandits... cough—suddenly a gang robs you!"

"So, a world without gangs is a good world!"

Frank slowly looked up to see Hong Fei's eyes shining.

"When did you get so talkative? Can you let me read these in peace?"

Hong Fei clicked his tongue and lowered his voice. "Alright, the reason I said all that is to let you know I'm also determined to fight evil. Although our deal is done, I think our cooperation was generally pleasant. How about we continue working together?"

This time, Frank didn't even lift his head. "You want to recruit me?"

"Exactly, but 'recruit' sounds off. It should be a win-win cooperation."

Frank closed the booklet. "But I don't think you seem like someone who wants to wipe out gangs."

"You misunderstand me."

"Based on nearly a month of cooperation, I still think you're a potential terror—"

"Stop!" Hong Fei quickly raised his hand. "That's because you only see the surface. What do you think gangs are? New York's gangs are mostly international crime syndicates, but do you think that's the end of it? Do you want to spend your whole life just doing this in New York?"

Frank frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You know about The Hand now. They have a history of over a hundred years. But does this world not have dark forces even older than them? It definitely does. And I know exactly what they want to do, and where they are. To be honest, dealing with The Hand alone would already keep you busy enough. What if the target is an organization that's lasted over a thousand years?"

Hong Fei said seriously, "You can't imagine how much wealth they've accumulated, how many people they've gathered, how many have climbed into high government positions, and how many are hidden among the masses. But once they decide to act, it will crash against the existing world order like a tsunami. Then, who knows how many families will be destroyed, how many Frank Castles will be born."

"My goal isn't gangs, because in my view, they're at most a skin-deep disease. What really needs to be cleaned out is the chronic illness attached to the bones, even spread into the marrow. So, I do need people. You're a very good partner."

"In planning, one person's ideas are short; two people's are long."

"In action, one person's strength can't be everywhere at once."

"Therefore, I urgently need an independent team. Frank, this is my first formal invitation to you."

With that, Hong Fei stared earnestly at Frank.

But in his eyes, the green Skill Card embedded in the Card Slot was glowing dozens of times brighter than usual, flooding his vision, even dyeing Frank green.

At the same time, Hong Fei felt his internal energy draining rapidly.

"Fine!"

As Frank nodded solemnly in agreement, the dazzling green light suddenly contracted, leaving only specks of light cycling around the card.

Removing the Skill Card from the slot, Hong Fei found most of his energy consumed. Indeed, Skill Cards were the main drain.

"Excellent!" Hong Fei stood up with bright eyes and extended his hand to Frank. "Welcome to the team!"

Frank stood up as well. "I'm honored!"

Their large hands clasped firmly together. From the tone and look in the other's eyes, Hong Fei knew Frank had fully trusted his words just now.

As for whether his words were true or false...

Why not take another look at the skill description?

Frank's joining resolved a burden for Hong Fei and marked a good start.

He knew that to keep improving, he had to keep striking out. Opportunities would rain down like a storm in the future, and he had to do his best not to let the raindrops hit the ground and evaporate wastefully.

A helper with excellent military competence and strong decisiveness was precious—someone who could stand on their own.

More importantly, The Punisher's consistent style aligned with Hong Fei's thinking.

This world never lacked "saints."

What it lacked were people who could unhesitatingly grind the "saints" blocking their path to dust.

Frank perfectly met Hong Fei's needs.

After they released their handshake, Frank's gaze shifted, and he suddenly said, "I'm willing to join your team—which doesn't exist yet—but I have one more request."

"Name it."

"Let's fight again! Last time, I admit I was too careless. But this time, I'm ready." With that, Frank clenched his fist, his eyes gleaming with confidence.

Hong Fei's thought was simple: There's such a good thing?