On the ocean, a yacht drifted with the waves.
Hong Fei wore a pair of shorts and sunglasses as he lay sprawled on a deck chair, letting the sun beat down on him.
His right arm was somewhat swollen, and his back was covered in bruises. With a transparent emerald-green ointment applied, the pain had vanished, leaving only a cool sensation.
"You really were brave. You actually dared to fight an Iron Man suit bare-handed."
If those words had come from a beautiful woman in a bikini, they would surely have been praise.
Unfortunately, the speaker was a middle-aged uncle with a face full of flesh.
Seeing Hong Fei remain silent, Frank added, "You can have the word 'reckless brute' back."
After a long while, Hong Fei said sullenly, "You think the Iron Man suit is that amazing?"
"Isn't it?"
Frank raised the bottle and poured liquor down his throat. After several gulps, he continued, "He really is a genius. That kind of suit is enough to turn an ordinary person into a killing god on the battlefield. You saw it too—bullets could only leave marks on the armor. Unless you used high-powered weapons or shelled him at close range to knock out the person inside, there was almost nothing you could do to him."
"Hmph, did I fire a cannon at him last night?"
"You're different. Anyone who can beat me twice with his bare hands isn't ordinary. And you're ruthless enough, crafty enough, willing to use any means necessary..."
"That's enough!"
Hong Fei sighed indignantly. "Fine, I admit he really is a genius, but he definitely isn't the only genius in the world!"
"Oh? Then who else is there?"
"You wouldn't know even if I told you. Besides, he's only one person. The world's technological level has never advanced through the intelligence of just one person." Hong Fei clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. "Once we get back, we'll immediately set up a research lab in Sokovia. I'll tie up all those people and make them work for me!"
"Who?"
Hong Fei said, "Didn't I just tell you? You wouldn't know even if I told you!"
Frank curled his lip, tossed away the empty bottle, and stood up. "Fine, I asked too much. Keep lying there. I'm going to drink!"
Having gotten rid of Kingpin, Frank was obviously in an excellent mood. His usually cold, stern face had thawed slightly, and he occasionally even showed smiles that had never appeared before.
Perhaps that was the power hope brought.
Hong Fei closed his eyes. The sea breeze brushed over him, and the sunlight was warm.
Last night, his physical abilities had undergone a major breakthrough. Aside from the all-around surge in strength, he had gained another surprise.
A second Card Slot.
Changing Skill Cards took time. No matter how fast Hong Fei was, there would always be a brief interval.
Two Card Slots operating in parallel undoubtedly improved his actual combat ability from another angle.
Unfortunately, none of the Skill Cards he currently possessed could directly increase his fighting strength, including the one Kingpin had dropped last night.
Passive Skill Card: Hidden Identity (Blue) "When you engage in illegal activities, the chance of your true identity being exposed is greatly reduced."
Hong Fei now had four Skill Cards in total: two blue, one green, and one white. Two passive, two active.
Passive Skill Card: Wrath of Man (White): "When you suffer severe injuries, attack and defense increase by 20% for 30 seconds. Afterward, speed decreases by 40% for 10 minutes." Passive Skill Card: Hidden Identity (Blue): "When you engage in illegal activities, the chance of your true identity being exposed is greatly reduced." Active Skill Card: Deceive Time, Confuse Masses (Green): "After using the skill, any lie you tell has a low chance of gaining another person's absolute trust." Active Skill Card: Rapid Memory (Blue): "After activation, your memory capacity and speed are greatly enhanced."
If anyone was to blame, it was his opponents for being too weak. They could not even bear to drop a decent skill.
With two Card Slots at his disposal, Hong Fei badly needed a proper combat skill. For that, he could only find a way to get one from heroes or villains. At this point in time, there were not many targets he could choose from.
Besides, Hong Fei felt that he needed a weapon sturdy and sharp enough.
If he had had a blade in hand, then even without any skills, he definitely would not have wrestled with the Iron Man suit like an idiot last night.
Although Kingpin had died a little too early and a little too quickly, that outcome was not surprising.
As long as he did not keep dithering, looking ahead and behind, and overthinking everything, once he was certain he wanted to kill, he only needed to cast aside all hesitation and go all out.
When people were killed, they died.
Therefore, Kingpin had not even left behind any ashes.
The only regret was that a villain like Kingpin was unsuitable for being deliberately kept alive. Once given a chance to catch his breath, he might suddenly give Hong Fei a huge "surprise" at any time.
Otherwise, Hong Fei would definitely have imprisoned him instead of killing him, determined to figure out the drop rules for Skill Cards from him!
As for which villain would be suitable for research, Hong Fei was still considering it.
While Hong Fei and Frank comfortably took a yacht out to sea, New York's situation had already become no less than an earthquake.
Someone had fired artillery in the outskirts of New York!
In a land of freedom, the occasional gunshot was hardly news. But no matter how free a place was, it could not tolerate people firing cannons.
Three blasts shook the sky, while blazing flames and thick smoke swept across the heavens.
Other than people with hearing impairments and those who slept especially deeply, ninety percent of New York's residents had heard and seen it last night. Even those who had not reacted at the time were stunned by the overwhelming flood of news when they woke up.
As for reactions, the citizens had not really reacted at first. After all, not everyone had heard real artillery fire before, and many thought it was simply muffled thunder on a clear day.
Once the flames shot into the sky, those people were terrified and panicked.
The New York National Guard was the most shocked of all.
As an important part of the US military's armed forces, their response after the shelling was actually half a beat slower than the police department's.
By the time fighter jets took off to investigate, they found nothing except a Mortar left five kilometers away.
That very night, SWAT and the National Guard entered the mountains together for a grid search. Yet by then, Hong Fei and Frank had long since gone far away, made a turn, and headed straight out to sea.
In the public eye, the person killed by the shelling last night was a philanthropist and spice merchant. People could not help feeling regret over it, but they were even more surprised that someone had dared to use artillery to murder someone on the edge of the city.
But in the eyes of the underworld, Kingpin's death immediately caused a huge uproar. It was not because Kingpin had been particularly respected or feared. After all, no matter how formidable he had been, wasn't he now gone without even a corpse?
The key was that once Kingpin died, the territory and warehouses he left behind instantly became ownerless.
During the day, the gangs held back. Once night fell, fierce battles immediately erupted in the city's dark corners.
The news was filled with all kinds of analysis and arguments. Some said it was a terrorist attack, some said it was gang warfare, and others pointed the finger directly at the police and military.
Why had weapons like mortars leaked out? Why had the police failed to discover them beforehand? Why had the military reacted so slowly? If someone shelled New York, would everyone simply die in their sleep?
The violence agencies bearing the brunt of the pressure were not the only ones overwhelmed. The state and city governments were as well. Politicians rushed to give speeches, while the political enemies of those in power constantly appeared in the media to criticize and attack them. Clearly, this incident had become a nightmare for some and a carnival for others.
All in all, if Hong Fei had been more timid, the endless news reports alone would have been enough to frighten him.
"Stupid New Yorkers. Last night, I was seriously doing the people a service by getting rid of a menace."
The police report said nothing about what lay beneath the warehouse. Presumably, they were still searching for Hong Fei and Frank and had not noticed the secrets under that warehouse at all.
But if they had directly blown up and set fire to Kingpin's underground factory last night, would the smoke drifting into the city have gotten New York's citizens high?
After drifting at sea for three days, Hong Fei's injuries had fully healed. The yacht turned around and openly returned to New York Harbor.
Looking at the great city packed with towering buildings, Frank pulled at the corner of his mouth. "This city looks a little brighter than before. Looks like our operation really went well."
"More than well—it was brilliant!" Hong Fei laughed heartily. "You used three shells to eliminate a future king of the underworld whose tentacles would have stretched across the entire world, thereby saving countless individuals and families who might have suffered because of him. Your merit is immeasurable! Starting today, you're not just The Punisher. You'll also have a brand-new nickname!"
"What?"
"Frank the Three-Cannon!"
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
Before you continue