At dawn, the rising sun broke over the horizon.
Hong Fei stood in a loose black training uniform on the lawn, rooted like an ancient tree, his spine straight as a spear.
A walkie-talkie lay on the grass as well. After all, only Hong Fei and Number One were here now, and a walkie-talkie was faster and more convenient than making a phone call.
Suddenly, Number One's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Boss, Frank is back. He's injured."
Hong Fei's eyes snapped open, and his brow furrowed.
The gates stood open as a red sedan sped in.
As it drew near, Hong Fei saw that the person in the driver's seat was not Frank, but a young woman.
After getting out, she gave Hong Fei a curious glance, then opened the rear door and helped the listless Frank out.
Seeing the bruises on Frank's face and the blood seeping through the bandages on his body, Hong Fei could not help but smile.
"Well, if it isn't our famous Punisher. Why do you look like you've been punished by someone else?"
Frank shot Hong Fei an annoyed glare.
After they entered the house and sat down, Hong Fei continued with a grin, "Go on, what happened?"
Frank said nothing, simmering with anger.
Seeing this, the woman beside him took the initiative to speak. "Hello, sir. I'm Claire Temple. Last night, he was being hunted by a group of Mafia members, and I happened to run into him. I've treated most of his injuries, but he needs to rest now."
Claire Temple, the Night Nurse.
She had some reputation, but apparently no special abilities. Would someone like her drop a Skill Card?
Hong Fei looked at Frank teasingly. "Do you remember what I told you when you left last time?"
"Enough. I remember, I know. This time, it was my mistake!" Frank replied gloomily. Then his face twisted with anger. "I never expected The Hand and the Mafia to join forces and set a trap for me. Once I recover, I won't let them off!"
"Fine. As long as you know you were wrong."
Turning around, Hong Fei rose and extended his hand to Claire. "Hello, I'm Hong Fei. Thank you very much for saving Frank."
Claire hurriedly stood as well. Their hands touched only briefly before separating. "Mr. Hong, Frank needs rest now. I've already given him all the medicine he needs. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."
"Miss Claire, there's no need to leave in such a hurry. It's still early. Why not stay for breakfast?"
"No, thank you." Claire shook her head, then added, "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about this. I greatly admire people like Mr. Frank who dare to fight against dark forces. If you need medical help in the future, you can contact me again."
Hong Fei glanced at Frank. When he saw him nod, he smiled as well. "All right, I'll see you out."
A short while later, Hong Fei returned and sat across from Frank, his smile fading slightly.
"Tell me the details."
Frank took a deep breath and began recounting everything.
The day before yesterday, Frank learned that The Hand would be conducting a transaction at the docks, and that the deal had originally belonged to the Mafia.
Frank believed that the Mafia, having had their business stolen, would not let it go. Sure enough, during his subsequent investigation, he discovered that the Mafia had already prepared to make trouble.
So last night, Frank lay in ambush at the docks. When the Mafia and The Hand clashed, he opened fire as well, hoping to fish in troubled waters.
But the firefight between the two sides was fake; luring him out was real. Once the forces hiding in the shadows found Frank's position, both sides immediately surrounded and attacked him.
If Frank had not been extra cautious, planned an escape route in advance, and happened to run into Claire along the way, he would probably be dead by now.
Hong Fei said, "So you did take at least a little of what I said to heart."
Though reluctant to admit it, Frank nodded. Hong Fei's warning had indeed made him more cautious. He had not expected the other side to truly be plotting against him.
"Enough. It's good that you came back alive. You've acted too frequently lately, and so many people have died. They must have been on guard against you for a long time. It was only a matter of time before they made a move against you.
"Next, focus on recovering. Take your time with any plans you have. There's no need to rush revenge. They aren't going anywhere.
"Besides, the underground space needs to be renovated and expanded. You'll oversee the construction. Number Four and Number Five will be bringing people back soon. Divide them up when they arrive and get the surface security in place first."
"If I'm handling all that, what are you going to do?"
"Of course I'm going to do something more important. For example, finding us a top-tier scientist who's also a doctor. By the way, can Claire be recruited?"
"I don't know. I've only met her twice."
"Then leave her to you too. If you get the chance, you can try, but don't force it. We have a better option."
"Got it."
Frank was not in the mood, and Hong Fei did not say anything further. He got up and resumed his morning training.
At noon, Hong Fei turned on the television in his room. He wrote out plans with his head lowered while listening to the television.
"...I am Iron Man!"
Those words made Hong Fei raise his eyes slightly. He looked at Tony's composed face, tinged with superiority, then lowered his head again.
Although Obadiah had been dealt with early by Hong Fei, Tony's admission that he was Iron Man had still been delayed by at least half a month compared with the original timeline.
During that time, losing to Hong Fei while wearing the armor had made Tony settle down and bury himself in research for quite a while. Destroying the weapons his company had left in the Middle East had taken a long time as well. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. kept coming to his door, costing him more time. By now, someone had leaked a video, leaving him no choice but to hold a press conference.
If there had been no video evidence, Tony probably would have continued hiding it.
Because he believed that he still had a major enemy in Hong Fei whom he had not dealt with, he thought it was better to keep a low profile.
But the more Phil Coulson urged him to keep it secret and dodge the issue, the more rebellious he became. So he simply admitted it outright.
"Wait, quiet! I have something else to say!"
Tony's voice came through again, and Hong Fei could not help looking up.
"Do you remember the shelling incident a month ago? I know who the culprit is."
The moment he said that, the scene erupted into chaos again. After Tony loudly silenced them once more, he placed his phone on the table, and a holographic projection immediately appeared.
It showed a figure wearing a white mask and black combat gear.
"I'll only say this once, so don't interrupt me." Tony spoke again, and the media immediately held their breath in silence.
"Obviously, this is the culprit you've all been looking for. I started searching for him earlier than anyone else. The reason I didn't tell the police or military beforehand is because this person was the real culprit behind my kidnapping last time!"
Someone immediately cried out in surprise, then covered their mouth under Tony's gaze.
Tony turned to face the camera. "I don't know whether you're watching right now, but I believe you'll see or hear what I'm saying today sooner or later."
"I, Tony Stark, will do everything in my power to find you and make you face the law! Unless you disappear under a false identity from this day forward, as long as you dare to keep committing evil, one day, I will stand before you!"
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