Just 1 Point Stronger Than You

"Hey, you hiding by the door and eavesdropping, why don't you come in and talk?"

Bai Ye gently rolled his arm and spoke calmly. As he spoke, Peter also turned his gaze toward the door.

After focusing his attention, Peter heard the heartbeat coming from the doorway as well. He was surprised that someone had been hiding behind the door without him noticing.

"Daredevil was right. You really do have a lot of potential."

A deep male voice came from the doorway. Then the door was pushed open, and a man wearing a T-shirt with a skull printed on the chest walked in from outside, looking at Bai Ye with admiration.

"Daredevil? Did he send you here?"

Bai Ye frowned. "I just want to live a peaceful life. Why are you Super Heroes always haunting me? Can't you just fuck off?"

Thinking of Daredevil, who had gotten his limbs broken by him yet still kept attracting trouble his way, Bai Ye wanted to go to the hospital and punch him twice more. Was the guy really so bored that he had to lure monsters to him?

"Bai, he's a Super Hero? And you know Daredevil too?"

Peter looked curiously at the man before him. This was the first Super Hero he had ever seen.

"Of course. Let me formally introduce him to you. This is the Punisher, a local street-level hero of New York, just like Daredevil. The nemesis of crime in New York City."

"His only flaw is that he's been at this for four or five years since his debut, yet Kingpin is still thriving in the underworld. Makes you wonder what he's been doing all these years while fighting crime."

Bai Ye grandly introduced the Punisher to Peter. As the Punisher's face gradually darkened, Bai Ye suddenly realized that Peter, as Spider-Man, seemed destined to end up the same way.

"Kid, don't you think you're being a little too full of yourself?"

The Punisher walked up to Bai Ye. At one meter ninety, he lowered his head slightly to look down at Bai Ye, who was half a head shorter than him. "With great power comes great responsibility. A peaceful life is something you have to fight for yourself. If you don't wipe out evil, no one will be able to live in peace."

"Here we go again. Do you Super Heroes only have this one speech?"

Bai Ye rolled his eyes. "Ever since I became an orphan three years ago, I stopped believing that inspirational bullshit. I can't be bothered to argue with you. If you have something to say, say it. If not, get lost."

"Before we discuss business, I need to assess you. If you're not strong enough, then—"

Before the Punisher could finish, his expression changed instantly. Bai Ye's right fist tore through the air toward his abdomen, moving far faster than he could react.

"You talk too—"

Bai Ye's lips moved, but only half the sentence left his mouth before his right fist struck the Punisher's crossed arms, which he had raised to block.

Tyrannosaur-like strength surged through the Punisher's tensed body, instantly sending him flying into the air.

How could he be this fast???

Surprise—or rather, shock—filled the Punisher's eyes.

But before his airborne body reached its highest point, Bai Ye's outstretched right fist had already changed into an open palm.

His right palm lightly covered the Punisher's head, then he grabbed his head and viciously slammed his entire body into the ground.

The whole process took less than a second. Bai Ye had already pinned this Super Hero, whose combat ability was no weaker than Daredevil's, to the floor.

Only then did the rest of Bai Ye's sentence slowly leave his lips. "...much."

How is this possible? Didn't Matt say this kid was only a little stronger than me, with absolutely no technique, and that I could beat him as long as I was careful?

Pinned to the ground, the Punisher's mind trembled with shock. Matt, you bastard, you gave me false intel. This was only a little stronger than me?

What the Punisher did not know was that Matt had actually exaggerated a little.

Bai Ye was not one full point stronger than him. He was only 0.5 stronger, according to the Stat Panel's calculations.

Description:

You have initiated an attack against another person. Analyzing opponent data.

Name: Frank Castle

Strength: 1.4

Agility: 1.4

Constitution: 1.4

Spirit: 1.4

Charisma: 1.1

...

Bai Ye silently looked over the Punisher's data panel. Numerically, there was not much difference between him and Daredevil. Both were battle-hardened human warriors at the peak of their limits.

Yet in just five days, Bai Ye had gone from barely winning through surprise attacks to effortlessly crushing them without any suspense.

Now, when facing these street-level Super Heroes, a mere average stat difference of 0.5 is already something numbers can't make up for. Even if ten thousand of these guys came at me, I wouldn't be afraid, Bai Ye thought.

Composing himself, Bai Ye looked at the prone Punisher and withdrew his right palm. He used only a single smooth, jade-like index finger to lightly press against the man's head.

The Punisher strained his body and tried to rise, but it felt as though an iron rod were firmly pressing down on the top of his head, leaving him unable to lift it.

If he forced himself, his fragile skull would be pierced through by Bai Ye's finger first.

Against the Punisher's mortal flesh, Bai Ye, whose physical attributes surpassed his by several times, only needed to exert the slightest force with one finger to keep him from turning over.

Bai Ye calmly looked down at the Punisher, who was taller than him, and slowly said, "Can you tell me why you came here now?"

"Bai, how about letting him go first?" Peter pleaded from the side.

Then he looked down at the Super Hero who had seemed so arrogant before, now unable to move like a turtle pinned on its shell. Some of Peter's idealized image of Super Heroes shattered.

So Super Heroes aren't that strong after all. If I had attacked instead of Bai, he might've gone down even faster, Peter thought.

Looking at the Punisher's current state, Bai Ye decided Peter had a point.

Although these Super Heroes varied wildly in strength, every one of them was stubborn to the bone. They were the kind who would rather die than talk, and the more they were threatened, the more excited they might become. He could not reward him.

Bai Ye lightly lifted his finger. The Punisher quickly pushed himself up from the ground with both hands, gave Bai Ye a startled look, and revealed why he had come.

"Recently, the vampires in New York have been extremely active. This month alone, seven bodies drained completely of blood have been found. I suspect they're planning something big."

"I originally wanted to find Mark, but because of his condition, he recommended you to me. Now that I've seen your strength far surpasses mine, I'd like to invite you to investigate what's behind this with me," the Punisher said.

The Punisher had said a great deal, but to Bai Ye, it amounted to this: the Punisher had sent him a side quest request. Vampire uprising. Accept?

"I refuse," Bai Ye said without hesitation. Then he raised his right hand and pointed toward the door. "You can leave."