I Want the Suit You're Wearing

Inside the warehouse.

After the earlier fierce exchange of fire and the car crash,

the first floor was basically just a mess of corpses and broken furniture.

The second floor was in slightly better shape, though it was still somewhat disheveled from the earlier chaos.

Of the five-person team, Baymax led the way with tiny steps, providing cover.

The other four advanced carefully but quickly, guns in hand.

However, perhaps there really weren't any guards left inside the building. No one had set up an ambush anywhere on the entire second floor.

It wasn't until they reached the stairs to the third floor that two more enemies appeared.

But before either of them could attack, Dun Shan and Shamira, the quickest to react, raised their guns and shot them dead at the same time.

Two shots to the chest and one to the head.

One enemy dropped to the ground, unconscious. The other even dropped the grenade he had already pulled the pin on.

A second later, the grenade exploded with a boom.

With all that noise, those two probably hadn't been sleeping very soundly.

Only after reaching the third floor did they discover that, apart from the spacious passage leading upstairs and several cramped rooms that looked like security offices,

the entire third floor of the warehouse consisted of a bright hall that occupied eighty percent of its area.

The floor was laid with polished marble, and two enormous white pillars stood on either side.

Exquisite, obviously expensive furniture was scattered about in small groupings.

If not for the badly burned bodies on the floor and the minor damage caused by the earlier explosion,

this looked less like the lair of an underworld emperor and more like an art gallery filled with artistic flair.

And at that moment, Luca's target for this trip, Kingpin,

was sitting calmly behind a huge stone table at the far end of the room, as if not a single one of his men had been killed and he hadn't been driven into a corner.

When he saw Luca and the others appear, the unusually burly man even straightened his collar with practiced composure and spoke first, his voice low and cultured.

"Luca von O—"

"Bang!"

Before Kingpin could finish saying those two words, Luca, who had been smiling all the way up the stairs, fired first.

The electromagnetic stun round from the Dominator, set to nonlethal mode, was as fast as lightning.

A green arc flashed.

The bullet was already in front of Kingpin.

But Luca's dishonorable sneak attack didn't hit Kingpin while he was speaking. It exploded with a bang less than three meters in front of him.

Only when the bullet fired at Kingpin's forehead was intercepted did they notice that a nearly transparent pane of bulletproof glass stood in front of him, behind the marble table.

Though the bulletproof glass had stopped the shot, and the bullet had missed, Kingpin's formerly composed expression had turned grim.

He hadn't expected that unremarkable-looking brat to be so decisive.

If he hadn't taken precautions in advance...

But Kingpin's sudden, vicious expression did nothing to faze Luca's group.

Dun Shan even asked Luca without a trace of concern,

"Young master, the electromagnetic gun's attack doesn't seem enough to test the strength of that bulletproof glass. Should we try live ammunition?"

As he spoke, Dun Shan and the other two had all raised their guns. It seemed that at Luca's command, they would fire a volley,

testing whether Kingpin's construction team had cut corners during the renovations.

"Enough!"

Kingpin remained seated, but let out a repressed growl and slammed his fist onto the marble table in front of him.

With a bang, cracks spread across the mirror-smooth marble surface like a spiderweb.

The terrifying physical strength made Dun Shan and the others frown slightly.

But immediately afterward, Kingpin seemed to have vented his anger. His expression returned to normal, and he straightened his wrinkled cuff with an air of refinement before continuing.

"Luca Orange, I imagine you came here now because of that fool Dragan's rash decision, right? Now that you've dealt with him, there's no conflict of interest between us."

Without waiting for Luca to respond, Kingpin took two documents from beneath the table and casually tossed them onto its surface.

Then he continued,

"My men will be here in twenty minutes. You and your little group won't be able to escape by then."

"But I'm giving you a chance to reconsider."

"These are shares worth ten percent of Orange Industries. I've already taken care of all the paperwork. Just sign, and they're yours. Consider them my welcome gift. We'll have plenty more opportunities to work together. The alien wreckage in Midtown is a huge prize. You don't have the means to take it on your own!"

After saying all that, Kingpin fell silent and calmly watched Luca.

It was as though he were the one with the upper hand.

Luca looked at the documents on Kingpin's table and smiled kindly, nodding without hesitation.

"Sure. Sounds good to me."

"Young master!" Shamira looked at Luca anxiously, but he raised a hand to stop her.

"However, I want to add one condition," Luca continued with a smile.

Kingpin frowned slightly, as if expressing his displeasure, but still went along with Luca's question.

"What condition?"

Luca raised a hand and pointed at Kingpin from afar, speaking in a casual tone.

"I want the suit you're wearing. Yeah, I want it now!"

At those words, not only Kingpin but the other three beside Luca were left stunned for a moment.

But Kingpin was still the first to react.

"That's enough!!"

Kingpin roared.

With a boom, he shot to his feet.

At over two meters tall, with his solid build, he looked like a walking mountain of flesh.

Combined with his savage expression, an intense pressure swept over them.

As far as Kingpin was concerned, Luca's demand for his suit right then was nothing but a deliberate humiliation, meant to make him step out from behind his defenses.

Did Luca think Kingpin was some irrational idiot?

Well, Luca had asked for the suit partly to bait Kingpin into coming out and getting himself killed.

But more than that, he really wanted the suit!

In fact, the moment Luca had reached the upper floor and seen Kingpin, he'd noticed the man's pure white suit.

It was glowing faintly!

Unfortunately, Kingpin clearly had no intention of granting Luca this small request.

Seeing this, Luca lowered his head slightly and pushed up the bridge of his glasses. A dazzling white light flashed across both lenses.

Then he raised the Dominator in his hand.

A smile appeared on his face, as if to say, "Well, guess there's no other way."