S.P.E.A.R. Agents in Hell's Kitchen

On the west coast of Manhattan Island, there is a rectangular area bounded by 59th Street and 34th Street to the north and south, Eighth Avenue to the east, and the Hudson River to the west. This is the legendary "Hell's Kitchen."

In its early days, Hell's Kitchen was a notorious slum on Manhattan Island, primarily inhabited by the working class Irish immigrants. It was known for its chaotic and backward living conditions, severe ethnic conflicts, and high crime rates.

If American comics made this area the setting for the stories of Spider-Man, Daredevil, Kingpin, Bullseye, and others, then Chinese novels have used this area to create many powerful figures who have transcended the mundane.

As Lin Hao walked into the area, he didn't feel the gaze of any powerful figures, but he did see naked greed in people's eyes.

In almost every alley, groups of Black and White thugs, along with junkies, were eyeing the lone Asian face walking in, making no secret of their intent to "shoplift for free."

Lin Hao had changed his alias again; he was now Kurosaki Ichigo.

A legitimate businessman in Tokyo.

In the real world, Hell's Kitchen experienced a surge in Manhattan property values. Real estate developers intervened, vigorously developing the area and driving out low-income residents by raising rents and living costs.

This effectively solved the public order issues that the New York government and police had been unable to address for years.

The landlord was kind-hearted and couldn't stand to see the poor, so there were no poor people left here.

Continuous "gentrification" led to more and more "gentlemen" in the area, and public order subsequently improved.

However, in the Marvel universe, the editors needed a frequently chaotic district in New York to provide a stage for superheroes. Therefore, in this world, developers would not dare to get involved in Hell's Kitchen for more than a decade.

At this point in time, the blind lawyer was likely still in school, Spider-Man was still an eight-year-old kid, and Kingpin had already gained control of the area's criminal organizations...

None of this was relevant to Lin Hao's current trip; he was here to find someone.

Someone named "Lan Kenian" in the S.P.E.A.R. archives, a Level 7 agent, formerly one of the agents in the American branch. His life card within the Ring Fortress indicated he was still alive, and his registered safe house was located in Hell's Kitchen.

Lin Hao's trip to New York to attend Tony Stark's banquet was merely a pretext, giving him a plausible reason to be in New York.

Unexpectedly, Tony was going to Afghanistan, so Lin Hao took the opportunity to visit Wall Street, which then led to the Adam Smith "cutting throat" incident.

His primary purpose for this trip was to find the surviving agent from the former American branch.

Currently, there were only 63 surviving agents in the American branch, distributed across the entire American continent. South America had 11, with relatively fewer losses. The remaining 52 were spread across the two North American countries, with America having the majority.

Due to the importance of the American branch, its head in the S.P.E.A.R. system was a Level 8 agent, with four Level 7 agents under him. Two were in America, and the other two were in Greater Canada and West B.

Now that the head, Cheng Yi, was dead, and another Level 7 agent in America had also been sacrificed, only Lan Kenian remained as the highest-ranking Level 7 agent. If Lin Hao wanted to know the details of the incident a few months ago, he was the most direct source.

The American branch had suffered a severe blow. All surviving agents had gone silent according to protocol. Except for Director Zheng Xian and the new head, no one knew their exact locations.

Lan Kenian's registered safe house was located in the center of Hell's Kitchen. Lin Hao, with his Asian face, walked through nearly half the streets, with many individuals who intended to "shoplift for free" trailing behind him.

When he reached the apartment building where Lan Kenian was located, the group following him suddenly stopped. They first looked at Lin Hao with surprise, then their expressions shifted to mocking and cruel smiles. Some even made throat-slitting gestures, their malice undisguised.

Lin Hao entered the apartment building. This old apartment surprisingly had a white superintendent. The bald superintendent was burly and covered in tattoos.

"Hey, kid!"

The hulking superintendent sneered, "This is no place for you."

Although his words were harsh, strangely, this man did not show any mockery or malice towards Lin Hao based on his appearance or skin color.

Lin Hao looked at the superintendent and said calmly, "Tell Lan Kenian, someone from home is here to see him."

"You're looking for Mr. Lan?"

The superintendent straightened up, sizing Lin Hao up and down, finally revealing a cruel smile. "Kid, I don't care where you heard Mr. Lan's real name. If Mr. Lan doesn't see you after I call, I guarantee you'll have a very unpleasant end!"

Lin Hao turned his gaze away and no longer paid him any attention.

The superintendent dared not fail to report, so he picked up the phone.

A moment later, he walked out of the duty room, put on a fawning smile, bent over to lead Lin Hao to the elevator, and pressed the button before him.

"Please, sir. Mr. Lan is waiting for you on the seventh floor."

Lin Hao entered the elevator and arrived at the seventh floor.

The entire floor was Lan Kenian's office. As a Level 7 agent of S.P.E.A.R., it was normal for him to have established a business in New York; this was also his cover identity.

As the elevator doors opened, Lin Hao saw a man in a green casual outfit sitting behind a desk. The man had a strong build, appeared to be in his early thirties, with short hair and a mustache above his upper lip.

"Where are you from?" Lan Kenian scrutinized Lin Hao, having no recollection of him.

"From home," Lin Hao replied in Chinese.

"Where is home?" Lan Kenian continued in Chinese.

"Where the heart finds peace," Lin Hao answered calmly.

Lan Kenian's pupils constricted, but he maintained his composure and continued, "It's raining so heavily outside, why didn't you bring an umbrella?"

At that moment, the sky outside was clear, without a single cloud.

Lin Hao then spoke his final line: "A orchid has eight leaves."

With all the passwords matched, Lan Kenian finally stood up excitedly, quickly walked to the wall, opened an embedded iron box, and pressed the red button inside.

"I've activated the jammer."

Lan Kenian then walked forward with excitement, extending his hands towards Lin Hao, his hands even trembling slightly.

"Comrade, you've finally arrived!"

Lin Hao extended a hand to him, continuing to observe his microexpressions.

Ever since he was downstairs, Lin Hao had been using his Observation Haki to gauge the number of people and threats within the apartment building. Upon entering the seventh floor, he focused his attention on Lan Kenian, ready to eliminate him swiftly if any abnormal behavior was detected.

So far, Lin Hao hadn't found anything unusual about the man. His micro-expressions were normal, his Observation Haki detected no threat, and he hadn't even foreseen any future fragments of the man making a move.

Although Whitebeard's Observation Haki didn't explicitly show future-seeing abilities in the original work, it was highly likely that Oda hadn't finalized the setting back then. Regardless, the Observation Haki Lin Hao had copied could foresee short snippets of the future.

This was the confidence that allowed Lin Hao to come alone and in person.

"What exactly happened a few months ago?" Lin Hao cut straight to the chase.

"I don't know either!"

Upon mentioning this, Lan Kenian's expression became very complex, filled with anger, sadness, and a hint of lingering fear.

"At the end of last year, on Christmas night, Minister Cheng suddenly issued an emergency order to everyone, demanding we enter a state of silence."

"After that, our comrades were hunted by S.H.I.E.L.D. Only one person from the team I personally led survived besides myself. The other two teams I was responsible for contacting lost all contact."

"When faced with such a situation, I had no choice but to follow the contingency plan and return here, cutting off all contact with the other teams."

"Before the incident, when was the last time you saw Minister Cheng?" Lin Hao pressed.

"September 10th of last year," Lan Kenian replied immediately.

"Alright, I'll come find you again in a while." Lin Hao turned and left.

"Sir..." Lan Kenian hesitated, his eyes filled with anticipation. "When will you reorganize..."

Realizing he shouldn't pry, he quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm just a bit anxious."

Lin Hao turned back, giving him a deep look. He still found no flaws.

"Don't worry, our comrades won't have to wait too long."

As he reached the elevator doors, a faint voice drifted back, "There's a traitor among our ranks!"

Entering the elevator, Lin Hao, as he turned around, saw the shock on Lan Kenian's face, followed by a moment of naturally expressed anger.

The elevator doors closed, blocking his view. The anger on Lan Kenian's face did not subside.

As the elevator descended, Lan Kenian walked to the window, quietly watching Lin Hao walk away on the street below.

Only then did he suddenly touch his chest, a slight smile appearing on his lips. "The new guy is quite interesting!"