Punisher

Under the cover of night, Matt hesitated for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

He briefly told her about his experience.

But Chun-Li's reaction was rather strange.

"You mean the King of Killers, Fire Cloud Evil God, has joined forces with the Hand?"

"Yes, though it seems more like Fire Cloud Evil God has subdued the Hand and is secretly carrying out some kind of plan."

As he spoke, Matt quickly realized something was off and seized on the flaw in her words.

"King of Killers? Chun-Li, do you know him?"

Today was the first time he had met Fire Cloud Evil God, and Matt didn't know much about him. This woman, who had suddenly appeared, had identified him at a glance. It was very strange.

He even used his radar sense to detect the flow of her blood and the speed of her heartbeat to judge her reaction.

It was obvious that after he asked the question, Chun-Li's heartbeat sped up almost imperceptibly, then quickly returned to normal.

"That's right. One of the reasons I came here was Fire Cloud Evil God!"

She wasn't an enemy!

After confirming that Chun-Li wasn't lying, Matt gently relaxed his taut nerves.

"Then, Chun-Li, what's your connection to him?"

It didn't seem to be any secret she couldn't share, and Chun-Li answered quickly.

"No one knows Fire Cloud Evil God's original name.

"He came from the East Country. He was an assassin with extraordinary martial arts skills, known as the Invincible King of Assassins, Fire Cloud Evil God.

"There's a rumor that Fire Cloud Evil God lost a battle against a mysterious young man who used Buddha's Palm.

"The details of the fight are unknown. I heard that the other man spared Fire Cloud Evil God in the end and told him to mend his ways and start anew."

"But Fire Cloud Evil God didn't reform. He felt humiliated and swore to get revenge.

"So he risked his life to sneak into the Blood Rain Demon Sect and steal its forbidden book—the Blood Rain Demon Codex."

"I heard it's incredibly powerful. It can not only absorb life force from the outside world to strengthen the body, but also prolong a person's life and grant immortality."

At this point, she shook her head. "Of course, those are just rumors. After all, no one has ever seen it."

"Then you..."

Matt was puzzled.

" Hee-hee. I'm actually pursuing a terrifying organization called Shadaloo.

"I came to New York to investigate Fire Cloud Evil God, but only because a friend asked me to look into him while I was here."

Chun-Li didn't explain the details of Shadaloo and stopped there.

After hearing her answer, Matt pondered for a moment, then told Chun-Li what he had seen with his radar sense, especially the gruesome scene of Fire Cloud Evil God feeding on a vampire.

When Chun-Li heard that Fire Cloud Evil God was already practicing the Blood Rain Demon Codex, her expression turned grave.

When Matt described the vampire's death in detail, her face scrunched up.

She muttered under her breath, "This is bad. I thought it was just a legend, but it turns out to be true.

"This is going to be a huge problem. I've heard that people who practice this art are highly prone to demonic possession, which is why the Blood Rain Demon Sect listed it as a forbidden book.

"Someone like Fire Cloud Evil God, a madman with such an evil heart, could go berserk and slaughter people everywhere. If he starts taking lives and devouring people, wouldn't New York be plunged into catastrophe?"

[Emotion value from Matt Murdock +299]

Matt's body tensed, and he shuddered.

His gaze sharpened as he said solemnly to Chun-Li, "Miss Chun-Li, please tell me everything you know about Fire Cloud Evil God!"

Chun-Li looked up at Matt, her expression grave.

"All right."

"I'm in."

At the Qiaoxi Bar, Matt solemnly held out his hand.

After hearing what she had said about Fire Cloud Evil God, especially after learning about his methods, Matt had no reason not to join the fight against him for the sake of New York's safety.

What's more, Fire Cloud Evil God led the Hand and was powerful himself. If he were allowed to continue unchecked, the danger would be plain to see.

Chun-Li smiled lightly, set down her juice, and shook his hand.

At that moment, in a distant dimensional space, Li Chao watched the scene from afar.

Chun-Li had been able to rescue Daredevil at just the right moment and appear there only because he had instructed her to.

Li Chao had merely written a background profile for Chun-Li, and she had followed his script of her own accord.

Everything unfolding before him was entirely within his calculations.

Even if unexpected events caused things to veer off course, he could promptly correct them by descending through consciousness.

The main reason he did this was that he would inevitably draw more and more characters in the future. One or two would be manageable, but once many characters were present at the same time, he wouldn't have the time or ability to control them all.

Doing so would not only place a tremendous strain on Li Chao's mind; as the number of characters increased, the risk of exposure would rise sharply as well.

So instead of doing that, he could simply give them a background and let them act according to their own personalities.

This time was an experiment.

So far, it had gone very well.

He shifted his gaze to the system panel.

He was already close to earning 100,000 emotion points and a Silver Chest.

The main reason was that the incident involving Tony Stark hadn't died down yet, and the emotion points it generated afterward were still pouring in.

Watching the number of emotion points on the panel continue to rise, Li Chao couldn't resist and opened two more Bronze Chests.

[C-rank, 3-star Character Card: Andrew.

Ability: Telekinesis.

Description: From the Chronicle world. Born into an unhappy family, with a seriously ill mother and an alcoholic father. By a stroke of luck, he gained telekinesis after coming into contact with a psychic crystal and became a Metahuman.]

[B-rank Item Card: Killing Stone Fragment ×3.

Description: A wondrous object from the Ga-Rei: Zero World. Originally a fragment of the soul crystal of the World-Destroying Nine-Tailed Fox, it possesses considerable power.]

[C-rank, 7-star Character Card: Bu Jingyun.

Abilities: Cloud Dispelling Palm, Huo Family Swordsmanship, Nameless Swordsmanship, Holy Spirit Swordsmanship, Three "Cloud Ten" Swords.

Description: A peerless Swordsman from the Wind and Cloud World. He wields the divine weapon Peerless Good Sword and is known as the Unweeping Death God.]

[D-rank Item Card: Parasite Beast Hatchlings ×30.

Description: Parasitic creatures from the Parasite Beast world. Their mission is to destroy humanity.]

[B-rank Character Card Fragment ×1]

"Let's set Andrew aside. Just getting Bu Jingyun makes this a decent haul."

"Too bad this Bu Jingyun isn't the martial arts legend from the third part of the comic, but the version from Emperor Shitian's era.

"But the Killing Stone Fragments and Parasite Beast Hatchlings... Let me think. Where should I put them?"

Sitting on the toilet with one hand propping up his chin, Li Chao fell into deep thought in the cramped "bathroom."

Qianxi Bar.

Listening to the rhythmic music, Chun-Li raised her juice and clinked glasses with Matt.

"Matt, do you know any other superheroes like you?"

Just now, Chun-Li had learned his name.

Matt took a sip of his drink, frowned as he thought for a moment, then nodded.

"If we tell him about this, I think he'll join us, given his personality."

"Who?"

"The Punisher."