The Big Man Behind the Scenes?

Viper came in aggressively and fled with her tail between her legs, the whole process taking no more than a few minutes. Clearly, she had come for Richard, yet Richard had only casually exchanged a few words with her and had not lifted a finger. It made him seem more like a bystander watching the drama unfold.

Really, Viper had only herself to blame for courting death. Picking a fight was one thing, but she had insisted on dragging Fisk into it. In the end, Richard, the actual target, had not even said a word before Fisk quietly dismissed those clowns.

Would you believe it? A stand-in attack.

After tonight, there would probably never be another Green Snake Gang in New York City.

With that little interruption over, Fisk sighed softly and shook his head. "It is because people like that exist that this city has fallen so far. People like them are the root of the city's disease. As long as they continue to exist, the streets will never be safe, and people will never dare speak up for themselves."

That made a lot of sense, so was Kingpin planning to turn himself in to the New York Police Department?

Fisk withdrew his gaze and suddenly looked directly at Richard. Richard noticed that his eyes seemed different from before, becoming even harder to read.

Fisk drained the rest of the red wine in his glass and set it down.

"Why don't we speak frankly, Mr. Li?" he said. "I am a man who values privacy greatly, so I rarely mention this... mention my real business to others. But considering you and your background, I think you already know. So there is no need for us to beat around the bush any longer."

Richard paused slightly.

He had not expected this. Was Kingpin planning to lay everything out in the open with him?

"You should know the real me, what kind of person I am outside the public eye. So perhaps you think everything I said tonight is a thief crying thief... perhaps. But I assure you, every word I said came from the heart. I sincerely hope this city can become better. What this city needs now is not an incorruptible mayor, nor a hero who fights crime. No, neither of those. This city needs someone like me, and only someone like me truly understands how it operates."

Richard said nothing.

He now believed Fisk was not lying. Perhaps Fisk really was right. If all criminal activity was brought under one person's control, then perhaps, in terms of the outcome, it really could make the city better.

But what concerned him more now was why Fisk was telling him all this.

Fisk continued on his own. "As I just said, I may have some big plans in the near future. This city is bound to change. She will be reborn and assume her most perfect form. But before that..." He paused, his expression turning serious, as though this was the true purpose of the conversation. "I need to know what the 'Big Man' behind you intends."

Richard was completely baffled. "What Big Man? Who are you talking about?"

"There is no need to hide it, Mr. Li. My influence may not compare to that of the person behind you, but my ears and eyes are still quite sharp within New York." Fisk spoke leisurely. "In fact, not only me. Other influential people in New York have guessed some of it as well."

Richard remained confused. He spread his hands frankly. "I truly do not understand what you are talking about."

"All right." Fisk gathered his thoughts before saying, "Then let us go through it one matter at a time. Starting with... hmm... Black at City Hall. You caught him cheating on his wife, correct? I recall that he hired several professional assassins—the very best—to eliminate your photographer. You see, others might not know about such details. But this city is like my backyard. Nothing escapes my eyes."

Richard thought back for a moment. Hmm... that did seem to have happened. But those idiots were supposed to be the best assassins? Richard remembered casually tossing them into the Pacific Ocean to feed the fish. They had not seemed any different from anyone else. The photographer had not even known until the end that someone had wanted him dead.

"Afterward, those assassins vanished—completely disappeared. Even with my resources, I could not find the slightest trace of them. Our best experts all told me the job had been done too cleanly, cleanly enough to be unusual. And as for Mr. Black from City Hall, evidence that he had hired killers was discovered a few days later... a little too smoothly, don't you think?"

Richard neither confirmed nor denied it.

Seeing that he offered no comment, Fisk continued. "Then there was Adam Hensh. During a major project, the Daily Planet exposed Adam Hensh as a pedophile who had assaulted hundreds of young girls over the past decade... that was a real scandal. But Adam was no minor figure. He had a congressman backing him, which was why so many people had known about his conduct for years, yet no one had spoken up. Afterward, he insisted that the Daily Planet had fabricated evidence to slander him, and even declared that he would make you pay... but look what happened to him in the end. After only three weeks in prison, he was beaten to death by four fellow inmates..."

Richard remembered that incident as well. He recalled Adam Hensh being unbelievably arrogant at the time. That guy had even pointed at Richard's nose and sworn that Richard would not even know how he died, right? Yet Adam had ended up in prison.

As for being beaten to death by fellow inmates... Richard swore that really had nothing to do with him. Pedophiles were extremely unwelcome even in prison. Being beaten by fellow inmates was hardly unusual.

But hearing Kingpin put it that way, Richard felt as though it sounded like he had hired someone to kill the man.

He was the owner of a respectable newspaper! Did he look like the kind of person who hired killers?

Besides, if he wanted to kill someone, why would he need to hire anyone?

He could just fly straight to their home, carry them to the Pacific Ocean, and toss them in to feed the fish. Why waste that money?

"And lastly, Silver Mane." Fisk interlaced his fingers and rested his fleshy chin on them. "I know that old man. He is not someone who would be easily frightened off. So whoever is behind you must be on an entirely different level from people like us, correct? Who exactly is backing you? Some enormous multinational organization, perhaps? Like..."

Fisk narrowed his eyes, and even his voice unconsciously lowered, as though the very word he was about to mention was taboo.

"...The Hand?"

Richard could not help but be speechless. "What kind of trash is The Hand?"