Madame Gao

Richard had no idea what expression he was supposed to make. He was now deeply impressed by these villains' incredible ability to make things up in their heads. He was clearly a lone wolf with no backing whatsoever, yet they insisted on inventing some lofty background for him. In the end, they were just scaring themselves.

Richard had truly seen it now. He felt like he finally understood how some of those sensational rumors came about. As the actual culprit behind this rumor, Richard was honestly left dumbfounded. Throughout the whole thing, he had only mentioned the name "Shafolin" once. The rest had all been the listeners' own imagination...

Madame Gao was even a little pleased with herself. The moment she mentioned "Shafolin," the other party had stiffened, so she was certain she had guessed right. She even felt that she had gained the initiative in the conversation, and so she said leisurely, "With your side's intelligence capabilities, you must already know our situation. So let's get straight to the point.

As for your 'lord,' The Hand has always held him in great respect. The best proof is that we have always adhered to the principle of not interfering with one another, and we hope to continue maintaining that arrangement in the future..."

Madame Gao went on and on, while Richard could only sneer inwardly.

Not interfering with one another? You can't even find where the river is—how are you supposed to cross into it?

Then again, this so-called "river" did not exist at all. Even if The Hand wanted to cross the line, they had nowhere to start...

"If your side is dissatisfied because The Hand has involved itself in New York's power struggles, we can withdraw immediately," Madame Gao continued. "The Hand and that lord should have no conflict of interest. Fighting each other would benefit neither side."

Madame Gao had already shown plenty of respect to the entirely nonexistent "Shafolin." If she had once harbored doubts about Shafolin's influence and capability, those doubts had completely vanished after witnessing Richard's formidable combat prowess.

Nobu Yoshioka was already among the finest of The Hand's ninjas. Since Richard could utterly overpower Nobu Yoshioka, that meant he likely possessed strength comparable to The Hand's five Fingers. And if someone with such power was merely a disposable underling beneath Shafolin, did that not indirectly demonstrate just how terrifying Shafolin himself must be?

More importantly, they knew absolutely nothing about the other side. Unknown enemies were often the most terrifying. It was best not to provoke someone like that.

Richard pretended to consider it for a moment, then nodded. "All right. Then I can make a guarantee on that lord's behalf. So long as The Hand does not take the initiative to offend us in the future, we certainly will not make things difficult for you."

Only then did Madame Gao relax slightly. To be honest, at her age, she was not entirely certain she could defeat this man in black. A peaceful resolution was naturally for the best.

Nobu Yoshioka's death was not much of a problem anyway. As long as his bones remained, he could be revived...

Just as Madame Gao lowered her guard by the slightest degree, a fist flashed before her eyes. A heavy punch tore through the air with a howl as it came roaring toward her aged face. Madame Gao's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly raised a palm to deflect it. Her withered, branch-like fingers lightly settled against Richard's incoming fist. The "qi" within her body circulated rapidly as she applied a clever force with her hand, forcibly redirecting Richard's mountain-splitting punch elsewhere. It was rather similar to the martial arts technique known as "using four ounces to move a thousand pounds."

Richard was somewhat surprised. This old woman really did have some skill. The force behind that punch of his could probably blast straight through iron plating, and he had launched it as a sudden sneak attack. Yet Madame Gao had actually received it so lightly. If she were thrown into one of those traditional martial arts novels, she would probably be a monstrous-level master.

Unfortunately for her, she had been born into the Marvel Universe, where freaks and gods roamed everywhere. Even if she trained in seclusion for another four hundred years, she would still be instantly defeated if she ran into a true powerhouse.

Although Madame Gao had used "four ounces to move a thousand pounds" to redirect Richard's attack, the punch had come too fiercely, and she had been caught off guard. The force still made her chest tighten, nearly leaving her unable to catch her breath. Using the momentum from his punch, she leaped backward and stared at Richard with anger and wariness. "What is the meaning of this?"

"It means nothing," Richard said flatly. "I just want you dead. That's all."

He was telling the truth. He simply found this old woman unpleasant. He had felt the same way when he watched the show back then.

Others might not know, but Richard knew very well what kind of business Madame Gao ran in New York. She managed a massive drug trade and was a ruthless figure who treated human lives as worthless for the sake of profit, harming countless Chinese people. Every worker and deliveryman in her factories had their eyes gouged out and their tongues cut off. Calling this old woman a living demon would not be an exaggeration.

Richard had long found this old woman displeasing. Now that she had delivered herself right to his door, there was naturally no reason to show mercy and let her go.

Madame Gao's face darkened. "Fine. If this is that lord's will, then you will see that The Hand is not some soft persimmon that anyone can squeeze."

As soon as she finished speaking, the old woman stopped holding back. Air currents suddenly surged around her body, and her hunched back abruptly straightened, as though her spine had been forcibly snapped into alignment. Holding her cane in one hand, she gave it a light sweep. Her vast, overflowing "qi" actually left a faintly visible, translucent trail in the air, her presence immense and intimidating...

Richard calmly watched Madame Gao take her stance.

As expected of one of The Hand's five Fingers. She does seem to have some skill.

But...

Without a word, Richard suddenly drew his gun and pulled the trigger. A streak of azure light that had long since finished charging whistled out, the beam seeming to shake space itself as it shot straight toward Madame Gao.

The Energy Blaster, a bonus accessory that came with the Evolution Trust, was also standard equipment for Nexus's adaptors. It could unleash immensely powerful energy shockwaves. With sufficient charge, a single shot could even pulverize a small Space Beast.

However, using the Energy Blaster also consumed Richard's own energy. Since he had never encountered any worthy opponents before, he rarely used this weapon.

Madame Gao had not expected this at all. It was like two grandmasters meeting atop Mount Hua for a duel. One assumed a stance and performed a mighty set of fist techniques in preparation for battle, while the other simply pulled out a submachine gun and emptied a magazine without saying a word...

The crucial point was that this was not even a submachine gun! This was an Energy Blaster capable of one-shotting a Space Beast. How could an old woman who cultivated qi possibly withstand it?

The azure blast swept through the room. Madame Gao's protective "qi" crumbled like paper beneath the tyrannical energy. Her body was struck heavily by the light, and her withered flesh instantly disintegrated beneath the intense radiance. Muscles, organs, and bones all turned into light particles scattering in every direction. Before she could even curse, she was reduced to ashes.