Partner Candidate

Continental Hotel.

The moment Anton reached the entrance, he saw the familiar Black receptionist at the front desk directing renovation workers as they altered the Continental Hotel's decor.

When he had swept through the Continental Hotel as Batman before, the place had been nearly wrecked. At the same time, many assassins had been sent to a prison outside New York, with only a few lucky enough to escape judgment. The Black receptionist was one of those "survivors."

The moment he saw Anton, the receptionist recalled the terror of being dominated not long ago. His expression changed slightly as he respectfully said, "Mr. Anton, this way, please. Mr. Winston is in his office on the top floor. I think he'll be very happy to see you."

"Where's the Adjudicator?"

As Anton spoke, he tossed him the car keys in his hand. "Get rid of this car for me."

"The Adjudicator is in Room 213. If you need her, I can call her for you."

"Tell her to come to Winston's office and find me."

"Of course."

After a few brief exchanges, the receptionist accepted the keys and watched Anton head upstairs without looking back.

Only after Anton disappeared from sight did he let out a long breath, feeling the tension in his chest ease considerably.

Knowing Anton's identity, he did not dare show even the slightest disrespect toward him.

That night, Batman had seemed like a demon from hell, and the pressure he had exerted was simply overwhelming.

After going upstairs, Anton met Winston, who had come to greet him personally.

Clearly, while Anton had been making his way up, the receptionist had already informed Winston.

"Mr. Anton, welcome to the Continental Hotel once again."

Winston smiled and shook his hand. This time, he did not seem nearly as panicked as before.

Anton and the High Table had reached a certain degree of cooperation. Batman was no longer an enemy, but a "friend."

The Continental Hotel's earlier losses had been completely compensated for the moment Sloan and the Brotherhood's core members were arrested by the police.

Without Winston, there would have been no cooperation between the High Table and Batman.

In a sense, Winston had rendered tremendous service in helping the High Table eliminate the Brotherhood.

"The Adjudicator will be here shortly," Winston said with a smile.

"Before that, I have a question."

Anton sat across from Winston, met his gaze, and slowly said, "What do you think of Hell's Kitchen?"

"Hell's Kitchen?"

Winston's eyes flickered. "They're a group of troublesome neighbors."

"Just neighbors?"

Anton crossed one leg over the other, seeing through Winston's insincerity. "With such troublesome neighbors right next door, you can't possibly be comfortable with it."

Winston narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb in front of me. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Winston, you probably know better than I do how I took Sloan and Bullseye from Kingpin and delivered them to the police station."

Anton could not be bothered wasting words on the old fox. He spoke bluntly. "I'm going after Kingpin. The Continental Hotel must cooperate with my operation."

After a pause, he looked at the Adjudicator, Aisha Kate, who had just pushed open the door and entered with a cold expression, then added, "That includes the High Table. All of you will cooperate with me."

Meanwhile.

Manhattan, Fisk Company.

An office.

Bang!

Someone was throwing things around, looking utterly furious.

It was worth noting that this time, it was not Kingpin who was angry, but Wesley, the capable subordinate managing the company for him.

"He got away?"

Wesley was beside himself with rage. The thought of the message he had just received made his heart pound with fear, terrified that Kingpin would find out.

If Kingpin learned that he had botched the job, he would not be spared either.

He knew perfectly well that Batman had thoroughly offended his boss during their confrontation that night.

"Not only did you let him escape, all our men ended up in the hospital. Two are even completely paralyzed, while the rest will be bedridden for at least a year or two. Is this how you work for me?"

Wesley wanted nothing more than to pull out a knife and kill the thug in front of him.

"Mr. Wesley, we underestimated him! Please give us another chance!"

The thug trembled in fear.

The helplessness on his face as he faced Wesley was exactly like Wesley's own helplessness whenever he faced Kingpin.

"Then find more people. Capture him and force Batman's identity out of him," Wesley said, enunciating every word.

"Understood." The thug nodded frantically.

"And what about Bullseye? How are things going with the police station? Has the bail process been completed?" Wesley asked again.

"It's almost settled," the thug said. "Bullseye has no criminal record. Plenty of people know he's an assassin, but there's no evidence, so the police can't convict him. He'll be released soon."

"Very good."

Wesley let out a breath. At least that counted as good news.

He waved the thug away, then sat in his chair, anxiously considering how to deal with Kingpin's wrath after failing to get the job done.

"The High Table agrees to cooperate with your operation."

Aisha did not disappoint Anton. After giving him an affirmative answer, she glanced at Winston. "When necessary, we will dispatch assassins. The Continental Hotel will be responsible for intelligence."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

Anton's expression remained calm. He had already anticipated this outcome.

Though he had only just established a partnership with the High Table, as long as the High Table had ambitions in New York, it would not pass up an opportunity to expand.

Hell's Kitchen!

It was a massive piece of cake.

If the High Table could successfully swallow Hell's Kitchen, the Continental Hotel would become the new king of New York's underworld.

"There is one point I must make clear in advance."

Just as he expected, Aisha's expression turned serious. "Once Kingpin falls, his territory will belong to the High Table."

"I'm not interested in Hell's Kitchen."

Anton had no objections. He waved a hand. "I'm only interested in sending Kingpin to prison."

"Prison?"

Aisha thought of Batman's principles and shrugged without comment.

In her view, Anton's refusal to kill was not exactly weakness, but it was still utterly pointless.

Anton could not possibly fail to realize what would happen to those people after they entered prison.

At the very least, the High Table had already begun dealing with Sloan, leaving the remaining Brotherhood remnants no chance at all.

By tomorrow at the latest, Sloan would die suddenly in prison.

"Speaking of Kingpin, I thought of someone."

After seeing the two reach an agreement, Winston suddenly spoke again. "Daredevil. Have you heard of him?"

"Daredevil?"

Aisha possessed extensive intelligence. As the Adjudicator, she was no stranger to New York. She narrowed her eyes. "That lone vigilante who only operates in Hell's Kitchen and is locked in a bitter feud with Kingpin?"

"That's right."

Winston said, "If we're going after Kingpin, he'll be more than willing to join us." After a pause, he looked at Anton. "Especially if Batman invites him."

"Leave it to me."

Anton nodded. "I'll find him and invite him to join us."

Daredevil, also known as Daredevil.

Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer and Kingpin's archenemy.

Information about Daredevil resurfaced in Anton's mind.

He had to admit that the old fox Winston had, for once, made a good suggestion.