Humanity's Cancer

The Devil's Gang's van sped down the road.

They had left early enough that the police weren't on their trail.

The burly man in the passenger seat answered a call from Mr. Negative.

"Boss, we've got everything."

"It's all safe!"

He assured Mr. Negative they would bring it to the base right away.

But then he noticed something wrong.

Why were the traffic lights on both sides of the intersection...

All green?

Had they malfunctioned?

Before he could say a word, their van reached the middle of the intersection, and a truck came barreling in from the side.

"No!"

He grabbed the driver.

The next second, the truck's brakes screeched, but it slammed into them anyway.

Bang!

The van flipped in an instant.

The truck driver broke out in a sweat and looked up at the traffic light.

"Green!"

"They ran the red light! They ran the red light!"

He looked across the intersection. Sure enough, the light over there was red!

He called the police at once. He had proof.

When the call connected, a steady electronic female voice spoke to him.

The driver had a feeling she wasn't a real person.

"Who are you?"

Just then, a car pulled up. Workers in hats got out, opened the overturned van, and took everything inside.

"Sir, thank you for your cooperation. The police will arrive shortly."

The voice on the phone spoke again, then hung up.

"Beep, beep!"

The truck driver stared at his phone, baffled. What did I cooperate with?

At the villa on Long Island.

Li Wei lay on the sofa while 2B, now dressed in a French maid outfit, busied herself cleaning.

Of course 2B could change clothes. Her outfits weren't part of her body.

And in the game, 2B's clothes could be blown off...

Just thinking of that round, smooth, glossy backside made Li Wei glance over at her.

2B felt his gaze and shyly hurried out of sight.

Who said 2B had no emotions?

They just weren't as nuanced as a human's. She could still get embarrassed!

Li Wei's phone chimed. He opened it, and Red Queen appeared on the screen.

"Master, I've sent you footage from the scene."

Li Wei had authorized tonight's operation.

He had only just bought the homeless shelter, and Martin Li was already trying to wreck it. How could he let that slide?

"Gwen was there too?"

He opened the first video, filmed inside the shelter, and watched with growing interest.

When it ended, he had one thought...

Ghost-Spider was incredibly flexible. Was there any move she couldn't pull off?

What a knockout!

Of course, he knew Ghost-Spider was Gwen Stacy.

Seeing Mr. Negative land a hit on Gwen, Li Wei shook his head.

She still needed training.

He opened the second video. From the surveillance camera's angle, he saw a truck slam into the van and send it flying.

"Master, everything has been placed in the company's offices. The documents are quite interesting."

Red Queen sounded perfectly calm.

"Send them over."

As soon as Li Wei spoke, Red Queen photographed the documents and sent him the images.

A worker appeared at the edge of the photos, helping turn the pages. Otherwise, she couldn't have done it.

If she had a body...

A thought struck Li Wei.

Wouldn't that make her Ultron?

An artificial intelligence with a Vibranium body...

Actually, it would be easy for Red Queen to build herself a body. She simply liked the freedom she had now.

A body would only restrict her abilities.

Li Wei opened an image and narrowed his eyes.

"They're running a black-market operation?"

"Yes. They're matching buyers with blood, organs, and other items. Every homeless person's blood type is recorded in the files."

Red Queen spoke coolly. In her view, humanity was far from admirable.

There was so much filth beneath the surface!

"Then these are..."

"Lists!"

Red Queen continued, "I've identified everyone on them. Most are connected to New York's elite."

"Their business partner is Fisk Medical."

Fisk Medical was part of the Fisk Group.

In other words, it was Kingpin's company.

Martin Li had used the homeless shelter to record the blood types and other details of the people who had nowhere else to go.

Whenever someone among the elite needed a match, they could find one at any time.

Then someone from Fisk Medical would come to "collect the goods" and deliver them to the "buyer."

Li Wei's expression darkened as he read.

He had thought he was a bad person, concerned only with profit.

But compared with these capitalists... he was practically a saint.

At least he had genuinely helped people with disabilities.

"Build a world without the weak."

Li Wei recalled Professor Connors's declaration.

What a beautiful ideal.

And how far away it was.

To achieve it, they would first have to wipe out these parasites—humanity's cancer!

"Master, what should we do with these?"

Red Queen asked.

She had been calculating the best course of action too. She already had a preference and was about to tell Li Wei.

"Hold on to them for now," Li Wei said. "They might come in useful."

Norman Osborn came to mind.

Li Wei turned off his phone. "2B, I'm going to take a bath."

2B quickly set down her mop and headed for the bathroom.

"Mr. Negative. What is it?"

Fisk Tower was still brightly lit that night.

Kingpin had just returned to his office after dinner with a councilman when he answered the call.

"Kingpin."

Martin Li's voice was grave. "Someone's onto me. They bought my organization and stole the files."

Kingpin's breath caught. Then he said in a voice heavy with menace, "Didn't you say you left no records?"

"I had to keep records. How else was I supposed to remember all of them? Don't tell me you kept none."

Martin Li wasn't afraid of him. His voice was cold.

Kingpin had no answer.

They had agreed not to keep any "records."

But that had never been possible.

Without records, how could they control those people and get what they wanted?

"Who was it?"

It was all Kingpin could ask.

"I don't know. But whoever bought my organization will show up eventually."

Martin Li's voice stayed even.

"You have time to take care of it."

Kingpin sounded irritated.

He was preparing to run for mayor. If this got out...

He didn't hang up. The desk phone simply crumpled in his hand.

"Beep, beep, beep!"

Hearing the tone, Martin Li grew angry too.

"Who the hell do you think you are, ordering me around?"

He cursed aloud.

As one of New York's biggest crime bosses, Martin Li had little reason to fear Kingpin.

And yet, who would have guessed that his original ambition had been to become the Kingpin of Chinatown...

Clearly, that ambition no longer satisfied him.

"Boss, the Maggia are attacking our territory."

"Fuck! Come with me!"

At his subordinate's report, Martin Li immediately shouted the order.

The Maggia were his sworn enemies, especially that damned Hammerhead.