The Reaper's Whisper

Back in Hell's Kitchen, the ever-busy model worker Coulson dropped off Lu Qi and drove away.

Looking at the quiet streets, Lu Qi thought for a moment, unsure where to go for fun.

A laser suddenly shone on him. Lu Qi thought Kingpin had sent another sniper and immediately turned into a shadow, feeling his way toward where the laser had come from.

He appeared on a rooftop and looked at the person who had aimed the laser at him.

He had assumed it would be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but it turned out to be Punisher.

Their first meeting had hardly been pleasant, and Lu Qi had no idea why Punisher was looking for him.

"I heard you've been causing trouble for Kingpin?" Punisher put away the laser and did not seem surprised by Lu Qi suddenly appearing behind him.

"Yeah. That guy burned down my little stash, so I want some compensation." Lu Qi rubbed his chin and sat on the edge of the rooftop wall as he spoke.

He was not surprised that Punisher knew about his conflict with Kingpin. He had gone straight to cause trouble for Kingpin last night without even wearing a mask. By now, the gangs of Hell's Kitchen probably all knew what he and the Shadow Army really looked like.

That also made Punisher's reason for coming to him immediately clear. After Punisher witnessed a gang carrying out vigilante justice, the gang had slaughtered his entire family and nearly killed him as well.

Afterward, Punisher had embarked on a path of killing every gangster he could find. As the emperor of the underworld, it was only natural that Kingpin and Punisher had a grudge against each other.

"Want to work together? Kingpin has a sizable shipment of white powder coming in tonight. Taking it out should make him hurt for a while."

Punisher explained tonight's deal. If they worked well together, they could consider joining forces against Kingpin in the future.

Lu Qi thought about it and agreed.

Punisher tossed Lu Qi a mask.

"Put it on. You're practically a celebrity in Hell's Kitchen now."

Lu Qi took the mask. Though he felt the thing would make him stand out even more, he put it on anyway.

The mask might draw more attention, but Lu Qi's name was probably even more frightening.

He followed Punisher to one of his safe houses. Seeing the dazzling array of weapons inside, Lu Qi could not help clicking his tongue.

For an ordinary man like Punisher, equipment was necessary if he wanted to punish evil and uphold justice. Lu Qi did not need it. A punch enhanced with Shadow Energy now felt as powerful as a tank's main cannon. Unless someone handed him missiles to use, he was better off charging in himself.

Still, what boy did not like mechs, heavy machinery, and cannons? Lu Qi stared eagerly at a famous Barrett anti-materiel sniper rifle.

"Want to try it?" Punisher asked, sensing Lu Qi's burning gaze.

Lu Qi's eyes lit up. He immediately went over and took down the Barrett, holding it in both hands and feeling its weight. That only made him more excited.

Punisher brought Lu Qi to a shooting range. Lu Qi lay down in an extremely improper shooting position and pressed his eye to the scope.

After taking a rough aim, he pulled the trigger.

A gunshot rang out, making the floor around them tremble. A ring of air even burst from the muzzle.

Lu Qi felt the immense force slam into his shoulder when he pulled the trigger. His shoulder felt a little sore as he looked toward his target.

The target was completely unharmed, while the wall beside it now had a large hole.

Lu Qi was a little embarrassed. "The power's pretty good."

It's just that you can't hit anything, Punisher silently complained.

Holding a light sniper rifle, Punisher simply stood there and fired shot after shot.

Lu Qi looked at the targets on the other side of the range. Every single one had been hit dead center.

Amazing. As expected of a ruthless man who had wiped out countless gangs as an ordinary human.

After sighing in admiration, Lu Qi lay down again and continued shooting. The two spent the entire afternoon practicing at the range.

They said that carrying guns together, studying together, splitting loot together, and visiting brothels together were the four strongest bonds between men. After an afternoon of carrying guns together, Lu Qi and Punisher had gotten along fairly well, and they were about to move on to the second bond.

At dusk, Punisher brought Lu Qi to hide outside a port.

Punisher held a pair of binoculars and observed the people in the distance.

Several squads were patrolling outside the port, while quite a few people armed with sniper rifles stood on high ground inside.

"Kingpin has some impressive connections. He can even get his hands on so many military-grade sniper rifles." Lu Qi also held binoculars, curiously looking around.

"Kingpin's criminal empire is massive, yet few ordinary people know about it. That's because those parasites are covering for him. A bunch of scum." Punisher cursed a few times and continued scouting.

"Then let's discuss a plan. How are we moving in later?" Lu Qi looked curiously at Punisher, wondering how he would assign the task.

Punisher glanced at Lu Qi. "Adapt as things happen. The guards for this deal are weaker than the people you took out last night. Just charge in. I'll cover you from behind and take out anyone who tries to run."

Lu Qi shrugged, whether Punisher saw it or not. Fine, then.

Honestly, after seeing bigger battles, Lu Qi could not bring himself to care much about a lineup like this.

As the sky darkened, Punisher signaled that Lu Qi could begin.

Lu Qi nodded. Ninja Soldiers emerged one after another from the shadows and slipped easily into the port under cover of darkness.

To make a good first impression in his first battle with Punisher, Lu Qi bought nearly fifty more Ninja Soldiers, dropping his remaining limit back down to only a few dozen.

Punisher raised his brows as he watched the Ninja Soldiers silently infiltrate the port.

Through the binoculars, he saw the ninjas eliminate patrol squads with extremely tight coordination, forming an encirclement around the port's interior.

The people inside also noticed something was wrong and began shouting.

Gunshots rang out one after another, echoing through the silent night sky.

"I'm going inside to see if there's anything fun. You stay here."

Lu Qi said that to Punisher before turning into a shadow and leaving.

In the darkness, a patch of shadow would not draw anyone's attention...

Lu Qi made his way unhindered into the port. Seeing the people inside frantically attacking the vaguely visible Ninja Soldiers outside, he entered the enemy ranks and summoned the Blade Soldiers.

Blade Soldiers were more agile than Ninja Soldiers, and their hands and feet were incomparably sharp.

With shrieks that tore through the air, the Blade Soldiers charged into the crowd. Their sharp hands crossed, slicing the enemies directly to pieces.

In terms of killing power, Blade Soldiers were stronger and faster than Ninja Soldiers, but they were harder to clean up after. Their sharp feet left pits everywhere they stepped.

Still, Lu Qi did not care. He could just leave stealth work to the Ninja Soldiers.

With the Blade Soldiers joining in, the group was quickly slaughtered. When he entered the warehouse and saw container after container, Lu Qi excitedly ordered the Ninja Soldiers to open them.

The instant the containers were opened, Lu Qi suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

======

Punisher saw that the port had gone quiet and knew the battle was over. He was just about to go in and see what spoils there were.

Boom!

A violent explosion blew the port to pieces. Flames shot into the sky, lighting up the entire night.

"What happened?!" Punisher cursed under his breath as he noticed numerous vehicles appearing around the port, each one packed with people who surrounded it.

"Damn it, we were set up. This is a trap aimed at you! Lu Qi, are you all right?" Punisher tried calling Lu Qi through his earpiece.

"Stop yelling. I'm right beside you." Lu Qi had appeared next to Punisher at some point.

"Your ability to appear and disappear like a ghost really is enviable." Punisher froze for a moment before speaking with some envy.

An ability that let someone come and go without a trace while moving so quickly was practically a blessing for a lone wolf like him. Unfortunately, he could not do it.

Lu Qi chuckled and looked at the enemies ahead.

As the dark energy within him grew stronger, his perception of danger had also become sharper.

When the Ninja Soldiers had gone to open the containers, he had felt an intense premonition. Lu Qi had immediately retreated into the Shadow World.

So far, Lu Qi had not encountered anything that could counter Shadow Stealth. Shadow Stealth had saved his life more than once.

Looking at the enemies surrounding the port, Lu Qi's eyes flashed viciously. Those bastards had actually dared to ambush him.

If his reaction had been even slightly slower, he might have had to say goodbye to the Material World and let his soul return to the Shadow World.

Ninjas appeared one after another. Lu Qi had no intention of hiding anymore.

Seeing the change in Lu Qi, Punisher took out his rifle. "How do you want to fight this?"

Lu Qi smiled and waved his hand. All the Ninja Soldiers charged forward.

The thugs gradually approached the port. Seeing the towering flames inside, they concluded that no one could possibly have survived.

While the thugs were watching the inside, dart after dart flew in from behind and knocked down a large number of them.

The thugs immediately turned their guns around and aimed behind them, only to see a group of ninjas straight out of a movie standing there.

Bullets shot out one after another, but the ninjas before them actually coordinated together, using katana after katana to block the bullet barrage.

The thugs' eyes widened.

Were they in some kind of movie? How could someone actually split bullets with a sword?

Gentlemen, the times had changed!

While the Ninja Soldiers in front blocked the bullets, the ones behind them were not idle either. Darts tore through the night sky, killing thugs by the dozens.

The enemies atop the armored vehicles came to their senses and returned fire with heavy machine guns. A deathly storm of bullets tore apart anything that dared stand before them.

Seeing the ninjas being wiped out in groups, the thugs did not even have time to celebrate before another large group of ninjas appeared in the night.

The ninjas spread out and used the darkness to surround the thugs. Darts gleaming with cold light flew out from the night, precisely slicing open one thug's throat after another.

Lu Qi stood on a hillside as ninjas emerged one after another beside him, continuously charging forward to kill. Watching the thugs below fall one after another, he gradually felt his mood improve.

Under the relentless barrage of darts, thugs fell one after another. The remaining thugs had grown smarter, using several armored vehicles as cover while continuously spraying bullets into the darkness, but the results were nearly nonexistent.

As their companions kept dwindling, the thugs became increasingly terrified and fired bullets as if they cost nothing. Under such circumstances, aside from the large-caliber weapons on the armored vehicles, the gunmen were no longer capable of fighting back.

But those men had never been particularly strong. The real force holding back the Shadow Ninjas had always been those armored vehicles.

However, Lu Qi's side had more than just Shadow Ninjas. There was also Punisher with his sniper rifle.

After appreciating how reliable his teammate was, Punisher skillfully placed one machine gunner's head after another within his crosshairs. With a slight pull of his finger, he took one living life after another.

With Punisher picking off the heavy machine guns, the Shadow Army closed in on the thugs. As the Shadow Ninjas approached, the outcome of the battle was already decided.

Ranged combat was not the Shadow Army's specialty. Close combat was where the ninjas truly belonged!

The moment the first Ninja Soldier broke into the enemy ranks, the battle's outcome was settled. The long blades in the ninjas' hands tore through the air, splitting apart enemies one after another as scarlet blossoms bloomed in the firelight.