A Lively Hell's Kitchen

"The plan begins."

As Martin Lee left his home, he pressed the Bluetooth earphone by his ear and issued an order to the already prepared Demon Gang members.

"Understood, boss."

A deep, hoarse voice came back through the radio into Martin's ear. The Demon Gang members, hidden within New York's Chinatown, sprang into action, surging towards Hell's Kitchen, the largest gathering place for New York's gangs.

Soon, Martin Lee's phone began to ring incessantly.

"What do you want, Negative?!!"

A thunderous question boomed from the phone.

"Just a personal grudge, Kingpin, you know how it is."

Martin Lee's appearance had changed at some point. His entire body was black and white, like a film negative, and his voice had become deep and hoarse, just like his Demon Gang members.

"Just causing trouble for Hammerhead?"

"Just causing him trouble."

"If you do anything extra, you know the consequences, Negative."

"Don't worry, Kingpin, I have no intention of going against all of New York's gangs."

"That's for the best."

After a few rounds of probing, Kingpin hung up the phone. He then instructed his subordinate, "Keep an eye on all of the Demon Gang's movements. As long as they don't encroach on our territory, do nothing."

Apart from Kingpin, gangs of all sizes in Hell's Kitchen were in an uproar due to the Demon Gang's actions.

The gangs who knew the inside story and could contact Martin Lee remained relatively calm. However, many uninformed smaller gangs were trembling in their territories, guarding against the Demon Gang's "invasion."

However, instead of the Demon Gang's invasion, many gangs took advantage of the chaos to brazenly annex their rivals in surrounding territories.

The superheroes active in Hell's Kitchen, Daredevil, The Punisher, and others, all became tense. However, upon learning that it was a gang war, most of the superheroes chose to stand by and watch.

With no third-party forces intervening, the Demon Gang members advanced unimpeded, successfully storming into the Maggia's territory.

As the Demon Gang's old rivals, the Maggia had been keeping a close watch on their movements. Therefore, they were not caught off guard and were already prepared for battle within their territory.

Even so, the Maggia's boss, Joseph Harold, "Hammerhead," still couldn't figure out why the Demon Gang was constantly targeting him.

Martin Lee, now in his Negative persona, was individually powerful, and the Demon Gang's forces were slightly superior to the Maggia's. However, after the two sides clashed, they fell into a stalemate.

The Maggia had the advantage of fighting on home turf. But more importantly, the Demon Gang, being a gang predominantly composed of Chinese immigrants with their territory mainly in Chinatown, couldn't match the Maggia's connections within Hell's Kitchen. Upon sensing the Demon Gang's movements, Hammerhead quickly contacted his allies in Hell's Kitchen, which allowed them to hold their ground against the Demon Gang's full-scale assault.

"Hmph! A bunch of trash!"

Although Negative didn't expect to wipe out the Maggia in one go, the strength of their resistance exceeded his expectations. Negative snorted, conjured a negative energy inner demon mask, and put it on his face, intending to join the battle himself.

Martin's true identity was not particularly secret in New York's underworld. However, publicly, he was still a philanthropist who had received the Medal of Freedom. Coupled with his concern for Kraft, he usually wore an inner demon mask when operating as Mr. Negative to conceal his identity.

This was also why Hammerhead still hadn't figured out when he had offended the Demon Gang.

With the addition of Mr. Negative, the Demon Gang's offensive became unstoppable. Under Negative's leadership, the Demon Gang took down three important Maggia territories within an hour.

This finally made the big boss, Hammerhead, uneasy. He rushed out with his men to intercept them.

"Negative!"

As a Russian, the moment Hammerhead saw Negative, he raised his Chicago Typewriter and fired a burst at him.

However, Negative casually raised his arm, creating a negative energy shield in front of him, and easily blocked the bullets.

"Die!"

Feeling no need to converse with Hammerhead, Negative waved his hand, ordering the Demon Gang members to continue attacking the Maggia, while he himself charged towards Hammerhead, wielding a negative energy sword.

Compared to Martin Lee, Joseph Harold possessed no special abilities. He had only suffered a severe head injury during a gang war and replaced it with a steel skull. This prevented him from being shot in the head, and after some training, he could easily smash cars and walls with his iron head, which was the origin of his nickname "Hammerhead."

But in the face of Mr. Negative's negative energy, Hammerhead's iron head, which was invincible in ordinary gang fights, seemed insignificant.

In just a few minutes, Hammerhead was cut and bruised by Negative. His already injured head was split open again, revealing the metallic skull beneath.

Although Hammerhead hadn't witnessed Negative's power firsthand, as an opponent, he had gathered some information about Negative, knowing he was a person with special abilities. And such individuals were not uncommon in Hell's Kitchen.

"BOOM!"

A massive figure smashed through the wall from a nearby building and slammed into the unsuspecting Negative with its shoulder. It then carried him forward, crashing through several more walls before being flung away by Mr. Negative, who unleashed his negative energy.

"Cough... damn it..."

Negative struggled to his feet from a pile of rubble. He pounded his left hand weakly against his side. He gently touched his left ribs, feeling a sharp pain. It was clear he was not lightly injured.

Although the negative energy obtained from human experimentation had given Martin Lee superhuman strength, this power was more inclined towards stimulating others' minds and energy attacks. While it did enhance his own physical fitness, it wasn't by much.

"Alexei!"

Negative stared intently at the attacker who had just ambushed him, spitting out his name through gritted teeth.

Like Joseph Harold, Alexei Mikhailovich Shiskavich was also Russian. However, unlike Hammerhead, who had conquered a vast territory, the simple-minded Alexei had always worked as an enforcer in Hell's Kitchen. Later, he was tricked into undergoing human experimentation and was forcibly covered in a layer of rhino hide, which granted him near-invulnerability and superhuman physical abilities.

Rhino, Alexei, got up from the ground, shook his dazed head, and let out a heavy snort from his nostrils, glaring back at Negative.

Alexei wasn't highly intelligent, but his combat power was among the best in Hell's Kitchen. He wasn't helping Hammerhead out of any "fellow countryman's camaraderie"; he was simply paid to do so.

If someone paid him, he would do the job. That was how Alexei's mind worked.

"Ha!"

Alexei lowered his head, aiming the rhino horn on his head at Negative. With a roar, he stomped his foot, charging at him like an enraged rhinoceros.

"Tsk... This is troublesome!"

Negative conjured several negative energy spears and hurled them at Alexei. Simultaneously, the negative energy beneath his feet erupted, propelling him to the side.

The pitch-black spears struck Alexei, eliciting a cry of pain, but they failed to inflict significant damage. Instead, Alexei snapped them all in half.

Retreating back to his subordinates, Negative narrowed his eyes and surveyed the surroundings. Hammerhead had vanished without a trace, leaving only his henchmen and Alexei to intercept him.

"Let's go!"

Pressing his lips together, Negative reluctantly issued the order to withdraw.

While Mr. Negative's negative energy could create blades and energy attacks, his most potent ability was negative energy corruption. Simply put, it amplified the negative emotions within people's hearts. It was naturally devastating against ordinary people or those who had experienced profound grief, but its effect was less pronounced against the villains in Hell's Kitchen.

If he hadn't been ambushed, he could have continued to tangle with Alexei. But now, with his injuries, he couldn't stop the brute force of the Rhino. Aside from him, the Demon Gang had no other exceptionally strong individuals. Continuing the fight would only lead to Alexei turning everything upside down.

"Still underestimated Hell's Kitchen..."

Negative retreated from Hell's Kitchen, surrounded by members of the Demon Gang. He cast a resentful glance back at the Maggia's stronghold.

As one of the biggest crime bosses in New York, Negative naturally paid attention to the unique place that was Hell's Kitchen. However, his sphere of influence was ultimately confined within Chinatown. Even knowing about the existence of special figures like Kingpin, Alexei, and Daredevil, he had no concrete dealings with them. Most of his interactions with Hell's Kitchen involved retaliating against the Maggia.

This was precisely why he was caught off guard by Alexei.

Just as Negative didn't understand Hell's Kitchen, Hell's Kitchen hadn't fully grasped Mr. Negative's strength before. Therefore, he couldn't achieve his goal in one fell swoop this time. It would be much more difficult to force Hammerhead out again later. Even if he did manage to draw Hammerhead out, he would undoubtedly be fully prepared.

However, eliminating the Maggia wasn't solely dependent on defeating Hammerhead. As long as he continued to disrupt the Maggia's businesses and operations, the wolves in Hell's Kitchen would naturally seize the opportunity, swarm in, and tear the Maggia apart.

Even if this meant suffering heavy losses themselves, Mr. Negative was willing to go to any lengths for revenge. But as an outsider, the Demon Gang could launch a large-scale surprise attack on the Maggia. However, if it escalated into a prolonged conflict, the big players of Hell's Kitchen like Kingpin would not permit it. With the example of Alexei, Negative would no longer underestimate these individuals.

"Notify the others to retreat..."

Negative clutched his ribs and issued the command with undeniable reluctance.

"Assign a few more men to Kraft and ensure his safety."