"What the hell..."
The sight beyond the glass made Kingpin's eyes widen.
Especially when he saw what Li Ang was carrying, New York's underworld emperor felt nervous for the first time in ages.
He stepped back half a pace, leaning against the square desk that symbolized his power, and reached for the button underneath to alert his men.
Li Ang caught those little movements.
He slowly raised a hand and wagged his index finger. "If I were you, I wouldn't do that."
Had anyone else threatened him like that, Kingpin would have already ordered his men to chop them up and throw them in the river to feed the fish.
But now, looking at Bullseye's head in Li Ang's hand, blood dripping down the dangling vertebrae...
Li Ang slowly approached the window and flicked a finger against it! With a crack, glass strong enough to withstand an explosive blast shattered into pieces!
Shards scattered everywhere as the high-altitude wind howled into the room!
Li Ang landed before the desk and set Bullseye's head on it.
He looked as relaxed and casual as an old friend dropping by, setting down not someone's head, but a box of Melatonin.
"Look, I even brought you a gift. Touched?"
What kind of decent person gave someone a severed head as a gift?
Kingpin didn't dare move.
Li Ang made himself comfortable in a chair and propped his feet on the desk. "I've heard so much about you, Mr. Kingpin. The boss of Hell's Kitchen. I hear you're involved in half the crime in New York."
His arrogance made Kingpin grit his teeth with hatred, but Bullseye's head on the desk seemed to tell him that if he dared show any displeasure, he would end up the same way.
Kingpin didn't answer immediately. Despite his nervousness, he managed a smile. "My friend, this isn't how you play superhero."
Bullseye's death had told him that the man before him was no kindly soul who liked sending people to the police to face justice.
"Play superhero?" Li Ang scoffed.
Seeing Li Ang laugh left Kingpin even more bewildered.
"You came here to kill me just like Bullseye, didn't you?" Kingpin said confidently.
As he saw it, Li Ang was just a teenager who had gained superpowers, developed an overflowing savior complex, and wanted to kill every villain.
He believed he had seen right through Li Ang.
The best way to deal with people overflowing with such a savior complex was to threaten them, using whatever leverage he had.
"Listen, you can certainly kill me, but you need to understand that I control Hell's Kitchen. Crime may be rampant here, but the gangs still maintain a superficial balance."
"If you kill me, the gangs will fight for territory. It'll only cause more chaos, and more people will die!"
The more he spoke, the more confident he became, an expression of certainty appearing on his fat face.
Li Ang didn't interrupt. He simply watched quietly as Kingpin kept talking.
"How about this? Let me go, and I can have my men suspend their operations, then..."
"Have you misunderstood something?"
Li Ang stood up and casually tossed Bullseye's head out the window.
He approached Kingpin and floated up to look down at him. "I don't care whether your hands are clean. All I care about is what you can offer me. Or would you rather end up like Bullseye?"
"You want me to submit?" Kingpin's eyes widened.
Those weren't words a superhero would say!
Had he been wrong? Was this man not some superhero overflowing with a savior complex at all?
Kingpin resisted the idea inwardly. He wanted to lash out. He might look fat, but it was actually all muscle!
He could kill Bullseye too. He had never neglected his training all these years. Besides, as New York's underworld emperor, how could he accept someone suddenly lording it over him?
The more he thought about it, the faster his heart beat.
Li Ang, whose senses had been fully engaged since entering, immediately noticed the change.
"You want to fight?" Red light lit up Li Ang's eyes. Seeing that he had been discovered, Kingpin's muscles bulged as he swung a fist straight at Li Ang's chest!
Li Ang made no attempt to dodge, letting Kingpin's punch slam into him.
Thud!
Amid the dull impact, Kingpin howled and staggered back several steps, clutching his arm.
Li Ang hadn't moved an inch.
The disparity in their strength was laid bare.
Li Ang sighed. He understood one saying deeply: only by breaking a dog's spine could you stop it from ever baring its teeth again.
Now, he intended to do just that.
His eyes lit up, and the next second, two searing laser beams shot out. Kingpin might look broad and bulky, but his speed and reflexes were extremely quick.
He rolled aside to dodge the Heat Vision, then flung the rug from the floor up over Li Ang.
The animal-hide rug melted away instantly under the Heat Vision.
Before Kingpin could get up, he raised his head to find Li Ang already standing before him.
Those glowing red eyes radiated such overwhelming pressure that he seemed to see not a young man before him, but a grim reaper harvesting lives.
"Since you've chosen to resist, you're no use to me anymore." With that, Li Ang grabbed Kingpin by the collar and took him crashing through the roof, straight into the sky!
As Kingpin felt the air grow thinner and thinner, fear finally appeared in his eyes!
"Wait! Wait!" Kingpin shouted, but Li Ang never stopped, charging straight through the clouds.
Watching New York grow smaller and smaller below, Kingpin finally lost his composure and shouted, "I agree! I agree! Whatever you want, I'll give it to you!"
Before Li Ang's patience ran out, Kingpin gave in.
Hearing his words, Li Ang stopped and held him up before him. "You only get this one chance. If you disappoint me..."
"I understand!" Kingpin looked down at New York and thought of the empire he had built with his own hands. It would be a lie to say he accepted this willingly.
But Li Ang's next words filled Kingpin with regret.
"No, you don't. I won't just destroy your so-called empire. I'll destroy your family too!"
Li Ang's face was expressionless as he made the threat, as though stating something that was only natural.
"You're no superhero. You're a devil!" Kingpin desperately wanted to ask which bastard had kidnapped the man before him!
Why had he provoked this man?
It was no exaggeration to say that he thought nothing of those so-called heroes.
He could exploit the weaknesses of those heroes with their obsession with moral purity: their families, their friends...
Even if he failed, he would only go to prison.
A little maneuvering was all it would take to get out.
But the man before him had no moral code whatsoever, no so-called obsession with moral purity. He gave only one chance, and if he discovered disobedience, he would simply kill!
Li Ang was very satisfied with Kingpin's current expression.
That was more like it. His moral boundaries were very flexible. When dealing with a villain with who knew how many lives on his hands, what room was there for redemption or forgiveness?
He gripped Kingpin's collar. "Now, get me a new identity, an estate, a car, and money."
"No problem! Where would you like it? Tahiti, or Guarma Island?"