Half a month.
Since the infamous "buffet" Riot in Hell's Kitchen, the city has endured two weeks of a hangover.
The government's cleaning crews washed away the bloodstains on the streets.
Kingpin's construction company has put up the fences again.
On the surface, order has returned, but the pustules are merely covered up with foundation.
West End, Fisk Construction Company Site No. 4.
This is the core area of Hell's Kitchen redevelopment project.
The tower crane stood tall in the rainy night.
The ground was littered with cement bags, steel bars, and glass curtain walls that had not yet been installed.
As ordered, security personnel patrol this area 24 hours a day.
They were equipped with riot guns and stun batons, and were accompanied by Doberman Pinschers.
But tonight, the dog didn't bark.
A once fierce Doberman Pinscher lay limply in the mud, a black blowgun, no longer than a finger, stuck in its neck.
Without any sign of struggle, the toxin stopped its heartbeat within half a second.
Five figures dressed in black bodysuits moved among the steel frames.
They made no sound, and even the sound of rain falling on them was absorbed by the eerie fabric.
"Puff."
A security guard who was smoking felt a chill in his throat.
He instinctively tried to cough, but his trachea had been severed, and air mixed with blood and foam rushed into his lungs.
He clutched his neck and collapsed, the still-smoldering cigarette butt falling into a puddle with a soft hiss.
This was the last sound he uttered in this world.
Madame Gao, leaning on her cane, slowly walked into the construction site gate.
" United States ' vigilance is as cheap as their fast food. That Kingpin rules the underworld with these kinds of people? It seems the rumors have exaggerated his abilities."
Behind her, a masked the Hand ninja reported in a low voice in Japanese: "The area has been cleared. No heavy weaponry or superhumans were found."
"Plant the flag."
Madame Gao pointed with her cane to the main building, which was not yet topped out.
"Tell this city that it has changed hands. Anyone who stands in the way of the Hand's rebuilding must die."
The ninja nodded, turned around, and prepared to jump onto the scaffolding.
Just then, a piercing electrical crackling sound suddenly rang out.
"Buzz—Hello? Hello? Does this piece of junk even have electricity?"
Madame Gao raised her head.
The sound came from the loudspeaker at the top of the tower crane.
Originally, it was used by the foreman to shout commands, but now a frivolous and noisy male voice came out.
Hey! Friends at the pajama party downstairs! Can you hear me?
A spotlight suddenly shone down, and someone forcibly turned the searchlight on the tower crane.
The blinding beam of light flickered wildly across the ground before finally focusing on Madame Gao and several ninjas.
At the edge of that beam of light, a figure wearing a long purple coat sat on a steel beam tens of meters high, holding the stolen walkie-talkie in his hand, his legs swinging back and forth in mid-air.
Joker.
He changed his look today.
A yellow construction safety helmet was perched on his green hair, and he was holding a rolled-up blueprint in his hand.
"Wow, wow."
The Joker placed his hand on his brow bone and looked down exaggeratedly.
"Look who's here? A group of gymnasts in black leotards... or are you here to fix the sewers?"
Madame Gao's face darkened; no one had ever dared to speak to her in such a tone.
"Kill him."
She only said three words.
The three ninjas vanished from the spot.
Using grappling hooks and incredible jumping ability, they climbed the scaffolding at high speed.
The shuriken traced a deadly arc in the rainy night, heading straight for the Joker's throat, heart, and brow.
"Don't be so serious!"
The Joker let out a strange cry, leaned back, and made a comical dodging motion.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Three shuriken were embedded three-tenths of an inch into the steel beam where he had just been sitting.
"That was close! I almost hurt my handsome face."
The Joker patted his chest and then pulled a remote control from his pocket.
"Although we don't know you, since we have guests, we need to create a lively atmosphere. Music! Start!"
He pressed the button.
A cheerful circus Joker entrance song blared from the loudspeaker.
The sound of rain, combined with the lurking danger, made the scene seem utterly absurd.
"Please come to the stage, our first guest!"
The Joker suddenly pulled a lever next to him.
"Click."
The steel frame where the three ninjas had just landed suddenly broke.
It wasn't an accident; the steel frame had already been cut open, and was only connected by a thin wire.
The steel frame tilted, and the cement bucket slid down the track.
The lead ninja reacted extremely quickly, twisting his waist forcefully in mid-air in an attempt to dodge.
But he didn't expect the lid of the cement bucket to be open.
Whoosh!
Hundreds of kilograms of cement were poured down on top of them.
"Fantastic! This is a modern work of art!"
The Joker clapped and cheered, laughing so hard he almost fell over.
"This technique is called 'Concrete Sculpture,' and I've even thought of a name for it: 'The Pensive Pajama Man.'"
Madame Gao narrowed her cloudy old eyes.
madman.
A madman who lacks logic and treats killing as a performance.
"All League of Shadows, attack together!" Madame Gao slammed her cane heavily on the ground. "Cut out his tongue."
More than a dozen dark figures emerged from the darkness.
The Hand's elite members no longer concealed themselves; they surrounded the crane from all sides like a school of black piranhas.
"Oh? The number of actors has increased?"
The Joker, instead of being afraid, rubbed his hands together excitedly as he looked at the densely packed ninjas charging up below.
He pulled a handful of red balloons from the large purple pocket and began blowing them up frantically.
"Then let's see if your knife is faster, or if my joke is funnier!"
He let go.
Dozens of red balloons floated down.
Without hesitation, the ninjas swung their swords and cut down the balloons that were blocking their view.
"Bang!"
The balloon burst.
High concentrations of strong acid powder exploded in the air.
The ninjas' pride in their endurance was utterly meaningless in the face of chemical burns.
Welcome to Hell's Kitchen, out-of-towner.
He blew a kiss to Madame Gao below.
"Here, we don't fight in our pajamas!"
Madame Gao watched her men writhing in the strong acid, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her cane.
She discovered that the Hand made a mistake.
A serious error.
Where in Hell's Kitchen is a good place?
This is a mental hospital filled with mental patients!
"Retreat."
Madame Gao made a decisive decision.
Facing an enemy that doesn't play by the rules at all, continuing to engage in a protracted conflict will only result in the loss of more manpower.
She needs to reassess the threat level of this madman.
"Want to leave?"
The Joker pulled a flare gun from his pocket and fired it into the sky.
A green flare soared into the sky, exploding into a smiley face.
"The show has just started, no refunds allowed!"
The sound of engines could be heard from the streets in the distance.
Dozens of thugs wearing Joker masks, wielding baseball bats and chains, surrounded them.
In the Shadow not far away, a figure in a red bodysuit stood quietly on the rooftop, listening intently to the chaotic symphony.