The Dark Web's Frenzy (Two-in-one)

The sewer:

Before Joker Man began his operation, he was crouched in the Reynolds Group's sewer with Bald Eagle, Power King, and the others.

He started his livestream.

Dark web livestreams usually used a different URL for each broadcast, so it didn't matter if one got shut down.

As soon as Joker Man went live, countless viewers poured in.

Thanks to Joker Man's frequent activity lately, his audience quickly climbed past 100,000. Everyone wanted to see what new stunt this Sun Xiaochuan was going to pull.

"Good morning~~ Taiping Prefecture!"

"Our 'Livestream Hero' is live again."

"That fucking idiot Joker Man still dares show his face?"

"What stunt are you pulling today? Playing Thunder Crocodile's Thunder Run in the sewer?"

"Joker Man, I trusted you this once and bought five million worth of Colossus Media stock. If I get trapped holding it, I'll haunt you even after I die."

Joker Man ignored the idiots in his audience and smiled. "You'll find out what I'm doing today soon enough."

With that, he turned off the camera.

When it came back on, a disguised staff member was placing it with the other official recording equipment under the guise of "equipment."

It was an important press conference for the Leinuo Company, so naturally they had official recordings. Nobody knew how Joker Man had managed to sneak his camera in among them.

At first, the viewers had no idea what was happening.

Only when Old Reynolds appeared did they realize Joker Man was about to pull a huge stunt at the Reynolds Group!

When the assistant threw a bomb at the fusion device running at full speed, the bloodthirsty viewers grew even more excited.

As explosions and flames erupted, the livestream signal blurred, but the viewers were beside themselves with excitement.

"What a spectacle. You don't see that every day. Joker Man has proven once again that he's the king of terrorist attacks. The Reynolds Group's stock is about to plummet."

"Say no more. Thanks, Joker Man, I'm ready to short Leinuo. Haha! I'll make at least ten million net off this!"

Old Reynolds's critical injuries and coma, along with the casualties among the many influential people present, meant the Reynolds Group would suffer a severe blow.

Less than a minute after the explosion, institutions on all sides caught wind of it and quickly began selling off their shares.

The Taiping Prefecture stock market only closed on weekends, and there was good news about the Reynolds Group today, so the unsuspecting market snapped up all the shares being sold, sending the company's stock price climbing.

But that was only temporary. Once news of the terrorist attack spread, Leinuo's stock was certain to plunge, leaving only the less-informed investors trapped at the top.

With the person at the helm's life hanging in the balance, it would be hard for the stock not to fall. Little Reynolds was still a minor and couldn't possibly take the reins.

"Hey, look who it is?"

"It's our dear Spider-Boy."

Joker Man and his suited companions made a belated entrance through the other side of the venue like a gang of mobsters, prompting the viewers to curse and laugh.

"Joker Man's at it again."

"Classic villain opening taunt."

"You know what? You really do have to say it: he looks kind of cool. Joker Man really is the supermodel of the criminal world. He looks great in a suit."

"↑ No superhero pass for you here."

The chat began eagerly anticipating how poor Spider-Boy would deal with so many supercriminals on his own.

"A salute to the legendary king of taking Ls: Scarlet Spider!"

Then... Bald Eagle pulled the trigger on the fleeing Little Reynolds, only for every shot to be stopped by four invisible slashes.

A gray-haired magical girl in splendid clothes descended from the sky.

Her eyes were crimson as rubies, as arrogant and aloof as ever.

The chat exploded, instantly filling the entire livestream.

"Holy shit!!"

"It's that murderous magical girl!"

"Wife, wife, wife!"

"So cute, so cute! Baby, you're this adorable even with a cold look on your face? You're going to kill me with cuteness!"

"Why is this magical girl here?! Did Joker Man lure her here on purpose? He just bought stock in her Colossus Media yesterday."

"Could it be..."

"Hehehe, I want to see the arrogant young lady's defeat CG! Go, Joker Man! If you pull it off, I'll never hate on you again."

After two days of public discussion, this gray-haired rookie magical girl had become a household name among netizens who spent their time surfing the web.

Even people who didn't like her couldn't help wondering where she came from and why she had appeared at the Reynolds Group.

But immediately afterward, events raced off in a direction none of them could have anticipated.

Even after Hell killed everyone in Joker Man's group except Joker Man himself, the screen was still filled with question marks.

"Seriously, Bald Eagle, how are you guys this bad?! Three against one and you all got killed instead. Do you even know how to play?"

"Flamethrower, didn't you mess up this round?!"

"Incredible. Two squishies charged straight in and got chopped up like vegetables. Especially Flamethrower; playing a wheelchair ability turned his brain to mush."

"Bomb Boy was actually trying to pull off an explosion-plus-fire combo with Flamethrower. They did it last time, but unfortunately, they ran into a real daddy this time."

"Bald Eagle says his teammates were too heavy to carry."

"Your Uncle Bald Eagle really didn't do anything wrong this round, did he? He tanked two of that magical girl's slashes before dying. Shame his teammates were real candies."

"?? Mere??"

"Is it possible Joker Man and the others aren't bad, and my wife just got stronger?!"

"I'm fantasizing again, imagining my magical girl girlfriend comforting me after work with a lap pillow in black stockings..."

"↑ The wild brother above has lost it."

The dark web livestream's audience briefly surpassed one million, as screenshots and rumors spread like wildfire.

Though the view was incomplete and the picture blurry, it was already an established fact that the magical girl at the center of public attention had killed four supercriminals in succession at the Reynolds Group.

Even if Hell soon smashed the livestream camera with a single punch.

But the series of cute little gestures she made before smashing the camera began spreading wildly across major social media platforms because of how funny and amusing they were.

Moon Studio's fan account saw another surge in followers as a result.

Tang Wenjie's team immediately began their public relations work.

They were genuinely professional at it, and Hell had actually sent Tang Wenjie a message before transforming.

Hell: "Something's happened at the Reynolds Group. I'm getting involved."

Tang Wenjie: "OK."

Tang Wenjie didn't ask Hell why she was getting involved with the Reynolds Group. He simply took on all the publicity work without a word.

His team had been ready from the moment Hell appeared on Joker Man's livestream, and they had witnessed the entire incident.

After it was over, Moon Studio immediately released a statement:

The person who appeared during the terrorist attack on the Reynolds Group and killed every member of Joker Man's criminal gang was none other than their studio's newly signed magical girl.

They would release the full recording of the battle at her upcoming debut event, presenting it as her official first battle.

At the same time, the studio released a new promotional image, with Magical Girl Hell's black silhouette against the background.

Beside it were words in black and white.

Magical Girl "Hell"-has arrived.

"Stay tuned for information about her debut-Moon Studio."

The tweet surpassed ten million views worldwide in less than ten minutes, and the number was still growing at a terrifying rate.

People discussing the studio were more focused on how unconventional the magical girl's codename was, unlike those of any magical girl before her.

Others shared half-true, half-false accounts of the battle at the Reynolds Group in the comments, making it sound almost mythical.

The clips and photos circulating from Joker Man's livestream made fans around the world even more curious.

For a time, the topic of Magical Girl "Hell" shot up the trending lists again, firmly holding the number one spot across major social media platforms.

After learning the magical girl's codename, people grew even more curious about the full course of her battle at the Reynolds Group.

After all, thanks to Colossus's copyright takedowns, the videos, screenshots, and other information circulating online were all blurry.

Everyone's appetite had been thoroughly whetted.

The only regret was...

Richard: "Boss, all we have right now is the livestream recording. The footage from other angles is with the Reynolds Group, and I'm afraid it won't be easy to get."

Tang Wenjie planned to use Hell's feat of taking on four opponents at the Reynolds Group as her official debut video.

The problem was that their footage was incomplete. All they had was the blurry recording from Joker Man's livestream, and the angle was far too oblique.

They could use it for promotion, but it wasn't good enough.

Tang Wenjie was troubled too.

Just then.

Someone suddenly knocked on Tang Wenjie's office door and pushed it open.

Tang Wenjie stood up, a puzzled look in his eyes. "Secretary-General?"

The visitor was none other than Mr. Moro's chief secretary-general, Vincent.

Vincent nodded and placed a USB drive in front of Tang Wenjie. "The boss told me to give you this. How you use it is up to you."

Puzzled, Tang Wenjie plugged the USB drive into his laptop and opened the folder inside.

His eyes filled with shock, and he immediately thanked Vincent. "Please thank the chairman for me!"

Vincent shrugged. "It's nothing."

After Vincent left, Richard and the others immediately crowded around, only to be stunned by the hundreds of gigabytes of footage on the USB drive.

It was all the ultra-high-definition footage from the Reynolds Group's testing grounds that day, covering nearly every camera and angle.

If it had simply been a matter of obtaining the surveillance footage, they wouldn't have been so shocked. Colossus Company had plenty of ways to do that.

What truly shocked them was the trust shown by the big boss, Moro. After obtaining the footage, he had sent his secretary-general to deliver it straight to Tang Wenjie.

Richard was the first to recover. "Boss, does the chairman really think that highly of us?" he asked excitedly.

"The boss always keeps his word," Tang Wenjie replied.

Moro, the legendary capitalist, had always been known in the industry for his willingness to delegate authority, provided you could prove you deserved his trust.

At the thought, Tang Wenjie couldn't help smiling. "We should also thank that child Hell. She carved out her own commercial value through sheer killing."

Colossus Company was driven by profit. As long as there was money to be made, they would gladly trample every so-called moral code and unwritten rule for magical girls underfoot.

As for the Ministry of Magic, the same words applied: fuck the Ministry of Magic.

Meanwhile, back at the Reynolds Group.

After destroying the camera, Miss Hell said goodbye to Scarlet Spider and left, without lingering at the Reynolds Group.

She didn't want to run into the superheroes arriving afterward.

The girl set up a Magic Curtain and undid her transformation without anyone noticing, then took a detour back to the Reynolds Group.

By then, the belated medical staff were carrying Old Reynolds into an ambulance, while Little Reynolds stood helplessly to one side.

Mo Zhen walked over and patted the French young master's shoulder. "Are you all right? Don't be too upset. I think your father will be fine."

But honestly, even if Old Reynolds survived, things wouldn't end well for him.

Little Reynolds's eyes reddened. He raised his arms and hugged Mo Zhen, saying sincerely, "Thank you, Mo Zhen. Thank you for still being here with me."

He saw the dust on Mo Zhen and his scorched cuffs and blamed himself for the Reynolds Group's inadequate security. If Mo Zhen had died in the terrorist attack too...

He really didn't know how he would have faced Mo Zhen's family.

"We messed up this press conference. I'll treat you to a meal separately next time," Little Reynolds said.

Mo Zhen shook his head. "It's all right. I just hope Mr. Old Reynolds will be okay."

At that moment, Scarlet Spider, who had changed out of his suit, arrived as well. Seeing at once that Mo Zhen was safe beside Little Reynolds, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As for Demon Wolf, he had already been taken away and detained by armed military personnel. An interrogation still awaited him.

As everyone knew, supercriminals convicted of serious crimes such as murder were not protected by law, and the United Government was generally unwilling to take in such dangerous individuals.

So they outsourced the matter to the military.

Barring any surprises, criminals like these would usually spend the rest of their lives in military prisons.

And even if the military used them for human experimentation, nobody would care, because they had already lost all their civil rights.

Scarlet Spider actually didn't think this was a good thing, because the abuse of the law would inevitably lead to dire consequences.

At the end of the last century, many superhumans who hadn't committed any serious crimes were stripped of their civil rights and sent straight to these military prisons.

In the agony of human experiments, they could neither live nor die.

Of course, Scarlet Spider also knew that incidents like these had no solution. However things developed, there would always be cases that veered toward extremes.

All he could do was hold fast to his principles and protect everyone around him, such as his aunt and his good friend Mo Zhen.

Adam and Mo Zhen hadn't met in high school, as the latter remembered.

They had actually known each other since middle school, but Mo Zhen himself no longer remembered it.

Adam, however, had never forgotten.

"Green, Mo Zhen, are you both all right?"

He ran over and asked.

When Mo Zhen saw Adam, he immediately gripped his shoulders. "You're asking me? Let me see your back."

Adam quickly waved his hands. "I'm really fine, don't worry!"

Mo Zhen frowned and fixed him with an extremely skeptical stare, staring until a chill ran down Adam's back.

At long last, the black-haired, blue-eyed boy sighed. "All right, it's your secret. I won't ask."

Mo Zhen respected his good friend's wishes, so he wouldn't expose Adam.

But he had to admit, Adam's disguise was far too crude. Scarlet Spider didn't have a magical girl's perception filter.

Even without the system's prompt, after their encounters these past few times, even an idiot should have figured out his identity.

Adam felt in his pocket and held out a pair of glasses. "Oh, right, Mo Zhen, you dropped these on the ground just now."

Mo Zhen looked at the black-framed glasses in his hand and sighed inwardly. He took them, gently blew the dust off, and slipped them back into his pocket.

"Thank you."

After watching Old Reynolds leave in the ambulance, Little Reynolds also had to say goodbye to Mo Zhen and Adam, hurrying off to handle company affairs.

Scarlet Spider and Mo Zhen watched the ambulance leave together, hoping only that Old Reynolds was all right.

Half an hour later.

Inside the Mayo Private Clinic in Tianhe City.

Old Reynolds suddenly snapped his eyes open on the operating table, thin black veins spreading across the whites of his eyes.

The doctors cleaning his wounds jumped in fright. Old Reynolds was supposed to be under general anesthesia!

The anesthesiologist beside him nearly jumped out of his skin. If he had failed to anesthetize the patient properly, he could forget about keeping his job tomorrow.

Fortunately, Old Reynolds closed his eyes again the next second.

"False alarm..."

The doctors all breathed a sigh of relief.

Within an unobservable subspace.

A scarlet eye slowly opened, gazing at the bewildered Old Reynolds before it.

During that failed nuclear fusion explosion, it had projected its power onto Old Reynolds, causing both his soul and body to mutate.

From this moment on, a personality named "Thunder Demon" would be born and take control within Old Reynolds.

"Who are you?!"

Old Reynolds jumped in fright:

"Get out of my body!"

Standing in the pitch-black subspace, he shouted angrily at the eye.

"I am you, and you are me."

Thunder Demon gazed at him quietly, as though countless voices were clamoring in Old Reynolds's ears:

"We are two sides of the same being. We are invincible...!"

"No...!"

Clutching his agonized head, Old Reynolds fell to his knees. "No, I won't let you take over my body. Get out of my body-arghhh!"

"Beep-!!"

Outside, the heart monitor sounded an alarm.

Sweat poured down the doctors' faces as they immediately brought out a defibrillator, trying to restore Old Reynolds's heartbeat.

Once, twice, three times!

Old Reynolds's heartbeat finally returned to normal.

At the same time, Mo Zhen received a notification.

[The personal major event "Scarlet Spider--The Birth of Thunder Demon" has entered its second stage. Please wait for Thunder Demon's first appearance.]

[Your stage mission one is complete.]

[Your third beginner mission is complete.]

[You have received the reward: Complete Form: Domain Expansion · "Malevolent Shrine." (This reward includes all knowledge of Barrier Techniques.)]

[Stage mission two: Kill Thunder Demon/Scarlet Spider.]

"The beginner reward came so readily. Looks like that Thunder Demon won't be easy to deal with."

Mo Zhen fell into thought.

In stage mission two, there was actually a dead end disguised as a shortcut: the Scarlet Spider route.

If he chose to kill Scarlet Spider, he would probably have to face the suppression of a personal universe's will of heaven.

Who knew what might jump out at him along the way and kill him before he could accomplish anything?

Mo Zhen had already provoked the Ministry of Magic. Until he had smashed the Ministry of Magic, he didn't want to make enemies of any other superhero companies for the time being.

All right, although he had gone on and on in his head, Mo Zhen simply didn't want to turn on his good brother when he had a choice.