The night slowly descended upon New York once again.
"Boom!"
With the sound of an explosion, the lights of the Fisk Tower blazed to life. After a tremor shook the structure, many windows shattered once more.
Shin rubbed his head and sat up. "Damn, how tragic can it get for Kingpin to be the underworld emperor? Another superhero coming to cause trouble?"
Since the dawn of the superhero era, Kingpin's misfortunes have piled up endlessly. The number of enemies he had to face had practically doubled.
"I wonder if it's Daredevil or the Punisher this time?" Shin sighed as he put on his clothes.
"Later on, it'll probably be even worse, with opponents like Spider-Man and the Defenders showing up. Sometimes even the Fantastic Four and the X-Men appear... not to mention the Avengers."
For individual superheroes, they might only come once every month or two. But if every superhero had this idea, Kingpin's building would be invaded every two or three days, needing renovations every ten days or half a month. It was simply misery to the extreme.
"Listening to that explosion, it's probably the Punisher, the bastard who doesn't care about collateral damage. Daredevil wouldn't do something that hurts innocent people," Shin muttered.
"It's not even the peak era of superhero activity yet. The Defenders haven't formed, Spider-Man hasn't appeared, and even the Avengers aren't assembled. Yet Kingpin already has to deal with all these superheroes. If all the heavy hitters show up later..."
He shook his head. "Alas, being a crime boss in New York isn't easy."
However, after becoming a board director in two major military-industrial groups, and possessing the design schematics of Tony Stark's first-generation Iron Man suit and a miniature Arc Reactor, Kingpin's strength had increased dramatically.
What's more, he now had access to the Super Soldier Serum. Although it wasn't quite as potent as the original formula, it could still produce squads of agents who rivaled Hawkeye and Black Widow at their peak.
Additionally, Kingpin wasn't without enhanced villains at his side. He still had Bullseye and had also hired other superhuman criminals. With the help of the Super Soldier Serum, Kingpin had truly recruited a considerable number of powerful individuals.
Under the siege laid by Kingpin and his enhanced forces, the unknown superhero who had rushed in couldn't hold on for long. Shin heard a rustling sound and turned his head just in time to see a figure falling from a shattered window.
'Did he just die like that?' Shin was momentarily stunned. He wasn't very familiar with the colorful combat uniforms worn by various superheroes.
In the movies, aside from Captain America, most heroes didn't wear full-on costumes to conceal their identities. Captain America's uniform was more about boosting morale—people recognized the suit itself.
But in the comics, superhero costumes were much more flamboyant. Shin simply couldn't appreciate their aesthetics. To him, it made more sense to dress like robbers or counter-terrorists: a bulletproof vest and a black hood were far more practical.
Aside from tech-based heroes, the costumes most superheroes wore seemed purely for show.
Yet this particular hero seemed rather agile. As he neared the ground, he threw out a grappling hook, snagging a windowsill. Using the momentum, he swung horizontally, smashing through another window and vanishing into an unknown floor.
"Next time, maybe I should remind Kingpin to install bulletproof glass," Shin muttered.
"Are you also one of Kingpin's men?"
A panting voice called out from the doorway. Turning from the balcony, Shin saw a man with a huge skull emblazoned on his shirt, looking somewhat like a biker gang member.
Despite his rough clothing, the man exuded a kind of hardened determination. Shin's mind turned quickly, and he recognized him.
"Punisher?!"
The Punisher is one of the most famous anti-heroes in American comics.
However, most anti-heroes who killed decisively shared a common flaw... their combat strength wasn't particularly high.
After all, if characters like the Punisher were as powerful as Thor, Captain Marvel, or Scarlet Witch, no mid-level villain would ever survive long enough to appear in the next chapter.
Thus, while the Punisher's ruthlessness put far more pressure on common criminals compared to other heroes, he still ended up getting pushed back when facing large numbers of Kingpin's enhanced soldiers clad in mechanical armor.
Having realized that no one was pursuing in Shin's direction, the Punisher decided to retreat toward this quieter area.
In his mind, there had to be some secret lab or important asset of Kingpin's here... otherwise, why would Kingpin's forces avoid this place?
After searching around, he found only Shin. From the Punisher's perspective, Shin, who wore no flashy costume, carried no high-tech weapons, and showed no signs of mutation, was just an ordinary civilian.
In American comics, both superheroes and supervillains tended to have noticeable outfits or features. There wasn't much cultural tradition of blending in.
Thus, distinguishing between a hero or villain and an ordinary person was often as simple as observing their dress.
Given all this, the Punisher judged Shin most likely to be a civilian.
Still, given that this was Kingpin's headquarters and the fear Kingpin's men showed toward this area, the Punisher exercised caution. He didn't shoot immediately but pointed his gun at Shin.
"You know my name? Are you one of Kingpin's men?"
Shin had no strong feelings about the Punisher, neither fondness nor hatred. Killing many people didn't particularly bother him; after all, the Punisher only targeted villains, so it didn't concern him.
However, in this world, beyond the simple divide of good and evil, there was the matter of position and allegiance. Shin now controlled Kingpin, and Kingpin's assets were essentially his assets.
Since the Punisher came here wreaking havoc, Shin wasn't inclined to treat him kindly.
It was normal for Kingpin to clash with superheroes, and Shin didn't intend to interfere. But now that the trouble had come to his doorstep, politeness was out of the question.
Even if he didn't kill the Punisher outright, he definitely intended to teach him a lesson.
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