Chapter 50: All-Round Strike Against Kingpin
The icy air made Scorpion Mac shiver. He groggily opened his eyes to find himself bound tightly on the ground, the back of his head resting on something cold and hard.
The nearest light source was an orange-yellow lamp dozens of meters away. Vaguely, he could see layered patterns beneath the light, like stripes on a zebra...
No—those weren't zebra stripes. Those were fucking train tracks! His head was currently pillowed on subway rails!
Swoosh!
Scorpion Mac's hands and feet instantly turned ice cold. He frantically twisted his body trying to get up, but black threads extended from the darkness, firmly fixing him in place.
"Hey! Can you let me go?!" Scorpion Mac shouted. "Anyone there?"
His voice echoed through the empty subway. At first, the final words were barely audible, but as the sound traveled farther, the echo gradually blurred, finally transforming into inhuman whispers.
Hummm—
The echo finally disappeared, but a distant continuous humming began.
Not coming through the air, but transmitted from the rail Mac's head rested on, directly into his brain.
The low, continuous hum sounded like the earth growling softly.
Then the rails began trembling slightly, conducting through Scorpion Mac's tightly bound body. An imperceptible yet omnipresent tingling sensation made every hair on his body stand on end.
"Hey!"
Scorpion Mac shouted again, this time with a trace of desperation in his voice.
He knew what this sound was—a subway rapidly approaching his position!
Whoosh!
Though the subway hadn't arrived, air compressed by it began flowing rapidly. The unique atmosphere mixed with rust, motor oil, and damp earth from deep in the tunnel blew past Scorpion Mac.
He struggled more desperately, forcefully twisting his body. His hands also burst with the greatest strength of his life trying to snap the black webbing, but this time he discovered despairingly that the webbing was far too tough. Not only could he not break it, but from excessive force it cut into his flesh, hurting so much his vision darkened.
Just then, a point of light appeared at the rail's end. Then the light grew brighter and brighter—the subway was gradually closing in, approaching at extreme speed, as if it would crush Scorpion Mac's skull the next second.
The rail's trembling also became violent. Mac's teeth chattered involuntarily.
Just as he prepared to cry for help again, an entirely black figure with two sharp pointed ears gradually appeared in the subway's light, nearly detonating Mac's already taut nerves.
"I need to know everything about Kingpin."
"You can choose to speak, or not speak."
The low voice rang out amid the subway's roar. Then that demon-like figure gradually disappeared, as if abandoning Mac alone on the tracks.
The subway drew closer and closer. The light stabbed Scorpion Mac's eyes painfully. Tears flowed uncontrollably.
Whoosh, whoosh!
The massive subway car compressed air, blowing Mac's body slightly. In a few seconds it would reach him.
Mac could no longer restrain himself. His legs trembled—a warm stream soaked his suit pants.
"I'll talk! Whatever you ask, I'll tell you! Pull me up!"
"Please! I'll tell you everything!"
Whoosh!
The subway swept past with wind pressure crushing over the rails. Scorpion Mac's entire body stiffened, watching helplessly as that pointed-eared figure yanked his body up, his nose nearly scraping past the car.
Even one second later, Mac's entire face would have been scraped off by the subway car.
Scorpion Mac didn't doubt for a moment—if he chose to be stubborn, not cooperate with this vampire demon, all that awaited him was being crushed alive by the subway.
"Now you can speak."
As the subway departed, another cold wind blew across Scorpion Mac's face. Batman's voice rang out again.
Scorpion Mac didn't dare delay. From how Kingpin trained daily with fighters from around the world, always one against ten, ending battles within twenty seconds.
To his own role in Kingpin's gang, Kingpin's plan to infiltrate Oscorp...
Scorpion Mac spoke without reservation, racking his brain to reveal everything he knew about Kingpin.
He didn't even dare stop. He feared this mad vampire might be dissatisfied and throw him back onto the tracks to fend for himself.
Batman expressionlessly memorized everything Scorpion Mac said, judging from Mac's micro-expressions, breathing frequency, and body movements whether his content was truthful.
Until over ten minutes later, Scorpion Mac spoke until his mouth was parched. Unable to produce more information about Kingpin, he could only bitterly plead with this vampire:
"Mr. Dracula, I haven't hidden anything. Let me go—I drink often, my blood is full of alcohol..."
He suddenly thought of Walker who'd been with him in the pickup. Now that he was captured by Batman, presumably Walker had also fallen into Batman's hands.
"Drink Walker's blood! As Kingpin's driver and bodyguard, his blood is better than mine!"
BAM!
Batman's fist slammed into Scorpion Mac's abdomen, making him faint from pain on the spot.
Binding Mac aside, Batman dragged the still-unconscious Walker—Kingpin's driver and bodyguard—repeating the same trick to place him on the tracks.
"For Kingpin to make such a big move in Hell's Kitchen completely contradicts the low profile needed for going legitimate. But if Walker's identity is Kingpin's driver and bodyguard..."
"Then Kingpin's actions tonight are completely justified."
The next subway hadn't arrived yet. Walker was thrown onto the scalding hot rails just passed by the subway and woke from the burn.
Like Scorpion Mac, after shouting for help fruitlessly, Walker attempted self-rescue. But bound tightly by black webbing, he couldn't break free—the webbing only tightened further.
"Unlike Mac with no muscle training traces, Walker's skin below the hairline is thicker, rougher, and shinier than his face, even with thick calluses. His elbows and knees are extremely thick..."
"All signs indicate Walker is a Muay Thai expert."
"From Walker's injuries, whoever attacked him used fists and clubs as weapons."
"This matches what Mac confessed—Daredevil captured Walker last night."
As Batman continuously analyzed Mac's information—rumble, rumble!
The next subway rapidly approached from the distance. Walker on the tracks let out a shriek. This Muay Thai expert no longer maintained composure.
Batman still used intimidation tactics to break through Walker's psychological defenses, only pulling him back the instant before the subway struck him.
Next, Batman would make full preparations targeting Kingpin based on information provided by these two most trusted subordinates.
This included all-round strikes on business, gangs, psychology, and physiology.
He would strangle this crime emperor in the cradle.
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