The last rays of the setting sun completely dipped below the horizon, and the streetlights in Harlem lit up one after another, casting an ambiguous orange glow over the bustling streets.
The aroma of barbecue still lingered in the air, but it was now mixed with the unique coolness of the night.
William rubbed his aching right shoulder; Luke Cage's hit was no joke.
His strength was immense, and his rejection was equally firm.
The pressure of performance in this World seemed even heavier than in his previous life.
After all, it concerned his life, as well as those coveted abilities.
He sighed, but his steps didn't falter as he weaved through the growing crowd of the night market.
"Who's next?"
William's gaze swept across the street, but the flickering neon lights and the vibrant faces offered him no answers.
The list of New York heroes quickly ran through his mind.
Just as he was feeling somewhat aimless, even starting to consider finding a place to eat first, the corner of his eye caught a sudden movement.
A White Shadow, on the rooftop of an old apartment building not far away, flashed past like a ghost.
That speed was definitely not that of an ordinary person.
William abruptly stopped, his heart skipping a beat.
His gaze was fixed in that direction.
White, swift, rooftop.
Several keywords quickly combined in his mind.
Moon Knight?
His mysterious target, whom he had staked out for days without seeing.
He was actually appearing here.
"Claim point!"
William's adrenaline surged instantly, and he instinctively took off, chasing in the direction of the apartment building.
His cheap leather shoes tapped urgently on the sidewalk.
His briefcase swayed at his side, the documents inside rustling faintly.
Cutting through an alley filled with the scent of fried chicken, William looked up.
The White figure appeared again, and with a few leaps, disappeared behind another building.
"Is this guy a monkey? He's so fast!"
William gasped for breath, ignoring the beads of sweat on his forehead.
He didn't have the ability to scale rooftops like the other person, so he could only try his best to chase on the ground.
Relying on his experience of "scouting" various communities these past few days, he managed to estimate the other party's possible route.
After several twists and turns, a fierce sound of fighting faintly reached him from a deserted warehouse area ahead.
The clang of metal colliding.
Dull thuds.
And suppressed roars.
William slowed his pace, cautiously approaching.
He hid behind a pile of discarded tires, peeking out half his head.
In the open space in front of the warehouse, the Moonlight poured down like mercury.
A figure clad in a White hooded cloak, wielding crescent-shaped throwing stars, was locked in fierce combat with an abnormally muscular monster with eerie, grayish skin.
Moon Knight!
It was him, indeed.
His iconic attire and his ruthless, direct attack methods were exactly as described in legends.
His opponent, the grayish-skinned monster, possessed astonishing strength; each punch it threw carried a whistling wind, leaving a shallow pit where it landed.
Moon Knight moved swiftly, his figure elusive, constantly dodging the opponent's heavy blows while looking for opportunities to counterattack.
His White cloak flapped in the night wind, like a death flower blooming in the dark.
William held his breath, his eyes fixed on the battlefield without blinking.
Under the Moonlight, the battle was intense.
The crescent-shaped throwing stars in his hand drew silvery arcs in the air, aimed directly at the joints and eyes, the weaker points of the grayish-skinned monster.
However, the monster's muscles were knotted, and its skin was exceptionally tough; a few throwing stars embedding themselves in its body only made dull "thudding" sounds, as if hitting tough leather, merely slowing it down for a moment.
"Roar!" The monster cried out in pain, letting out an inhuman roar, sweeping its arms, bringing with it a gust of foul wind.
It didn't dodge, fighting like a wild Beast, relying on its thick skin and flesh, trying to trade blows.
Moon Knight clearly understood this tactic, lowering his body and sliding along the ground, narrowly avoiding the ferocious blow.
The ground was smashed into a shallow pit by the monster's fist, sending Gravel scattered everywhere.
William hid behind the tire pile, not daring to breathe, his heart pounding.
This was much more exciting, and much more dangerous, than a movie.
He subconsciously touched his briefcase, as if it contained not documents, but a lifeline.
"This fighting style... it's a living claims list!"
William muttered to himself.
No flashy moves, every strike filled with a primitive, deadly aesthetic.
It was completely different from Luke Cage's "hit me, you can't hurt me" style.
Moon Knight was actively attacking, and he was fighting to kill.
Although the gray-skinned monster was slightly clumsy in its movements, its strength and resilience were truly astonishing.
Moon Knight delivered a swift elbow strike to the monster's ribs, the sound like hitting a Water-soaked sandbag.
The monster staggered, but then clawed back at Moon Knight's head.
Moon Knight reacted extremely quickly, leaning back, his White hood almost torn off.
He rolled with the momentum, creating distance, and two more throwing stars appeared in his hand at some point.
"Tsk tsk, this reaction speed, this combat intuition..."
William watched eagerly, his mind already calculating rapidly.
If he had these skills, would he still need to smile and sell insurance every day?
But then he thought, precisely because he had such skills, he was more likely to get into accidents!
High-risk profession, he really needed insurance!
This was a walking claim point!
He watched Moon Knight move and dodge amidst the monster's storm-like attacks.
The White cloak was sometimes torn by strong winds, and sometimes spread out like wings, giving his strange movements a tragic beauty.
"The customer profile is becoming clearer and clearer."
William analyzed to himself.
High-intensity, high-risk, high-frequency physical conflicts.
Accident insurance, disability insurance, medical insurance... he could even consider customizing a 'combat equipment damage insurance'. His outfit didn't look cheap; how much would the premiums be?
In the battlefield, Moon Knight also seemed to realize that purely physical attacks had limited effect on this monster.
He suddenly charged forward, advancing instead of retreating, and at the moment the monster threw a punch, his body twisted at an incredible angle, avoiding the blow, while his left hand, transformed into a blade, chopped fiercely at the monster's wrist joint.
"Crack!" A crisp sound.
The monster let out an even more agonizing shriek, its right arm hanging limply.
Effective!
William saw clearly that Moon Knight's strike was cunningly angled, concentrated in power, and clearly exploited the opponent's weakness.
"Beautiful!" William almost shouted out loud. This was a professional! Unlike some people who only knew how to use brute force.
However, the monster did not give up.
It swung its remaining left arm violently, and a Shadow shot out from its palm, moving incredibly fast, heading straight for Moon Knight's face.
Moon Knight seemed to have anticipated it, tilting his head slightly, and the Shadow grazed his hood, flying past and hitting the iron wall of the warehouse behind him, making a dull thud and leaving a fist-sized dent.
William's pupils contracted: "Ranged attack? This guy can do that too?"
Moon Knight was clearly enraged by this sudden move as well.
He stopped dodging, took a fierce step forward, and his entire demeanor suddenly became even more ferocious.
He discarded his throwing stars, clenching his fists, and charged at the monster like an enraged Beast.
The ensuing battle left William dazzled and terrified.
The dull thuds of punches meeting flesh, the sounds of bones dislocating, and the monster's increasingly weak roars intertwined in the silent night sky.
Moon Knight fought the monster in the most primal way, completely reckless.
His White battle suit was stained with the monster's grayish blood and some unknown viscous fluid, and in several places, it was torn by the monster's claws, oozing traces of blood.
"He's injured! He's injured!"
William's eyes lit up.
This was not schadenfreude, but a professional excitement.
Damage meant the possibility of a claim.
Risk meant the value of insurance!
He saw Moon Knight's punch send the monster's jaw flying upwards, followed by a fierce knee strike to the monster's chest.
The monster's massive body flew backward like a broken kite, crashing heavily against the warehouse wall with a loud bang, then slid limply to the ground, twitching a few times before becoming still.
The battle ended cleanly and swiftly.
Moon Knight stood in place, breathing slightly.
His clothing on his chest was torn in several places, and abrasions on his skin were faintly visible.