When William woke up the next day, the sunlight outside the window was no longer the gentle light of early morning.
In the air, a faint scent of whiskey lingered, intertwining with Jessica's unique smell, a mix of leather and stubbornness, not yet completely dispersed.
Jessica was already gone.
On the kitchen table, a solitary empty beer bottle stood like a small tombstone, next to a half-eaten sandwich, a sloppy testament to her usual, silent farewell.
William, barefoot, stepped onto the cold wooden floor and stretched.
He felt his body was surprisingly good.
Last night's fatigue seemed to have been thoroughly cleansed by a refreshing storm, every cell steeped in a newfound, vibrant sense of energy.
He walked to the living room and picked up his phone.
On the screen, an encrypted message from Tandy lay quietly, timestamped half an hour ago.
A light touch of his fingertip opened the interface, revealing a brief summary report of urban anomalies.
[Target P-P (Peter Parker) recent activity increased by 35%, small nighttime crime incidents in Queens decreased by 12% year-on-year, and estimated public property damage reduced by 8%.]
[Recommendation: Consider increasing bonus incentives; this asset's return on investment exceeds expectations.]
William's lips curled upwards uncontrollably.
A weekly salary of five hundred U.S. dollars for an almost year-round, diligent city safety patrolman, plus a future superhero with infinite potential. This investment was even more profitable than any blue-chip stock on Wall Street.
He continued to scroll down the screen, the warmth of his fingertips seemingly unable to melt the cold characters.
[Target Code: Ghost]
[Ability Overview:]
This individual exhibits an extraordinary ability highly suspected of being phase shifting or quantum tunneling.
Ability Effect: It can allow its physical body to pass through solid matter, such as walls, alloy vault doors, etc., as if physical laws are distorted around it. Its movements are like a phantom walking in the cracks of reality, ignoring all conventional physical obstacles.
Energy Level: Extremely low or undetectable. No significant energy release or fluctuations have been recorded during its actions, making it extremely difficult to track by any existing technological means. It is like a data black hole, only taking in and not giving out.
Physical Destructive Power: No direct physical destructive power. The ability is primarily used for stealth and evasion, not attack. However, its ability can easily dismantle any physical security system, causing immense indirect losses.
Range of Effect: Limited to itself. It has not been observed to apply this effect to other objects or personnel.
[Personality Analysis:]
Emotional Stability: High. Its actions (target selection, infiltration, theft) demonstrate strong planning and purpose, calm as a precise computer, with no impulsive or emotional behavior observed.
Communication Willingness: Extremely low. This individual has not attempted to communicate with anyone in all known activities and actively avoids all forms of contact and observation. It is like a true ghost, leaving only legends, no traces.
Potential for Violence: Low. Its behavior pattern focuses on non-violent data and financial theft, tending to avoid conflict. However, given the unknown full extent of its abilities, whether it would resort to violence when pushed to a corner cannot yet be assessed.
[Potential Threat Level: □ Low □ Medium ♦ High □ Extremely High]
(Reason for selection: Although it does not directly exhibit violence, its infiltration ability, which ignores physical defenses, poses an absolute, undefendable threat to any high-value target (financial, intelligence, technology). Its behavioral logic is unclear, like a wandering unknown variable, unable to predict its next move, thus the risk level is "High".)
[Estimated Insurability Potential: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆]
(Reason for scoring: The risk model for this target cannot be established at all. Its ability makes traditional security measures a joke, with a loss probability close to 100%, and its targets are unpredictable. For any insurance institution, this falls into the category of uninsurable infinite risk.)
This report was extremely detailed.
After these days of action, Cloak and Dagger's investigation work became increasingly proficient.
Coupled with the assistance of the 'contract', it made them even more at ease.
Moreover, Cloak's ability to traverse the Shadow allowed them to quickly escape if discovered.
Even the previous reports on Iron Fist and White Tiger were collaboratively investigated by Cloak and Dagger, along with the contract.
Now this new Superhuman Strength made William's imagination run wild.
This ability sounded like more than just a bug; it was a blatant defiance of the laws of the physical World.
If... if he could acquire this ability, wouldn't attending Kingpin's dinner be like directly activating God Mode?
If he couldn't win, he wouldn't even need to think about tactics; he could just take a step back, merge into the wall, and disappear before everyone's eyes.
He wouldn't even need to open the door, let alone worry about how many guns were outside.
No matter how many bodyguards Kingpin had, or how great his influence, could he really replace the entire Fisk Tower with some kind of anti-quantum tunneling special alloy?
Once this thought emerged, it spread like a wildfire, instantly burning wildly in his mind.
There were still six days until Kingpin's dinner.
Six days, enough time for him to hunt for a trump card.
Although his own abilities were numerous.
Most of them were auxiliary, making him "more resilient," "faster," and "better at hiding."
Radar Sense allowed him to hear more clearly, Poison Resistance prevented him from being poisoned, Superhuman Strength allowed him to fight Jessica to a standstill... But these might not be enough in front of a true behemoth like Kingpin, who reigned at the top of the underworld with pure violence and willpower.
That was a monster who could pin Spider-Man to the ground with his bare hands!
He needed a trump card that would allow him to attend the dinner with composure, rather than like a pathetic gambler, anxiously waiting for the opponent to strike at any moment.
In Tandy's report, the cold phrase "not recommended for active contact" automatically translated into another sentence in William's eyes:
A brand new, high-value, walking insurance policy was waiting for him, the star salesman, to sign in Brooklyn!
Risk?
His biggest risk now was having tea face-to-face with Wilson Fisk in a week!
Compared to that, a ghost who could only phase through walls and even had a bit of social anxiety sounded rather charming and approachable.
William put down his phone, walked into the bathroom, and turned on the shower.
Warm Water flowed over his body.
How to find a ghost that can phase through walls?
Conventional detective methods would certainly be useless; if the target could even phase through walls, surveillance and informants were a joke.
But he had his own advantages.
He had Matt Murdock. That man's ears were the most sensitive sonic Radar Sense in all of New York.
Perhaps, he could "hear" some clues left by the ghost's passage that others couldn't detect.
He turned off the Water, dried himself, and changed into casual clothes, preparing to go out and talk to his "legal advisor."
Just then, his phone let out a piercing shriek.
"William? William!"
On the other end of the line, a man's voice was so anxious it was almost distorted, mixed with the crisp sound of breaking glass and the heavy, Beast-like panting in the background.
Wasn't Dr. Connors supposed to be doing research in the new lab he arranged for him? Why was he so agitated?
"Dr. Connors? Calm down, the reconstruction work on the island is going smoothly, you don't need to worry."
"No, it's not about the island!"
Dr. Connors' voice sounded both ecstatic and terrified, two extreme emotions tearing at his vocal cords.
"It's my own research! I... I've had some breakthroughs, and I've also run into some huge trouble!"
"Regarding the serum for limb regeneration, I succeeded! I really succeeded! But... it has some... some unstable side effects. I need your help, William! I need you!"
Dr. Connors' breathing on the other end of the line became increasingly rapid, as if he was being chased by something.
"Calm down, Dr., listen to me!"
"I'll be right over. Remember, no matter what happens, under no circumstances should you inject an immature serum. Your safety is the highest prerequisite for all research results!"
Hanging up the phone, William stood still and took a deep breath.
The ghost of Brooklyn hadn't been caught yet, but Osborn's Dr. Lizard had already surfaced.
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