A fist landed, a drop of blood trickled from Matt Murdock's lips, and a muscular arm roughly shoved him: "Shrimp, come hit me, I'll let you hit me as much as you want!"
Matt, feeling unwilling and anxious, was pushed back a few steps, but the White boy and his accomplices didn't stop bullying him.
The Black kids jeered: "Go on, come hit him!"
"You're as useless as your dad!"
The White boy shoved Matt again: "Come on, hit me."
Matt didn't bother to wipe the blood from his lips and defended his father: "My dad will win the championship, the boxing ring championship."
The White boy shook his head: "No, no, your dad is a coward too." His Black friends echoed: "Yeah, he's a coward!"
"Come hit me." This time, Matt was pushed to the ground by the White boy and, turning around, he fled somewhat awkwardly from the narrow, dark alley, leaving behind only the jeers of the hooligan boys: "He's a waste!", "A complete waste!", "Doesn't dare to fight, only runs away!"
"Pathetic..." Matt used this definition for his childhood, and Emil listened silently.
In his previous World, the movie "Daredevil," which told the story of Daredevil Matt, did not perform well at the box office, and Emil didn't remember the movie's content that clearly anymore.
However, he was not Matt, nor was he Emil.
In his previous World, although there were no Superheroes, in the relatively stable social environment, he had never experienced the deep sense of powerlessness that Matt had. Perhaps, if this body of Emil was still alive, he would have had much in common with Matt.
Matt seemed to snap out of it, he came back to his senses and asked: "Emil, where was I?"
Emil looked at Matt and reminded him: "Mr. Matt, you said you had a childhood where you were bullied."
As if sighing with some melancholy, Matt nodded: "Yes, that's right, bullied by everyone..."
He was indeed familiar with Hell's Kitchen. In just a few steps, he led Emil into a pool hall. In the U.S., pool halls and bars are usually inseparable, and Emil wasn't sure why Matt brought him here.
However, he didn't interrupt Matt's narration: "My dad was an underground boxer. A sports reporter once wrote that his boxing skills were like a demon. His reputation spread far and wide because of it. Everyone knew that 'Demon' Jack Murdock was a tough guy!"
But that was a long time ago. Ever since Matt was born, Jack had already left the profession he once pursued.
He had become a drunkard who only knew how to drink and reminisce about his glorious past during televised boxing matches. However, no matter how inebriated he got, Jack always had one phrase he never forgot to keep on his lips.
A smile appeared on Matt's lips, and he said to Emil: "That day, I came home and helped him from the TV to his bed. He noticed my injury. He asked me: 'Are you hurt?'. I pretended not to care, and then he sat up from the bed, looked into my eyes, and told me: 'You know, I don't want you to fight.'"
"It's ironic, isn't it? My dad himself was a 'Demon' who once instilled fear in the black market rings, but he hoped his child wouldn't fight. Yes, in this Hell's Kitchen, don't fight with others."
Emil asked curiously: "So, Mr. Matt, how did you respond?"
Matt shook his head and said: "It's not that I like to stir up trouble; it's just that living in this Hell's Kitchen, one can only be this way. Those kids told me that my dad had actually never left the underground gangs and had always worked for Feren; he was one of his enforcers."
Emil interjected: "Mr. Matt, who is Feren?"
The dim bar lights reflected in Matt's sunglasses, stark White and cold: "He's an asshole, one of the biggest assholes in Hell's Kitchen. Oh, and Old Babu, who caused trouble at your place today, is also one of Feren's disciples."
Emil understood the meaning of 'disciple.' He knew that Old Babu was being instigated by someone, but he didn't expect this person to still be called "one of the biggest assholes" in Matt's words.
Moreover, the fact that this "biggest asshole" and Daredevil Matt had coexisted in Hell's Kitchen for so many years without being eliminated showed just how vast this asshole's influence was.
Emil's gut feeling told him that his actions today had brought him a lot of trouble.
However, since Feren had sent Old Babu to cause trouble at Emil's apartment building, unless Emil swallowed his pride and obediently paid the protection money Old Babu extorted, they would have to confront each other sooner or later.
Although Emil had not been resurrected into this World for long, he genuinely liked his older sister, Kathleen, who had always protected him. Even if Emil had no power, he could not tolerate anyone offending Kathleen.
However, he still didn't know what Matt's father had said to him. Matt continued: "My father called me over and had me sit next to him."
Jack laughed: "If I really worked for Feren, would I need to work overtime day and night at the docks? Do you have any brains at all? Don't worry about anything except your studies. Become a Doctor or a lawyer in the future, don't be like me..."
Although he was scolded by his father, Matt was relieved to hear that Jack was not working for Feren. Jack then said: "Matt, you can do it. As long as there is no fear in your heart, there is nothing in this World that cannot be done. I want you to promise me."
While Matt was talking, Emil looked around and felt that U.S. bars were not much different from those in China. They were all filled with unemployed idlers, each with hair dyed various colors, looking as if they had accidentally spilled cocktails on their heads.
Matt listened for a moment, then opened a snooker table in the corner, picked up a pool cue from the wall, and tossed it to Emil: "Come on, let's play a game."
"Uh... Mr. Matt, you're a Superhero..."
Emil took the pool cue, a bit at a loss. He had thought Matt had some profound truth to teach him, or was going to take him to some sacred place for confession, but he never expected to be brought to such a low-class bar to play pool.
Moreover, playing against a blind man, Emil felt it was a bit too much like bullying. Matt raised his head, his eyes directly facing Emil, and flatly denied: "No, no, no, the life of a Superhero is torture for me. Don't see me as some Superhero; I am just a normal person, like you."