Chapter 139. Prelude

"..."

The appearance of another unknown Jiu You member raised a vague sense of unease in the minds of the Defenders.

After all, having the experience with Lord Godless before, their evaluation of Jiu You's battle strength was quite exaggerated.

After a moment of silence, Matt spoke up, "No matter what, we need to stand up and stop Kingpin. We can't let this situation go on any longer."

If Kingpin were to take control of Hell's Kitchen, the consequences might not be limited to Hell's Kitchen but would shake up all of New York. What's more, there was an even more formidable force behind Kingpin -- Jiu You.

"I agree."

Frank raised an eyebrow and, in a rare moment, expressed agreement with Matt's words.

The Punisher didn't know much about Jiu You, and even though he had already heard Matt's account, he was still skeptical. But anyway, he was quite happy to fight against the evil force. Whether it was Jiu You or Kingpin, it was better to kill them all.

"Is it too late to back out now?" Jessica grimaced. Things had gone so far; it had long been out of their control.

"Maybe, we can inform the police." Luke Cage frowned and offered his own idea.

"If the police were any use, do you think Kingpin would act that recklessly?" Danny shook his head, extinguishing Cage's thoughts, "With the abilities Jiu You has shown, instead of being a good thing, getting the police involved might cause them harm."

Even with their training and firepower, the police were just a bunch of normal people.

"And..." Frank spoke up as well, throwing cold water on Luke Cage's idea, "In the eyes of the police, there isn't really much difference between our group and Kingpin's."

"..."

The Punisher's words caused Cage to fall silent for a moment. It was as the other man had said, although the Defenders thought they were doing the right thing. However, in the eyes of the NYPD, they were just as lawless as Kingpin. The difference only lies in the fact that the former had a deeper impact and was a greater threat, which led the police to refrain from acting rashly instead.

Although there were differences of opinion between them, it was clear that the group was ready for battle.

Danny looked across the room, took a deep breath, and said, "I've looked into it. The various gangs in Hell's Kitchen had been destroyed by Kingpin's move. Those in the pictures were the remaining gangs that haven't submitted to Kingpin yet. With their demise, several more gangs have chosen to submit. The only gang still holding out are the Russian Mafia, who control the Eastern District. They have a worse relationship with Kingpin, and they had several minor clashes before. They would never submit to Kingpin."

"Which means that Kingpin's next target might be this Russian group?"

Hearing Danny's explanation, Jessica instantly followed up.

"Not might be..." Shaking his head, Danny firmly replied, "It's certain."

"Russian Mafia? That's a tough bunch of guys." Frank grinned.

He had a brief exchange of fire with the Russians before. Those guys liked to fight to the death.

"We have to go straight to Kingpin and stop him." Frowning, Matt spoke up. He then turned his head to Ip Man, "Master Ip?"

Ip Man slightly smiled and unhesitatingly said, "Since it's about Jiu You, I'm coming along."

Nodding, Matt then turned his head to the cowboy, Luke, who was on the other side.

This person had been silent ever since he revealed his amazing marksmanship.

Sensing the glance from the crowd, Luke gently pulled the tip of his hat down a bit and spoke in a relaxed tone, "I've never had much to say about a fight."

"This is a dangerous fight after all. If you're not careful, you might die." Cage reminded him.

At those words, Luke gently curled the corners of his own mouth. The toothpick on his lips tilted upwards, "I've always had good luck. "

"I don't believe in luck. I only believe in the weapon in my hands." Luke's careless attitude aroused Frank's dissatisfaction, but remembering the other party's impressive marksmanship, he suppressed his emotions and replied with a stern expression.

"That's because you don't have enough luck."

Hearing the Punisher's words, Ryan, who was acting as Luke, silently replied in his heart. He then looked down at [Lucky Luke]'s background on the system's card.

After some experimentation on his part, he found that Luke's [Lucky One] skill was a little more potent than he had originally thought.

　　...

"Useless waste?"

On the top floor of the Fisk Building, Manhattan.

Hearing the report from Bullseye, Kingpin tightened his grip on the cane, but his face remained expressionless.

"Is that really what he said?"

Bullseye nodded. Although Kingpin didn't say much, Bullseye could tell that he wasn't as calm as he appeared to be.

"It seems that I underestimated his power. After all, he is a member of Jiu You."

Turning in silence, Kingpin strode over to the large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the night view in Hell's Kitchen.

"Has the message been passed on?"

"It's been handed over to them, just as you instructed. By now, the Defenders should all know about the Russians."

With Danny's ability, it wasn't easy to get information about Kingpin. Even though he was worth a lot of money, there were many things in this reality that couldn't be done with money alone, especially at the moment when Hell's Kitchen's future was uncertain. No one would want to divulge information about Kingpin and incur his wrath; unless he intended to leak that information.

At Bullseye's answer, an icy smile finally appeared on Kingpin's stoic face.

"Didn't he think his opponent was too weak? Then the Russian Mafia and the Defenders should be able to meet his demands if he survives."

"If something does go wrong... what about Jiu You?" In response, Bullseye was slightly worried.

"I don't think Jiu You cares too much about whether that guy is dead or alive because a dead pawn will never be as valuable as the one that's alive. "