Chapter 132: Already Caught

Chu Cheng picked Harborview City as the new location after carefully analyzing crime rates and case details in various cities with help from Friday.

Just like cats catch mice and dogs chase bones, superheroes need criminals to fight. If a city doesn't have any crime, there's no need for heroes.

Gotham City and Batman are a perfect example. Batman became who he is thanks to Gotham's high crime rate and Arkham's endless supply of villains.

Without those, Batman wouldn't have gained all his experience and become the hero who he is.

So, choosing a new city wasn't something to take lightly. It needed to have enough crime to keep things interesting. Harborview City caught their attention.

Even though it's not close to Jiangdu, it's not too far either. The crime rate isn't the highest, but at the end of the year, the criminals in Harborview City really make a name for themselves.

Harborview City is economically advanced, and the people here don't hesitate to spend money—especially on hitmen. This city is a hotspot for world-class assassin organizations, who have practically monopolized the business here.

Only top-tier groups can operate in Harborview City; second-rate hitmen don't even stand a chance.

Sure enough, it didn't take Chu Cheng long to intercept an encrypted call from a hitman brother duo.

At first, he didn't have high hopes for these two. His small team of heroes had pretty much taken over Jiangdu, dealing with infected people, superhumans, and even non-human monsters. But they hadn't come across serious hitmen before.

Thanks to movies and video games, Chu Cheng, like many gamers, thought Hitmen were powerful and mysterious.

When the two hitmen got off the plane, they looked cool and confident, matching the image Chu Cheng had in mind. But when they started fighting, they were disappointingly weak.

For Cassandra, these two were no different from the usual low-level thugs she easily takes down. It was a quick, simple job, almost boring.

After dealing with the hitmen, Chu Cheng switched to Daredevil and continued exploring the new city. The devil, with his human radar abilities, was an expert at finding trouble. Jiangdu was already thoroughly cleaned up, leaving little for the Devil to do, so Chu Cheng brought him along to explore Harborview City.

As expected, Daredevil soon found several points of interest marked with exclamation points.

Chu Cheng, controlling Daredevil, approached one of the marks, crouching on a high spot to focus on enhancing his hearing, listening through Daredevil's earpiece.

"It's impossible for me to stay cooped up in this small room like you asked, Director Li," said a slightly older, heavier man standing in the middle of a large, luxurious living room, looking uneasy.

Even though there were several walls between him and Chu Cheng's observation point, it didn't stop Chu Cheng from "seeing" him, thanks to Daredevil's abilities.

The room was richly decorated with a huge crystal chandelier and priceless antiques among the expensive furniture. Every detail spoke of the owner's wealth.

"Sorry, Mr. Gong, but the Police Department has to consider your safety," replied Director Li from Harborview City's Police Department, standing in the same room. His tone was rushed and a bit impatient, clearly frustrated by Mr. Gong's lack of cooperation.

"The intelligence we intercepted says the most dangerous assassin in the world has set his sights on you. He could be on his way to Harborview City right now."

"So, you're telling me your police department can't keep me safe?" President Gong, a heavyset man, frowned.

"What I'm saying is, we'll do what we can. But this time, we're dealing with one of the deadliest killers out there, someone who's been on the move globally for years.

A few years back, he came to Harborview City and targeted someone high-profile. Back then, the police department threw everything they had at protecting the target, but they still couldn't save him."

President Gong went silent, clearly shaken by the assassin's reputation.

Chu Cheng, watching from his screen, could sense the seriousness of the situation.

He was starting to think that choosing Harborview City as a new location in his game was a great idea. In just one night, he'd already encountered two groups of killers. Now, hearing that the most dangerous one in the world might be involved, his interest piqued.

Every man has a desire to conquer. Some like scaling mountains; others enjoy exploring new terrains. For a gaming geek like Chu Cheng, nothing beats taking on a tough boss or a challenging mission. Hearing about this "world's most dangerous" killer got him excited.

Even with the title "the most dangerous in the world," Chu Cheng figured this guy had to be on par with someone like Deathstroke—at least close to that level.

Then Director Li continued, "The killer's codename is 'Venomous Bee.' He's from the top assassin organization, 'Black Sun.' It's said he's never missed a target, but today, we're going to change that."

Chu Cheng began to think. The name Black Sun... Venomous Bee... It sounded familiar.

"Sounds like they're talking about them, sir," Friday said, pulling up photos of two killers on the screen.

Chu Cheng: "..."

Weren't these the same killers he dealt with at Paper Lake earlier?

The world's most dangerous killers? That's it?

Chu Cheng felt let down. It was like clicking on a promising livestream link only to find it was all just bait.

The threat had passed, and they had obviously cleared this level. So, Chu Cheng lost interest and logged out.

Director Li, still on the call with President Gong, reassured him, "Don't worry, I've fought him before. This time, as soon as the Venomous Bee shows up, we'll make sure he doesn't leave...

...uh, hold on, I'm getting a call."

Director Li stepped aside and answered.

"It's me... yes, I'm with President Gong... you said...

...What?"

Director Li's eyes widened, disbelief written all over his face.

"The Venomous Bee has been... caught???"

…

All in all, Chu Cheng was pleased with his first day exploring Harborview City. Even though the killers were a bit underwhelming, he felt there was potential here.

Of course, it could also be that the crime rate in Harborview City had dropped, so there wasn't always something happening. But compared to his previous experiences, Harborview City felt like a brand-new, untapped playground. He was eager to dive in.

However, today's main task was exploration and reconnaissance. Chu Cheng decided to leave Daredevil and Batgirl in Harborview City while he switched back to Batman and flew his fighter jet back to Jiangdu.

"Friday, show me where Agent Luo is, whether he's at home or at headquarters. We might drop by later."

Detective Luo Yajun had pretty much become Batman in Chu Cheng's eyes, and to him, Luo was like their insider at the madhouse. If there was something Chu Cheng needed to ask, Luo was the go-to guy.

Friday quickly processed the request and returned with news.

"Agent Luo Yajun is in the cemetery."

Chu Cheng was taken aback.

His first thought was that Luo might be on the airship. But then he realized that the nickname "grave" was something he hadn't shared with anyone, so how would Friday know?

"You mean he's on the airship?" Chu Cheng asked.

"No, sir. I said he's in the cemetery."

Friday pulled up the map, showing the exact location.

"The cemetery in the 39th district of Jiangdu."

Chu Cheng: "?"