Chapter 23: Welcome to the New Era

Herman Schultz sat in the back of the truck, the chill of the metal seeping through his armor and into his bones. In the past, he would have thought anyone driving a truck to rob a bank was crazy. Did they think this was Batman? Like the Joker using a large vehicle to rob a bank?

But reality was stranger than any movie script.

Kingpin's subordinate, the Black man in a purple jacket known as Prowler, simply tossed him a line: "This gear can't drive a regular car to rob a bank." And Herman couldn't spend another hour putting on his armor in front of the bank. The only solution was to find a truck and sit in the back.

And whether by coincidence or not, this damn Prowler had arranged for an ice cream truck to transport him! The whole truck was even playing ice cream truck jingles!

"Can't you turn off this damn music?!"

Shocker slammed his hand fiercely inside the truck. The driver's voice came through the intercom: "Sorry, buddy, we don't know how to turn it off. It just starts playing when we start the engine."

"FXXK!"

Actually, Prowler wasn't mocking Herman about his armor's heat dissipation issues. Unlike Herman, who was a pseudo-illiterate who couldn't afford school, Prowler was truly illiterate, completely clueless about all sorts of complicated tech gear. The reason for the ice cream truck was simply that it was the only vehicle they had available.

They were robbing the New York United Bank, where Horizon Labs stored a large amount of materials. The "big boss," Kingpin, was very interested in something inside the vault. He needed the best safecracker, and no one was more suitable for the job than Shocker.

The ice cream truck, playing its child-attracting music, arrived at the bank entrance. The two men from the driver's and passenger's seats got out. By the time the bank's surveillance cameras captured two masked men kicking open the glass doors, the roar of shotguns had already shattered the chandeliers.

Herman leapt from the truck. The moment his armored boots hit the ground, the concrete cracked in a spiderweb pattern, but Herman didn't notice. He walked into the bank, where his two accomplices had already secured most of the bank employees.

"The Avengers will be here in three minutes at most, then we won't be able to escape," the driver told Herman. "Can you do it? Three minutes, one lock."

"More than enough, as long as you didn't mess up which vault it is."

Seeing the fierce-looking man in high-tech armor approaching, the bank manager, who had quietly pressed the alarm, swallowed hard, watching Shocker, who had been causing mayhem in the city just two days ago, walk towards him.

"Where is Horizon Labs' vault?"

He hadn't expected Shocker to ask such a simple question, nor had he expected that when Shocker received no answer, he would directly raise his hand and shatter the bulletproof glass in front of the counter, then coolly ask again.

"Where is Horizon Labs' vault?"

The bank manager stumbled and crawled, leading Shocker to the vault. Shocker placed one hand on the vault, and under the bank manager's astonished gaze, the vault door slowly twisted and deformed, then he ripped it off. Shocker threw the torn-off vault door to the ground, seeing his target for this trip.

It was a... glass fish tank?

Why would Horizon Labs' experimental product be a fish tank?

Herman, puzzled, picked up the fish tank-like object. It didn't feel like glass; it seemed to be made of some organic material, with considerable韧性. It was probably a sample of some new material.

He walked out with the "fish tank," signaling Kingpin's men who were on lookout: "Got the goods. Let's go."

"Alright, give me the..."

Kingpin's subordinate was also stunned: "Where did you get a fish tank?"

"Ask the eggheads at Horizon Labs." Herman rolled his eyes under his armor's mask, then shoved the fish tank into Kingpin's subordinate's hands: "Here's your stuff, take it back. I'll draw the attention of any incoming Avengers. We'll split up."

The robbery was completed smoothly, surprisingly smoothly, even to Herman. He activated his vibration waves and quickly bounded away, using this convenient but road-damaging method to leave the bank. This super-criminal would leave a trail of destruction for those annoying superheroes, allowing his other subordinates to take the stolen goods back to Hell's Kitchen.

On this day, New York City's crime rate increased by 400% year-on-year, almost all of them bank robberies. Several of them featured Shocker's presence, but no one could confirm which robbery he was in before he actually showed up. As a result, the Avengers couldn't catch him.

"Alright, let's summarize. We now have a Rambo, and he's only different from the real Rambo in one thing besides luck, and that's that so far, no matter what kind of lock it is, his fists can break through it."

Tony sat at the conference table, looking at the crime map where red markers spread like herpes across New York, expressing what could only be described as annoyance and exhaustion. The Captain also sighed.

Hank was more focused on the technological aspects. He found that Shocker had surprisingly good taste, robbing only technological prototypes and data, and most of them weren't even weapons.

"And at the same time, the number of bank robberies in New York skyrocketed. It's clearly a cover for Shocker; only the banks he personally hit are the real targets. Most of the stolen items are experimental products from various labs, and a significant portion of them haven't even been patented."

"Someone hired Shocker, and the purpose is these tech products. Based on what we know about Herman Schultz, he's very confident in his own technology and wouldn't casually use others'. Nor could he mobilize so many people at once."

The Captain said, pulling up a list of various New York underground gangs. Generally, these weren't within the Avengers' jurisdiction, but they needed to know who hired Shocker.

"Hammerhead, Tombstone, Serpent Society... Do we have any specific suspects?"

The Captain said, seeing Kingpin's avatar slide onto the holographic projection.

"I am honored that you could join us, Mr. Schultz."

On the dining table in front of the Kingpin, the Emperor of Hell's Kitchen, were exquisite dishes and fine wines Herman had never seen before. Kingpin himself was incredibly muscular, like a wall. Herman wasn't wearing his armor, so he seemed even smaller in front of Kingpin. But he doubted he'd look as robust as the man before him even if he were in his armor.

"Mr. Fisk, I am honored to work for you," Herman said, watching Kingpin feast, and introducing himself: "I was born in Harlem, and to us, you are..."

"Thank you." Kingpin smiled, picking up his knife and fork, interrupting Herman: "I'm glad you can acknowledge my past... achievements." He waved a hand, making a somewhat inappropriate gesture: "But now it's a new era. Everyone knows the old ways don't work anymore. So, I need you to help me pick the locks of those geniuses and see what ideas they have for the future."

Kingpin finished and clapped his hands. Standing in the shadows, Kingpin's confidant in the purple jacket, the man calling himself Prowler, placed the fish tank Herman had brought on the corner of the table. Then, a thin man was led in.

"In this era, anything can create miracles, like this... Explain it, Mr. Beck?"

"Oh, yes, alright, Mr. Fisk."

The timid, thin white man gestured awkwardly, explaining incoherently: "Everything we see is actually light. The reflection of light creates everything. So, uh, I, light is an image. If we can manipulate light..."

"Relax, Mr. Beck." Kingpin smiled, cutting his salmon, while gesturing for Herman to eat as well: "I don't understand much about science, so can you explain directly what this thing you want is for?"

"Oh, right."

The man called Beck was almost spaced out, but still meekly explained: "It's just a projector, but the target of the projection isn't any physical entity, but light particles. It can directly change the manifestation state of light particles. This means that if this technology is completed, it can create three-dimensional projections anywhere that look real but aren't actually there..."

"Thank you, Mr. Beck. Take him to rest."

Kingpin waved his hand, having Beck escorted away: "Just imagine this... projector. If our people can complete it, we'll be able to show people whatever we want them to see. For example, a Spider-Man who burns, kills, and loots, or a group of Avengers massacring civilians in a foreign country. People might not believe rumors, but they will believe what they see."

"Welcome to the new era, Mr. Herman."