Marvel: The Sole Player

Frank didn’t care at all; even with the katana still impaled in his stomach, he stood straight up.

He glanced at Darian and said, "Thanks."

Darian waved it off and asked, "Why are those ninjas from The Hand hunting you?"

Frank was silent for a few seconds, then decided there was no point in hiding it and spoke: "Because I discovered their secret."

"What secret?" Darian pressed.

Frank’s voice turned cold: "They’ve built an altar in the New York underground."

"An altar?" Matt’s brow furrowed deeply.

Frank nodded with a grim expression, the ferocity in his tone impossible to hide: "That’s right. Those pieces of trash bought a group of suitable people from the gangs to use their blood for some kind of sacrifice ritual."

Darian was curious: "Who are they sacrificing to?"

Frank said, "Something called ’The Beast’."

"It’s actually The Beast?"

Matt was instantly shocked.

Darian turned to Matt, surprised: "You know about this thing?"

Matt nodded, his tone quite serious: "I know a little. My teacher, Stick, mentioned it before. It’s an evil god worshipped by The Hand. It’s said to be incredibly powerful and can grant humans supreme power. The Hand calls those who can host The Beast ’Black Sky’. Whoever becomes the Black Sky becomes the leader of The Hand."

Darian rubbed his chin upon hearing this: "So, the reason those ninjas from The Hand can resurrect is all because of this ’Beast’ thing?"

He didn’t doubt the existence of this Beast; the fact that those ninjas could come back to life was living proof.

Kill one and they stand right back up; even when their flesh is beaten into pulp, they can resurrect. Such a powerful ability could probably only be explained by a so-called evil god.

If that was the case, this ’Beast’ thing was indeed not simple.

In his memory, the ability to resurrect the dead was something only someone like Hela could do; if Wanda’s Chaos Magic was trained to a certain level, it might be possible too.

Regardless, any character involved with resurrection was never simple.

Frank said fiercely, "I don’t care what it is. If it’s guilty, it must die!"

He wasn’t afraid of any evil god at all.

To him, all fear stemmed from a lack of firepower. Once he went back and prepared properly with enough ammunition, he’d make that evil god taste what metal poisoning felt like.

Darian asked, "Did you see the altar with your own eyes?"

Frank shook his head: "No, I found out by accident. I was just about to investigate when those scumbags discovered me."

"It looks like we need to find an insider from The Hand to question, but how do we lure them out?"

Darian pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked at Matt and Frank: "By the way, are you guys wanted by The Hand?"

Matt didn’t understand why he was asking but nodded anyway: "We are. Why?"

It was common for street heroes like them to be wanted. After all, they had ruined the business of many underworld forces. Those gang bosses wanted them dead and almost every gang had a secret bounty on their heads.

Darian chuckled: "I could tie you guys up and take you to The Hand to collect the bounty, using that to lure the snake out of its hole."

Matt was stunned: "Would that actually work?"

Darian nodded with certainty: "Of course. I’ve had a bounty on me before, so I had someone tie me up to collect the money, then I escaped on my own. I did it several times and made a decent bit of pocket change."

Matt: "..."

Frank: "....."

You can actually play it like that?

Matt shook his head: "No, you just saved us. If we’re suddenly caught now, they’ll definitely be suspicious."

"True."

Darian nodded, realizing he had been careless.

However, Matt suddenly added: "But I have a friend—well, to be precise, an ex-girlfriend. She happens to be wanted by The Hand as well."

In an inconspicuous abandoned factory in New York.

Two fingers of The Hand, Madam Gao and Murakami, were currently standing face-to-face.

"Murakami, what do you want with me this time?" Madam Gao asked coldly.

Murakami was all smiles: "Madam Gao, I’ve captured Elektra."

"Oh?"

Madam Gao’s expression softened slightly: "How did you catch her?"

Murakami smiled: "I posted a high bounty on the dark web. Someone took the job and caught her. They’re already on their way."

Madam Gao didn’t look happy; instead, she stared at Murakami suspiciously: "Are you sure there won’t be a mishap like last time?"

Previously, Darian had scammed a lot of bounty money from them, making them a laughingstock.

Madam Gao was fine, but Murakami, who was directly involved, saw his status in The Hand plummet. They were both traumatized by such incidents.

"It won’t happen."

Murakami shook his head with certainty: "Don’t worry. This time there’s only one person. He calls himself Deadpool and is a mercenary. Plus, I’ve brought extra men and equipment. Even if something unexpected happens, we can handle it."

Madam Gao felt a bit more at ease after hearing that: "That’s good. Elektra is very important to us; she’s the most suitable candidate for the Black Sky. As long as we catch her, Alexandra will surely be satisfied. When that time comes, your status will return, or even be higher."

"Hai!"

Murakami was ecstatic and boasted boldly: "If anything goes wrong this time, I’ll commit Seppuku to apologize with my life!"

Soon, the sound of footsteps came from outside the abandoned factory.

A figure in a red uniform, fully armed and wearing a Panda-eye mask, walked in. Slung over his shoulder was a woman—it was Elektra.

Murakami went up to meet him: "You’re Deadpool?"

The man nodded: "That’s right, I’m Deadpool. Here’s the person you wanted. I’ve brought her."

Murakami glanced at Elektra on his shoulder and saw she seemed to be unconscious. He asked curiously, "How did you catch her?"

The man replied cheerfully, "I posted a lower bounty on another website, and someone took the job and caught her for me."

Murakami: "..."

Wait, you can outsource this kind of work!?

The man urged, "Pay the bounty first, then I’ll hand her over to you."

Murakami nodded and tapped on his phone a few times.

Then, the man received a notification that the money had been sent.

He smiled and said, "Straightforward. Here she is."

As soon as he finished speaking, he threw Elektra from his shoulder toward Murakami.

Murakami instinctively reached out to catch her.

But just as Elektra was in mid-air, she suddenly snapped her eyes open, her gaze sharp as a blade. She exerted force from her waist, and a long leg whipped out like a gale, kicking Murakami hard in the face.

Murakami didn’t have time to react at all. He took the kick squarely in the face and flew backward like a broken kite, slamming heavily onto the ground and sliding several meters. Blood immediately seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"You—!"

Madam Gao was startled and looked at the two of them warily.

At that moment, the disguise on Deadpool’s body faded away bit by bit, revealing his true form.

He grinned and greeted them with a smile: "Long time no see."

This Deadpool was actually Darian in disguise.

He had specifically sought out Matt’s ex-girlfriend, Elektra, for help, intending to lure out the members of The Hand.

Elektra had been fed up with being chased by The Hand lately, as they were constantly causing her trouble, so she readily agreed to cooperate with Darian.

"It’s you again, you bastard, causing trouble!"

Murakami struggled to get up, and the moment he saw Darian’s face, his anger hit the roof.

He never expected that this time Darian would change his tactics. Instead of pretending to be captured to scam the bounty, he had disguised himself as a mercenary and teamed up with Elektra to trick him.

He had fallen into the same trap one after another.

He’s really playing me for a fool!

Madam Gao was also speechless and gave Murakami a fierce glare: "Murakami, you’d better prepare for your Seppuku."

Murakami: "..."

It was over; in his excitement earlier, he had spoken too boldly.

Hoping to make up for his failure, Murakami pointed at Darian and Elektra and ordered sharply: "Kill this guy! Keep the woman alive!"

As his words fell, black-clad ninjas emerged one by one from the dark corners of the factory.

Their footsteps were light and silent. Each held a sharp katana, the blades glinting with a cold light in the dim environment. Without a word, they rushed toward Darian and Elektra.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!

Darian stood his ground without moving, as a sudden burst of gunfire erupted from outside the factory.

Frank, wearing his black shirt with the white skull print, held a machine gun in both hands and unleashed a hail of bullets at the charging ninja army.

Crash!

A factory window was suddenly smashed, and Matt flipped inside.

He rolled upon landing to absorb the impact, then pulled out two red batons and began smashing them against the nearest ninjas.

Seeing this setup, Murakami and Madam Gao finally realized they had been trapped.

"These evil Superheroes are truly, truly wicked!"

Murakami roared in fury, his face turning livid.

He couldn’t understand why scheming wasn’t the exclusive right of villains.

How did they end up falling into someone else’s trap every single time?

Madam Gao’s expression was also ugly as she cursed coldly: "Shut up! You disgraceful thing, your people really can’t be relied upon!"

Murakami’s face turned red from the insult, but he couldn’t argue. He could only grit his teeth and roar at the nearby ninjas: "Don’t hold back! Aside from that woman, kill everyone else! Let them know the consequences of offending The Hand!"

Upon receiving the order, the ninjas’ eyes instantly turned blood-red, and their offensive became even more ferocious.

Even when hit by Frank’s machine gun, they quickly stood back up. Their wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye as they threw themselves back into the fight.

Several ninjas broke through Frank’s wall of fire and reached Darian, raising their katanas to slash at his head.

Snap!

A white light exploded from Darian’s body. The katanas that slashed at him shattered into several pieces the moment they touched his head, without harming even a single strand of his hair.

He reached out and grabbed the head of the foremost ninja. Ignoring the ninja’s struggles, he lifted him like a basketball and hurled him toward Murakami and Madam Gao.

The ninja’s body whistled through the air like a cannonball, flying toward the two.

Sensing the danger, Murakami and Madam Gao quickly dodged to either side, barely avoiding the strike.

Boom!!

With a loud crash, the ninja slammed heavily into the wall, becoming embedded in it like a 3D mural.

But before the two could catch their breath, a second, third, and fourth... ninja after ninja were used by Darian as human cannonballs, hurled one after another.

What kind of monster is this, playing with people like they’re balls!?

Murakami and Madam Gao felt their scalps tingle as they desperately dodged left and right, not even having time to take a breath.

Their skills weren’t bad, especially Madam Gao’s. Although she leaned on a cane, her body was as light as a swallow, flipping and jumping around in a way that didn’t look like an elderly person at all.

However, the ninjas Darian threw became faster and more frequent, making their dodging increasingly difficult.

Finally, Murakami failed to dodge in time and was struck hard in the chest by a flying ninja. He was sent flying like he’d been hit by an out-of-control truck, slamming heavily into the wall.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling as if his internal organs had shifted. He twitched all over from the pain.

"You... you bastard!"

Veins popped on Murakami’s face as a cold, black mist suddenly emanated from him, quickly enveloping his entire body.

He slowly climbed down from the wall, his bones making cracking sounds. His injuries were rapidly healing, and his eyes gradually turned pitch black with no whites left, looking incredibly eerie.

Darian raised an eyebrow: "You can transform too?"

"This is the power granted by The Beast."

Murakami felt he was incredibly strong at this moment, with inexhaustible strength in his body, as if he could easily punch a hole through an ox.

He glared at Darian with murderous intent overflowing from his eyes: "Today you will surely die. I will tear you into ten thousand pieces!"

The next moment, he slammed his feet against the ground, rushing forward at extreme speed to throw a punch at Darian.

Thump!

With a muffled sound, Darian raised his palm and effortlessly caught Murakami’s punch.

The expression on Murakami’s face instantly froze, his eyes widening: "How... how is this possible!?"

Darian gave a contemptuous smile: "How can this borrowed power of yours compare to the strength I’ve earned day after day through sweat and effort?"

As he spoke, he suddenly exerted force with his palm.

Crack!

With a crisp sound of bone breaking, Murakami’s fist was crushed on the spot.

"Aaaaah—!"

Murakami let out a heart-wrenching scream.

He never expected that even after receiving a power boost, he would still be so vulnerable before Darian.

Whoosh!

Just then, a sharp gale suddenly attacked from the side.

Without even looking, Darian reached out with his other arm and accurately caught the incoming cane.

The force behind it was actually even greater than Murakami’s.

He turned his head to see Madam Gao.

"Is this the kind of person who needs someone to give up their seat on the bus?" Darian quipped.

Seeing her sneak attack fail, Madam Gao gave her wrist a slight twist. A strange and powerful force traveled along the cane, actually managing to shake Darian’s palm off.

Darian’s eyelids twitched: "Is this Martial Art?"

Madam Gao retracted her cane and stepped back a few paces, smiling as she spoke in awkward tone: "Young man, you have some sharp eyes. It seems you also know rules of warriors. Actually, there’s no need for us to fight. As the saying goes, ’When fellow countrymen meet...’"

Darian chimed in smoothly, "...they stab each other in the back?"

Madam Gao: "...."

***************************

Thoughts on where the plot is heading? Let me know in the comments! If you’re enjoying the ride, please leave a quick review and toss a few Power Stones my way. Every bit of support means the world! 🙌