The universe where Spider-Man died had a gloomy sky, making one worry that a heavy downpour could fall at any moment, yet there was no certainty, leading to the dilemma of whether to bring an umbrella or not.
It was like trying to guess a woman's mood, unsure if it would rain or not.
Hopefully it won't rain, especially a heavy rain, because rain is something criminals love; it can quickly wash away their traces, thought Daredevil Matt Murdock, who had just finished his day job and was preparing for his second job.
As a blind man, if he hadn't received rigorous training from Stick since childhood, constantly developing his physical potential, and ultimately training a unique "Bio-Radar" mechanism, allowing him to perceive his surroundings to the fullest extent even without eyes, he would probably hate rainy days the most.
Whoosh! Daredevil skillfully climbed onto a window, carefully listening to the sounds beyond the walls, trying to determine if this was Kingpin's criminal hideout.
He heard a faint rustling sound, and a peculiar odor entered his nose.
Daredevil sniffed carefully, unable to determine what the smell was. Perhaps it was the scent of expired ketchup mixed with fresh honey? It wasn't unpleasant; once you smelled it, you'd never forget it.
Looks like this is the place, he knew. Recently, a highly sought-after powerful drug had appeared on the market, capable of extending lifespan with almost zero side effects, something all the wealthy were frantically pursuing.
Naturally, due to limited production capacity and unlimited market demand, the price of this drug had skyrocketed on the black market.
Weyland Corporation's listed price was $100,000 per pill, with a course of seven pills, one pill taken each day for a week, capable of extending lifespan by two weeks.
However, from the second course onward, the life-extending effect would be reduced by 70%, and by the third course, the efficacy would continue to plummet.
But even so, it was still in high demand. For a single pill, countless people were taking risks, hiring professionals to steal, rob, cheat, and ambush, even if the target was an old geezer, they would kill without hesitation.
This led to a surge in work for righteous individuals like Daredevil. During the day, he had to work as a lawyer, dealing with a series of troublesome issues surrounding the drug, and at night, he donned his suit, grabbed his billy club, and combated the various criminal activities arising from it.
Another crime caused by the ALIEN-1 Drug. I wonder which wealthy businessman Kingpin's men are targeting this time. How unlucky, Daredevil thought silently, concealing his presence and quietly infiltrating.
Everyone knew that perhaps the drug that extended lifespan by a few weeks wasn't worth the all-out efforts of various big shots, but considering that this drug was only the first generation, there would definitely be ALIEN-2 and ALIEN-3 later, with stronger effects and longer life extension.
Being able to snatch the drug early for research, and possibly reverse-engineer it, was much better than being controlled by others.
Even if they took a step back, simply increasing lifespan by a few weeks was enough to drive those old guys whose lives were nearing their end crazy. Being able to live a few more days might allow them to wait until Weyland Corporation launched the second and third generation drugs, ultimately achieving continuous life extension.
No one would pass up on lifespan, and when violent means could be used to seize it, crime would naturally surge.
After Daredevil confirmed that these people's transaction involved the blood-stained ALIEN-1, he smashed through the glass and charged in without hesitation.
"Damn it, Daredevil, it's you again!"
A dart was thrown at Daredevil's landing spot, but Daredevil had already drawn his billy club and knocked it away.
"Bullseye, Kingpin actually sent you out. Is he about to die? Otherwise, why would he be so concerned about a drug that extends lifespan by a few weeks?" Daredevil realized it was his old opponent Bullseye, and immediately understood that he was in big trouble.
Bullseye was an extremely burly man, and the helmet he wore was emblazoned with the mark of a target.
"You don't know shit, this is business! This newly emerging business is simply a blue ocean, far more profitable than selling weapons, people, and drugs. The current market price is already $500,000 per pill! And it will be even higher soon!" Bullseye spat, his face twisted.
People like them pursued exorbitant profits, seeking every possible way to achieve their goals through crime.
"You like these drugs so much, you should infiltrate that place and try to steal the manufacturing method. Why don't you go? Are you afraid?" Daredevil adopted a fighting stance and pounced forward. With a few moves, he quickly took down several gang members and engaged Bullseye in a fierce battle.
Bullseye slashed at Daredevil's stomach, and as Daredevil dodged to the side, he flicked his wrist and slashed horizontally, while simultaneously throwing a handful of darts.
He was Bullseye, skilled at using everything around him as a weapon to kill, and his attacks were extremely precise.
But Daredevil was already familiar with his old opponent's tactics, and immediately rolled on the ground to evade the attack. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective.
Bullseye sneered, "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you know what kind of place Weyland Tower is? Don't think it hasn't been established for long, and doesn't have many high-tech devices, but its level of protection is much stronger than Stark Tower and Osborn Tower."
Someone had already had this idea, but it was impossible to succeed no matter what.
Facing the high-tech layout with cameras everywhere, there were still ways to crack it, but facing a bunch of Xenomorphs without even eyes, how could you crack it? Charge up and fight the Xenomorphs? That's called robbery, it doesn't have any technical content, and it's completely different from infiltration.
Moreover, you couldn't rob them, and you'd probably end up sending yourself in. Confused, you'd become a member of the Xenomorphs, and in turn, deal with new intruders, only making the number of Xenomorphs increase nonsensically.
Bullseye thought about this kind of involution, and felt that he wasn't very good at it. He wouldn't do it no matter how much Kingpin paid him.
A few million dollars a month, why risk his life?
"That's true, but I heard that Duval has started publicly recruiting people. They are gradually expanding the company's business. You are very suitable to apply, which means there will be one less scumbag in the world," Daredevil tried to distract Bullseye, but failed.
Bullseye didn't say anything. He recalled Weyland Corporation's recruitment announcement in his mind. He dared to touch his few remaining consciences and say that he had never seen such a ghostly announcement in his life.
Look at what was written on it. In the employee benefits column, there were actually blatant words like "parasitism quota." This kind of honesty made many people not know what to say.
Being parasitized by a Xenomorph? Pui! But when he thought about it, being parasitized would instantly transform him into a superhuman, with all-round improvements in strength, speed, self-healing, senses, and lifespan...
In this increasingly precarious world, where you don't know which will come first, tomorrow or an accident, it was unexpectedly popular, and occupied the headlines of major media outlets for a long time.
Both were top-tier fighting geniuses, and after more than thirty moves, there was still no result.
Originally, their battle would have continued, but Bullseye quickly couldn't keep up. He watched helplessly as Daredevil smashed the metal vial containing more than fifty small pills with a single strike, almost driving him mad.
Rounding it off, that was a hundred million gone in seconds!
Bullseye decided to kill Daredevil, but he had to change his mind and turned to flee.
"If you had come a little earlier or a little later, he wouldn't have escaped. It took me a lot of effort to find him," Daredevil said helplessly, watching Bullseye escape through the window.
"Don't think of me as you, Matt. He won't escape. He's destined to become a part of us," Elektra said, walking in with graceful steps.
Daredevil tilted his head, sensing his former girlfriend from his college days, and said helplessly, "You've changed a lot. The old you would never have said something like that. What do you mean, 'become a part of you'?"
"It means exactly what it sounds like. You always like to wander around Hell's Kitchen. Don't tell me you don't even understand that." Elektra didn't give him any face. She was a very calm woman, but seeing Matt still made her want to lose her temper.
"Without a strong body and enough self-healing ability to handle situations, don't run around the streets like a monkey. It makes me feel like I'm communicating with an immature child."
"My God, are you really Elektra, or is someone impersonating you? I actually heard concern for me from your mouth! It seems that person is very good to you, changing your personality. The good news is, you're still you, not a Xenomorph."
Daredevil slowly retreated, leaning against the wall, sensing the locations of the many Xenomorphs, ready to escape at any moment.
Elektra shook her head, "You misunderstand. Duval wouldn't be interested in someone like me. His vision is more far-reaching than you can imagine. He doesn't have time to waste on me, not even a second."
She said this very calmly, as if discussing something completely unrelated to herself.
"Then it seems I can breathe a sigh of relief. A small fry like me doesn't have to worry about his revenge," Daredevil said, "Even if it means destroying his client's purchase and the valuable drugs that were stolen."
"You don't need to worry about that, or why do you think I'm here? These drugs were bought by Norman Osborn. Whether he takes them back for himself or to crack them, he's our client. If he's robbed, we'll take them back in New York."
"Great, what an amazing service attitude. You're really dedicated when it comes to doing business."
For a moment, Elektra couldn't tell if Matt was mocking or praising her.
Before long, several Xenomorphs returned with a half-dead Bullseye and casually threw him on the ground.
"I'm willing to join the Weyland Corporation and side with Duval! I've had enough of Kingpin!" Bullseye spat out blood, barely managing to say, "I know Duval is sending troops to fight on alien planets. He needs a world-class killer like me, doesn't he?"
Elektra agreed, "Well said, then you can wait to become a Xenomorph and be sent to an alien planet."
"Wait! I meant to say, I want to become a killer who isn't Chestbursted..."
"That's not up to me."
Bullseye was dragged away by the Xenomorphs again. After being taken back to the 93rd floor of Weyland Tower, he would welcome his new life.
"Is the war on alien planets very intense? Even someone like Bullseye has to be used?" Daredevil asked.
Elektra shook her head, "There's no choice. The number of Vampires in the New York area is decreasing. Making effective use of some thugs is also an effective way to use resources, preventing waste."
Daredevil had a bellyful of complaints with nowhere to vent them.
He also noticed that several Xenomorphs were picking up the drugs on the ground, grain by grain, with claws sharper than knives. If the people from Osborn Corporation saw this, they would probably be very gratified.
It was said that Norman Osborn hadn't made a public appearance for a long time, and the outside world suspected that there was something wrong with his health. It wasn't necessarily groundless. Did he need this kind of ALIEN-1 Drug to prolong his life now? "Before you become too wary of me, I want to tell you some unfortunate news: Stick has become a Vampire and is being hunted by Blade, Captain America, and others," Elektra said.
What? Daredevil's expression changed slightly, looking incredulous.
His and Elektra's martial arts teacher had become a Vampire? "Because he was going to die of old age, to extend his life?" Daredevil couldn't help but ask.
But becoming a Vampire, how was this different from joining the Eternals a few days ago? Vampires were Duval's favorite hosts. After New York was finished, Duval would definitely target Vampires in other parts of the world.
"I don't know. All I know is that I have to kill him, let him die with dignity, instead of becoming a freak who lives by sucking human blood." Elektra's voice was cold. This was the greatest mercy she could give Stick.
"What about the The Chaste he leads?"
"It was disbanded two days ago. A large number of people were hunted down and annexed by The Hand."
Daredevil was speechless for a long time. The news was too shocking, causing his brain to shut down.
He watched Elektra turn and leave with the Xenomorphs, hesitated for a moment, and followed, walking side by side with several Xenomorphs. This feeling made him very awkward.
Walking side by side with Xenomorphs without being attacked by these terrifying and deadly creatures? It was like telling a very bizarre science fiction story.
"Where is Stick now?" Daredevil's muscles tensed, wary of the Xenomorphs around him. Although he had heard that Xenomorphs were highly socialized and organized creatures, it didn't stop him from being instinctively vigilant, having never dealt with them before.
The Xenomorphs didn't even look at him, as if he didn't exist at all.
"That guy is in New York, looking for traces of magicians."
"A magician? Why would Stick be looking for a magician?"
"Two possibilities. If he's looking for a Black Magic User, maybe he wants to use Black Magic to remove the Vampire bloodline from his body. If he's looking for a magician from Kamar-Taj, it's to pay respects to the Sorcerer Supreme. According to reliable intelligence, Stick received guidance from the Ancient One in his youth," Elektra said without turning her head.
This made Daredevil even more confused.
What was Kamar-Taj? Who was the Ancient One? He had never heard of them.
It wasn't until the two returned to Weyland Tower that Daredevil gained a preliminary understanding of this reclusive organization of super magicians from Elektra.
He stood at the entrance of Weyland Tower, raised his head, sensed the surrounding environment, and captured every minute particle drifting in the air. He couldn't see, but these minute things could receive far more information than the eyes.
Daredevil could sense that this area was piled up with extremely expensive building materials, extremely thick. He heard that this seemed to be built under the lead of the famous Magneto? He completely believed it.
What truly made Daredevil hesitate was that he didn't sense any negative things here. This was clearly an extremely clean, tidy, and orderly place.
This was really out of place when linked with words like Duval and Xenomorph.
He also heard some ordinary people entering and leaving the building, discussing business in their words? Oh, right, it was about the business of buying and selling drugs.
"Why aren't you going? Others regard Weyland Tower as a monster's nest, but it's not like that. This is a building with advanced construction concepts, beautiful scenery, and even the green area is one of the best in all of New York."
Elektra dropped this sentence and walked up the steps, entering the main entrance.
Daredevil hesitated again and again, but still followed in.
Taking the elevator, they went all the way to the thirteenth floor.
Along the way, Daredevil experienced the thrill of standing shoulder to shoulder with a Xenomorph, riding the elevator with a Xenomorph—as for why the Xenomorph also had to take the elevator, who knew.
Anyway, some ordinary people who entered the building to do business were more able to adapt to this place than he was.
Arriving at the conference room on the thirteenth floor, two people were talking.
Daredevil saw the owner of this place.
His first reaction was to use his radar-like ability to sense Duval. As a result, it was like crashing into a copper wall and iron wall. He felt every nerve in his body was sending out uneasy wails. In the next second, the barrier in front was like a black hole, carrying the suction of devouring consciousness, wanting to devour his entire mind.
But after feeling it carefully again, nothing happened.
"Well, Mr. Duval, it's an honor to meet you. I represent my father in extending greetings to you. You are truly a talented and generous person."
"Of course, I have always been like this. If you are willing to join the Weyland Group, you will have more feelings about my generosity. What do you think, Harry?"
Harry Osborn's face was a little stiff. He just said this half sincerely and half politely, but Duval didn't play cards according to the routine, and opened his mouth to invite him to join.
Harry looked around, looking at the upright Xenomorphs that sometimes walked by and sometimes stood like sculptures, each with a height of at least two and a half meters, brewing a surge of killing intent at any time, and immediately felt a burst of scalp tingling.
"Hahaha, look at your face, this is just a joke. Norman will definitely not allow his son to join someone else's company." Duval patted Harry's shoulder with a smile.
Harry squeezed out a polite smile, thinking that this was not a matter of changing jobs to another company, this was a matter of even the human species, might have to change.
Elektra threw the batch of drugs she had snatched back to Harry, and Harry caught it, and left in a hurry.
Duval stared at Harry's departing figure: "It seems that Norman's situation is very bad. The rumors from the outside world are correct. He is about to die, otherwise he would not send his heir to talk about cooperation with me."
Elektra asked: "What do they want to cooperate on? Asking for Xenomorph secretions? There's no point in talking about that. You said so. Moreover, as companies in the same biopharmaceutical field, direct conflicts will happen sooner or later."
"Of course, things related to Xenomorphs cannot be discussed. I'm thinking about something else."
Duval found it very interesting.
Because, in this universe, there is Osborn Group, there is an old Green Goblin who is about to die, but there is no Spider-Man.
Duval's subtle inquiries made Harry say some information that he thought was worthless. He might still be confused in his heart, why Duval wanted to talk about his high school life. According to Harry, Peter Parker disappeared during a biology exhibition organized by the school, and news of his death came soon after.
This surprised Duval very much. Only he knew how rare this matter was.
Even if the current Peter Parker is still a little kid of a few years old, it doesn't matter. Even if he is middle-aged and becomes an old spider, it doesn't matter.
But he never expected that when the old Green Goblin was about to die, Spider-Man had not yet appeared. It turned out that he had died before his debut?
"It took several months to stabilize, but I didn't expect to learn about this news just as I was preparing to build an intelligence network... But, how did Peter Parker die? Was he bitten by a poisonous spider and couldn't resist it, and died of poison? Or is Spider-Man in this universe Aunt May or Uncle Ben?"
It is entirely possible that Duval still doesn't know the number of the universe he is in.
Even if one day, someone suddenly jumped out and told Duval that this is actually a cancerous universe, and everything in this world will develop towards the Cthulhu style, he can accept it, and instead study the possibility of parasitic eye demons and a group of Marvel Cthulhu gods.
The strong never complain about the environment, and Duval also likes to rise to the challenge.
"What are you thinking about? I haven't seen you so focused in a long time, not even when facing those Eternals," Elektra said, waving her hand in front of Duval with a curious expression.
Duval looked up, "Don't tell Druig about this. If he finds out, he'll think I've had some new enlightenment and will find me at all costs to ask what new truth I've figured out."
Druig? Daredevil memorized the name. Based on his understanding of Duval's faction, the name most likely belonged to that Eternal who betrayed his own kind, after all, he was too famous.
Recently, people online have been analyzing why he betrayed them every day, but no matter how they analyze it, they often come to one conclusion: Duval is truly amazing, so they also want to follow such an amazing person, and it would be even better if they could be a follower who isn't chestbursted or sent to the battlefield.
Damn it, this is almost like the beginning of an evil religion, with young and ignorant fanatics earnestly fantasizing about their imagined Duval, then praying everywhere, wanting to get all the benefits and bear as few obligations as possible.
Daredevil was lost in thought, the scene here subverting his and many others' understanding of the world.
"Matt Murdock, the justice seeker of Hell's Kitchen, a blind lawyer who specializes in defending the poor, welcome. But what are you thinking about?"
Duval wasn't a brutal and bloodthirsty guy, more like a very down-to-earth leader, Daredevil thought, turning to Elektra, his meaning obvious: Did you tell him? "I didn't say anything, but it's not hard for him to find out about you," Elektra shrugged, since she had a Xenomorph in her chest, allowing Duval to know her every move.
"You're famous, and Elektra's former lover, it's hard not to pay attention." Duval smiled and shook hands with Daredevil, as if two ordinary people were having a normal meeting. It would have been even more normal if there weren't Xenomorphs working as security guards around them.
"Thank you for taking care of Elektra, sir, at least she didn't get stuck in The Hand, that's not a good place." Daredevil said.
"Here, you can at least believe one thing: I won't use my approved subordinates as tools, but for some people, I will try to catch them back and squeeze out their greatest value—in terms of their tool-like attributes."
"Like Bullseye?"
"Oh, he's already been parasitized and will soon be sent to the battlefield with the latest batch of Xenomorphs. I've already talked to the gatekeeper of Asgard." Duval's tone was as if he was discussing what to eat for dinner later.
Daredevil felt a chill in his heart, once again realizing the gap between people like him and people like Duval, which was an absolute disregard for human life when necessary, completely not treating people as people.
But then again, Bullseye really couldn't be considered a person. He was mercenary, killed countless people, and did all sorts of dirty work for Kingpin. He deserved to die.
Duval poured Daredevil a glass of water, "Just drink this, I don't like tea, coffee, or drinks, and I don't have enough staff to do the job of pouring water yet."
Daredevil touched the glass, it was scalding hot, and then he heard Duval drink the boiling water in one gulp, and immediately fell silent.
Xenomorphs are truly terrifying, he felt out of place here.
"Sir, excuse my bluntness, but I really don't understand why someone of your status would allow Elektra to bring me here." Daredevil couldn't help but ask.
Duval looked at the young hero in surprise, "You were brought by Elektra, so Elektra is naturally responsible for all your words and actions. I won't interfere."
This time, Daredevil was silent again.
"What do you think this place is, a concentration camp? Or an Inquisition? To kill everything that hasn't been approved by me? Don't be ridiculous. Instead of wasting time on that, I might as well think about something more meaningful, like which god can I take down, which extradimensional demon is worth killing." Duval seriously pointed out Daredevil's mistake.
What was all this about? Daredevil felt that his experience was still too shallow, and he had no common language with big shots like Duval, they weren't even on the same wavelength.
Gods? Demons? Elektra felt embarrassed for her ex-boyfriend. There was no way, people who hadn't joined this camp, people who hadn't been parasitized by Xenomorphs, couldn't understand many things here at all.
Druig defected the moment he sensed Duval's profound mind, it wasn't a baseless whim, although it had something to do with Druig's already paranoid personality and naive ideas.
Duval said, "I know you're looking for your mentor Stick and want to kill him. Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in Stick, he's not worth my personal attention, but I'm interested in the person behind Stick."
"What do you need me to do?"
"You can go find Stick as normal, because for some reason, if I go to the Sorcerer Supreme, she might not pay attention to me." Duval said.
"So, if I go through Stick to find this Sorcerer Supreme, she will see you?"
"Of course not, so I don't plan to see her in person." Duval pointed to Elektra, and Daredevil immediately understood.
Using Xenomorphs as an intermediary, very good, Daredevil decided to write this down when he got back. He had grasped another important characteristic of Xenomorphs: using them for wireless communication.
That was quite the joke, he just didn't know if Kamar-Taj had WIFI.
Daredevil wanted to ask why Duval knew that Stick had once studied with the Ancient One, but after thinking about it, he didn't ask.
Elektra took the initiative to explain, "In this world, there are many magicians. Apart from Black Magic Users, most magicians come from Kamar-Taj. They learn a trick or two and return to the secular world. Kamar-Taj never stops them."
So, in this world, the existence of Kamar-Taj wasn't a secret. Many mortals, while chatting and drinking, probably took the words of some third-rate magicians as boasting.
But the question was how to find Kamar-Taj, because without the nod of a magician inside Kamar-Taj, outsiders couldn't even enter the gate.
Magicians who had left Kamar-Taj were of course no exception.
Duval pondered, he should try to talk to the Ancient One, at least confirm what was going on with this universe.
He couldn't always be so passive, Duval didn't like being passive.
Of course, if the Ancient One would be detrimental to him, to be honest, there was a possibility, because the power in Duval's hands was getting stronger and stronger. Theoretically, this also belonged to the power of Earth, but it had already had a substantial impact on the stability of Earth, so Duval kept sending troops to fight for the Asgardians, which was also a path that could be changed at any time.
Even if it really came down to a fight, Duval assessed the forces at his disposal. After much deliberation, he felt that it wasn't impossible to fight, but it would be too dangerous, with too many unpredictable factors. He wouldn't do that unless absolutely necessary.
"Let me see, Ancient One, are you male or female? If it's the female version, that's fine, but if it's the male version Yao (Sorcerer), it means more trouble. I have to make more thorough preparations for the future, and the development plan has to be changed."
After he confirms things with the Ancient One, he should shift his gaze from Earth and move it appropriately outwards, at least to resolve the matters on Asgard's side.
To this day, Duval has cumulatively dispatched more than ten thousand troops, exceeding twice the number he had previously promised to Thor.
It's time to collect on this debt. He has done so much for Asgard, and the Asgardians must repay him well.
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