Chapter 6: Daredevil's First Whisper
Matt could hear the city breathing.
Even in the dead of night, Hell's Kitchen pulsed with life—cars growling in the distance, arguments through thin apartment walls, the ever-present hum of a world that never really slept.
But tonight… something was off.
He stood on the rooftop of a five-story tenement, dressed in black, the city lights casting a red tint through his glasses. His cane was folded and tucked away; right now, he wasn't a lawyer.
He was the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.
And he'd heard something interesting from a whisper on the street.
Earlier that day, an anonymous tip had been dropped at Nelson & Murdock's front door. No return address. No explanation. Just a flash drive.
Inside?
Footage.
Grainy warehouse security camera files. Six armed men. Smoke. Chaos. One man—blurred, wearing a hood—moving like a ghost. Systematically taking down Fisk's operatives.
And then disappearing without a trace.
Matt hadn't needed enhanced vision to recognize the signs: this wasn't random. This was surgical. Controlled. Precise.
Someone had declared war on Fisk's network.
And Matt wanted to know who.
Elsewhere, Adam was reading the headlines with a coffee in hand:
"StarkTech Stolen, Mysteriously Recovered: Anonymous Tip Leads NYPD to Warehouse Bust"
He smirked.
"I wonder how long before the Devil starts sniffing around."
The emotional spike from the warehouse raid had boosted his stats further than expected—but now came the second phase of the plan: passive emotion farming.
Let them feel curiosity. Let them feel frustration. Let them chase shadows while the system counted every flicker of intrigue like coins in a vault.
[Minor Intrigue Detected – Matt Murdock]
Reward: +$200
[Medium Curiosity Detected – Matt Murdock]
Reward: +1 Charisma
Emotional Anchor: Established – "Shadow in the Smoke"
He pocketed his phone and walked down into a private storage unit he'd rented with his system cash. Inside sat the real prize from the raid: salvaged StarkTech modules, including a low-yield arc battery, miniaturized processors, and encrypted blueprints.
Adam began tinkering, mentally mapping out a device that didn't yet exist in 2007.
"I'll need something wearable. Compact. Power-efficient. Maybe reactive plating... and—huh. Maybe a kinetic stabilizer with integrated AI support."
[Self-Directed Intrigue Detected]
Reward: +1 Intelligence
Talent Fragment: Prototype Design (5%)
He grinned.
"Let's see what SHIELD thinks when they realize their stolen prototypes are being improved by a nobody."
Meanwhile, Matt stood at the edge of the warehouse site that afternoon, sniffing the faint trace of burnt ozone. He heard cops muttering about vigilantes, but this wasn't a normal attack.
Whoever did this knew what they were doing.
Fast. Quiet. Precise.
It wasn't his style… but it was effective.
Matt clenched his jaw.
"This city doesn't need more ghosts."
But something inside him buzzed. Not fear. Not anger.
A challenge.
[Medium Intrigue Detected – Matt Murdock]
Reward: +1 Stamina, +$400
From a distance, Adam watched him leave.
"That's two emotional spikes. He's either going to like me… or hunt me."
He flipped his notebook to a fresh page.
[Current Stats:]Strength: 13
Intelligence: 16
Stamina: 9
Charisma: 10
Luck: 0 (Progress: 2/10)
[Talent Fragments:]
Astrophysics – 12%
Cooking – 1%
Emotional Insight – Basic
Streetwise – Basic
Negotiation – 7%
Intimidation – 4%
Advanced Engineering (3%)
Urban Combat (4%)
Lie Detection Resistance – 6%
Prototype Design (5%)