Hearing Maverick's words, Carter was speechless. The Blood God was great in every way, except he sometimes got a bit carried away.
"It's great that we can take over the Rand Corporation," Carter said.
"However, even if the Hand is controlling it, won't it be tough? Those shareholders won't want their interests harmed."
"The Hand has been using Rand to sell illegal drugs and launder money," Maverick replied with a smile. "Once we have evidence, those shareholders will have to sell the pharmaceutical company to us at a low price if they don't want their shares to become worthless."
"A very low price."
Carter asked again, "What about the funds? It seems the Council of Blood's money has been used to short Stark Industries?"
"Once we take down the Hand, money won't be a problem. We won't be short on funds."
Maverick sipped his tea. Carter understood that this meant the meeting was over. She thought for a moment and asked, "Can you find Tony?"
"Yes, but I don't have the time, and I don't want to go to the Middle East. Ms. Carter, you don't have to worry so much. I've got a feeling Tony won't die so easily."
Maverick said lightly, "Why leave beautiful Manhattan to go eat sand in the Middle East?"
Besides, this is a necessary experience for Tony Stark. Only then can he become the real Iron Man.
"Well then, I'll head back and start planning to take over the Rand Corporation."
Carter didn't say anything more, getting up to leave—she had already gotten the information she wanted. As for asking Maverick to find Tony, that was something S.H.I.E.L.D. should handle.
Maverick asked Natasha to escort Carter, while he himself looked up at the TV in front of him, where news about the Osborn Group was playing.
"The Osborn Group has officially completed the transformation of the city's power grid. Starting tomorrow, they'll use bio-power technology to provide electricity for the entire city. Bio-power generation is not only cheap but also very environmentally friendly..."
Looking at Norman Osborn grinning broadly on TV, Maverick shook his head. When Iron Man returns, the good days for the Osborn Group will come to an end.
Maverick murmured to himself, "Osborn..."
Two nights later, under a bright moon at the Rand Corporation's pier in Hell's Kitchen, two groups were carefully checking everything to avoid an ambush.
The vampires were led by Yeti, with fifty fully armed elites. The Hand was led by the bandaged Nobu Yoshioka, who brought fifty ninjas—these ninjas were also fully armed and looked a bit odd.
After a while, both groups completed their inspections. Then, facing each other, they notified their bosses via radio that everything was clear.
Soon, two cars drove onto the pier from different directions. From the car on the left, an old-fashioned Rolls-Royce, Maverick stepped out with Mercury and Madame Gao.
From the car on the right, a black Toyota, came the four leaders of the Hand: Alexandra, Bakuto, Sowande, and Murakami.
Over a hundred people from both sides confronted each other on the dock. This was the agreed time, place, and number of people.
"Welcome, everyone from the Hand." Maverick laughed, walking forward with Mercury and Madame Gao. The four of them greeted Alexandra with smiles.
"Blood God, we finally meet." Alexandra said.
"This Blood God is still too young; does he really think we'll negotiate with him?" Alexandra thought scornfully. This pier was neutral territory on the surface, but actually owned by the Hand. To receive illegal goods, they had secretly built basements under the pier.
Right now, more than a hundred ninjas were lurking in those basements. As soon as she gave the order, they'd rush out and eliminate the vampires with ultraviolet rays and silver bullets.
Sharing the dragon bone? In their dreams.
Meanwhile, a figure quietly arrived at the pier, hiding carefully behind a container. It was Daredevil, who had followed the ninjas. Tonight, there was going to be a battle.
On the pier, the two groups walked to the center and shook hands. Alexandra said to Maverick, "Blood God, please look after Madame Gao."
"Of course."
Maverick knew what Alexandra meant and nodded. Madame Gao walked toward Alexandra, leaning on her cane. Alexandra met her eyes questioningly, and Madame Gao gave a slight nod.
Alexandra felt reassured. The only variable in this battle was the strength of the Blood God. Nobu Yoshioka had been knocked out by Mercury before and didn't know how strong the Blood God was. Now that Madame Gao agreed with the plan, it meant the Blood God couldn't handle all of them.
Soon, Madame Gao stood behind Alexandra. Just as Alexandra was about to speak, suddenly, three violent explosions erupted underground. The pier shook, followed by flames and thick smoke rising from three locations.
"What the—?"
Alexandra was shocked to see the smoke; it was where the ninjas were hiding. Before she could react, she sensed danger and tried to dodge, but it was too late—a blood-red dagger pierced her back from behind.
As Alexandra was stabbed, two things happened simultaneously. First, a sniper bullet came from the left, hitting Sowande's left thigh, shattering flesh and bone instantly—Sowande's attention had been drawn to the explosions.
Second, five figures surfaced from under the pier, each carrying a rocket launcher. They pulled the triggers simultaneously, and rockets roared into the midst of the ninjas.
The ninjas were blown apart, many dying on the spot before they could even scream.
"Attack."
Before the remaining ninjas could react, the vampire elites, who were prepared, raised their rifles and opened fire. The ninjas fell, screaming one after another.
At the same time, more vampires emerged from the sea to join the battle—they could hold their breath for a long time.
From the explosions to the shooting, only a few seconds had passed, but in those seconds, the Hand suffered heavy casualties.
"The plan went smoother than expected," Maverick noted with satisfaction. Although the situation didn't require him to act personally, to end the battle quickly, he stepped forward to confront Alexandra.
With such a commotion at the pier, the police were probably already on their way.
Maverick didn't waste words. His arm transformed into a three-meter-long blood blade, slashing toward Alexandra.
Madame Gao swung her cane, attacking swiftly while quipping, "Not calling out your attack names anymore?"
Maverick replied, "Someone told me it's unbecoming for a boss to be so flashy."
Alexandra wasn't in the mood for their banter. She was already struggling, and now with Maverick, who was stronger than Madame Gao, she was in real danger. She was nearly struck several times by Maverick's massive blood blade.
In truth, it was thanks to Maverick's lack of combat finesse; otherwise, she'd already be defeated.
Just as Alexandra was desperately defending, Maverick's blood blade suddenly exploded into countless blood arrows. Alexandra was pierced all over, resembling a human pincushion.
Even more terrifying, after the blood arrows hit her, they turned into blood snakes, burrowing into her wounds, making her scream in agony.
Madame Gao struck Alexandra's knee with her cane, causing her to collapse while she sighed, "Your abilities surpass martial arts by far."
"One is supernatural, the other is martial arts; of course they're different."
Maverick's fingers transformed into three short spears, piercing Alexandra's hands and right leg, pinning her to the ground.
Alexandra screamed, losing all her composure. As she struggled against Maverick's invading blood, she roared, "Maverick, Madame Gao, you'll pay for this."
Maverick said seriously, "We probably will. Taking over the Hand's assets means I'll be very busy—might even have to work overtime."
Everyone nearby chuckled. By now, the battle was over. Murakami had followed in Sowande's footsteps, seriously injured and unconscious—though strong, he and Nobu Yoshioka had fought fiercely, both sustaining heavy injuries. In the end, Nobu died, and Murakami was left barely alive.
Bakuto was defeated by Mercury and Yeti. His chest wound was bleeding profusely. Although Mercury and Yeti were slightly injured, they looked excited—they had proven their worth.
As for the other ninjas, over seventy or eighty were dead, and the rest were on the brink.
It could be said that everything went smoothly, just like Frank's tactical predictions. But there was one unexpected event—Daredevil had found Frank, and the two were fighting.
"What gives you the right to take lives like this? They're humans too, you murderers." Daredevil shouted.
"This is war, Red." Frank retorted with disdain, holding a tactical knife as he fought Daredevil. One had heightened senses and uncanny predictions, while the other was battle-hardened with lethal skills.
Black Widow stood by quietly, surprised by the vampires' audacity to use explosives and rockets in Manhattan. Weren't they afraid of drawing attention from higher authorities?
"What's there to fear? Worst case, we spend more money. Besides, it's the Hand who died, not American citizens," she mused.
"There seems to be an issue over there. Yeti, take a few people to check it out," Maverick said, glancing toward Frank. Yeti nodded, leading a few men to assist.
Maverick turned his attention back to Alexandra. He focused on spreading the Purple Man virus, trying to control her quickly.
Alexandra, her face twisted, shouted, "You think you've won?"
Maverick shrugged. "Is there any doubt?"
"Of course you've lost. The Hand doesn't fail. Beast, accept my sacrifice."
Alexandra screamed to the sky. Her body began to glow with a dazzling blood-red light. Then, she started to swell, and the blood spears pinning her were crushed back into liquid.
Not only that, but the blood Maverick had injected into her was also being forced out bit by bit.
"What's happening? Madame Gao, you never mentioned this could happen." Maverick exclaimed, quickly controlling his blood to hide within Alexandra's organs to avoid being expelled.
"I've never seen this before." Madame Gao was equally shocked. She suddenly realized and shouted, "I understand now. Alexandra is sacrificing all the souls of the dead ninjas to the Beast, trading them for power.
"How dare she? This means those ninjas can never be resurrected, and she'll suffer terrible consequences herself."