On the mountaintop, Alan was leisurely enjoying life. But down at the foot of the mountain in New York, chaos reigned.
In a large hall, Kingpin sat in a big chair, gripping his cane with both hands. In front of him stood ten men. They were all dressed differently—some in suits like upper-class gentlemen, others with tattoos resembling thugs, and some were obese with menacing faces.
But all ten of them had been Kingpin's loyal followers for many years, having climbed up the ranks together from small-time thugs to their current positions.
"You all know what happened today," Kingpin said, his eyes glinting with murderous intent as he scrutinized the ten men. Even he found it hard to believe that the person who betrayed him could be among these ten.
But whoever managed to gather so much incriminating evidence against him and deliver it so precisely to each victim's hands had to be someone who was involved in those dirty deeds.
Who else could it be?
Kingpin had considered whether it could be Nick Fury, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He still held some value for Fury. As long as Kingpin was around, the underground of New York would remain stable.
Moreover, he could handle the dirty work that even S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't touch.
As long as he remained useful to Nick Fury, Fury wouldn't make a move against him. This was how Kingpin had managed to survive and even thrive in New York for so many years without any real trouble.
The ten men glanced at each other, uncertain. Finally, the man in the suit stepped forward and said, "Boss, this is clearly someone trying to take us down. And they've prepared well. To gather so much information and release it so precisely shows that the other side has been planning this for a long time."
If he knew that Red Queen had collected all the evidence in just one morning, he wouldn't have said that.
Kingpin nodded in agreement. "So, do you think this was done by an outsider... or by someone within our own ranks?"
As he spoke the last sentence, Kingpin's eyes gleamed with cold light, staring straight at the man in the suit.
The man in the suit felt a chill down his spine as Kingpin's murderous gaze bore into him. His voice trembled as he responded, "I-it's hard to say, Boss... But to gather so much evidence, it's likely someone from within."
Saying these words seemed to drain all the strength from the man in the suit. Under Kingpin's oppressive presence, his voice grew quieter and quieter.
The others all bowed their heads, too afraid to speak. At a time like this, saying the wrong thing could be fatal. They knew all too well what Kingpin was capable of.
These ten men had been with Kingpin the longest and knew him the best. They were well aware of when to speak and when to stay silent. A single wrong word in front of Kingpin could mean death, especially in such a sensitive time.
Seeing their cautious demeanor, Kingpin slowly said, "You all go investigate. Find out who it is, and report directly to me."
"Yes, Boss," the ten men responded in unison.
Seeing that Kingpin had nothing more to say, they quietly left the hall, understanding that staying any longer could be dangerous.
After the ten men left, Kingpin sat in his chair, pondering who could be behind this.
At that moment, a woman wearing a seductive bikini emerged from behind Kingpin.
"Boss, the hot spring is ready for you."
"Hmm," Kingpin grunted as he stood up.
Despite the current chaos, his daily routine wouldn't change.
Every day, without fail, he soaked in the hot springs with his maids. According to him, it helped him stay clear-headed and completely rational.
In the hot spring, as the maids attended to him, Kingpin's mind gradually emptied, and the day's troubles began to fade.
It didn't matter—these were just ordinary lawsuits. His legal team would handle them.
As long as his big business deals remained untouched, everything was still within his control.
...
New York City.
New York Harbor.
This is one of the largest external ports in New York City, where countless goods are imported and exported daily. There are also various smuggled items passing through. As long as they don't cause too much commotion, nothing significant usually happens.
On top of a shipping container, Daredevil, also known as Matt Murdock, used the cover of night to conceal himself while keeping a close watch on two groups of people below. One group was dressed in worker's clothes, while the other wore camouflaged vests resembling military gear.
From the group dressed as workers, two men stepped forward and approached a slightly smaller shipping container. They pried it open. The moment the container was opened, Daredevil extended his heightened senses into the container's interior.
His expression suddenly changed.
Inside the container, there were hundreds of people cramped together. Though he couldn't see their skin color, Matt's senses told him that all the people inside were women!
If he hadn't come here tonight, Matt wouldn't have believed that beneath the glossy surface of New York City, such a dark network of human trafficking could exist.
It was clear that these women couldn't all be from New York. They were likely transported here from other places, using the convenience of New York Harbor. Once prices were agreed upon, they would be shipped to various parts of the world.
Some of these women would be sold to impoverished areas to become wives, others would be sent to underground mines as cheap labor, and some might even end up in unknown laboratories as subjects for human experimentation.
In any case, from the moment they entered the container, a dark and tragic fate awaited them.
Sometimes, due to poor ventilation within the container, they would fall ill and eventually die en masse. Even those who survived would be incinerated to prevent the spread of infection.
This is the dark side of human trafficking.
...