New York City Harbor.
At that moment, a figure in red crouched silently in a shadowy corner of the docks.
It was Daredevil, real name: Matthew Michael Murdock.
A renowned superhero of the Marvel Universe.
Blinded as a child in a tragic accident, Matt's remaining senses had been heightened to superhuman levels.
He could even hear sounds from several kilometers away.
Since childhood, Daredevil had trained in boxing and hand-to-hand combat, his speed and strength far beyond that of an average man.
By day, he worked as a righteous and sharp-minded lawyer.
By night, he became Daredevil, the vigilante who hunted down criminals in the dark alleys of Hell's Kitchen.
His ears twitched slightly, he had picked up movement nearby.
His expression turned grim.
"Kingpin's here in person…?"
Not long ago, Daredevil had taken down a few mid-level bosses in the underground criminal network.
And from that, he uncovered some alarming intel.
Tonight, a major smuggling operation was going down at the harbor.
The shipment supposedly contained large quantities of "powder" and military-grade weapons.
As a superhero, Daredevil couldn't ignore that kind of threat.
He had prepared in advance and was now lying in wait.
What he hadn't expected
Was that this operation was personally overseen by Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of New York's underworld.
As longtime enemies, Daredevil and Kingpin had crossed paths more than once.
Each battle left its mark.
Though Daredevil had managed to disrupt many of Kingpin's operations, he had often come out of those encounters bruised and beaten.
This time was no different.
From what he could sense, Kingpin had brought a full squad, dozens of armed men standing guard with rifles, alert and ready.
It was clear to Daredevil:
But should he still make a move?
If Kingpin himself had come to oversee the deal, the value of this shipment must be immense.
Otherwise, someone like Fisk wouldn't bother showing up.
"Even if I can't win this fight, I don't have to. Not all victories come from beating the enemy in combat."
"If I destroy the cargo, that'll be enough."
After a brief moment of hesitation, Daredevil made his decision.
He would act. And if things went south, he'd run.
As time passed, several small boats began docking at the pier.
From them, silhouettes emerged, smugglers unloading crates from the vessels.
Kingpin remained in the limo, unmoving, as though the cargo had nothing to do with him.
A few of his men, however, stepped forward to begin inspecting and counting the items.
"That's the stuff," Daredevil muttered to himself, confirming the shipment.
Without delay, he sprang into action.
A dark blur darted forward like a ghost, speeding straight toward the men in black suits.
Moving with perfect stealth and speed, no one noticed his approach.
He swiftly took down the nearest thug from behind with a single strike and snatched the rifle from the man's hands.
Before anyone could react, he disarmed a second guard as well.
Now armed with two rifles, Daredevil dashed toward the dock.
Tucking one weapon under his arm, he gripped the other tightly and opened fire,
Aimed not just at the crates, but also at the boats themselves.
Shooting at the cargo like some amateur wasn't ideal, but it was the only card he had.
If the intel was right and the cargo included explosives or gunpowder, he just might get lucky.
Daredevil's marksmanship, guided by his super-enhanced senses, was shockingly accurate despite his blindness.
Bullet after bullet found its target.
The explosion he'd hoped for never came.
He frowned, but didn't stop shooting.
Across the dock, the guards around the limo finally realized something was wrong.
Bullseye narrowed his eyes at the red figure in the distance and said coldly,
"Follow me. We'll deal with him."
After getting his wounds treated at the hospital, Bullseye had returned to report to Kingpin.
He had told Fisk everything that happened at the bar earlier. The source of this content ɪs novel★fire.net
To be honest, Kingpin didn't buy a word of it.
It just sounded too outrageous.
Carl Smith, that young rich guy? Of course Kingpin had investigated him.
He wouldn't have tried to muscle in on Carl's bar otherwise.
According to the files, Carl was just a wealthy investor, someone who held shares in a few large corporations. A man with some influence, sure,
But nothing Kingpin couldn't handle.
He had even offered a fair price for the bar.
More than fair, really, especially considering Carl's corporate backing.
If Carl didn't have ties to major companies like Stark Industries or Oscorp, Kingpin wouldn't have offered more than a million dollars.
Now that he had extended both money and goodwill, Carl should've taken the deal.
If Carl still refused?
That would mean picking a fight with New York's underground emperor.
And that would be a stupid move.
So he had sent Bullseye ahead to scout the bar, as a courtesy.
Bullseye came back injured, and worse, missing an arm.
He claimed Carl had shot laser beams from his eyes and melted it off.
Kingpin thought the man was just trying to cover for his own incompetence.
Still, the injury was real.
Fisk didn't know what really happened at the bar, and frankly, he didn't have time to care tonight.
The shipment arriving now was far more important, gunpowder and weapons, worth a fortune.
The Carl situation could wait until tomorrow.
No way that spoiled rich kid actually had superpowers.
Which is exactly why,
Bullseye was pissed off.
He'd been humiliated. Badly.
Now someone else was interrupting the deal?
This was the perfect chance to vent.
Bullseye pulled out a blade and hurled it straight at Daredevil.
A twisted smile spread across his face.
Not many people could dodge Bullseye's throwing knives.
Especially at night, and from such a deadly angle.
Daredevil dodged it. Effortlessly.
His finely tuned senses allowed him to read the wind, the motion, even the intent.
His knives never missed.
He gritted his teeth and threw another.
But each one was dodged just as easily.
Daredevil wasn't just a blind man in a costume,
He was a predator in the dark.
And Bullseye had just become the prey.