[TN: Releasing two Chapters, I will be too busy watching the new Demon Slayer movie]
New York City was at peace — at least, that's how it looked on the streets.
The New York branches of the International Gene Cooperation Company, Blume Corporation, Lee Financial, and Atlas had all been completed.
None of the buildings were particularly tall, but they all shared a unified design language — clearly part of the same series.
On the other hand, completing construction in less than half a year was something only Atlas Group could pull off.
The junkyards had been relocated, old utility lines replanned, and the city's roads, power grid, and water systems were repaired.
The lands of defunct industrial companies were annexed and filled with new high-tech factories.
Robots and workers took their places, working in sync as a new day began.
Artificial blood, immunosuppressants, first-generation cyberware, graphene batteries, chips, massive infrastructure…
Too many industries were now back on track. The power of money had jump-started a society paralyzed by the subprime crisis, and smart people were all seeking chances to switch lanes.
Profit is the magic of the real world — once it appears, it works like "mana," turning people's fantasies into reality.
At Atlas Group, Leo was undergoing a physical examination.
[Connors: Leo, the rate of telomere loss in your brain cells is faster than I expected — it's like they're burning out at an accelerated pace.]
[Connors: A tumor… You said you felt one forming, but so far, I haven't detected a large number of cancerous cells.]
The two worlds' bodies weren't completely synchronized. Relatively speaking, in the Marvel world, Leo's body was somewhat safer.
Leo put on his clothes and reviewed the test results — overall, he was healthy, but cancer was still a problem that needed solving.
Martin stood nearby with his arms crossed, one hand resting under his nose, lost in thought.
So Leo stretched, then turned to Martin and asked: "How's the governor of New York reacting?"
"Him?" Martin lowered his hand and stood up straighter. "At this point, he's practically begging Anthony to put in a good word for him.
Honestly, I think it's only a matter of time. We can start by dealing with a few small-time criminals who should've been given the death penalty before it was abolished.
Step by step — just like the abolition of the death penalty back then."
Half of the state's population lived in New York City, and after several lightning strikes, public opinion in the city was firmly in the hands of the new mayor.
At this point, it was practically the mayor who decided who became governor.
Once the governor was handled, the next step would be the state legislature — that would take time and lobbying.
But with more and more of Kingpin's crimes coming to light, public sentiment would only boil hotter.
The state legislature would also have to consider what New York City meant to them.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Isn't this exactly my job?" Martin shrugged, then added, "Your health… if anything changes, make sure to tell me."
Leo nodded slightly — cancer was a terminal illness in Marvel, but funnily enough, Negative Man Martin was capable of curing it with his negative energy in several continuities.
If Martin could heal him, there was no rush. But if he couldn't, then there was little hope of finding a cure in Marvel.
Cases of cancer being cured in Marvel were vanishingly rare.
Compared to that issue, Leo still had much to prepare for — maybe even a war to fight.
He stood and said, "Of course. A partner wouldn't hide something about his own health, right?"
Martin's face flushed red — after all, he now knew Leo had installed an impressive-looking cybernetic spine, and was fully aware of his condition.
But Leo had no idea about Martin's miraculous negative energy.
Suddenly at a loss for words, Martin left the room.
Once Martin was gone, Matt, who had been waiting outside, came in carrying a thick stack of documents.
"Honestly, from a lawyer's point of view, there were plenty of loopholes in that last round of arrests. But… you did great."
"Anything new?"
"Well…" Matt rubbed his nose. "Do you remember what I promised you when I first came to you?"
Leo tilted his head — truthfully, he'd nearly forgotten until Matt brought it up.
"Ah, the Kate Waste Logistics case, right? Any progress?"
"Yes." Matt paused, then sighed unexpectedly.
"What is it?"
"Just… a bit emotional. It feels like a dream."
When Matt first found Leo, Leo had just woken from a coma, disabled, with his family in over $200,000 of debt. They could barely pay rent and were close to being homeless.
Matt had approached him, hoping he'd stand with him against the logistics company —
The waste that crippled both Leo and Matt had come from that company. Matt had long believed they were operating illegally.
He even suspected his own father had been beaten half-dead because they tried to demand compensation.
But now… compensation was meaningless to Leo, even if it might be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In fact, Matt's long-sought clues came straight from the gangs that had just been taken down by Leo.
"Anyway," Matt put the files on the table. "Some of the criminals arrested by the NYPD used to work for that logistics company. It seems Kingpin was connected to it as well.
Thanks to the NYPD's actions, we're very close to the truth — the only question is, do you still care about this?"
"Of course I do," Leo replied without hesitation. "Suffering may make you stronger, but what kind of fool would be grateful for something like that?"
Leo himself had slept through three years.
But those years hadn't been so easy for his mother.
Someone had to be held responsible. Someone had to pay.
"Alright. This is everything I've uncovered so far. I'll keep following it. And finally… I believe you'll get through this. I have to go now — and thank you for everything you've done."
"I should be thanking you," Leo shrugged. "For looking out for a crippled kid drowning in debt."
Matt smiled, tapped his cane, and left the room.
Leo didn't dwell on it. For the foreseeable future, he wouldn't need much help from a lawyer.
Almost at the same time, Leo received a text from Gwen. Judging from the signal distance, she was right on the rooftop.
[Gwen: I think I'm unemployed. After everything you've done, I feel like a joke.]
If not for Leo, she might have been forced into a long and desperate battle against the Kingpin entrenched in New York.
But anyone could guess — how could a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl stop a political veteran from waltzing in and out of prison and maintaining his crime empire?
Besides, superheroes couldn't solve every problem. Like when the Stones — mother and son — were trapped at home, Spider-Woman hadn't been able to detect it.
She had the strength to toss around tons with ease, the speed to zip through skyscrapers at over a hundred miles per hour…
But superheroes couldn't solve these kinds of problems.
[Leo: Unemployed? You should study hard and get a real job.]
[Gwen: You make me sound like some dropout!]
[Leo: You need to adjust your mindset. Don't treat this as a career.]
[Gwen: You mean I should retire?]
[Leo: I mean, doing good can be a hobby. A serious hobby, even a lifelong one.]
[Leo: But if you insist on treating it as a job… your life will just get harder.]
[Gwen: Hearing this from someone my age is seriously weird.]
On the rooftop, Gwen stuffed her costume into her backpack. Looking at it, she sighed, her emotions mixed.
What had ended prematurely wasn't just Kingpin's career as a supervillain — but perhaps also Spider-Woman's career as a superhero.
The good news was that now she could work toward her future like a normal young woman — maybe even have a normal relationship.
She put on her lab coat and leapt from the skyscraper — heading to her part-time job at the International Gene Cooperation Company.
As the research assistant to none other than full-time researcher Peter Parker.