Chapter 2: Kingpin
Morning light slowly washed over the city streets, which were still quiet and mostly empty of human activity.
In the distance, three young Black men came into view, dressed in flashy street-style clothes. Their pants sagged low, exposing part of their backsides without a care in the world.
The three of them were staring at someone standing alone by the roadside—a young Asian boy named Blake Thorne—mischief clearly written all over their faces.
"Oi… look at that. A poor little Asian kid."
"I bet he got separated from his mommy. C'mon, let's help him out…"
"Walker, Lucas, this is genius. We're such kind-hearted angels, aren't we?"
With exaggerated enthusiasm, the three of them walked over and surrounded Blake.
"Hey there, kid… you looking for your mom?"
Blake looked at the three of them calmly, without even a hint of fear. He wanted to see what these strangers were really after. With a composed expression, he gave a small nod and replied,
"Yes. Are you going to take me home?"
His calm attitude made the three men pause for a moment. Still, they quickly dismissed it, assuming he was just a naïve little kid who'd be easy to fool. One of them responded in an overly sweet, fake voice.
"Of course, kid… come with us. We'll take you home, let you see your mom. Poor thing, getting lost like this."
Blake showed no emotion as he nodded again and calmly walked between them.
They led Blake through the city's alleys for over an hour, until they finally stopped in front of an old, run-down building.
The place was an orphanage called "Gillard."
Seeing the sign, Blake could only let out a quiet sigh.
What now? He had barely escaped from one orphanage, and now he was being brought to another? Fate really seemed to be playing games with him.
The three young men now stared at Blake with cold, sharp eyes. The pretense was gone.
"Go in. Your mom's inside."
— — —
Without saying a word, Blake silently activated the Infinity Perception System. His vision pierced straight through the walls, revealing every corner of the building's interior. In an instant, he knew for certain—this was no real orphanage.
This place was a den of crime, nothing more than a cover for illegal operations: human organ trafficking and large-scale drug trade. Crimes serious enough to warrant the death penalty.
Blake slowly shook his head. If they weren't even going to pretend anymore, then there was no reason for him to keep playing along.
Without wasting a second, Blake leapt upward, his body shooting into the air as he unleashed a deadly barrage—Shadowless Kick.
In less than a single second, dozens of kicks rained down relentlessly. The three men collapsed, their bodies torn apart as their entrails spilled onto the ground.
Ignoring their dying groans, Blake turned around and slammed a powerful kick into the building's main entrance.
The iron doors and several meters of reinforced concrete wall shattered violently, collapsing all at once.
Two armed guards stationed behind the gate were crushed beneath the falling debris, groaning in agony as they were pinned under the collapsed wall.
The sudden chaos instantly drew attention from inside the building.
Dozens of armed thugs came pouring out, each gripping a Desert Eagle, rushing toward the source of the destruction.
And standing before them was nothing more than a single Asian boy, around ten years old, who looked completely unbothered.
Their leader froze for a brief moment, confused by the absurd situation. Still, unwilling to take any chances, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger, aiming straight at Blake.
The sharp crack of gunfire shattered the silence.
But in that very moment, everyone present witnessed a scene that froze the blood in their veins.
Blake raised two fingers and pressed them lightly to the center of his forehead. A bullet—still trailing faint smoke—was neatly caught between his fingers.
Before anyone could even react, Blake flicked his hand forward, throwing the bullet back with overwhelming force.
The shot tore through three men in a straight line, obliterating them from the waist up and splitting their bodies apart.
The momentum didn't stop there. The bullet continued onward, punching through the building's wall and leaving behind a basketball-sized hole that pierced straight through the entire structure.
— — —
At the sight of the Asian boy before them, fear finally took hold of the remaining thugs.
Some turned around and ran for their lives.
Some emptied their guns in blind panic.
Others dropped to their knees, begging for mercy.
But no matter what they did, to Blake, they were all monsters that deserved to be erased.
In just a few seconds, dozens of bodies lay lifeless across the courtyard.
Stepping over pools of blood, Blake entered the sin-filled building without the slightest hesitation.
After making sure every last criminal inside had been dealt with, Blake finally opened the door to the building's main manager's office.
— — —
Inside stood a middle-aged white man, trembling with unease.
His name was Joyce.
Even though he had witnessed Blake's terrifying power through the window, Joyce still tried to maintain a calm expression as he spoke.
"You… you're a mutant, right?"
"No matter who you really are, if you leave right now, I'll give you a lot of money. We can pretend none of this ever happened."
"But if you hurt me… you'll make an enemy of Mister Kingpin. And he will not let you live."
As if worried that the child before him hadn't heard the name before, Joyce quickly added, his voice growing more urgent.
"Mister Kingpin is the ruler of New York. The true king of the underworld. Challenging him is a disaster you won't be able to bear…"
"Kingpin?" Blake repeated softly, then looked calmly at the man in front of him.
"Behind the bookshelf behind you, there's a hidden safe. Inside is about two million dollars in cash and gold bars worth ten million. Whether you live or die, that money belongs to me."
"And as for this Mister Kingpin you keep talking about, go ahead and contact him right now. Tell him I'll be visiting him tonight."
Joyce fell silent.
He could only stare blankly at Blake, his body frozen stiff.
The truth was, Joyce didn't have any direct access to Kingpin at all. His relationship with Kingpin was nothing more than that of a minor business partner. He had never possessed the private contact information of the king of the criminal underworld…
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