In Hell's Kitchen, inside a rented apartment, Li Kang took out a bottle of beer from the refrigerator and ate a peanut butter sandwich while casually turning on the TV.
The so-called Hell's Kitchen, located in New York City from 34th to 59th Street, and from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River, has been a settlement for low-income classes since the 17th century, and also a slum with extremely poor public security.
On the television screen, a beautiful morning news anchor was broadcasting a local news story.
"Early this morning, an unusual case occurred in a warehouse near the Hudson River. It is reported that several members of the Russian mafia were attacked, and six boxes of semi-automatic weapons, including AK47s, were left at the scene. Mafia members identified a vigilante calling himself Daredevil as the perpetrator of the attack, but they denied any connection to the arms left at the scene..."
Just on the 15th of this month, rumors circulated that this group of Russian gangsters had robbed a truck belonging to the Osborn Group. The truck driver was shot thirteen times and died on the spot, and the three security guards escorting the truck were riddled with bullets, their deaths being quite tragic. At the time, this news caused a sensation.
"Daredevil? The name sounds really familiar. If I remember correctly, he should also be a superhero. It's a pity that the memories from my previous life are too distant, and my memory is a bit vague. In my impression, this Daredevil should be a blind lawyer." Li Kang took a sip of beer, rummaging through the memories of his previous life.
The successive appearance of these superheroes indicates that this world is about to fall into chaos. In the near future, aliens will land in New York, and this place will become a cruel battlefield. Before that, it's best to make more preparations.
But then again, my head is killing me. I reached out and touched it, and it hurt even more. Li Kang looked in a mirror and saw that there was a purplish bruise on his left temple. Based on many years of experience, he could tell that it was caused by a beer bottle.
"Damn it, what exactly is going on?" Li Kang applied some medicinal wine to the wound, gradually recalling what happened.
Just last night, in a nearby bar, Li Kang hooked up with a hot girl. He bought her a few drinks and even danced a very fiery and seductive close dance. Just as Li Kang was planning to leave a phone number in order to deepen their communication, the hot girl's legitimate boyfriend appeared with several burly men.
The situation then took a sharp turn. In the chaos, it seemed that the hot girl's boyfriend smashed a beer bottle on Li Kang's head. He was already drunk, and after being hit so hard, he immediately lost consciousness. When he woke up, he had already been thrown into a pile of garbage in the back alley.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Hell Detective, regardless of which version, one thing is common: handsome. Although Li Kang in the mirror looked a bit disheveled, coupled with his roguishness from the inside out, it was undeniable that he was a charming man.
"Too unlucky. I have an appointment with a client today. I hope this scar won't affect business." Li Kang drank the remaining beer in the bottle, lit a cigarette, got up, went downstairs, out the door, and walked towards the detective agency not far away.
It has been twenty years since I crossed over to this world. In his previous life, Li Kang was an ordinary person from Origin Earth. Origin Earth is an ordinary world. There is no magic here, let alone superpowers. All those superheroes only exist on movie screens or in comic books.
The memories of his previous life are already very distant, but the memory of the crossover is especially profound. In the multiverse, there are countless versions of Li Kang, including black, white, Chinese, and even Native American. Most of these versions of him have the same name, which is John Constantine, while the Chinese version of him is called Li Kang.
That crossover allowed Li Kang to awaken his magical talent. More importantly, because he was born on Origin Earth, he had many more attributes than ordinary people. His mental strength far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Even in infancy, his mental strength was much stronger than those mages who had practiced for many years.
Magic is the various energies scattered throughout the universe. Some are from this universe, and some are from other dimensions. Mages rely on spells to manipulate these energies. Magic is similar to a program; the source code can change reality. Powerful mages, similar to the Scarlet Witch after going mad, can even modify reality and do crazy things like wiping out most of the mutants.
Therefore, the magic world attaches great importance to inheritance. Only those with the strongest mental strength are qualified to use the most powerful magic.
Moreover, Li Kang's origin attribute allowed him to pay a much smaller price than others when casting spells.
Those familiar with the Marvel world know that there is a famous saying here: the rich rely on technology, and the losers rely on mutation.
In this world, there are people like Iron Man, who were born as arms tycoons, the heirs of Stark Industries Group, and there are people like Captain America, who relied on super serum to become an incomparably powerful super soldier, and there are also people like Spider-Man, who simply got bitten by a mutated spider and gained superpowers.
Not to mention those X-Men who became superpowered because of evolution, leading to gene mutations.
Li Kang didn't have such good luck. His father in this life was just an ordinary dock worker, and his mother ran a laundromat in Chinatown. Although the family was not rich, they lived a happy life.
But the good times didn't last long. When Li Kang was fourteen years old, a robbery occurred, and his father and mother were shot several times in order to protect little Li Kang, and both died.
Hell's Kitchen was just that kind of place. Murder and robbery happened daily. Because the Chinese were hardworking and thrifty, they were one of the few races in America who could save money. Therefore, many criminals targeted them for robbery. Especially in Hell's Kitchen, nobody cared if a few Chinese died. In the end, no one pursued the case.
Instead, the government officials locked Li Kang in a juvenile detention center, hoping to find a family to adopt him.
At the time, Li Kang was only fourteen years old. He escaped from the detention center on his own, spent all his savings, and, relying on the memories of his previous life, went alone to the Himalayas. He actually found the legendary Sanctum Sanctorum from the Doctor Strange movie.
In the Sanctum Sanctorum, after a year of training, Li Kang stood out and became the most promising student, even with the potential to join the Ancient One's inner circle. Even the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme, praised him, saying that although he was only fifteen years old, he possessed wisdom beyond that of an adult.
However, Li Kang's talent attracted the jealousy of others. That person was his roommate, Kaecilius. Kaecilius shamelessly slandered him, saying that he planned to steal the Ancient One's private collection of books. The Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, personally presided over the trial. In the end, the council unanimously agreed to expel Li Kang.
Afterward, Li Kang returned to Hell's Kitchen, used the magic he had learned to avenge his parents' blood feud, and then settled down here. Using the laundromat his parents left behind, he opened a small private detective agency. Under his seat, there was still a pool of brown blood, left behind by his parents when they protected him. This private detective agency was his parents' legacy.
Besides normal cases, he occasionally took on small dirty jobs to avenge people, of course, for a hefty reward.
Over the years, through tireless efforts, his magical skills became increasingly profound. Li Kang made a name for himself in Hell's Kitchen, and both the good and the bad sides were wary of him. This was the effect he wanted. To survive in Hell's Kitchen, he had to make those villains, more cruel than demons, feel genuine fear.
Kindness is taken advantage of; good people can't survive here.
Now, people familiar with Li Kang would call him 'Scumbag Kang.' The nickname was fitting, and even Li Kang himself had to admit that the people of Hell's Kitchen were always so accurate in summarizing problems.
Looking back, over the years, anyone who got involved with him generally didn't have a good ending. But that was the law of survival in Hell's Kitchen. Survival or destruction was never a question for Li Kang.
Li Kang's motto was: 'Whoever doesn't let me survive, I'll make them perish.'
But then again, who could stand in this Hell's Kitchen if they weren't a scumbag?
Recently, there had been very few commissions. Having become accustomed to a lavish lifestyle, Li Kang was in a deep financial crisis. The rent was due soon, and he had to find a way to get through this difficult time.
"Damn it, it's all that Daredevil's fault! That damn vigilante ruined so much of my business!" Li Kang cursed Daredevil in his heart. When there was a free vigilante, no one would come to a private detective agency to pay for justice.
Lost in thought, he walked into a dark alley. Suddenly, the sound of someone calling for help came from ahead.
"Help! Please, don't hurt me!" Ahead, a slender black girl was surrounded by three white thugs. Two of the thugs pinned the girl against the wall.
"Beautiful, how could I bear to hurt you? We always cherish beautiful women like you. Just hand over all the money you have, and obediently let us give you a shot, and you'll be free. If you don't listen, I'll slash your pretty face." A young man with a devil tattooed on his face waved a dagger in front of the girl.
It was just another ordinary day in Hell's Kitchen. This kind of beauty and the beast scene played out almost every day in Hell's Kitchen. These thugs were from the nearby Scottish gang. Their stronghold was a strip club. They relied on a mixed hallucinogen to control those helpless girls and then used them to make money. They were a bunch of hopeless scumbags.
This hallucinogen was extremely addictive. If this black girl was injected with this drug, it would be difficult for her to escape their control in the future.
Li Kang had only heard people talk about this before. He didn't expect to run into it himself today. This area was the territory of the Scottish gang. The Scottish gang used to have a large influence in Hell's Kitchen, but now, because the Triads, the Russians, and the Hand formed an alliance and jointly squeezed the Scottish gang's territory.
Now, the Scottish gang's influence in Hell's Kitchen had sharply declined. Only a few clubs were still operating. In reality, they had already been marginalized. They couldn't get their hands on the most profitable businesses, like arms and hallucinogens. If it weren't for some connections in the police force, they would have been squeezed out of Hell's Kitchen long ago.
Devil Face took out a tube of hallucinogen from his bag, stuck out his tongue and licked the tip of the needle, and whispered in the girl's ear, "Beautiful, once you've tasted this stuff, I guarantee you'll be in ecstasy, begging us for more. Relax, you'll be in heaven soon."
"Help! Someone, please save me!" The girl cried out, suddenly seeing Li Kang's figure. She saw him as a lifeline. "Sir, please save me!"
The Scottish gang also noticed Li Kang. Devil Face looked at Li Kang's Asian face and that he was alone, and didn't take him seriously at all.
"Hey! Yellow-skinned monkey, this is none of your business, get lost!" Devil Face spat disdainfully.
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