Clinton District, also known as Hell's Kitchen, is unquestionably the most chaotic and crime-ridden area in the Marvel Universe.
It is overrun by gangs, the crime rate is sky-high, and one could even call it a paradise for criminals.
Of course, this is also where many Super Heroes have fought — Daredevil, Punisher, Spider-Man, and even the X-Men have all battled criminals here.
As the saying goes, "Super Heroes come and go, but the Arch-Villains remain."Any hero who fights in Hell's Kitchen inevitably becomes an enemy of the crime lord Kingpin.
Destroying a laundry detergent processing plant, stopping a smuggling operation, or taking down a gang could all offend Kingpin's empire.
In the Marvel Universe's United States, 40% of criminal activity originates from Kingpin.
And Kingpin's most troublesome thorn in his side is the future Little Spider.
Since Rimuru wanted to earn some extra income, naturally she chose Hell's Kitchen.
As for offending Kingpin? He was just an early-game miniboss; she would be more than happy to farm him for gold!
Late at night.
The bustling metropolis had fallen silent, with very few pedestrians still on the streets.
Anyone wandering around at this hour was usually not involved in honest work.
Rimuru wore a black trench coat, hood raised, mask on her face, and mimicked bat wings trailing behind her. She soared through the night sky like a ghost.
Just as she passed over a street corner, she heard a faint whimpering from below, instantly putting her on alert.
A quick glance revealed the source.
In a dark dead-end alley, several shadows loomed over a woman pressed against the wall. She pleaded weakly, but the men ignored her. Rimuru even heard one curse in a low, rough voice.
"Please, let me go, I already paid the protection fee!"
"You pay other gangs but say you don't have money for us? Are you looking down on the Black Bear Gang?"
"No, no! I swear to God, I didn't mean to disrespect you gentlemen — I really have no money right now!"
"No money? Then pay with your body!"
Below, lewd laughter and the woman's terrified sobs echoed through the alley.
Rimuru had no interest in listening further. It was obvious: several men bullying a defenseless woman under the excuse of collecting a protection fee.
Rimuru picked up the compound bow in her hand, swept her body forward, and instantly appeared behind the men.
"Hypnotherapy — Physical!"
Bang!
The bow slammed into the back of a man built like an ox. Before he even reacted, he spun through the air and crashed to the ground.
"Who?!"
The remaining burly men spun around in shock, but what greeted them was the body of the compound bow smashing into their faces.
"Convince with Virtue!"
"Exhort to Goodness!"
"Start Anew!"
"Turn Over a New Leaf!"
Rimuru's speed was too fast; before the gang members could react, each of their heads was struck squarely by the bow.
The first ones barely understood what happened, but the last black strongman — just before he collapsed — clearly saw the weapon Rimuru was holding.
In his final moment of consciousness, he had only one thought: Is a bow supposed to be used like that?
The rescued woman trembled, but her eyes were full of curiosity as she looked at Rimuru.
Trench coat, hood, mask… Had she met a Super Hero?
A hero who preferred to smash people with the bow instead of shooting arrows — clearly someone who followed a strict "no killing" rule.
The woman quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
But one second later, her eyes widened.
Super Hero… what are you doing?
Is that… looting the corpses?!
Oh my god, what kind of Super Hero was this?! Too bizarre!
Was she going to be silenced next?!
Rimuru, of course, had no idea what the woman was thinking — nor did she care.
After all, this was her first time looting corpses; she wasn't very skilled yet.
Five minutes later.
Rimuru counted her loot: five hundred twenty-four U.S. dollars.
Looking at the small stack of wrinkled cash, she was silent for a long moment.
They call themselves a gang? And they only have this much money? How embarrassing.
Could it be their savings weren't on them?
Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap!
Rimuru grabbed the unconscious strongman and delivered a dozen crisp slaps.
Under the sudden pain, the man woke up with a scream. Rimuru asked bluntly, "How much do you have saved? Transfer all of it to this card."
She rattled off a bank card number.
Hearing this, the strongman nearly cried. From Rimuru's outfit, he originally thought he'd run into a justice-loving Super Hero.
Never did he expect — she was a colleague!
"Hero, spare me! I really have no savings! My credit card is almost maxed out!"
The man was practically in tears. To prove his poverty, he immediately handed over his credit card, blurting out the password and everything else.
Rimuru: "…"
Too poor!
Since you have no money — go back to sleep.
Bang!
Another strike from the bow left a matching red mark on his other cheek, perfectly symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing.
Rimuru stood up and finally noticed the woman she had rescued.
Even in the dark, nothing escaped her senses.
The woman wore heavy makeup and revealing clothes — her profession was obvious.
Feeling Rimuru's gaze, the woman panicked and stammered, "Hero, all my money was taken by the gang. Please don't hit me. I—I can write an IOU and pay in installments?"
Rimuru: "…"
Would she really stoop so low as to take money from a streetwalker?
And "pay in installments"?That was a strangely innovative proposal…
After thinking for a moment, Rimuru pulled out a Franklin, hesitated, then pulled out another, and stuffed both into the woman's hand.
"A share for the bystander. These are yours."
"Huh?"
The streetwalker stared blankly at the bills in her hand. What kind of act was this?
She had just seen how greedy this masked figure was — and now he was giving her money? This was too…
She didn't even know what to say!
Seeing her dazed expression — and noticing her eyes drifting toward the remaining Franklins — Rimuru immediately turned and bolted.
"Staring won't help! I'm not giving you more!"
As Rimuru disappeared into the night, the streetwalker suddenly burst into laughter.
The contrast was just too big!
Agile, money-loving, but still kind to the weak — truly an interesting and compassionate Super Hero.
"Mr. Super Hero, may I have the honor of knowing your hero name?"
The night was long, and for a while, no one answered.
"No? I guess I'm being ignored."The streetwalker laughed at herself softly. She was used to it.
But then —
A loud voice echoed in her mind:
"My name remains unchanged, my surname unaltered — I am Hawkeye!"
"Hawkeye?!"
Her eyes lit up. Hawkeye — truly a quirky and kind Super Hero!
At the same time, in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion, Agent Clinton Francis Barton, who was on duty, suddenly sneezed and felt a chill down his spine.
Why did he suddenly have such a bad feeling?